Chapter 4 (1/2)

The Unexplored Sign

After thoroughly researching summoning ceremonies, this world accidentally discovered what lurks beyond the G.o.ds. s.h.i.+royama Kyousuke cannot ignore the cursed words of “help me” and he continues to throw himself into deadly battles with summoners.

Part 1

13990th Strategic Intelligence a.n.a.lysis Report.

Concerning the three biological weapons created by Loki.

No answer found. Incomplete a.n.a.lysis included.

Written by Light G.o.d Baldr.

(Addition)

Cla.s.sification: “Frozen” Level 4 – Authority to refuse access requests included. Strictly managed.

What exactly is Hel?

She is one of Loki and Angrboða’s three children. Fenrir is prophesied to eat Odin and Jörmungandr is prophesied to grow too large and crush the land, but no one knows what Hel will do.

And because we do not know, she is viewed as dangerous.

Odin sealed her in the depths of Niflheim and that is where she gained her position as queen of the underworld.

But looking at this story rationally reveals several strange points.

First of all, Norse mythology is a society of combat ruled by a G.o.d of war.

Anyone one dislikes, anyone dangerous, and anyone in the way of one’s growth or path will be killed. There is no reason to forgive an enemy. That is the culture and religion of our world. The most famous form of trial is by combat. The one in the right will gain the favor of the war G.o.d and will surely win. In other words, the victor can name himself just. Strength says everything in this society because of the religion and the G.o.d at the foundation of it all.

In that case, why would he need to let Hel live?

If Odin had feared her, he would not have simply imprisoned her in the underworld. Wouldn’t the normal response have been to kill her as soon as she was born?

There is no answer to this question.

But I do have a guess.

Odin does not have a sympathetic enough heart to have felt sorry for his young enemy and gone easy on her, so perhaps he did not actually let her live.

In other words, it was not that he did not kill her; he could not kill her.

That line of thinking supports an extremely interesting theory.

Now, what exactly is Hel?

She is the queen who rules over Niflheim, she is the grim reaper that manages the souls of the dead, and she holds one of the triggers to Ragnarök because she is the one that orders Níðhöggr to bite at Yggdrasil’s roots so the tree will wither and the nine worlds will be destroyed.

And besides these frightening facts, she also possesses another noteworthy characteristic:

Hel has been given the authority to rule all nine worlds.

To put it simply, that is the same authority as Odin and no one knows why this is. One theory says Odin gave her the authority because he felt sorry for her after unfairly casting her into the underworld, but as previously stated, it is highly suspect whether that G.o.d of war has a sympathetic enough heart for that.

Now, let me suggest a bold theory.

A grim reaper that manages the souls of the dead may sound frightening, but Odin actually possesses the exact same power. He gathers the human souls that come to Asgard and uses them to form the Einherjar army.

How is that any different from Hel who rules the underworld and creates an army from the souls of the dead?

And as previously stated, she has the authority to rule all nine worlds “for some reason”.

So…

Doesn’t this mean Hel is identical to Odin? Doesn’t this mean she is a second head G.o.d?

If so, she has the power and role needed to be just as much of a threat to Odin as Fenrir and Jörmungandr. And yet it does not matter if Hel herself is evil or not. In fact, the better a person she is, the less of a leg to stand on Odin has.

Only one head G.o.d is needed.

And people will want to wors.h.i.+p the most just, kind, and powerful G.o.d they can.

If there were two candidates for head G.o.d, a festive mood would fill the nine worlds and a general election would begin. If they have the exact same power, then the more popular of the two would end up on the throne.

Now, it is time for a fundamental question.

Is Odin all that desirable of a G.o.d?

He is a cunning G.o.d who fears the prophecies, he frantically prepares for Ragnarök, and anyone who will not help him win that fight is branded a sinner and cast down into Niflheim.

Meanwhile, Hel was sealed in the underworld due to the fears and anxieties of that other G.o.d. She retains the purity of the driven snow and can still develop into a good or evil person.

The current head G.o.d has only held the position because he is the only one who can do the job.

But if someone else could wield the same power under the same conditions, which on would the people accept as head G.o.d?

This is why Odin did not kill Hel. She has the exact same power as him, so it would come to a draw if they fought. He could not afford to make such a foolish mistake. And if he truly tried to kill her, Hel’s survival instincts could awaken the power within her. That would signal the beginning of the end for Odin. He could not let it get out that there were two head G.o.ds with the exact same power.

And so he sealed Hel in Niflheim.

That way, her “role” would be overwritten with the silly “queen of the underworld” t.i.tle and she would forget about her power as the head G.o.d.

But how long will that last?

Odin is aware of the problem, but he cannot reflect on his own actions and he can only feel safe and secure by oppressing others. He is undoubtedly walking onwards despite having already swallowed the seeds of eternal destruction.

(Addition)

This doc.u.ment is far removed from authentic Norse mythology and would negatively influence many cultural traditions, so Odin has personally frozen it. To unfreeze or view it, Level 4 or higher permissions are required. Also, please be aware that the names of anyone who does view it or even requests to view it will be automatically sent to Odin.

Part 2

There was no longer any reason to hesitate.

Kamijou and the others ran toward the ma.s.sive pitch-black vortex and plunged inside.

They did not know what kind of effects it had, but if it was based in Norse mythology and thus constructed from a supernatural power…

“I can negate it.”

Kamijou swung his right arm as he spoke.

He could not exactly negate the tree itself. It would immediately regenerate no matter how much of it he destroyed. Still, he could briefly scatter the portion around their group.

“We can do this! Hel’s power isn’t altogether hopeless!!”

“Hah. And we’ve got the Princess on our side. We ran into one of Hel’s soldiers before, but that robot was nothing against the Baby Magnum’s cannons. There’s no stopping us now!!”

Yes, they had the firepower of the Baby Magnum on their side.

For the moment, only the Black Dragon Níðhöggr had been able to endure its attacks. Most of Hel’s forces could be destroyed with a first generation Object and the confusion of suddenly being thrown into this Norse world had contributed to her trouble in the fight against Níðhöggr. They would have the advantage now that they were on top of things.

That sense of safety may have helped them charge into the vortex without hesitating.

Incidentally…

“Wait… What is that?”

Mikoto frowned as she ran.

She was a Level 5 esper who controlled electricity. She could use it as a simple attack, but she could also use magnetism and electromagnetic waves to scan her surroundings.

That was why she was the first to notice.

A ma.s.sive form was approaching them from beyond the black screen.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” groaned Quenser as he came to a stop.

The others stopped as well. It felt more like a giant mountain than an enemy. Nothing could be better described as “blocking the way”.

It was over fifty meters tall.

Its spherical main body could endure a direct hit from a nuclear weapon and its surface was completely covered with over one hundred cannons. Some were low-stability plasma cannons, some were laser beam cannons, some were railguns, some were coilguns, and some were rapid-fire beam cannons.

It used a cross-shaped air cus.h.i.+on propulsion device and had chainsaw-like treads for auxiliary propulsion.

A main cannon resembling a metal bridge was attached to either side of the cross-shaped footing.

They were rapid-fire beam Gatling guns made by strapping together five barrels each. At close- or mid-range, that grim reaper of the battlefield could provide enough overwhelming cannon fire to unilaterally wear down the enemy Object.

Kamijou Touma did not know its name.

Neither did Index.

But Quenser did and he squeezed out the words as if he was having trouble breathing.

“Isn’t that an Information Alliance second-generation Object? Isn’t that the Oh Ho Ho’s Rus.h.!.+?”

Hel stood in the center of the pitch-black vortex or black tree.

She had already discarded her t.i.tle as “queen of the underworld” and returned to simply being “Hel”. She was aware Kamijou and the others were approaching and what they were saying.

The blackness raging about her was an illness eating into her yet it had also become a part of her.

It was her fingertips, her eyes, and her ears.

So she had noticed the people trying to save her.

So she had despaired.

(Why?)

They were trying to save her. They saw the swirling blackness as evil and they were trying to strip it from her.

But stripping it from her would mean she could not save the people deemed to be sinners. It would mean saving her alone, forcing the sin back onto the sinners, casting them back down into Niflheim, and starting their eternal torture anew.

(Why can’t you show this same kindness to everyone else?)

Kamijou Touma and the others may not have realized how it worked.

They may not have known rescuing her would mean suffering for so many others. They may not have known just how raw and repulsive the torture techniques hidden behind those words were.

But it no longer mattered.

Hel had decided she would save them…save all of the humans.

She had decided to bear it all herself and become another great G.o.d.

So…

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!”

She cried out in despair.

She called to the blackness that swirled around her and had become a part of her.

The nine worlds of Norse culture were supported by the branches and roots of the world tree, but Loki had twisted those branches in impossible directions and stretched them out to the completely foreign places Kamijou, Quenser, and the others had come from.

What Hel did may have been similar.

However, she did not use Yggdrasil.

Some who saw it may have seen it as a ma.s.sive hurricane. Others may have seen it as a black tree.

In other words, this second great G.o.d had created a brand new system with a brand new tree.

This was why she was said to have the same power as Odin and why that one-eyed G.o.d had sealed her away along with the true fear she brought him.

SUMMON:[email protected]/* */_Object.“Rush”.

Somewhere in the world, a great ma.s.s welled up like mist.

It was a colossal weapon of war that exterminated its foes with great firepower instead of the more peaceful methods of the nuclear age. After the collapse of the United Nations, a few different world powers had risen. One of those was the Information Alliance and this second generation Object was a crystallization of their military technology.

SUMMON:[email protected]/* */_Zas.h.i.+ki_Waras.h.i.+_of_Intellectual_Village.“His.h.i.+gami_Mai”.

The black tree guided a new form in from somewhere.

It was a freelance agent who had set an artificial Youkai known as a s.h.i.+kigami as her hypothetical enemy and thoroughly modified her body until she could kill the Youkai that were unaffected by physical attacks.

SUMMON:[email protected]/* */_Queen_and_Deep_End.“s.h.i.+zuna_of_Electrocution”.

Somewhere else, someone was pulled up like bubbles rising from a swamp.

She was a dangerous criminal who freely ma.s.sacred people like a natural disaster even after being designated a banned killer. She had reached the depths of madness in her obsession with the preservation of corpses and collected the corpses she created with a modified stun gun so as not to spill any blood.

SUMMON:[email protected]/* */_Simple_Survey.“White_Girl”.

A white torrent appeared that threatened to destroy the black tree itself.

It was the manager who gathered together every Absurdity. This overwhelming existence had been connected to Prometheus who gave fire to man and to the Banshee said to predict people’s deaths. A certain inhumane organization even viewed her as the Philosopher’s Stone.

SUMMON:[email protected]/* */_Certain_Magical_Index.“Accelerator”.

And the deciding factor was released.

It was Academy City’s #1 Level 5. His power let him freely transform momentum, heat, electricity, or any other vector. He had even shown signs of taking one step beyond the realm of science and into the realm of magic.

“Gaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!”

Hel had the authority to rule the nine worlds and therefore the entire world. She had created a new black tree, sent its branches and roots out without holding back, summoned great violence from other worlds, and continued to scream. She yelled on and on as if to say this was not enough and that she was not going to let it end here.

The violence she birthed spread devastating destruction instead of the crying of infants.

The monsters did not hesitate to charge toward Kamijou and the others.

Without a doubt, this catastrophe would continue until she was truly saved.

But they had all realized something: this was the true scream of the girl known as Hel.

Part 3

The eldest sister Brynhildr.

The second sister Gerhilde.

The third sister Ortlinde.

The fifth sister Schwertleite.

The sixth sister Helmwige.

The seventh sister Siegrune.

The eighth sister Grimgerde.

The ninth sister Rossweisse.

When Waltraute, the fourth sister, was included, the nine of them formed the Wagner-style Valkyrie sisters.

They would descend to the human world of Midgard, gather the souls of powerful warriors and wise sorcerers, and take them back to the heavenly world of Asgard to join the G.o.ds’ Einherjar army. There, the souls would be welcomed with combat training (usually in the form of fighting to the death), food, and drink while they prepared for the final battle of Ragnarök.

But one would be wrong to a.s.sume they relied on the souls of warriors to fight.

The Valkyries themselves were more than enough to crush the enemies of the G.o.ds.

The relations.h.i.+p may have been similar to that of a huge wars.h.i.+p or aircraft carrier with their escort s.h.i.+ps and aircraft.

Currently, the voice of Heimdallr, manager of the rainbow runway called Bifröst, reached their ears.

“Excitation of takeoff catapults one through seven is complete. You can reach critical speed at any time!”

“Understood. We will leave in order, form up, and exterminate Hel before she can cause more chaos.”

As Brynhildr gave a business-like response, Rossweisse gave an exasperated comment in her overly thick armor.

“Why does Bifröst only have seven colors, anyway? If it had enough for all nine sisters, we could all head out at once without any kind of time lag.”

“Slowing us down is meant to balance our power. If it looks like another force could defeat him, Odin changes the rules. That’s just how the world works.”

Ignoring Brynhildr’s explanation, Gerhilde gave a doubtful comment from elsewhere.

“By the way, I see Waltraute didn’t join us yet again.”

“There’s been something wrong with her ever since she came into contact with that human boy. …And I’m not just saying that because I’m jealous of my younger sister for getting married before me.”

No one was listening to Ortlinde’s muttered comment and another transmission came in from Heimdallr.

“Lady Grimgerde, Lady Ortlinde, Lady Gerhilde, and Lady Schwertleite, I have confirmed your connection with the catapult. I will divide up the energy and redistribute it between all seven to shorten the recharging time for the other three. Is that okay!?”

Rossweisse laughed as she replied.

“Sure, sure. A line’s forming up, so just get us out there!!”

Their bodies were broken down into colorful particles and a tremendous surge of particles shot along the runways with an aurora trailing behind them. It looked less like an aircraft taking off then it did some strange kind of thick beam weapon.

Their extreme acceleration took them to 87% of the speed of light, but this extraordinary method accomplished that on the scale of Newtonian physics instead of Schrödinger quantum theory.

This wartime infrastructure allowed them to instantly send a great military force anywhere in the nine worlds to slay the enemies of the G.o.ds.

However, something strange happened this time.

There was trouble during takeoff.

Waltraute interfered and hit her sisters with an incredible attack as they prepared for takeoff.

She used a Spear of Destroying Lightning, a beam weapon created by compressing ma.s.sive amounts of energy. This projectile weapon could melt any kind of metal and could burn away everything all the way to and beyond the horizon if its energy was released.

This time, it dropped down from above to tear into the rainbow runway.

The Valkyries who had been broken down to particles lost their balance when this sudden interference hit them. They rotated wildly around like defective fireworks and dropped randomly to the surface before they could recover.

Brynhildr instantly roared a name as she and the second wave prepared for takeoff.

“Waltraute!!”

“I am sure you see this as an irrational disaster, but unfortunately, my husband says he is going to save Hel. That means he will have to face the G.o.ds as well as Hel, which I would much prefer not to happen.”

“Are you planning to start a fight here?”

Everyone listened to Brynhildr’s quiet question yet ignored Heimdallr’s scream at the damage to the runway.

However, Brynhildr was the least amused.

Needless to say, she could not use her full power while preparing for takeoff and the nine sisters’ top priority was to quickly stop Hel and the chaos she was spreading, not to fight each other.

Wasting time here would be getting her priorities backwards, but at the same time, she could not think of any way to avoid Waltraute and safely takeoff.

After some thought, she reached a decision.

“Heimdallr, prepare the second group of takeoffs as planned.”

“Are you serious!? I think you’ll be shot down if you force yourself to accelerate!!”

“That is fine. I saw Waltraute’s accuracy just now and she cannot shoot down every last one of us.”

She coldheartedly decided to sacrifice her allies…her sisters.

“It doesn’t matter if only two or three make it through. Getting the Valkyries to Hel is what matters here. We don’t need all nine of us to crush her and we can’t waste our time fighting one of our sisters. This is the quickest way to settle this.”

Meanwhile, Waltraute took a leisurely step onto one of the runways and she lightly swung the Spear of Destroying Lightning she held.

“It was Grimgerde and Ortlinde that I failed to hit. They don’t stand out much, so it doesn’t matter. They won’t be able to do much even if they do get there.”

“Um, Waltraute! We have communications open, so we can hear you from down here!”

The cry of Grimgerde’s soul exploded out, but Waltraute and Brynhildr ignored her complaint and clashed head-on.

Part 4

“Ohhhhhhhhhhhh!?”

Misaka Mikoto gave an out-of-character shout.

As one of the seven Level 5s, she was known as the Railgun, Academy City’s #3.

However, even her life was in danger when attacked by one of the colossal weapons that had ended the nuclear age.

She was up against the Rush, an Information Alliance Second-Generation Object.

Its main cannons were rapid-fire beam Gatling guns created by strapping together five barrels each. A single shot contained enough firepower to melt a wars.h.i.+p into an orange puddle and it was accurately firing them at a rate of several thousand every minute.

Beam weapons were a military technology using electron beams.

That was good news for Mikoto who could control electricity. The barrage would normally have been unavoidable, but they bent “unnaturally” just before hitting and flew off in a different direction.

However, this was far from a perfect defense.

“Oh, c.r.a.p!! This thing’s more powerful than that #4! I’m going to be pushed back at this rate!!”

A concerning rattling started coming from the clasps to her bikini armor.

It was the Princess in the Baby Magnum that responded to the threat.

Objects could survive nuclear weapons, but another Object’s firepower could send them to their grave.

The base of the main cannon arms rotated to select low-stability plasma cannons. The seven arms moved and the weapon that could end a war with a single attack released all of its stored energy such that it filled even the Rush’s possible avenues of escape.

The tremendous bluish-white beams tore apart the black screen, but just before hitting the Rush, their trajectories split and another form came into view.

Kamijou’s eyes opened wide when he saw it.

“This isn’t good! You need to get out of the way!” he shouted.

His words were not going to arrive in time.

The plasma had reached tens of thousands of degrees, but Accelerator easily manipulated their vectors just before they hit him. They reflected right back at the Baby Magnum and the Princess frantically moved the machine to the side, but one of the bridge-like main cannons was still torn off by the orange light.

Most likely, the #1 could only be defeated by Kamijou’s right fist.

However, he could hardly make it all the way up to that enemy.

“Gh!?”

Strength on the level of a crane grabbed his collar.

He saw His.h.i.+gami Mai, a girl in a tank top and hot pants, directly in front of him. She accurately threw off his balance to briefly but surely keep him from moving and she held long, thin knife in her other hand. It looked like a sas.h.i.+mi knife dyed in military colors.

She was going to take off his head.

But just as a chill ran down his spine, dry gunshots burst out to the side.

Heivia held an a.s.sault rifle, but His.h.i.+gami Mai kept one hand on Kamijou’s collar and simply moved her upper body around to avoid the 5.56mm rifle bullets.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me!!”

Could he have changed the outcome if he had used the time spent shouting to do something else?

Kamijou heard the sound of a swinging bat as his entire body was thrown through the air. The high school boy crushed and knocked over Heivia who was still trying to aim his rifle.

Heivia struggled and saw His.h.i.+gami Mai switch to a small handgun with a suppressor attached, so he made a split-second decision.

“Hey, Sir Knight!! Throw a bomb in there!!”

What looked like a ma.s.s of clay flew through the air.

Quenser had thrown the military explosive named Hand Axe and, without even hitting the ground, it exploded right in front of His.h.i.+gami Mai’s face.

More than ear-splitting, the explosion felt like a punch to the gut and a p.r.i.c.kling pain raced across Kamijou and Heivia’s skin. Index was forced to hold down her cape with one hand.

“Did that get her?”

“Not yet,” said the Zas.h.i.+ki Waras.h.i.+ in a tropical leaf swimsuit. “Someone who works for Hyakki Yakou won’t be defeated so easily!”

A blast of wind swept away the dust and revealed His.h.i.+gami Mai.

A girl wearing a short kimono stood next to her. It was the Deadly Dragon Princess, an artificial Youkai – or s.h.i.+kigami – created as her hypothetical enemy. Normal physical attacks meant nothing to a s.h.i.+kigami, so Mai had used it to protect herself from the blast.

“You monster! Were you sent back by a time machine wearing sungla.s.ses or something!?”

However, the despair did not end there.

As Index hid herself below her cape, she opened both eyes and instantly divulged the makeup of the s.h.i.+kigami.

“The image source is Otohime from Uras.h.i.+ma Tarou. The trait of luring humans down to the depths has been distorted and broadly interpreted to put together a combat s.h.i.+kigami. Okay, nothing to worry about. That isn’t a monster with no weaknesses!!”

Elsewhere, a dull crack filled the air.

It came from the White Girl and the rope of special rubber wrapped around her neck.

The Killer Queen spun around and around like a dancer and her weapon made use of her specialization in crus.h.i.+ng deaths. Simply put, she had applied enough pressure to the delicate White Girl’s neck that it had broken.

The head swung loosely, but there was no hint of pain or fear in the White Girl’s eyes. Her neck was unnaturally bent almost to a right angle, yet she thrust her slender fingertips toward Satsuki.

The bottom of her pure white dress came apart, became rolls of film, and filled the entire area.

“She...has no life?”

The Killer Queen shuddered at the odd sensation she felt through her weapon, but she immediately rejected the idea.

“No, wait. What is this!? This is something even more dreadful. It feels like simply touching it means the end!!”

“Parameter change. Abandoning anti-Anzai Kyousuke bodily structure. Applying ‘Horror’ storyline patch. From here on, the ‘story’ will not end at mere loss of life.”

The infinite rolls of film stretched out eternally and attacked Satsuki with the sharp edge of a razor blade.

Higas.h.i.+kawa Mamoru and the bunny girl faced the other killer, s.h.i.+zuna of Electrocution.

The stun gun in her hand emitted an explosive sound one would never expect of something so small.

“What do you think, archenemy?”

“I’d say this is unbelievably Absurd, but unlike us, it doesn’t feel like the actual person has been dragged into this world. It’s more like a shadow from another world was brought here.”

“Then if we defeat that, it won’t affect the original person?”

“Isn’t she a killer? Wouldn’t we be doing her world a favor if we took her out?”

As the two discussed the issue, s.h.i.+zuna took a casual step forward and threw something into the air from with her other hand.

It was a large number of small screws.

And just before those screws fell, the killer in charge of electrocution swung her modified stun gun.

A flash of light covered everything.

The deadly lightning rushed every which way like a complex spider web, but…

“Don’t think you can get by with just that.”

“We may not look it, but we’re the Unbeatable Emperor and the Ever-Victorious Challenger. We both possess an Absurdity that won’t let us lose any kind of luck-based gamble☆”

It did not matter if the odds were one in a million or even one in a billion.

As long as there was a slight gap in the spider web, they could slip through it with ease.

“But…”

s.h.i.+zuna laughed.

“Have you forgotten? I’m the killer in charge of electrocution. Youkai and G.o.ds are one thing, but do you really think I’ll lose in a fight to the death against other humans?”

In yet another spot, college student Anzai Kyousuke and the never-dying boy, Nanajou Kyouichirou, cowered down while surrounded by explosions and gunfire.

Really, this was the normal reaction.

“Hey! What are we supposed to do!?”

“Trying to do anything with all these monsters around will just get us killed. I may not die, but I’ll still be out of the fight if I get a limb blown off! So let’s just try to help someone who can actually do something. Let’s see, the closest person would be…”

They spun around to look but their gazes froze on a single spot.

They saw Jinnai s.h.i.+n.o.bu’s ice coffin and the flat-chested Yuki Onna pressing up against it in her impish bondage bikini.

“Eh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh.”

“How about her?”

“Yeah, not bad. Even kids have heard of the Yuki Onna. It’s changed a lot over time, but she used to be a frightening enough Youkai to get pa.s.sed down by word of mouth. She has to be one h.e.l.l of an Absurdity, so let’s try to get her motivated to do something.”

“But how? If we swipe that frozen guy, we might get shattered by liquid nitrogen ourselves.”

At that moment, the Rush was firing its rapid-fire beam Gatling guns on the Baby Magnum and a stray shot fell close enough to graze the Yuki Onna’s cheek. Jinnai s.h.i.+n.o.bu had been encased in the supernatural ice created by a Youkai, so he was fortunate enough to not be evaporated inside his ice coffin.

However, he did not escape entirely unharmed.

The perfect rectangle of the ice coffin melted like a popsicle dropped on the asphalt during midsummer.

“Wha-…?”

When she saw that, the yandere Yuki Onna gave a roar that seemed to destroy her characterization.

The imp transformed into a true demon.

“What the h.e.l.l do you think you’re doing, you biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitch!!!!?”

A new vortex of white swirled violently around the short Youkai. The pebbles and sand began to float because the temperature had dropped so low that the surrounding minerals had, in all seriousness, become superconductors.

It seemed they should have been worried about more than liquid nitrogen.

The insane number of -273 appeared in the back of the college student’s mind.

Nanajou Kyouichirou converted the number into the term “absolute zero” which sounded like an attack name a teenager would think up.

The two boys came to an understanding.

“Yeah, let’s not mess with her.”

“You’re right. I can’t imagine any way I could avoid a fatal injury inside that storm.”

Part 5

The boy watched the battle.

Kamijou and the others had said they would clear a path for him, but it was not going perfectly. In fact, more powerful enemies from different systems appeared from the black vortex each time Hel cried out, so the chaos was only growing.