A fox girl with dark brown hair wearing a Japanese traditional maid outfit entered Sam's room. She was carrying a tray containing Sam and Astraea's lunch consisting of ramen, miso soup, gyudon beef bowl, and several onigiris (rice balls).
"Here's your lunch…" The fox girl gently put the tray on the table. She looks around as she notices the quietness in the room.
"Oh no–" The girl immediately ran outside when she noticed that both Sam and Astraea disappeared.
"The kids! They escaped!" The fox girl shouted, alerting the guards.
"How?! They are heavily guarded?!" one of the guards shouted. "They probably ran out of the mountains!"
"I told those 'brats' to guard them well from the outside of their room! How come they failed such a simple task?!" One of the guards exclaimed. "It doesn't matter, I will thoroughly punish them for this later on!"
The whole residential guards scattered and began searching for Sam and Astraea in the woods.
Little did they know that Sam and Astraea are still in the room. Astraea casted a spell that completely hides their presence from the others, completely making them invisible to the naked eye.
"Holy moly!" Sam exclaimed as he saw himself slowly reappearing. "When and how did you learn how to cast spells?!"
"There's this one book that taught me how to cast spells and use magic in the library! I pick one up while you're engrossed in reading that 'In this New Life, My Own Fantasy Adventure Begins!' novel. Not sure why they'd be classified as 'Entertainment' to have been put there, though." Astraea giddily replied.
"Ohhh! That's nice!" Sam patted Astraea on the head.
"So, what are we gonna do now?" Astraea asked Sam.
"Hmmmm… I've got a feeling that they'd be discussing all about you somewhere… Sooo let's make that our goal for now. I want to know what they want from you so we're gonna have to sneak our way in and eavesdrop at the main room of the head priestess." Sam looked outside of their room, checking if there were still guards left hanging around.
"Coast is clear! Let's go!" Sam signaled Astraea to follow him.
Astraea saw the food at the table, he grabbed some of the onigiri (riceball) and followed Sam.
The two tip-toed their way on the empty hallway of the house while remaining vigilant over people who'd spot them.
"We're here…" Sam whispered to Astraea as the two stared at a door of the head priestess room.
He slowly and silently placed his left ear at the door and began listening.
"...It's about that kid, Astraea…" Rhielei softly spoke.
"So it is about Astraea!..." Sam thought to himself.
"What about him?" Sakuha replied as she slowly sat at the tatami floor.
"...that kid… He shouldn't be here…" Rhielei shook her head.
Before she could continue, a noise coming from outside interrupted her. Samantha slightly opened the door to their left which leads to the outside to check what's going on.
"Tsk." Samantha clicked her tongue.
"What's going on?" Sakuha asked Samantha.
"Seems like the two managed to escape…" Samantha told Sakuha.
"Oh, really? Are you gonna go look for them?" Sakuha sipped on her tea.
"I won't even be able to find them for sure…" Samantha sits at the side.
"How so?" Sakuha asked Samantha.
"Ever since that Astraea kid 'healed' Sam, I can't pick up his scent anymore. Same goes for that Astraea kid. I can't pick up his scent." Samantha's fox ear twitched in annoyance. "My pride as the best tracker is hurt because of that…" Samantha muttered.
"Is that so?" Sakuha gently laid down her yunomi (japanese tea cup) at the table. "So, what are we gonna talk about?"
"I assume you know what Astraea is, yes?" Rhielei stared at them.
"Well…" Samantha scratched her head. "He did his best trying to explain what he heard but he was bad at it. The only thing I know is that he is an Etoille summoned by his mother. But… what is an Etoille?"
"I see…"
Rhielei stood up and walked two-steps away from them. She then tapped her staff on the floor twice and a circle made out of light came out of the tip and expanded to the room. Multiple orbs of light appeared out of nowhere and started gathering above the table as a diorama of Pillars of Creation slowly formed.
"These are the Pillars of Creation, the birthplace of Etoille. Etoille are omnipotent god-like entities made out of pure god particles, the same particle component that makes up any being in existence. Me. You. Everything. Due to them having no consciousness, they have tendencies to overpopulate empty space with life by turning into a star and that is the sole reason why they exist."
The diorama of the Pillars of Creation slowly collapsed and faded into black mist. From the mist, an image of a black figure emerges. The black figure looked like a grotesque monstrosity.
"If the Etoille spreads life, the Eldritch destroys it…" Rhielei puts the Eldritch figure in her palm. "Just like the Etoille who overpopulate worlds with life, the Eldritch exterminates everything with life without leaving anything behind."
Rhielei then crushed the Eldritch figure. "Only Etoille have the capability to kill the Eldritch and vice versa. While the Etoille is made out of god particles, the Eldritch are made out of chaos particles."
A dark purple-ish mist comes out of the very same hand of Rhielei that crushed the Eldritch figure. "These two particles can't combine but they can convert to one another. But, there was one occasion when these two particles harmonized…" Rhielei's face turned grim.
"Don't tell me…" Rieiasu fretted.
"Yes. This entity that managed to harmonize both the god particles and chaos particles turned into something far worse than both Etoille and Eldritch alike. This entity was called Living Catastrophe…" A humanoid figure covered in black mist and glowing white eyes appeared on Rhielei's palm.
"How strong is it?" Rieiasu asked.
"Oh you don't want to know…" Rhielei answered as she undid her holographic projection magic.
"Heh, are they really that strong?" Rieiasu questioned Rhielei. "It seems you never tried to fight it or something… I'm pretty sure it can be killed easily if you try hard enough."
"Oh? So you wish to destroy your world by this foolish attitude of yours?" Rhielei glared at Rieiasu.
"Hah?" Rieiasu glared right back.
"I-I have a question." Sakuha interjected before their heated conversation went south. "How did his 'mother' manage to summon him? And how did he end up in this world? As far as I know, you put some sort of shield to prevent otherworlders especially the Eldritch from invading!"
"His world has the capability to summon Etoille, unlike this world. As for the second question, I'm still investigating how he managed to get into this one." Rhielei answered.
"Hmmmm…" Samantha began to think. "If I recall correctly, he said something about this girl who told him that he has to meet someone from this world. He said that the girl's name is Cecilia."
Rhielei suddenly sighed and put her free hand in her temple and shook her head when she heard the girl's name.
"Hmm? What's wrong?" Sakuha asked Rhielei.
"Nothing." Rhielei replied. "So, what are you planning to do with him?"
"Well… We wanted to help him return to his original world but…" Sakuha sips a bit of tea. "Our world comes first."
"So you wanted to use his power to eliminate the Eldritch threat even if he declines?" Rhielei asked.
"...Unfortunately so…" Sakuha sighed. "I know that one day, we won't be able to stop the Eldritch from destroying our world. I have to do anything in order to save our world…"
"I'm pretty sure someone would go against that…" Rhielei stared at the door to the right as it made a faint creaking noise.
Samantha rushed towards the door and opened it.
"Who's there?!" Samantha shouted.
There Sam stood in front of the door, angrily staring up at Samantha. Astraea hid behind Sam, looking afraid of Samantha.
"Why are you–"
"I won't let you use Astraea as a tool!" Sam shouted.
He immediately picked up Astraea, carried him on his back, and ran away from them.
"Hey! Wait!"
Samantha tried to grab the two but she was blinded by the light that came out of Astraea's palm the moment he pointed his right arm at her. The two are already gone the moment Samantha regains her vision.
"Damn it!" Samantha cursed and began chasing after them.
Sam ran deeper into the forest as he carried Astraea in his arms. Astraea looked pretty sad about what he heard.
"I'm sorry…." Sam muttered.
"It's fine…" Astraea looked away from Sam. "I pretty much understand why they wanted to use my powers this way. They are just like my mother…" Astraea faintly smiled as he reminisced.
"Is your mother treating you badly?" Sam asked.
"Mother never treated me horribly. In fact, she spoiled me a lot!" Astraea happily told Sam. "She is the best mother I can ever have! That's why I wanted to become a hero that will save her world from the Eldritch!"
"That's good to hear…" Sam slightly cheered up.
"I don't really want to hurt the Eldritch even if they're gonna hurt me but because of past events, I realized that some of the Eldritch are not bad people and they can be reasoned with!" Astraea chipperly said.
"By the way, why is Miss Rieiasu a bit aggressive and boasty?" Astraea asked Sam.
"Well, she came from a very strict family who values strength above anything else. Miss Sakuha said that she had a very harsh upbringing that affected her overall attitude but she really isn't a bad person…" Sam told Astraea. "Though I hate Miss Rieasu's family members. They are a bunch of—"
Before Sam could even finish what he was saying, the two got kicked by someone. Astraea got sent flying away from Sam and the moment he stood up, he saw a boy with gray fox ears and a ninja-looking garb stepping on Sam's throat. Sam struggled to lift the boy's feet from his throat, just enough to prevent him from being choked to death.
"The feeling is mutual." The boy grins as he slowly pushes his feet at Sam's throat, choking him. "WE hate you too, you weak-ass piece of shit!"
Multiple kids appeared out of nowhere, all had fox ears and were wearing different kinds of japanese clothing.
"We're gonna get punished thanks to you! Oh well, since you seem different now, we're gonna have to teach you a lesson first before we drag your sorry ass back into our house." The boy stomped Sam's stomach, making him wriggle in pain and cough up spit.
"L-let go of Sam!" Astraea pushed the boy away from Sam.
"Why you piece of shit!" The boy throws a punch aimed at Astraea's face.
"Ahh!!" Astraea squealed and closed his eyes in anticipation of taking a hit.
"What the?!" The boy complained boisterously.
"H-huh?"
By the time Astraea slowly opened his eyes, the boy was nowhere in front of him. When he looked behind him, he saw the boy with his face pounded into the ground.
The boy immediately launched himself up and attempted to punch Astraea again.
"Why you!"
His punch phased through Astraea. This revelation both shocked the boy and Astraea.
"How are you doing that?!" The boy demanded by asking.
"T-that's right! This… is my ability!" Astraea suddenly boasted, before running towards Sam, picking him up and running away with him on his back.
"Get back here you coward!" The boy and the other children began chasing after them.
"I don't think I will!"
Astraea casted a spell that allows him and Sam to run faster than them. He then used his healing ability on Sam's wound.
"T-thanks…" Sam sighed in relief.
"Carry me! I'm gonna do something!" Astraea said.
"O-okay!" Sam replied as he managed to catch Astraea when he suddenly jumped towards him.
Astraea then closed his eyes and began to concentrate while pointing his arms toward the group that was chasing them.
"Confusion!" Astraea shouted as he launched his spell towards them. The group that is chasing them suddenly dispersed away from them, leaving them alone.
"Yay! It worked!" Astraea cheered.
"Good job!" Sam smiled at Astraea as he pulled a peace sign gesture while smiling.
The two ran deeper into the forest.
After a minute of running, they soon stop near a river to catch some breath.
"Wow… *huff huff* I never ran that long in my entire life! *huff huff*" Sam chuckled as he gasped for breath as he sat by the tree facing the river.
"Are you still hurt?" Astraea worriedly stared at Sam as he sat beside him.
"I'm fine now, thanks to your healing!" Sam patted Astraea on the head.
"Have those kids always been like that?" Astraea asked Sam.
"Those kids are Miss Rieiasu's relatives. They also received the same harsh upbringing. They've all been trained to the bones to become fierce warriors who value only strength and look down on the weak." Sam told Astraea. "They hated me since I was always bedridden and sick before, or so I thought."
"Huh?" Astraea stared at Sam.
"Lina told me that those kids are jealous that I got an easy life while they all suffered from their harsh training and stuff. Though we never got bullied that much back then, thanks to Kimberleigh and Myrrha." Sam told Astraea.
"Where are Kimberleigh and Myrrha by the way?" Astraea asked Sam.
"Probably training. Those two have a good affinity for magic." Sam answered Astraea.
"By the way, I've been wanting to ask you this but, Why are you wearing Lina's clothes?" Sam stared at Astraea's clothes.
He was wearing a light blue short sleeve blouse, gray shorts, a stocking, and rubber shoes.
"I tried wearing your clothes but they were… too big for me. Then Lina came by and lent me some clothes…" Astraea answered.
"Ohhh…"
The two silently stared at the river as they took a bit of a break. Sam looks around. He just noticed how eerily quiet in the part of the forest they are in.
"Let's move. This place is eerily quiet…" Sam stood up and helped Astraea to stand up.
"Sam, look…" Astraea pointed to the area behind Sam where the trees have shimenawa (enclosing rope) tied to them.
"I think we should not go in there…" Sam told Astraea.
"Let's check it out!" Astraea stares at Sam with sparkly eyes.
"In the novel I read, they found an area in the forest they visited filled with those ropes and they found a special item at the center of it!" Astraea told Sam. "We might find a way for me to get back to my world at the center of it!" Astraea added.
"I have some doubts about that kind of idea but let's go check it out…" Sam followed Astraea as he ran towards the center of the area.
The forest slowly gets covered with fog as the two slowly trek toward the center of the forest filled with shimenawa.
"I think we're at the center now." Sam told Astraea.
They looked around. The center was devoid of trees. At the center lies a huge stone filled with a sealing talisman and a shimenawa tied over it. The stone is also encircled by twelve red pillars with shimenawa tied over them.
"I really think we should go. My senses are telling me that we should leave immediately and that stone looks very familiar…" Sam told Astraea but he didn't listen as he walked towards the stone at the center.
Sam let out a sigh and followed Astraea.
"Hmmm…" Astraea circles around the stone, looking for something. "Where is it?"
"What are you looking for?" Sam asked Astraea.
"There should be a mark or something that I need to put my hands on in order to open the stone…" Astraea told Sam as he kept checking the stone.
"Why not just touch it?" Sam asked.
"Oh! Good idea!" Astraea placed his right hand on the stone.
"..."
"..."
"Nothing happened." Astraea told Sam.
"How about you pour your mana into it or something?" Sam requested.
"Okay." Astraea concentrated, his right hand slowly glowed as mana flowed into the stone.
The stone slowly began to glow. Soon the twelve pillars begin to glow as well. The earth starts shaking as the stone slowly cracks open.
"Watch out!" Sam pulled Astraea away from the stone right before it exploded.
Sam uses his body as a shield for Astraea as they ducked onto the ground, dodging most of the debris. The mist was blown away by the shockwave of the explosion then it suddenly got pulled towards the same spot the stone was and began swirling in the middle of it. A figure slowly appeared in the smoke and let out a seductive chuckle.
"Seems like we didn't get a weapon nor a portal but instead, we unlocked a secret boss…" Sam let out a peal of worried laughter as he stared at the unknown figure.
As the smoke slowly subsides, they can finally see who the mysterious figure was. It was a woman, a very beautiful woman wearing an elegant and expensive-looking kimono. She has long glistering dark brown hair, a glimmering pale skin, a slender body, fox ears, and nine tails. A flame comes out of her left hand and slowly forms into a fan. She then uses it to cover her mouth.
"At long last, after being imprisoned in that stupid rock for an eternity, I, Tamamo-no-Mae, am finally free!"