The moment Great Red appeared through the rift, the whole town was veiled in silence. The first ones to react, however, are those already used to Kisuke's antics and they considered this as one of his doings.
Irina and Akeno immediately said their final goodbyes with her parents, comrades, and superiors, promising to bring back some souvenirs once they've returned.
They didn't have a choice but to immediately move their attention to them and leave everything else for now. As Akeno and Irina reached Kisuke's side, Touji spoke, "Kisuke-kun, I'm leaving my daughter to you. If she's being too much of a handful, it's fine to mete out some punishment."
"Dad!" shouted Irina angrily.
"Fufufu~, Kisuke-kun, I want a healthy boy for the first," Hina added.
"Mom!?" Irina blushed at the sudden unexpected statement.
While Kisuke nodded at Touji, he directly ignored Hina.
"I know we haven't talked properly, but please take care of my daughter too," Barakiel solemnly uttered. Of course, he didn't really trust Kisuke, but Akeno already shared her plans with him long before. Even when he tried to convince her against her decision, he couldn't break her resolve.
"Please don't worry about it. Since I've agreed to let them come with me, I'll do my part. But that also means that they'll have to do their part," replied Kisuke. The latter part of his words is actually meant for Akeno and Irina.
"That would be enough. Thank you."
And while they were exchanging their farewells, Claire was also doing so with her parents and relatives, "Mommy! Are we going to ride that?" asked Claire as she pointed towards Great Red.
"Yes, honey. You'll ride on Mr. Red, so make sure to thank him after you get off, alright?" Cleria replied while stroking her face affectionately.
"Yes~~~!"
"Claire, baby. Always listen to Kisuke-niichan, alright. Don't go around without them and don't follow any strangers," Masaomi added.
"Got it, Daddy~~~! You already said that ten times!" replied Claire energetically. Both Cleria and Masaomi explained to her that she'll be going with Kisuke to study with him and play with friends. Since she's still a child, she immediately agreed not knowing that she won't be able to meet her parents for long periods of time. However, Kisuke already planned something to mitigate her loneliness once reality sank in for her. Though he hoped he could finish it before Claire misses her parents.
"Alright, everyone, let's go. Our driver won't wait for too long!" Kisuke gathered everyone's attention and prepared the magic circle that would teleport them on top of Great Red.
But before they disappeared, Azazel suddenly asked Kisuke, "Wait! Since Great Red is giving out a hand, does that mean we're in the worst possible situation?"
Kisuke tipped his hat lower and answered with a somber voice before they disappeared, "I don't know... But all we can agree to is that, as the guardian of the Dimensional Gap, he can see something that we can't."
"Tch," Azazel clicked his tongue loudly, "Isn't that just a step down from the 'worst'?" He and the rest then watched Great Red rip another rift through space and leave.
After everything went to normal, Azazel feigned a cough, "Although he left, he didn't do so without kicking up a fuss. What a guy. So... Shall we extend this unexpected meeting with unexpected guests from the afterlife?"
Diehauser, Cleria, Masaomi, and Sakura already expected this when they decided to come with Ophis and Claire, so they'd already prepared their cards to negotiate. Of course, they won't reveal anything that would be disadvantageous to them.
.
.
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On top of Great Red, Kisuke was sitting, sighing, and lamenting, "Haahh... Plans are made to be broken..."
"Now, now, don't mind it, Ki-tan!" Serafall comforted him while patting his back.
Right now, Great Red's aura was covering everyone, not letting any dangerous factors come in. A few seconds later, Ophis suddenly called out to Kisuke, "He wants directions."
"Ah, sorry about that," Kisuke stood up and went up to Great Red's neck, "Great Red-san, thank you for your assistance, but why did you help us?"
Only a deep growl from Great Red came and Kisuke looked towards Ophis, however, Ophis didn't say anything, meaning he didn't say anything, 'So he doesn't want to reveal it, huh... Is it safe to assume that it's really the worst-case scenario?'
Sighing, Kisuke continued, "I'll be sending the coordinates to you through magic, is that fine?"
With a soft roar, Great Red answered and Kisuke didn't need Ophis to translate for him. Putting his hand on the back of his neck, he sent the data and coordinates of the anchor he created and Great Red was able to feel the unique magic signature it was emitting.
With a flap of his wings, Great Red opened another rift through the Dimensional Gap, revealing the darkness beyond it.
"W-what is that!?" asked Serafall in surprise as she felt the extreme danger that is emanating through that space.
Similarly, Akeno, Irin, and Claire were also having a similar reaction of distress.
While Ophis tried to comfort Claire with her limited knowledge, Kisuke explained, "We have to go through that to reach our destination. It's the reason why I can't just bring anyone with me."
"S-so it's really another world?" guessed Serafall.
"Well, you just have to see it for yourself."
As they went through the rift, Great Red's aura that was protecting instantly thinned out, however, it also became much stronger. Kisuke saw that there's no problem with Great Red and sighed in relief. Although he already expected that this is the case, he's still a bit worried.
He then saw Serafall testing out her magic towards the dark void, but as soon as her ice left Great Red's space, it was instantly obliterated.
"J-just what's up with this space?" she asked with a twitching mouth.
"It's the boundary between universes. Similar to the Dimensional Gap, I presume this space serves as a buffer zone between universes that have different rules so that they can't affect each other."
But just as Kisuke finished explaining, he felt something amiss and immediately scanned the surroundings, '...What are those?'
From the darkness of the void, emerged beings that don't have any definite shape. What surprised Kisuke more is the fact that they don't have souls, though the strange materials that composed them seem to contain a bit of soul particle that is normal in any material. However, he can be sure that those lurking in the dark were alive.
Nevertheless, before he could observe them more, Great Red suddenly roared loudly and expelled his aura, pushing the strange beings away, disappearing from Kisuke's limited detection range.
"What now!?" Serafall got ready in the event that something bad happens.
Kisuke shook his head, "I don't know... This is the first time I've encountered those things."
Although only a few minutes had passed, Kisuke can tell that they were moving very fast and about to reach their destination. But just as Great Red about to split the space yet again, he suddenly stopped advancing, "Hmm? What's wrong?"
It was also then that Ophis stood up and stayed beside Kisuke while looking in a certain direction.
As he turned his head towards that direction, without his notice, A tall man with long black hair, wearing a black tuxedo stood in front of them. Kisuke immediately shuddered as he laid his eyes on him.