Chapter: 55. Convergence and Dead End
Although dd-chan is the opponent, Nagi still did not intend to reveal the truth about her awakened powers.
After all, in a certain sense, this is Pandora’s box.
Once made public, it is unknown what kind of impact it would have on the entire world.
However, dd-chan did not inquire further, as if accustomed to Nagi’s way of doing things.
Time was of the essence.
Dd-chan silently brought Nagi along, racing towards the exit of the escape passage at full speed.
According to the plan, Alice and the others should evacuate from this side, escorting Professor Amakusa to safety.
As the white mist enveloped them, they could vaguely see the distant sunset’s afterglow shining through the fog, casting specks of golden light upon them.
This was a sign that the power of twilight had already unfolded.
The current situation on the island was likely worse than dd-chan had anticipated.
However.
When dd-chan and Nagi reached the exit of the escape passage, they did not see Professor Amakusa or Alice.
Facing Maria, who stayed behind, was Sona, who was standing next to her.
They seemed to sense something approaching at high speed, and instinctively turned their faces away—
This led to a rather awkward situation for Nagi.
For a moment, Nagi found it difficult to process the information from everyone present and figure out a reasonable explanation for why she and dd-chan were there.
Fortunately, dd-chan was more than capable of handling this task.
Especially when Sona excitedly exclaimed upon seeing Nagi:
“Miss Amano!”
Hearing this, dd-chan immediately understood that Nagi was playing some sort of “role-playing” game again, so she naturally went along with it.
“Stop! Now is not the time for a fight.” Seriously, how could you possibly stand a chance against Sona? Miss Maria, you muscle-brained fool! Dd-chan held back the latter half of her thoughts.
Clearly, dd-chan had yet to notice Sona’s unusual condition, so when she saw Sona, she felt a slight sense of relief.
It was as if to say: The S-class esper, the Black Flame King, is here; we are saved.
On the contrary, Nagi’s expression grew increasingly uneasy. However, to Sona and the others, her demeanor seemed more like general anxiety about the current situation, so it didn’t raise any suspicions.
On the other side.
Even though dd-chan had already changed her form to a human appearance,
Sona instantly recognized the identity of the newcomer.
Having once been a contracted beast alongside her contractor, even after the contract was dissolved, they remained incredibly familiar with each other’s souls.
“…dd-chan?”
Sona’s expression showed immense surprise.
She clearly did not expect that the tiny evil spirit doll from the past could one day transform into such a handsome figure.
“Sona, it’s been a while…”
Dd-chan proactively greeted while releasing Nagi from her embrace.
Immediately, Nagi was pulled into a worried embrace by Sona, as if relieved that they were both alive.
Dd-chan’s actions led Sona to conclude that she did not harbor any ill intentions, at least not at this moment.
Maria had a similar thought.
In fact, she did not wish to engage Sona in a direct confrontation, after all, Sona was the renowned S-class esper, the Black Flame King. Though she was reckless, she certainly did not seek death.
Therefore, when she saw dd-chan appear and diffuse the tense atmosphere, she silently breathed a sigh of relief.
“Where are Amakusa and Alice? Where are they?”
Dd-chan did not forget the main issue, quickly asking Maria.
“They have already evacuated under the cover of the Star Society… What happened?”
Even someone as dense as Maria realized that dd-chan’s reaction was off.
“This is the worst possible timing… Can we contact them?”
“No, because Professor Amakusa believes the β system could track them through electronic devices, so they left behind no communication tools.” Maria truthfully answered dd-chan’s question.
Sona, listening to their exchange, also recognized that something was wrong.
Initially, she only wanted to find a safe location with Sona to wait for rescue, but they happened to arrive at the exit of the escape passage, encountering Alice and others who were nervously waiting for dd-chan to reunite with them.
Was it because of the sudden appearance of herself, an S-class esper?
Alice and the others immediately decided to flee, while Maria, holding the power of twilight, voluntarily stayed behind to cover their escape.
Thus, they fell into this inexplicable standoff.
However, it was evident that the other party had no knowledge of her current power nullification, only nervously confronting her without taking the initiative to attack.
This allowed herself and Sona to narrowly escape.
Until dd-chan suddenly arrived with Kamishiro Nagi.
—After all, why were they together?
Dd-chan noticed Sona’s puzzled gaze and immediately summarized the information she had used to persuade Shiryu earlier, relaying it to Sona again.
Initially, she had hoped Sona could intervene to stop the underlying conspiracy.
Unexpectedly, after hearing it, Sona’s face became even more solemn.
—The worst possible timing.
Sona trusted dd-chan not to deceive herself regarding such matters.
If what dd-chan said was true—then everyone on the island was in danger.
Whether it was herself, or Sona and Nagi, not to mention dd-chan and Maria, who were members of the Star Society…
However, perhaps Alice and Professor Amakusa, who had already evacuated…
If X-class espers could really locate this place through the β system, then there was no assurance they couldn’t use a similar method to find Professor Amakusa…
“Sona, what’s wrong?” dd-chan noticed Sona’s unusual expression.
Her call pulled Sona’s consciousness back from her thoughts.
“Dd-chan, I—” After considering the situation, Sona decided to honestly inform them of her current state.
After all, misjudging her own strength could very well lead them into a more dangerous predicament.
However.
Before Sona could finish.
Someone interrupted her words and continued—
“—As the S-class esper known as the Black Flame King, who would have thought you would actually be an ordinary person now?”
The newcomer stepped through the thick white mist, appearing before them against the backdrop of the golden sunset.
Hearing this, everyone quickly turned their heads to look in the direction of the voice.
For this suddenly appearing man, both dd-chan and Maria felt a surge of anxiety at first sight.
The magical aura emanating from him was exceptionally powerful, and judging by his uniform style, he was an X-class esper, and not one of average standing among them.
Just a glance made both dd-chan and Maria understand that they would not be able to contend with him.
……
……
—This is a terrible development.
Nagi couldn’t help but feel anxious about the unfolding situation.
She not only failed to meet Professor Amakusa and force him into a second awakening to retrieve the shards of his soul, but also encountered an X-class esper at the worst possible moment.
Worse yet, she was not the only one in crisis.
There was also Sona, who had temporarily returned to being an ordinary person, and Sona from “Star Draw 2,” who was a key female character in the original DLC; obviously, she was crucial in dealing with the β system and absolutely must not die here…
Nagi felt that the situation was once again beyond her control.
Was it because she, in her previous life, had wilfully summoned Garuda using her knowledge of the original work, causing everything to seem easy?
Now Nagi finally understood—what it must feel like when the game difficulty level of “Star Draw 2,” which was a “bad game,” became the real world.
At this moment, her only remaining fighting force was dd-chan and Maria.
And on the other side—
In the mist, multiple figures began to emerge.
There was not just one X-class esper coming, and the oppressive aura and magical response of the leading figure even surpassed that of dd-chan, who controlled dual powers.
—Damn it, if I could regain the power of the contract with everyone…
—Or… if this was the end…
Just as Nagi felt deeply despairing about the current situation.
That shadow seemed to take a step forward to protect her.
“Want to take a gamble?” Sona’s voice was low and somber.
Eh? Nagi couldn’t help but be taken aback at the sight.
The scene before her overlapped with her memories of him.
Even without any powers, the ordinary person he was would always step forward without hesitation to protect her.
This made Nagi’s eyes uncontrollably—
Sona’s words caused all of the X-class espers who were prepared to act to halt in their tracks.
Because it was a warning—issued by the S-class esper, the “Black Flame King.”
Though from the perspective of the X-class espers, the information showed he should currently be just an ordinary person.
But what if this was just a ruse? Perhaps he had become someone’s nemesis in advance, leading to erroneous information? Or maybe he had already regained his powers?
As long as any one of these possibilities was valid—
Even if it was just a one in ten thousand chance.
This conjecture made the X-class espers present hesitate to act rashly.
