Another incomprehensible, incomprehensible conversation. This had already happened countless times. And Ling's words were completely unexpected and incomprehensible to Eri.

It's no wonder. Eri had mercilessly betrayed her friends, killing countless people. And now she still wanted to kill Suzu. Yet, Suzu still insisted on being "friends" with such a person. No matter how you look at it, you can't help but think she's crazy.

If this was Ling's unique form of mental attack, Eri wanted to applaud her. If the goal was to surprise someone, there was truly no more effective way to say it.

"Is it strange? Well, it is indeed strange. Eri did something very bad, and now she wants to kill Suzu."

“…Are you truly crazy?”

"No, not really. Although Suzu herself finds this strange, it's undoubtedly the truth. After all, Suzu still remembers it."

"Remember?"

"Yeah. Your smile."

This made Huili's expression even more suspicious. However, Ling ignored her reaction, lowered her eyes, and continued speaking with a look of nostalgia.

"Eri usually keeps a low profile, always watching from the sidelines with a smile. Now, Suzu knows it's a fake smile. But... whenever Eri comes to stay over at Suzu's house, or when they go home together after school and chat, or when they just hang out in the park together on weekends, she'll occasionally flash a lazy, slightly sarcastic smile. Sometimes, she'll give Suzu a helpless yet slightly amused smile. Suzu still remembers all those smiles."

"..."

"Those are the smiles that 'Eri you're playing' shouldn't show, aren't they? These smiles that can't be seen by others are your true side, aren't they? Only when you're with Suzu can you relax a little, take a breath, isn't that what Suzu thinks."

Huili didn't answer. Before she knew it, her bangs had covered her eyes, and the shadow cast by the flash obscured her expression.

Ling continued to tell her story. The Ling who was afraid of being disliked and dared not take a step towards others no longer existed.

Even if what she really wants might be just out of reach, she takes the risk and takes the first step, because she has learned that what she really wants often lies behind the toughest obstacles.

"Eri, come back. Come back with Kouki-kun. Isn't it sad to be in a world with only the two of us? Suzu wants to be with you. We want to be together forever. This time, we must become true friends."

"..."

With a snap, Ling folded up one of the iron fans and put it back to her waist.

Then he extended his free hand towards Eri.

"As long as you hold this hand, Suzu will never let anyone hurt you. No matter what others say, even if you have to resist Nagumo-kun, Suzu... will definitely protect you!"

The extremely passionate words echoed in the ruins of the destroyed city.

That was her determination, her awareness, and also her vow.

No lies, no ambiguity, no exaggeration, that is Taniguchi Ling's most sincere wish.

The gray bombardment gradually weakened, and finally became as thin as a gossamer, dissipating into the air as if melting.

The Gray Corpse disciples stopped their movements again, confronted Inaba, and watched the situation from the side.

Ling also eliminated her "wall".

Because since they have extended their hands, there should be no barriers between them.

The black-striped butterflies also scattered at the same time, fluttering between the two people without any barriers between them.

The scene seemed somewhat dreamy, as if at the beginning of the year, under a cherry tree, amidst a rain of petals drifting in the wind, the two were facing each other.

Ling continued to stretch her hand forward.

I sincerely hope that my feelings can be conveyed to the other person and hope that the other person can understand and accept it.

As if begging, she stared desperately at her former best friend, the person she wanted to be her best friend in the future.

What was the result?

Huili raised her head slightly.

Her eyes revealed enthusiasm and joy, responding to Ling's feelings - no, in fact, it was not like that. Her eyes were as cold as ice, revealing full of contempt.

"Are you stupid?"

“──!”

Ling was so nervous that her whole body was stiff, her fingers were trembling, and her eyes looked painful.

Then, a strong light shone overhead, forcing Ling to reflexively look away. The light source looming in the distant sky required careful observation to discern it as a massive magic circle.

"The gray light... when did it happen...?!"

The huge magic circle in the sky seemed to be made up of gray feathers, which was obviously a secret preparation by Huili.

It's unclear whether she started preparing from the beginning, or only after realizing she couldn't breach the "Fortress." Regardless, her willingness to talk to Ling must have been part of this.

"Honestly, I really want to give you a good beating with my own strength. Because you are just Ling, and yet you dare to treat me so arrogantly."

The huge magic circle in the air spewed out black miasma, exactly the same as the space crack that appeared above the [Sacred Mountain] before.

That's a magic circle for summoning.

After a beat, the magic circle rained down black rain. Those were monsters from the divine realm, their strength comparable to that of the abyss.

"But I think it's better to forget it. Just wait for your death by being overwhelmed by the hordes of monsters."

"..."

This time, Huan Ling was speechless.

She just wanted to know how Huili was feeling right now.

Was she being forced to listen to a bunch of things she had no intention of believing, and was she just feeling impatient? Or was she...

Her eyes were mean and her face was expressionless and cold, making it impossible to tell what her mood was.

A terrifying number of monsters fell from the sky, close enough to see their appearance clearly.

The largest group of monsters were pterosaur-type monsters. Beast-type monsters created footholds in the air and leaped down, suggesting that Eri had summoned monsters capable of mid-air combat.

The number of monsters far exceeded one or two hundred, and they were still emerging. No matter how powerful Inaba was, he would eventually be overwhelmed by the violence of numbers.

Moreover, the sounds of fierce fighting continued to be heard in the distance, and it was unlikely that Shizuku and Ryutaro would arrive to rescue in time.

Without any hope of reinforcements, even if they continue to fight like a trapped beast, anyone can imagine the outcome.

However, even if Huili put aside her pride and emotions and took such a victory-first approach.

Even if the hearts cannot communicate and the outstretched hand is rejected.

Ling still refused to give up, saying she would never give up. She roared.

"Inaba! I'm leaving the magic circle in your hands!"

“Chew! Chew!”

Inaba leaped swiftly into the air, his kicks so powerful it seemed to shatter the foothold he had created. He repeatedly kicked at the empty air, each one making a loud noise and increasing his speed.

Lingye once again pulled out the iron fan that she had just put back to her waist, exerted force between her brows, suppressed the urge to cry, and unfolded the iron fan.

"You're asking for death by letting the guards leave!"

Eri gave the orders to the Gray Corpse followers, then prepared to cast a disintegration spell herself. Although it would consume a great deal of energy, she desperately wanted to end this farce, this incredibly unpleasant battle, as quickly as possible.

But──

"What!?"

It was Eri who screamed, as several Gray Corpses were firing at her.

As she dodged the bombardment, she saw the remaining Gray Corpse followers actually go forward to fight the monsters approaching from the sky.

"Why!? They should have received my orders!"

"Because they were always looking at Ling's black butterfly."

"What do you mean!?"

Eri had earlier destroyed a number of black-striped butterflies by sweeping their gray feathers, and she had also been keeping an eye on the scale powder. Furthermore, the black-striped butterfly's inherent magic should have a paralyzing effect, produced through the scale powder.

And in principle, each monster will only have one inherent magic.

Huili was confused and couldn't understand what was happening. Ling waved her two iron fans and revealed the answer to her.

A black butterfly rests on one side of the two braids, looking like a hair accessory.

"This child's true inherent magic is to cause hallucinations in those who see the wing pattern. The paralysis is just a cover."

"Could it be that……"

"That's right. Now, the Gray Corpse followers mistake you and the monsters for Ling and the demons."

The inherent magic does not take effect the moment the pattern is seen, but like hypnosis, the effect will slowly permeate.

As for the scale dust, it's merely a derivative ability awakened during the process of becoming a magically enhanced monster. It can be used to infinitely project the image of the black-striped butterfly itself, making it appear more numerous than it actually is, thereby increasing the efficiency of the pattern visible to the target. In other words, the scale dust is merely a screen for projection in the air.

Only then did Huili realize she had been completely deceived. Ling was more attentive and considerate than she was, and she couldn't help but sigh.

Even so, the battle situation is still more favorable for Huili.

Although the Gray Corpsemen were powerful, they were still unable to defeat the large number of monsters. Even if Ling had snatched away only twenty Gray Corpsemen, she would still not be able to resist the monster army.

Just as Huili was denying the anxious situation before her, she suddenly heard a loud explosion.

And it wasn't just one or two. Explosions continued to ring out, one after another, erupting above the ruined city. It turned out that some of the black-striped butterflies flying into the sky were detonating simultaneously upon contact with the descending monsters.

The intense flames and impact forced Eri to quickly shield her face with her arms. Watching the self-destructing black-striped butterflies forming a defensive line, she could only stare blankly into space, speechless.

Not only that. Through the scattered fragments of the monster's flesh, she saw the massive magic circle in the distant sky shatter with a loud bang.

With enhanced vision, he saw Inaba kicking upwards with great force far above him.

It ignored the numerous monsters that rained down upon it, prioritizing the destruction of the magic circle. The price of its forced breakthrough was that its armor was half-destroyed, and it itself was covered in wounds, but it still succeeded.

The monsters stopped emerging, and there were about 500 monsters heading towards the ground.

At this time, Ling explained quietly:

"Do you really think I tamed hundreds of butterfly monsters in just three days?"

“…The paralysis was just a cover… Turns out it was fake. Just like the black sword, it’s actually a golem…!”

Ling smiled, indicating that she was right.

In reality, there were quite a few living butterfly-shaped golems mixed in with the large flock of black-striped butterflies. The "paralysis" effect itself had nothing to do with the scale powder; it was simply the golems spreading the paralysis toxin in a normal spray.

"The butterfly golem has a miniature treasure chest on its body. It's not filled with scale powder, but a large amount of incendiary powder stored inside the treasure chest. I heard the explosion is powerful enough to shatter steel within a radius of more than ten meters. It's terrifying, isn't it?"

Ling spoke of such a horrific event as if it had nothing to do with her. At the same time, the twin iron fans began to emit a strong light.

The roots of the overlapping skeletons emitted a brilliant orange light, which extended to all the skeletons and then intertwined into complex and strange geometric patterns on the fan-shaped surface.

"Even so, with so many monsters, the situation is still in my favor. I just need to stay out of the blast radius..."

Eri said this, sounding as if she were trying to comfort herself, but Ling interrupted her.

"Surround it, create a realm of isolation. A realm of absolute death from which no being can escape. Seal all things, turning them into the cradle of death—'Holy Suppression: Sealing Palace'."

Ling chanted a spell longer than ever before, and the burst of orange magic power spread out radially.

The diameter should be one kilometer wide and the height should be two kilometers high.

It was a huge cylindrical barrier, emitting an orange light, and its appearance could even be described as solemn.

The massive barrier completely contained all the incoming monsters. Only Inaba remained in the air outside the barrier, as if forewarned.

Ling gasped deeply, her shoulders swaying, her hands shaking. Then, she cast a barrier around herself.

"This is a space-blocking barrier. By deliberately destroying it, the space within will shatter."

This seemed to be Ling's real trump card. Her face was pale, enough to show that this spell consumed most of her magic power in one go.

But it is indeed worth paying such a price.

Huili's hand holding the greatsword dropped limply.

In the sky above, the Gray Corpse followers continued to fight against the hordes of monsters, even if it meant they would perish together. The Black Butterflies also used self-destruction to buy time.

Even though the explosions continued, for some reason, the two could clearly hear each other's words.

"...So, am I done? In a place like this? Ahahaha, this is so strange. I never thought it would be Suzu who ruined my plan. I wish you could just wriggle around on the ground like you used to. As expected, it's all that monster's fault."

"Nagumo-san's presence certainly had an impact. Without the divine weapon he provided, I wouldn't have been able to fight to this extent. However—"

Ling showed an earnest attitude and continued to speak vigorously and desperately.

"Suzu is here entirely of her own accord. If you leave like this, Eri, Suzu will never see you again. And then, Eri will lose even those fragments of her smile."

"You mean, it's for me?"

"Yeah. For you. And also for Suzu. Because I want to start over with you. So..."

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