The phantom didn't laugh, but instead displayed a strong determination to pass the Great Labyrinth Trial. He looked directly at Hajime, who shrugged and replied:

"If that's the definition of a human, then yes, I'm no longer human. Perhaps I'm a true monster born from the abyss."

"A monster, but—"

Phantom regurgitated what Shi said and wanted to say something, but when he saw Shi's eyes, he swallowed his words back.

Hajime's eyes shone brightly, yet were as calm as the surface of a still water.

Hajime said in a tone that matched his eyes:

"I may be rejected, or my hometown may not have a place for me. But even so... I will continue to move forward."

"Hide your inner feelings and keep moving forward?"

"The path I've walked so far hasn't been smooth enough to keep going even if I can hide my inner feelings."

The rebuttal he finally managed to come up with was easily countered by Hajime. Phantom also knew Hajime's memories, so he had no way to refute it.

"I've always been like this. If I were so naive that I couldn't act until my troubles were resolved, would I still be alive today? Regardless of whether I have troubles or fears, I always use my determination as a weapon to forge ahead."

That’s right, Nan Yun Hajime is such a person.

His honest character that allowed him to face his troubles and negative aspects head-on had long been abandoned by him into the abyss.

Instead, Hajime was given a cold and unyielding will of steel. Even if it meant abandoning his own heart, he would step over any obstacle and move forward.

Perhaps it could be said that he simply let things go. As a human being, that wasn't a commendable attitude, but it was precisely because of this that Hajime was so strong. Because of this strength, he was able to overcome all obstacles and come straight here.

This fact, combined with Hajime's mental journey, became an invisible pressure, oppressing Phantom. Phantom took a breath and couldn't help but take a step back. Hajime smiled and said:

"Besides, it was the Great Labyrinth that created a monster like me, and now you're trying to judge me with words? This is ridiculous."

“Alright, this boring conversation is over,” Hajime said, his tone tinged with murderous intent.

The phantom was intimidated by his aura. He smiled bitterly and retaliated a little.

"I don't think a monster like that can live a normal life from now on."

"There are quite a lot of weirdos who like that kind of monster."

So there was no problem. Even if the future was difficult and Hajime's soul was questioned again, those weirdos would definitely help him.

"Ah, by the way, there's one thing I want to correct."

The image of that number one weirdo emerged in Hajime's mind, and he glared at him as if he wanted to shoot the phantom.

"Not most, only 0.1 percent at most."

"What? 』

"The feeling of using the moon as insurance is only 0.1%, the remaining 99.9% is love."

This is also a way of letting go. However, Hajime is sure of his feelings, so he does not feel guilty, nor does he dare to face Yue because of it.

Instead, Hajime was confident enough to say to Yue in a cowardly manner, "I'm afraid of being rejected by my hometown, so Yue is accompanying me to put my mind at ease."

This was because he was well aware that he wasn't perfect, so he relied on his beloved friend to support him in his shortcomings and weaknesses. In a sense, this required deep trust. It could also be said that Hajime was just showing off. If the other person was Yue, he would have been able to say even such coquettish words.

Hearing what Hajime said, the phantom that was blinded by the light sighed.

"...At least give me 10%."

It was clearly an illusion of the real person, but it had an expression of defeat at the hands of Hajime. Perhaps this was a reaction he couldn't help but have as part of the Great Labyrinth Trial.

Ignoring the illusion, Hajime charged forward. Donal and Hulak, once again racing against each other at extremely close range.

The two's attack and defense remained evenly matched, like a mirror. However, that balance gradually began to break down. Hajime's red flashes, his kicks, the cross-shaped cannon, the crescent moon, the weapons within his prosthetic arm, and so on, all began to reliably capture the illusion.

It seemed to prove that the counterattack just now was not accidental!

"Hmm! You've surpassed me, after all? How is that possible? I don't show any signs of weakening."

"Hmm? Weakened?"

"This is a test of transcending myself. Every time I transcend the negative emotions within myself, the negative illusion of me gradually weakens. Conversely, the less I face problems, the stronger I become."

"Oh, so there's such a rule."

Finally, Hajime's Donal knocked the phantom's Hulaq away, sending it spinning and sliding far away. Hajime's Hulaq took advantage of the opportunity to strike the phantom in the side, forcing it to stumble back.

"But you haven't overcome it. You're just shamelessly ignoring the problem. The proof is that I haven't weakened. At least our fighting power should be equal! So why are you superior to me? I'm clearly you!"

It seemed that someone who hadn't transcended negative psychology could actually surpass Phantom in combat power, something Phantom found quite incredible. This phenomenon, which had just begun, fundamentally negated the Great Labyrinth's purpose. Only then did Phantom begin to waver violently.

Hajime answered the phantom as if it were no big deal:

"To be precise, you are the me before we met, right?"

"What's the meaning!"

This time, the phantom Donal was shattered along with his right hand.

Phantom fired the shotgun from his prosthetic arm with exquisite precision, but Hajime easily dodged it. Instead, Hajime fired a bullet in the split second they passed each other, destroying Phantom's elbow.

It had been like this since just now. The movements were the same, the speed was the same, and the thinking should be the same. However, regardless of whether it was strengthened or weakened, Hajime was slightly better than the phantom.

The real person and the phantom distanced themselves and faced each other again. However, now they could not be said to be exactly the same.

Because the phantom is already covered with wounds.

"Don't you understand? This phantom of yours was created by reading my information. That's roughly the information from the moment I entered the maze until I arrived at the ice tree in this room. In other words, you're just me from tens of minutes ago. So, for this battle, all I have to do is become even stronger than I was tens of minutes ago. It's that simple."

"What nonsense are you talking about? That kind of thing..."

The phantom thought it was impossible, but reality was so unreasonable.

"I'm very grateful to you. Thanks to you, I can carefully examine my movements. There are some bad habits and unnecessary movements that are surprisingly difficult to detect on my own."

"You said you corrected it during battle? Impossible!"

The logic is understandable, but is it really possible to do such a thing?

The phantom's expression was full of fear, as if he had seen a monster.

In contrast to him, Hajime had an expression that showed he was defeated by him.

"If you're me, don't deny me. Finding a way to survive in a life-or-death situation, whether it's a single muscle fiber, a fraction of a second of speed, a single drop of magic power, or predicting a move half a step in advance, as long as I have any one of them above my opponent, I can survive. That's how I've always won in the carnage, right?"

The phantom froze in place tremblingly for a while, and after a beat, his body suddenly relaxed.

Then, with a wry smile on his face, he gathered the cross-shaped floaters around him and assumed a hand-to-hand combat stance.

"...Really? I never thought someone would ignore the problem and overcome this trial based solely on strength. As long as you waver, I still have a chance of winning."

"Don't be ridiculous. You had no chance of winning from the start. An illusion is just an illusion after all. I'm going to shatter that disgusting face of yours."

"You're torturing yourself."

With this sentence as the signal, the bell for the final round rang.

Victory is decided in a moment.

As they rushed forward, a huge noise was heard, and only one party was knocked away.

It was the phantom whose lower body disappeared that crashed into the wall and fell limply to the ground.

He fell to the ground, swaying vaguely like a mirage, and finally gradually disappeared. He no longer spoke, but his expression seemed to be satisfied.

Hajime took a deep breath and released his Zanshin stance...

Then, Hajime fired three more shots at the disappearing phantom's head.

The phantom's body twitched, and before he could say anything, he vanished in a faint glow. I almost heard him complain, "Read my composure, you monster!" Was that an illusion?

Hajime put Donal and Hulak back into their holsters and took a deep breath.

In the space that had returned to silence, Hajime walked towards the ice tree without thinking twice.

"..."

Seeing his current appearance, he could see his hardened palms as long as he stretched out his hands.

This palm will kill all enemies that stand in its way.

Hajime looked at his face and hands in the mirror for a brief moment, then slowly clenched his hands.

"No matter what the future holds—I will hold on tightly."

Because no matter whether you are confused or worried, you can worry as much as you want after things are over.

Hajime showed his usual arrogant smile.

Part of the ice wall began to melt, as if inviting Hajime to enter, opening up a new path.

He turned around and walked on a new road without looking back.

The light in the field of vision gradually disappeared as if it was shrinking.

Shizuku blinked several times and looked around quickly.

"...Kaori?"

The good friend who was by my side when I passed through the light gate is now nowhere to be seen.

No, not just Kaori, but everyone else was gone too. In the narrow passageway of the dim ice mirror, there was only one person.

──I (you) will become a human being.

"!"

Shizuku felt a horrible sensation as if a bug was crawling on her back. She quickly looked around, but the only thing that responded to her gaze was herself in the mirror with a wimpy expression on her face.

She felt very uneasy.

Shizuku was even surprised at how weak she had become.

“…Nagumo-san.”

Unconsciously, she blurted out the name, as if asking for help. Shizuku was once again stunned, but this time in a different sense. She quickly shook her head, telling herself it was a slip of the tongue.

There is no one here to protect me. No, Yaegashi Shizuku is the protector, not the protected. It has always been so, and it will always be so.

"So I'm fine."

After Shizuku finished speaking, she closed her eyes tightly and clapped her hands on her cheeks. Shizuku was trying to cheer herself up, and the clapping sounded particularly loud.

Shizuku's cheeks flushed slightly and she began to walk forward.

Shizuku stared ahead, exuding her usual awe-inspiring aura, and walked forward with her back straight.

No problem, I'm fine.

She kept saying this in her heart while tightly gripping the black knife.

"That is……"

Finally, deep in the dim passage, she spotted a faint glow. As she drew closer, Shizuku realized that in the center of the vast space, a single icy tree stood tall. It was that tree that was glowing. At the same moment, she spotted a figure at its base. Startled, Shizuku thought it must be one of her companions. With a look of relief and joy on her face, she dashed over.

However──

"Welcome, I."

"W-why?"

Feeling the chill sweeping through her body, Shizuku stopped.

That wasn't a companion, but it wasn't someone I didn't know either.

But that is an impossible existence.

"Why are you here? You're mine—"

"Do you think it was a dream?"

Seeing that arched mouth, Shizuku felt as if a bucket of cold water was poured over her.

That’s right, the figure before my eyes was the white figure I had seen in my dream—‘White Shizuku’.

White hair in a ponytail, skin as white as porcelain, a black sword turned into a white sword, and clothes were also pure white. However, only the eyes emitted a dark red light.

Shizuku thought for no reason that this was like a nightmare coming true.

The incomprehensible and terrifying reality made Shizuku unconsciously take a step back.

At the same moment, the white Shizuku—the phantom created by the Great Labyrinth—stepped forward. With a clear clang, she gracefully and boldly drew her pure white sword.

"Cheer up, me. Otherwise──it will be over soon, okay?"

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