The sun was beginning to set and according to Rikka, we were getting close. In the distance was a mountain range and that was the place where the Legion was supposedly hidden.
Ayame and the others were preparing a meal and we were resting up. There was a chance that we would have to fight a robot army capable of destroying the Demon Realm in a single night.
Yes. Arief is capable of making things like that, Ars’ voice told me.
Do you know him? I asked.
We were classmates in a magic academy. He was always an eccentric fellow, she said.
“Hey, Mikage. You look relieved. Got something in your mind?” Rikka sat down beside me.
“I’m just happy to have a man around. Being surrounded by girls is not really fun”, I replied.
“Why would you think like that?”
“I don’t know. I guess there’s some sort of distance because of the difference in our bodies.”
“Or bodies are different too, you know? I’m a holoroid and you treat me like a man. Is it because of my appearance? The way I talk? The way I act?”
“Come on now. Are we going to have a discussion about complicated things like that?”
Rikka laughed and patted my back. His hand was as hard as iron so it felt like I was being tapped by a hammer. However, it was a gentle tap that didn’t bring any pain at all.
“It’s been a long time since someone treated me like a human”, he said.
“Really? How long has it been?”
“Ever since Arief died.”
“... I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. Deaths are a natural part of this world. While Arief created holoroids like me that withstood the test of time, he never once modified his own body.”
He had a sad smile as he looked at the orange sky. If Ars and Arief were classmates, then that meant it was more than 4000 years since he died. Rikka most likely has spent those 4000 years all alone.
“How were you able to handle it?” I asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Being able to live with nothing for that long. What made you not want to just end things there and then?”
“It’s simple. I wasn’t living with nothing.”
Rikka raised his arm and moved his fingers. And then, he pointed at his head and smiled warmly.
“I have this body created by Arief. This body contains the memories of the person who cherished me and my siblings. Millennia might pass but Arief blessed me with this body that will never forget even the little moments of happiness I have”, he said.
I see… That’s the difference, huh? I thought.
What do you mean by that, Mikage? Anya asked.
Nothing.
I clenched my fist as I wondered what I really was. And what I should do to this world now that I was slowly remembering things.
“How are you coping up, Mikage?” Rikka asked me.
“That’s a weird question.”
“I’m a non-combatant unit. Arief designed me as a support so I’m very good at gathering information. My sensors are telling me that you are really troubled with something so I’m just asking. Letting people talk and knowing more about them is my specialty!”
How was I coping up? What exactly was I?
“I’ve always been swept by the flow. With my mean eyes, people challenge me to fights and I end up becoming a delinquent.”
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And despite that, I managed to befriend Yogiri. I wonder how she was doing living with Amelia? Hopefully, Oga wouldn’t be too harsh in her Light Magic training.
“When I moved to a peaceful city, I got swept up by the flow again and became a video game enthusiast. I even became a respected player for an online game as I had fun hanging out with people all over the world.”
It was heartbreaking to find out that Ancient Tales shut down. I thought for sure that it would last eight or nine more years. Was Haruto having fun in a different game and hanging out with other players?
“And then this world is a serious pain. I get dragged to one incident after another and I have no choice but to deal with it myself. Because I have nothing to do.”
Yeah… I have nothing to do… So I was trying to get something by doing anything.
“Do you want to go back to your world?” Rikka asked.
“I don’t know. This world might be dangerous and all but I don't think going back is the solution. I already died in my old world so there will be so many problems if I just come back, right?”
“Then… is destroying this world the solution? With how this world is making you do things and how the Unkindness is giving you inconveniences, do you think destruction is the only way you’ll get peace?”
“... No. This world might be dangerous and have evil people but that’s how it is. My old world is also the same. Destroying things because of something normal is just not good.”
Rikka sighed and patted my shoulder. After that, he got up and stretched his legs.
“I see. I understand you more now, Mikage Kamishiro”, he smiled.
“HEY! DINNER’S READY!” Ollie shouted.
Our conversation ended there and we continued preparing ourselves.
###
We were walking inside a cavern with Rushia’s magic illuminating our path. When we were done with dinner, we immediately headed towards the mountain range and found a secret path. There were many twists and turns but Rikka continued guiding us without any problems.
“The Core Mind has its own defense system such as guns and blades. It is also capable of moving around and releasing shocks of electricity”, Rikka explained.
“Then, Mikage, you can support us with your Dark Magic. Ollie, you can go and get its attention”, Ayame said.
“Got it”, I nodded.
“LEAVE THE DANGEROUS JOB TO THE UNDEAD!” Ollie grinned.
“Kanata and I will be the ones attempting to deal damage.”
“That’s good. I don’t want to be dragged down”, Kanata cracked her fingers.
“Rushia, you’re going to have to support Ollie and summon soldiers who can be distractions too.”
“Yeah yeah”, Rushia replied.
A few minutes after Ayame instructed us, we arrived in front of a large mechanical door. It had many complicated runes and I was sure I couldn’t easily break it using force.
“This is the place”, Rikka said.
Everyone prepared their weapons as Rikka touched the door. Blue lines appeared on his arm and spread all over and connected the runes. And a few seconds later, the door slowly opened.
“Don’t worry! We’ll win as long as the Legion isn’t activated!” Ollie chuckled.
When we entered, it was dark. I could feel that the room was spacious and that there were many objects hidden in the darkness. To be more precise, there were around a hundred golems in the same room as us.
“Where is the Core Mind?” Ayame asked.
Rikka tripped over a metal bar and I went to help him up. And without warning, my shadow rose up and protected me from a glowing ball of light.
You’re welcome, Noir said after the ball exploded.
Not wasting a second, Rikka lunged towards me as a knife came out of his left arm. However, I commanded my shadow to block his attack and bind to his arm.
But he simply detached his limb and a pair of wings came out of his back as he flew away before I could capture him.
“Legion: Activate”, he commanded.
We heard a low humming sound before the lights of the room flashed. There were many golems with different shapes and sizes and all of them were ready for combat.
“Huh? I thought that we have until sunrise before the Legion is going to activate?!” Ollie asked.
“This really is the worst case scenario”, Ayame sighed.
“Told you we should’ve crushed him there and then”, Kanata groaned.
I knew it…
It was strange for Rikka to coincidentally find the student council president in a regular town like that. Then he asked me about the Unkindness when we never once mentioned them to him.
He also said that the threat appeared a few days ago but I remembered that Ayame said that the Demon Realm had this problem for a long time. There was only one thing that Rikka meant when he told us that.
“As the holoroid ver. RIKKA and the Core Mind, I order the Legion…”
I was teleported here in the Demon Realm ‘a few days ago.’
“to eliminate the threat that is ‘Mikage Kamishiro’!!!”