Although Shirayuki-sensei called this the practical phase, I honestly had no idea what I was supposed to do.
Last time I entered a mental world, it was with Hina, and the goal was clear: exorcise the monster that was eating away at her mind and bring her back to normal.
But this time? I wasn't sure what the objective was. Just as I was pondering this, Sensei spoke up.
"First, we need to find Aya-san within this world. The treatment using Resonance starts after that."
"How do we find her?" I asked.
With Hina, we found her right away because it was in a confined space. But here? This was an open countryside, vast and sprawling. Without smartphones or GPS, I couldn't imagine how we'd find Aya-chan.
As I scanned the surroundings, Shirayuki-sensei seemed to focus on something in the distance.
"This way, Itsuki-kun," she said, confidently striding forward.
"You can tell where she is?" I asked in surprise, quickly following behind.
As we walked, Sensei explained, "When I connected the Silveit threads to Aya-san earlier, did you notice?"
"Yeah, I saw that."
"That connection, or pass, remains active. I can still see the thread linking me to Aya-san, so I know where to go."
Oh... that's how it works. I wondered why I hadn't noticed anything like that when I was with Hina. Maybe my Resonance skills were too weak back then.
After walking for about five minutes, Shirayuki-sensei stopped in front of a small stone torii gate and pointed.
"Here."
"A torii gate?" I muttered.
Beyond the gate was a long set of stone stairs that seemed to lead up to some unseen place at the top.
.net
"Aya-san is at the top. Let's go."
"Okay."
We passed through the torii gate together and began climbing the stone stairs.
It had been a while since I'd climbed such a long staircase, not since my visit to the Kamiarizuki shrine, and the memory made me feel somewhat nostalgic. As we climbed, I turned to Sensei with a question.
"Sensei, do you think there's a shrine at the top?"
"Yes, I believe so."
"Why would Aya-chan be there?"
"Well, this is just my theory, but..." Shirayuki-sensei paused to think for a moment before continuing.
"I believe something that happened at this shrine a month ago is the reason Aya-san can't use magic anymore."
"Something at the shrine..." I echoed.
"It's just a theory," she said, smiling gently.
Just as I turned toward the shrine, the doors flew open with a loud bang.
"Is that... arms!?"
A mass of arms, each with six fingers, emerged from the shrine and reached for us.
But the arms never touched us. They were instantly caught by the Silveit threads I had already set up, slicing them apart like a grid.
This was my Jin'e, a protective magic barrier designed to exorcise multiple monsters at once by deploying the Silveit threads in a lattice pattern.
"...Jin'e."
As the severed arms melted into the ground, I spotted the creature they belonged to. Peeking out from the doorway was a huge face, easily a meter in height, framed by the severed arms.
The face resembled a shy child hiding behind a door, but its immense size made it anything but cute.
"Let's play hide and seek," the creature said in a slow, eerie voice.
Its mouth was an empty void of darkness.
"...Play by yourself," I replied coldly.
It was obvious that showing its head meant it had revealed its weak point.
I extended my Silveit thread toward the giant head and decided to try something different this time, adding a new twist to my usual magic.
I began to generate high-pressure water using Amaugachi, a technique designed to pierce through tough materials. Then, I intertwined the Silveit thread with it.
I infused the water with earth elemental change.
I remembered watching a TV program at home that showed how water jets could cut through metal by mixing in abrasives. If that was possible, then I could use something similar to strengthen my magic.
I mixed fine particles into the water, increasing the cutting power of Amaugachi.
The name of the technique would be...
"...Amaugachi."
With a sharp slicing sound, the giant head was severed cleanly in two. The monster's head and arms dissolved into black mist.
As the black mist faded, I saw Aya-chan sitting inside the shrine, kneeling with her legs tucked beneath her in a formal posture. She was trapped inside a cage-like structure of iron bars.
...What the heck is that?
I was about to step forward when Shirayuki-sensei turned to me and said, "Itsuki-kun, let's free Aya-san!"
"Yes!" I replied, preparing to extend my Silveit threads.
But just as I was about to act, a girl's voice echoed from above.
"Impudent."
The next moment, I felt as if something had struck me, and my vision blurred as I was suddenly thrown backward.
"...Huh?"
Before I knew it, I was back in the library.