Opening his eyes to the well, as day broke, was Ikari, who, exhausted, had camped inside the gymnasium.
And while it may have looked like a bad decision, his boundary of omnipotence was still active.
As long as anything passed through it, it would be detected and alert him.
That was how Ikari had designed it.
However,
"Nngh."
Beside him, resting her head against his right shoulder, was Empty, who, if he recalled correctly, had not been with him until prior events.
'How…?'
Perhaps it was because she is "empty" in the sense that she had just formed; otherwise, it wouldn't explain why she breached his Reiryokuken.
Flexing his left hand, he stretched his hands toward the girl.
However, in the next moment, his hands froze, and he sighed, his hands falling on her head with a soft tap.
'....Haah. I'm still too soft.'
He thought, shaking his head and looking towards the gymnasium ceiling. They sat on the floor, their backs against the building's walls.
Back when he encountered Ayame and Isami, he was already nearing his limits. Honestly, he hoped to end things then and there.
Ikari had judged that the rest won't resist as much as Isami and Ayame, however, he'd been wrong.
It wasn't like he had a recovery time.
The more he stalled or let the war drag out, the more dangerous it became for him. Conversely, pushing himself like this was no doubt dangerous but also faster.
'...I can't make it to Keter alone with my situation; I'll shatter completely before that. Hence, I need an alternate method.'
'Hopefully, that 100 Sephirah Crystals are able to help me alleviate these drawbacks.'
Even if it were a little, then it would be better.
After all, the only complete Demon King he has is
The reason for the insane drawback was that he possessed neither a Sephirah nor a Qliphoth Crystal.
And even then, throughout the entire time, he personally hadn't called upon the Demon King he possessed.
He'd only been using part of its powers, not its true powers in the first place.
But in his current state, doing such a thing as unleashing his Demon King would be fatal for him.
Thinking that, he sighed again, before the girl resting against his shoulder stirred awake, rubbing her eyes sleepily.
"Good morning, Ikari-san."
She said that defenselessly, prompting Ikari to stare at her dumbfounded.
Even as he did, Empty was still adjusting to waking up as she stretched her hands before yawning.
'....'
"...You know, there's basically no difference between morning and night here, you know...?"
Ikari finally responded to that. However, his response was—"Hm." while still rubbing her groggy eyes.
Looking at her once more, he finally opened his mouth to speak.
"By the way, what were you doing after we parted back then?"
"Taking detours… meeting other spirits…"
She muttered, still looking half asleep. If he told her to go back to sleep, her expression and actions suggest she would do so in half a beat.
However, for some odd reason, her attitude reminds him of someone in his memories whose existence was blurred.
Thinking of that, he let out a self-deprecating sigh, landing his right palm on her head.
Shockingly, that action woke Empty completely, making her exclaim, "Fueh!? I-Ikari-san?" as he did that.
But a second later, she melted into the headpat.
'…She's like a cat, too…'
"Say, Empty. Are you hungry?"
For some reason, the girl, Empty, couldn't help but feel that he was looking at her as if she were some sort of animal.
Buuut~ She didn't hate it if it meant being pampered by him.
"Yesshh~"
No! No! No! What is she doing?!!!! Empty get a grip!
Said girl thought as she was about to protest that smug gaze.
However, the next moment, something delicious wafted through the air—something that smelled straight from an oven: a French bread.
"Eeh…? You can also do something like this?"
"Not me. Every Quasi-Spirit can do this. It's nothing more than a party trick. As for why *I* can do it, I don't know. Probably because I'm all of the above: thanks be to Ain (God), me (Man), and some miraculous crystals (Sephirah Crystals)."
Ikari said that last part sarcastically.
Reiryokuken.
A boundary every Quasi-Spirit is capable of creating.
Inside this boundary, they are essentially omnipotent, capable of bending even reality to their whims within it.
"But if you take this bread outside my boundary of omnipotence covering both of us, then poof! As though it doesn't exist."
Empty, hearing that, went wide-eyed in shock as she stretched out her hands.
"...Un—come out Castella, come out Castella, come out Castella! Sweet, fluffy, and with a syrup filling, come out Castella!"
Hearing such a strange chant, Ikari let out a "haah" sound, muttering something along the lines of, "I should have expected that."
But then, he didn't seem to mind. On his lips was a smile.
Even though it was far from an honest one, simply a result of watching her in amusement, a smile was still a smile.
Empty caught on to that and soon began to munch in peace.
Additionally, Ikari conjured up some tea, passing it to her who sat beside him, watching her still with that same amused smile on his face.
"Hm… It is strange… we don't get hungry, but eating bread is still delicious. It's weird."
"Well, you're not particularly eating the bread itself, but the idea of bread."
To put it simply, that was the best explanation Ikari could give.
Of course, Empty was also convinced that she wouldn't think about it, since it was too confusing for her.
However, Ikari continued.
"...If a quasi-spirit has no dreams, it will not survive. This is not a metaphor, but a fact."
It was a cruel fact.
"Many girls have strayed into this neighboring world. Most of them disappeared because they had no dreams. Well, at that point, it cannot be helped."
"Then… What about Ikari-san…? Does Ikari-san really need to leave the Neighboring world…?"
Empty suddenly asked a strange question in a low tone. Ikari understood what she said. However…
"I don't know. But it is certain that the relative importance and influence of the body are weaker in this world compared to the other world."
"You won't starve even if you don't eat. You won't die even if you don't sleep. You won't get old. It's no joke to describe it as perpetual youth."
Ahh… There he goes changing the topic once again…
Regardless, she let him continue as she listened.
Perpetual Youth.
It could be said to be a blessing, yet at the same time, a curse for them.
"If you do nothing for a long time, your mind will be dulled. So here, the mind is more concerned with life and death than the body. And the most important thing is a dream…"
I want to do something. I want to do this. I want to have this. I want to that. Pure desire, an innocent hope.
Alternatively, a pitch-black desire is fine as well.
By this, the heart is eager to move forward, producing a strong will to live.
For example, Ayame and Isami's drive to kill each other. Ikari's motive to leaving the Neighbouring World. Yui's desire to be useful to "Princess".
All those are strong desires that no doubt propel them forward.
Conversely speaking, the opposite is also true.
"It is really easy to live here, but the neighboring world does not tolerate such laziness."
"Laziness—"
No dreams, no strong desire to live on, and a feeling of satisfaction with only continuing to exist.
"The flesh will collapse, and the mind will break down—becoming a presence isolated from others before eventually disappearing."
However, Empty, oddly, wasn't shaken by his words.
She, too, had a goal.
Yes. Her goal was related to him and to her earlier statement. However, for now, it is okay…
Just being by his side was okay.
Ikari noticed her intense gaze, making him sweatdrop and blink continuously as Empty went back to stuffing her mouth with bread and tea.
"The end of the crazy century!"
"The what the fuck now?"
Despite lacking her memories, only unusual knowledge continually poured out of Empty like a muddy stream.
And to that, Ikari only gave her a stranger look.
However, it was after that Ikari frowned.
"So? What can we do for you?"
Still seated on the gymnasium floor, resting his head against the wall behind him, Ikari raised his head, looking to the front.
Empty, who had just finished, tilted her head before staring at the place his gaze left.
"Hello, hello."
A voice resounded before they slowly materialized out of thin air. Yes, they.
One, on the left, was red, while the other was on the right. Both wore Gothic Lolita costumes with a primarily blue axis.
Looking at their hands, they were holding a violin and flute, which they ought to have no problem performing.
"Yes, hello", said Empty as she replied back politely.
"What is it?"
On the contrary, Ikari replied in a dissatisfied mood, soured by them. However, the doll continued to speak without changing its expression.
"In yesterday's battle, Nogi Aiai was killed by Tokisaki Ikari, Ibusuki Panie by Sheri Musika, and Sagakure Yui by Tsuan."
As expected. He is furious. Empty thought, looking at Ikari's expression.
"A medal for bravery."
"Please."
"...No need."
The dolls produced a medal, tossing it toward Ikari; however, it burned in midair before reaching him.
"Is that so?"
"That's regrettable."
"In that case, the true powers of an Inverse—a Demon King. Let us experience them well today."
"It would be our honor."
A monotone, high-pitched voice—Empty couldn't help but feel something barely audible burst forth.
"...Un, the preliminary skirmishes have already finished."
"You will certainly be targeted today."
"Please be prepared."
As though his patience had already been stretched thin by those darn puppets, Ikari did what any sane person would do: stand up from the ground and toast them to ashes.
And Ikari did!
The dolls had suddenly jumped back, but it was too late.
Describing the cause of death for the two, it should be noted that they approached too close to a calamity.
At the very least, if they were sound-only creatures, they should have been able to escape death. The two dolls turned to ashes in less than a second.
"Ugh...they just had to sour my mood," Ikari said, still irritated as he cracked his neck as though warming up.
"Say, did that make you angry?"
"This isn't an issue of whether this makes me angry or not. Come on. Let's go."