Chapter 38: All Plans Exhausted

"Excuse me! I demand an audience!"

Bang! The sliding door slammed open with theatrical force.

Having asked about the frog-faced doctor's whereabouts at the hospital reception, Reicia had no trouble getting an answer—perhaps because she had been admitted under slightly unusual circumstances. Still, she charged into the private room (most likely a break room) where he was resting, with pointless bravado.

"...It's my slightly late lunch break right now. Could you wait a little while?"

"I will not wait!!"

"Hey, Reicia! You’re gonna make this more complicated if you start off like that!"

Stabbing in with her usual force, Reicia’s sharp retort was reined in by Shika. She seemed to have opened up to the doctor quite a bit, probably because she knew him personally, but from an outsider’s perspective, the whole thing was nerve-wracking.

Despite the awkward air, the frog-faced doctor seemed to catch on to the gravity of the situation from the exchange. He took a sip from a canned coffee and, without sparing another glance at his half-eaten convenience store lunch, turned toward the two girls.

"So, what’s this about? Doesn’t seem to be one of your usual visits, huh?"

"I'm looking for a way to bring back a disappearing personality."

Reicia answered the question directly and succinctly. For most people, the abrupt shift in topic would have been too jarring to follow. Yet the frog-faced doctor didn’t show the slightest hint of surprise. In fact, he calmly muttered, “I see. So it’s come to that.”

"If it’s you, then you must know how to bring Shiren back! Please, lend us your help!"

Her plea was as serious as could be. And yet, somewhere in her heart, Reicia also felt a hint of relief.

Heaven Canceller, the one who turns back even death, is a man who would use any means necessary to save a patient.

Up to this late point in life, his only failure was the death of Kamijou Touma. So if Shiren had already completely vanished, things might be difficult. But right now, when they haven’t entirely disappeared, he might not be able to fully restore them, but he could provide a vital piece to strengthen their strategy.

No—he must.

They couldn’t count on the Developer Officer. Mikoto was gone. If this doctor turned them away too, they would have no viable options left from the science side.

Even the magic side wasn’t all-powerful. Index, the one who held 103,000 grimoires, couldn’t restore Kamijou's lost memories, nor even her own erased ones. That likely meant Index’s vast knowledge was biased—weak in areas like brain function and the soul.

That was why they needed the science side’s approach.

They couldn’t afford to stumble here.

"I’ll give you the conclusion right away."

—Or so she thought.

"There’s no such thing as a method to 'bring back' a split personality."

The statement came clearly, even harshly.

Heaven Canceller delivered it with a merciless tone.

"Well, I can’t really blame you non-specialists for not knowing, but a split personality is fundamentally a 'bug'—a miswiring or self-activating loop in the brain’s network."

The frog-faced doctor continued while moistening his throat with his canned coffee.

"A high-level empathic telepath might be able to recreate a similar state by mimicking the neural misfire, but even then, it wouldn't include the memories. Reconstructing a personality with the same thoughts and memories is about as difficult as recreating a lost life."

It was a brutal declaration.

They had nowhere else to turn. And now, even their final hope had responded with this.

Reicia stood stunned, only able to listen in silence as the doctor continued, his voice stripped of its usual playfulness and filled with stern gravity.

"As a doctor, I’ll say this: you’re no longer a patient. From a medical perspective, split personality is a ‘disorder.’ If you’re recovering, then it’s not my place to intervene. However—"

"I’ve heard enough!!!"

Reicia cut him off with a scream, her voice cracking from sheer emotion.

It must’ve been an outburst the doctor hadn’t expected; his eyes widened just a little.

With tears at the corners of her eyes, the girl stared up at the adult in front of her, her anger no different from a child’s tantrum, and spat out her words.

"It might be just a ‘disorder’ to you, but to me, they’re an irreplaceable benefactor… and a friend. …Goodbye!"

Turning on her heel, the girl walked away, scattering tears in her wake.

"Reicia-san…"

"Ennai-san, please wait!"

…There was no one left to turn to.

Chapter 3: I Won’t Let You Get Away With a Cheap Victory
(N)ever_Give_Up.

Episode 31: All Plans Exhausted
And_More.

Looking back on it calmly, she should have held her ground back there.

He was a leading authority on the science side. Even if she couldn’t get a direct solution, she should have at least tried to extract something. The most important thing was Shiren’s recovery. For that, she should’ve set aside her feelings and done whatever it took.

But Reicia couldn’t hold it in. Even if he didn’t know, to call Shiren’s personality a “disorder” was unforgivable.

Maybe it was because of despair, maybe because she had already lost her composure... But regret now wouldn’t change anything.

Letting emotions take over, forgetting her priorities, and throwing away the final stronghold with her own hands—what a foolish choice.

“…In the end, I haven’t changed at all.”

As the members of her faction, who had rushed after her, stood unsure of what to say, Reicia gave a bitter smile and muttered.

They didn’t know what to say—and she couldn’t blame them. Even Reicia didn’t know what words could fix this.

"…Sorry, this isn’t how it was supposed to go..."

…But she couldn’t wallow in despair.

Just because they had lost their last stronghold didn’t mean all hope was gone. Somewhere, somehow, there must still be a way. First, they needed to share what they knew and figure out their next move together.

If it were Shiren, that’s what they would do.

With that in mind, Reicia lowered her gaze to the phone in her hand. A message had just arrived.

It was from Kamijou.

No—actually, it came from Kanzaki, who had received Kamijou’s phone through Index.

‘I’d like to speak with you. It seems there are some discrepancies in the information we each have about what lies ahead. Please come alone, outside the hospital.’

Now that every attempt from the Science Side had ended in failure, this offer came as a great relief to Reicia. She immediately replied with her consent, then turned to inform the members of her faction who were present.

"I'm going to speak with that ponytailed woman from earlier. Please wait here for a while. She's rather shy around new people."

"U-Understood!"

The one who responded was a girl named Kiryuu, also a second-year student, which made Reicia raise an eyebrow in confusion.

"...Where are Shika and Ennai?"

"Um… th-they sort of… vanished without us noticing…"

"That’s worrying. Could you all look for them?"

"R-R-Right away!"

With Kiryuu’s acknowledgment, Reicia left the hospital.

However, unlike the despair that had gripped her moments ago, her expression now was filled with concern for the two who had gone missing.

"Ah! Reicia! I’ve been waiting! You totally ditched me, you know. That’s so mean!"

"But you wouldn’t have been able to show any of your magical knowledge in front of them anyway."

"Ughh… Reicia, you're too harsh..."

Still, even this bit of banter upon reuniting helped ease the tension in Reicia’s frayed heart. For all her quirks, the girl had a way of softening people’s guard.

"So then, Reicia-san. I've heard some of the situation from Index… It's true, isn’t it? That your second personality—Shiren—is starting to disappear, and you’re trying to save them?"

"Yes. …That’s absolutely correct."

"Good. To be honest, I’d been considering an emergency option—using a charm to extract Shiren’s soul and preparing a magical vessel later… but it would’ve been far too risky."

"...Risky, you say?"

"Yes."

Kanzaki nodded lightly.

"A soul, to put it simply, is like quantum encryption. It exists as a mass of information, but if you try to observe or interfere with it carelessly, it turns into something else entirely. Western ghosts, or Japanese spirits-turned-yokai—like the Umibouzu, for instance—fall into that category."

"Sorry, I got sidetracked," Kanzaki said, and continued:

"Even with the techniques of the Magic Side, directly handling a soul is incredibly difficult."

Research has apparently begun into shaping the soul by analyzing the stains called spiritual disturbances that cling to it—but the methods aren’t anywhere near reliable, Kanzaki explained.

"What we could do is based on the Christian model. For instance, using a Western-style demonic method to seal Shiren’s soul into parchment, and then find some way to provide a body afterward… It’s an extremely high-difficulty process."

"...Even I can tell that sounds complicated."

"It is. After all, demons are essentially gods who were twisted by Christian doctrine. In other words, you’d be trying to replicate a ‘divine act,’ even if distorted. It’s like attempting heart surgery without using an artificial heart—that’s how impossible it is."

In short, it was a near-impossible feat.

With the wisdom of the 103,000 grimoires, it could be called “near-impossible” instead of “flat-out impossible,” but for anyone else, it might as well be hopeless. Truly, it was risky.

"You’ve started to speak with a very scientific tone, haven’t you?"

"Naturally. I felt the need to understand your world as well."

That was Kanzaki’s honest sentiment—after all, it was through knowledge from the Science Side that she had found a lead to save Index.

"Though there’s still a lot I don’t get. Like, this time I took a plane, but I still don’t understand how that iron chunk can fly so fast…"

"...Ah, that’s the wrong way to think about it. It’s because it’s flying fast that it can stay airborne. If it were slow, the flight would be unstable instead. Think of it like a high-speed stabilization threshold."

As she spoke, Reicia recalled Shiren’s memories. If she remembered right, there was someone named Acqua who was a dual saint, possessing traits of two different Saints. He utilized angelic power—Telesma—by maintaining a high-speed stabilization threshold, which allowed him to wield immense strength. If the logic held, certain powers actually became more stable when operating under massive output. Perhaps, then, all fields—even if the term “industry” felt a bit crude—had similar underlying rules.

(...I’m letting my thoughts wander again. I must really want to escape reality…)

Realizing this, Reicia gave a wry smile at her own train of thought. To let herself be distracted when time was of the essence—it was nothing more than running away.

Noticing the shift in her mood, Kanzaki suddenly looked into Reicia’s eyes, as if peering into the depths.

"...You seem rather deflated. I recall you being far more spirited a short while ago."

"...Actually, I got rejected by one of the Science Side’s top experts."

Reicia tried to play it off with a shrug and a joking tone, but her voice lacked any strength.

"...Have you given up?"

"Not a chance!!"

Reicia opened her eyes wide in protest, but the strength soon drained from her voice.

"There's no way I can just... give up… But even though the magical side is struggling, if science can’t offer any meaningful approach either, then…"

"Hmm."

Kanzaki nodded thoughtfully at Reicia’s downcast words. Then she said,

"…I've been wondering. Is scientific knowledge truly all that you have?"

"...Huh?"

"I mean, isn't it? What makes you all special isn't just your scientific knowledge, is it? If anything, isn’t your real strength the unique abilities you carry within you? If that’s the case, shouldn’t you be making use of that?"

"That’s…"

Reicia had no rebuttal.

"That day—both you and Shiren did just that. You reached beyond the established possibilities. You pursued entirely new ones. A fresh frontier of thought. …If you truly wish to save her, then shouldn’t you be reaching for that again?"

Shiren’s methods—put bluntly—were little more than academic cribbing. Their reasoning stemmed from prior knowledge gained through fiction. So Kanzaki's praise might not align with the reality of how Shiren thought. Even so... Reicia couldn’t deny that it was true in its own way.

After all, trying to save Shiren’s fading soul was an impossible task to begin with. Expecting to find a solution through standard, conventional methods would be the more unnatural assumption.

Which meant giving up just because science had run its course would be far too premature.

"We’ll approach this from the magic side. We have Index, after all—and we’re also working on developing spiritual tools like the ones that neutralized the 'Angel’s Tears'. We have several options in play. …If you don’t want us to be the ones who save her, then you’d best get serious. If you drag your feet—well, we might just save her first."

In a rare show of levity, Kanzaki said that with a teasing lilt as she turned away from Reicia.

Index gave a cheerful wave with a sunny smile that chipped away at the tension, and though Reicia was watching them leave, the shadows on her expression had vanished.

"…It’s an awfully emotional response, but… letting someone else save them? That’s… no, that’s definitely not something I’m okay with."

Invigorated, Reicia returned to the rest of the GMDW group.

Everyone had been worried about her after her slump, but when they saw the fierce smile she wore upon her return, they relaxed visibly. The tension had left her shoulders.

"…Where are Shika and Ennai?"

“Th-they haven’t come back yet. We’re still looking, but…”

"…Alright. If they’re not back soon, we’ll all search together. More importantly—about ability development…"

Just as she was getting into it, Reicia’s phone rang.

The caller was Mikoto.

"…!!"

Without hesitation, Reicia tapped the call button.

Mikoto’s departure had been hard to accept. So a call from her—this might mean something had changed. Holding on to that hope, Reicia answered with a silent prayer.

“…Reicia?”

The voice was that of a boy—Kamijou, who had left with Mikoto.

He sounded breathless, barely able to contain his excitement, and the next thing out of his mouth was:

“…We just found something incredible.”