In a Female-Dominant World with a 5:1 Gender Ratio, I Saved a Girl as a Kid, and She Said She Wanted to Be My Bride—Who Would’ve Thought She Was a Princess… - 41

Chapter 41: Forbidden Coordinates and the Gate That Pierces Dimensions

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(Alto’s POV)

In the laboratory’s chilly air, Gideon wore a fearless grin and jerked his chin toward the floor.

“Who said anything about ‘running there’? There’s no way I’d do something that leisurely.”

Where he pointed, embedded in the floor so as to encircle the center of the room, was a gigantic metal ring roughly five meters in diameter. Up until now, I had thought it was just part of this ruin’s distinctive ancient ornamentation, like a mere geometric decoration. But when I looked at it again from the perspective of a “former Japanese,” its meaning changed completely.

What was carved there was not a religious pattern. It was an extremely highly integrated electronic circuit pattern, a substrate itself calculated down to the last detail for magical energy conductivity.

“This is an ancient ruin, you know? There’s no way it wouldn’t have a ‘direct link’ that connects the important hubs scattered across the world.”

“…No way.”

I compared the ring with the map on the wall.

“A teleporter?”

“Correct. In this world’s ancient language, it’s called a ‘transfer gate.’”

As Gideon deftly tapped away at the terminal keyboard, the ring in the floor emitted a deep, rumbling hum, and multiple overlapping rings began to rotate. Pale blue phosphorescent light leaked from the seams, bathing the dim room in an otherworldly glow.

“This ruin and the bases in various regions are physically connected by ley lines running deep underground. Normally they’re locked, but thanks to you pinpointing his coordinates, we can force the line open.”

Gideon moved the streamlined metal mass we had been working on earlier—the magitech bike Sleipnir—into the center of the ring. The silver machine, floating via gravity control with no tires, gave off an air as if it had leapt straight out of a science fiction movie.

“We’ll ride this bike and charge straight into the gate. We’ll turn subspace into a tunnel, reduce thousands of kilometers to zero, and dive right into the enemy’s lap.”

“That’s insane… Spatial transfer is fairy-tale-level magic.”

“When science advances far enough, it becomes indistinguishable from magic. …Now, get on.”

I tightened the belt of the Gungnir slung over my back and swung myself onto Sleipnir’s rear seat. The feel of the hard seat. Gideon sat in the driver’s position and put on windproof goggles. That back of his no longer looked like that of a cranky old man, but of a battle-hardened engineer.

“However, there’s one problem,”

Gideon said as he prepared to start the engine.

“What is it now?”

“To forcibly activate-hack this gate, we need a momentary power spike equivalent to an entire city. The ruin’s backup power alone won’t even come close for it.”

Gideon turned around and winked at me through his goggles. I let out a deep sigh and pressed my hand against the gate’s control pillar. I knew exactly what he meant.

“So basically, I just have to be the battery, right? …Fine, I’ll do it!”

I sank my awareness into my lower abdomen and spun up the magic reactor inside my body at full throttle. Removing the limiter, I poured the swirling power of ‘nothingness’ within me all at once into the gate’s circuits.

DOON…!!

In sync with my heartbeat, an enormous torrent of magical energy surged through the system.

ZZZZZZZZ…!!

The entire ruin shook violently, as if struck by a massive earthquake. Dust fell from the ceiling, and the monitors flickered. In response to my absurd output, space itself screamed. The space inside the ring warped, and the world split apart. A pale blue membrane of light tore open, and beyond it, a swirling “scenery” was forcibly pried into existence. What I glimpsed there was a raging blizzard that dyed my vision white, and a bottomless darkness.

“It’s open! Output stable, coordinates fixed! Hold on tight, Alto! The shock of spatial transfer is nothing like a roller coaster!”

“Anytime! Go!!”

Gideon opened the throttle wide.

KYUIIIIIIN!!

Sleipnir’s turbines screamed, and crackling violet lightning scattered around the machine.

“Gravity control, disengaged! Spatial jump—warp—start!!”

DOOOOOON!!

With a thunderous roar, we were shot like a bullet into the vortex of light. In an instant, the world inverted. All sense of up, down, left, and right vanished, and my vision was drowned in a torrent of psychedelic colors. A floating sensation as if my organs were lifting out of place, and a pressure like my entire body was being crushed by a gigantic press, assaulted me simultaneously.

I couldn’t breathe. It was the kind of acceleration that left even sound behind. The sensation of racing through a tunnel of light at speeds beyond sound. Though it happened in an instant, it also felt like an eternal torture. My consciousness felt stretched, broken down into particles, and reconstructed.

And then…

BASHUUUUU!!

With a bursting sound that slammed into my eardrums, we were spat back out into the “outside.” Violent cold assaulted us immediately. A freezing wind that sliced into my cheeks. The temperature was minus thirty degrees—no, maybe forty. A world of death where even breathing threatened to freeze the alveoli in my lungs. The land of the extreme north.

“—! We’ve arrived!”

With skillful handling, Gideon righted the bike’s posture as it was thrown into the air.

GAGAGAGAG!

Sleipnir carved into the icy ground, throwing up clouds of snow as it landed, then skidded to a drifting stop. I wiped my freezing goggles and raised my head. Beyond the raging blizzard, there was an overwhelming “blackness” that filled my entire field of view.

“…That’s it.”

It wasn’t a mountain. It wasn’t a castle. It was a gigantic “tower” that pierced the heavens. Its surface, clad in an unknown metal like obsidian, had no seams at all and emitted a smooth, eerie sheen. Across that surface, countless red lines of light pulsed like blood vessels, siphoning magic power from the surrounding land and sending it skyward.

It was like a colossal wedge driven straight into the planet itself. Amid the fantasy scenery of this world, an alien science fiction-like structure sat there alone. That discordance stirred instinctive revulsion and fear in anyone who saw it.

The Demon King’s Castle. The forbidden throne where this world’s administrator sat.

“There’s no mistake. That reaction… He’s there.”

Gideon checked the terminal in his hand and glared hatefully at the tower. From here to the tower was still several kilometers. Yet its oppressive presence was so great it was clearly visible to the naked eye. A magic power density that warped the surrounding space. An ordinary human would have died instantly just standing here.

“Let’s go, Alto. …From here on, we’re right in the heart of enemy territory. A welcoming parade is coming to greet us for sure.”

Just as Gideon said, hatches along the tower’s midsection opened, and countless “shadows” took flight. A swarm cutting through the blizzard toward us. Gargoyles made of ice, or perhaps ancient defense drones. Hundreds—no, thousands—of hostile intents surged forth, bent on eliminating the intruders.

I checked the weight of Gungnir on my back and pulled my frozen lips into a grin. There was no turning back now. There was only one thing to do.

“A parade, huh… Fine by me. Let’s kick it apart in style and make the star of the show come out.”

As if answering my words, Sleipnir’s engine roared once more. Gideon twisted the throttle, and pale blue afterburners erupted. We raced across the icy plain and began a head-on charge straight toward the black tower where the Demon King awaited.

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