One-way traffic

Extremely important, as important as one's own life—no, more important than one's own life!!

"Shubi—!!"

Rick looked around the room sharply—no one was there.

There was no one else around except him; no one could be seen.

He was stunned.

The young man, his eyes trembling, considered what was about to happen, and then—

The world trembled in that instant.

"Um...wh, what's wrong?!"

An incredibly loud sound erupted from the outside world.

Rick wanted to rush out to see what was going on, but in reality, he couldn't.

Even if you look into the distance, all you can see is a huge mushroom cloud rising into the sky.

It was like a landscape on the verge of destruction.

What happened? What's going on in that distance? Is someone fighting?

These questions were answered quickly.

Because, Shubi, who was supposed to promise him before going to sleep that he would never leave, was gone.

At such a critical moment, where did the girl who always thought of me go?

knew.

Because I know it all too well, therefore...

"...What have I been doing all this time?"

How did the explosion happen? Why did it occur? Where did Shubi go?

He knew the answers to all these questions.

"Why would I choose to rest at a time like this?! If, if I were with Shubi—!!"

it's useless.

Shubi is a machine type far superior to me. Even if I were there, she wouldn't be of any help. If we encountered a deadly opponent, we would still be checkmated.

but.

If I hadn't rested then, but instead had stayed with her,

"At least...at least we can die together..."

Although it hadn't been officially confirmed, Rick was 100% certain because he knew exactly what such an explosion would mean in this situation.

Rick's body fell heavily to the ground, his head hitting the ground as well.

Blood splattered—but he didn't care at all.

however.

—In the next instant, the world was once again covered in light.

BOOM—! BOOM! BOOM!

"Varied…?"

He looked up as if stunned, and this time, another shock enveloped the world.

That was a power that enveloped the sky and even the surface of the planet.

It was much larger and more shocking than the previous impact.

Rick rushed to the door, ignoring the wind that was lashing his face, and stared wide-eyed.

I looked towards the horizon.

There, the sky has a different color.

——————————————————————————————————————————

—Zigga.

Hughie is currently lying on the ground.

However, only about ten seconds had actually passed, during which time they had already completed a battle with each other.

"Oh dear? I'm really sorry, hehe~ You seemed to genuinely believe that your attack just now could hurt me~"

Jibril, an extra individual of the Skywing species.

That being, whose very existence cannot be calculated using conventional methods, is the strongest existence that exists entirely outside the rules.

Just floating in mid-air was enough to plunge Shubi into despair.

Just now, she unleashed "Pseudo-Scripture: Dragon's Roar" with all her might.

That was a skill that could recreate the final blow unleashed by Aranlev, a dragon among the dragon spirits, who exhausted his best life force.

Although it is impossible to reproduce that power 100%, it is still possible to reproduce it to a degree of 43.7%.

If it were that level of destructive power, ordinary Skywing species would have no chance of withstanding it.

—But the Skywing species before us is no ordinary one.

"That attack was really dangerous. If I hadn't used defensive magic, I might have actually gotten hurt."

Jibril, who should have been completely incapacitated by the dragon's roar, was not even scratched.

Not a hair... unharmed.

And that in itself is Shubi's strongest trump card.

and so.

"It's over, junk~?"

—We must survive, we must, we must—

Shubi's fear kept rising throughout her body, not from the fear of having her life taken away, but from... all sorts of reasons.

She would never see Rick again, because her death would ruin all the plans her husband and his companions were about to undertake.

This feeling is far more terrifying than simply facing one's own destruction.

so--!

[Individual Identification Number: üc207Pr4f57t9 — Requesting relinking from the first command body of the ü link body.]

She went straight to the individual who had once removed her from the entire Mech race.

[Re-application! Analysis of the heart complete, no time available—please grant synchronization—grant re-linking!]

【üc207Pr4f57t9, your machine is in a state of permanent disconnection; the application is rejected.】

—The icy response completely shattered Shubi's heart.

[Rejected! Even Einzshire's reports, regardless of their nature, require analysis! Urgent request for resolution—Waaaaaaahhhhhh!!!]

On the other end of that massive amount of data is another machine belonging to the Machine race.

He... who could be called a man, made no choice to respond.

"Requesting a link... Requesting... Requesting a link...!!"

"..."

"You stubborn fool! Einzsch!!!"

Boom! !! Countless dark arrows belonging to Jibril fell around Shubi, and the world became scorching hot once again.

“I didn’t want to give it to anyone! This feeling that belongs to Shubi… was given to her by Riku! Shubi would feel shy if she just gave it to someone else like this! This feeling, this heart… all of it! It was all given to Shubi by Riku!!”

"Now, Hugh... I'm handing over this love and heart to you all...!! Don't you understand?!"

"..."

It was attacked with devastating force, and even its body was completely damaged.

Even if they survive, they can only live for about half an hour at most.

even so.

Shubi's only remaining left hand was still supporting her body, trembling as she did so.

She can't die.

This "heart" that Rick gave me, this feeling—

It must be passed down.

"So...so stop talking nonsense..."

"Pass this feeling, this emotion, on!! Shubi doesn't want her 'love' for Riku to disappear…!"

"Pass it down!!!"

Nevertheless, it was still too late.

Jibril's hand was raised proudly.

Absolute darkness, so intense it swallows even the light of the world, a place of destruction unmatched by any weapon in the world.

The girl from the Skywing race remained silent.

She stared calmly and emotionlessly at Shubi, at the pile of scrap metal before her.

"Although you talked to yourself for a long time, people just couldn't listen to you anymore."

The proclamation of doomsday descended from the sky.

Despite being a girl with celestial wings, at this moment, in Shubi's eyes... she was practically a demon.

"That's it. In any case, I have no desire to continue this entanglement with you."

Jibril's hand fell mercilessly.

"So, die—junk."

Before Shubi, the world's second sun—the black sun—fell to the ground.

Faced with such a massive light, even if the connection were successful, there would be no hope.

【üc207Pr4f57t9, your machine is indeed damaged.】

【…I know.】

[It's contradictory, flawed, yet it still functions. That's abnormal.]

I know that too…

This is highly unlikely and defies common sense.

"That's why I always say... I know..."

Even his only remaining left hand began to melt due to the high temperature.

Hughie, too, was doing her best—grasping towards the path of life.

"But...that's reality...Rick gave Shubi this heart...Rick made Shubi able to have these feelings..."

"So—!! Shubi doesn't want to die! She doesn't want to never see Riku again, and she doesn't want Riku's plan to fail! But—!! Shubi… Shubi doesn't want her feelings and heart to be lost forever!!!"

The immense darkness, ignoring the girl's minuscule wish, mercilessly devoured everything.

ended.

——————————————————————————————————————————

Everything was deathly silent.

Next, Shubi will face her final fate of death.

…No.

At that moment, Schwie did hear some kind of sound.

"Is that all there is to it?"