Project Device

The absence of fear stirred the yokai’s instincts. It leered at Noel, wondering what her flesh would taste like.

Noel approached the creature and cocked her fist. She drew first blood as she swiftly punched the yokai across the spacious hallway. Kotaro watched wide-eyed. Despite her smaller frame, her foe was hit several meters away from them.

The yokai heaved to its feet. The excruciating pain Noel inflicted as her fist bludgeoned its jaw aroused the sadistic monster. Its grotesque grin escaped its lips, masochism seemingly evident.

“Before I exterminate you, how did you access the Outside World?” Noel questioned. “No one from Densetsu is allowed access to the Outside World unless permitted.”

“Human from Densetsu? I from Densetsu!”

Noel rolled her eyes and sighed, “Always the dumb ones…”

It approached Noel at high speed, almost appearing instantaneous for Kotaro. Each claw was the size of machetes, sharpened for precise execution. Noel dodged the first swing. Kotaro saw the creature slash through the lockers, scattering debris into the nearest classroom. It went for another, failing the first time.

Noel ducked under its swipe. The yokai, lacking experience and relying on instinct, left itself exposed. A glowing aura emanated in her right fist. She got up and delivered an uppercut to its chin.

The impact sent the creature crashing into the ceiling. Debris fell around it, and it was left dangling like a ragdoll. Noel didn’t stop there; she unleashed a series of swift punches, treating the yokai like a punching bag.

Unfortunately, the yokai adapted. Despite its battered state, it swung its large claws in desperation. Noel backed away, but not before sustaining a minor cut to her cheek. This small window allowed the yokai to free itself. It dug its claw into the ceiling, and it began cutting.

Once it was free, the yokai found itself adorned with a makeshift collar made of debris from the ceiling. “Human strong. Human must burn.”

Its claws shrank as it extended its right arm toward Noel. A flicker of flames ignited in its palm, coiling and twisting before swelling into a pulsing sphere of molten energy. Heat rippled outwardly, distorting the air around it.

Kotaro instinctively stepped back, shielding his face as an oppressive wave of warmth rolled over him. Sweat prickled along his skin, his breath catching as the temperature spiked unnaturally fast. The walls and lockers seemed to groan, their surfaces shimmering as though the hallway itself were bending under the intensity.

Then—light.

A beam shot toward Noel’s hand. Glowing embers danced along her fingertips as a shape began to take form—a bow, gleaming and ethereal, as if woven from pure radiance. The weapon shimmered, humming with a power that made the very air tremble.

Kotaro’s eyes glazed. For a moment, he thought he was going blind. The world around him blurred in a surge of blinding radiance.

The yokai reared back, its twisted maw opening to chant, “Attack Sk—”

A sickening crack rang out. The air itself trembled as a radiant arrow tore through its chest, embedding deep into the grotesque flesh. A guttural, choked gasp escaped the creature’s throat, its glowing eyes flickering with confusion, then dread.

Noel exhaled softly, lowering her bow. She turned around, unbothered by the way the yokai staggered. Its claws twitched, desperate to grasp at the wound that refused to stop burning. Noel glanced at the struggling monster, her face devoid of emotion. “The Skill Rules don’t apply in the Outside World. You should know that.”

The creature barely had time to process her words before she snapped her fingers.

A burst of blue flames erupted from within, licking hungrily at its skin and devouring the yokai from the inside out. The yokai screeched, its body convulsing violently, its form crumbling into embers as the azure fire consumed every last trace of it.

Within seconds, there was nothing left but a few drifting ashes.

「Yuuki’s perspective」

Hidden behind his portals, Yuuki lounged in the endless void of his realm—an expanse of utter nothingness, as still and silent as the grave. The abyss stretched infinitely in all directions, a starless, airless chasm untouched by time. Countless eyes floated in the darkness, unblinking and ever-watchful, their eerie presence neither hostile nor welcoming.

Though separated between realms, Noel’s sharp gaze flickered toward him—a silent acknowledgement of his presence.

“Now this can’t be any good for my name,” Yuuki mused.

Yuuki averted his sight to Kotaro, a knowing smile playing on the corner of his lips before fading away. Yuuki opened his parasol, resting it on his shoulders. The Gap Yokai created another portal, the swirling void leading back to his homeworld.

“Someone must be tampering with my portals. Wouldn’t want Yanluo or Navarasa to accuse me.”

「Kotaro’s perspective」

As the last embers of blue flame flickered out, Noel turned her attention to Kotaro. Her gaze softened, a glimmer of concern hidden beneath her composed expression. Without hesitation, she reached out—checking to ensure he was unharmed.

“W-What are you?” Kotaro asked. His mind raced in a whirlwind of questions. She approached him, breaching his personal space. “If it’s a kiss you want, maybe get to know me first?”

“This is kept between you and me. Once the bell rings, I will ex—”

The school bell conveniently rang, interrupting Noel.

“Okay, explain,” Kotaro demanded sharply.

“I’m not from this world.”

“I got that from the way you interacted with that…thing.”

“It’s a yokai,” she corrected. “And the world you discovered last night—”

“Hold on!” His brows shot up with intrigue. “How do you know about that?”

“Everyone in Densetsu knows.”

His thoughts churned as he tried to process Noel’s words, but before he could press her for more information, she began wandering the empty hallway, her posture relaxed, as if none of it mattered.

“Hey, hold on!”

Noel barely glanced back. “I’m heading to Mr. Fereidy’s Class. Would you kindly show me?”

Kotaro blinked. “Mr. Fereidy, but that’s where I’m going…”

The day marched on, indifferent to his growing list of questions. By some cruel twist of fate, Noel was in every single one of his classes. Every time he turned to her for answers, she smirked and feigned obliviousness.

“So, about—”

Noel stretched her arms above her head, conveniently cutting him off. “You ask too many questions, Kotaro.”

Even at lunch, Kotaro remained persistent. He managed to retrieve a few vague responses during each class. “So you’re telling me I’ve been discovering this other—”

“Will you stop blurting this information?” Noel shoved a handful of fries into his mouth. “This is kept between you and me!”

Kotaro coughed, glaring at her as he chewed. He noticed the abnormality in his surroundings. One would expect a throng of students celebrating Noel's triumph over the yokai. However, reality was quite the opposite—it was as though the yokai encounter never took place. Everyone went about their business as if nothing unusual had occurred.

No murmurs, no stolen glances in Noel’s direction. Not even the slightest hint of unease in the air. Utter nothingness.

“About that yokai? Why is everyone acting like nothing happened?” Kotaro addressed.

Noel leaned back in her seat, biting a piece of her hamburger. “It’s my master’s doing.”

Kotaro narrowed his eyes. “Your master?”

She nodded. “You may not sense it, but he rewrote reality—altered the very fabric of this world. It’s as if the yokai never existed at all.”

Kotaro scanned his surroundings, half-expecting to see something out of place—a crack in the air, a ripple of distortion—but there was nothing. Just everyone minding their own business. No whispered rumors. Not even an instinctual unease in anyone’s expression. “So how are we able to remember? Explain that.”

Noel finished her burger, then wiped her hands on a napkin. “That’s because he allowed us to.” Her voice dropped lower. “Master decides what is true and what is not. The boundaries between reality and illusion. What remains and what gets erased is ultimately up to him. Like an author writing a book, he chooses what happens next.”

A chill ran down Kotaro’s spine. He wasn’t sure if it was the weight of Noel’s words or the casual way she said them.

She stood and carried her tray to the nearest trash can. “Now…I don’t want to continue this conversation. At least, not here.”

As the school day drew to an end, Kotaro stowed his textbooks. The clatter of lockers faded into the background. He closed his locker, dead to his surroundings until he sensed a nearby presence.

Kotaro turned to find Noel standing beside him, her presence quiet yet deliberate. She didn’t speak, but the weight of her gaze told him she had been waiting for this moment.

“You’ve been wanting answers,” Noel stated, her tone unwavering.

Kotaro raised an eyebrow, slightly taken back. “Yeah, but at least warn me you’re here.”

“Follow me.” Noel turned and strode across the hallway. Kotaro followed. The construction site loomed ahead, its skeletal frame a frozen sentinel against the gray sky. It was once a bustling hub. Now, abandoned for the season, it stood silent, a monument to halted progress.

The cranes loomed motionless, draped in snow and frost. Tools lie scattered, frozen amidst the half-structures and piles of steel and nails. Who knew how long this slumber would last. The wind seemed to whisper of suspense, the Board of Education’s plans submerged.

“Densetsu,” Noel blurted.

“What?” Kotaro responded, shivering by the icy embrace. Suddenly, the layers of snow began to melt, as the air grew warmer by the second. He felt a strange tingling sensation as the numbing cold was replaced by an unexpected but comforting warmth that penetrated deep into his bones. “Is this your master’s doing again?”

As the snow transformed into glistening puddles, his eyes were drawn to the visible aura surrounding Noel. It shimmered with a radiant energy, casting a soft glow that danced against his skin.

Kotaro lost his patience with her cryptic responses. “I have so many questions, and you’re not answering any of them. First, I want to know what Densetsu is. Second, I want to understand why it’s getting warm!”

“Densetsu is the world you discovered last night,” Noel answered as she rested her back against the wall. “It is the world of the Legends, hidden behind an elusive border within the Outside World.”

“You mentioned that everyone in Densetsu knows that I discovered it. How?”

“This isn’t the first time you discovered Densetsu. In fact, you’ve been to Densetsu multiple times. On the same day.”

Kotaro’s eyes widened. “But I don’t remember any of it. How could I have been there without knowing?”

“The days repeat themselves, resetting everything that has been done by your actions. Because you’re not a resident of Densetsu, you’re unaffected by my master’s doing.”

“Let me guess, he manipulated reality to reset the days again?” Kotaro replied, his voice edged with frustration.

Noel nodded. “Yes. Each time the cycle resets, our memories remain intact—but you remain untouched by these alterations. You’re an anomaly—a visitor to our world, trapped within a loop of forgotten moments.”

“Care to explain why he’s causing this?”

“Let’s start from the beginning…” Noel sighed, a weariness in her eyes as she braced herself to reveal the grim reality. “The sylvan supreme enforced the Project Device production to combat the monster crisis, allowing the people of Sylvia to expand their homes. However, the Project Device comes with a dark price. These artificial beings are known as fakers, lacking a heart and a soul.”

Kotaro’s brows furrowed. “You mean…they aren’t truly alive?”

Noel nodded gravely. “That’s correct. They’re mere imitations of life, tools designed to serve a single purpose.”

Kotaro exhaled sharply. “So what powers them?”

Noel’s azure gaze locked onto his, as if testing him. “What do you think is required to operate a faker? Take a guess.

Kotaro shrugged, “I don’t know. Some sort of battery? A core? It almost sounds like they’re creating a robot.”

A cold silence settled between them before Noel finally answered. “A human soul. At least twenty-four souls to operate a single Project Device.”

The weight of her words hit him like a ton of bricks. His chest tightened as the implications sank in.

Noel continued, her voice low. “And to create a faker that feels human, there’s a specific requirement: the soul of a virgin girl. Their purity enhances the faker’s compatibility, making the imitation more convincing. Girls from Densetsu and the Outside World have been disappearing. Which is why the Kamiyama Shrine Maiden opposed this from the very beginning.”

Kotao’s fist clenched. His mind reeled. Using a soul for such purposes. Such a violation. The person that came to mind was Ashley.

“Tell me,” he demanded, his voice taut with urgency. “Is this the reason why the girls in our school have gone missing?”

“Precisely,” Noel confirmed. She pushed herself off the wall, her gaze fixing on him with intrigue. “This is where you come into play.”

“Me?”

“The production of the Project Devices is protected by a powerful wall—the Makai Barrier. Its lethal defense prevents anyone from entering, and those who try will face imminent death,” Noel explained. She pointed directly at Kotaro. “But you… you’re different. Like I said, an anomaly.”

She crossed her arms, her expression thoughtful. “Think of it like this—our existence is like human eyesight, limited to certain spectrums. The Makai Barrier acts like a filter, recognizing and rejecting anything that belongs to our world. But you? You’re like a mantis shrimp.”

Kotaro blinked. “A…mantis shrimp?”

Noel nodded. “A mantis shrimp’s eyes have three different lenses, allowing it to perceive spectrums of light that we can’t even comprehend. Where we see a barrier, it sees a different reality altogether. The Makai Barrier is designed to repel beings from our world, but you don’t follow those rules. Mainly for the fact that you’re from here. Your very essence operates on a wavelength it wasn’t built to detect.”

Kotaro clenched his fists, trying to process it all. “So…I can enter because, to the barrier, I don’t even register as a threat?”

“Exactly.” Noel smirked. “To the Makai Barrier, you’re invisible—an unrecognized variable that slips right through its defenses.”

But why me? He wondered, the weight of responsibility pressing down on him. “Look, none of this still explains why I discov—”

“I’m not finished,” Noel cut in. “It isn’t your first time discovering Densetsu. In every iteration, you would stumble across an obstacle—a faker like no other. Project Device Type-13 Never-Ending World, or NEW for short. No matter how many times my master resets the days, the results remain the same.”

Kotaro’s breath caught in his throat. “…I die.”

The words felt heavier than before, as if saying them out loud made the weight of his fate all the more real. The gravity of the situation settled in—this wasn’t just about him anymore. It was the fate of two worlds, resting on his shoulders.

What have I gotten myself into? His mind raced, the enormity of all pressing in from every angle. The task ahead loomed. This was bigger than anything he imagined. He teetered on the edge between great danger and inaction.

He swallowed hard. “I just don’t get it. Why can’t your master manipulate reality and change everything?”

Noel’s gaze darkened. “Because he’s seen so much, he wants to see new things. In theory he can, but doing so will violate the Skill Rules.”

That phrase again. Kotaro frowned, recalling how Noel had mentioned it before. His mind flashed back to the battle with the yokai hours ago. Noel had said it outright—“The Skill rules don’t apply in the Outside World.”

But what did that mean?

“The Skill Rules?” he asked.

Noel expelled a wisp of energy from her hands, the same aura radiating from her body. “This is reiki, the essence that emanates in all lifeforms and even non-lifeforms. I am a reikishi, someone who practices the use of reiki. When one learns how to harness it, miracles are born. These miracles are called Skills.”

She let the energy flicker out before continuing. “But power leads to ambition. And ambition breeds destruction. Long ago, the Skill Rules were established—a universal law all reikishi must obey. They exist to prevent chaos, to keep Densetsu and the Outside World from being torn apart. Breaking these rules means death. Immediate, absolute.”

Kotaro absorbed her words, beginning to grasp the fragile balance of power and restraint that governed both worlds. It wasn’t about strength—rather, perseverance. The will to endure within the limits set by those before them.

His mind drifted back to the battle with the yokai. “But the Skill Rules don’t apply here?”

“Correct. That’s why my master could manipulate reality freely here in your homeworld. But in Densetsu, he bound himself by the rules.”

Kotaro exhaled, his thoughts spinning. He now understood the weight of his new destiny. His lost memories. His connection to Densetsu. He didn’t know how or why, but something deep within told him the answers lay ahead. And whether he liked it or not, he was the only one who could find them.

「Ms. Rosenfeld’s perspective」

Ms. Rosenfeld gazed through her office window, her expression unreadable. Below, on the street, Kotaro and Noel stood in quiet conversation, unaware of her scrutiny. She kept her gaze locked onto Kotaro, who walked home alone.

"Not yet," she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper. "The Scarlium must grow stronger… before Mother takes over. He has yet to grow."

Ms. Rosenfeld tapped a finger against the glass, then traced an invisible line through the air. A shimmer pulsed in the fabric of reality, resisting for a fraction of a second before unfurling like a petal of darkness. A swirling rift coiled before her, spectral wisps of violet and black dancing along its edges. It whispered—a soundless hum resonating through the air—beckoning with an eerie pull as ghostly images flickered within its depths. A faint ripple distorted the air around it, as if space itself recoiled from its presence.

Inside, men halted their tasks, sensing her presence.

“Lady Delilah!” They stiffened, saluting at once.

Delilah’s voice was calm but commanding. “The Scarlium is currently with the Azzurum. I expect you know what to do.”

One of the men hesitated. “But milady, Nox wouldn’t approve. You’re meddling with his plans!”

Delilah’s gaze turned sharp. “And where does your loyalty lie? With me or with Nox?”

A suffocating silence fell. The tallest man swallowed hard, sweat beading on his forehead. No one dared look away.

“You are to awaken the Scarlium. No matter the circumstances.”

The men exchanged uneasy glances. “How do you suppose we start the gigaga, milady?”

Delilah’s expression darkened. “That worthless yokai failed his gigaga. I sent him to the Outside World, and he couldn’t even claim a single life before the Azzurum eliminated him. Find me another candidate—one worthy of the gigaga.”

“Right away, ma’am!” Without another word, they abandoned their current tasks, focusing entirely on her orders.

As the rift closed, Delilah turned her gaze toward the endless azure sky. A slow smirk played on her lips. “Soon, Mother… you will awaken.”