2:30 AM

Bimmy was blindingly fast. He was clearly far more experienced with the device, and he also lacked the overwhelming muscle mass his brother had—he was solidly built, yes, but nothing like the mountain of muscle that Jimmy had been.

He was too fast for Asagi or Mr. Harada to target the tubes pumping the anti-magic black fluid. Lightning-fast strikes knocked both fighters to the ground before anyone could even react. Bimmy did not intimidate with sheer size, nor did he advance slowly to terrify his prey; the younger brother simply acted—and he was devilishly effective.

Kaguya tried once more to summon her helpful, spinning yōkai—a long creature with blades instead of forelimbs, known as a kamaitachi—but Bimmy dispersed it with a quick flick of his hand. Suzuki attempted to throw his crowbar again, but the heavy tool sailed toward where the attacker no longer was—and without a weapon, the taxi driver was out of options.

Aya, Robert, and Kaguya moved closer together. All three could rely only on magic, to which Bimmy was currently immune. He stopped and measured the remaining group with his gaze, scanning for signs of immediate danger. Apparently, he found none—though he remained alert, positioning himself so he could keep everyone in view.

“Is this the moment for… I don’t know, negotiations?” Kaguya asked.

“I don’t believe we’re equal partners in that conversation, young lady. Your warriors have been neutralized, and I assume that means you’ve run out of non-magical options.”

Robert cautiously glanced at Kaguya, who seemed to be discreetly watching something near the taxi. He turned his attention back to the attacker, desperately searching for a solution. Bimmy could easily shrug off magical attacks, but Robert had no idea whether the power of the kami—which he supposedly controlled—was on a higher level than the magic used by Aya, Kaguya, or even Murata. He himself would never have described it as control; he simply did things, and then things happened. With time reversal, at least, he had a vague idea of what he was doing.

Was it possible that the power of the kami surpassed conventional magic? He wasn’t sure. But he knew one thing: invoking the kami in desperation was a last resort—an extremely risky move that could just as easily blow up in their faces. Kaguya seemed strained and stressed, but she hadn’t completely lost her composure. Robert glanced at the bundle she was clutching.

Bimmy caught his look.

“So that bag contains your time-travel device? Or is it a magical artifact? It doesn’t matter—I’ll be taking it now. I know it’s not very diplomatic, but first, we need it more than you do, and second—let’s be honest—you could cause enormous damage with it. History knows plenty of cases where immense power fell into the wrong hands and led to catastrophes on an astronomical scale. You don’t believe me? Then imagine that, long ago, some idiot destroyed Earth’s Moon…”

Robert’s eyes widened.

“Shocked? I told you. Now, hand it over peacefully—it’s for your own good…”

“But wait a moment!” Kaguya protested diplomatically. “We arrived here completely by accident. Perhaps you could tell us what such a time-travel device looks like? Then we’ll recognize it immediately and hand it over—because yes, it does sound dangerous…”

“Ugh, what a waste of time… Although, no—we actually have plenty of time, from another point of view. Very well. I see the young lady is being reasonable.”

Bimmy reached into his strange suit and pulled out the same kind of box Jimmy had carried: a gray, rather cheap-looking case with a large dial. The whole thing looked more like something built in the early nineteenth century than incomprehensible advanced technology from the distant future.

“Time-travel devices come in many forms, but if you have something like this, just hand it over and that’s that. You can calmly reconsider your situation afterwards, and then someone else will pick you up—”

“Sir! Excuse me! I can’t see very well in this light—could you bring it a little closer? I just want to be sure!”

“What? Fine, have it your way…”

Standing safely out of reach of those still on their feet, Bimmy extended the box toward them.

“Tamamo, NOW!”

The fox burst out from beneath the taxi and snatched the box in her jaws, wrenching it from Bimmy’s hand. She darted back to the group and hid behind Robert as Kaguya grabbed the device.

“So what now?” Kaguya asked defiantly.

“…Tch.” Bimmy shook his head in disbelief. “Then I pull out my spare and—”

Kaguya twisted the dial and grabbed Robert’s hand. The world around them nearly froze.

“This is just like that anime where a vampire stops ti—” Robert started babbling, overwhelmed.

“We don’t have time for that! I mean—we do, but not for that! Look, he’s reaching for his pocket!”

They rushed toward Bimmy. Robert grabbed his arm just as—even at this slowed pace—he was slipping his hand into another pocket. Robert pulled harder than intended; the arm bent at an unnatural angle, and a cracking sound followed moments later.

“Oops!”

“Did you just break his—never mind! Remember what he did to Asagi and Mr. Harada!”

Kaguya reached into Bimmy’s pocket and pulled out another identical box—the third one they had seen today. Meanwhile, Robert yanked the tubes of black fluid out of the threaded implants in the attacker’s neck.

They backed away to a safe distance, carefully stepping around the frozen Tamamo. Only then did Kaguya cautiously turn the dial back to its original position.

“…and I twist—AAARGH! My arm!”

The bandit collapsed to the ground, writhing in pain.

“It was Tamamo!”

“What do you want from me, gaijin?”

“I knew we forgot something! Tamamo—that was it!”

“Are you mocking me, mortal? I didn’t want to venture deeper into Edo—I might have run into real demon hunters! Not this child!”

She snorted contemptuously toward Asagi, who was just getting back on her feet after Aya’s accelerated healing.

“Do you want a stick to the head?”

Tamamo darted behind Kaguya, hissing from between bared teeth.

Meanwhile, the bandit continued to writhe on the ground. Most of the black fluid had already spilled out, disabling his anti-magic protection.

“That anti-magic fluid—where did you get it?” Kaguya asked.

“From where I come from. That's distant future for you, judging by your clothes.”

“Why are you asking him that?” Robert interjected.

“Do you have a better idea for defeating Murata? One that doesn’t involve blowing up the entire planet with kami power?”

“Well… not really…”

“What do you mean, ‘blowing up the planet’? What did you do earlier?”

Bimmy slowly began to put two and two together.

“Nothing. Forget it. Listen—Aya will leave you a healing talisman. Right, Aya?”

“What? I—I guess…”

Aya was just getting up after healing Mr. Harada yet again; she had lost count of how many times she’d done it tonight. She was utterly exhausted, but the group needed her help, and the small shrine maiden was determined to give everything she had.

“How very gracious of you…” - Bimmy commented.

“Please, no comments like that. You beat up two of us.”

“As I said—it was for your own good!”

“Then perhaps I should demonstrate the depth of my gratitude?” Mr. Harada spoke up.

“No, thank you…”

“Please listen,” Kaguya continued. “We’re going into the future. I think I understand how this device works now. And we’ll be looking for anti-magic fluid.”

“I wish you the best of luck with that—but I won’t help. That’s a lesson you have to learn on your own.” - Bimmy said ominously.

Everyone—Robert, Kaguya, Suzuki the taxi driver, Mr. Harada, the exorcist Asagi, the small shrine maiden Aya, and even Tamamo the fox—gathered tightly together.

“Everyone ready?” Kaguya asked.

“We don’t even know what we’re supposed to be ready for…” Tamamo grumbled.

“For anything,” Kaguya replied sharply.

“I just hope someone doesn’t jump out again and knock out Asagi-kun and Harada-san…” Aya voiced her concern aloud. The two fighters instinctively took defensive stances.

“I can’t wait to see what Tokyo looks like in the future!” Robert said, visibly excited by the prospect of another jump.

“All right—this should be the right setting!”

The decidedly non-futuristic device displayed the number “1.”

“This must be the starting point—at least from the Steel Brothers’ perspective!”

The group crowded around the taxi. A yellow glow enveloped them, and moments later they vanished from Bimmy’s sight.

“Damn fools,” he muttered, pushing himself up from the ground.

Robert watched as the buildings of Edo Bay transformed at increasing speed—modern skyscrapers rising, appearing out of nowhere. The only thing that remained unchanged was the full Moon, shining brightly… until it split in two. He shut his eyes, unable to bear the sight. When he opened them again, he saw that they were floating above the ocean, with land barely visible on the horizon. The glowing aura began to fade.

“We’re going to fall into the water!” he shouted to Kaguya.

She immediately reached into her seemingly endless supply of magical powder and scattered it beneath their feet. Everyone—including the taxi—began to float.

“Just don’t let my taxi fall into the water! My insurance doesn’t cover that!” Suzuki complained.

“Relax. I have things under control—for now. Only that anti-magic fluid can hurt us…”

“That fluid?” Asagi pointed at a slick of black substance drifting on the water’s surface.

“We’re getting out of here!”

Kaguya made another gesture with the powder. This time, instead of a kamaitachi, a different yōkai appeared—a rather ugly-looking monkey floating in midair.

“Kaze no kami! No tricks this time! Behave yourself and push us toward land!”

The spirit grumbled under its breath, but obeyed. The entire group landed safely on the beach just as the glow of the time-travel device faded completely.

“What’s happening to me…?” Tamamo began—but her fox form dissolved into a plume of smoke. Moments later, she had fully transformed into a swirling gray cloud, spinning in the air.

“Maybe now she’ll finally stop arguing…” Aya sighed.

The gray cloud swirled angrily in response.

The group looked around and noticed a silhouette emerging from behind a dune. A tall woman stepped into view, dressed similarly to the Steel Brothers they had encountered earlier.

“Sup,” she said. “Looks like my brothers got a little too confident—or ran into someone smarter than them. Or both. Doesn’t matter. My name’s Marian. It’s a female name, in case anyone has doubts.”

Unlike her brothers, Marian didn’t seem aggressive—but rather resigned and disappointed.

“You took their time-travel devices, didn’t you?”

“That’s right. Well—one of them got smashed.”

“Tch. They’ll pay for that out of their own pockets.”

“Sorry,” Robert interjected. “But… what is this wasteland?”

“Wasteland? Oh, that.”

She gestured around.

“This used to be Tokyo. It was—until some careless mage shattered the Moon, and a fragment fell to Earth, wiping out civilization as we knew it. Ancient history.”

Marian pointed up at the night sky. Indeed, only half of the Moon remained.