Chapter 186: To Save the World
And so, the war raging beyond the “Rift” came to an abrupt halt.
Final Chapter — I Don’t Know What “Predetermined Harmony” Means - Theory_"was"_Broken.
Episode 157: To Save the World — Best_Solution.
The countless Five-Overs all entered standby mode simultaneously. The ability users who had been facing them down froze as well.
At the front lines, Kihara Noukan—soaring through the machine-filled skies—quietly lit his cigar. The magicians opposing him lowered their guard in kind, shoulders easing.
Seeing that, the spiky-haired boy and the now fully revealed “Human” exchanged a silent nod, then a handshake. Neither spoke first.
Before long, every gaze present turned toward Shiren and the others on the far side of the “Rift.”
“Shiren-san! Reicia-san! You’re both alive!”
The voice was Sashika’s, carried through the spatial connection formed by the “Rift.” It was good news, but Shiren tilted her head slightly.
“...Wait, this place is called the ‘Circular Domain of History,’ right? Even if the ‘Rift’ connects us spatially, can communication really get through? I don’t mean radio waves not passing or anything—I mean... what was it? Something about world extensions or whatever.”
“Oh, of course it’s not getting through,” the “Witch” said breezily.
“See? Little Reicia here’s been tilting her head nonstop, hasn’t she? The only reason you can hear him is because of the Divine Contract, the Near-Death Promise.”
Shiren looked toward Reicia. Sure enough, the girl was simply tilting her head, clearly not understanding a word.
“Ah, sorry, Reicia... Maybe we should just merge already. There’s no point staying separate like this.”
“No, let’s stay like this a little longer. It’s not every day I get to stand beside you—side by side—to save the world.”
“...Haha, yeah. You’ve got a point.”
Smiling at Reicia’s words, Shiren nodded. Her tone was rougher than usual, more masculine—unlike the calm womanly voice she often used. That, too, was probably another effect of the Near-Death Promise. Shiren was never the type who could hide her true self completely.
The fact she’d held it together until now was proof that her unusual condition had been subtly supporting her all along. Quietly, Reicia bit her lip, annoyed at her own obliviousness.
“...Shiren-san?”
“Oh, it’s nothing. I’m just glad you’re all safe. I must apologize for making everyone worry.”
Her gentle reply drew a collective sigh of relief from the GMDW members on the other end. Then another voice came through.
“This is Baba. Shiren, Reicia—good to know you’re safe. But tell us what’s going on over there. A few ‘Rifts’ have started appearing around headquarters too, and... honestly, I feel like I’m about to die of fright.”
Baba’s voice trembled ever so slightly, but he hadn’t fled—he was still leading GMDW. That alone warmed Shiren’s heart. And with the thought that she and Reicia were probably the only ones who truly understood the situation, she raised her voice to explain.
“To put it simply—the world is now on the verge of total collapse! The ‘holes in the world’ that appeared along with my own manifestation are expanding, and that’s the cause. To stop this catastrophe, we have to repair those ‘world holes’ somehow!”
Her words spread quickly among the listeners. A murmur rose on the other side of the connection. Part of that was because the “world holes” were tied directly to Shiren’s own existence. That was a truth best left unsaid for now—too complicated to explain properly. Still, Shiren felt honesty was the least she owed to the comrades who had come this far with her.
“(Honestly... you’re way too straightforward, Shiren.)”
“(Not really. I’m keeping plenty of inconvenient details to myself while steering Aleister in the right direction, aren’t I?)”
“(Feeling guilty about it just makes you more of an idiot.)”
Reicia’s cold words came with a firm squeeze of Shiren’s hand—proof enough that she didn’t mean them. Yeah... maybe staying like this a little longer wouldn’t be so bad. Even though Shiren knew time was running out, she couldn’t help but think that.
“In the end, the key lies in the ‘holes of the world.’”
Bearing the weight of everyone’s attention, Shiren began to speak as if giving a lecture.
“This crisis—the end of the world itself—began because holes opened in the world’s outer shell and were left unattended, slowly expanding over time. Conversely, if we can close them, the catastrophe will stop.”
“...And how exactly do you patch a hole in the world? It’s not like a hardware store sells cosmic repair kits.”
“That’s where creativity comes in.”
“—Ah, I see. You’re going to use the difference in extensions.”
Before Shiren could explain, the world’s worst magician had already caught up.
“The world holes form at the boundary between this world and the ‘True Outside.’ The materials of this world aren’t compatible with that extension—but if we convert this world’s matter into a form compatible with the ‘True Outside,’ it could serve as filler.”
“Exactly. By converting this world’s material extension into that of the ‘True Outside,’ we can theoretically create the material needed to plug the holes.”
As she said this, Shiren raised her index finger sharply.
“I already have a plan.”
Not to save the world—but to seize the future she desired. Saving the world would merely be a side effect.
With a fearless smile, the wicked woman declared:
“This operation will consist of several phases. First—Phase One: identify the exact locations of the ‘world holes.’ Without knowing where they are, we can’t begin patching them.”
Even calling them “holes” didn’t mean they could be defined by simple three-dimensional coordinates. The “Rifts” appearing around the globe might offer clues, but that wasn’t guaranteed. They’d need to determine the coordinates of the “world holes” by every means possible.
“Next, Phase Two: we’ll convert the extensions of our materials to match those of the ‘True Outside,’ creating the plugs that will fill the holes.”
Locate the coordinates. Convert the extensions. Create the plugs. And even if all of that succeeded, the hardest part still remained—Phase Three.
“And then, Phase Three... we’ll transport those created plugs to the ‘world holes.’ If my theory’s right, once they’re in place, they’ll fuse—and the ongoing catastrophe will finally come to an end.”
“I have nothing to add to that,” said the world’s worst magician, folding his arms. His tone made it clear: at least in theory, Shiren’s plan had no major flaws. Yet, Shiren herself didn’t look particularly encouraged.
“There’s one problem. And it’s a big one.”
With a weary sigh, she admitted what had been weighing on her.
“The general direction’s fine… but I have no idea how to actually make it work.”
“That’s not fine at all, is it!?”
Reicia snapped before she could stop herself—and reasonably so.
Even though Shiren was a reincarnator, she wasn’t a scientist or engineer at heart—just an ordinary person. Thanks to Reicia Blackguard’s body, she could grasp the principles of intermolecular forces, but she wasn’t the kind of genius who could rewrite the world’s structure itself. The fact that she’d devised a plan even Aleister found credible was already an incredible feat.
Then again, in this world, if she couldn’t manage at least that much, she could hardly play the role of “an ordinary student.”
Still, Shiren quickly straightened her posture.
“What can’t be done can’t be helped! That’s why I’m asking for your help! I want everyone here to use your strength to come up with a concrete way to close the ‘Holes in the World!’”
It was a shamelessly bold handoff—enough to make any hero groan.
Yet Shiren’s eyes showed no hesitation. And in that moment, her call brought the entire war to a halt. Not everyone present had pure intentions; grudges and ulterior motives remained. True peace hadn’t been achieved. But even so, they’d stopped fighting—and chosen cooperation instead.
Each one there was strong enough to be the protagonist of their own story. With that many forces gathered together, how could the world possibly remain unsaved?
“Then, identifying the ‘Holes in the World’ will have to be up to you, Mr. Accelerator.”
The first to respond was Kihara Nayuta, who had come to the city as a member of Judgment to defend it.
“…Tch. You’ve got enough players already, don’t you? Saving the world ain’t my thing. If it were a falling meteor, sure—but this? Leave that crap to the heroes.”
“Do you think anyone here besides you could run calculations on the scale of the entire world?”
“…,”
“There is someone, right here.”
Accelerator fell silent at Nayuta’s question. The voice that answered came from elsewhere—from a boy with three pure-white wings: Kakine Teitoku, the “Spare Plan.”
“The ability to compute an entire world mixed with foreign elements—that’s what Dark Matter control requires. If the almighty Number One’s gonna tuck his tail and run from a world crisis, there are plenty of replacements here who’ll take his place.”
“…The hell did you just say?”
“What, getting mad because I’m right?”
For a moment, silence filled the air between them.
The Second Ranked—Spare Plan. A “replacement,” a “substitute.” Those titles had long been a curse to that boy. Yet at the same time, they meant he had the qualifications to stand as a rival to the genuine article—to threaten the very worth of the “real one.”
“How interesting. Whatever’s missing, I’ll replace it for you.”
Behind Kakine’s fearless smile stood Kihara Noukan, wearing a thin, sharp grin of his own.
The Number One, backed by a “Kihara.”
The Number Two, backed by a “Kihara.”
By sheer coincidence—or perhaps by fate—the same structure now stood face-to-face. Accelerator, silent until now, suddenly burst into laughter.
“Kh… hyahahaha! Oh, that’s funny. All right, Number Two, I’ll take that challenge.”
Yet that confrontation didn’t lead to a fight.
It was as though the rules of this place themselves forbade it—the two pinnacles of science wouldn’t clash. They would compete.
“Dark Matter will play its hand with Dark Matter.”
“And Accelerator will play his with his own hand.”
The two strongest men stood side by side and turned to Shiren and Reicia.
“We’ll lay the foundation for saving the world. You heroes—make sure to land the finishing blow.”
──Thus, the first phase of the problem was resolved.
“Then, I’ll handle the conversion process.”
The one who spoke so casually was a thug-looking scientist, his black outfit half-buried beneath a white lab coat—Kihara’s Grimoire.
“As you know, I’m a grimoire with the ability to ‘convert’ virtue into vice. So, if I tweak the variables of that function, maybe I can ‘convert’ the world’s extension format itself, yeah? I’ll just need the right variable data.”
“Then the modification of those variables would be our job as magicians.”
Offering their aid were the magicians led by Index herself.
“The base framework of ‘Kihara’s Grimoire’ follows the structure of the original text I designed. If we’ve got a technician who understands its fundamentals, the process should go much smoother.”
“As for the so-called poison of knowledge sealed within Kihara, we’ll handle that. We are professionals, after all—appointed by the British nation itself as inquisitors.”
“…If that girl says she’s going to do it, then we can’t exactly sit back and refuse to help.”
Though the magicians agreed to cooperate, Index soon raised another concern.
“But the real issue might be the core of the plug. Even with a conversion device, we can’t just use any material to fill the ‘Hole in the World.’ It needs something symbolic—something that fits the concept itself…”
“…Hm. In that case, I happen to have something suitable.”
The one who replied was Aleister Crowley.
“…Something suitable?”
“What you need is a symbol capable of reaching the end of the world, isn’t it? Something that can lift off from this place and travel to the farthest reaches—in other words, a space shuttle.”
“…And where exactly do you plan to find one of those? Maybe in the 23rd District, but—”
“It’s right nearby.”
Aleister’s calm response left Kamijou baffled. Shiren couldn’t grasp his intent either—but that was only natural. What Aleister was about to reveal lay beyond the story she once knew.
Completely unfazed, Aleister spoke of a truth that, in the original history, had remained hidden until the final stage of his grand conspiracy.
“The ‘Windowless Building.’ It also functions as a space shuttle. That should serve perfectly well as the symbolic plug to fill the ‘Hole in the World.’”
The Windowless Building—the fortress of the city’s ruler.
And Aleister declared it would be the final piece of the puzzle.
“…Wait, the Windowless Building is a space shuttle?”
“You didn’t know?”
“Why in the world would you assume that I did!?”
Though Shiren was the one shouting, everyone else wore equally stunned expressions. After all, if the building itself was a rocket, that meant Aleister Crowley had always intended to one day reach outer space.
What an absurdly grand-scale human being, Shiren thought. And yet, at this moment, that absurdity was exactly what they needed.
“Well then, that settles Phase Two. Now, as for implementing Phase Three—”
“No need to overthink it.”
A sharp, irritated woman’s voice cut Aleister off.
“The outer shell of the world—if you’re trying to send that plug all the way to some unfathomably distant location, there’s only one method that comes to mind. Ours.”
A girl whose mature presence far exceeded her age—the Level 5 esper with the power of Meltdowner, the Fourth Ranked.
──Mugino Shizuri.
“…Wait, you mean—”
“You don’t get it? I’m saying the final stage of the plan can only be done by you and me.”
Mugino continued, her expression twisting with irritation as she turned to Shiren.
There existed a technique known as the Zero-Dimensional Singularity.
By slicing through a one-dimensional point, one could create a “singularity” representing the entirety of the world within that single point. Through that singularity, it was possible to summon anything from anywhere—or send anything to any place in existence.
Even to the outer boundary of the world itself.
“I couldn’t care less about that Divine Contract Near-Death Promise nonsense. To me, you people are Jagged Edge. That’s all that matters.”
Unlike in “a certain history,” this Mugino had never undergone Kihara Amata’s modifications, and thus couldn’t control the zero dimension alone.
Likewise, Reicia’s Jagged Edge could cut a one-dimensional point to create a singularity—but not sustain it. However, if the two Fourth Ranks combined their power… it could be done.
They could launch the “plug” directly into the “Hole in the World.”
“…You’d better be grateful. This’ll be the first and last time I lend you bastards a hand.”
“Yes, I understand that.”
Mugino’s voice was full of irritation, but Shiren replied with a gentle smile.
“I’m not so crude as to tease someone just for trying to hide their embarrassment.”
“You just did the worst possible kind of teasing, you damn sadistic woman!!!”
──And with that, the concerns of Phase Three were resolved.
All the pieces were in place.
Now, all that remained was for everyone to join forces and save the world.
“Now then, let’s create it.”
Gazing at the many heroes gathered there, Shiren declared:
“The one and only perfect happy ending that only we can make!!!”
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