Chapter 23: Aftermath…

Flame and Freeze kept pumping more and more energy into their Whole Magic spell—Energy Eradication Canon. The spell, by design, was to fire a massive beam of magic that consumed any and all things in its path.

It packed such destructive power that comparing it to a force of primordial reckoning wouldn’t be far off.

The twins’ arms, wound in chains that dug into their flesh, began to rise upward in sync—magical energy expanding once more.

Irina had reached her limits of her patience and was about to blast through the center’s roof, straight for the catastrophic asteroid.

Osamu reached for her arm—

—and she pulled it away, preparing to take flight.

The twins let out one last mighty declaration of their spell’s name:

“Energy… Eradication… Cano—Ehh—?!”

Their spell fizzled down to a mere spark.

What they saw scrambled their thought process, and rendered them incapable of executing coherent actions.

The pebble’s surface touched the asteroid, forming an unimaginable buildup of raw kinetic energy that very instant. It didn’t stop there as it tore straight through the oversized rock in a flash—continuing to fly deeper into the vacuum of space.

As if the asteroid hadn’t even registered the impact, it progressed along its path—it suddenly got pushed backward.

Innumerable cracks spread out like veins, but not before its surface glowed a blazing orange. The energy buildup had rendered the asteroid structurally unstable and it lit up the atmosphere with an incandescent glow akin to a supernova.

The surface of the Earth was illuminated with the aurora-like afterglow.

Kuro made a slightly troubled face.

Now, what to do about the fragments…?

The shattered remains of the Ceres-scale threat kept advancing, like they had responded to his very thought. But, even they had not fully escaped from that cataclysmic impact.

Greenish and bluish streaks streaked across the Earth’s exosphere, curving perfectly around its path before shooting back into space with newfound momentum.

On this day, souls from every corner of the globe looked up to the skies to witness a miraculous meteor shower…

At the Tsukuba Space Centre, all mouths hung agape. Not just them, but the entire population had found itself locked in a weighty tranquility. The world had not held its breath—it had simply forgotten to breathe…

The Magi-Twins fell to their knees, coughing up a frightening amount of blood. They held their sides as the chains binding them—the Whole Effect—receded from their flesh into thin air.

“What the heck happened just now?!” Flame choked on his words. “One second, it was right there—and the next, it exploded?!”

He spat out more globs of red that sizzled against the charred ground they’d been standing on. His face was becoming a ghastly pale.

“Bro, forget that for now. At least we’re both still alive… We need to head back and perform the soul healing ritual.”

Freeze glanced in the direction of the forest, where she had noticed the trees rustle due to gale winds earlier.

“Well… I guess we’re done here, aren’t we?”

“Squeak!”

Kuro held out a fist, and Mischief bumped into it.

Just as Freeze offered a hand to help the grievously wounded Flame, she spotted a black streak tearing through the afternoon sky. The smile she wore on that day returned to her bloodied lips.

● ● ●

Kuro was back at his apartment. Mischief flapped away to some undisclosed location, probably to cause some mischief.

The female news anchor mentioned the day being declared a national holiday or something during the broadcast, but Kuro was too preoccupied thinking of a ways to use the rest of it.

What a day…

With his hands tucked under his head, while lying on his bed, he drifted off into a deep sleep.

“W-What was that just now?!”

“……”

Osamu turned his gaze to the pensive looking Irina. A drop of cold sweat ran down her forehead.

They both could tell that the Magi-Twins had not fired off their spell. But, they could sense a minuscule amount of magic had struck the asteroid, with astonishing speed and accuracy.

From her expression, he could tell she was thinking of the single being most likely to cause such an apocalyptic display of strength…

The Demon King.

“But why would he intervene like that?” Osamu mumbled the question to himself. “Was that just a show of force?”

“Whatever the case may be, I need to prepare myself for our unavoidable confrontation in the future…” Irina stared at the screen resolutely, clenching her fist. “I will defeat you…”

“What the fuck happened?!”

“Believe me, I’d tell you if I knew!”

Director Satoshi was on the phone again with the person from before, asking tons of questions he had no answers to. He looked over to Osamu and Irina with a fatigued face. The tension that had plagued all the staff working tirelessly in the hall hours ago had vanished.

They leapt out of their seats, flinging paperwork into the air like it were confetti.

As fighter jets and helicopters did damage checks above the city, the citizens cried out in jubilation. People broke down with tears, people laughed, people sang.

In other parts of the globe, people thanked the gods they believed in. Houses of worship screamed praises to the supernatural powers preached in their faiths. Even the unbelievers in matters of the mystical and unnatural collectively agreed that it wasn’t just some coincidence, and marveled.

A great miracle had fallen upon them, and because of it, humanity would live to see another day. How fortunate they were to be spared from certain doom.

Specialists and authorities swung into action, investigating this strange occurrence. Hypotheses were brought forward. More propositions followed after those. There was now an itch—an itch to know who or what had saved them.

Rumors spread that claimed of some hidden country commanding a “Super Weapon.” Others claimed that it was a result of a sudden chain reaction involving the asteroid’s ultra-rare minerals started to have with wavelengths travelling through space.

A good majority asserted that they had seen “a powerful magic-like energy” gathering at the peak of Mount Fuji, and that it had something to do with the infamous Magi-Twins. That made the most sense for the majority.

But of course, none of those were the truth.

Their savior was the entity who would allegedly lead humanity to their demise. A creature so fearsome, that the very mention of their name sent shivers down spines.

He was the Demon King—taking a nap on a hot, and sunny afternoon.

Kuro Kurosu…

● ● ●

When Kuro had awoken, he’d been greeted by three familiar faces.

“Your might is truly admirable, my Liege.”

“For someone who’s always talking about living like any other regular human, you sure don’t act like one, Lord Kuro.”

“I mean, the destruction was alright, I guess. But think of how epic it would be if a few of those space rocks fell down to Earth. Think of the chaos! I can see all the humans running around in a panic—how exhilarating!”

Why are these three here…?

His nap had been interrupted by the unscheduled appearances of Talmarius, Yuka, and Homura. He could understand Talmarius’s case—he showed up whenever he liked.

For Yuka, it seemed she had come over specifically tease him. She might as well have been trying to get an ordinary stone to float on water. Her snarky quips had zero effect on him, probably.

And concerning Homura… Kuro had started to doubt if he truly followed his instructions not to bring unnecessary harm to humans. Maybe some more discipline should be given.

“Thank you, Talmarius,” Kuro said. “Although, I’m sure you’d best me in flashy displays like that.”

Talmarius chuckled smugly at his master’s praise.

“What’d you expect me to do, Yuka? If you’re not aware, I happen to live on this planet. Wouldn’t it be a problem if it got destroyed?”

Yuka tsked, presumably searching for another comeback to give Kuro.

“And as for you, Homura… What have I told you about that line of thinking? Are you saying to incite a pointless pandemonium on an entire civilization, just to get a few kicks out of it?”

Homura’s face formed an expression that said, “Umm… Yeah. What about it?”

Kuro scratched his head and sighed. Yes, Homura was a Demon—all of them were, actually. But that was no excuse to stir up trouble. Or was it?

Kuro once again subdued his Demonic Heart, which started to suggest questionable ideas.

“Can all of you please give me some privacy now?” Kuro made a shooing motion with his hands. “There are important things I must attend to.”

Talmarius began to beam. “Really, my Liege? If so, I would like to offer my full assistance to your endeavors.” Then he gave one of the most earnest bows he had ever given.

Kuro appeared flustered, and Yuka laughed.

“He’s talking about video games, Talmarius!”