Are you feeling dissatisfied because the argument is irrefutable?
Is it the sadness of never seeing your loved ones again?
Or maybe all of them.
The phantom stared down at Shizuku wordlessly, her unsheathed white sword drawn back. She turned sideways, extended her hand holding the scabbard, and stabbed down as if aiming. She aimed for Shizuku's head.
If the white blade was as sharp as the black one, it would probably pierce through the skull easily, killing Shizuku without her even feeling any pain. That would be considered a form of mercy.
The murderous aura gradually increased.
The fatal blow is imminent.
Facing the blade aimed at her, a certain emotion welled up in Shizuku's heart.
She opened her mouth, wanting to express the emotion without any shame.
"...I...don't want to...die yet."
"..."
Those words were not about caring for others, but about begging for one's own life.
She doesn't want to die yet.
I also want to see my friends, companions and family.
And I also want to meet the person I like in the other world.
See him again.
But she couldn't stand up on her own.
Because she was exhausted both physically and mentally.
and so……
"Help...someone...save me..."
She cried for help like a child.
Shizuku is always relied upon and asked for help, and she always stands by to help them. No matter when, no matter how hard it is, she always smiles and replies, "No problem," "Leave it to me."
She never cried and said depressing words like "I can't do it anymore", "I can't stand up anymore", "Someone please save me", etc.
In fact, she dreams of becoming a "girl who is protected like a princess", but due to people's expectations, she is forced to hone herself under the pressure of thinking that this is necessary, and unknowingly her role has become like that of a knight.
Just like the last play in elementary school.
In fact, Shizuku understood why her friend was so angry, and she also knew who she was angry about.
Although she knew this, Shizuku still couldn't change herself. Over time, she unconsciously stopped complaining and began to accept herself as she was.
But...actually...she is also...
"I'm sorry, but your words come too late."
The true words that were not revealed until the last moment were coldly rejected by the ruthless other self.
The phantom released a powerful murderous aura.
Shizuku closed her eyes and waited for death.
The white weapon that pierced through life stabbed straight at her forehead.
……
……
……
"...That's impossible."
His own death has not yet come.
While she closed her eyes, she felt a sudden lightness on her back. However, Shizuku was more concerned about the phantom's muffled tone than that, and she opened her eyes tremblingly.
"Eh, huh?"
"Really? What kind of timing is this? Could this be a plan by the Great Labyrinth?"
What she saw instead was... a white blade that stopped just before it touched her skin, and a metal arm that stopped it. The sound of metal scraping against metal was heard, and a familiar metal prosthetic hand extended from behind her, gripping the white blade tightly and stopping the weapon that was attempting to kill Shizuku in the nick of time.
At the same time, Shizuku heard a complaint, opened her eyes, and looked behind her.
Where is he.
"Nan-Nangumo-san?"
The person I love is right before my eyes, like a beautiful dream before death. It seems like a joke, but also like it's natural.
At some point, the ice wall behind Shizuku disappeared, revealing a passageway, and it seemed that Hajime had emerged from that passageway. Hajime embraced Shizuku from behind, supporting her as she sat on the ground. This showed that this wasn't just a wishful thinking on Shizuku's part.
Even so, Shizuku still couldn't believe it. She just stared at the profile of Hajime right in front of her, lost in thought.
“…Pfft, he got beaten so badly.”
Hajime looked at the dejected Shizuku with displeasure, then glared at the phantom with the eyes of a ferocious beast.
The phantom jumped in surprise and immediately tried to retreat. But before it could do so, the prosthetic hand clutching the white knife erupted in red lightning. Then, a piercing high-pitched sound emanated from the prosthetic hand, and it began vibrating at such high speeds that it blurred the image.
"Damn it!"
Phantom hurriedly pulled with all his strength, trying to retract the white knife. However, it seemed too late to break free from the prosthetic arm.
The white sword was directly struck by the prosthetic hand's 'Vibration Shattering', making a nasty cracking sound. Simultaneously, cracks appeared across the blade. The next moment, as if crushed by the prosthetic hand, the white sword was shattered from the center.
Then, Hajime aimed his prosthetic hand directly at the phantom. With a clang, the palm of his hand opened, revealing the dark muzzle of a gun.
"Anyway, please fly for me."
『! ! 』
The phantom's expression twitched violently. Then, with a resounding roar, a burst of explosive shrapnel shot out from his palm, emitting a red wave that sent the phantom flying.
Then, Hajime summoned a cross floater from the treasure vault and maneuvered it towards the phantom. Hajime had no intention of killing her, but was simply buying time.
The seven cross-shaped floating guns fired bullets while coordinating skillfully to gradually move the phantom farther away.
Listening to the continuous explosions, as if they were far away, Shizuku stared at the face of Hajime who was supporting her from behind.
Shizuku couldn't tell if this was a dream or reality. Besides the blood loss slowing her thinking, a part of her heart still denied that such a miracle could ever happen to her.
But Shizuku couldn't help but think, if this was a dream, she hoped she wouldn't wake up...
She was terrified to wake up...
Hajime, holding Shizuku with one hand, retrieved a test tube container from the treasure vault. He opened the cap with his mouth and unceremoniously shoved the container into Shizuku's dazed mouth.
“Hmm!?”
"Don't spit it out. Drink it even if you die."
Suddenly, a foreign object entered her mouth, causing Shizuku to open her eyes wide in surprise and reflexively want to spit it out.
In order to prevent Shizuku from vomiting, Hajime tightened his grip on her, sealing her resistance and forcing her to drink it.
Hajime would never allow Shizuku to spit it out, because that was the scarce remaining "holy water". From the look in Hajime's eyes as he glared at Shizuku, it was clear that for him, he was determined to make her drink it even if he had to force her to drink it.
Shizuku's resistance weakened. Or rather, her body froze. Being held tightly by Hajime, feeling his warmth, even as he stared at her so closely... Shizuku was petrified.
Shizuku held the test tube obediently in her mouth, staring at Hajime's face right in front of her, looking like a baby drinking from a bottle.
Shizuku didn't have time to pay attention to her current situation. She seemed to be attracted by Hajime's eyes, staring straight into his, unwilling to look away for a moment, or rather, she didn't want to look away.
Finally, after Shizuku gulped down the sacred water, her body had fully recovered, as if the wounds she'd suffered had never occurred. Because her health remained low, she was still as weak as ever. Even so, she had recovered enough to understand that what was happening was real, and that she had been saved in the nick of time.
“…Are you really Nagumo-kun?”
"Who do I look like to you?"
"B-but why...why are you here...I..."
"Calm down. I just finished my trial and walked into the passage that appeared, and ended up here."
“So, then it was really Nagumo-san who saved me…”
The tears that had stopped flowing out of Shizuku's eyes once again.
Unlike before, this time the tears came from a sense of relief.
Hajime was surprised to see her like this, because this was the first time he saw Shizuku crying. Because he was too surprised, he couldn't react immediately to Shizuku's gentle hand.
Shizuku's hand was about to touch Hajime's cheek, as if she wanted to confirm Hajime's existence; and it was as if she could only see Hajime in her eyes, her eyes filled with strong emotions.
However, just as her hand was about to touch Hajime, her body jolted and her hand stopped. Shizuku pulled her hand back with a pained expression.
Then, as if she felt that she shouldn't be hugged by Hajime, Shizuku weakly pushed Hajime's chest away from him. Shizuku wiped her tears with her sleeve and turned her head away.
Seeing that Shizuku was clearly in a different state, Hajime realized that the phantom had caused her great distress, and a wry smile suddenly appeared on his face. Meanwhile, the phantom held the white sword that had unknowingly returned to its original shape and was slashing at the cross-shaped floater. Hajime glanced at her sideways and said:
"Alright, your injuries have healed. Now it's time for a revenge fight. Go defeat her."
"Ah, but, but I... I can't beat her, so..."
Shizuku said this as if she was making an excuse, while looking at Hajime with pleading eyes.
Seeing Shizuku's unprecedented look, Hajime thought, "Let alone being devastated, she's completely dejected!" and felt a headache coming on.
I had thought that among the other four, including Kouki, Shizuku was the strongest mentally, so I was quite surprised.
The phantoms, seizing the gaps in the cross floater's attack, were closing in. Since Hajime had no point in defeating the phantoms, the cross floater's movements had become almost fixed, but the phantoms seemed to see through the fixed pattern.
Seeing the phantom approaching, Shizuku was clearly frightened. Seeing her cowering, as if ready to crouch down and hug her knees, Hajime couldn't help but narrow his eyes.
Unlike her, this wasn't like Shizuku at all.
But maybe this is the real...
Hajime scratched his head, his expression changed, and he looked at Shizuku seriously.
“Nangu-kun? Um, she…”
"Yaegashi, don't worry."
"what?"
Seeing the enemy approaching, Shizuku's face was filled with anxiety. But Hajime stared at her seriously, reassuring her, and Shizuku's blood rushed to her face.
After all, her feelings had just been revealed before her eyes, and Shizuku was already aware of her own feelings.
Even though I knew it wasn't allowed, my heart was still pounding.
Ignoring Shizuku's strange reaction, Hajime took something out of the treasure chest.
That is……
"Here, take it. This is the 'Pink Mask MKII', guaranteed quality, made just for you."
“…Nagumo-san?”
Why did you take that thing out now? Shizuku looked at Hajime coldly, putting aside her weak heart and her self-conscious feelings of love. When the phantom saw Hajime suddenly take out the exaggerated mask and shove it into the main body, she couldn't help but be startled and stopped in her tracks.
Hajime, unconcerned, handed Shizuku a pink, full-face mask with exquisite carvings. A bright smile spread across his face, practically giving Shizuku a thumbs-up.
"Nagumo-kun! Now's not the time to play around! That guy's coming!"
"How rude! I'm not kidding. Listen carefully, the evolution brought about by sublimation magic also includes your pink mask. Don't be scared, as long as you wear this mask, your perception ability will be tripled. That way you can defeat her."
"Again, another useless high performance..."
"You want it, right? Well, if it's Yaegashi, I admit that you are the right person to wear this mask—"
"I don't want to! I can win without wearing that thing! No, rather, I'd rather fight to the death than wear that thing! I don't want to be considered a pervert anymore!"
While Hajime earnestly promoted his proud masterpiece, Shizuku's expression twitched as she fiercely objected. She rubbed her temples as if trying to suppress a headache.
Whether in her movements or tone, she had returned to her normal Shizuku.
Looking at Shizuku who was still glaring at him coldly, Hajime smirked and simply put the Pink Mask MKII into the treasure chest. Then, he said to Shizuku who was looking surprised:
"That's right. Even without this thing, you can still win."
“! I, I…”
Shizuku was so easily tricked that she revealed a bitter expression and was speechless for a moment. Hajime ignored her and continued:
"Yaegashi, don't forget. She is indeed another side of you, but not the whole you. She is just a part of you made up of negative emotions. The important thoughts should be possessed by 'Yaegashi Shizuku' who is now in front of me, am I right?"
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