Chapter 67: Where the Hell Did I End Up?
Shortly after Kaguya left—
Since the Rat Talisman that served as the energy core was carried away in the Sealed Book along with Chiba's disappearance, Kerberos instantly lost power and reverted to that lifeless yellow plush, lying on the cold floor.
The crowd surged, countless feet hurrying past it. Several people nearly stepped on it.
Just then, a pair of legs in black knee-high socks stopped before it.
Shinjou Akane crouched down, somewhat curiously poking this yellow plush that looked somewhat crudely made but had surprisingly good texture.
"Whose is this? So ugly... but ugly in a pretty creative way."
The girl tilted her head, examining it for a while.
This winged little lion design, though not filled with destructive power like the kaiju she loved, was barely acceptable as a trophy.
"If nobody wants it, it's mine now."
Without ceremony, the girl grabbed one of Kerberos's legs, stuffed it into her backpack full of monster sketches, then hummed an unknown tune and continued searching the convention for her next inspiration source.
...
The other end of spacetime.
Ten years ago, 2010, autumn.
Deep in Minoh Mountain, Osaka Prefecture.
A slightly old bus struggled to climb along a winding mountain road.
Inside the vehicle was another lively scene.
"Teacher! Are we there yet?"
"I want to eat snacks!"
"Look at me! I brought the newest game console!"
A group of second-grade elementary students in matching uniforms chattered excitedly, their happiness nearly lifting the roof.
Except for the corner at the back row by the window.
Seven-year-old Urushihara Michiyo curled herself into a tiny ball.
She hugged her enormous backpack to her chest like a frightened hamster.
Her pink long hair hung messily over her shoulders, covering half her face, revealing only one timid eye that secretly watched the continuously retreating scenery outside the window.
She dared not speak, dared not join the discussions of those classmates up front.
Even if she accidentally made eye contact with anyone, she would immediately lower her head like getting electrocuted, her face flushing red as a ripe apple, wishing she could find a crack to crawl into.
"I want to go home..."
Urushihara Michiyo silently repeated in her heart, her fingers anxiously twisting the backpack straps.
This feeling of being surrounded by crowds was absolute torture for her.
If possible, she truly wished she could suddenly turn into air and disappear like in cartoons.
Just as she was lost in wild thoughts, the corner of her eye suddenly caught a strange light.
"BOOM—!"
An abrupt thunderous sound came from the sky overhead.
Not thunder, nor the roar of an airplane.
That was the sonic boom produced by some object breaking through the atmosphere at high speed.
The bus's clamor instantly quieted for a second as all the children instinctively raised their heads.
Michiyo also looked up.
Through that somewhat blurry bus window, she witnessed a scene she would never forget for the rest of her life.
In the unrealistically azure sky, a blinding light was rapidly falling.
Trailing a long tail flame, it viciously plunged into that lush mountain forest in the distance.
That light was too bright—bright enough to be blinding, even overshadowing the noon sun.
"Wow! It's a shooting star!"
"Are there shooting stars during the day too?"
"Liar! That's a deity falling down!"
The children's exclamations instantly exploded.
Little Michiyo's eyes widened. She even forgot her social anxiety instinct, her entire body pressed against the bus window glass.
A shooting star?
Was that a shooting star?
But Mom said shooting stars only appear at night.
Why would stars fall during the day too?
"BOOM—"
Though very far away, the tremor when that object landed still transmitted through the ground.
The bus swayed slightly. The uncle driver up front cursed "damn road conditions" under his breath and paid no further attention.
But little Michiyo saw it.
That star fell into the valley ahead.
The rising dust resembled a small mushroom cloud.
In that instant, an inexplicable impulse suddenly surged in the young girl's heart.
"If only... I could fly recklessly like that star, just once."
She pressed her forehead against the cool glass, watching that direction, muttering softly.
Over ten minutes later, the bus stopped before a dilapidated wooden torii gate.
The leading female teacher, like a farmer herding ducks, waved a small flag and drove this group of overexcited elementary students off the bus.
"Everyone line up! You must stay close to the teacher! The mountain paths here are very complex, and there are wild boars—absolutely no wandering off! Understood?"
"Understood—!"
The uniform response echoed through the valley.
"Welcome to our village."
The village chief was a white-bearded old man. He looked at these city children with a smile that carried hospitality yet vaguely conveyed an indescribable eerie feeling.
"Though this place is remote, it's blessed by the mountain god. I hope everyone can spend an unforgettable afternoon here."
Michiyo shrank at the very back of the line. For some reason, she felt the air here was even more suffocating than inside the bus.
She instinctively turned back, gazing toward the deep mountain direction where that shooting star had fallen.
That place seemed not far from this village.
...
Meanwhile—
About one kilometer from the village, deep in the mountain forest.
"Cough cough..."
Kazama Chiba crawled up from the center of a massive crater.
He felt like every bone in his body had been broken and reattached, that exquisite sensation making him grimace involuntarily.
The life-flashing-before-his-eyes moment showed him himself crying in swaddling clothes, showed him Kamimizu City's old district before it became ruins, even showed him a certain Eriri in kindergarten uniform pointing at him with a tsundere expression.
"Damn Kaguya... when I get back, I'm bringing Cthulhu to blow you up."
Kazama Chiba mentally greeted all eighteen generations of Kaguya's ancestors (though if she was created by Clow Reed, he'd probably need to curse Clow Reed instead).
Fortunately, his body wasn't seriously injured.
Thanks to using The Shadow card as a cushion at the last moment before landing.
His first action afterward was checking his equipment.
Though the clothes on his body had several tears and looked somewhat disheveled, they at least still covered him.
Kazama Chiba fished out the Sealed Book from that equally weather-beaten backpack.
Opening the cover and seeing that Rat Talisman safe and sound inside, his anxious heart finally returned to his stomach.
As long as this core cheat item wasn't lost, even if he'd been thrown to Mars, he had confidence he could find a way to survive.
But where was this?
Chiba stood up, surveying his surroundings.
"Where the hell did I end up? Is this still Japan?"
The density of that vegetation and the humidity in the air were more like some deep mountain wilderness.
And it was too quiet.
Except for occasional bird calls, he could barely hear any noise from modern civilization.
Chiba pulled out his phone.
The screen displayed "No Service."
And the time display still showed that convention Saturday.
"Did I travel through time?"