Beyond Reality
October 28, 2026. Wednesday. 10:12 AM.
Holy Alsard Church Affiliated Medical Center.
3rd Floor Special Ward.
Two days after the operation ended, I had come to the medical center operated by the Alsard Church in Chiba Prefecture. Asagiri-san, who had lost consciousness during that operation, was accommodated in this hospital and was currently admitted to the special ward on the 3rd floor.
I showed my ID to the security guard, and after a simple body check, the security-locked door was unlocked. The hospital was large, but it seemed they were putting a lot of effort into security. Rumor had it that a private military company I had heard of recently was handling the security here. The guard from earlier also seemed to be carrying a firearm.
Deep inside the special ward, there was a door that looked exceptionally secure. Above that magnificently crafted door, a camera for confirming visitors was installed.
Room 315. The inpatient’s name was not listed. It was just as Kamijo-san had told me.
When I rang the chime, the door’s lock was immediately released, as if I had been expected.
“Excuse me. It’s Himemiya.”
Entering the room, I placed a fruit assortment—an orthodox gift, admittedly—on the table.
“Himemiya-san—thank you. To think you would come all this way just for me…”
Asagiri-san was on the bed, her upper body raised as if she had been gazing outside. From the window, the large, majestically built Alsard Church and the surrounding sea could be seen. It was a hospital room with a very wonderful view.
“—How is your health? Everyone was very worried.”
From what I could see, there didn’t seem to be any major external injuries. However, her expression seemed to cast a dark shadow somehow.
Did she suffer internal damage… from that AW’s attack?
“…Himemiya-san. I am truly ashamed to admit this, but…”
Saying so, she looked down and fell silent for a while.
Then, she opened her heavy mouth.
“I have lost the majority of my spiritual power… Absorbing natural particles as I wish, freely manipulating spiritual power… I can no longer do it like before…”
It was a shocking revelation—.
Saying that, faint tears began to shed from her eyes.
“—Right now, I have become a much weaker existence than the sweet girls of AMGE… I don’t know what I should do from now on, having lost the power that should have protected you…”
She continued her words.
“…I am truly filled with apology… I…”
Saying that much, she looked completely down and began to cry… I sat beside her and gently drew her shoulders close.
“Please, don’t cry so much. Asagiri-san, you’ve worked so hard up until now. Surely more than anyone else. That’s why I think God is telling you to ‘rest a little’.”
Leaning against me, Asagiri-san continued to cry…
Surely up until now, she had been fighting all alone while harboring loneliness… Revered as the Messiah (Messiah) of Alsard, she had thrown herself into unwanted battles.
She is surely stronger and kinder than anyone. That is exactly why she had been bottling up such painful feelings…
“I… Having lost my power… I no longer have the right to be by your side, Himemiya-san… Even though I swore in my heart that I would protect you…”
Weeping as she desperately spun her words, she covered her eyes with both hands as if to hide her crying face…
I—spoke gently to her.
“Asagiri-san. I swore in my heart, too. That I will absolutely—get your memories back.”
Hearing those words, Asagiri-san lowered the hands covering her eyes and slowly looked at me, her expression still crumpled with tears.
“Therefore—I will continue to be by your side, Asagiri-san. Until the time your lost memories are retrieved and the void in your heart is filled. So, please—don’t say you don’t have the right to be by my side anymore.”
Her sobbing voice stopped for just a moment. Then, Asagiri-san buried her profile into my chest.
“Himemiya-san… thank you…”
Saying so in a small voice, she began to sob again. Embracing Asagiri-san as she collapsed against my chest, I gently stroked her head.
I felt her warm body heat (warmth). It’s strange. For some reason, I could feel my heartbeat growing faster. Her wonderful drifting scent permeated something sweet into my heart.
“—Himemiya-san.”
Asagiri-san, who had been leaning her body against me, slowly raised her face, perhaps finally having stopped crying.
“—Even if my memories return… I…”
Saying that much, she looked down and fell silent…
The words that would follow, I could somehow imagine.
That is why I said.
“—If it is what you desire, Asagiri-san, I will always be by your side. So, please don’t worry anymore. To me, you are—”
Mid-sentence, Asagiri-san suddenly hugged me…
I was completely caught off guard by that unexpected action.
“—Himemiya-san. With you, I feel like… I can look forward and stand up once more. So, from now on—please stay by my side forever.”
Truly like a savior—it was no longer an atmosphere where I could say that…
Being hugged, my reason seemed to slowly fade away from the warmth and sweet scent transmitting from her entire body. Although I hadn’t noticed it from her usual clothing, the sensation of breasts larger than I had imagined pressed against my chest, and things I shouldn’t be thinking about began to cross my mind.
At any rate, I had to separate our bodies—.
“—Asagiri-san.”
I gently held her by both shoulders and opened the distance between us.
“It’s a promise. I will continue to be by your side forever, as long as you wish it. So, Asagiri-san, you must retrieve your memories and absolutely—reach the place you are meant to reach.”
’—I am the Messiah of Alsard. Even if it is fleeting, I want to protect them. I want to help the weak. There is not a single cloud of doubt in that feeling. And beyond that—is the place I must reach.’
Her words. I suddenly remembered them.
Her lost memories. Surely, it is something crucial. My intuition is telling me so.
“—I understand. Then—”
Then, Asagiri-san held out her slender, white pinky finger.
“—A pinky promise.”
With a face that had stopped crying, she slowly smiled…
And I intertwined my pinky with her adorable pinky.
“If you break it, forget swallowing a thousand needles—it feels like Tokyo would be annihilated.”
At my words, Asagiri-san let out an adorable little laugh.
And then, just like children, we swore our promise to each other.
“Well then—. If I’m too late, the Director will get angry again.”
After that, we cut the fruit I had bought and chatted while enjoying it together. More time had passed than I thought. Push-ups might be waiting for me again, but it couldn’t be helped.
“Thank you so much for today. Oh right—please let me cast a charm on you one last time.”
When I reached the door of the hospital room, Asagiri-san said that.
“—Understood. What should I do?”
“Stand up straight—and quietly close your eyes.”
An Alsard charm to ward off evil. Previously, when I first met Hojo-san, she had said the same thing and cast a charm on me.
I don’t know when I might encounter them again. Now that Asagiri-san has lost her power, if I were to face them again, it might truly be dangerous this time.
(!?)
My body was gently drawn into an embrace. And a soft, warm sensation was transmitted to my lips…
When I slightly opened my eyes, there was the adorable figure of her, her eyes closed in the same way.
This is bad… Completely contrary to my reason, I can feel my whole body falling…
And I, too, gently embraced her slender, fragile body, surrendering my body and soul to the sweet sensation of her lips…
Suppressing my racing heartbeat, I left the hospital room. My face right now was probably turning bright red. To avoid being seen by the guards or people passing by, I hurried out of the hospital with my head slightly down.
Because the multi-story parking lot adjacent to the hospital was full, I headed to my car parked in the outdoor parking area.
There, I realized something…
“This is…”
Outside, it was a clear autumn day with a refreshing atmosphere. And countless natural particles (Mana) shining in seven colors were spreading all across the outdoors.
(I can see them… even without divine protection… When I arrived, I couldn’t see them at all…)
And then, I quietly closed my eyes and concentrated my nerves on my right hand. The image of absorbing the natural particles drifting in the natural world.
And just as my right hand felt a gentle warmth, I slowly opened my eyes.
(I’m absorbing them… My right hand is absorbing the natural particles (Mana)…)
I could see the surrounding natural particles flowing gently into my right hand. Feeling a latent terror at the gradually heating sensation in my right hand, I shook my hand as if to cast off the inflowing natural particles.
For a moment, I felt as if something invisible, like energy, was smashed against the concrete ground…
No way… And then, I remembered Judgment’s words.
’There is nothing to fear in becoming a modern wizard… You need only lie down and accept that caress from the bottom of your heart… I will gently pour my magic into your entire body through that kiss. You need only surrender yourself to that pleasure… When you wake up, you will come to know a new world along with a new power.’
Through the kiss with Asagiri-san… did my talent to manipulate spiritual power blossom—?
In other words, the method for a human chosen by an AW to become a modern wizard (Asphaltic Wizard). That is…
I got into my car and returned to the investigation base. The coastal scenery viewed from the car. The natural particles were clearly denser towards the sea.
Strangely, just by switching my consciousness, the natural particles would become invisible, or visible. In other words, if I wanted to see them, they would reflect in my field of vision.
Now that Asagiri-san has lost her power, it’s my turn to protect her. However, just because I’ve become able to absorb natural particles doesn’t mean I can wield powerful magic. Eventually, Judgment and her cohorts will appear again. Their targets are me and Hojo-san. They are actively trying to recruit those with a talent for magic into their ranks.
Their plan… the reduction of the global population that serves as its beginning…
Judging from their ideology, it’s easy to imagine them causing simultaneous global terrorism, but would they really resort to such direct methods—?
No—that’s wrong. The ones causing the skeletalization incidents around the world are the work of those who failed to become AWs… Judgment said so. And she must have also said that they must be judged eventually. If my intuition is correct, powerful AWs like Judgment should be very few. Even those granted the names of the Major Arcana, we’ve only confirmed a few so far.
Although—that’s only speaking of Japan.
In any case, there is no doubt that a large-scale threat will occur in the near future. I choose not to think about the odds of winning. If something happens, I will tackle it with all my might to resolve it. That—is all there is to it.
We must prepare for the worst-case scenario. As soon as I return to the base, it would be best for everyone to think about countermeasures together.
At that moment, the call sound of the car phone rang. It was from Tetsuya.
<Asami. I’m sorry to bother you when you’re busy right after the operation, but how about tonight? Kamikura says he’s fine with it. Let’s raise a toast to our safe return, just the three of us for the first time in a while. 19:00 at the safe house.>
“—You’re saying it like it’s already been decided, but if I don’t go, it seems like the expensive liquor will disappear—so I’ll go. Make sure you prepare some appetizers that can hold their own against the liquor.”
<It’ll be fine. I’ve left no stone unturned. I’m sure it will suit Asami’s refined palate. I’m looking forward to tonight.>
Saying that, Tetsuya laughed and ended the call.
Drinking together with the three of us… it’s been since university. Today, just a little bit—I want to dress up.
Eventually, this peace will crumble away. But for the sake of my precious people, and for the sake of the weak, I want to protect this broken world.
The simultaneous terrorist attacks I saw in my childhood days…
The hellish sight where countless people cruelly lost their lives…
That… is still burned into my eyes…
Such a thing must never happen again. No matter what ideals they uphold, they must not take countless innocent lives.
I swore on that day in my childhood—that I must never allow it.
And, gazing at the seven-colored lights reflected in my eyes, I was convinced that I could no longer turn back. Towards the other side of reality, I had taken a step forward…
US Special Investigation Agency UCIA. Japan Branch Special Agent—Asami Himemiya. That is… my name.
To be continued in CODE:AW EPISODE III.