Everyone currently gathered in the living room of Schnee's mansion gazing fervently at the artifact on the center table, admiring it's simplicity which radiated power; well except for the trio who sat lazily with towels covering their faces.
They were mentally exhausted from the 2hr long concentration and mana usage. Fortunately, Yue was there as she was assigned by Ken to observe, regulate and manage the mana they will be outputting.
With her being the magic genius amongst the trio, she made sure that they didn't use more mana than necessary which saved them from collapsing from mana exhaustion. Of course she did her fair share of weightlifting by outputting more mana while Ken and Hagime built-up a wish for the artifact's concept.
After resting without saying a word for a while, the trio drunk some sacred water in substitute for some mana refilling potions and soon came alive.
Their eyes then met the others' eyes which seemed to alternate between the golden Doorknob and the trio. Hagime then spoke in annoyance to the obvious edging behind their looks.
"Okay! sheesh, you won't even allow the Sacred water to kick in before giving us that eyes"
"They can't help it. And I'm sure you're curious too, right?" said Ken as he picked the doorknob and examined it in his hand with his [Forth Sight] ability. The artifact contained the magic power that couldn't be compared with all the other artifacts he and Hagime had created until now. With a smile he continued,
"… It's a satisfying result. I feel a large power in it. The sensation feels like the Compass of Eternal Paths"
"The concept artifact that Liberator Haltina's recording gave us after that cryptic message?" said Hagime with confusion before voicing his doubt.
"Since it was an artifact, basically for finding people across long distances or showing precise coordinate of places afar, we haven't had any use for it. So how can you know it's similar to this artifact "
Kenshiro stopped examining the Golden Door Knob, then gave Hagime a meaningful smile before speaking.
"I know because I felt it. I was the first to touch it when it was given, and when I did for that brief moment; my mind seemed to transcend distance and boundaries, see everyone I had met in Tortus at the same time... it was unreal.
...if we combine the compass with this doorknob, it's guaranteed to send us home. Now we have to test this Golden Door Knob "
After Ken had finished speaking, Suzu raised her hand like it was a class session. This small action brought nostalgic smiles to her fellow classmates who would now choose a Monday school day over their current situation.
"A little info on this compass?... for those of us who failed to clear Haltina's Labyrinth"
Yue chose to take this one.
"To add to what Hagime just said, the Compass of Eternal Paths uses spirit magic to surmise what the user is wishing for, then by using spatial magic, it ignores the spatial gap and distance, and searches for the target. It can also give coordinates of where your target is, since it doesn't provide spatial travel."
"My mana has refilled. It's time to test our theories, are you guys ready?"
Yue and Hagime along with the others nodded in response before following Ken to an open space beside the living room. Once there, they kept quiet and just observed as Ken took the Compass of Eternal Paths and gave it a vivid imagination of whom he wished to see.
With the coordinates of his target given, Ken then poured mana into the Golden Door Knob to activate it and thrust it out to the front. The thrusted-out Knob stopped a few centimeters infront of Ken, and released a subtle spatial energy that seemed to shape the space around it.
With only the coordinates in mind, Ken twisted the Golden Door Knob and the most bizarre thing happen. The space infront of them shook greatly and began to transform into a crystal door with the Golden Door Knob as it's handle.
Sounds of astonishment could be heard behind Ken as he pushed the Golden Door Knob along with the crystal door. But what the others behind Ken didn't know was the huge quantity of mana that was being poured into the artifact.
It was so absurd, Ken's larger creations like his aircrafts and Light vehicles weren't as taxing on his mana reserves as this little guy.
From the fully opened door were noise that were calling out to someone like they were missing. Ken and the others passed through to the other side to see a very familiar view of the blue ocean, clear skies and wooden houses.
It was Erisen, the island town of the Seafolks where Ken's party stayed before exploring the underwater Labyrinth, but this time something felt off...
"Remia!! Remia!!! Myu!!! Remia!!..."
After passing through, Ken and the others could now make out the names the Seafolks were calling.
Ken then rushed to the nearest guy and inquired what had happened to Remia and Myu for them to be calling her name like a search party.
"Myu and Remia... what happened to them? Is she missing? kidnapped...?"
"Ken? Hagime? how did--"
"Where are they?!!"
"I... W-we don't know. Many flying humans suddenly appeared yesterday and demanded for Myu and anyone related to her... we didn't know what to do until they started fighting with a black figure in the sky above the sea. We had to hid for safety and after the fighting stopped R--"
Kenshiro didn't wait for him to finish before disappearing into thin air, at least that's what the guy saw.
The others who could catch a glimpse of his sprint knew where he headed and followed with haste. Soon they were in front of Remia's house and stopped as soon as Ken did.
He closed his eyes and murmured before saying something aloud,
"I can sense it with them, good. Now RISE!!"
At the end of Ken's voice a black figure appeared from the shadow casted by the house with Remia and Myu in it's arms. This sight put Kouki, Shizuku, Suzu, Ryutarou, and Nagayama on guard as they weren't around during it's creation.
Koari and Shia then signaled them that it wasn't a threat, at very least to those who were on Ken's good side.
"Kenshiro-dear...?"
"P-Papa!! Myu was very scared but Blackie... hiek hiek i missed you"
"It's okay, papa is here. Stop crying my strong Myu, I'm here"
When Remia and Myu saw Ken, they ran into his arms in relief and tears from seeing someone familiar and reliable. It seemed Remia was able to stay calm and trust the black figure who fought for them was because Myu was able to recognize it, meaning Kenshiro made it.
"The way i see it, Overkill completed it's task but why did it keep them in the Shadow Subspace for that long. A fault?
There could have been some issues if Myu and Remia were kept for days when we haven't arrived" said Yue inspecting Overkill.
"Maybe it was because of the lack of complex data input or the lack of direct control?".
Hagime gave his thoughts from the standpoint of someone who had also created a golem.
"No, I don't think so. Because I created it before we acquired Spirit and Metamorphosis Magic, the instructions I gave it in regards to rescuing was simple and straight forward.
If it's twin was eliminated, then it was to take the targets and retreat to the [Shadow Subspace] where it was to stay put if it kept noticing the ene--"
"Ken! There, in the clouds."
"It's far but I can also see it too"
Tio and Riveria interrupted Kenshiro by alerting them to a presence in the clouds above. The rest raised their heads to see a winged humanoid figure, by which Hagime immediately recognized as an Apostle of Ehit.
His Donner appeared in his right hand from the Treasure trove and without much thought emptied all his rounds. The railgun bullets broke the sound barrier seven times to reach its target, who proceeded to block with a pair of broadswords without a scratch.
The group thought that the winged figure would retaliate after blocking such dangerous projectiles like it was nothing, but after they had formed their battle stances and all, the figure flew away speedily much to their confusion.
Ken figured that Ehit was desperate for information and a trump card to even target Myu, so without taking any chances he summoned Vahn, activated [Forth Sight] and switched to Second Circle before turning his target who was 4km away into dust.
"It's done. Come, it's not safe here"
This ability to turn his targets into mist from kilometers away, froze the ones who weren't around him before the Demon invasion but he just gave a lovely smile to Shizuku before walking toward the crystal door with Myu in his arm.
He reassured the worried Seafolks of Remia and Myu's safety, and restored the places affected by the fighting before leaving.
...