The light and shadow behind the tube flickered. Aiwass's voice vibrated through the room, sounding muffled, like a radio losing signal.
"Of course I know, Aleister. You want to break through the absolute void... to escape this 'Chessboard' and move to a new one."
"You saw the power in Takahashi's body. You wanted to seize it. You thought: 'If I have that power, I can take my daughter, Lilith, and be reborn in a new world where Magic Gods cannot touch her.'"
The Angel's tone was flat, yet it carried a mocking edge.
"You made a move just now. While you were negotiating, you struck him with the full weight of the Phases."
"But... it didn't even budge a dust mote."
"..."
Aleister remained silent.
He had indeed attacked. While Yuuya was speaking, Aleister had unleashed a "Miracle"—a manipulation of dimensional reality intended to erase Takahashi Yuuya from the timeline.
It should have been instant. Yuuya should have ceased to exist.
But the attack vanished the moment it touched him. It didn't bounce off; it simply dissolved, as if the concept of "damage" did not apply to that boy.
It was a power beyond Magic and Science. A Third Law.
"Interesting," Aiwass mused. "This Extraterrestrial Lifeform is delightful. I haven't felt this joy in eons. I almost want to manifest a physical body just to play with him."
"He exists in a superposition state. Biologically, he is Human. But existentially... he is his own closed universe."
"Your attacks are like trying to hit a character on a television screen by punching the air in your living room. The 'distance' between your worlds is infinite. You cannot touch him."
"..." Aleister stared at the empty spot where Yuuya had stood.
"But besides his defensive nature... I discovered something else."
Aiwass's form shifted.
"That right hand of his. It contains a power similar to 'Imagine Breaker,' yet opposite."
"It represents the collective desire of the Magic Gods who have grown tired of this world. The wish to 'abandon' the current reality and seek a new one."
"World Rejecter."
Aleister chuckled softly. The sound was dry and mechanical.
"It seems the Magic Gods wavered. Did they discover Takahashi came from another world and unknowingly poured their desires into him? Or did Takahashi plunder that power from its intended host?"
The implications were terrifying.
Takahashi Yuuya possessed a power Aleister couldn't understand, a defense he couldn't break, and a weapon (World Rejecter) that could theoretically exile Aleister himself.
That was why Aleister compromised.
Magic was useless. Science was useless. Therefore, negotiation was the only logical path.
"Heh. Aleister, Aleister... what are your plans now? You are facing a piece that refuses to stay on the board."
"Aiwass... this is where you fail to understand humans."
A faint, cruel smile appeared on Aleister's face inside the red liquid.
"You cannot understand the thoughts of an ant. Even if he is a god in power... he is still human in mind."
"He has attachments. He has morals. He has a 'home.' As long as he retains his humanity, he can be manipulated."
"Anyone can become a cornerstone of my plan. I just need to change the blueprint."
"Oh? Then I shall watch with anticipation, Aleister Crowley."
The golden light faded. The room returned to silence, the hum of the machines the only sound in the darkness.
...
Outside the Windowless Building.
Zip.
Yuuya reappeared in an alleyway a kilometer away.
He slumped against a wall, his legs trembling. He raised a hand to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead.
"What a terrifying guy..."
Even though he had the Star Grail, standing in front of Aleister felt like staring into the abyss.
Under the Grail's true vision, he had seen something bizarre. Aleister wasn't just a man in a tube. He was a superposition of a billion possibilities—man, woman, child, saint, sinner—all overlapping in a single point of quantum uncertainty.
If an ordinary person saw that, their brain would melt.
"But... I got what I wanted."
Yuuya took a deep breath, steadying his nerves.
"Aleister agreed. But I know it wasn't a simple compromise. He tested me. He attacked me. And when he realized he couldn't kill me, he decided to use me."
"He's employing an appeasement tactic. Keep your enemies close, and your uncontrollable variables closer."
Yuuya grinned.
"That's fine. As long as he doesn't actively oppose me, I can work with that."
He checked his map.
"I didn't get a Directorship, but I got something better. The authority to build a Dark Side organization directly under the Chairman."
"I have a license to hunt."
He put his hands in his pockets and activated Move Point, teleporting toward the Kihara Institute where Nunotaba was waiting.
"I need a name for my unit. Something that reflects my goal of cleaning up this city's trash."
"Let's call it... HARMONY."
"We will bring harmony to Academy City. By force."
But an organization needs members.
Yuuya's mind raced, filtering through the profiles of Espers in this city. He needed powerhouses. He needed people who were useful, dangerous, or owed him a favor.
Five candidates immediately came to mind.
Tsuchimikado Motoharu: The triple agent (Academy City, Anglican Church, Necessarius). He was the ultimate tool for information.
Accelerator: The former #1. If Yuuya could direct his path toward redemption, he would be the ultimate vanguard.
Musujime Awaki: The Move Point user. She needed help to overcome her trauma, but her utility was unmatched.
Shokuhou Misaki: The Queen of Tokiwadai. Her Mental Out was essential for memory manipulation and intelligence.
Scavenger: The Dark Side unit currently rotting in juvenile detention. Shikabane, Naru, Yakumaru, and Seike. They were failures, but with the right leadership, they were loyal dogs.
"Time to go shopping for teammates."
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