Encore 60 — The Truth of Wonderland (II)

{Kazuya's POV:}

Wonderland is a place inhabiting approximately 10,000 people. This place may be under the Japanese mainland but it was running on an entirely different power source, or so residents tell me.

The Everheart—a beating engine of both mana and aether. It powers the buildings and technology in Wonderland. It sounds almost ridiculous and futuristic but it supposedly exists. They acquired it by chance a year and a half ago.

From the way Wonderland is set up, I can already guess what Kanata-san's motives are. Perhaps, to protect the people here from the outside world, otherwise, the Everheart would not be needed. It's not like the people living here are wanted or anything.

"Seems like there were children here around until a year and a half ago."

Mei came to us with information.

"A year and a half ago, but that's..."

"When Kanata-san installed the Everheart in Wonderland."

I finished Kaito's sentence.

"We'll need to find out where the Everheart is and destroy it. That engine will only work for so long before Alice Kanata begins sacrificing more innocent people to use as fuel for it."

Elizabeth explained to the group.

Fuel... That's right. She used the children as fuel for the engine. That's why there's no more left.

I sighed.

Fuck. The Everheart is most likely in Kanata-san's bungalow. We'll need to cause a distraction and have someone sneak in. We can't do much but if what Elizabeth surmised is true, then we have to do something.

"We can only let a single person sneak in. It can't be me. I'm not good at stealth. I mean, I carry guns around."

Elizabeth said.

"Kaito and I aren't that adept physically compared to everyone else. So the choice is either Kazuya or Myraliana."

"If I went, I feel like there would be more trouble. Alice Kanata is someone I know and she knows who I am but isn't revealing it."

I told them.

"So the only viable option is..."

Everyone turned to Myraliana who almost choked on the water she was drinking.

"Gah, no. I'm not doing it."

"Myra,"

Elizabeth called out her name and glared at her, almost as if to send a message. Myraliana flinched and sighed.

"Fine... But don't blame me if I'm caught. So, are we even sure that the Everheart is in the bungalow?"

"Many people I asked said it was 'under Kanata's care.' It's most likely in the bungalow. With your Ascalon, it should be easy enough to invade."

"Oh, yeah, I've been meaning to ask for a while now,"

Mei started.

"That sword of yours... 'Ascalon,' is that not the name of a dragon-slaying sword?"

"Yes, but this sword is not the 'Ascalon.' It's a clone of the real thing, so its potential is sliced in half, despite being identical. Its proper name is Ascalon Version Zero. A prototype among prototypes."

As she explained Ascalon, she summoned it.

I remember the first time I met her, she had Ascalon on her waist, but every time I see her use it, she summons it.

"Uhm, shouldn't we be wary of something?"

Kaito raised his hand.

"What?"

I asked, tilting my head.

"The apostles from the Divine Church. They stayed as well. If we're found out, not only will we have to fend off the civilians, but also those apostles."

"It's fine. The entire time I was gradually evaluating their power. Yuichi Asame would be the most troublesome but he was frequently experiencing muscle spasms, most likely from overusing his Singularity."

Mei sure works fast. Instead of thinking of the apostles as allies, because we were hired to help, she thought of them as enemies. I guess that's more advantageous at times.

"Shinobu Kurokage is a prodigy so she's the most troublesome after him. Kyrie Flügen's body is fit and conditioned for extreme swordsmanship while Renya Shirokuma is frail but has a high magical output. Hm?"

Mei looked at us, shocked by our stares.

"Sorry, was I geeking out?"

We've barely been with them for a day and she's already accounted for their strengths. That'll make it easier.

"Then, Myraliana will go. If the Divine Church interrupt, Elizabeth will handle Shinobu and Kaito will handle Kyrie and Renya with the support of Mei."

I said.

"Let's not fail."

·———·

"Hello, Yuichi Asame."

Alice Kanata approached Yuichi as he was walking back towards the guest house.

"Oh, Kanata-san..."

They went into the guest house and sat down in the lounge. Alice had free time and had spotted him, wanting to talk. Yuichi was going to debrief his team on their next move when Alice approached him.

"That Chinese girl told me you went to the same school. Interblade, right?"

"Ah, Zhing-Hua, you mean..."

"Do you know a boy named Kazuya Shiba?"

Yuichi flinched.

"What's your relationship with him?"

"He's the son of a friend of mine. I want to know what he's been doing."

Alice feigned ignorance. She knew that the boy posing as Arthur was Kazuya but she merely wanted to know what Kazuya was like. She had not seen him for a few years. To her, Kazuya was like a baby cousin.

The boy's face contorted with anger. He clenched his fist and gritted his teeth. Mana ominously emanated from him.

"What's wrong?"

(I already knew from Kazuya that Yuichi Asame hated him in some sort of way but this hatred is unexpected...)

She sensed something amiss.

"He destroyed our school..."

The woman narrowed her eyes.

"Was it not Alpha who...?"

Then, Yuichi looked away from Alice, noticing that he said something that he should not have. It took seconds for Alice to assemble all of the pieces.

(A relationship of friendship to hate, a disguise, dropping out of school and a group of irregulars. Alpha in Shibuya... Reiko was in Shibuya with her family...)

"How could I have not seen it before?"

Alice hated herself for not noticing. Yuichi's accidental slip of the tongue is what clued Alice in.

"Uhm... Kanata-san...?"

"Yuichi Asame."

"Y-yes?"

"We are going to kill Arthur."

"Arthur? But why?"

"Because Arthur is Kazuya Shiba."