Chapter 43: To the Other Side

『I mean, if I can’t return unless I’m revived, then choosing any option other than revival would just end up dragging Reicia-chan down with me… Why didn’t I realize something that obvious…!? Even if I was panicking, still—what the hell, me…』

『Shiren? Didn’t I tell you not to worry about every little thing, darling?』

——And so.

Even though the two of them had just made a firm decision to face the future together, Shiren was already back to their usual self, second-guessing everything.

『…Still, this is kind of how I’ve always been. I overthink stuff. I probably will again. I mean, the past two months haven’t exactly been smooth sailing either. I’ve been wrestling with things pretty hard.』

『Then I shall be there to laugh it all off for you each time. Sounds like a good balance, no?』

『…Yeah, maybe it does.』

The two of them were already settling into their roles—no gloom, no despair.

There was no real logic behind it. Just the sense that, with someone so dependable beside them, no matter how harsh things got—even in the final moment—they could hold onto hope.

…Well, honestly, both Shiren and the newly awakened Reicia shared a certain trait: an absurd level of stubbornness. Without that, there’s no way they’d have managed to grow their abilities on the spot and overturn the power of the top-ranked contender.

『By the way, I heard the rough outline of the plan… but are you sure there’s really nothing left for us to do? You said something about needing control once it hits the high-speed stability zone…』

『That’s all externally controlled now. I mean, we’ll still need to restrain the power from going haywire, but with the two of us together, we’ll be fine.』

『………That sounds less like confidence and more like overconfidence.』

Just as Shiren tensed up, having wisely learned not to take Reicia’s confident lines at face value—

Thump.

The space itself pulsed.

And then, in that pitch-black world symbolic of death itself, a massive crack tore through the void.

Chapter 3: No More Running Away – (N)ever_Give_Up.
Episode 35: To the Other Side – Plus_Ultra.

“…What the hell is this…!?”

The moment ‘it’ appeared, chaos erupted.

Surrounded by a ring of allies, Reicia sat outfitted in strange apparatus. And so, no one could blame Mikoto for whispering in disbelief.

Because right behind Reicia—still seated deep in the chair—that same crack they’d once seen now unfurled behind them… like angelic wings.

It repelled the light of machines and radiated a divine brilliance.

White. And black.

The completed form of Reicia’s power, touched by the properties of that ‘crack’—which could even cleave light itself—shimmered in two tones. The energy slowly fanned out around them like butterfly wings mid-emergence, all while releasing a sharp, grinding sound that filled the air with an unsettling, destructive pressure.

It wasn’t as massive as the one they’d seen before, so for now, the surrounding equipment remained intact. But if the ‘crack’ kept spreading, that might not stay true for long.

No—before that even.

If the earlier phenomenon repeated itself here, and without any control—right in the middle of the city—the scale of the disaster would be immeasurable. The entire Academy City might end up torn apart by those cracks.

“Is this… a power surge!?”

“No… I don’t think so. If it were, Reicia’s body would be showing signs of strain, right? But this… this is…”

Even Heaven Canceller was at a loss. That’s how utterly alien the situation was—

—at least, from the perspective of science.

“…Is this… an angel…?”

“…Not quite, but I get what you mean. The feel of it… It reminds me of that power we fought back then—Gabriel, the angel-like being. It’s not the same, but… something similar is definitely at play. Just what is going on…?”

“…This… this is bad! Really bad!”

Index grabbed Kamijou’s sleeve, shouting in distress.

“Index, what is this!? And wait—why do you even know anything about this!? This is supposed to be science-side stuff!”

“The components are totally different, but the feeling is the same! Reicia and the others… they might be crossing the line of what it means to be human!”

“Huh!? What’s that supposed to mean!?”

Kamijou couldn’t help but snap back at Index’s cryptic words.

Flustered, Index continued.

“Maybe… maybe the professor and Reicia’s plans did all work out. But that’s exactly the problem—it went too well! The resonance between their souls, the awakening of a new personality… it’s made the total output of their power stabilize far beyond what any human should be capable of!”

“And what the hell does that mean!?”

“In old Christian myths, there are stories of humans who, deemed worthy by God, were taken up into heaven as angels. And in polytheistic traditions, there are tons of examples of people becoming gods themselves. That kind of thinking even forms the foundation of Gnosticism.”

Index looked down as she spoke.

“The path they’re on—it’s like a ritual. One where, through meditation, the soul ascends in rank and connects to another plane of existence. It’s like… they’re offering themselves up. If this keeps going… Reicia and Shiren might become something else entirely. They might become beings from the ‘other side.’”

Her voice was grim, but to Kamijou, all of this still felt unreal. Beings from another dimension? Something from the ‘other side’? He couldn’t wrap his head around it. Maybe like that Misha from the Angel Fall incident? he thought—but no real conclusion came to him.

“So what are you saying!?”

“That if this keeps going, Reicia and Shiren will stop being our Reicia and Shiren!!”

“…Yeah, no. That’s not something I’m okay with.”

Kamijou muttered, finally understanding—and raised his right hand.

He glanced around, wondering if canceling the ability mid-process might mess things up somehow. But everyone around seemed to understand the meaning of his gesture. No one tried to stop him.

“Touma. Don’t touch Reicia directly. But the excess power flowing out from them—that you might be able to negate.”

“…Alright. Now that’s something I can work with.”

With that, Kamijou clenched his fist.

“…There’s no way I’m letting their dream—their fantasy—end up hurting the world like this!”

To protect the precious ideals of a beloved junior—

“…Huh?”

Just as Kamijou was about to throw his punch—

“…The crack… vanished?”

The rift of black and white that had been spreading only moments earlier disappeared—just like that, before Kamijou could even touch it.

Still caught in the awkward pose of someone mid-swing, Kamijou froze in confusion. Then, slowly lowering his hand, he realized something.

The catastrophe… had concluded.

No, someone had brought it to an end.

And it wasn’t him.

Most likely—it was this golden-haired girl, still playing the role of sleeping beauty, who had done it.

The moment that realization hit him, Kamijou couldn’t help but laugh.

“…Ah, right. Of course. After all—this is your story, not mine.”

As if offering praise, Kamijou used his left hand, not the right, to gently pat the head of the true hero of the hour.

…And got scolded hard by everyone around him for touching someone else without permission.

A little earlier, on the other side of the newly opened crack, Shiren and Reicia had been freaking out together at the strange sight before them.

『W-What do we do?』

They didn’t know how it worked, but through the crack that had appeared in front of them, they could see the real world—Reicia’s surroundings in particular. Completely divorced from logic, the breach seemed to have projected itself into the space near Reicia’s actual body, where the rest of the team were currently losing their minds.

Seeing that, Shiren, flailing nervously, blurted:

『At this rate, the whole world’s gonna…』

『Hmph, this is hardly what I would call a crisis—ahh ahhh ahhhh oh no oh no oh nooooooooooo!』

『You're totally panicking!!』

…Yeah, Reicia was freaking out too.

Well, it made sense. Even for Reicia, this was unexpected. It was their own body, after all—and they could tell that this wasn’t just a simple power overload or runaway reaction.

『Hmm… I’m starting to think maybe we accidentally performed some kind of ritual or something…?』

『What do you mean by that, Shiren!?』

『Y’know, like on the science side—how sometimes following certain steps causes your abilities to evolve? Like Accelerator’s Level 6 Shift project? Maybe we triggered something like that without realizing it…』

『That kind of absurd development leaves no room for prevention!!』

『Yeah… kind of a problem, huh…』

Both of them could feel it—this was just way too much power.

Like piloting a jet that’s pushing its engines so hard, it’s about to escape Earth’s gravity and shoot into orbit.

『What do we do, what do we do… Should we just go ahead and evolve into something new…?』

『Ehh, if I had to choose, I’d rather stay human, honestly.』

…Their back-and-forth lacked any real tension, but in the end, that was the point.

Reicia and Shiren caught each other’s eye, and then—unable to hold it in—they both burst out laughing.

They laughed, together.

『…Well, honestly, I don’t think either of us could’ve handled this alone. But the two of us together? I think we can pull it off.』

『Yes! That’s exactly what I was trying to say, you know!』

『…You’re so shameless.』

Shiren muttered under their breath, then took Reicia’s hand.

In truth, they already had a rough idea of what to do.

The protective charms created by Stiyl and the others—they helped a lot. Thanks to those, from a human standards perspective, Reicia and Shiren had a decent amount of capacity to contain power.

All they needed to do now was adjust the overall output to match that limit. That, at least, still seemed within reach.

Of course, that was easier said than done.

It wasn’t like before, where they could just unleash their power at full force. They’d have to release it while suppressing it—an incredibly delicate balancing act.

『…Well, for our little shared illusion, that kind of delicate balance sounds about right.』

And yet, Shiren believed it would be okay.

Because they weren’t alone.

The things they couldn’t do solo—together, they could manage. And with their companions’ support, they’d make it through.

『Excuse me, but just because this is all in your head doesn’t mean you can butcher the kanji like that. Honestly, that spelling is unforgivable.』

『…Please. Just let me have this one moment. Let me decide how we end this, at least.』

『End? What are you talking about!?』

As Shiren sighed, Reicia met them with a defiant smile, almost like she was teasing.

A certain noble girl had once faced failure.

That same girl, saved by a certain young person, had stood back up again.

That story… was about to come to an end.

But the future they were stepping into wasn’t ending here.

In fact—

『Isn’t the real story just beginning? Now is when our tale finally starts, you see!』