Non-Administered World #97, Star Rail Universe…
Noah could not take his eyes off Hyperion as it descended through the clouds. Tears blurred his vision, but he made no attempt to wipe them away.
He already knew who was aboard. Finality Kiana had told him what happened during the previous course of events, how these same people had crossed into another universe just to reach them, only to arrive after Hayate had died, Sirin had fallen, Reinforce had disappeared, and Noah himself had already carried Dormammu into Finality.
Yet now Hyperion was here while all four of them were still alive. Hajime had even changed one of the most painful moments of that future by black-holing Voldemort before he could ever fire the Killing Curse.
"You can get emotional later. We still have a situation to take care of."
Noah's eyes widened at another familiar voice. He looked toward the descending Hyperion and found Hikigaya Hachiman standing on top of its hull, completely unbothered by the violent winds whipping through his coat and hair. His Geo Astral Emblem flashed as an enormous amount of Imaginary Energy gathered around him.
"Hachi…" Noah muttered.
Hachiman's eyes moved toward him. Relief flashed across his face for barely a moment before disappearing beneath his usual tired expression. "You seriously look terrible after all that crying."
"Ahahahaha! It's nice to see you again too, bro."
"…Yeah." Hachiman's expression softened into a small smile. "I… feel the same, bro."
For a moment, the two simply smiled at each other. Hajime, floating beside Noah, glanced between them with quiet understanding. The previous future was still painfully fresh in his mind: arriving too late, learning what had happened to everyone, and being crushed beneath the frustration, guilt, and helplessness of failing their friend and brother.
But this time, he, Hachiman, and the others had made it.
They had arrived before the first tragedy could happen again.
"…Let's save the emotional reunion until after we finish dealing with this disaster," Hachiman said as he raised one arm and released the Geo Imaginary Energy he had gathered.
"Gather."
Six enormous Geo pillars materialized high above Mahora. Each one stood hundreds of meters tall, rivaling some of the largest structures in the world. The ground trembled violently when the pillars descended around Mahora Academy.
"Stabilize."
Just as Hachiman had once contained the explosion within the Maze of Trazayuya, he intended to do the same here. If he could create a solid Geo barrier around the spreading wall of corruption erupting from the World Tree, they could buy enough time for everyone to devise a proper method of stopping the planetary assimilation.
"Solidify!"
At Hachiman's command, Geo energy surged between the six pillars and formed a colossal barrier around the corrupted zone. The tremendous pressure Noah had been holding back immediately weakened as the barrier took part of the burden from him.
Noah finally released a breath that felt as though he had been holding it for hours. His arms still trembled beneath the pressure, but now the weight was manageable.
'Captain?' Finality Kiana called through their connection.
"I'm alright." Noah rolled his shoulders and let out a huff as he adjusted the Force holding back the dark-purple wall. "That idiot just took a ridiculous amount of pressure off me."
"I can hear you, idiot," Hachiman answered without missing a beat.
"Good. Then you heard me." Noah laughed.
"Coming from someone whose previous solution was carrying an entire cosmic parasite into the conceptual end of existence, I'm choosing to ignore the insult."
That answer hit Noah harder than he expected. His smile twitched as Hachiman glanced toward him from Hyperion's hull while continuing to regulate the Geo energy surrounding the barrier.
"Hachi… I…"
"Seriously, what are we supposed to do with you?" Hachiman released a long sigh.
"Ahahahaha…" Noah lowered his head and laughed weakly.
For once, Hachiman did not answer with sarcasm. His expression softened as he looked directly toward Noah.
"We're here now. We arrived before any of that happened." His eyes moved briefly toward Sirin, Hayate, and Reinforce before returning to Noah. "So this time, we'll find a new answer together. Because none of us are accepting the solution you used before."
Noah nearly lost what little composure he still had. Before he could respond, however, Hyperion's communication network suddenly activated and AI-chan's hologram appeared directly in front of him.
The usually energetic AI looked ready to make some kind of announcement, but the instant her eyes landed on Noah, every prepared word vanished. Tears immediately gathered in her eyes as her emotions completely took over.
[CAPTAIN!!!]
"AI-chan…"
[YOU'RE REALLY HERE!] She practically threw herself against the edge of the holographic window, crying openly as she reached both hands toward him despite knowing she could not actually touch him. [You disappeared right in front of everyone! Then you went somewhere even AI-chan couldn't follow, and I thought… I thought I'd never get to see you again!]
"Sorry, AI-chan. I worried you too."
[Of course you did!] she cried even harder. [AI-chan is your beautiful, dependable Hyperion AI! Who else is supposed to keep you from doing stupid Captain things if you disappear into Finality?!]
A weak laugh escaped Noah. "I missed you too."
AI-chan sniffled loudly as her lips trembled into a relieved smile. [Captain…]
She barely had time to enjoy the reunion before several dozen connection requests suddenly flooded Hyperion's network. New communication windows began forcing themselves onto the channel from every direction, pushing AI-chan's hologram farther and farther toward the corner of Noah's display.
[W-WAIT! HEY! AI-CHAN WAS STILL HAVING HER EMOTIONAL REUNION WITH CAPTAIN!]
She desperately tried to shove one incoming window aside, only for two more to appear over it.
[STOP CONNECTING ALL AT ONCE! THERE'S A QUEUE! A QUEUE!!!]
Nobody listened.
Present-day Kiana's face suddenly filled one of the largest windows. She was already crying, but the instant her eyes found Sirin floating beside Noah, whatever restraint she had left disappeared.
"SIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!"
Sirin nearly fell out of the air. "S-Sis?!"
[HEY! KIANAAAAA! AI-CHAN WASN'T FINISHED YET!!!]
Another screen opened beside Kiana's, followed by another. Within seconds, AI-chan's long-awaited reunion had been completely buried beneath the rest of the Chronicle Express crew forcing their way into the channel. Only her tiny holographic head remained visible in one corner of the display, cheeks puffed indignantly while tears still clung to her eyes.
[…EVERYONE IS SOOOO MEAAN!!!!!!!]
"You're alive!" Kiana pressed both hands against the screen as tears streamed freely down her face. "You're really alive!"
Sirin could only stare at her sister. Then her lips began trembling, and all the confusion and bravado she had been carrying since awakening in the past finally collapsed.
"Sis…"
Elysia appeared behind Kiana with tears of her own running down her cheeks, one hand resting against Kiana's shoulder as she smiled toward Sirin. Kiana tried to speak again but failed to get the words out, while Sirin hurriedly scrubbed at her own eyes before pointing accusingly toward the screen.
"D-don't cry like that! You're making me cry too!"
"You're already crying!"
"SHUT UP!"
Their argument had barely begun when another window opened beside them. Nanoha and Fate appeared together, and the instant Hayate saw them, her eyes widened.
Nanoha immediately covered her mouth with both hands while Fate stared at Hayate and Reinforce as though looking away might somehow make them disappear again. Then both called out almost at the same time.
"Hayate-chan!"
"Hayate!"
"Nanoha-chan! Fate-chan!" Hayate's eyes widened even further as she stared at her friends through the holoscreen.
"Nanoha-san! Fate-san! You all came, desu!" Reinforce began crying beside her.
"Of course!" Nanoha made no effort to wipe away her tears. "We… w-we thought we lost both of you!"
"When we arrived before…" Fate struggled to speak through her tears. "…all of you were already gone. We couldn't even…"
"I remember dying too," Hayate admitted while wiping at her eyes, only to immediately realize that had not helped.
"Please don't say that so casually!" Nanoha cried.
"S-sorry!"
"I-I'm sorry too, desu!" Reinforce added.
Fate stared at both of them through her tears. "Why are you apologizing for dying?!"
The sheer absurdity of the exchange pulled a helpless laugh from Noah, but more communication windows were already opening around him.
Lumine appeared from Hyperion's bridge, her eyes wet as she stared directly at him. Unlike the others, she did not shout. She simply rested one hand over her chest and smiled with such overwhelming relief that another painful knot tightened inside Noah.
"We made it…" Lumine whispered. "We made it… We made it this time."
"Yeah, Lumi." Noah swallowed. "You all made it."
"You… you told us to keep going." Lumine wiped one tear away. "You never said we had to keep going without you."
Noah had no answer for that. He could only look at her with guilt and relief mixing painfully inside his chest.
Elysia leaned into Kiana's screen, her smile somehow becoming sweeter despite the tears on her face. "And you, our dear Noah, left us farewell messages before disappearing somewhere none of us could follow. Do you have any idea how unfair that was?"
"…Sorry?"
"No." Elysia's smile became frighteningly pleasant. "You can apologize once I can physically reach you."
Noah glanced warily toward Hyperion. "…I suddenly feel threatened."
"You should," Hajime answered beside him. "I haven't forgotten that stupid message you left either."
Noah slowly looked toward him. "…Right."
"You owe me a punch."
"Only one?" Noah managed a faint grin.
"Keep talking, and I'll add more." Hajime's eye twitched.
The threat should have sounded dangerous, but the tiny smile Hajime failed to hide said far more than his words ever could.
The communication channel continued filling. What had started with the rescue team quickly expanded into nearly everyone connected to the Astral Express crew. Alice and Anisphia appeared from Deviluke with Sona, Sagiri, Lavinia, Ophis, Ilia, Lainie, and the others crowded behind them. Alice Louise covered her trembling lips when she saw Noah, whispering a broken, "Captain…" before tears finally escaped.
Anisphia showed considerably less restraint and immediately promised to help Alice beat Noah senseless once Hajime brought him home, earning what was quickly becoming Noah's most common response of the day.
"Why is everybody threatening me today?!"
Another feed opened from the Astral Express itself. Herta sat near the front with Gabriel while Belfast, Ram, Rem, and many of those who had remained behind crowded within view. Herta stared at Noah for several seconds before her lips trembled.
"…Dear."
That single word wiped the humor from Noah's face.
Herta immediately turned away and wiped at her eyes with visible irritation. "Do not misunderstand. This is merely an involuntary physiological response caused by excessive emotional stimulation."
Ram and Rem stared at her with gentle looks while Gabriel merely smiled.
Noah understood the mercy being offered to Herta's dignity and nodded solemnly. "Of course."
"Do not patronize me."
"I wouldn't dare."
"You absolutely would."
Then the DesuMachi expedition team in Gururian City also joined the channel.
Mei and Ruan Mei appeared at the front with Tinasha, Zena, Sora, Patricia, Kagura, and the rest of Team Ash Born's family gathered around them. Mei's eyes were noticeably red, but Sora had absolutely no interest in preserving anyone's composure.
"NOAH-NII!"
"Sora-chan…"
"You idiot!"
"You too?!" Noah winced.
"You made everybody cry!"
Noah hesitated. "…That accusation is becoming increasingly difficult to defend myself against."
Kagura babbled enthusiastically from Tinasha's arms and reached both tiny hands toward the screen as though trying to pull Noah through it. Noah laughed through his tears while Hachiman, still maintaining all six Geo pillars from Hyperion's hull, closed his eyes with an exhausted sigh.
"…Troublesome family."
Mei looked directly toward his feed. "You are included in that statement, Hachiman."
"...."
The channel filled with everyone who considered the Astral Express home was connected somehow. Some cried openly, while others smiled through wet eyes or remained silent because simply seeing Noah, Sirin, Hayate, and Reinforce alive was more than they could immediately process. Even those who had remained behind during the rescue attempt were there now, watching from different worlds, homes, and operation centers.
The overlapping voices should have been overwhelming, but to Noah they sounded like home. He looked from one screen to another as the tears he had been trying to contain finally escaped without restraint. Sirin floated beside him, arguing with Kiana while both sisters cried.
Hayate and Reinforce talked over each other while Nanoha and Fate repeatedly demanded confirmation that they were truly unharmed. Hajime pretended the moisture gathering at the corners of his eyes did not exist, while Hachiman continued holding his Geo barrier together with the expression of someone mildly inconvenienced by the laws of physics.
A laugh escaped Noah, trembling with everything he had been holding inside since the tragedy first began.
"Everyone…" Noah looked at all of them and tried to find words large enough for what he was feeling. In the end, all he managed was a small smile.
"…Welcome back."
"Wrong line, Noah." Lumine shook her head immediately, tears still shining in her eyes. "We're the ones who should be welcoming you back."
Noah stared at her before another shaky laugh escaped him. "Right… right."
He finally wiped his tears against his shoulder before looking across the many screens again.
"By the way… how did you guys get here this early?"
The mood across the channel changed. Hajime's faint smile disappeared. Hachiman glanced downward from Hyperion's hull, while even present-day Kiana and Elysia became more subdued.
"When I was in Finality, I learned what happened after I disappeared," Noah continued. "Last time, you guys came here aboard Hyperion too, but you arrived… after everything was already over."
"It's because we arrived last time that we came earlier this time," Hachiman answered with a tired sigh. "We remember that failure. That alone made all of us move faster than before."
"When the timeline returned us to this point, everyone caught within the reversal regained what happened during the previous course of events," Lumine continued.
"We remembered VA's emergency call. We remembered hearing that Hayate had died, that Sirin was gone, and that Reinforce had disappeared. We remembered you staying behind after everyone else was evacuated, and we remembered crossing from our universe into this one because we were trying to reach you before you did something irreversible."
She bit her lips as her hands clenched.
"And we remembered arriving too late."
Noah watched Lumine and the others carefully. Sirin, Hayate, and Reinforce Zwei did the same. The guilt, fear, and helplessness on everyone's faces were impossible to miss.
"So when we realized we had returned to this point," Lumine continued, "we didn't repeat the same preparations. There was no emergency meeting, no discussion over who should go, and no argument about whether crossing into another universe was too dangerous. Everyone who joined the rescue the first time already knew what they had chosen."
AI-chan materialized beside her and puffed out her tiny chest. [The instant AI-chan realized what happened, Hyperion's dimensional systems were already charging!]
"Hajime teleported directly aboard," Lumine continued. "Hachiman did the same. Kii and Ellie left the Express immediately. Nonon, Fii, and I left the Marvel operation. Team Slash/Dog moved the moment their recollections returned, and everyone else who had joined us before headed straight toward the nearest Space Anchor."
"There wasn't exactly anything to discuss," Hajime said with a shrug.
"We already knew what happened when we wasted time," Hachiman added, glancing toward Noah.
"And none of us wanted to experience that again." Kiana wiped at her eyes.
Lumine nodded. "The moment the last rescue member materialized aboard Hyperion, I ordered AI-chan to jump."
[After performing all critical safety checks!] AI-chan added immediately.
"While people were still boarding," Lumine said, giving her a sideways look.
[AI-chan can multitask!]
Laughter spread across the channel, breaking some of the tension before Lumine looked back toward Noah.
"We knew exactly how little time we had. We knew when Hayate would die, when Sirin would fall, when Reinforce would disappear, and roughly how long remained before you reached the point where you would sacrifice yourself." Her voice trembled as a smile returned to her face. "So we didn't waste a single second deciding something we had already decided once."
Lumine drew in a shaky breath.
"And thank Akivili… we made it this time."
Noah closed his eyes.
Those words reached somewhere deeper than all the shouting, crying, threats, and laughter that had filled the channel. Because this time, the tragedy that had consumed all of them had already begun to change.
He could not help but chuckle as he opened his eyes again. The wall he had once desperately struggled to stop alone was now being held back by both him and Hachiman. Hajime floated beside him, while Hayate, Sirin, and Reinforce Zwei remained alive and ready to fight, even after Hajime had already removed Voldemort from the equation.
"Then we're not wasting this chance," Noah said.
Hajime raised Event Horizon. Sirin moved closer to Noah while Hayate lifted Schwertkreuz and summoned the Tome of the Night Sky. Reinforce Zwei wiped away the last of her tears and took her place beside Hayate, while Hachiman stared down at the corrupted World Tree.
"This time, all of us are walking out of here together."
—------
Once the crew's reunion finally settled down, everyone's attention returned to the crisis in front of them. Noah and Hachiman had stopped the expansion of the corrupted wall, but the problem itself had not been solved. Planetary assimilation was still progressing beneath the surface, albeit much more slowly, and Dormammu's presence continued eating away at the world's consciousness through the leylines.
They needed to act quickly if they wanted to end the battle before history found another way to repeat itself.
"VA, connect the Alliance to our channel," Noah ordered. "We need the latest update on the world's current status."
[Roger,] Void Archives replied. [Connecting Chaldea, Mahora, Starblazer, Arthra, and Alliance communication channels to Hyperion's network.]
Within moments, several additional communication windows opened around them as Chaldea, Mahora, the Arthra, Starblazer, the Alliance forces, and Hyperion linked their feeds together. Readings from every faction began appearing across the shared displays, with the corrupted World Tree at the center of them.
[Greetings, Lord Peverell and your companions,] Marisbury spoke first from Chaldea's Command Room. [While we certainly have many questions regarding how we returned to this point in time, there is still a far more urgent matter in front of us.]
"We can save that discussion for the debrief." Noah gave him a small smile. "For now, just as you said, we have work to do."
[Then we shall wait until afterward.] Marisbury nodded before bringing up Chaldea's latest readings. [First, the good news. The rate of planetary assimilation has dropped significantly since you and your companion halted the expansion of the wall surrounding the World Tree. However, the underlying problem remains unchanged.]
A three-dimensional projection of the planet appeared beside him. Dark-purple lines spread outward from the World Tree and descended deep beneath Mahora, branching throughout the leylines like veins.
Kirschtaria enlarged the projection. [Just as in our previous future, Dormammu's influence has already penetrated deeply into the leylines. The World Tree remains the primary entry point, but the corruption is no longer localized entirely within it. Portions of the surrounding leyline network have already been altered.]
[Our findings are the same,] Konoemon added from another window. [Mahora's leyline network has become increasingly unstable. The World Tree has always acted as one of the greatest concentrations of mana in this region, which is precisely why Dormammu's influence spread so rapidly after gaining access to it.]
"So our situation is basically the same as before." Noah frowned.
[Yes,] Marisbury answered. [The assimilation may be progressing more slowly than during the previous course of events, but the fundamental problem remains. Without a reliable method of removing Dormammu's influence from the leylines without damaging the planet itself, we cannot completely stop the process.]
"I wasn't able to finish my analysis last time because of Voldemort, but with everyone here, I should be able to complete it properly this time." Hayate summoned the Tome of the Night Sky once again.
"The Tome and Rein should be able to produce a detailed analysis of the corruption. Once we understand exactly how Dormammu altered the leylines, we can start building a proper countermeasure."
"Hai, desu! Leave it to me!" Reinforce Zwei saluted before flying over Hayate's shoulder.
Nearby, Hajime stared at the projection for several moments. His expression grew increasingly thoughtful before his attention moved toward the actual World Tree below.
"If the corruption is spreading through the leylines, then I can deal with that part."
"Hajime?" Noah glanced toward him.
"Dormammu is using the planet's leylines to spread his influence throughout the world, right?" Hajime narrowed his eyes while observing the World Tree. "Then our priority should be stopping the assimilation from spreading any farther."
Understanding immediately crossed Noah's face.
"Do you mean…"
"Yeah." Hajime nodded. "I'll use my Authority, Blessing of Terra. I should be able to isolate the corrupted ley lines from the unaffected ones. That will stop the spread, and once the contamination is contained, everyone else can work out how to remove it."
"Got it. We'll leave that to you."
"Hm." Hajime began descending toward the ground.
[We shall accompany and guard Hajime-sama,] Euphyllia said from one of Hyperion's screens. Ingvild stood beside her, with Villhaze and Rossweisse following behind them as the group moved through Hyperion toward the hangar. [We will protect him while he works on the leylines.]
[We'll make sure nothing reaches Hajime-kun!] Ingvild nodded.
[And we will not allow anything to reach Milady or Lady Euphy!] Villhaze added firmly.
Rossweisse nodded with the same determination.
Hajime glanced toward their screen while descending and released a resigned sigh. "Fine. Just don't do anything reckless while I'm concentrating."
[I believe those words should be directed toward yourself first, Hajime-sama.] Euphyllia smiled pleasantly.
"…I knew you were going to say that."
[Then me, Nonon, and Fii will guard Captain, Onee-chan, Hachan, and Rein-chan,] Kiana said from another screen. [Hajime can focus entirely on the leylines, while Captain and Hachiman can keep containing the wall without worrying about another surprise attack.]
[That works for me,] Nanoha immediately agreed. [I can defend everyone while still providing bombardment support if something tries to break through.]
[And I'll handle anything fast enough to get past our defenses,] Fate added. Her expression hardened slightly as her eyes moved toward Hayate and Reinforce. [We already know what happens when the enemy gets one opening. We're not giving them another one.]
Hayate's expression softened. "Nanoha-chan… Fate-chan…"
[No arguing either, Hachan,] Kiana added before Hayate could object. [You, Onee-chan, and Rein-chan are the ones analyzing the corruption while Captain holds it back. Let us worry about protecting you this time.]
Sirin crossed her arms, though the small smile on her face betrayed just how much those words affected her. "For once, I agree with Sis."
"Hey! Why did you say 'for once'?" Kiana immediately complained.
"Because it annoys you."
[SIIRIN!]
Their familiar bickering earned several exhausted laughs from the channel, easing some of the tension as Kiana, Nanoha, and Fate made their way toward Hyperion's hangar to join the others below.
Herta, however, did not join in. She remained focused on the reports from Chaldea and Mahora, silently reading through the data before her eyes slowly narrowed as an idea came to her.
[Little Commander, once you finish your analysis, share the results with me.]
"Little… Commander?" Hayate blinked and pointed toward herself. "Are you perhaps talking about me?"
[Who else would I be talking about?] Herta raised an eyebrow before waving her hand dismissively. [Anyway, let's not waste time on something like that.]
Her expression became more serious as she looked directly toward Hayate.
[As I said, once your analysis is complete, send everything to me. I may have a solution for dealing with this situation.]
"…WHAT?!"
Several voices exploded across the channel at the same time.
Herta visibly winced. [There is no need to shout.]
"Wait, wait, just wait a second, Hii!" Noah called out. "What do you mean you might have a solution for dealing with Dormammu?!"
[Hmmp!] Herta crossed her arms as a smug grin appeared on her face. [While it remains a conjecture at the moment, finding a solution to a predicament like this is well within the capabilities of a genius such as myself.]
Noah and the others stared at her with even greater surprise.
[Using your previous solution as a basis, I believe I can construct a far more acceptable answer to this problem.] Herta's grin widened, and she tilted her head toward Elysia.
[By using our Little Pink as our trump card.]
[Huh?] Elysia blinked. She slowly pointed toward herself. […Me?]
====== Chapter 245 END ======