Later that night, Ariyama left his house around eight, just so he’d have more than enough time to prepare himself before he headed out with Matsune to locate this unregistered Tribute. He was relieved that he wasn’t going to have to spend an egregious amount of time filing through each of the students and faculty to fight the culprit.

Thanks to Matsuragi Jouji – who was proving to be an unknowing but vital asset – Ariyama would hopefully help Matsune in having this operation completed before the week was even halfway done. It almost made him worry, thinking about how easy it all seemed. But that was how some things just were, right?

Not everything that seemed difficult ended up being so. Regardless, Ariyama couldn’t shake the feeling of uneasiness as he exited his household and began the trek into the darkness-drenched streets of the city. Armed with a flashlight courtesy of his phone, as well as his halved rusted sword stuffed into his backpack. Its weight was uncomfortable, and only increased his anxiousness.

As for him actually managing to leave his house at this hour – without an idea of when he’d be returning – it was easy, as his mother remained in her room. Ariyama couldn’t bring himself to confront her, not like he’d tried that one time. Even thinking about it, he felt sick to his stomach.

He shouldn’t have been blaming her, but dammit, it was hard not to.

By the time he reached the closed gate of the school, the wind was blowing more mercilessly than before. Due to the higher altitude of the school compared to his home, Ariyama assumed.

Keeping his coat pulled close to him, bowing his head to keep his hood from blowing down again, Ariyama peered around the area. It was odd, seeing how empty the school had become.

Matsune had said that Matsuragi-senpai and his book club usually ran late, right? Well, Ariyama didn’t recall Matsune mentioning anything about being told about a time when the hooded man was seen. He swore that Matsuragi-senpai only told her about the fact there was a hooded man sneaking around the school grounds at all, as well as his supposed schedule.

Nothing about time. Or even where they could look for him

So, that led Ariyama to believe that they’d be forced to wait around for possibly hours, searching every corner of the grounds in search for this man, who may or may not even appear. Sure, Matsune had been given a schedule, but that didn’t exactly mean that man would stick by the schedule to a T.

And if Matsuragi’s book club lasted until well after school closed, did that really mean that it had lasted this late? Until nearly nine in the evening?

Looking at the school itself, Ariyama scanned the windows through which were the classrooms most likely used by a book club, including the window of the library. Sure enough, not one light was on.

So that meant Matsuragi’s club would have lasted until maybe four or five, when that hooded man was seen. So, were Ariyama and Matsune way too late in that case?

No, no.

Ariyama wasn’t the expert here – that title lied with Matsune. As such, he wouldn’t make any assumptions. She knew what she was doing, wasn’t she? She seemed like the person who rarely ever made mistakes. If that applied to her schoolwork, maybe it also did for her jobs given by the Pilgrims’ Society.

“Ah, Ariyama-kun! Come over here!”

At the distant voice, Ariyama turned around, scanning the treeline running perpendicular to the school wall. Then, he saw a figure. A silhouette of a slim but athletic woman, wrapped up in a nice leather jacket, the hood pulled up.

“I see you, Matsune! I’m coming!”

His teeth beginning to chatter against the abhorrent chilly wind, Ariyama jogged over to the treeline, breaking through a wall of bushes. On the other side, it was submerged in gloominess, the dying sun and rising moon barely shooting light through the fissures in the leaves covering them above.

Maybe it was the closeness of everything in the woods, or perhaps the homely feel of sticks cracking beneath his feet or the far-off sound of crickets, but Ariyama suddenly felt a lot warmer.

He turned to face the girl standing beside him.

She wore a sleek, black leather jacket – as he had noticed before – along with a pair of very figure-hugging jeans. Her raven hair was tied back in a high ponytail, which she usually only wore when she was participating in a sport. Her bright blue eyes were like orbs that burned away the darkness around them.

Matsune Sasya was, as always, really pretty-looking.

“So, all set for tonight, Ariyama-kun? I’m afraid we might be laying low for a few hours, if not longer.”

Ariyama nodded in response, patting the bag slung across his back.

“I brought my Tool, as you asked.”

“Excellent. I hope we can complete this without resorting to violence, but if worse comes to worse, we need to be ready. I too have come prepared.”

She lifted her sleeve, showcasing her glittering silver bracelet. While her eyes seemed to just naturally beam, there was a distinct magical property to her bracelet. Even without it sending out a glowing purple chain with a kunai attached, it still kept its otherworldly feel.

In fact, Ariyama still wasn’t exactly sure where the Enchanted Tools even came from. He knew they were like manifestations of items wielded by the Pilgrims, but in what plain of existence did those voices in people’s heads get the chance to even deploy such items? His mind piqued with curiosity, Ariyama waited until he began following Matsune to their vantage point before he asked.

“So, Matsune, can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“I’m just wondering something about all this stuff to do with Enchanted Tools and Pilgrims. Where did they even originate? My guy, called Idolseus, is like a separate consciousness in my head. And you said you haven’t properly been able to call on the one in your head, so what’s the deal?”

Matsune sighed, as if she was about to go on a long-winded speech.

“I suppose this mission is indoctrinating you properly into this new world. Well, as properly as possible before you officially become part of the Pilgrims’ Society, which has its own rules and processes that I won’t get into now.”

They turned a corner, stumbled up a short hill of roots and mud, before arriving at the spot they were going to camp out at. It was the apex of a short mound of dirt and grass, bordered on all sides by trees, except for one spot where a tree had been felled. Through that gap in the barrier, you could see the school and the area around it with surprising clarity. There, Matsune sat cross-legged – Ariyama following her example – as she began to explain.

“I’ll keep this as brief as possible, since we’re here to apprehend the unregistered Tribute, not to chat. But simply, the Pilgrims are similar to us humans – in terms of their bodily functions and shapes, that is. They come from a place referred to as the Reverse World. It’s like Earth, if it was stuck in a fantasy novel. In that world, special artifacts, monstrous creatures, and magic are commonplace. The Pilgrims are a group of a few thousand who are denizens of that world. Their origins were that they were a legion of people who undertook what we call the ‘Great Pilgrimage’. Not a lot is known about this journey, but all we do know is that many Pilgrims died, while the ones who lived through it were blessed with immense power by some foreign god. However, somehow, their powerful artifacts began manifesting in our world, around a one-and-a-half thousand years ago. Ever since, they’ve been appearing in Shrines guarded by magical creatures, who also seem to be residents of the Reverse World. The Pilgrims’ Society was set up in order to stop the knowledge of these manifestations from spreading to the wider world, collecting the untouched Enchanted Tools for safe keeping, as well as battling anyone who would use the Tools for malicious reasons.”

Ariyama took a moment to sort through the information given to him.

Was that really what Matsune thought of as ‘concise’ or ‘brief’?

Then again, thinking about what he was actually told, Ariyama realized he really wasn’t told much at all. He

could tell Matsune, under the right conditions, could likely spew on about their backstory for hours.

Along with that explanation came a feeling of overwhelming disbelief deep in Ariyama’s chest. He was what one would refer to as ‘lukewarm’, when it came to his beliefs. But he still believed.

But after all this, the idea of that – a genuine alternative version of the earth with super-abled beings with powerful items that could apparently range from a clunky, half-cut sword to a pristine bracelet – actually existing just made him question his own existence.

How important were humans, then?

As a concept, they seemed inadequate and inferior to these Pilgrims in every which way.

“Was that too much to take in at a time like this? I apologize, Ariyama.”

Snapped out of his own thoughts, Ariyama looked to Matsune, who had a sheepish look on her face.

“I suppose it’s just that the history of the Pilgrims and their Reverse World fascinates me, even though I was born into their world with parents who told me all this before I even attended preschool.”

Ariyama smiled at her, pulling his coat close again to combat the cold.

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“Oh, it’s fine. I actually find it… kinda charming that you’ve got a little hobby like that.”

At the word ‘charming’, Matsune froze up and turned her face away from him. Confused, Ariyama murmured under his breath.

“Huh? Wuh?”

Then louder, he spoke.

“What’s up, Matsune? Did I say something that hurt you?”

Ariyama honestly wasn’t sure when he came to girls, whether they liked him or didn’t. He was probably as dense as you could get in a guy.

“O-oh, it’s fine, Ariyama-kun. Just surveying the area for our rogue is all.”

“Ah. OK, if you’re sure.”

But unbeknownst to Matsune, she had turned her head ever so slightly, to the point where Ariyama had a solid look at the blush that burned brightly across her cheeks.

Weird. Why was she doing that?

But before Ariyama could voice his question, Matsune’s face shifted instantly into one of concentration. He whispered quickly as she lay flat on her stomach, using her hands to raise her head just enough to peek down at the school

“Ariyama-kun, get down!”

Hurriedly following her order, Ariyama also peered down at the school, his heart racing, his eyes darting from point to point in an attempt to locate something, anything.

“What’s going on, Matsune? Did you see–”

Matsune didn’t answer, and instead pointed wordlessly at a spot just beside the school wall. Zeroing in on that same spot, squinting his eyes against the darkness, it took Ariyama a few seconds to clock it.

There he was. There was the hooded man, dressed in all dark colors and his hands in his pockets, ducking unhurriedly under a branch and disappearing from view.

This was all happening very fast. Ariyama was prepared to be waiting at this vantage point for possibly hours, as had Matsune. But there was their target, in nearly perfect view.

Without a word of warning, Matsune got to her feet, dusting off the dirt clinging to her clothes as she burst through the border of trees and leaned back, skidding down the mound. Once she hit the foot of the hill, her whole body shot up and she started into a sprint which took her further into the woods.

Ariyama was flabbergasted for a bit, before he righted himself, and blasted after Matsune, blood pumping in his veins as he prepared for his initial contact with the culprit.

By the time Ariyama caught up, his legs were burning from the exertion. He had followed Matsune until they had glided through the trees, nearly tripping multiple times on roots and uneven ground, before eventually coming out into a wide empty clearing, the ground now a dirty concrete yard. On the opposite side, a small wall rose up, which was blocking the hooded man from continuing.

As Ariyama put his hands on his knees and tried to catch his breath, he took a moment to recognise this place. He’d never gone there personally, but despite that, he knew what this yard used to be

Sasura Academy was nearly two hundred years old, so quite old in school terms. In the old times, it was split into two buildings. The main building persisted to modern day, being renovated time after time, and receiving extension after extension.

The secondary building, however, was left to ruin. And as the years of being exposed to the elements left it weathered down to nothing, all that remained was this abandoned tarmac ground, which acted as a courtyard back in the day. Ariyama never knew he’d ever be so grateful for a dilapidated school structure.

“You! I am Matsune Sasya, an agent of the Pilgrims’ Society’s Japan branch. In accordance with the official Book of Magical Regulations, I hereby put you under arrest for suspicion of being an unregistered Tribute ”

As she spoke, she lifted his sleeve and let her silver bracelet gleam, acting as a threat. The hooded man, however, didn't seem to take it as one. Instead, he shook his lowered head, chuckling softly.

“Nah. I have work to do, girl.”

That voice… Did Ariyama recognise it, or was it just his imagin–

The hooded man pulled something from his pocket with one hand, his other hand shooting up. Then, something glinted in the moonlight, followed by an ear-splitting whistling sound. At first, Ariyama thought it was the man whistling, but then the glinting object was shooting for him, and he realized the whistling was that object flying through the air.

And it was aimed directly at his face.

His life hadn’t been this endangered since the incident, and so Ariyama froze. At the last moment, however, he forced his whole body down. Just as the object pierced the space his head once was, Ariyama threw his body onto the hard concrete.

He winced as dull pain raced up his arms from his elbows, then looked up as he heard Matsune call his name in alarm. As she saw that he was unharmed, Matsune turned to the hooded man as he raised his hands and fired more glinting objects at her. Diving to her knees, then shooting right back up again, Matsune raced towards him. Her bracelet exploded with purple, a chained kunai unfurling and wrapping around her forearm. Grabbing the loose bit with her spare hand, she skidded to a halt and dipped into a low stance, whipping the chain around before sending it careening for the man.

Ariyama thought the strike would hit, but instead the man executed a cartwheel and let the kunai strike the ground under him, kicking up sparks.

Ariyama heard Matsune cursing to herself as she advanced slowly, lashing and whipping at the man. Most of them were dodged or avoided entirely, but one hit landed. As the glowing purple chain struck the man in the shoulder, his whole body shifted back unevenly, giving Matsune the opening she needed to close the distance between them. Her chain was long, after all, but not at its strongest when she was as far away as she was. That was one thing Ariyama caught onto while battling for his life in that Shrine.

Matsune reached the man in just three strides, each covering at least two meters each time.

Ariyama didn't have time to marvel at her speed, as she engaged the hooded man again.

He flung his hand out, sending another sharp object piercing at her, but Matsune ducked under it and countered with her chain.

It wrapped around the man's hand in a tight hold, and using her built-up momentum, Matsune ran circles around the man, pulling him along with her with every rotation, the chain growing tighter and tighter on his hand.

Growling in irritation, the man stamped his foot down onto the concrete to root himself in place, then twisted his hips and yanked the chain back the other way. This caught Matsune off-guard and she cried out as the opposite movement made her feet fly from under her.

As she fell, she caught herself by planting her palms onto the ground and pushing herself up to her feet. As she did so, the man summoned another sharp object and launched it at her. This time, however, Matsune had no way to deflect it. Her chain was still wrapped around her opponent's arm, leaving her defenseless.

Ariyama yelled in alarm when the object hit Matsune, cutting across her side and drawing blood. Then, as the object clattered to the ground, the moonlight peeked over the trees, revealing what all of those ‘sharp objects’ had been all along.

Knives.

Knives?

Was this guy seriously conjuring knives out of nowhere? If that was his power, it dawned on Ariyama just how varied they could be.

But Matsune…

She grunted and fell onto her ass, clutching at her bloodied wound. In tandem, the man summoned another knife – into his hand, this time – and chopped relentlessly as the purple chain ensnaring his hand. Finally, the chain snapped, and the whole glowing purple structure dissipated into vapor. Instantly, Matsune raised her hand to use her bracelet again, but another knife shot out and stabbed right into her palm.

Ariyama winced at the sound of cutting flesh, and this time, Matsune screamed in pain as her body curled in on itself. Chuckling lowly, the hooded man approached her.

It was then that Ariyama realized he had been looking up from the ground, dirt collecting on his clothes.

What type of idiot was he being? Was he really going to let Matsune meet her end here, fighting against a guy who could literally shoot knives at people?

Not on his watch.

Gritting his teeth with renewed determination, Ariyama got onto his knees, struggling to pull the backpack off of him. Once he did so, he ripped it open, grabbed the clunky severed sword and raced forward. He kept the sword diagonal and low by his hip, as the weight would make him go off-balance if he raised it again higher. He gripped the handle in his two hands, even though it was long enough for three.

Now, the man was just a meter or two away from the shivering Matsune, rolling his shoulders and raising his hand once again.

No, no, no…

He was going to shoot out more knives in the next few moments, and those knives would spear through Matsune’s body and kill her for sure.

A terrible vision of that exact scene happening played out in Ariyama’s head, but that only drove him to go faster.

He was almost there.

Just five strides left.

Four.

Three.

The man summoned more knives that hovered around him, aimed right at Matsune.

Shit.

Two strides.

One

And–

Just as those knives were about to obliterate Matsune, Ariyama got in between her and the man first.

He yelled as he felt the burning rush of power flow through his whole body. For a moment, he felt like he did back at the Shrine, white-hot heat pouring off of him.

His yell turned into a scream as he raised his Enchanted Tool and pivoted on his heel, bringing the sword round in a deadly arc. If Matsune couldn't stop this guy, Ariyama didn't have a chance in hell. But if he could just defect these knives, he might give Matsune the chance to recover.

For just a moment, the sword turned into a blade of white-hot heat, a deafening boom sounding off as it impacted with the flying knives, shattering some and making the others fly off.

The impact illuminated the whole area with white light. The flashbang made the hooded man flinch back and cover his eyes. This light, however, didn't faze Ariyama in the slightest.

The white died and the area was submerged in darkness again. As the man stumbled away, cursing while rubbing his eyes, Ariyama felt a tap on his leg.

“Down…”

That weak voice was Matsune, and Ariyama somehow knew instantly what to do. He dropped to his knees, leaning over onto his hands as Matsune planted her hand on his balcony and flipped over him.

Landing before the man, Matsune bent low, her chain trapping his arms by his sides as it encircled him. Moving him, Matsune seamlessly switched to hand-to-hand combat.

Ariyama watched in amazement as Matsune fired palmshots, jabs and uppercuts. By this point, the man had recovered and was shaking out of the chain that ensnared him. As his knives slashed the chain, he stepped into Matsune and the two began trading blows.

Ariyama groaned as he got up, racing forward again. He was too drained to use his sword's power now, but that still left him with a regular to use.

The man ducked under one of Matsune's swings and planted his fist in her belly. Reeling back, Matsune gasped as she was lifted slightly off her feet from the blow.

As her feet hit the ground again, Ariyama reached her side, dipping low and slashing at the man with his sword. Panicking, the man splayed out his hand. His skin ripped open as the shattered blade caught his hand. Shouting in anguish, the man tried to retreat, only to get rewarded with a haymaker from Matsune catching him in the jaw.

He stepped back a few feet, where Ariyama moved in and kicked his knee. As his leg buckled, Matsune moved in too, with a jump, and kneed him in his chest.

Ariyama and Matsune went back and forth, striking at the man in turns, edging him further and further back. Just as the man was about to be up against the wall – where he'd be completely vulnerable – he snarled like an animal, finally moving against his assailants.

“You bastards!”

He splayed his hands, one of them still bleeding profusely, and summoned a wall of blades that fired at the two.

Ariyama froze, his heart pounding and his breath hitching. At the last moment, Matsune tackled him to the ground. Reflexively, he wrapped his arms around her and squeezed his eyes shut. As he heard the knives whistle overhead and strike the ground somewhere off to their left, he let out a sigh of relief.

He was alive

They both were.

Cracking open his eyes, Ariyama gazed up at Matsune as she lay over him. As their gazes met, Matsune swallowed awkwardly and averted her eyes, red rising in her cheeks.

“Are… you OK, Ariyama-kun?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm OK. Just a bit winded maybe.”

Matsune nodded and smiled softly, then sat up and looked around. Her face twitched with an annoyance Ariyama had rarely ever seen.

Curious, he followed her moments, and sure enough, the concrete clearing was empty and the hooded man was nowhere to be seen.