UPDATE TERBARU

Prologue

—Long, long ago...

"Iroha!"

A voice that sounded almost like a scream struck my eardrums.

I turned around to see a band of armored warriors pouring out from a path cut into the cliff, raising a battle cry.

There were a hundred of them, maybe two hundred.

Either way, they were nothing to worry about.

—Actually, no.

I hurled my blade with full power. The spinning edge roared as it sliced through the air, cutting down the armored warriors in one fell swoop and turning them into particles of light.

—Maybe the distant future.

"Whoa, crap, I'm in trouble!"

Without a moment's rest, another voice flowed through my earphones.

Okay. Of course, I noticed. You probably thought you were hidden in the bamboo grove, but I wasn't going to miss the jump effect visible through the gaps.

Above me. I tilted my controller so hard my wrist nearly twisted.

—No, wait. It’s not the ancient past, and it’s not the distant future either.

—It is a world only slightly in the future, not much different from now.

Threads of light surged from my arm and ensnared the enemy. I turned them into fireworks in mid-air.

I won. I’d leave the checkmate to my teammates. I uncrossed my legs on the chair and wiped the sweat from my chin.

When I opened my eyes, the room was already pitch black; the sun had set without me noticing.

—Here was just an ordinary high school girl playing video games.

My face reflected in the windowpane, eyes glowing an eerie orange, making me look just like an alien.