A wide open space in the suburbs of Tokyo.
Rin kicked a Dead Apostle down and picked up the head of Nero Chaos, asking.
"Is it here?"
"Yes, yes, yes, the Millennium Castle is right here!"
Rin looked at the empty ground in front of her, which showed no signs of mana. She shook Nero Chaos's head vigorously and asked with a voice hiding her anger.
"Are you playing me! There isn't a single trace of mana here!"
"No! Absolutely not! How would I dare deceive you? You just have to wait until 12 o'clock, then the Millennium Castle will appear, and then it disappears at 6 o'clock every morning!"
Beside her, Olga Marie understandingly looked at the delicate lady's watch on her hand.
"Elder Sister, there are still 15 minutes until 12 o'clock!"
Rin nodded to Olga Marie with a smile, then, holding Nero Chaos's head, she walked to the grass nearby and sat down casually, looking up at the bright starlight in the sky.
"Fifteen minutes left. If the Millennium Castle doesn't appear, your head will go to Venus to reunite with your body!"
Hearing Rin's threat, the muscles on Nero Chaos's face couldn't help but twitch. At the thought of his body being thrown to Venus by Rin, Nero Chaos, who still had a connection with his body, said hurriedly.
"I wouldn't dare, I would never dare deceive you."
As for Rin's promise to release him and return his body once they reached the Millennium Castle, Nero Chaos didn't believe a word of it. In his eyes, Rin was a total demon. His only hope now was that when True Moon descended upon the earth, that fellow the Black-Winged Duke could put in a good word for him so that True Moon could help him retrieve his body from Venus.
Soon fifteen minutes passed, and a massive pure white castle suddenly appeared above Rin and the others, floating there and displaying its solemnity and grandeur.
At the same time, as the castle appeared, the light emitted by the bright moon in the sky seemed even brighter.
"Who are you people?"
The 27th Ancestor, Caubac Alcatraz, now floating in the sky, stared at Rin and Olga Marie with a dangerous look.
Suddenly a portal opened, and a figure exceptionally familiar to Rin appeared before her eyes.
"Old friend, this is my disciple, don't worry!"
"Your disciple? Aren't your disciples all useless?"
Being hit in a sore spot like that by his old friend, Zelretch scratched his head awkwardly.
"Well! Occasionally there will be one or two who aren't useless!"
Rin casually threw Nero Chaos's head onto the ground. Wings of Light unfolded from her back as she carried Olga Marie, flew up to the castle, and landed in front of Zelretch.
"Master? Why are you here!"
Zelretch looked at Rin with a smile and nodded with satisfaction.
"Don't worry, there is only one of me across infinite parallel worlds. I am your master. The reason I'm here is because I'm trapped!"
"Trapped? How is that possible!"
"Even the counter force can fall into a deep sleep, so what's so strange about me being trapped here!"
Rin sized up Zelretch in front of her, and after a moment's hesitation, she spoke and asked.
"Then can you tell me the reason why you are trapped?"
"There's nothing to hide. While traveling through parallel worlds, I planned to come back to this dimension for a look, but I was blocked by something. Then, out of curiosity, I forced my way in, only to find I couldn't get out!"
"Blocked by something?"
After Rin murmured to herself, her mind began to conjure up the 'people' she knew who might have the ability to trap Zelretch. 'Goetia? Or those Old Ones from before? Or perhaps The Root?'
After thinking through everything and failing to find a target, Rin gave up on further speculation and turned her gaze toward the 27th Ancestor, Caubac Alcatraz. Logically speaking, this Magus, who had turned himself into an Ancestor through his own research, shouldn't have appeared at the Millennium Castle. According to the rumors in the magical world, this fellow had built a complex labyrinth to protect his intellectual achievement, the'Scripture Triton.' However, he had also trapped himself in the center of the labyrinth because of it and hadn't appeared for hundreds of years.
'An Ancestor who hasn't appeared for hundreds of years, why would he appear in this Singularity and at the Millennium Castle!'
Caubac Alcatraz noticed Rin's puzzled gaze and was about to get angry and take action, but for the sake of his old friend Zelretch, he thought for a moment and then explained to Rin.
"Little girl, there's no need to doubt me. I was brought here by your master. I was originally dealing with that fire that can burn the human order, but then this old fellow suddenly ran over and dragged me here!"
At this point, Zelretch stepped forward and said to Rin.
"Alright, let me explain! I think you're well aware of the fact that this place is a Singularity! I've seen such things in other parallel worlds, it's just that this Singularity in your dimension is very special. The current situation is that the counter force has fallen into a deep sleep, and True Moon might descend to Earth..."
After listening to Zelretch's explanation, Rin looked at Zelretch in front of her in disbelief.
"Master! Are you saying that if True Moon descends to Earth, then 'he' might replace the sleeping counter force and become the brand-new counter force of this dimension?"
"Yes! If True Moon becomes the counter force, you won't need to save the human order anymore. Even if you do, just wait to be wiped clean by True Moon! I'm afraid by then there will be no alaya in this dimension! Only True Moon and gaia!"
"Then isn't this..."
Suddenly Rin remembered a term the Old Director had mentioned during a casual chat with her.
"A Lostbelt!"
"Lostbelt?... Very fitting. So, no matter what, we must stop the True Moon's descent. If, by any chance, the True Moon does descend, we must repel 'him' before he becomes the Earth's counter force!"
"But why don't you save humanity? Instead, you've allowed Dead Apostles to sweep across the entire world?"
Cobalt Arkatraz and Zelretch, two old foxes, exchanged a knowing smile.
"Why should we be led by the nose? We've already frozen 100,000 humans in Millennium Castle. As long as Millennium Castle stands, alaya will not perish. If alaya doesn't disappear, the True Moon cannot become the counter force! And the True Moon's body left on Earth is still in Millennium Castle, so we just need to guard Millennium Castle!"
"The True Moon's body! Arcueid?"
"Yes, the White Princess. She's currently staying in Millennium Castle. At the same time, I've used a secret art to make Millennium Castle appear on the surface of the time stream only from 12 AM to 6 AM daily to replenish energy. That little girl, the Fifth Magus, is also helping us rescue other humans..."
"Master, do you know Goetia?"
"Of course, I've seen that guy in many parallel dimensions. What about him?"
"What about Sajyou Manaka and the Old Ones?"
Hearing the words that slipped from Rin's mouth, Zelretch's expression instantly turned incredibly grim.
"Rin, have Sajyou Manaka and the Old Ones appeared in this dimension?"
"Yes!"
Upon receiving Rin's affirmative reply, Zelretch scrutinized Rin for a moment, then took a sharp intake of breath and said with a wry smile.
"I understand! Rin, Cobalt, don't ask anything. I won't say, and I can't say. But I've really messed up big time this time!"
---------------------------------
I hope you enjoy this fanfiction! If you're having fun and want to read 30 chapters in advance, feel free to check out my Patreon: patreon.com/TLScarlet
Your support means a lot so if you like the story, don't forget to drop a Power Stone.