That was his inherent magic, 'Light Devourer', which devoured all light-attribute magic, transforming it into his own power. He prepared this move simply to show Guanghui his determination to never turn his back on her, never look away.

Therefore, just in terms of dealing with "God's Power", at this very moment, this move is undoubtedly the most powerful trump card.

Through the tiny gaps in the torrent of light, Ryutaro stared straight at the brilliance.

──I will definitely come to your place! Don't run away!

Faced with that resolute will that spoke louder than words, Guanghui subconsciously stepped back.

Because he was afraid. Ryutaro's determination was so dazzling that it made him look humble and pathetic.

"I, I told you not to come over here, didn't you hear me?! If you come any closer, I'll kill you! Even if it's Ryuutarou... I'll really kill you!"

Hearing this, Ryuutarou actually smiled. Because if he said, "I will really kill," didn't that mean he didn't really want to? Looking closely, the holy sword's light seemed faint compared to the intense radiance of divine power, as if reflecting the wielder's sincerity.

Ryuutarou's body was already ravaged. As Shizuku had predicted, the power of Kamui completely exceeded the limits of Light Devourer. The light-destroying power, unable to fully devour it, tore through cracks throughout Ryuutarou's body, blood spurting out and instantly extinguishing him.

But even so, Ryutaro smiled and took another step forward.

“Ah, ah, ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

Guanghui screamed loudly, his expression looking confused, as if he was crying.

He no longer knew what he was doing. All he could think was, "This shouldn't be like this," and he desperately exerted his strength to deny the reality before him.

The atmosphere shook and a huge figure stood up.

It was a giant. A giant, a human-shaped light like the ones in myths.

The Giant of Light raised his arms high and clenched his fists.

Then, as if absorbing the light and turning it into power, an even stronger and more dazzling light burst out, and immediately a fist of light like a star was swung towards Ryuutarou in front of him.

The earth shook violently, and countless cracks appeared on the ground around Ryutaro.

“Ah, ah…”

Guanghui groaned, and although his expression was confused, he seemed to know clearly what he had done.

Just now, he actually killed his best friend with his own hands.

Guanghui's heart was wailing, his eyes were unfocused, and his head was constantly repeating meaningless thoughts.

Just when Guanghui's spirit was about to collapse—

"Hey, good friend. Why are you looking so pathetic?"

"what?"

I actually heard a sound that was impossible to hear, and it was very clear.

Looking closely, there is a gap under the giant's fist.

It was strange that such a powerful punch only caused cracks in the ground. The Giant's fist was a super-dense divine power, and the ground should have been destroyed and a hole formed where it was directly struck.

In other words—

"Ryuutarou? How is this possible? Why... this shouldn't be catching..."

Ryutaro was still alive, right between the giant's fist and the ground, for sure.

Not only that, he also had a grim smile on his face and raised his hands to catch the hammer-like blow.

White smoke and blood mist billowed from his body, and cracks covered his body, as if he would shatter at any moment. However, his feet remained firmly planted, and his powerful gaze showed no sign of weakness.

"You... big idiot... How could your spineless fists... possibly hurt me... Kouki? You... can't kill me. Do you know why?"

"Uh, huh?"

"Because, now I am, invincible... From the moment I made up my mind to bring my stupid friend back... I am invincible! So, you can't kill me! Before I drag you back... I will definitely... not be killed!"

“Ah…why, why did you have to go to this extent…”

Ryutaro's heroic appearance and words left Guanghui almost speechless.

Ryutaro, covered in wounds, raised the corners of his mouth and smiled at him with his teeth showing.

"Need I say that...? If a good friend goes the wrong way... you have to stop him, even if you have to use your fists. That's what... good friends do."

"Because we're... friends..."

"Yes. But... this time, I'll let that guy take over. Because, to be honest... it seems like my fists... can't reach you."

"what?"

Hearing Ryuutarou's words, Guanghui was stunned for a moment. In an instant, a dark shadow shot out from under the gap where Ryuutarou had caught the giant's fist and appeared before him.

The dark figure, her long ponytail swaying, stared at him with a stern gaze. It was a familiar girl he had known since childhood.

"──'True Flash'!!"

“──!?”

The invisible slash once again cut through the magic power contained in the light.

The giant formed by "Divine Power" was split diagonally in half and gradually dissipated.

The giant vanished, and Kouki watched Ryuutarou collapse beneath the giant's fist, seemingly exhausted. Meanwhile, the girl before him maintained her stance, swinging the black sword to its full potential, her obsidian eyes fixed on Kouki.

Guanghui was now extremely weak and completely unable to exert any strength. As he fell backward with his head raised, he noticed that there was still a will to attack in the girl's eyes.

(Ahhh… Is this retribution…?)

Guanghui's mind was strangely calm. He closed his eyes and prepared to accept the blade of judgment from the girl he had known since childhood.

However, the girl threw the black knife aside. Kouki was momentarily puzzled, then was met with a roar that threatened to blow away his despair.

"Bite your teeth, you idiot!"

“Eh!? Ugh!?”

"Bang!" The sound of flesh hitting flesh rang out, and it was painful to hear. At the same time, Guanghui felt a strong impact on his cheek.

The force of the impact seemed to penetrate deep into his head, nearly knocking him unconscious for a moment. Stars flashed before his eyes, and his limbs went limp, as if he had suffered a concussion.

All he saw in his distorted vision was the sky, and in his dazed consciousness, Guanghui realized that he had fallen to the ground.

Then, another blow hit my other cheek. This blow made my head tilt violently to the other side, and my neck was almost broken. Just as I was thinking this, I was hit by another blow on the other side, and then the next moment, I was hit from another direction.

Impact, impact, impact, continuously hitting Guanghui's cheek in turn.

The glorious head shook violently from side to side, as if it would fall off at any moment.

"This is your share of the trouble you've caused me! This is your share of pushing the trouble onto me! This is your share of wasting my kindness! This is your share of giving me a perfunctory lecture! And there are many other things, but in short, they are all my share! This and that and that and that are all my share!"

"Ugh! Ugh! Puff! Ah! Oh! Eey! Ugh! Ugh! Oh! Puff! Ah! Puff! Puff!"

Shizuku slapped Kouki repeatedly, saying, "This is mine," so fiercely that you could almost hear her roaring, "Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh." Occasionally, sparkling white particles would burst forth; they must have been Kouki's teeth.

"Shizuku, Shizuku, wait..."

"I won't wait! I won't stop until you apologize with tears in your eyes! I'm telling you, I've had enough, I can't stand it anymore! If you keep doing this, you'll just be unreasonable! Whenever something doesn't go your way, you'll throw a tantrum and give up on yourself! And because of the mess you make, you always have others to clean up the mess for you! You little brat! I'm not going to listen to your explanations anymore! Since you, an idiot, don't understand, I'm going to beat you until you understand! Wake up!"

Shizuku's roar echoed through the ruined city, now deserted like the remains of a battlefield. She rode on the supine Kouki, beating him mercilessly with her fists.

At the same time, he hoped that Guanghui could sincerely understand his and Ryutaro's feelings and continue to talk.

"What do you mean by 'it shouldn't be like this'? That's only natural! A life where everything goes smoothly doesn't exist! Everyone is the same, gritting their teeth and enduring, holding their heads in distress, but 'even so', they still have to work hard! How can we get the future we want if we avoid the reality in front of us and don't fight!?"

"Shizuku, Shizuku, cough...!"

"At the end of the day, you're just a spoiled brat! You're unwilling to face the facts that are unfavorable to you, and your mind is full of excuses. When that doesn't work, you blame others!"

Shizuku stopped beating, opened her hands, and grabbed Kouki's collar forcefully.

"What do you mean by 'everything is over'?! You must be kidding! If you think it's going to end that easily, you're dead wrong! Don't even think about dying. I won't let you take that easy path! I'll bring you back even if I have to drag you! It'll be the same from now on! If you don't understand what I'm saying, I'll beat you up until you understand! No matter how many times!"

"Shizuku..."

The excited eyes shining in Guanghui's eyes seemed to say that if he still wanted to make excuses, he would be beaten until he could no longer speak.

Blood was flowing from Guanghui's mouth and nose, and his face was horribly swollen, making him look as ugly as a goblin. He asked in a voice that was almost a groan:

"Didn't you... choose... Nagumo...?"

"That's right, I like Hajime, not you. So what?"

"If that's the case... why are you still bothering me? I've already been like this... and treated you so badly, why are you still..."

Shizuku had already chosen Hajime, and Kouki had done so many inappropriate things to her dear friend and childhood friend, and even as a hero, he had betrayed humanity in its hour of need. Why was Shizuku still unwilling to give up Kouki? This puzzled him.

Guanghui didn't think that his current self was worthy of Shizuku doing this for him, and he was just confused.

Seeing Kouki's reaction, Shizuku's angry expression turned slightly to one of confusion.

"Needless to say? We're childhood friends. We've been together since we were little, and both are Yaegashi's students. We're like family. Family never abandons family. But I don't want to take care of such a troublesome brother."

We are like family, so we can't abandon each other. No matter what stupid things we do, we can't abandon each other. This is family.

Seeing Shizuku's smile and hearing her express her true feelings, Guanghui finally understood.

For the sake of the world, for the sake of people he had never met, because he was a brave man and had to do the right thing, etc. - all these things he had always been obsessed with suddenly seemed insignificant.

Just because they are family and close friends, Shizuku and the others have become much stronger than before for this reason, and even entered a place like the "Divine Realm" in order to pursue them.

I betrayed them, but they were not afraid of losing their lives and stopped me from losing control.

Their motives were so insignificant, yet they felt so huge and powerful.

When Guanghui thought of this, tears welled up in his eyes.

At this moment, he finally felt deeply ashamed. Furthermore, seeing these childhood friends desperately trying to help someone as incompetent as him, he suddenly felt an indescribable and complex emotion well up in his heart. However, he didn't feel repulsed by such a feeling.

"I'm so sorry... I actually did something so horrible..."

"Finally you apologized with tears in your eyes, you big idiot."

After the indescribable feelings towards his childhood playmates emerged, they were followed by an overwhelming sense of guilt and self-blame.

Guanghui always pursues the right thing. For such a person, what he did was undoubtedly the worst and most evil behavior, and he should even die to atone for it.

But if I really did that, it would be like wasting the good intentions of my childhood friends who came here to risk their lives for me.

Besides, it was just—

"No running away, Kouki. Live on, fight on. We will never allow you to choose any other path."

Death is merely an escape. Even if it hurts, even if you lose your place to live, even if you have to endure the cruel abuse of others, you must continue to live. Live, face yourself, accept reality, and atone for your sins. That is the battle that glory should fight.

His childhood friend told him so. Facing her stern yet sincere gaze, Kouki wept and bit his lip. He engraved Shizuku and Ryuutarou's feelings on his soul, determined to say goodbye to his past self.

"...It seems I can't die. I must live and fight. Not with anyone, but with myself."

"That's right. So, cry as much as you want now. After you're done crying, stand up and keep trying. If you make the wrong move again, I'll beat you up again and keep on crying."

Shizuku's words made Guanghui feel regretful and ashamed, but also a little happy, and an indescribable complex expression appeared on her face.

At this time, Shizuku finally let go of Guanghui's collar and stepped aside, still looking at him with her red eyes.

Even though he couldn't stand up, Guanghui still whipped his trembling body and managed to straighten his upper body. His expression looked completely sober. He swore in a calm tone:

"...That's not necessary. Because I will change. I will change for you all to see. At least my childhood friends won't treat me like a younger brother anymore."

"Really? But even if that's the case, I won't treat you as a man."

“Ugh… there’s no need for such a warning… Do you really like Nagumo that much?”

"Yes, I love him the most. I'm completely obsessed with him. I can't have him all to myself, and although I'm reluctant, I'm happy to share him with others. Given his generosity, he should be able to tolerate this kind of trouble easily."

"Brother is exhausted, both physically and mentally, so please stop showing off..."

Guanghui said with a wry smile. His eyes showed reluctance, but he didn't seem to be troubled by jealousy. It seemed that he had accepted the reality from the bottom of his heart.

He seemed to have finally figured out why Shizuku was so attracted to Hajime.

When faced with extremely difficult realities, one can face them head-on. Even if defeated by setbacks, one can stand up again.

That was the difference between him and Hajime, Shizuku, Ryuutarou, and the others, and the reason why he would lose. Now, Kouki finally understood it from the bottom of his heart.

At this time──

"...Have you forgotten my existence?"

Ryuutarou struggled to crawl over, saying this. His tone sounded somewhat dissatisfied. By this time, he had already released his King Tree state and returned to his original form.

"Ah, Ryuutarou. You're so badly injured, I'm surprised you're still able to move."

"I ate the last of my cheat friends before I could even move."

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