One-way traffic

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After the great war, humanity was given the name "Immunity".

But is all of this really a good ending for Kron?

“…Rick.”

After being shaken by the destruction of the planet, this outpost-like place has become dilapidated.

even so.

Kron... Chronie Dora.

She returned here, to the place where Rick and Schwi had always stayed.

The girl came alone to the tabletop covered with pebbles and dust.

On it, there was a chessboard, also covered in dust.

The chessboard, with its layout already set up... and Rick's last words to her before he left, echoed in her mind.

—If everything goes smoothly, I hope you can move the white castle to the "e-6" area instead of me... okay?

If it were you, I believe you would understand, Kron... no, sister.

"What are you saying... what are you saying I can understand... how can I possibly understand this kind of ending?!"

She screamed in anguish, tears streaming down her face.

"Rick...Shubi...Why are all the people who are important to me leaving me, leaving me all alone?!"

I've already said I don't want to lose my family.

I've already said it, I don't want anyone else to leave.

But... what good does it do to say it? The things I want to do are simply impossible to achieve... no matter how hard I try.

"Rick...I'm sorry...I...I really...can't believe this...!!"

She recalled Rick's last words before he left.

…As long as you believe, even in this hell, there will surely be light.

However, what were the consequences for them as humans?

How many lives have been sacrificed so far for the so-called "Star Cup"?

The great war has indeed come to an end.

However... the price paid for this is beyond what people can imagine.

This was beyond what she could possibly bear.

Kron collapsed onto the edge of the table, having reached her physical and mental limits, compounded by the pain of losing a loved one.

but.

In the next moment.

"...Now that things have come to this, shouldn't we at least be a little happy about our outcome, sister?"

It really was such an unexpected call.

That situation even made Kron feel as if he were still in a dreamlike state.

At one point, I even thought it was just a hallucination caused by my own lack of awareness.

"What's wrong... Why are you still making that face now? Isn't this what you taught us? If we don't cheer up, it'll be hard to get good results later."

Hearing this sound, Kron's body trembled slightly, yet he couldn't help but want to look behind him.

She feared that all of this was just her imagination, and that it would all disappear once she saw through it.

but--

The moment Kron mustered up her courage and turned around to look behind her.

"what…"

She stood there, stunned.

Two figures of roughly the same height stood in front of him, side by side, laughing and looking in his direction.

Ah...? No, it's not a hallucination...

"Sister...are you alright...?"

“Shubi is right… How much longer are you going to stay in that kind of place? You idiot, Kron.”

"Wa ...

Uncontrollable emotions erupted completely.

Kron suddenly burst into tears and hugged the two people in front of her.

Rick and Hugh.

Although Rick's body had inexplicably shrunk considerably, he could still feel that it was him, his one and only younger brother.

Rick and Shubi... stood right in front of him, as if they had survived.

"But, however? What exactly happened—?"

"It's nothing... If we need to explain this, we can do so later."

Rick took a deep breath.

He recalled the words the person who appeared before him had told him before he came here.

You may still find it hard to forgive yourself for your past actions, or you may still be unable to let go of the fact that people in the past died because of your orders.

But that's why.

It is precisely because we cannot simply let their deaths become meaningless.

So...shouldn't we try our best to reduce this kind of death in this world?

To act in order to make the world a better place, and to ensure that the deaths of these people were not meaningless, we must prove that we are capable of changing the world.

Right... and if it's just something like that, haven't you already succeeded in doing it?

—These are the words that the white-haired, red-eyed man said to himself.

Rick remembered these things very well.

Perhaps, as he said, he may never be able to let go of the fact that he made those people die according to his own wishes.

…Therefore, that is why.

“I will not die… It is precisely because I want to live on the shoulders of these people’s consciousness that I will act so that no more tragedies like ours will happen in this world.”

Perhaps I am just a mere human being, incapable of accomplishing the grand things I speak of.

But—as Rick himself said.

"In this world... probability theory is utterly meaningless."

The boy smiled and stepped out of Kron's arms.

"Kron... Sister, thank you for your hard work."

"No...that's not true...If you feel...that my sister is suffering...then...you absolutely must never leave her alone again!!"

At this moment, Kron, who was physically much larger than the two of them, was crying like a child.

But that will never be the case now.

There's really nothing to say...

“Rick…”

Feeling the gentle touch from her hands, Shubi beside her was looking at her tenderly.

The three of them stood together in front of the balcony... under the sunlight.

The light shines on the whole world, and it also illuminates their figures.

Kron... along with Schwi and Riku, the three of them together, no longer alone.

and.

"Ah... 892 years?"

"Rick...try to live until Shubi dies!"

"I know, I know... honestly, now even if I wanted to die, I couldn't..."

Due to the effects of "fairy transformation," Rick's body has completely transformed into a form that is neither human nor inhuman.

He has now returned to the age of thirteen, however... when he grows back to eighteen, his apparent age will stop at this stage.

And so on—until he is 892 years old, when his life functions will cease.

It's unclear whether all of this was orchestrated by the person who cast the spell, or simply a coincidence, but in any case…

In the future, Rick will use these eyes, along with his dearest loved ones, to gaze upon this world.

As "Immunity".

“Rick…”

Kelong, who was beside him, looked at him with a somewhat complicated expression.

She seemed to want to ask something.

"Who... no, who are those people...?"

Even if it was just a vague glimpse, she should have noticed it.

A white figure that once appeared in the settlement and saved them.

And the figure that blocked the god's absolute attack in the previous battle.

What...what brought them here? Are they even human? If it's for the "Star Grail," then why...?

“Kron”.

"Eh…?"

"Actually, I vaguely confirmed one thing."

Looking at his sister, Rick spoke thoughtfully.

This was the only conclusion he reached after countless thoughts.

"It doesn't matter whether it's human or another race."

This is Rick's opinion of them, only of these few people.

"Whether human or not, the most important thing is still the heart."

"Heart…?"

Seeing that Kron still couldn't understand, he laughed as if he were quite certain.

"Even if one possesses power far beyond what a human should have, even if one's body is not human, it doesn't matter at all."

"As long as one possesses a 'heart' that can be called human, I think... even if one's appearance isn't human, it doesn't really matter."

"Isn't that right, Shubi..."

Rick said this because he knew his wife understood this as well.

And he firmly believed that those people were all the same.

Maybe they aren't human, maybe... they aren't even from this world, but so what?

As long as one exists here, one can fight to stop all tragedies and prove in one's own way that one has a "heart"—

Regardless of its appearance and strength, this will never change its true nature.

This is exactly what Hughie taught her... and also what that white-haired, red-eyed person taught her.

Thinking of this, Rick couldn't help but smile wryly.

"In the end... I didn't even know the person's name."

"It's okay~!"