"Um... I'm starting to really understand what you said a while ago, Nii... about there being stronger explosives..."

Kiku comments, still gulping and looking shocked. I pat her head.

"And doubtless, the boy will stipulate this is quite a weak one as well, fufufufu..." Seria cackles.

"Hmm... I'd say that one was moderately strong, to be honest, master. It had a much better output than I first thought. It's high power for what infantry would use. Anything bigger would need me to make alot more things, I think."

The mercenaries are still slack jawed; and coughing in the case of Fortinbras. Esraye carried her man over, as he was still unconscious for some reason.

"That is... Etranger power? Scary. Would even melt metal form, likely. Scary..." Esraye comments.

"Yep, onii-chan is scary, sometimes." Aria shivers.

"But doesn't that part of Elijah-sama make you shiver in a good way, Aria? Hehehe..." Rishya giggles.

"Much power does makes all girl weak in knees!" Kali exclaims, grinning.

Aria gives them two the stink-eye but for some reason doesn't refute them. I guess it is a universal truth... I'm glad to have the chance to become stronger than my old self, for sure, especially with the current result!

"But did it work, yes?" Kaede queries.

We still can't see for sure, with all the flickering patches of white flame and hovering smoke.

"Whatwhatwhatthehellwasthatwhatwhatforteee!!!!" Is suddenly heard from behind us.

I turn to see that blonde mercenary girl from before literally comes soaring out the darkness like a flying super-heroine.

She impacts Fortinbras in a high speed glomp. It's a good job he's so armoured, else he would have been sent flying himself.

All of us manage a nervous laugh.

She is removed from him using his rather prodigious strength.

"Jeanette. I am fine. More importantly... you have left your post!" He rebukes her.

He has a stony gaze. Brutal. She looks teary eyed.

"Ah... I... I'm sorry..." she hiccups.

"Hah... It cannot be helped in this case..." He relents, and then coughs from the smoke a bit. I think he got the worst of that. We're all sneezing and coughing a bit, though.

Suddenly, she goes 'ah!', clicks her fingers, and a magic circle appears.

Briefly it feels like the entire place turns into a wind-tunnel.

The smoke is all carried away rapidly, though it makes us all close our eyes from the winds intensity.

Well... it worked... I think.

The column has been vaporised for the most part. Small parts of black stone still litter the ground, but mostly speaking it's entirely gone.

But queerly, the old base is flickering with a mixture of both white fire from the explosion, and purple necrofire.

There was necrofire in the room before, of course, but it seems that it has now all amalgamated in the centre.

The purple pyre grows rather rapidly, engulfing the white flames. It's hard for me to tell with my rudimentary magic sense, but I think... it is sucking in power.

"That... that's not a good thing, is it?" I say.

"No shit, boy. We should retr..." Seria begins to remark, but then...

A deafening crack noise that makes my ears squeal in displeasure resounds.

It... it's like a hugely amplified version of the noise you get when Rishya stores things...

My impromptu hypothesis is rapidly confirmed, as I am basically grabbed off my feet.

I can't help but let out a scream, and so do the girls, as we are all ripped upwards and go spiralling towards where the column once was.

The centre, before I impact it, turns into a swirling black vortex of nothingness.

I vomit as it feels like everything in my body is run over, and I'm getting ironed out and stretched.

It can't see myself. Everything goes dark.

...

...

...

Yes…

He is here.

We have waited.

You are the most like us.

You will come.

You will dwell.

We shall play.

It shall be of much fun.

We have never had fun.

Even though we play.

We have forgotten.

…

Ah... the spirits... this is... this is the void, isn't it?

I am in it, and this time, no-one has my hand.

I start to forget. Everything fades rapidly from my head. The girls. My mission. My joy and my job.

Everything fades.

...

...

...

What? What was I? Huh...

What was I doing?

Well. It can't have been important.

Oh... playing, you say?

Yes.

Quite.

You want to play?

Hmm... part of me...

Why do I...

Hah.

Playing?

Sure.

Sounds good.

I want to play with you. I know lots of games.

I know... lots of...?

Do I? Did I play games?

What are games?

Actually...

Who am I?

...

...

"Noooooooooooooo!"

An ear-piercing shriek resounds.

"You! You cannot have him! He is mine!"

What?

Suddenly, the nothingness in my vision coalesces into a bizarre landscape of... something... green and black and purple...

"Mine!!!!!!! Not yours!!!!!!!"

I judder and shock. Lightning and liquid metal swirls around me. I feel sick in my stomach. But suddenly, it feels as though my mind returns along with sense of self.

I get a massive feeling of anger and disappointment. Who dares stop me from playing!

What?

Why did I want to play again?

"Massssteeerrr!!!"

Suddenly, a young girl appears out of nowhere. She has metallic skin, mismatched red and blue eyes, ornate wings, is wearing a strange metal dress, and has long spiky blue-white hair that runs with electricity.

She grabs hold of me in a hug and feels very warm.

I see. I understand instinctively that this girl is a relative. No... not a relative, but...

"You... you saved me, right? You're my spirit, aren't you...?"

She is rubbing my chest with her head like Aria did that one time, and looks up, nodding.

Hmm... so it seems... I was sucked into the void?