"Night, Akatsuki, Ciel?"
Sensing a strange presence, Kuuya and the others were searching the storage room for the source of the presence when the masks in the storage room suddenly reacted strangely and stuck to the faces of Night and the others.
At that moment, all three of them disappeared from the storeroom.
"H-hey! Night and the others are gone!"
"Astonished. They have completely disappeared."
"What in the world happened?"
Luna and the others, who had not yet fully grasped the situation, were simply confused.
Immediately, Ouma, who had been searching for Night and the others' presence, opened his eyes.
"This is ridiculous… not only on this Earth but in Argena as well, the presence of Night and the others has completely disappeared…!"
As a Genesis Dragon, Ouma was able to sense the presence of objects beyond the world's borders because the worlds were connected, albeit only through a doorway.
However, even Ouma could not find the presence of Night and the others who had disappeared.
"This is bad, this is bad, this is bad! How am I going to explain this to Yuuya…!"
"D-do you have any clues?"
"Speaking of clues, that mask left on the wall might be a clue, but I don't know what will happen if we touch it carelessly!"
"Lexia, don't touch it, okay?"
"I-I know!"
Something had happened to Night and the others despite the fact that Yuuya had entrusted him to take care of them. Kuuya was devastated.
But the trouble was not over yet.
"Mm!"
"Lexia, go back."
"…Found. The owner of the presence?"
Suddenly, a strong presence took over the storage room.
The presence was exactly what Kuuya and the others were looking for, and they hadn't expected to find it at this time.
And the place where that presence was felt was──.
"A coffin?"
"…There's a presence coming from inside this strange coffin."
It is a magnificent coffin as if it housed Egyptian royalty.
It is covered with gold ornaments and jewels, and you can tell at a glance that it is no ordinary coffin.
Ouma and the others look at the coffin with alarm.
Finally… the lid of the coffin slips off──.
"Ugh… Where is… this place…?"
＊＊＊
"Is it… over…?"
I murmured, still wary of my surroundings.
There was no sign of Yin and Veda coming back to life.
Just as I was convinced of that, a sudden feeling of exhaustion overcame me, and I fell to my knees in place.
"Master!"
"Meoww!"
"Oh… thank you, Meiko."
I was so tired that I couldn't even stand up.
"Because you two were able to stop Veda, I was able to face Yin. Thank you very much."
"N-no. I was saved by Master… and I am very happy to be of service to you in this way."
"Meow."
No doubt, without Meiko and Stella, I would not have been able to defeat Yin.
And most importantly, if it wasn't for the thoughts and power that the other me had entrusted to me…
When I suddenly remembered the other me that had disappeared, I felt gloomy, and Kuro called out to me.
"Hey! The 'Power of Existence' you absorbed is about to overflow!"
"Eh?"
As soon as I replied with such a timid response, a light suddenly began to emanate from my chest.
"W-what in the world is going on?"
"Doesn't your body hurt?"
"I'm fine, but…"
While I was stunned by the sudden phenomenon, a particularly strong light was emitted from my chest.
It erupted like a geyser and poured down into this jet-black room.
"T-this is…"
Then a world of soap bubbles was born from the rain of light!
"Could these be the worlds that… Yin absorbed?"
Whether my prediction was correct or not, I don't know, but every time the light fell on this Between World, the number of bubble worlds increased.
And before I knew it, there were countless bubble worlds floating around in the Between Worlds.
At the same time, the light overflowing from my chest stopped.
"Perhaps the power that Yin and Veda had accumulated to create the world could be returned to the original world…"
I have no idea how this phenomenon happened.
But if this is indeed how the world was restored to its original state, then…
"I wonder if the world of the other me could have been saved as well…"
I muttered to myself, thinking about the other 'me' that had disappeared.
After a short pause, I was able to move, and then I encountered my next problem.
It was…
"Well… how do we get home…?"
"Well…"
If what Yin had said was true, then the only world left in this Between Worlds was the one I lived in.
So I should have thought about what to do after finding that one world, but now that countless worlds have been resurrected in this way, I no longer even know which one is my world.
Besides, there is another problem.
"What will happen to Stella?"
Yes, Stella was originally an inhabitant of this Between Worlds.
In other words, she was rejected by the world.
Maybe she was born here, but I don't know if her existence is big enough for the world to accept her.
While I was thinking about this, Stella raised her voice.
"Meow."
"Eh?"
"Meoww──"
"Huh?"
The next moment, Stella's body turned into a particle of light and jumped into my body!
I'm suddenly confused by this, and Kuro yells in surprise.
"H-hey! A cat suddenly came to me!"
"Meow~!"
"Huh? Does that mean… Can Stella come out?"
"Meow!"
Stella meowed again briefly, and a light particle appeared from my body, taking the form of Stella.
"Meow, meow!"
""…..""
Both Meiko and I were startled by the unexpected sight.
Then Stella returned to my body again as a particle of light.
"I-Is it possible to bring Stella-sama back to our world…?"
"I-I don't know… I don't really know, but…"
I don't think it would change the scale of Stella's existence if she went inside me…
Anyway, we won't know until we actually return to our world.
Well, we don't even know how to get back to our world…
While I was racking my brain, the Holy Evil Creation was unexpectedly triggered.
"Master?"
"N-no, I didn't activate it by my own will…"
I don't know why the Holy Evil Creation was suddenly triggered, but the aura of the Holy Evil Creation was flowing through the Between Worlds as if leading somewhere.
Could it be…
"Is our world up ahead?"
"For now, let's follow Master's aura!"
"Yes."
As we walk along, following the aura with a ray of hope, we eventually see a world. That world, unlike the bubble-like world floating around, was a world enclosed in a cubic membrane.
If you look closely, you can see countless other worlds of the same shape floating in the air around it.
"The world around here seems to be different from the others…"
"Maybe this cube-shaped world is the dimensional world we live in."
While I was thinking about this, a voice suddenly echoed in my mind.
"──You are in an amazing place, Yuuya."
"Eh! T-that voice is… Argena-san!"
Surprised by the unexpected owner of the voice, Meiko, who did not know Argena-san, tilted her head.
"Master? Who is Argena-sama…?"
"A-ah. You know that my house is connected to another world, right? The name of that other world is Argena, and she's talking directly to my mind right now."
"What? The planet has a mind of its own?"
"It seems to…"
I don't know about other planets, but at least I can communicate with Argena-san this way.
"I didn't think it was possible, but I couldn't have predicted that you would even transcend space… and be in that Between Worlds. Do you realize how dangerous that place is?"
"…Yes. But there was a reason I had to come…"
I answered Argena-san, who had a somewhat reproachful tone, although I was somewhat afraid to answer her.
Then Argena-san let out a sigh.
"Sigh… this recklessness is similar to Zenovis. More importantly, do you have a way to get back?"
"No, um… I'm just wondering how to get home now…"
"…You really are reckless."
Argena-san sounded more and more dismayed by my answer. I-I'm sorry…
"It's okay. If it's Yuuya who has the Holy Evil Creation, then you should be able to come back to me directly."
"I-is that so?"
"Yes. Activate the Holy Evil Creation and approach the world in front of you. When you do, its power will lead you back to me──"
Argena-san told me this, and then I heard no more voices.
I had received a solution from an unexpected source, and I activated the Holy Evil Creation again.
"Meiko! If we approach this world in this state, it seems that we can return home. If it's Meiko who made a soul contract with me, I think we can return together without any problem. So please come closer to me."
"Yes!"
After saying that, Meiko hugged me.
I-I was very embarrassed to be held so tightly, even if it was for the sake of returning to our world, but I quickly shook off those thoughts, and we went to Argena-san's world.
And then──.
"──!"
With tremendous speed, all kinds of scenery passed through my field of vision.
As I looked at the scene… I found myself back at Sage-san's house, which I knew so well.
"D-did we make it back…?"
I looked around again, but I was sure it was Sage-san's house that I knew so well.
"W-we made it!"
I let out a shout of joy at having made it home safe and sound.
For a while, I wondered what was going to happen, but I'm so glad to be back…!
"Well… according to Yin, it seemed that Between Worlds had no concept of time, but I wonder if there is a time shift?"
"I don't know… either way, I think we need to report this to Reimei-sama."
"That's right. Then, when we return to the house on the other side──."
"──Yuuya-kun…!"
"Eh?"
Just as I was about to enter the house, I was called out and turned my eyes to the voice.
It was Iris-san who was in tatters.
"I-Iris-san."
I ran to her, but she seemed to lose her nerve when she saw me and collapsed on the spot.
I held her in my arms for a moment, and then she let out a cry.
"H-help… us…!"
──Immediately after returning to this world, I found myself in a new kind of trouble.
＊＊＊
Meanwhile, at the time…
"W-woof?"
"Buhi."
"Pii?"
Mysterious masks were attached to their faces, and Night and the others who had been thought to be lost were standing in a strange space.
In the devastated land, the wreckage of a civilization that must have perished.
Two red moons floated in the purple sky.
"Woof…"
The world was not one Night and the others had ever known, and though they looked around carefully, they could see nothing that looked like life.
Then Night noticed that the mask that had been the source of his being sent here had fallen at his feet.
"Woof."
He touched the mask cautiously for a moment, but there was no particular reaction.
"Buhi. Buhi~"
"Piii!"
"Woof! Woof!"
Akatsuki and Ciel picked up the fallen masks and put them on their faces without any hesitation as if they thought that they could shift back they put the masks on like they did when they first came here.
Night hastily tried to stop them, but Akatsuki and Ciel continued to wear the masks without paying any attention to him.
However, since there was no reaction when the masks were put on, Night was relieved for the moment.
"Woof…"
Fed up with the two who are going at their own pace to no end, he looked forward.
Where is this world?
Why have they been sent to this world alone?
Despite not knowing anything, Night and the others must return to Yuuya somehow.
"Woof, woof!"
"Buhi? Fugo!"
"Pii!"
Night took the initiative and called the two beasts, and they decided to explore this strange world.
What in the world awaited them? The three friends' journey had just begun.