"Fate world? Mana? What's that?"
The Angel Devil was puzzled.
"It's that golden energy body you mentioned. It's a kind of… well… something that exists in other worlds. It doesn't exist here."
The Angel Devil blinked, then shook her head.
"I don't really understand, but I can grasp the general idea. You're saying the source of all those phenomena is suspected to be this thing called Mana, and Mana exists only in other worlds—we don't have it here. Right?"
"Right."
"Mm. Then I understand."
"It's good that you understand… it's good that you understand… Sigh…"
Renji sighed toward the sky, suddenly feeling a deep sense of powerlessness about his own verbal explanations. Golden light flickered again, and he exited his transformed state.
Yet another question arose.
There were two possibilities for the golden Mana the Angel Devil had last seen.
The first: it came from the same source as the system. But the probability was low, because the system was the system—separate from Mana.
The system could grant the host Mana, or rather, the system could grant the host any ability. But the system itself didn't possess these abilities. You had to exchange points for them. The system was more like a medium.
If it shared the same source as the system, then the problem lay with the system's creator—the goddess Eris.
Eris was a goddess from the anime KonoSuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World!—a rather comedic series. Would a goddess like her get involved in such matters?
Renji thought it unlikely. Otherwise, what was the point of him being here?
The second possibility: it came from the same source as Mana—meaning it was related to the Mana of the Fate universe.
Given the Angel Devil's description of her feelings just now, this seemed more probable.
Golden…
In the Fate universe, there were far too many people whose Mana characteristics were related to gold.
Had it been done by someone with golden Mana characteristics?
Also, Makima was the one who ultimately brought the Angel Devil back from here. Did she know something? Had her character setting changed?
Was Makima still the final boss, as in the original work?
If Makima was still the final boss as in the original, would he die on the spot if he directly asked her what was going on?
"Speaking of which, Angel… what do you think of Makima?"
Renji asked. The Angel Devil paused, thinking.
"Hmm… if I had to say… she's just a normal, cold and ruthless, yet reasonable, standard boss template."
"I see."
In the original work, the Angel Devil had already been dominated by Makima. In the original, Makima dominated her and controlled her to kill everyone in those villages.
But this multi-anime world might be different—at least for now, it seemed unrelated to Makima. By the time Makima arrived, everyone in the village had already disappeared.
Renji didn't know if the Angel Devil had been dominated by Makima, because Makima could modify the memories of those she dominated—whether human or Devil—to make them forget.
Hayakawa Aki had also been dominated by Makima; her unusual respect for Makima, compared to others, came from Makima's own domination ability.
If it was the worst-case scenario, Makima's position might change in Renji's mind.
His gaze shifted back to the seaside, staring at the golden horizon. Renji muttered to himself.
"Didn't the goddess Eris say this world was a multi-anime world? Logically, it should be a hodgepodge, but…"
Renji recalled the words Gojo Satoru had said to him.
"Based on all the circumstances, Gojo Satoru must have come from outside the barrier. But outside the barrier, aside from the cities that have already become ruins, there's nothing at all."
"Could it be that the distance still isn't far enough—that we haven't reached the 'outside' Gojo Satoru mentioned? Is there a place even more distant? On the other side of the sea? This hodgepodge anime world… why does it feel to me now… like pieces of a puzzle forced together? Could the other side of the sea really be… the enemy?"
Patting his head, Renji stopped letting his thoughts run wild.
"Then let's go back."
While Renji had been lost in thought, the Angel Devil had walked to another spot. She stood at the water's edge, holding a seashell washed up by the waves.
She gazed quietly at the shell in her hand, her eyes filled with both contemplation and nostalgia.
Hearing Renji's words, she turned her head to look at him.
"We're going back already?"
"Yeah, that was the whole point anyway. The purpose of bringing you out was this. Since you've already remembered, it proves my guess was right. Now that it's settled, there's nothing else to do. Let's go back."
Renji suddenly noticed the Angel Devil's expression and changed his tone.
"Or we could stay here a bit longer. Going back just means life-threatening work anyway."
The Angel Devil crouched down and carefully placed the shell in her hand on the sandy ground. She slowly backed away. After retreating a few steps, she sat down, extending her arms to hug her knees.
She just sat there quietly, gazing at the sea before her, the sound of waves constantly crashing against the shore in her ears.
In her memories, the piercing pain caused by the golden magical power began to dissolve, and the headache gradually faded.
Wave after wave of seawater washed onto the beach, sweeping over the shell she had left behind. Each wave's impact made the shell wobble slightly, until it was eventually swept back into the sea.
A gentle sea breeze blew past, lightly lifting a few strands of hair from her forehead, followed by her long hair fluttering in the wind.
The Angel Devil slightly narrowed her eyes, feeling the coolness brought by the sea breeze. An inexplicable desire to stay here a little longer arose in her heart.
"Let's stay a bit longer… I don't know why… I want to stay here for a while…"
…
…
The sun set in the west, and the sky gradually darkened. The two began their journey back. The way there had been long, but the return trip was quick. After about an hour, they stopped in front of the barrier.
"Come on."
Renji took the lead, stepping toward the barrier. Passing through it, he stood within the uninhabited zone. He then turned around, extending his right hand toward the Angel Devil, who was still outside.
The Angel Devil's face flushed slightly red. She instinctively began looking around, clearly somewhat flustered and uneasy.
Renji didn't rush her. The area around the uninhabited zone was completely silent. The Angel Devil let out a deep breath, made up her mind, and gently extended her fair, slender, jade-like hand toward him.