One-way traffic

"Hurry! Take Reimu to the shrine!"

Before she could even think about her own body, Yukari Yakumo addressed everyone who had been teleported there.

"She is the shrine maiden of Hakurei. If we return to the shrine, her spiritual power can be restored. Once her spiritual power is restored, her life, which is gradually fading away, can be saved even when she is unconscious—cough!"

"Zi, Master Zi...?!"

After Yakumo Yukari finished speaking, she discovered that her clothes were covered in blood.

Unconsciously, she coughed up a mouthful of blood.

"My abilities... they can't even sustain me anymore...?"

Has the once wise yokai fallen to such a wretched state...?

What a ridiculous scene.

Yukari Yakumo shook her head helplessly. If those moon people saw her now, they would definitely laugh at her from the bottom of their hearts.

Although, before long, they will probably be among those who face destruction.

"In any case, we'll be safe once we get to the shrine."

"Why? If we're going to hide, wouldn't it be safer to hide in the Monster Mountain?"

"I... I think the underworld should be a safer place, right..."

"No, no—how could a place where the dead dwell be safe!"

The girls in front of me were still arguing, and even in this apocalyptic scene, they were still able to maintain their usual leisurely demeanor.

There's nothing we can do about it; perhaps that's just how the girls of Gensokyo are.

Even at this point, it's impossible to act according to conventional common sense and logic.

"The defensive barrier of Hakurei Shrine is the largest area in the entire Gensokyo."

As she spoke, Yukari Yakumo walked behind the torii gate.

She gently placed her hand on the wooden board.

And so, the light shone.

Bang——! !

And just like that, a dazzling white light, shining like candlelight, instantly enveloped the entire shrine.

"Waaaaah...!"

The girls stared in awe; to them, this was a scene unlike anything they had ever witnessed before at the Hakurei Shrine.

"This shrine was built a long time ago."

"In the past, repeated fusions constantly ravaged this world, and the priestesses of that time, in order to protect the innocent people, relied on the power of the gods to set up a barrier here."

The light spread outwards at a visible speed, illuminating the entire area around the shrine.

However, that is still a limited area.

That dazzling, holy light could only illuminate the vicinity of the staircase area at most.

The black and red power outside completely sealed everything inside.

"...So, even the power of a god is powerless to resist?"

Even the power of the ancient gods that once gathered at the Hakurei Shrine could not match the power of that demon.

Yukari Yakumo had no idea where the demon came from or its true identity, but—that was all. The glimpse of its power was enough to crush the powers of all the gods and monsters from the distant past as if they were ants.

She had reason to believe that even if all the most powerful gods in the world appeared before that demon, it would still be able to annihilate it with just one arm.

This is no longer a monster that can be dealt with by beings of god-like status.

"At least it will allow us to settle down for a while."

She sighed deeply.

"But, but Lady Murasaki, there are still many youkai and humans in other areas of Gensokyo..."

"We can barely take care of ourselves, do you think we have any way to save them?"

"What, what did you say? How could this be...!"

Yakumo Yukari's words surprised someone.

That was a magician girl with a pure and upright heart.

"You mean to just leave those who have no way to resist alone?"

Marisa stared wide-eyed at Yukari Yakumo.

"I would never do that! No matter what you think, I'm going to save them!"

"You idiot...didn't you understand what Lord Zi meant?!"

The response she received was not from Yakumo Yukari, but from her shikigami.

Yakumo Ran's face showed some anxiety.

"What you can think of, Lady Zi certainly thinks of much more than you do, but now is not the time to consider these things—"

"What do you mean, 'no'? Are we just going to stay here safely and let the people of Gensokyo live in this nightmare?!"

"You...you're absolutely stupid! What if Lord Murasaki and the others went there and were wiped out by that monster's power? You've already seen it, haven't you? Even if Lord Murasaki and the priestess worked together, they were still instantly killed!"

"If that's the case... then even if I'm the only one left, I'll still go and save them."

"you…"

No matter what Yakumo Ran said, the black and white mage in front of her would never compromise.

"You will die, human. Even if you possess magical powers, you are still nothing compared to that monster!"

"This is so annoying! This kind of thing... this kind of thing! If that guy can do it himself, why can't we do it too!"

The sparks between the two continued to fly.

however.

"…etc."

Alice, who was standing nearby, suddenly opened her eyes wide.

She stared at the sky in disbelief.

"Then, then could it be—?!"

"What…?"

Yukari Yakumo was also drawn to her words and turned her gaze to look over as well.

Under the watchful eyes of all the girls, something did indeed fall from the sky.

That was a shooting star.

The meteor transformed into a white speck of light, slowly descending from the sky towards the front of the Hakurei Shrine—

Boom——! ! !

After a huge impact, a cloud of dust erupted from the front.

"Could it be—!"

Yukari Yakumo immediately raised her hand and manipulated the gap.

Despite the immense damage this caused her body, she persisted in doing it.

Then, the figure landed in front of everyone.

"what…"

Marisa and Alice were both taken aback.

His body was covered in signs of destruction.

Even his gray-white clothes were almost completely tattered, and his white hair was covered in dust.

His white hair obscured his face, preventing the girls from seeing his lifeless expression.

"Accelerator...Accelerator."

Alice rushed to him.

Then, the girl froze.

"Alice... Hey, Alice?"

Marisa blinked and quickly looked at her.

But Alice's eyes narrowed sharply in shock.

"No...heartbeat..."

That is to say.

What I saw before me was nothing but a dead body.

"What... what did you say...?"

"How is this possible... That's Accelerator! He's a powerhouse who could easily defeat even the Moon People—how is this possible!"

Marisa, Alice, and even the others nearby couldn't contain themselves any longer.

"Hey! Stop pretending, buddy... Wake up! Wake up!!"

Despite Marisa's shaking and Alice's stunned silence.

The white figure remained silent in place the whole time.

however.

What no one saw was...

A purplish-black current flashed deep within his heart.

——————————————————————————————————————

"…oh."

Other places, far from that world.

In an underground location known as Academy City, a platinum-gold, humanoid life form opened its eyes.

Its name is Aiwass.

"Are we finally about to arrive? That realm that crosses Osiris."

"Unlike that third-ranked Railgun, the dimension you've arrived at... is actually more unique?"

But that was completely different from the realm that humanity had once envisioned.

It is completely different from the highest pursuit of the entire Academy City.

To comprehend the divine will with a non-divine body—

"Not 'Horus,' but 'Harpocrates'...?"

Chapter 503 Regrouping

Judging from the feeling, this human should be dead.

The physical damage he suffered, as well as the mental burden he endured, had all exceeded the limits he could bear.

In any case, Accelerator could no longer live.

But, despite this.

—And yet, he still appears in places like this now.

"here it is…"

When he opened his eyes, what he saw was a world that was very familiar to him.

The vast world is surrounded by black and white.

The embodied concepts representing his various abilities were all placed around him, while he himself floated in this boundless void in the form of a spiritual entity.

This is a spiritual world where one can roam freely.