Chapter 24: Rescuing Takanashi Touka
After her disguise was exposed, the "Rikka" standing before him stopped pretending. Her form twisted and distorted, revealing the true body of The Illusion card.
A beautiful woman radiating an eerie aura appeared, clapping her hands lightly.
Like a signal marking the end of a stage performance, everything around them—the warping elevator walls, the marble floor, that nauseating eyeball chandelier—all collapsed in an instant.
Howling wind rushed in.
The violent gusts belonged to the upper atmosphere hundreds of meters above ground.
Kazama Chiba instinctively squinted as his uniform whipped violently in the wind. He discovered he was standing at the edge of a violently demolished opening.
Taking a closer look, there was no first-floor lobby with glass doors in front of him.
Not at all.
Less than a meter ahead, a massive, jagged-edged gap yawned open.
Exposed rebar twisted outward like frozen serpents. Debris tumbled down with the wind, their echoes reaching him only after a long delay.
Outside was empty air dozens of meters high.
Below stretched the glittering nightscape of Kamimizu City.
This wasn't the first floor.
This was a gap in the outer wall of Misaki Mori Tower's upper levels.
If he'd believed that fake Rikka's lies and taken even one step forward...
Right now, he'd be a mosaic pattern decorating the flower bed below.
"Oh my, what a shame."
The Illusion card spread her hands, wearing the carefree expression of someone whose prank had failed.
"You were just one step away from eternal liberation. Why did you have to be so clever?"
"Liberation?"
Kazama Chiba looked at her coldly, raising the Sealing Staff in his hand.
"Keep that for yourself."
The staff's tip gathered crimson-black magical light.
For something that had nearly killed him, he felt not a shred of mercy.
"Before I seal you, I have some questions."
"First, where's Touka?"
"Second, where did the residents of this floor go?"
"Hehe... such a greedy little boy."
The Illusion card blinked her eyes.
"The residents? That was Shadow's masterpiece. It stuffed all those noisy humans into shadows for a nice long nap. Once the seal is removed, they'll naturally return to their original positions."
"As for Miss Touka... she's over there."
The Illusion card pointed to the only room behind her that remained relatively intact.
"Lying on the couch having the sweetest dream. Such a lovely dream that even I couldn't bear to wake her."
Kazama asked, "Why her? There are so many people in this entire building—why did you specifically grab her but leave the other residents alone?"
The Illusion card smiled coyly.
"That's... a secret. Unless... you get on your knees and beg big sister? I might consider telling you then."
"Not interested. I don't really care anyway."
Kazama Chiba didn't even bother dodging. With an expressionless face, he recited the incantation, his hand gripping the staff swinging down sharply.
"Return to your original form! Clow Card!"
The staff's tip pressed against that illusory forehead.
BOOM!
Magical energy surged.
Those bizarre, kaleidoscopic colors were forcibly compressed, finally transforming into a card decorated with geometric patterns that slowly drifted to the ground.
Kazama Chiba bent down and picked up the card.
That sensation transmitted through their mental connection—the authority over illusions—made him nod with slight satisfaction.
This was indeed a good card.
As the card was subdued, the surrounding space underwent another slight distortion.
The true scenery that had been covered by illusions fully revealed itself.
This was the eighth floor.
The illusion in the elevator earlier had made him think he'd reached the first floor.
"What a nasty ability."
Kazama Chiba stuffed the card into his pocket and turned toward the room.
The door stood slightly ajar.
Pushing it open, the interior was unexpectedly tidy. It seemed this model apartment hadn't suffered The Shadow card's ravaging.
Kazama Chiba surveyed his surroundings.
On the living room's comfortable-looking fabric sofa lay a long-haired woman in business attire.
Takanashi Touka.
She slept deeply, her brow relaxed, even a gentle smile playing at the corners of her mouth.
Kazama Chiba walked over and looked down at her.
"Dad... Mom... don't go..."
Her lips moved slightly, releasing an extremely weak murmur.
"Don't leave... we'll be together... forever..."
Her hand grasped at empty air, as if trying to catch a departing figure, before finally falling limply.
That sleep-talk made Kazama's eyebrows furrow slightly. He remembered from the original story that Touka's father had died young and her mother had abandoned the family. No wonder The Illusion card had targeted her.
So-called illusions were nothing but projections of inner desires.
The more someone appeared strong and detached on the outside, the larger the void inside them typically was.
For this woman who'd single-handedly raised her younger sister and been forced to play the dual role of "strict father and loving mother," that shattered family was probably a threshold she'd never cross in her entire life.
With The Illusion card sealed, the magical source sustaining the dream had been severed.
Touka's eyelashes trembled several times.
That blissful expression began to crumble, replaced by the confusion and pain of being forcibly dragged back to reality.
Her eyes snapped open. Those sharp pupils held a moment of unfocused haze, but her body's instincts had already made her spring up the instant she saw the unfamiliar man.
"Who?!"
She instantly rolled off the couch, grabbed the fruit knife from the coffee table, and adopted a standard fighting stance.
Her movements flowed like water. Truly worthy of someone who could fight Rikka with a ladle.
"Don't panic. My name is Kazama Chiba. Your sister asked me to find you."
Kazama Chiba stood in place without moving, spreading his hands to show he meant no harm.
"Rikka...?"
Hearing that name, Touka's expression softened slightly, though she remained wary.
She lowered the fruit knife and rubbed her temples with some pain.
"...That idiot..."
She looked around at this unfamiliar room and the door panels and furniture shattered across the floor.
Her memory began returning. She only remembered coming to borrow money from a friend, then seeing something flash in the elevator, and then...
"Where is this? What happened? Why am I here?"
"Misaki Mori Tower. As for what happened..." Kazama Chiba shrugged. "Probably some unfinished building incident that science can't explain. For specifics, ask the police yourself."
He didn't want to explain too much. For ordinary people like this, the less they knew, the safer they'd be.
"Are you Rikka's... friend?" She looked suspiciously at this boy wearing the same school uniform.
"Something like that. Or more accurately, a creditor."
Kazama Chiba shrugged.
"Since you're not missing any limbs, hurry up and leave. Your sister is downstairs going crazy with worry."
Though Touka was full of doubts, seeing Kazama wearing the same school uniform and having actually mentioned Rikka, she didn't ask further questions. She straightened her clothes and followed him out.