"You said you'd entrust it to me. Doesn't that mean Miss Mirai Yue won't be with us...?"
“…Shia.”
"That kind of thing... that kind of future, do you think I'd approve of? Do you think I'd be happy to accept it!? Do you think I'd just say 'yes' and agree to it?!"
This was the reason for her grief and anger.
Trust does sound nice, and it is indeed the highest degree of trust, but it is also an unbearable burden for the person entrusted.
Of course, because Shia loved Yue. Without Yue's trust, how could she have smiled and said, "Okay, no problem"?
There was no way she could agree to such a future!
Hearing Xia's scream, Yue realized that he had hurt Xia's heart, and his eyebrows furrowed in anger.
However, even so...
Who am I? Why did my uncle seal me away?
As long as you still don't understand these doubts...
“…I just wanted to be on the safe side…”
Yue still can't take back what she said.
I seem to hear the sound of my rational line breaking.
next second...
"I don't care!"
“──!?”
Shia rushed towards him like a tantrum child, tears streaming down her face. Yue was slightly shaken by Shia's presence.
But in front of the cheating rabbit, such hesitation will become a fatal gap.
Shia drew the hammer back like a bow, increasing its weight and strengthening her body to its full potential.
Throw out all the unresolved anger and sadness with one hammer!
“Guuuu!?”
The barrier shattered like a piece of paper, and the storm and shockwaves hit Yue. Yue gasped for breath, and cried out in pain through clenched teeth as he was sent flying.
Shia didn't stop. Using the centrifugal force of her hammer swing, she spun around, striking a beautiful pitching stance towards Yue, who was flying straight towards the dead end ice wall.
"Ms. Yue, why don't you understand?"
Throw the hammer!
“—『Holy Suppression』!”
As the highest-level barrier enveloped Yue, a loud sound like an explosion suddenly rang out.
The hammer, thrown with both mass and speed, brought immense destructive power. Yue was powerless to resist, and was propelled into the ice wall of the dead end.
Although the ice wall reacted to Yue's approach and began to open a path, the speed of the hammer and Yue was too fast to keep up.
"Holy Absolute" crashed into the wall, and a shock wave followed, shattering all the walls near the exit, and Yue crashed into the room inside.
When Druken finally lost his strength and fell to the ground with a clang, Yue also fell to the ground. She knelt on one knee and stood up, sweating coldly, looking at the nearly collapsed passage.
At that moment.
“Eh, eh!?”
"Wha, what!? What's going on!?"
Two panicked voices rang out.
Or rather, it was Kaori and her phantom. They seemed to be clashing with their swords, but the sudden impact froze them both in place.
However, Xia ignored the two surprised people. She casually broke the ice in the collapsing passage with her fist and then appeared.
The rabbit's ears and tail stretched straight out.
Shia pulled the hammer's handle, pulling Druken back. Catching her companion from the air, Shia smoothly connected the hammer to the handle, then with a flick of her hand, lifted the hammer onto her shoulder.
"Ms. Yue! I'll remind you of true enlightenment! Don't underestimate the rabbits in the forest!"
Shia raised Druken and pointed at Yue.
In front of me is an angry plug-in rabbit.
Whether it was towards Xia or Yue, the first big quarrel in their lives began.
...Left behind, Kaori and Phantom, still confused about the situation, pressing their weapons against each other.
Let’s move forward a little in time.
Kaori, like everyone else, is undergoing the "Trial of the Phantom".
In this trial, the darkness in her heart and the negative parts that she was unwilling to acknowledge were ruthlessly dug out, and Kaori fell into a difficult battle.
Kaori had already realized it.
Because she knew better than anyone that there were many gaps in her heart.
—Even though we made a promise, I couldn’t protect Hajime.
——I can’t help but feel jealous of Yue.
——Suffering from inferiority complex.
Why am I not the "special" one?
──Why am I so weak?
──She gained power even at the cost of her original body! Why is it Shia!?
──Why! That was originally my seat! I was the first one to fall in love with Hajime!
Don't take him away! Don't take away the one I love!
The phantom's words gradually pulled her into the bottomless swamp.
Kaori really wanted to deny her words, wanted to cover her ears, look away, and shout that she didn't have such thoughts and that she was not the one who had such thoughts.
Her own ugliness was laid bare before her eyes, like the softest part of her heart being dug out. The unbearable pain made Kaori want to scream. She wanted to yell at her own phantom meaninglessly, or even curse at him.
Therefore, the action to be taken instead is—
"drink!!"
『──! 』
Kaori stepped forward, moving forward in a straight line, using her almost frantic heart as motivation. She shouted with full momentum and swung out both swords at the same time.
The blow was so sharp that it left the phantom no time to breathe. It was no casual strike. She knew that to sever the phantom was to sever her own weakness. It was a clean and graceful strike.
The flesh of the "Apostle of God," who could be said to embody the most beautiful things in the world, leaps.
One is silver and the other is black.
Every time they shifted positions, their hair would sway dreamily. The two pairs of four greatswords intertwined, forming a trail of sword lines that transformed into countless meteors, creating a sword world.
This was a fight to the death, but a beautiful one, like a dance, or a sacred music dedicated to the gods.
That's right, Kaori, with a bruised heart, was gradually able to fight the phantom.
“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!”
"Hmm! You're speeding up again!"
The phantom couldn't bear it anymore and distanced itself, while immediately launching a black decomposition bombardment.
Kaori also pointed the tip of her greatsword forward at the phantom, firing a zero-delay disintegration bombardment.
The flashes of black and silver collided head-on, spreading not with impact but with the aftermath of destruction, and the ice surface disappeared as if hollowed out.
"The jealousy, anger, anxiety, and inferiority complex in your heart haven't disappeared! Even at this moment, your heart is still scarred and deeply troubled!"
"Even so, you can still grow."
There was even a hint of tenderness in Kaori's tone. Meanwhile, Phantom felt a chill run down her spine. She continued firing and turned to look behind her.
Suddenly, a magic circle made of silver feathers appeared in the sky...
“—Lightning!”
"He can even remotely activate it!"
The phantom spread its black wings and soared straight up. Approximately thirty minutes had passed since the battle began, and until just now, Kaori hadn't been able to form a magic circle with her silver feathers. Now, however, she succeeded. The phantom looked at Kaori with astonishment.
At that moment, Kaori, who also spread her silver wings, appeared before her.
The phantom blocked the flashing sword move with his greatsword. With a clang, a fierce metallic sound echoed around, and the impact radiated in a circular pattern.
"The strengthening has stopped?"
The phantom's strengthening had been continuing, and whenever she was attacked by sharp words, Kaori would reveal her weakness. But now, the strengthening had stopped.
“I really only think about myself.”
As weapons clashed in the air, Kaori seemed to hear the phantom's whisper, and she answered.
"It's the same whether we're at school or when we're away from Shizuku-chan and the others."
Driven by an unrequited love that had lasted for over two years, Kaori desperately tried to talk to Hajime, but she couldn't get through to him. She was so focused on herself that she didn't even realize she was causing trouble for her beloved.
Although she knew how big a void her departure would create, she could not bear the fact that she miraculously reunited with her lover only to see him with the woman he loved, so she gave priority to her own will.
"Yes, you are hopeless. You are a very self-centered person, far from being pure, aren't you?"
In her enhanced state, Phantom had an overwhelming advantage in sheer arm strength. As their weapons clashed, she forcibly pushed Kaori away and blasted her with disintegrated black feathers.
Kaori spun around and flew through the barrage of death, speaking calmly:
"I want to change. I want to be as gentle as Yue, as strong as Shia, as smart as Tio, and as cute as Shizuku."
She was clearly speaking so clearly during a battle. Could it be out of jealousy?
Phantom narrowed his eyes and thought, "No," his strength was weakening little by little.
Kaori turned, and though the black feathers that swept down like a violent storm slashed countless wounds on her body, she narrowly avoided the fatal blow. Then, she flapped her silver wings and accelerated in one breath.
Kaori became even faster than before, and even afterimages appeared.
It wasn't because the phantom was slightly weaker that Kaori felt faster, it was simply because Kaori was getting faster every second. And there was only one reason why Kaori was getting stronger.
Even at this moment, Kaori is discovering her abilities as a "God's Apostle," just as humans gradually increase their strength through training.
That's right, just as Kaori said, that's the "growth" that all humans experience.
Because it was so fast, the sword moves rained down like a rain of phantoms. The phantom used his enhanced abilities to dispel them one by one, and at the same time, as if suddenly realizing something, he said:
"...I see. Your negative emotions remain undiminished, while mine are beginning to weaken...Is it because you're constantly making progress even at this moment? No, you must have been gradually growing even before accepting this trial."
The trails of the two greatswords drew out silver tails, and the phantom kept blocking and parrying.
Kaori's sword moves are smooth and destructive, and can be said to have reached the pinnacle of martial arts. She is no less powerful than Noin, whom Hajime had fought in the past.
Although the difference was only a millisecond, the phantom's reaction was indeed gradually slowing down. Kaori's sword began to cut through the phantom, and the wounds on the phantom gradually increased. At this time, Kaori confided her feelings in a tone as if reporting to her parents.
"I'm jealous of Shia, but I'm also happy for her!"
Seeing Shia being accepted by Hajime, Kaori was truly envious, but she was also happy that her friend was finally able to find her true love.
"I hate Yue the most, but I'd still feel lonely if she wasn't around."
Kaori is no longer suffocated by feelings of inferiority and anxiety, because she has overcome those emotions in the [Melkines Underwater Ruins].
"That's how I can sense Shizuku-chan's feelings!"
Although she still has the bad habit of doing things without considering the consequences, Kaori has become a little more aware of the people around her.
Instead of envying or being jealous of others, she now focuses more on improving herself.
Because before accepting this trial, Kaori had already faced her negative emotions.
and so……
"I'm afraid of my own ugliness, but I won't run away from it anymore!"
Kaori activated the sublimation magic - "Forbidden Zone Release".
She recreated the explosive power Noin had used in the past, using a method that was "nearly limit-breaking." Kaori's body was shrouded in silver light, splitting into two and three layers. That was the power of the "Apostle of God."
You'll Also Like
-
An ordinary profession creates the world's strongest
Chapter 860 2 hours ago -
Equipment Printing School Mage
Chapter 478 2 hours ago -
1932: Playing with the Japanese Communist Party with a doll
Chapter 711 2 hours ago -
Ikari Shinji's Harem Comedy Daily Life
Chapter 122 2 hours ago -
Connect to Yuan Tiejue's chat group
Chapter 69 2 hours ago -
As a commander, I will never meet a heavy female ship girl
Chapter 290 2 hours ago -
Why wasn't I the one who got the male lead's script?
Chapter 189 2 hours ago -
This second dimension is too immortal
Chapter 580 2 hours ago -
Terra Succubus Development System, but calm office workers
Chapter 101 2 hours ago -
I'm collecting in the Pokémon world
Chapter 377 2 hours ago