Journey to Planar World

"...!!!"

Feeling her connection with Charlie weaken, Aishia's usually expressionless face now displayed panic. Ignoring the Nakano quintuplets, Fuutarou, and Raiha behind her, Aishia rushed towards the direction where she felt Charlie's presence.

'Charlie, wait for me!' She cried anxiously in her heart.

"..."

On the other side, Nakano quintuplets, Fuutarou, and Raiha stood frozen in silence. They had just come out of the protective basement, hoping to see the outside world back to normal, but what they encountered was a scene of total destruction.

The night sky, once filled with stars, was now covered with a dark fog of dust and smoke. The hot air felt piercing on their skin, and the pungent smell of burning stung their noses. Only a giant crater remained, a sign that everything they knew had vanished.

"This… I'm not seeing things, am I…?"

Ichika, who was usually calm and resourceful, stood stiffly. Her hand covered her mouth, her eyes stared blankly ahead, trying to deny the reality in front of her.

"What… is this? It's impossible…"

Always stubborn and firm, Nino widened her eyes at the sight before her.

Having the weakest mentality among the quintuplets, Miku immediately fell to the ground. Her body was limp, her knees unable to support her weight.

"Impossible… this isn't real…"

Always cheerful and energetic, Yotsuba stood rooted to the spot. The smile that usually graced her face had now vanished completely.

"Why… why did this happen…"

Known to be the most rational and logical, Itsuki could only stare at the destruction with empty eyes. Her breath caught, and her stomach felt nauseous.

"This… Ugh…"

"No no no…!"

Being the youngest among them, Raiha couldn't withstand the mental pressure. She fainted instantly.

"Raiha!" Fuutarou called out, reflexively catching his younger sister before her body fell to the ground. He hugged Raiha tightly, his eyes filled with confusion and fear.

"Someone… please tell me this is just a joke…"

His eyes moved restlessly, as if searching for someone to give an answer that could refute the scene in front of them. But, there was no answer.

"..."

The Nakano quintuplets looked at each other, hoping someone would give hope, but none of them could utter words that could alleviate the suffering.

If they had doubted Charlie before, now that disbelief had vanished. They had to accept the fact that there was an entity targeting their lives. In other words, the deaths of these people were indirectly their fault.

Thinking about this, the five girls' faces turned pale and their consciences felt guilty.

"He was right… That man told the truth." Biting her lower lip hard, Nino was moved by Charlie's actions in risking his life to protect her and her sisters.

"Why are we being targeted? We're just stupid people who aren't good at studying and have to transfer schools to stay in school…" Miku expressed her doubts.

"We can only ask Charlie-kun about this later." Trying to stay calm, Ichika forced a smile.

"Ichika's right. After this, we have to talk to Charlie-san seriously." Yotsuba nodded seriously.

"Hopefully, Charlie-kun is okay." Itsuki said sincerely.

They watched the live broadcast of the previous fight, so they knew the enemy decided to blow himself up after almost losing. They survived because Aishia protected them. Just look, there were no buildings left intact, only a severely damaged basement remained.

Then what happened to Charlie, who was at the center of the explosion and had to bear the heaviest burden?

And Aishia's reaction in leaving them in a hurry, it can be confirmed that Charlie didn't end well.

Without Charlie's protection, Itsuki worried that she and her sisters wouldn't survive.

❀❀❀

In the distance, Aishia continued to run, passing through debris and a destroyed terrain. Dust was flying, and the heat from the crater made it difficult to breathe. But she didn't care. All she could think about was Charlie.

"Charlie… You have to survive. You have to…"

When she finally arrived at the center of the crater, her gaze immediately fell on a body lying in the middle of the devastated terrain.

"Charlie!"

Aishia stepped quickly towards the figure.

"..."

Charlie lay on the ground in a pitiful condition. Almost all of his equipment was destroyed, including the Eclipse Aegis Cloak, a Tier 1 defensive artifact. Now, only small fragments of the artifact were attached to his body.

His body was badly burned. His skin was almost gone, his flesh melted to reveal white bones in several places. His once handsome face was now severely disfigured, so badly disfigured that it was almost unrecognizable. His breath was weak, like a candle flame that could go out at any moment.

Aishia held her breath, her hand trembling as she touched his shoulder.

"Charlie… hold on."

Soon, Aishia realized that time wasn't on her side. She released the Space-Time Cache, a bracelet on Charlie's hand that was still intact even though his other equipment had been destroyed. Thanks to its Durandal attribute (indestructible attribute), the bracelet was unaffected by the explosion.

Quickly, she opened the Space-Time Cache, accessed the storage space inside, and found a small bottle of Elixir—the most powerful healing potion in the Danmachi World. She opened the bottle cap and poured it into Charlie's mouth. However, the Elixir only flowed out of the corner of his lips.

"Charlie, you have to swallow this!"

Realizing that Charlie couldn't swallow in an unconscious state, Aishia didn't hesitate to pour the Elixir into her own mouth, then bent down, kissed him to deliver the healing liquid directly through his mouth.

"Gulp… Gulp… Gulp…"

The Elixir finally reached Charlie's throat. Slowly, its properties began to work. A soft light began to emerge from his body, enveloping his wounds. The burned skin began to return, the melted flesh slowly grew back, and the color of life returned to his previously pale body.

However, the healing process felt slow to Aishia.

"Dia Fratel."

A bright white light shone from Aishia's hand, enveloping Charlie's body completely.

The healing magic accelerated the regeneration process that the Elixir had started. The remaining wounds now closed faster, the skin and muscles returned to their original state, and Charlie's breath slowly became more stable.

"..."

Aishia made sure that not a single wound remained. When she finally finished, Charlie's body looked like it was before, although his clothes and equipment were destroyed. His face, which had been disfigured, now returned to how it was before the fight, and his breath returned to calm.

Charlie's eyelids slowly opened, and his gaze met Aishia's.

"Cough… Cough… I almost died, bastard!"

"Thank you, Aishia, you saved me."

After releasing the anger in his heart, he extended his hand and touched Aishia's cheek.

"I won't let you die, Charlie. Never." Aishia said softly.

The two of them were silent for a moment, only the sound of the wind blowing through the large crater accompanied them.

"Hm?"

Feeling a cold sensation, Charlie only now realized he was naked without a single thread covering his body!

It was normal. The previous explosion even damaged the Eclipse Aegis Cloak, let alone ordinary clothes?

"Aishia, give me some clothes. We have to get out of here quickly, or the military will arrive soon."

Not wanting to get involved with the government, Charlie put on the clothes Aishia gave him.

The military wasn't completely paralyzed. There were still a few thousand men in the army, not to mention that now the army was dominated by women. With such a commotion in the middle of the city, it was impossible for the military to ignore it.

"Be careful."

While trying to stand up, Charlie staggered and almost fell. Aishia helped him stand upright.

"It seems I haven't fully recovered." Charlie smiled wryly.

If someone asked what it felt like to be in the middle of a nuclear explosion, Charlie could answer that absurd question.

He had to endure unbearable inhuman pain. That's why he was so weak even though his physical body had recovered.

His mental state was experiencing psychological trauma!

"Sorry, Aishia, I'll leave the driving position to you."

"Mm. Charlie can rest."

Taking out the Avanza car from the Space-Time Cache, Charlie sat in the front seat, while Aishia was in the driver's seat.

The car drove to the place where the Nakano quintuplets, Fuutarou, and Raiha were.

"Get in." Charlie said weakly.

This time, Ichika and the others were very obedient, getting into the car without any resistance. At least, they knew the man and woman couple didn't intend to hurt them.

After that, Aishia drove the car towards another hiding place.

In the span of three days, Charlie didn't just laze around, he built another basement as a shelter in case the enemy found the current basement. It's just that he didn't expect it to be used this quickly.