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Collapse, Showdown, the Spell for Crossing Worlds – Part 02

Hino, deciding to stay with Lavia until the end of her experiments, had taken leave from his company. Initially, he thought three days should be fine, assuming he’d be forgiven if he came back with an exclusive scoop. But it was nearing a week now. There was no way he could continue without explaining himself to his superior, but he wasn’t ready to hand over the current information just yet.

If the editor found out, Hino’s exclusive scoop would end up in the editor’s hands, and the entire society department would take credit. If more people knew, it could leak to other newspapers. Hino already suspected that information was starting to leak through the scientists’ network. Scientists are humans too, and some might be tempted to post on social media, saying, “I’m witnessing the discovery of the century,” driven by a desire for recognition.

If the editor had planted a spy app on Hino’s smartphone to track its GPS, the location would have been exposed long ago, but it seemed they hadn’t crossed that line yet. Grateful for the editor’s remaining shred of conscience, Hino turned off his smartphone.

Deciding to have a smoke, he pulled out a cigarette and a lighter from his pocket. Despite the rise of e-cigarettes, Hino preferred the real thing. He didn’t usually smoke, but the stress had pushed him to it.

“Phew.”

As he inhaled the smoke instead of the fresh forest air and exhaled, his mind started to clear a bit.

“Well, we’ve reached the point of no return. Once the mana crystals are depleted, the experiment will end, no matter what. Just listing the names of the scientists here would make for an interesting article.”

The scientists were all focused on finding a way to connect this world with another. If successful, it could reshape the future. An unknown world, unknown magic, unknown resources—if this experiment were the catalyst for all that, Hino’s name would go down in history.

“…”

But Hino felt a nagging unease, and the reason was clear: Lavia. She was desperately trying to reconnect with the boy she had been separated from, conducting these experiments at the crack of dawn. Her determination was heart-wrenching, like a lost child searching for their parents. Meanwhile, the adults around her were buzzing with excitement over what they called the “discovery of the century.”

Hino sighed. “I know worrying won’t change anything.” He stubbed out his cigarette in the portable ashtray.

“Hmm?”

He thought he heard footsteps. He scanned the area. There was no obvious reason for anyone to be here at this hour. The scientists were eager, but they were in different time zones, and the staff helping with the experiment wouldn’t be arriving yet.

“Probably just my imagination.”

Then, something moved in his peripheral vision. A deer, a raccoon, or perhaps a bear? His heart raced as he moved toward the source of the motion.

The door at the back of the building was just closing. It wasn’t an animal. Someone was there.

If it wasn’t staff, then it could only be…

“An intruder,” Hino realized. But who could it be?

Regretting turning off his smartphone, he quickly powered it back up as he ran. The back door was somehow unlocked, so he pushed it open.

He could smell people. Several of them. The scent was strong due to the building’s newness. His heart pounded. Someone was here. An unwelcome guest.

“Is that…”

At dawn, the building was cloaked in dimness, with no lights on.

Hino saw light ahead in the hallway. It was coming from the elevator hall. The elevator was running, and light spilled out when the door opened.

Did Professor Arai or Lavia come back up? That didn’t make sense since the experiment had just started.

“They’re going down.”

Hino found himself running. When he got close enough to see the elevator hall, the door was just about to close. And he saw them.

Five well-built men wearing ski masks and camouflage uniforms, each holding a handgun. It was clear who their target was.

“Lavia!”

Hino sprinted toward the elevator, watching it descend.

As his smartphone rebooted, he dialed 110 without hesitation. The operator answered quickly, and Hino explained the situation while running.

There was a fire escape. He could use it to get to the basement.

Who are they?!

Hino bounded down the stairs, explaining to the operator and cursing the poor signal in the reinforced concrete building.

Who leaked? The scientists?

It would be difficult for scientists alone to pinpoint this location, but it could be done with the right resources. If Professor Arai was involved, the building could be traced through the list of the university’s properties. As a journalist, that’s exactly what Hino would do.

So their target is Lavia.

Given their armed presence and the time of their intrusion, they were clearly the unsavory type.

He hadn’t seen any cars outside the facility, but they must be parked somewhere nearby. They were after Lavia, an interdimensional traveler who held the key to another world.

Fuck!

Hino had let his guard down. He believed this research facility, hidden deep in the mountains, to be secure, at least for a few days. But Lavia’s value was beyond imagination. It was no surprise that someone power-hungry would think having Lavia meant controlling access to the other world.

It had to be a foreign force. If that were the case, laws wouldn’t matter. There could very well be casualties.

“Please send the cops immediately!”

The signal was fading, so Hino wasn’t sure if his last words got through. Still, he shouted into his phone as he raced down to the fifth basement level, where the experiment was taking place. His breath was ragged, and sweat drenched his body.

The door to the experiment site was open. It should have been locked.

“Lavia!” Hino bolted.

---

Lavia had been focused on the phenomenon before her. The mana crystals were nearly exhausted. She might only have around ten attempts left to invoke the spell for crossing worlds.

A rift would open, revealing only jet-black darkness, before closing again. This happened every time.

“…”

But something felt different now. It was as if the darkness had wavered.

At times like this, Lavia wished she had Hikaru’s ability to sense mana.

“No change in the observable data this time either.”

Even when Lavia sensed something different, the data Professor Arai was monitoring showed nothing. In fact, the very lack of significant data on the rifts generated by the spell meant that science was of no help at all.

Professor Arai kept talking, but Lavia only offered lukewarm responses.

The spell for crossing worlds was cast by placing mana crystals on a magic circuit and channeling mana through it at the precise moment.

It was different from what Hikaru did. This followed Soaarunay’s method. In other words, only a magic user could perform it.

The darkness wavered. Since nothing’s changed here, then something must be happening on the other side.

The good thing about this testing site wasn’t just the freedom to use the spell, but also that, as Professor Arai’s measurements showed, the environment remained consistent each time, so any change had to be happening over there.

Did something happen to Hikaru? Or is Hikaru trying to do something?

Lavia prepared for the next attempt at the spell. Normally, she wouldn’t perform them in such quick succession, but she didn’t want to miss this change.

“Are you going to try again already?”

“Yeah.”

Ignoring the alarm in Professor Arai’s tone, Lavia concentrated on channeling her mana.

As magical energy flowed into the crystal, a small rift—just big enough for a head—began to open. Was there still a change?

“Don’t move!”

Five men burst into the testing site.

“Be quiet! A rift to the other world is about to open! Wait, who are you─ugh!”

One of the men punched Professor Arai in the stomach, dropping him to the floor. The scene was being streamed through a laptop camera to an online meeting, and screams erupted from the other side of the screen.

“…”

But Lavia didn’t flinch. As a man with a handgun approached, she extended her right hand toward him and unleashed the spell she had been quietly chanting.

“Fire Breath.”

Flames erupted in front of the men, scorching their exposed skin.

“Damn it. Was that magic? Where did the girl go?!”

The man shouted in a language Lavia didn’t understand, looking around frantically.

“What?”

But Lavia hadn’t moved an inch. She remained fixed on the rift.

“It’s getting bigger,” she murmured. “The rift widened because of the magic spell. Why? Does magic affect it?”

“I said don’t move! Do you wanna die?!”

“Then what happens if I do this?”

The men—seasoned mercenaries—froze, startled.

“Lavia? Lavia!”

Hino, who had just arrived, also stood petrified.

A blinding, bluish-white light began to swirl around Lavia, the girl the men were supposed to abduct, the girl Hino was supposed to protect.

Even those unfamiliar with magic could tell that a spell was being cast.