“How do you use this thing?”
Jade held up the crystal ball. Just as she was about to inspect it, the ball emitted a beam of green light, opening a portal before her.
“Awesome!”
Seeing the familiar portal, Jade waved at Uncle and young Jackie, smiling as she said, “Nice meeting you guys! I’m heading back. Uncle Jackie, I’m your niece, Jade. See you in the future!”
With that, she eagerly jumped into the portal.
Sora grabbed the unconscious Finn, Chow, Ratso, and Tohru, tossed them all into the portal, and followed right after.
The portal disappeared.
“Aiya! That’s magic!”
Uncle exclaimed, suddenly developing great interest in magic.
Young Jackie found this amusing and chuckled.
Hearing Jackie’s laugh, Uncle snapped out of his amazement and curiosity, gave Jackie a light knock on the head, and laughed, “Jackie, you’re going to have a lively niece in the future.”
…
Inside the time tunnel, the surroundings were entirely green, like a swirling vortex.
Speaking of time travel, Sora thought of Doraemon.
In Doraemon, the time tunnel is a highway built by future humans in the folds of time, where the “car” known as the time machine can travel freely.
By contrast, the tunnel they were in now was wild, natural, and undeveloped.
“Can you sense anything?” Sora whispered.
This tunnel was related to spacetime energy. If she could sense anything, it might help her future research into time travel.
“Nothing,” Angewomon replied.
Sora felt a bit disappointed but didn’t dwell on it.
She checked the [Transmigration Countdown], which hadn’t changed despite being in the time tunnel. It seemed the countdown was based on the time she experienced.
Jade heard the voices and turned to see not only Finn, Chow, Ratso, and Tohru, but also Sora. Surprised, she said, “Sis, why are you here too?”
Sora smiled lightly. “I don’t belong to that era either.”
Jade felt confused. That one line carried a lot of information.
She was about to ask more when the tunnel’s exit arrived.
Sora, Jade, Finn, Chow, Ratso, and Tohru all fell out from the portal.
“Jade!”
An adult dressed much like young Jackie came running over—the present-day Jackie from the main storyline.
He had just found out that Jade had traveled back in time and was about to retrieve her, only to see that she returned on her own.
“Uncle Jackie!” Jade jumped into his arms, full of excitement.
Jackie smiled and patted her shoulder, then glanced at Sora and asked Jade softly, “Who is she?”
“This is Sora. Thanks to her, I made it back. She can use magic, and she’s great at martial arts too.”
Jade happily introduced them and then said to Sora, “This is Jackie, my uncle. He’s an archaeologist and part of Section Thi—”
Jackie quickly stopped Jade from saying more and turned to Sora gratefully. “I’m just an archaeologist. Hello, Miss Sora. Thank you for saving Jade.”
Sora smiled. “It’s nothing. Mr. Jackie, I actually have something to discuss with you. Perhaps somewhere private—like Section 13?”
“?”
Jackie froze.
She even knew about Section 13?
…
About half an hour later, they were in Section 13.
A secret underground headquarters in San Francisco, equipped with tech far beyond civilian levels and security on par with the Land of Light from Ultraman—an absolute fortress.
The unconscious Finn, Chow, Ratso, and Tohru were locked up in a secure prison within Section 13.
Meanwhile, in a nearly empty room with only a table and four chairs sat four people: Sora, Jackie, Jade, and Black.
Black was the chief of Section 13.
Sora was the first to speak. “How many talismans have you found so far?”
Jackie didn’t answer right away. Instead, he leaned toward Jade and whispered, “Did you tell her about the talismans?”
Jade shook her head repeatedly. “No.”
Sora said, “I might know even more about the talismans than you do. The twelve talismans correspond to the twelve zodiac signs. The Rooster Talisman grants levitation, the Ox Talisman grants strength, and the Snake Talisman grants invisibility, right?”
Words shouldn’t be spoken in full—lest the world change too fast. Especially when her knowledge was based on an omniscient perspective.
Three was enough to show her understanding without giving too much away.
Jackie was shocked as Sora listed the three talisman powers. He exchanged a look with Jade. “How do you know that?”
Sora smiled mysteriously. “That’s a secret.”
‘Riddlers are annoying…’
‘Oh wait—I’m the riddler? Riddlers are the best!’
“…”
Jackie, as the one being riddled, didn’t share the enthusiasm. He felt like someone accelerating only to crash into a wall.
He looked toward the bald man in the black trench coat beside him and asked, “Captain Black, what do you think?”
Black paused and said, “Miss Sora, Jackie told me you wanted to discuss something with us.”
“How about working together to find the talismans? After all, I just brought in four of the Dark Hand’s top men. You can extract enough evidence from them to bring down the whole organization.”
“I’m deeply grateful for that. As for cooperation…”
Sora expected a refusal.
If she were the chief, responsible for an area’s safety and holding top-secret duties, she would also be cautious of a mysterious outsider offering help.
Would showing her angel wings earn their trust?
The truth was, if she abandoned her principles, she could easily take what she wanted by force. But she had said, “In light, I am a person of light,” and because of that promise, she was recognized by chi.
In a world with magical incantations, words had power—She had to keep her word.
Of course, the second half of the phrase—”In darkness, I am a person of darkness”—didn’t apply to Jackie, Jade, or Black. But it would when she faced Shendu.
‘Shendu… hehehe~’
Everything she was doing now was to get closer to Shendu. If Black refused to cooperate, she’d go straight to Shendu. But that would mean revising her entire plan.
Black finished thinking and said, “How do you propose we cooperate?”
‘Nice!’
No wonder he managed to recruit a former pirate to work under him—A true pragmatist, bold and adaptable.
Sora said, “Undercover.”
Black raised an eyebrow. “We already captured four of the Dark Hand’s top lieutenants. We can follow the leads to collect evidence and arrest the rest. There’s no need for an undercover mission.”
Sora shook her head with a faint smile. “That would work for an ordinary gang. But the Dark Hand uses magic—its source is an ancient demon.”
Black was speechless. Magic wasn’t his field.
Sora added, “You need magic to fight magic.”
She stood up, stretched, and unfurled her eight angelic wings!
— The end of the Chapter–
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