The room was silent save for the soft hum of medical machinery. Kaito lay peacefully on the bed, looking as if he were simply sleeping. A network of wires and sensors, courtesy of Yumi, covered his body. Maria stood over a monitor, her brow furrowed in concentration.
"He's perfectly healthy," she said, her voice a soft murmur. "His vitals are stable, and the shows no sign of needing for food or water. What do you think might be the problem, Tamamo?"
Tamamo was perched on the windowsill, her nine tails swaying lazily behind her. "It's not his soul, as it's still contained within his body. So it must be related to his consciousness instead." She narrowed her eyes at Kaito. "It might be the curse of the No Life King. We were discussing it before; this can't be a coincidence."
Just then, a small cluster of sakura petals fluttered against the windowpane, as if pushed by an unseen breeze. They clustered together, clinging to the glass in a formation.
"It must be Shikabanehime," Maria said. "She must be trying to tell us something."
Maria opened the window, and the petals flowed into the room, arranging themselves on a table. The words took shape: MASTER... ANOTHER WORLD... DEMON KING...
Tamamo's eyes widened, a rare look of surprise on her face. "I see. That human's consciousness was dragged to the netherworld by the No Life King's curse. He must be tormented by a Demon King at this very moment."
Maria's eyes darted between the petals and the unconscious Kaito. "What do we do?" she asked, a hint of panic in her voice.
"That human mentioned going to the Black Forest after New Year," Tamamo said, already connecting the pieces. "His sword may have provided him a method to lift the curse there."
"The Black Forest, as in Germany?" Maria turned back to the window, speaking to the unseen presence. "Shikabanehime, are you there? Can you ask Durandal what we are searching for?"
The petals reformed once more, a new message appearing on the tabletop: NOT HELL... ANOTHER WORLD...
Tamamo nodded to herself. "I understand now. That human isn't trapped in the netherworld, but a pocket dimension created by a demon king. And to lift the curse placed by the No Life King, we need to go to the Black Forest, seek out the entrance to that pocket dimension, and find the method hidden in it to resolve this." Her supreme confidence returned. "As expected of the No Life King, a being who rivals my own intellect. If I were to be defeated, I too would curse them in a similar way, with the method to lift it being as equally well-hidden."
Then, with an even greater cascade of petals flowing through the window, a new message bloomed across the entire wall and floor, filling the room with its stark, unyielding message:
NONE OF THAT... YOU'RE WRONG... MASTER... IN ANOTHER WORLD... NOT EARTH... SUMMONED... KILL DEMON KING... RETURN...
Tamamo blinked. "There is no 'another world' aside from the various parallel worlds and those within the cosmos. The blade must mean that the human is in the Bright Side of the World rather than that other option. Either way, I don't see that human possessing the capability to kill a Demon King."
"How strong are Demon Kings?" Maria asked.
Tamamo's smiled. "Demon Kings are synonymous with the rulers of the netherworld. They carve out a large portion of it as their domain, and their powers are unmatched. Even the weakest one is considered a walking calamity, unkillable and unchallengeable within their respective domains." She shook her head. "I don't see a reason why a Demon King would bother itself with that human, so it must be a pretender, likely a powerful demon lord or some other entity."
"Let's go find Kaito's consciousness in the Bright Side of the World, then. Do you know how to get there, Tamamo?" Maria asked, her hope renewed.
Another flurry of petals answered on the floor. NOT BRIGHT SIDE... EITHER... ACTUAL... ANOTHER WORLD...
Tamamo threw her hands up in exasperation. "Now I'm confused! Hey, blade, do you actually know the difference?"
The petals reformed one last time, a single phrase appearing at her feet: YES... I DO...
Maria looked from the petals to Tamamo. "It seems like Kaito is stuck in another world. What do we do?"
Tamamo's long-held arrogance finally crumbled into bewilderment. "If you ask me, who am I to ask? 'Another world' aside from our own doesn't exist, and even if it does, neither I nor any of my acquaintances know of a method to travel there." She turned away from the message. "It seems you can only wait until the human wakes up by himself."
Maria looked down at Kaito, her eyes filled with a raw, painful worry.