In an instant, as if the sun was born, a strong and dazzling light shone.

All he could see was a flash of light, and the sound vanished. The next second, a huge noise rang out, and the trial hall shook violently.

This barrier explosion, pouring all of his prana into it, was a true trump card. Unlike a single "explosion," this controlled, simultaneous detonation of a maximum number of barriers was a true trump card.

Ling couldn't even put up a barrier to protect herself. She was swept away by the aftermath and slid all the way to the wall, where her back slammed into the ice wall.

Ling tried her best to endure, forcing herself to maintain her consciousness which was about to fly away.

She couldn't hear anything, it felt like someone was ringing a huge bell in her ears, and the tinnitus was very severe.

The shock of the explosion and the fatigue left Ling unable to move a finger. Although she felt dizzy, she still managed to look towards the center of the explosion.

All I could see were the shimmering fragments of the barrier and the broken ice on the ground and ceiling, but no human figures were visible.

only……

──I hope she can feel your sincerity.

Ling seemed to hear a soft voice say this to her.

Her body relaxed naturally, and perhaps because she was finally relieved, her consciousness gradually drifted away.

(…It should be okay to take a break…right?)

After confirming that a new way out of the ice wall in the trial hall had appeared, Ling's mouth curled up slightly, and then she lost consciousness.

I don’t know how much time passed after that.

Ling felt herself rising from the dark bottom of the water and her consciousness became slightly clearer.

The body is rocking in a certain rhythm, as if lying in a cradle, and it feels very comfortable.

In her hazy consciousness, Ling planned to fall into a deep sleep again...

Then, from the heavy footsteps and the warmth on her cheeks, Ling realized that they were the footsteps and body temperature of a heavy person. She felt as if she was poured with cold water and her consciousness suddenly became clear.

“Eh? Weird!? What!? What’s going on—”

"Oh, Ling, are you awake?"

"Huh? Ryutaro-kun?"

"Yes, it's me."

For a moment, Suzu thought she'd been kidnapped by an ogre and panicked. But when she heard the familiar voice, she breathed a sigh of relief. It looked like she was being carried on Ryutaro's back.

Ling felt a little guilty for mistaking him for an ogre, so she coughed to hide her guilt and began to check the situation.

"Uh~ Why is Ryuutarou-san carrying Suzu?"

"I knocked out an infuriating guy and came down the hallway. I saw Suzu sleeping in the corner of the same room, so I took you away without thinking. After all, shaking you wouldn't have budged, and there was no way I could wrestle you awake."

"Well, if you're woken up like that, I'll give you a barrier explosion the moment I wake up."

Ling stared coldly at the back of Ryutaro's head, thinking, "You're lucky to be alive."

That being said, not long ago, Ryuutarou would have hit anyone awake, regardless of gender. The fact that he's even considered a girl suggests he's grown. Ling, for no apparent reason, judged Ryuutarou from a superior perspective, and at the same time, she regained her composure.

"Come to think of it, it turns out that trial room is connected to the others as well."

"It seems so. I think there are other people's rooms ahead of this path."

"It would be nice if it was Xiang Xiang or Tio-san, since I haven't fully recovered yet... Oh, by the way, Ryuutarou-kun was also badly injured, but he still carried Suzu on his back. Thank you. Is it okay for you to carry Suzu on your back? Is it too heavy?"

Although Ryutaro's broad back blocked Ling's vision, from the range that Ling could see, she could tell that Ryutaro was also seriously injured.

His equipment was as tattered as Ling's, but his injuries were far more serious than Ling's.

Although Ryutaro's steps were as steady as ever, he seemed a little unbalanced and his walking speed seemed a little slow.

"It's okay. The bell is light, like toilet paper."

"Hey, why did you use that metaphor? Explain it to me."

It seems that not understanding women's hearts is not something that can be easily improved. Ling's almond-shaped eyes widened, and her murderous gaze shot straight at the back of Ryutaro's head, waiting for his answer.

Ryuutarou shuddered, looking somewhat bewildered. After a pause, he tried another approach: "As light as a flower?"

The two of them were silent, but Ryutaro seemed to be silently asking, "Is this answer correct?", and Ling's attitude changed accordingly, and she let Ryutaro go.

After a silent conversation, Ling regained her spirits and asked:

"Seriously, you don't look well."

Hearing Ling's tone and voice return to normal, Ryuutarou breathed a sigh of relief and answered cheerfully:

"It's nothing serious. I just have a slightly dislocated shoulder, five broken ribs, and shattered bones in my arm."

“This isn’t just ‘just’, right?!”

“No, no, I’ve already reattached my shoulder, and I’ve also reinforced my arm with Diamond, so it’s fine… Puff!!”

"Eh~~!? Ryuutarou-kun vomited a lot of blood!?"

Ryutaro turned into a Merlion statue spewing blood from its mouth.

This scene is extremely tragic and shocking. If I enter the impact film award, I will definitely win it.

Ling's face turned pale as she jumped off Ryutaro's back and cast a healing spell on him. Because she didn't have the aptitude for healing magic, she couldn't learn advanced magic like Kaori. She used the basic healing magic she learned for emergencies.

Even so, her magic still had the effect of stopping bleeding and relieving pain, instantly healing minor injuries. Though the effect was relatively weak, it seemed to bring relief to Ryuutarou. He wiped the blood from his mouth with a chuckle, looking anything but a man who had just vomited blood.

"Oh, my injury is healed! Thank you, Ling."

"No, it's not. Ryuutarou-kun, you vomited enough blood to fill a bucket, but why are you acting like nothing's wrong? Are you a Devil Slayer? Or are you just an idiot?"

"Look at what you're saying. Once I recover to this point, I can handle the rest with my willpower."

"Will...what a useful word."

Ling finished the treatment with a weary expression. Sadly, she knew that there was a cheating rabbit that could actually do it through sheer willpower, so she couldn't offer a strong rebuttal.

I really want to see Shizuku Shizuku, a representative of normal people... I want my soul to be healed more than my body... While thinking this, Ling healed herself at the same time.

Of course, she could only heal minor wounds. The intense fatigue that made the body feel like it was filled with lead, and the dull pain in the body parts caused by the impact of the explosion, these could only be healed with the help of Kaori or Tio.

Seeing Ling's helpless expression, Ryutaro made excuses for himself.

"No, but part of the reason is that I'm a little excited because I passed the test successfully."

"Ah~ That's true. Unlike in the forest, this time I can have a proper battle with the trial... I'm really happy."

"Right?"

"By the way, how was your trial, Ryuutarou-kun? I see you don't seem to have any worries... Ah, if you're not in a position to answer, you don't have to."

Ling's unintentional remark was quite poignant, implying, "Because you're simple-minded, you can't be attacked verbally, right?" In a sense, Ling has grown up.

On the other hand, Ryutaro, who was attacked by such a natural verbal attack, didn't seem to care much, or rather, he didn't seem to notice it, and replied nonchalantly:

"No, it's okay. There's nothing bad to say. I was simply called a coward."

Ling was very surprised to hear him say that.

Ryuutarou was a man who, even in the face of danger, would bravely forge ahead. Suzu had never seen him show fear; on the contrary, he seemed almost reckless. The point the trial had pointed out was so different from Ryuutarou's usual demeanor that Suzu couldn't help but feel surprised.

Seeing Ling's reaction, Ryutaro said with embarrassment:

"He said I was willing to retreat to the rear and serve as a helper to Kouki or Nagumo. He was just deceiving himself."

"you mean……"

──At all times, you are a supporting role, and you can only set off the protagonist.

──Actually, you envy them, don't you? You also want to stand out and be the protagonist, right?

──Why don’t you do that?

"Because he felt he couldn't win, he didn't want to lose miserably and be embarrassed, and he was afraid to admit he was just a supporting role—that's what he said to me."

“…Is that what you think?”

The two of them took another step forward, walking side by side on the only passage in front of them.

Ling raised her head cautiously and asked Ryuutarou. Ryuutarou smiled wryly and nodded.

"That annoying guy is another me, right? Then I probably have that thought somewhere in my mind."

Ryutaro scratched his head shyly, because at least he couldn't deny it at that time.

Then he continued frankly:

"You know that before we were summoned, Kouki and I were always getting into trouble, right?"

"Yeah. Rather than meddling, it's more like Kouki-san always attracts trouble, right? Shizuku-kun said Kouki-san easily takes on trouble."

"That's basically it. And then, whenever we help someone like that...especially the girls, they always thank Kouki."

"Ah~"

Ling was speechless. Guanghui was like a shining prince, very conspicuous. Just standing there would attract a lot of attention. He was a man with the characteristics of a heartthrob.

"And not only that, most of the girls I've liked before also liked Kouki."

“Woo-hoo!”

Ling couldn't help but make a strange sound, and even couldn't help wondering: Huh? Then why did Ryutaro and Guanghui become childhood playmates?

However, Ling, who in a sense could no longer bear it, heard Ryutaro casually say a more shocking fact.

"Ms. Yue is also like that. She has been Nanyun's woman from the very beginning."

“Yeah… huh? … huh? … eh!? Eh eh eh eh eh!?”

Ling screamed in shock, her eyes bulging out like a cartoon character. She was so shocked that she not only stopped but even took a few steps back.

Ryutaro's face flushed red with shame. He turned away and pressed his lips together.

"Eh? Wait, is that true? Ryuutarou-kun likes an older sister? You must be kidding, right?"

"There's no need to be so surprised! Is it really that weird that I like that person!?"

"No, no, it's not strange... But Ryuutarou-kun hasn't shown any signs of that..."

"Hey, do you think I could show any signs in front of those two?"

"… Ryuutarou-kun is so pitiful."

"Stop talking nonsense! Don't pity me! Anyway, why does your personality seem to have changed?!"

Ryutaro yelled with his face flushed, but the response he got was a look like seeing a pitiful abandoned dog, and a gentle pat on the arm.

Ryutaro angrily slapped Ling's hand away and changed the subject.

"Anyway, he pointed out all the things that weren't going my way and said that as a man, I was willing to be someone else's second-in-command. I was deceiving myself."

"I see. So, Ryuutarou-kun's illusion has been strengthened by this?"

"? Strengthen? What kind of strengthening?"

"Eh? No, the phantom will be strengthened or weakened depending on whether you deny or accept your own feelings, right?"

“??? What are you talking about?”

After Ling and Ryuutarou talked for a while and made no sense at all, they both tilted their heads in confusion.

Ling then explained the rules of the "Phantom Trial," but even after listening, Ryuutarou remained completely bewildered. Confused, Ling pressed Ryuutarou to explain the rest of the story. It seemed Ryuutarou's trial was a little different.

Ryutaro said that he was invited by the phantom, and as long as he cooperated with the phantom, he would be able to gain more powerful power than he has now.

In this way, there is no need to be content with being a supporting role. You can get what you want at will, and you can also rely on your power to realize your wishes and become your ideal self.

"...So there's a trial like that."

This trial is to test whether the challenger can maintain a firm will and eliminate any interference from God. If this is the case, the temptation of profit does fit the content of the trial.

Could it be that Trial thought, "Eh, this guy has too few negative emotions, doesn't he?" and was forced to change his strategy... No, that can't be the case... Maybe.

"B-and then? What happened after you agreed to cooperate with Phantom?"

"...Hey, why do you assume I lose to temptation?"

Ling looked away. Ryutaro sighed and explained what happened next.

"If I cooperate with him, nothing good will happen. So I just had a normal fight with him and beat him down."

"Oh, you didn't succumb to temptation."

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