Arifureta/ From Commonplace to World’s Strongest Vol. 10 Ch. 1

Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest Volume 10.

Chapter 1: The Overpowered Vampire Princess and the Godlike Rabbit’s Grand Battle.

Hellfire covered the earth, burning everything in its path. The cloying stench of blood filled the air, clinging to clothes and skin. Screams of terror, angry yells, and muffled explosions mingled together, creating a cacophony of chaos. This was a battlefield. However, it was by no means a typical one.

“You damn monster!”

For one thing, a monster was present. Though she looked like an incredibly beautiful girl with doll-like features, she was a monster. She looked to be in her mid-teens, with flowing golden-blonde hair and crimson eyes that glittered like rubies. She was wearing a frilly crimson dress that matched the color of her eyes, and her face was flushed. Her grace and beauty were a stark contrast to the filth and grime that covered the rest of the battlefield.

That wasn’t the biggest reason why this was an atypical battlefield, though. No, the biggest reason was that she stood alone against an army five thousand strong.

“Crimson Javelin— Thousand Blossoms.”

Her voice carried across the battlefield, clear as a bell. Enchanting as it was, it also spelled a merciless end for her enemies. Another wave of hellfire washed over the battlefield due to the actions of a single girl. After traveling a set distance, the fire rose skyward and split into a thousand spears.

A single glance was enough to tell the soldiers watching that there was no escaping from the reaper’s scythe. They would be burned to cinders here and now.

“P-Put up your barriers! Everyone, we need anti-fire—”

The army’s commander shrieked, but he had reacted too slow. And that delay would prove to be fatal. Though, even if the soldiers had managed to erect barriers, the result would have been the same.

Crimson fire rained down on the army. Valiant soldiers were blown away like leaves in the wind. The few barriers that had been erected were obliterated without a trace, their casters incinerated. All that remained after the torrent ended were charred corpses and mortally wounded soldiers writhing in pain.

Even those who had been outside the radius of the attack were too shocked to move. They’d just watched a thousand of their comrades get annihilated in the span of seconds.

“So this is… the power of the country of demigods… the power of the royal vampire line…”

The soldiers looked up at the girl in terror. Vampires were a feared race. They were capable of both strengthening their physical abilities and amplifying their mana by sucking the blood of others. On top of that, their bodies regenerated and they lived for far longer than any other race. Though they were the least populous race, their power was immense, which was why despite the vampire nation being a small one, it was known as the “country of demigods” to others. Because vampires also sucked the blood of others, they were feared by the other races. But at the same time, the rulers of other nations all knew that anyone who managed to conquer the vampire country would be able to rule over the world. And the princess of this vampire country that everyone both feared and coveted was the blonde-haired girl who had just ravaged the army.

“…I have a message for you insolent fools who would dare invade my homeland. Retreat now if you value your lives. Or else, perish.”

She spoke softly, but everyone heard the princess’ declaration. Not only was she facing an entire army alone, but she was also doing so without the slightest hint of fear. Her might was overwhelming. And her majesty so overbearing that it made one instinctively wish to serve her. She truly was fit to be a princess.

“… All troops, advance! Don’t falter! Our opponent is a lone girl! We have the advantage in numbers!”

For a moment, even the enemy commander was charmed by the princess. But then, he regained his senses and ordered a charge. The commander was a short, fat man who had elected to remain at the rear. The greed in his eyes was unmistakable. He didn’t just want the country, though. He also wanted to make the beautiful princess before him his own. However, his lust had led him to make a foolish choice.

“Utter folly. You shall pay for your transgressions with death.”

An hour later, the entire army had been reduced to ash.

“Your Majesty, that was a splendid battle.”

A middle-aged man wearing a tailored military uniform reverently offered the princess a cup of water. His most striking feature was his curled handlebar mustache.

“Thank you, Ubaldo. But that army was a mere diversion meant to dilute our forces. The troops were clearly lacking training.”

The princess’ gaze was far gentler than the piercing glare she had given the army she’d faced earlier.

“Besides, you had brought your men to support me in case I needed assistance, so I had nothing to fear.”

“I am not worthy of such praise, Your Majesty.”

The man known as Ubaldo looked fondly up at his princess. In truth, the imperial guards he’d brought with him felt a little conflicted that they hadn’t even been necessary. Still, they looked up at their princess with respect and admiration. The princess took a sip of water, refreshing herself after the rigors of battle and healing her exhaustion.

“Your Majesty. Shouldn’t you rest?” Ubaldo asked hesitantly. He was the captain of her royal guard and had spent a great deal of time with her. The princess certainly was strong; the strongest vampire in Avatarl, the country of vampires. In fact, she might have been the strongest mortal currently alive in Tortus.

From the moment of her birth, she had possessed an unbelievable amount of mana. Furthermore, her beauty was so great that it was known across the world. During her youth, her tutors had been amazed at how quickly she’d absorbed the fundamentals of magic and mastered her studies.

Most importantly, at the age of twelve, she’d discovered something else about herself. She could cast magic without using incantations, meaning she could directly manipulate mana. So long as she visualized the magic circle in her mind, she could cast any spell instantly. On top of that, her special magic, automatic regeneration, meant that she was immortal so long as she had mana. That particular ability was so rare, people only knew of it from records. The vampire heroes of old had possessed that ability, but no one else had been born with it since.

Right now, the world was in a state of turmoil. Wars were constantly breaking out over religion, economics, resources, and even petty things like pride. Countries large and small were coming and going. From the start, Avatarl had been a closed nation. It had cut off all diplomatic ties with other kingdoms. Geographically, it sat at the southwestern tip of the southern continent. It was also self-sufficient, so it had no need to trade with other countries. As far as Avatarl was concerned, the rest of the world could fight all they wanted. Their stance was to not get involved.

That being said, they couldn’t avoid being invaded by other countries. Dominion over the vampire race and the princess’ hand in marriage were just that tempting a prize to other countries. In which case, it stood to reason that the princess would use her overwhelming might to defend her nation. That was the duty of a sovereign, after all. More importantly, the princess herself wished to protect her beloved subjects and retainers.

However, the princess was still young enough that she needed to be protected herself.

“I’m fine, Ubaldo.”

Naturally, that wasn’t enough to assuage Ubaldo’s worries. While he was one of the princess’ retainers, he was also one of her guardians.

“But Your Majesty, these past few weeks you have hardly slept at all. You should have left this diversionary army to us. Also, it’s not proper for you to run off to the battlefield while still in your dress. You departed the moment you heard the report.”

“Ugh… What choice did I have? There were villages in the army’s path…”

“Every single one of our country’s citizens are skilled warriors. Even if they couldn’t defeat such a large army, they could easily have evacuated. Furthermore, that still doesn’t answer why you didn’t leave the enemy to us.”

“B-But… If I show the enemy how powerful our princess is, then they’ll hesitate to strike again and—”

“Certainly, that is the duty of a sovereign. But Your Majesty, it has been three years since you took to the battlefield at the tender age of twelve. The world is already well aware of your power, so please, allow us to at least handle enemies of this caliber. In the first place—”

“I never like it when you start a sentence with ‘In the first place,’ Ubaldo.”

The princess puffed out her cheeks and turned away while covering both ears with her hands. A rose-red blush spread up her cheeks. Even the way she pouted was cute.

“Your Majesty…” Ubaldo furrowed his brow. His subordinates had grown accustomed to this scene, and they all snickered quietly.

Ubaldo had served the princess since her birth, and he was more like a grandfather to her than anything. At the same time, Ubaldo treated the princess more like his granddaughter than as his liege. It was for this reason that he felt comfortable scolding her. Seeing that Ubaldo was about to launch into one of his tirades, the princess hurriedly changed the subject.

“A-Anyway, how is my uncle faring? He went to subdue the enemy’s main force, but I’m sure he can handle anything they might throw at him.”

Ubaldo knew she was trying to deflect, and he smiled ruefully.

The princess was turning fifteen this year. In vampire society, fifteen was when one was officially recognized as an adult. Thanks to her special magic, her body had stopped aging when she’d turned twelve. When she went to the battlefield, she looked like the incarnation of a war god, but around those she was close to, she still looked like a child. Ubaldo knew he shouldn’t let her childish looks charm him, but he couldn’t help but spoil his beloved princess anyway. Naturally, the princess’ other retainers were just as susceptible to her charms.

Ubaldo cleared his throat and returned to being his princess’ advisor.

“Fear not. Our army holds an overwhelming advantage. However, the enemy has fielded two whole divisions, so the battle will take time.”

“I see. In that case, I need to—”

As if interrupting the princess, a single bird dove out of the air. It was the size of a pigeon and had pure white feathers. However, its eyes were a dark crimson, meaning it was a monster. Still, rather than put her on her guard, the appearance of the bird monster made the princess light up in joy. The reason the princess wasn’t afraid was because this bird was her uncle’s familiar. Her uncle possessed the unique ability to control monsters. That was another reason why Avatarl was referred to as the country of demigods by others.

The princess held out her arm and the white bird alighted atop it.

“The enemy forces have temporarily retreated. I have left the first division to keep an eye on the situation and am returning home.”

This monster’s special magic was Telepathy, which the princess’ uncle was utilizing to speak directly inside the princess’ mind. The princess smiled upon learning that her uncle was safe, and the battle won.

“That aside, what were you thinking, heading into battle still wearing a dress? You foolish tomboy, when will you learn?”

The princess’ smile froze. After a brief pause, she slowly turned toward Ubaldo, her neck creaking like a badly-oiled door. Ubaldo grinned at her and nodded. The other imperial guards were grinning as well.

You betrayed me! Bereft of allies, the princess had no choice but to accept that she had a lecture waiting for her upon her uncle’s return.

“I-I need to make a report to fath—”

“It has already been taken care of, worry not.”

“I-I need to go do—”

The princess surreptitiously attempted to escape, but—

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“U-Uncle!?”

Upon whirling around, she found herself face-to-face with her uncle. Like the princess, her uncle had blonde hair and crimson eyes. His long hair was tied into a knot at the back, and though his face was wrinkled, he still looked quite attractive. His name was Dienleed Galdea Vesperitio Avatarl. He was the king’s younger brother and the country’s prime minister. As a warrior, his strength rivaled the princess’. He looked down at the princess with a smile. Though his smile looked genuine, he was wreathed in a menacing aura. Even the two one-eyed monster guards standing behind him backed up a few steps.

“Your automatic regeneration ability is dangerous. It’s caused you to grow conceited.”

“Th-That’s not true!”

The princess shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes. She looked like a child who’d just been caught pulling a prank.

“With all due respect, Your Highness, it’s thanks to Her Majesty’s efforts that there were no casualties.”

“Ubaldo!”

The princess turned gratefully toward Ubaldo. She’d feared her doom was set in stone, but now a single ray of hope had appeared. The other imperial guards also voiced their support for the princess. When their beloved princess started crying, most people couldn’t help but pity her.

In truth, the imperial guards also wanted the princess to stop being so reckless and to rely on them more but they couldn’t help but spoil her anyway. The princess turned back to her uncle and said in a pleading voice, “I promise I won’t do it again, so please don’t get mad.”

Sighing in resignation, her uncle replied, “Sheesh… Just don’t worry me so much, okay?”

Dienleed smiled again, but this time his smile was full of genuine warmth. He gently patted the princess’ head.

“Yes, Uncle.”

“Good. Now then, let us return home and rest.”

Smiling lazily, the princess nodded and followed after her uncle. Her guards followed after her, chatting happily.

“Isn’t that great, Your Majesty?” “Now you can rest without worry.” “The head maid said she prepared sweets for your return.”

The princess had an uncle who loved her, and retainers she could trust. So long as they had her back, she wouldn’t lose to any invader.

“Oh, yes.”

Her uncle called out to her, his voice as kind as always.

“What is it, Uncle?”

The princess responded, smiling.

“Would you be so kind as to die for me, Aletia?”

She turned around just in time to see a maw of blue fire swallow her whole. “Ah!”

A sharp pain ran down Yue’s right arm and she let out a wordless scream. At the same time, the vision she’d been seeing faded away like a watercolor melting in the rain. Reflected in her eyes instead was a mirror image of herself. No, not quite a mirror image. Her copy had black hair and golden eyes and was grinning maliciously.

Yue was up against the Frost Cavern’s latest trial, and it had just given her a rude awakening. Not only had her right arm been torn off, but she’d also eaten a Sapphire Serpent at point-blank range. She used gravity magic to right herself as she hurtled through the air, and restoration magic to fix her clothes. Just before she slammed into the wall, she used gravity magic to stop herself. Before she could recover her stance, though, she was assailed by a wave of her copy’s gravity magic.

“Heavensfall!”

“Obsidian Vortex!”

Yue neutralized the wave of pressure with her own gravity magic. In that time, her regeneration completed, and she thrust out her right arm to cast her favorite spell.

“Draconic Thunder!”

“Fufu. Draconic Thunder!”

With a ferocious howl, the two golden dragons clashed. The gravity magic cores of the two dragons pushed against each other, causing the electricity around them to twist and warp. The atmosphere looked like it was bending. Ignoring the clash, Yue modified her own gravity to fall sideways and launched her next attack.

“Ice Javelins— Centurion!”

“Ice Javelins— Centurion!”

The two were evenly matched. No, more than that. Yue and her copy were firing off spells at exactly the same time. Two hundred spears of ice slammed into each other, causing shockwaves to spread across the sky and shards of ice to rain down.

“Void Fissure!”

“Void Fissure!”

The space around them ruptured. Yue and her copy had used a spatial magic spell to distort space around each other. The resulting explosions were so powerful that the giant ice tree in the center of the room cracked, and splinters of ice fell from the ceiling.

Forced back by the explosion, Yue slid across the ground while using gravity magic to stay upright. Both Yue and her copy lashed out with gravity magic, trying to take control of the large chunks of ice hitting the ground. Bursts of golden and red mana clashed. Neither side was able to gain full control, and the chunks of ice started breaking apart as conflicting gravity fields exerted their forces over them.

“You’re quite persistent, considering I showed you those visions of the past.”

“I hate how you talk…”

“Isn’t it how you used to talk, Aletia?”

“Don’t call me by that name…”

“Make me.”

Irritated, Yue swept her hand to the side, sending a barrage of ice chunks at her copy. Her copy grinned and imitated the action. Both Yue and her copy then had to make the split-second decision of which chunks they would use to offset their opponents, and which they could allow through and destroy personally. They did all of this while also unleashing a barrage of wind blades with pinpoint accuracy.

Upon entering the Frost Caverns, the party had been forced to make it through a maze of insidious whispering all while fighting various monsters along the way. And, at the end of it all, they’d been presented with a glowing doorway. But as expected, the doorway had been a portal that had split the party up before foisting another trial on them.

After walking down a long corridor, Yue had come face-to-face with her copy, sealed within the ice tree at the center of the room. She had then begun fighting with her copy, and quickly realized her copy’s abilities were perfectly matched with hers. That truth had been shoved into her face multiple times, after all.

On top of that, though, she was also forced to relive her old memories. It was like the dream world she’d been shown in Haltina’s labyrinth, but instead of an ideal world, she was being shown her worst nightmare.

Aside from the very last thing her uncle had said, everything in Yue’s memory had been accurate. That had been her past, the past she hadn’t thought back to even once since meeting Hajime. For the past three hundred years, those memories had been locked away deep in her heart.

And now they were being forcibly dragged to the surface.

She’s probably using spirit magic to make me relive my memories… I thought I was guarding against that, but it seems not.

Yue and her copy were perfectly matched in terms of power. But because Yue kept on being unbalanced by her memories she was losing the initiative.

Furthermore, there was something else she’d realized after confronting herself. She was strong. Unbelievably so. To the point where it was just unfair for her enemies.

“You piss me off…” Yue muttered.

“Don’t forget that I’m you…” Yue’s copy giggled to herself.

God, how annoying… However, that was indeed how Yue had spoken before being sealed. Over the course of centuries, though, she’d come to realize that the faux-polite style of speech used by royalty was utterly ridiculous. And so, she’d dropped it entirely. It helped that she hadn’t talked for ages until she met Hajime, too. But her transformation was precisely why she hated her copy, who was acting exactly like the old her. Annoyed, Yue summoned twelve lightning dragons.

“There’s no one you can trust in this world.”

Anything Yue could do, her copy could do as well. It countered Yue’s dragons with twelve of its own, all while goading her.

“The uncle you trusted so much, even Ubaldo and the others, they betrayed us. What more proof do you need that no one can be trusted?”

“……” Yue went silent as she was shown another flashback.

“You fought and fought and fought for your country, but in the end…”

Yue had gone off to the battlefield the day she’d turned twelve. Since then she’d witnessed the deaths of thousands, and killed far more with her own two hands. Naturally, that had made her hated by many.

It wouldn’t have been surprising if she’d broken under the mental trauma of so much hate and death. Or if she’d buckled under the pressure and expectation placed on her by her countrymen. However, her love for her country had given her the strength to pull through. The knowledge that she was protecting people close to her. And yet— Yue’s memories swallowed her. By the time she returned to her senses, it was too late. She was in another vision.

This time she was in the throne room. A crimson carpet ran down the middle of the room, bisecting it evenly. Standing in the center of the room was Aletia, clad in a similarly crimson dress. She’d been crowned queen at the tender age of seventeen, and three years had passed since then.

Normally, her father, King Lambert, would have reigned for another thirty years. The early shift in sovereigns hadn’t occurred because Aletia had usurped her father. It had just been necessary.

Aletia’s overwhelming achievements and her tireless defense of Avatarl had made her respected by her countrymen and feared by her enemies. Most enemy states had given up attacking after suffering staggering casualties. Their kings and lords had all been forced to accept that Aletia was far above them.

Though her appearance hadn’t changed at all since she’d turned twelve, her beauty had taken on a mature allure over the years. It was in part due to the fact that her appearance hadn’t changed that everyone found her so divine. In fact, some people had actually started a cult to worship her.

At one point, the leaders of the humans’ religion had asked to meet with her so that they could appoint her as their new god. That had, of course, been completely unprecedented and ended with the world accepting that Aletia was some manner of divine being. The queen of Avatarl was someone who was loved and worshiped by everyone across the world.

King Lambert had decided not to fight the tide of his daughter’s rising popularity and had gladly abdicated the throne to her. Not long after, princes and lords from every nation had come to ask for her hand in marriage. Every nation knew that if it was able to form an alliance with Avatarl, they’d be safe from the chaotic wars that plagued the land. In fact, even the frequency of those wars had begun to drop thanks to Aletia’s presence. Or so it seemed at the time, at least.

“Will you let us take care of it then, Your Majesty?”

“Yes, you may.”

“Understood. By your leave, then.”

“Ah, Uncle!”

Aletia had finished seeing the foreign messenger who had come to visit and was in the middle of a meeting with her uncle, Dienleed. He’d been expressionless throughout, and now that he’d concluded his business he turned to leave. Not wanting him to go just yet, Aletia called out to him.

“What is it?”

“I was just thinking, maybe we could eat dinner together. We haven’t spent much time together in a while, and I could use your advice.”

“Is that an order?”

“Huh? No, of course not…”

“Then my apologies, but I must decline. There are many matters that require my attention.”

“I see…”

“Good day to you,” Dienleed said as he hurried out of the throne room as if loathe to spend even another second in there.

Aletia watched her uncle leave the room with a crestfallen expression. Not once did he turn around. There was a dull thud as the doors shut behind him, leaving Aletia all alone in the throne room.

“……”

How long had it been since her uncle had started acting distant toward her? When he’d quit as her tutor? When he’d last eaten dinner with her on her birthday a year ago? Or when she’d been crowned queen? Aletia distinctly remembered the bitter expression he’d worn during her coronation ceremony.

Aletia lapsed into thought. She’d spent more time with her uncle than with her actual parents. Though she’d never told anyone, her uncle felt more like a parent to her than her real parents. While her mother and father had spoiled her and given her anything she’d wanted, her uncle had actually scolded her at times and shown a genuine interest in raising her right.

Aletia thought back to the gentle smiles he’d used to give her. Now he didn’t smile at all. It felt as though they were separated by a wall of ice.

Did I do something to make him mad? Did I fail him somehow?

No matter how hard she tried to start a conversation with him, all he ever showed her was his back. Or some messenger or the other would show up to interrupt them. Worse, her mother, father, and even her advisors had been growing distant from her. As a result, she hadn’t had a proper conversation with him in years.

And it wasn’t just her uncle, either. Her subordinates, family, and even retainers refused to talk with her for any length of time. Her current solitude was an analogy for how isolated she’d become recently. A mixture of confusion and loneliness weighed down on her.

Her memories fast-forwarded a few years. The fragile peace that had settled upon Avatarl had begun to crack, and it was moments from shattering.

“Dear, sweet Aletia. This can’t go on any longer. As queen, please make the right decision.”

Aletia’s mother and father pleaded with her. Their voices were gentle, but their expressions were full of fear. They were urging her to exile her beloved uncle, the prime minister.

In truth, Dienleed and his subordinates were rarely in the palace these days anyway. Instead, Aletia found herself surrounded by retainers and advisors from the previous king’s era. Even Ubaldo had left her.

“He’s too ambitious for his own good. We fear he may be planning a coup. Your life is in danger!”

“He’s overstepped his authority far too many times. Your Majesty, it’s clear he lusts for power. And he’s already expanded his influence far too much. Please, you must do something.”

“Exactly, Your Majesty. I understand your feelings, but we must act.”

You understand my feelings!? As if! Aletia pushed down her anger and faced her retainers with the composed look of a queen.

I can’t do it. I can’t exile Uncle. Everyone around her agreed that her uncle was an ambitious, power-hungry, and dangerous man. But Aletia didn’t believe it for a second. Even if it was true that her uncle was after the throne, she’d gladly hand it over to him. All she wanted was the opportunity to talk to him. She wanted to hear his voice again so badly. It didn’t matter what he had to say, she just wanted to know how he truly felt.

In the end, however, she didn’t get that chance until the very end. The fateful day where she was betrayed.

On that day, Aletia had been meeting with a messenger of the church. To her surprise, they’d wanted to afford her the title of divine oracle, a title whose authority rivaled the pope’s. The gesture would be the first official overture of friendship between humans and the other races.

In the middle of such a joyous occasion, the doors to the audience chamber were suddenly blown open, and following the explosion was a hail of magical bullets. The messengers from the church were incinerated in an instant. Once the barrage was over, Ubaldo and his imperial guards stepped in, fully armed. Without hesitation, they began slaughtering Aletia’s attendants.

“U-Ubaldo! Stop this madness! That’s an order!” Aletia roared, realizing how ridiculous she must have sounded. She knew what their actions meant, but her heart refused to accept it, which was precisely why despite being the strongest vampire alive, she allowed herself to be stabbed in the heart.

“I’ll be relieving you of that throne.”

“U-Uncle? Why…”

Her uncle stared down at her, close enough to be hugging her. Despite that, she couldn’t make out his expression. However, she could tell that his hands were trembling. He pushed the blade deeper inside her chest, and Aletia’s screams filled the audience chamber. That was just how furious Dienleed had been. Just how much he’d hated Aletia. That knowledge pierced her deeper than any blade could, and her heart froze.

“Uncle please, just talk to me!”

Even so, Aletia desperately tried to engage him in conversation.

“But our dear uncle never said a word, now did he?”

“Ah!”

Suddenly, the pain in Yue’s chest felt far more real. Standing in front of her was not her uncle, but a grinning copy of herself. And stabbed through her chest was not a sword, but a spear of ice. The stage was the same as her traumatic past, and the only thing that had changed was the actors. The entire flashback Yue had witnessed had probably barely lasted a second in real life.

“You’re so damn persistent!” Yue cursed, a rarity for her, and created a spatial tear around her. That sent her copy flying, and her automatic regeneration pushed the spear out of her chest. The copy righted itself in midair, using gravity magic to stop itself from slamming against the wall.

Behind Yue, Ubaldo and his men were busy slaughtering her mother, father, and friends. Sneering, her copy hurled more verbal abuse.

“Everyone else doubted Dietleed, but we chose to believe in him.”

Yue ignored her copy’s words and fired off a Void Shatter. Space warped all around her, blurring both her copy and the vision around her. It looked as though she was staring at the world through a cracked mirror. However, the vision didn’t disappear. Furthermore, Yue’s copy used its own spatial magic to protect itself against Yue’s Void Shatter.

“You were betrayed! I was betrayed!”

The copy screamed, its voice equal parts mirth and sadness. It danced to the side and unleashed its next attack. Numerous bullets of wind rushed toward Yue. At the same time, a storm of bullets surrounded Aletia in the vision. But while Yue wordlessly countered the assault, Aletia screamed in pain as they tore through her. The barrage continued, both in the past and in the present.

“You had so much faith in him. You believed in the bonds you had nurtured!”

Aletia flew across the room, directly between Yue and her copy. Though she kept receiving fatal wounds, her automatic regeneration saved her each time. However, her regeneration couldn’t repair her shattered heart. Confused, wounded, and unwilling to accept reality, Aletia didn’t even try to fight back. She slumped to the ground, the light gone from her eyes. She no longer had the will to go on.

What happens after was something Yue remembered well. She didn’t need to see the scenes to recall those memories.

After she was defeated, Yue had been shackled. Her grief had caused her to lose consciousness, and when she’d awoken she’d been trapped in the abyss. From there, 300 years had passed. In that pitch-black prison, in the depths of despair, Yue had nurtured her hate. Continually.

“People betray others for their own benefit. That is an undeniable fact.”

The copy pointed to the figure of Aletia crawling pathetically across the ground. Take a good look. Accept reality.

“The man you love, your best friend, those you care for, all of them will betray you eventually.”

Hajime Nagumo, Shea, and all the others would inevitably betray Yue like her uncle had. That was the fear hidden deep within Yue’s heart. That things like trust or bonds were all a sham. However—

“…Goodbye, dark past!”

A huge shockwave rippled across the vision. Golden mana swirled around Yue, spreading across the room. Yue then looked down at her past self crawling across the ground and stomped on her. The vision blurred, like a television getting a bad signal. It then faded away, placing Yue back in the room with the ice tree and ice mirrors.

She’d well and truly destroyed the vision this time.

“I suppose you won’t budge after all. Then again, I guessed as much when I realized I was getting weaker.”

The copy seemed somewhat resigned. This particular trial was a test to see whether or not challengers could overcome their own negative emotions and past traumas. The more someone denied their true feelings, the stronger their copy became. On the flip side, if they were able to accept their own weakness, their copy weakened. That was the basis of this trial. However, not once since the beginning of this trial had Yue’s copy grown stronger. Meaning that not only had seeing her betrayal all over again failed to faze Yue, she hadn’t doubted Hajime’s love or Shea’s friendship in the slightest.

“Hmph, of course! Everyone loves a mascot character like me!”

Yue proclaimed as she puffed out her chest proudly.

A painfully awkward silence followed her declaration. Yue looked away a little when she realized her copy wasn’t going to even dignify that with a response. Sighing, the copy continued as if nothing had happened.

“Still, I weakened quite slowly, which is proof that you’re still a little afraid of being betrayed.”

The copy tried to wriggle its way into whatever small doubts Yue still had left. But while its scornful words rang true, Yue wasn’t swayed.

“…So what? That betrayal is an important part of my life.”

“What did you say?”

The copy shot Yue a confused look.

“After all, if I hadn’t been betrayed, if I hadn’t been sealed away in the abyss, I—”

—would never have met Hajime. Yue still remembered how much her uncle’s betrayal had hurt. How much grief it had caused her. She’d despaired. She’d given in to hatred. She’d even resigned herself to her fate. Her imprisonment had been so agonizing that she’d wished for death. But so what?

“If it’s only thanks to that betrayal that I was able to meet him, then even if I could do the past over, I would make the same choice every time. I’d go through that hell again. Even if I could turn back time and return to that day, I’d still do everything the same way.”

Hajime had once said that to Yue. He’d been betrayed by his classmates, sent to the bottom of the abyss, and forced to suffer time and time again. But even so, he said he’d be willing to do it all over again in order to meet Yue. Yue giggled to herself as she thought back to that moment.

Her love for Hajime was so strong that she would be willing to accept him even if he betrayed her. Of course, she didn’t doubt Hajime. But it wasn’t trust that built the foundation of their relationship. Rather, it was an overwhelming love. Love strong enough to accept anything Hajime might do and to ensure he never escaped her grasp. Her will stemmed not from trust, but from desire.

In a way, Yue’s love for Hajime was quite twisted. Under normal circumstances, a love like that might eventually lead to ruin. But her partner was abnormal enough to accept Yue’s overbearing love.

Yue’s copy found itself incapable of denying her declaration. After all, it was a trial fabricated by the labyrinth, meaning it knew the true feelings of Yue’s beloved, who had just overcome his own trial.

Hajime’s love for Yue was an unhealthy dependence. And Yue’s love for Hajime was too overbearing to be wholesome. They really were two peas in a pod. Sighing in exasperation, the copy looked up at the icy ceiling.

These two are well and truly insane. God, I just want to scream right now.

Both Hajime and Yue had been betrayed, and it had been at the lowest points of their respective lives that they’d met each other. A pure romance like the ones in fairy tales didn’t suit the two of them in the slightest, which was why the copy knew it couldn’t rattle Yue anymore by bringing up her betrayal or questioning her trust.

The match had been decided. Yue had overcome her trial. And like her beloved, she’d done it in a way the labyrinth hadn’t planned for. She hadn’t overcome the darkness in her heart, simply acknowledged its existence.

“It’s time to end this…” Yue declared calmly. Her golden mana filled the room. She unleashed all five of her elemental dragons, using all the ancient magic at her disposal.

The weakened copy had no way out of Yue’s unwavering assault. However, it hadn’t given up. Its lips curled up in a faint smirk.

“I see. So the source of your strength is Hajime Nagumo.”

Aletia was long gone. The fact that Yue had crushed her without hesitation was proof of that. That meant Yue’s past couldn’t shake her. But what about her future?

Even as Yue’s dragons blasted through the magic her copy had summoned to defend itself, it wasn’t fazed. It merely spoke calmly and said, “You’re simply averting your eyes from the contradiction.”

“Huh?”

“It never once occurred to you that maybe you should think about who and what you are, did it?”

“What are you…?”

“Do you really think you’ll be able to stay by his side forever?”

“Huh…?” Yue’s voice wavered just a little. Three of her dragons had been destroyed by her copy’s counter and the two that had made it through missed, even though Yue should have had a clear shot. A little bit of the copy’s lost power returned.

“Tch… I’ll just crush you with force, then.”

“Are you up to the task?”

The fight should have been decided, but it once again raged on.

Around the same time—

“Dieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!”

“Gaaaaaah!”

Ferocious yells echoed across a chamber identical to the one Yue was fighting in. A second later, someone screamed in pain. Shea stood in one corner of the room, Drucken on her shoulder. She remained alert as she watched her opponent, a black-haired, black-eared copy of herself, fly across the room like a pinball.

Unable to slow itself down at all, Shea’s copy slammed into the ice tree in the center of the room. There was a loud boom, and chunks of the tree trunk crumbled. Shea’s copy slid to the ground and fell to its knees. It was only by using its own Drucken that it managed to avoid collapsing entirely. The tree started to repair itself with a series of loud cracks, and the copy looked up at Shea. Glowing crimson eyes peeked out from behind its black bangs.

“Have you already forgotten the screams of your family? The pain they suffered just to keep you alive?”

A second later, Shea was thrown into a vivid flashback. Clouds of dust covered a barren wasteland.

“No! Stoooooop!”

“It hurts! It hurts so much! Please, stop!”

“Run! Quickly!”

Screams, screams, and more screams filled Shea’s eardrums. Screams of pain, screams of sorrow, and screams of people telling Shea to keep running. Punctuating the screams was the sound of vulgar laughter and the pounding of countless hoofbeats. The sounds grew louder as the stampede of malice closed in on Shea and her family.

“Hahaha, time to hunt some rabbits.”

“Kill all the old ones! We don’t need ’em anyway!”

“We’re gonna sell half of them, so don’t rough ’em up too bad! The rest you can do whatever you want with!”

The imperial soldiers chasing down Shea’s tribe saw the rabbitmen as nothing more than playthings. The memories were still fresh in Shea’s mind. Even if she wasn’t being shown a flashback, she’d never forget what had happened.

“Hey, look at that pale girl!”

The soldiers whooped in excitement. They bared their fangs and started chasing down their next target. It was like they were hunting beasts.

“She’s mine! Don’t let her get away!”

The soldiers’ greedy eyes were trained on Shea. They cut down anyone in their way as if the members of Shea’s family were nothing but trash to them.

“Nooooooooooooooo! Stooooooooop!”

This time, the scream belonged to Shea. She’d turned around and was trying to head back to the members of her family who were being trampled underfoot. However, Cam and the other rabbitmen nearby grabbed her and kept on running.

Again. It’s all my fault again.

“That’s right. It’s all your fault,” Shea’s copy taunted.

The imperial soldiers bearing down on Shea hefted their spears and—

“Fuck off!”

“Agh!”

Shea slammed her fist into the center of the soldiers’ formation, and connected with her copy’s face. The copy flew through the air, bounced off the ground a few times, then slid to a halt.

“Ngh, you really don’t have any openings, do you!?”

Memories were just memories. Even if the labyrinth forced Shea to relive them, her focus was still entirely on the present. She knew better than to lose sight of her foe in the middle of battle. In fact—

“Your birth was a mist— Ah!?”

The copy tried to rile Shea up with more barbed comments, but it suddenly stopped and perked up its bunny ears. Then, without turning around, it leaped to the side. A second later, Drucken appeared where it had been standing.

“I’m gonna flatten you.”

Shea’s cute voice didn’t match the tremendous impact she caused with her hammer. A crater formed in the floor and cracks ran through the entire room. The copy landed lightly on its feet and looked over at the crater Shea had made.

“What!?”

But there was no one there. The copy shouldered its hammer and turned around, only to see Shea standing behind it. As unbelievable as it seemed, it had lost sight of Shea for a moment.

“How’re you so fast!?”

“You’re just too slow!”

The copy shivered in fear. There was another boom as Shea’s hammer accelerated past the speed of sound. The copy barely had time to bring its own black Drucken up to block. The impact alone released a shockwave powerful enough to end the fight, and the copy was sent flying. It crashed into the ice mirror wall at the far end of the room with enough force to drive the air out of its lungs. But it knew it had no time to rest, and fired a shotgun blast sideways, hoping to use the recoil to escape Shea’s follow-up attack.

“Take thiiiiiis!”

Shea kneed the wall with such force that she created another crater.

“Everything happened because you were born! It’s all your fault!”

This is impossible! But despite the fact that the copy could see no possible avenue to victory, it continued to carry out its duty. It had every one of Shea’s combat tactics at its disposal, as well as the knowledge of what words would hurt her the most.

“Because of you, your family had to live in hiding!”

A barrage of iron balls hurtled toward the copy. Shea had just thrown them, but they had the speed of cannonballs. The copy just barely managed to dodge them and was forced to deflect a few with Drucken. Determined, it once again tried to stir up the darkness inside Shea’s heart.

“Even the other rabbitmen tribes abandoned you!”

It was true that only the Haulia had ever cared for Shea. The other rabbitmen would have turned her in had they known about her. That had forced the Haulia tribe into isolation, and they hadn’t even been able to trade with the other tribes. As a result, they’d had a hard time even scraping by. They’d needed to get all of their food and other necessities by themselves, without relying on others. All because Shea had been born with mana. From that moment onward, the Haulia had been treated as outcasts. Of the Haulia, it had been Cam who’d suffered the most. Shea knew better than anyone what he’d gone through to raise her.

Finally seeing an opportunity to counterattack, the copy fired off a barrage of explosive slugs at Shea. She brought Drucken up and blocked the assault with the hammer’s face. Once again, the copy dragged her into a flashback. This time she was seeing a memory of when another rabbitman tribe had come to the Haulia village. They’d come to convince Cam to rethink his policy of isolation.

“Chief of the Haulia! You can’t keep going like this!”

“Us rabbitmen are already the weakest race there is! Shouldn’t we at least work together to survive in this world?”

“Don’t you understand? You Haulia are making it harder for the rest of us rabbitmen to get by too!”

A young Shea watched the argument from her hiding place inside a small wooden crate. Even though everything the other rabbitmen were saying was correct, Cam didn’t budge an inch.

“I’m sorry. If you need help with anything, you can ask us. But we would prefer not to trade with others. That’s just how the Haulia are.”

Though his expression was pained, Cam’s resolve was firm. He didn’t waver even when the other rabbitmen pelted him with insults. Throughout the meeting, the only thing Cam did was lower his head apologetically. In the end, the other rabbitmen left in a rage, even though they should have all been allies. It was on that day that Shea started to feel guilty that she was alive. It was also on that day that she realized she needed to hide from the rest of the world.

“We were the only irregular beastmen in all of Haltina! Even our family wasn’t like us!” the copy shouted.

“We should have just run away on our own! Left our family behind! At least that way they wouldn’t have died for us! This all happened because we were weak! Weak of body, and weak of mind. If only—”

“Shut the fuck uuuuuup!”

Shea stomped on the ground with such force that the ice beneath her rose up to form a shield. The ice wall blocked the copy’s next barrage of explosive slugs. After the shockwaves died down, Shea punched the wall in front of her, blowing it apart. Shards of ice shot forward, blowing a hole through the copy’s third wave of explosive slugs. Then, she instantly dashed through the opening and threw Drucken at her copy. She closed the rest of the distance between them while the copy was busy dodging. Panicking, the copy tried to blow Shea back with a concentrated salvo of explosive slugs.

“Shea-style defensive maneuver, Power Through!”

“That can hardly be called a maneuver.”

The copy was right, but unfortunately for it, that didn’t matter. Shea crossed her arms in an x-shape in front of her chest and dashed through the barrage. She improved her already insane body strengthening by enhancing it with evolution magic. As a result, the explosive slugs barely even bruised her skin as they exploded. She had quite literally just powered through. And once she was through, it was her turn to go on the offensive.

“Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Die!”

Shea fired off a right straight at her copy. It blocked with Drucken, but it wasn’t able to absorb the impact of the blow and was sent flying. As it flew through the air, it heard the jangling of chains.

“Oh shi—”

Before it could finish that thought, Shea’s left arm finished its rotation. In her hand was Drucken’s handle, still attached to the hammer via chain. The chain wrapped around the giant tree in the center, adding even more centrifugal force to the hammer’s rotation. The copy barely had time to register what was happening before Drucken slammed into it.

The force of the blow caused it to change trajectory in midair, sending it sideways instead of backward. Unable to break its fall, the copy slammed into the wall again. Tiny crystals of ice flew through the air, sparkling in the dim light. Within that glittering cloud, there were also sparkling particles which weren’t ice.

“Ahaha… Looks like I’ve lost.”

The copy smiled sadly to itself. It was cradling its shoulder, and parts of it were starting to disintegrate.

“So you’re finally at your limit.”

“Yeah, I’m no match for you.”

Shea had even healed the slight damage her copy’s barrage had inflicted on her via restoration magic. The copy shook its head in amazement.

“You really weren’t fazed at all. Even though everything I said should have been our true feelings…”

Shea hadn’t faltered in the slightest. In fact, the more the copy had tried to torment Shea, the weaker it had gotten. It hadn’t been much of a trial. Shea looked down at the copy and shook her head in exasperation.

“What are you talking about? You can’t change the past. All you can do is carry it with you. But even if the past is still with me, I swore that I’d do everything in my power to make the future better.”

On that day when Shea had been chased, watched her family get murdered, and then chased again, she’d seen the future. In the depths of despair, in the abyss of grief, she’d seen a future full of hope. Hope in the form of Hajime and Yue. It was then that she’d told herself not to give up, to keep running forward. She’d done everything in her power to reach out and grasp the future that lay together with those two.

“I swore that I’d become someone who could protect the people I love from those who’d try to take them from me, remember?”

That had been Mona’s—Shea’s mother’s—wish. And Shea had inherited that will. Tired of being weak, Shea had pushed herself to become strong. As a result—

“I made my peace with all that suffering ages ago.”

Shea reeled Drucken back into her hands and slung it over her shoulder. She looked just like the Grand Tree. Firm and strong, but also flexible.

“The darkness in people’s hearts is supposed to be strong enough that it paralyzes them even then.”

It wasn’t easy to free oneself from the darkness lurking within them. And yet, Shea had.

“You might be me, but it looks like you don’t really get me. I guess that’s proof that the labyrinth’s mixed in with you somewhere. Otherwise, you would have known from the start that your words couldn’t hurt me.”

The wounds in Shea’s heart hadn’t healed. She’d never forget the day she lost so many members of her family. And no matter what anyone else said, she knew for a fact that the whole ordeal had been her fault. But she was done moping and crying about it. She’d resolved to throw away her weakness and stop running from conflict. Nothing could stop her anymore. She’d keep going toward the future she desired.

Why? Well that’s obvious. Her family had worked so hard to protect her. Even though they were members of the weakest race, they’d weathered scorn and derision just to raise her. Her father and mother had endured so much to keep her alive.

Her life was precious to her precisely because of what others had done to protect it. And now she’d found so many other things precious to her. Someone who cherished her and accepted her love wholeheartedly. A best friend she could trust and confide in. So many others whom she cared about and who cared about her. This time, she’d be the one to protect them all.

“The darkness in my heart? Hah. Sorry, but I’m not some tragic heroine.”

Shea knew she was blessed. There were people she wanted to protect, and those people wanted to protect her back. She could say with confidence that she was happy. Which was why she was the one who’d never forgive herself if she started acting like some misfortunate damsel. Sure, maybe she might have entertained those feelings for a fleeting moment, but that wasn’t nearly enough to weaken her resolve.

“Listen up and listen well.”

Shea grinned fearlessly and pointed Drucken at her copy. She straightened her back, confidence oozing from every pore. Even her copy couldn’t help but be amazed by how beautiful she looked. Then, she puffed her chest out proudly and declared, “Right now, I’m invincible. It doesn’t matter who I’m up against, I won’t lose!”

Her words rang true. The copy felt itself grow even weaker. Words had the power both to bolster people and to weaken them. Shea had proven that this trial could be overcome through strength of body and mind alone. She’d tackled it head-on and come out victorious.

The labyrinth had no choice but to accept the strength of this challenger. Shea’s copy smiled faintly at her.

“I see. This trial pushes you to overcome yourself, but you’d already done that long ago.”

“That’s right. Anyway, my friends are waiting for me, so you better let me through!”

“Fufu, you haven’t gotten past me yet! Let’s see if you can take my final attack!”

Twin pillars of mana, one sky blue the other dark crimson, rose into the sky. Shea and her copy shot forward at the same time, leaving craters in their wake. They’d gone from zero to max speed in a single step. Both of them then used the recoil from Drucken’s shotgun blasts to speed up even further.

Wisps of mana trailed behind the two of them, making them look like shooting stars. Shea narrowed her focus to the enemy in front of her, and the rest of the world faded away. She brought Drucken back, ready to swing at a moment’s notice. Still hurtling forward, she spun around once. Then, with all the force of her charge behind her, Shea swung. Sonic booms trailed behind the swing as it accelerated past the speed of sound.

The copy mimicked her movements exactly, so the black and gray hammers collided with unbelievable force. The collision caused a deafening boom. Shockwaves spread out from the point of impact, blasting the nearby ground and walls. A massive crater formed in the ground, as if Yue had just cast gravity magic on it. Of the two combatants, the only one still standing was—

“Impressive.”

Shea.

The copy smiled slightly as it praised her skills. It then disintegrated into a mass of shimmering particles and vanished. Shea stood there silently for a few seconds, then sighed in relief. The shotgun shells she’d spent to accelerate herself clattered to the ground.

Shea looked up at the ceiling and muttered, “Mom. I want to become a kind monster.”

Once in the past, Shea had come to her mother crying about how she was a monster. Back then, Mona had said, “It doesn’t matter what other people say. You are who you want to be. You have the power to be anything you choose.”

This isn’t enough. I need to get even stronger. I’m gonna get so strong that I can protect everyone from anything. I’m gonna become a kind monster. It was this determination that had propelled Shea this far.

What would Mom think if she saw me now?

“Be proud of yourself. Hold your head high and tell the world ‘I’m Shea Haulia! You got a problem with that!?’”

Shea smiled as she remembered her mom’s words. Following her advice, Shea held her head high and said, “I’m Shea Haulia. You got a problem with that?”

In the silence that followed, Shea felt as though she heard her mother’s voice.

“You’ve grown into a splendid monster, Shea.”

Her bunny ears twitched slightly. Then, as if even the labyrinth was blessing her, a tunnel opened in the wall directly across from her. Shea shouldered Drucken and walked into it without hesitation.

After five minutes of jogging down the dimly lit ice tunnel, Shea’s ears perked up. There was movement up ahead. She smiled, recognizing the sound of those footsteps.

Past the next bend in the tunnel was a dead end. But Shea’s best friend, whose footsteps she’d just picked up on, was past that dead end. Meaning whatever wall was in Shea’s way was about to be pulverized. Her tendencies had gotten rather violent recently, but as far as Shea was concerned charging ahead at full speed was the only option around. After all, the self-proclaimed strongest fighter had nothing to fear.

“Obstacles are meant to be crushed!”

Shea went from a jog to a sprint in the span of a single step, confident that another path existed past what seemed to be a dead-end. She raised Drucken high and swung with all her might.

“Uryaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah— Wha!?”

Just before her hammer impacted, the wall of ice in front of her disappeared. Drucken swung through empty air, leaving Shea off-balance as she tumbled forward. She almost faceplanted into the ice, but managed to turn her fall into a roll at the last second. She then leaped to her feet and raised her hands in the air, as if the earlier acrobatic maneuver had been entirely on purpose. Her slightly flushed cheeks made it obvious that it hadn’t though, and that she was embarrassed about her blunder. Still, she smiled in an attempt to convince everyone watching that she’d meant to do that.

“Y-Yue-san. It’s not what you think! I did that on purpose!”

Shea glanced around, looking for her friend. Her acute sense of hearing had told her earlier that she was here somewhere. Shea was worried Yue would make fun of her clumsiness, but she realized soon enough there was no worry of that happening. Yue was certainly here, but she wasn’t looking at Shea. Nor had she been paying attention when Shea called her name.

“Yue-san?”

Shea called out to her again, but there was no response. Yue stood silently in front of the ice tree in the center, not even bothering to look over her shoulder. Shea had no way of telling what kind of face Yue was making. But she felt as though she shouldn’t get any closer.

For a moment, Shea worried that Yue might have failed her trial, but a second later that worry was erased. Upon closer inspection, Shea realized that there were two other paths leading out of this room. The one Yue must have come in through, and another one leading somewhere else. Her copy was nowhere to be seen. Proof that Yue had indeed completed her trial. Thinking that Yue probably just hadn’t heard her, Shea walked over to the center of the room. It was then that she noticed.

“Huh?”

To her utter disbelief, Yue looked badly beaten up. Of course, thanks to her automatic regeneration, Yue had no physical wounds, but her shredded clothes and accessories made it clear that she’d just been through an exhausting fight. Yue’s opponent had naturally been a copy of herself. Unlike Shea’s fight, which had been a battle of pure strength, Yue’s fight had been a magical war.

Furthermore, Yue’s preferred combat style was to let enemy attacks hit her and let her automatic regeneration take care of the damage while she concentrated solely on firing back with even more powerful attacks. It stood to reason that she wouldn’t come out unscathed. However, now that the fight was over, Yue should have restored her clothes with restoration magic. In retrospect, Shea realized it was strange for Yue to just be standing there instead of advancing forward too.

Unsure what was wrong with her best friend, Shea hesitated to get any closer. But a second later she shook off that hesitation and shouted cheerfully, “Yue-san!”

“Ah—”

Twitching in surprise, Yue looked over her shoulder. She saw Shea’s radiant smile and narrowed her eyes against its dazzling light.

“Shea…”

“That’s right, Yue-san. It’s me.”

Shea chuckled lightly, and Yue finally let herself smile a little. Her shoulders slumped, and she relaxed her previously tense muscles.

“Our rooms were connected?”

“Looks like it. I followed the path that showed up after beating my trial and it brought me here. Looks like you beat yours too, Yue.”

Shea didn’t bother mentioning Yue’s ripped clothes and instead turned to the passage leading forward.

“Mmm… It was a piece of cake.”

It was at that moment that Yue finally realized what state her clothes were in. Realizing that Shea looked completely unhurt, she blushed in embarrassment and quickly cast restoration magic on herself. Shea watched Yue’s clothes stitch back together and wondered whether or not it was okay to ask about her trial. There was no way Yue had faltered, or she wouldn’t have cleared her trial. But at the same time, it was clear Yue was still worrying about something. Enough that she’d forgotten to fix her clothes and hadn’t even noticed Shea the first time she’d called out to her.

What happened? Yue-san didn’t look like she was being affected by the whispers that much. And I don’t think anything anyone says could make her doubt her relationship with Hajime-san or the rest of us. From what I can tell, the darkness in Yue’s heart has to do with her betrayal 300 years ago… but I feel like she’s not the kind of person to let that drag her down at this point. What should I say to her though? Should I ask her what she’s thinking? Or should I just be here for her until she works her way through it? Shea agonized over how best to help her best friend.

“Shea, I’m fine… Let’s keep going.”

Sensing Shea’s distress, Yue smiled at her.

“Yue-san… Yeah, you’re right. Let’s go find Hajime-san and the others!”

“Mmm… I want to see Hajime again.”

“Fufu, same here!”

Shea knew Yue was just trying to look strong for her, and that caused her bunny ears to wilt in worry. But at the same time, she knew there was no point in waiting around. Besides, meeting up with Hajime so that Yue could flirt with him was probably the best way to cheer her up. Shea pulled herself together, and her rabbit ears perked back up. She strode forward, a new spring in her step. Yue followed after her, and the two entered the newly-opened ice tunnel.

“Do you think everyone’s okay? They looked like they weren’t doing too good when the whispers started coming, but…”

“Mmm… Good point. Shizuku and the hero especially.”

“I was surprised Shizuku-san was having such a hard time. She was always so calm and composed when we were in Haltina’s labyrinth… but Kaori-san was really worried about her here.”

“Shirasucky has problems, so she’s probably having an even harder time than Shizuku.”

“There you go again! Yue-san, you really like Kaori-san, don’t you?”

“I do not…”

The two of them chatted idly as they made their way through the tunnel. As always, Shea was the one who brought up topics, and Yue simply responded. But that was just the dynamic the two of them had.

Yue’s answers were clear and concise, and occasionally she’d even make jokes. However, there was just a slight hint of unease that layered all of her actions. Shea could tell. Despite keeping up with the conversation, Yue’s mind was on something else. Something that was making her act just a tad more distant than usual.

In truth, Yue was still thinking about the battle she’d had with her copy.

“Do you really think you’ll be able to stay by his side forever?”

After asking that question, Yue’s copy had regained much of its strength. Yue’s overwhelming advantage had slowly been eroded away.

“Don’t be stupid…”

Yue had refuted her copy’s words and tried to force her way through with gravity magic. But even as her copy had been forced to its knees by the power of her magic, it had continued asking her cutting questions.

“Think about it. Why are you even alive right now?”

That’s obvious. Because Hajime saved me. Guessing Yue’s response, the copy had needled her even further.

“Don’t you get what I’m saying here? Fine, let me rephrase the question. Why didn’t Uncle kill us?”

Yue had thought nothing the copy said could hurt her anymore. That she’d be able to force her way to victory. And yet, Yue found herself unable to ignore that question. It cut through her heart as sharply as any blade. Though she didn’t know it, her gravity magic was getting weaker.

“You should know best of all. Your immortality isn’t perfect. It wouldn’t have been impossible for him to kill you.”

The copy had been right. Yue’s automatic regeneration, the cornerstone that supported her immortality, required mana to use. Once her mana was drained, Yue could no longer regenerate. That day, when she’d been mercilessly struck down time and time again, she’d been almost completely drained of mana. Killing her then would have been possible. Dienleed had been more than capable of doing the deed.

The only reason Yue hadn’t asked that question before was because 300 years of imprisonment had taken its toll on her. The overwhelming despair, unending solitude, and pitch-black darkness had twisted her emotions until nothing but hatred and anger remained. She’d convinced herself that her uncle simply hadn’t been able to kill her, and discarded any other possibilities in order to further fuel her hate.

“He… never planned on killing me… from the very start?” Yue muttered quietly as the realization washed over her.

“That’s right. He’d wanted to seal you away.”

Why? Why? WHY? Yue’s heart hammered in her chest. If his goal had simply been to usurp the throne, why had he let a liability like Yue live? The question circled around inside Yue’s mind.

There was a huge burst of wind, and the copy pushed aside the last vestiges of Yue’s gravity magic. It then counterattacked with a barrage of Onyx Blasts.

“Ugh…”

Yue was unable to neutralize them all, and one hit her in the shoulder. That single hit was enough to send Yue flying through the air like a ragdoll. Her mental anguish combined with the physical damage caused her concentration to slip, and she returned to the world of flashbacks. But this flashback was different from the ones before it. Until now, the memories she’d seen were ones she could have recalled on her own, if she so chose to. This was a fragment of a memory she herself had buried deep inside her heart and completely forgotten over her long years of confinement.

“I’m so sor— But there’s no other— One day— someone you can— Will surely— protect— This is all— But please, forget— Love—”

Snippets of conversation reached Yue’s ear as she sped down memory lane. The voice was familiar and kind, but also filled with sadness and regret. It was her uncle, Dienleed’s voice.

The memory was fuzzy, and it was hard to hear over the static. Yue couldn’t clearly make out Dienleed’s expression or his words. But she knew that she was in the room where she’d been sealed. As her consciousness had been hazy at the time she’d heard this conversation, her own memories of it weren’t perfect either.

There was one thing that she remembered distinctly, though. Something soft caressing her cheek. Even though he’d betrayed her, even though he’d sealed her here, her uncle’s hand had been exceedingly gentle. It had been similar to the way Hajime caressed her now. His touch had been that of a father who adored his daughter.

“But what about your real parents?”

Yue snapped back to her senses just in time to see that she was surrounded by five elemental dragons, all of them emitting dark crimson sparks. She quickly used Heavensfall and Spatial Severance to shoot down a few of the dragons, then attempted to block the rest with a barrier. However her copy was clearly getting stronger, and she was unable to deflect all of the dragons.

The wind dragon made it through and sliced through her flank. While Yue’s automatic regeneration healed the wound instantly, her clothes were shredded. And she no longer had the leeway to restore them with restoration magic. Instead, she summoned her own five dragons and had them face off against her copy’s.

“What did you do to me?”

Yue shouldn’t have had that memory. That can’t be real.

She glared at her copy, but it just shook its head.

“What you don’t know, I don’t know. All I can do is force you to see things you know but pretend not to.”

“So then…”

“For example, what about our real father? We loved Uncle as if he were our real father, but what kind of person was our real father?”

“What are you…?”

Naturally, he’d loved Yue. And he’d been mercilessly cut down by her uncle. But though Yue wanted to say that, she couldn’t. Because that memory wasn’t there inside of her. No matter how hard Yue searched the annals of her brain, all she found were vague, indistinct recollections.

It wasn’t that she’d forgotten her parents, but rather that over 300 years, none of those memories had been impressionable enough to last. And that realization disgusted Yue.

“You know. You understand best of all. Just how your mother and father thought of you.”

The ten dragons canceled each other out, and Yue and her copy started firing magical barrages at each other. All the while, her copy continued scraping through her memories.

“Aletia, you’re such a wonderful girl.”

“If there’s anything you want, we’ll get it for you.”

“We’ll make sure everything’s perfect for you.”

Yue’s parents had never once scolded her. In fact, they’d never even considered it possible. Her father and mother had done anything and everything she’d asked. One could say she’d been raised in a caring environment, but was that really how parents should act toward their children? It felt less as though they loved her, and more as though they worshiped her. The only person who’d ever scolded Yue had been her uncle. He was the one who’d taught her what it meant to be royalty, and what was important for people to hold dear.

“Brother, you can’t keep doing this! Don’t you realize what that girl is?”

Yue suddenly remembered how her uncle and her father had always argued about her.

“The church is asking for a meeting? Again? No, it’s fine, Aletia. I’ll take care of it.”

She remembered how her uncle had always been present for every meeting she’d had with church officials. And the only time she’d met with them at all had been when he couldn’t get rid of them himself. At the time, Yue had gotten angry at him for being so overprotective.

“You still remember, don’t you?”

Once again, Yue snapped back to the present. She was being trapped by her memories more and more often. A blast of spatial magic tore the space around her. Yue only just managed to avoid being cut in half, but she wasn’t safe yet.

“How Uncle looked when he first started putting distance between you and him?”

Irritation swept over Yue at those words. Her memories resurfaced, and her uncle’s face popped into her head. Though he’d tried his best to look expressionless, a hint of anguish had shone through on his face. His eyes had looked tortured as if he was struggling with some unspeakable suffering. At that moment, his wrinkles had seemed to deepen, aging him by decades in the span of an instant.

“Ah…”

Another one of the copy’s attacks landed. Blood and scraps of cloth flew through the air as the magical bullet cut through Yue’s leg along with the end of her coat. The copy had regained its former strength and was just as powerful as Yue. It was only after seeing its strength that Yue realized just how shaken she was.

“If you hadn’t had someone to hate, if you hadn’t thrown away all hope and given up on thinking, you wouldn’t have been able to bear the pain. You’d taken the most logical conclusion at face value and convinced yourself it had to be the truth.”

Yue couldn’t deny it. Did I…alter my own memories?

For the first time, Yue began to consider the possibility that the truth was different than what she remembered. At the same time, her initial question rose to the forefront of her mind.

Why did he seal me away? Because of my special magic? No, I already know that can’t have been it. Was it just one final act of pity? No, confining me in an eternal prison of darkness was far crueler than killing me outright. Then did he hate me? No, I’ve already remembered that isn’t it. Though Yue wasn’t aware of it, there was a logical answer.

Was there something about me I didn’t realize? Was something after me because of that? Was that why Uncle sealed me? Does that mean whatever was after me before is still here?

Endless questions presented themselves one after another. As Yue was deliberating, her copy asked one last, biting question.

“Who are we? What are we?”

“Ah—”

Yue couldn’t answer. Because that answer would reveal the reason why she’d been sealed in the first place. And Yue did not doubt that whatever that reason had been, it was still alive. Yue felt as though a lump of ice had settled in her stomach. Her entire body felt unnaturally cold.

She stopped moving, and her copy’s barrage of magic caught up to her. Rather than guard against it, she let herself be blown away. She skid across the ground, came to a stop, and somehow got back to her feet. Like always, her body was unscathed. But her clothes were ruined. Her precious white coat was a ripped mess and covered in blood.

Her copy walked up to her and said once more, “It never once occurred to you that maybe you should think about who and what you are, did it?”

This time, the words that followed served as a finishing blow.

“Do you really think you’ll be able to stay by his side forever?”

Defeated, Yue was unable to respond with a definitive “yes.” She could easily imagine that the thing she’d escaped in the past would find her once again in her future. And that thought terrified her. For the first time in ages, Yue just wanted to curl up in a ball and cry.

To Yue, Hajime was the light. He’d cut through the darkness, illuminated her world, and given her warmth, kindness, and happiness. Being cut off from that would be the same as being dead. Yue’s copy gradually drew closer. Every footstep brought Yue one step closer to death. She looked up at the icy ceiling. Her crimson eyes stared back at her. They were the same color as Hajime’s mana, the color she loved so much. A second later, a smile spread across her face.

“……”

The copy came to a halt. A shadow of hesitation flitted across its face. Yue looked back down at it and said quietly, “Even if I disappear, he won’t be alone.”

“No, you—”

“Hajime has Shea… And Tio. And even though I hate to admit it, Kaori.”

The copy stared blankly at Yue, its mouth still half-open. But a moment later, it realized what Yue was trying to say. It stared down at itself in utter disbelief. It could tell what was happening to its power.

“In the end, Hajime Nagumo really is the center of your world, huh?”

“Of course…”

The copy wasn’t getting any weaker. But it wasn’t getting any stronger either. So, though Yue had been brought face to face with a shocking revelation, her resolve remained firm. It had been shaken for a moment, but now it was renewed.

“You two really are birds of a feather.”

The copy’s tone changed. Faced with the vampire princess’ overwhelming love, it no longer saw any need to copy Yue’s speech style. Instead, it looked up wearily and recalled how Hajime, too, had bragged about his love for Yue while overcoming his own trial.

“I’m done questioning myself…”

“So it seems. I’m out of memories to revive as well.”

Their power was equal. The copy had no more memories to dredge up. Both sides gathered all of their mana. They poured everything they had into one final attack, Draconic Thunder. Two dragons, one wreathed in golden thunder while the other was wreathed in crimson, crashed into each other.

“Regardless of what the future holds, if I lose here, I’ll never see Hajime again! So get lost!”

“Ah!”

Between the two, it was Yue’s dragon that was winning. After a fierce struggle, it opened its maw wide and swallowed the copy’s dragon whole. Then, it moved on to swallow the copy as well.

As it disappeared, Yue’s copy watched Yue with an exasperated, and slightly worried, smile. With one final roar, Yue’s thunder dragon vanished, and with it, her copy. Part of the ice wall crumbled away, revealing a new path. However, Yue didn’t even look at it. She tottered unsteadily to the ice tree in the center of the room and stared at her reflection. Her resolve was as firm as always. But this fight had put new doubts in her mind.

The vague unease they espoused spread through her heart like a faint haze, obscuring her thoughts. She desperately sifted through her memories, searching for a solution to her worries. If her copy hadn’t been able to provide an answer though, it meant that she just didn’t know. After all, everything it knew, she knew.

But even so, Yue couldn’t help but search her memories. She felt compelled to. If there really was something her uncle had tried to protect her from in the past, and if that something was destined to find her in the future, then she needed to—

“Yue-san!”

“Ah, Shea?”

Yue felt a strong hand on her shoulder and snapped out of her reverie. She looked up and saw Shea staring at her with a worried expression on her face. Shea’s sky-blue eyes met Yue’s, and Yue could see just how seriously Shea was worried about her. It seemed she’d been so deep in her memories that she’d spaced out. Past Shea, the path they were walking down came to a dead end. Yue hadn’t even noticed that. Realizing she’d failed to hide how shaken she was, Yue looked down guiltily.

“Please, Yue-san. Tell me what happened.”

Shea’s voice was quiet but sharp. She took her hands off Yue’s shoulders and grabbed her hands instead. Shea’s hands were warm and reassuring, reminding Yue that she wasn’t alone.

“……”

But even so, Yue couldn’t bring herself to speak. She didn’t know how to say what she wanted to say, or if she should say it at all. Her worries for the future were vague and unclear. She didn’t know how to explain them, and when she realized how vague they were she suddenly felt embarrassed about putting words to them. Yue took pride in being an older sister figure to Shea.

Unfortunately for Yue, all of her hesitation strengthened Shea’s desire to know what was bothering her best friend. Shea no longer felt as though she could wait leisurely until Yue was ready to talk. Her sharp gaze made it clear that she was going to get the truth out of Yue one way or another. Realizing that she couldn’t deceive Shea any longer, Yue sighed. But even if she was resigned to explain herself, she still didn’t know how to articulate her worries.

“I’m sorry, Shea… I haven’t really sorted out my feelings myself.”

“So you can’t talk about what’s bothering you?”

“Mmm… My fake said a lot of stuff about my past to me… Of course, that didn’t change my feelings about you or Hajime so I could clear the trial, but…I realized I might be remembering some things wrong. I want to sort everything out before I explain, so can you wait a little?”

“I see…”

Shea still wasn’t satisfied. And she showed no signs of letting go of Yue’s hands. Seeing how stubborn Shea was being, Yue smiled. Her smile was filled with love and trust for her best friend. You’ve grown strong, Shea.

When they’d first met, Shea had been a crybaby and a scaredy-cat. A worthless rabbit who’d clung to Yue and Hajime for dear life. But she’d worked hard. Harder than anyone else. No matter how much she’d cried, no matter how pathetic she’d looked covered in mud and blood, she hadn’t once given up. Before Yue knew it, Shea’d grown so strong that she was the one protecting her. Shea’s cheerful, straightforward nature had saved Yue more times than she could count.

I guess it’s not fair to keep thinking of you as a little sister, huh…? Yue extricated her hands from Shea’s and then grabbed them from the outside. She imparted her warmth to Shea, the same way she had moments before.

“Yue-san?”

Shea gave her a confused look. Yue looked up at her and chuckled. The indistinct fear that had settled within Yue’s heart had disappeared. In its place burned a powerful resolve. Yue’s expression grew resolute and she said, “Shea…”

“Yeah, what is it, Yue-san?”

Shea’s expression grew even more worried, but Yue didn’t flinch from her gaze. Her ruby-red eyes were filled with trust for her best friend.

“If… something happens to me, take care of Hajime for me.”

“……”

Shea was speechless. Her eyes opened wide, and she stared at Yue, dumbfounded. Her reaction was only natural. This was the last thing she’d expected Yue to say. Still, Yue was confident Shea would smile reassuringly and say, “Of course, you can count on me!” However—

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

“Huh?”

To Yue’s surprise, Shea’s voice was stone cold. Her expression turned flat, emotionless. But it seemed as though she was forcing herself to push down her emotions and look stoic. Yue was so surprised by Shea’s reaction that for a moment she forgot to breathe. But a moment later she renewed her resolve. Yue wasn’t joking about this. There was no one else she trusted enough to tell. And she needed Shea to accept her request.

“I’m not… I’m saying this because I’m resolved.”

“You’re resolved?”

Shea grit her teeth together and narrowed her eyes. Despite Shea’s withering glare, Yue didn’t shy away. Unable to keep her emotions in check, Shea’s facade of emotionlessness crumbled. Smack! A loud noise echoed through the tunnel.

“Ah!?”

Before Yue had any time to react, Shea slapped her. Or rather, Yue was so surprised that she couldn’t react. Never in her wildest dreams had Yue considered that Shea would respond to a heartfelt plea like this. Though Shea hadn’t used body strengthening to increase the force of her slap, she hadn’t held back either. Blinking in disbelief, Yue raised a hand to her cheek.

“Shea?”

“Please take that back.”

“……”

“Take back that crap about how you want me to take care of Hajime-san if something happens to you right now!”

Shea’s face trembled in rage. She was seconds away from losing it completely. Yue’s eyes narrowed, her disbelief replaced with anger.

“Are you saying my resolve, my faith in you is just crap?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

Shea’s sky-blue eyes stared deeply into Yue’s deep crimson ones. Both of them knew that neither of them would budge an inch. Why? Yue thought to herself. Why is she so mad? Why won’t she accept my trust in her? Sadness mingled with the anger burgeoning in Yue’s heart.

At the same time, Shea also thought, Why? Why would you say something so sad? Shea and Yue glared silently at each other for a few minutes. Had anyone else in the party been present, they would have been dumbfounded. Shea and Yue were so close that no one would expect them to seriously get mad at each other.

The first to make a move was Shea. She leaped back and hefted Drucken, resting it atop her shoulder.

“It looks like words won’t convince you. I don’t know what that fake told you, but it’s pretty sad seeing the strongest vampire in the world reduced to this pathetic state. I guess I have to beat the cowardice out of you.”

A spiral of light blue mana erupted skyward from Shea. Yue, who hadn’t been prepared for an actual fight, looked taken aback.

“Shea… Wait—”

Her words were interrupted by a full-power swing from Shea. Yue hurriedly backstepped, just barely avoiding Drucken. The ground where she’d been standing on exploded. Shards of ice shot everywhere as a massive crater formed in the floor. Though the ground instantly began to regenerate, the force of the blow proved that Shea was serious.

“Shea… You’re taking this joke too far.”

“Joke? Are you still half-asleep or something? Since you don’t seem to get it I’ll spell it out for you. I’m dead serious. Yue-san, unless you take back that crap you just said… I’m seriously gonna beat you up.”

“Shea… Why?”

“You seriously don’t understand? Unbelievable! The usual Yue-san, the Yue-san I know would never act so weak! Wake up dammniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!”

Shea once again swung Drucken with all her might. It accelerated past the sound barrier, pushing a film of white in front of it. Yue used gravity magic to fall backward, just barely avoiding the hammer. Shea’s horizontal swing missed, and Drucken crashed into the wall, shattering it.

Heedless of the damage she was causing, Shea fired off a series of swings. Each one possessed as much destructive force as a falling meteor. To make matters worse, the passageway was quite narrow. There was nowhere to run, and close-quarters combat had never been Yue’s specialty. It was only a matter of time before she was trapped. However, Yue was more annoyed than she was afraid of being cornered.

“Cut it out already… Do you realize how much courage it took to gather this resolve!?”

Yue walked into the storm of swings and cast Heavensfall. Gravity drove Drucken towards the floor, altering the trajectory of Shea’s swing. Yue then leaped off the hammer, which was stuck to the ground, flipped around in midair, and then cast Crystal Coffin directly above Shea. By the time she’d landed behind the bunny girl, Shea’s thighs were encased in ice. It reminded Shea of the time she’d trained with Yue to earn her right to join Hajime’s party. Back then, the same Crystal Coffin had been powerful enough to trap her in ice instantly, leaving her a sobbing mess.

“You call this resolve!? Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

But now, such a spell wasn’t enough to even slow her down. All it took was a single attack. Shea punched the ground, shattering the nearby floor along with the Crystal Coffin. Her fist packed more of a punch than a cannonball. Yue stumbled from the shockwaves sent out by Shea’s punch, a look of disbelief on her face. She was certain she’d put enough mana into the spell, yet Shea had shattered it easily. With a very unwomanly grunt, Shea lifted Drucken with brute force, fighting against the massive amount of gravity pressing down on it. She then pressed a trigger on the handle, transforming it into bombardment mode. Without hesitation, she fired a barrage of shotgun shells at Yue. The corridor was too narrow, leaving no room to dodge. Yue had no choice but to put up a barrier. A hail of exploding slugs slammed into the barrier, spreading shockwaves across its surface. For a moment, the corridor was filled with ripples of blue mana.

“Shea! Cut it out al—”

“That’s my line, Yue-san. Do you finally feel like taking back your words?”

“Why…?”

“Why? Do you really not know?”

“……”

The neverending barrage of explosive slugs started putting cracks in Yue’s barrier. She repaired them instantly, but the overwhelming pressure of the barrage kept her pinned in place. Though even if it hadn’t, Shea’s question had left Yue rooted to the spot. Yue stared at her best friend through her barrier and the sea of bullets. Why was her trust in Shea making Shea so mad? Unable to comprehend Shea’s actions, Yue knitted her brow in frustration.

But when she got a better look at Shea’s expression, Yue gasped. Shea looked devastated. Yue was sad too, of course, but Shea looked far worse. Tears were welling up in her eyes, and though she was yelling, it was obvious Shea was more sad than angry. Yue’s words had cut deep.

Shea pulled the trigger again, a loud click echoing through the corridor. But no bullets shot out. Shea had run out of ammo. In the silence that followed, Shea said sadly, “If you’re trying to entrust him to me, doesn’t that mean you don’t think you’ll be around in the future, Yue-san?”

“Shea…”

“Do you really think I’d accept a future like that? Do you really think I’d just say ‘Sure, leave it to me!?’ That I’d accept that bullshit request of yours!?”

Finally, Yue understood the source of Shea’s anger. Yue had thought her request had been a way of conveying her trust in Shea. While it was true that Yue trusted Shea with her life, the way she’d phrased her request had been all wrong. Shea loved Yue. So it was only natural that a request predicated on Yue’s death wouldn’t be something Shea wanted to hear. Even if Yue had made that request out of faith.

Shea would never accept a future where Yue died. Realizing how much she’d hurt Shea, Yue furrowed her brows. But even so, Yue couldn’t afford to take chances. What was she, really? Why had her uncle sealed her away? So long as she didn’t understand those two things—

“I have to prepare for the worst…”

Yue would never take back her words. It was at that moment that Shea completely snapped.

“Like I give a fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck!”

“Ah!?”

Screaming in frustration, Shea threw herself at Yue like a human cannonball. The sudden assault caused Yue to falter for a moment. That momentary hesitation was all the overpowered bunny girl needed. Shea drew Drucken back, then magnified its weight with gravity magic and strengthened herself to the utmost limit. Pouring all of her sadness and frustration into a single blow, she swung down.

“Bwagh!?”

Yue’s barrier shattered like glass, and the full force of Shea’s hammer hit her square in the chest. The air was blown out of her lungs as she was launched backward at unbelievable speed. But Shea didn’t stop there. She revolved with the force of her own swing and continued charging toward Yue.

“You don’t understand a damn thing, Yue-san!”

She wound back like a pitcher and threw Drucken at Yue.

“Ngh! Hallowed Ground!”

The barrier formed around Yue just in time to block Drucken. However, the speed Shea had thrown it at had multiplied its destructive power. There was an explosion as Drucken plowed through the barrier, its speed unhindered. As Yue approached the dead-end they’d been walking toward, the wall started to dissolve. But it was dissolving too slow for either Yue or Shea’s fastball to pass through. Drucken’s impact sent out a shockwave that obliterated the nearby ice and sent Yue barreling through the newly-formed opening. Its energy finally spent, Drucken fell to the floor. At the same time, Yue hit the floor and slid across it. Once she stopped she got to one knee and stared at the collapsed wall worriedly. Just then—

“Wh-What!?”

“Wh-What just happened!?”

Two confused voices called out. Specifically, Kaori and her copy. The two were locking swords. But both of them were so surprised by the sudden intrusion that they forgot their battle. Heedless of their surprise, Shea punched through the crumbling opening and walked into the room. Her ears and tail were stiff. She pulled back on Drucken’s handle, and the hammer returned to her. It landed atop the handle with a satisfying clang. Shea then swung it back and started tapping her shoulder with it.

“Let me remind you what real resolve is supposed to look like, Yue-san! You better not underestimate this bunny girl!”

Turning to Yue, Shea thrust Drucken out in front of her. She was too mad to care about her surroundings right now. This was the first serious fight either of them had had with a friend since being born. Kaori and her copy watched on in confusion, their battle all but forgotten.

Let us turn back the clock a few minutes. Like everyone else, Kaori had found herself in an open room with an ice tree at the center and had been forced to fight her copy. A trial of this nature, where she’d been forced to face the ugliest sides of her, had been especially difficult considering her past. But she’d been prepared. After all, Kaori had known better than anyone just how many cracks her heart had.

“We promised to protect Hajime-kun, but we failed. We got jealous of Yue because we felt like we couldn’t match up.”

“How come we weren’t special?”

“How come we were the only weak one?”

“We even threw away our original body to grow stronger, so why did he pick Shea and not us!?”

“We were the one who was meant to be by his side! We’re the one who loves him the most!”

“We don’t want to lose him! Don’t take him away from us!”

The copy’s words had clung to Kaori, dragging her down into a bottomless swamp. She’d wanted to plug her ears, avert her gaze, and shout that she’d never thought any of those things. It was as if the copy knew exactly what to say to rub salt in her mental wounds. The pain was so unbearable Kaori had wanted to scream. To hurl insults at her copy and call her a liar. But instead—

“Haaah!”

“Ngh.”

She’d stepped forward. Unhesitant, unwavering, she’d continued to march forward. Using her frustration to fuel her aggression, she’d slashed down with her twin blades. Every single one of her strokes had been unbelievably accurate. So much so that the copy had been driven back. Kaori hadn’t been striking in a blind rage. She knew that cutting down her copy would mean cutting down her own weakness, and she struck with surgical precision. Her spirit had burned beautifully, clad in the divine body of God’s Apostle. Her silver form had clashed with the pitch-black form of her copy.

The two had danced across the battlefield, their hair splaying out behind them. Their swords clashed endless times, sending a meteor shower of sparks through the air. The battle had been intense. But it also had a mystical beauty to it, like an ancient shinto dance. As time passed, Kaori grew even more adept at coping with her mental scars, which made her power grow in turn.

“Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

“Ngh, you’ve gotten even faster!?”

Unable to weather the onslaught, the copy jumped back. It then unleashed a beam of black disintegration at Kaori. Kaori aligned the top of her sword with her copy and unleashed a disintegration blast of her own. The two beams collided, sending out ripples of annihilation. Anything the ripples touched was obliterated instantly.

“Your jealousy, your frustration, your impatience, and your inferiority complex haven’t disappeared! You’re still just as ugly as before, so why are you getting stronger!?”

“Even if my feelings haven’t changed, I can still grow.”

Kaori’s voice was surprisingly gentle. A chill ran down the copy’s spine, and it glanced over its shoulder while maintaining its beam. As it feared, Kaori had managed to create a magic circle in midair behind it using her feathers.

“Thunderburst!”

“You can even cast spells remotely now?”

The copy unfurled its wings and shot into the air. About thirty minutes had passed since the battle began. All throughout, Kaori had been unable to use her feathers to create remote magic circles. But the copy had no time to process this development, as Kaori unfurled her own silver wings and chased it down. She swung down with her blades, and the copy raised its own to block. There was a loud metallic clang as the four swords collided.

“I’m… not getting any stronger?”

Until now, the copy had been steadily growing in strength. With every barbed taunt, Kaori’s heart had been further wounded. But now, that had stopped happening too.

“Seeing you like this shows me just how self-centered I am,” Kaori muttered back. But she was talking more to herself than her copy.

“I was like this back in school, and even when I left Shizuku-chan to join Hajime-kun.”

For two years, Kaori had been completely lacking in self-awareness. All she’d wanted was to talk to the boy she loved, but she hadn’t been able to find ways to make that happen. And so, she’d thrown herself desperately at him, causing trouble for everyone in the process. She knew how big a loss her leaving the party would be for Kouki and the others. But even then, she’d been miraculously reunited with the boy she thought had died. She couldn’t stand other girls being closer to him than her, so she’d prioritized her feelings over the good of the party.

“That’s right. It’s pathetic. We’re so egotistical it’s disgusting.”

With how much the copy had already been strengthened, it was far stronger than Kaori. It knocked her swords aside and launched a barrage of disintegration feathers at her.

Kaori weaved her way in between the onslaught of death and said quietly, “I want to change. I want to be kind like Yue. Strong like Shea. Wise like Tio. And cute like Shizuku-chan.”

Though they were in the middle of a fight, Kaori’s quiet voice carried far. For a moment, the copy thought Kaori was being honest about her jealousy, but a moment later it narrowed its eyes. It could feel itself getting weaker.

Kaori turned around in midair, letting a few of the feathers strike her. However, she avoided taking any fatal damage and flapped her wings to accelerate. She moved faster than she ever had before, so fast she left afterimages in her wake.

She didn’t just seem faster to the copy because it was getting weaker. She really was just getting that much faster. There was a single reason for Kaori’s sudden power-up. She was finally learning how to draw out the full potential of the body she inhabited. The long hours of training were finally beginning to pay off. Her growth, as she put it, was more than just mental.

Kaori unleashed a barrage of lightning-fast sword swings. The copy deflected them all, relying on its strengthened reflexes, and said with conviction, “I see… The reason I’m growing weaker even though you haven’t found a way to dissolve your negative feelings is because you’re moving forward despite knowing you hold this darkness in your heart. Even before this trial began, you were already beginning to grow.”

Kaori struck relentlessly, her swords trailing silver arcs through the air. Her peerless swordsmanship was now truly at the level Noint’s had been. Though it was only by a factor of milliseconds, the copy was now slower.

Kaori’s swords began grazing the copy, inflicting numerous superficial wounds. Feeling a sense of accomplishment, she said, “It’s true, I was jealous of Shea. But at the same time, I was happy!”

When Kaori had seen Hajime accept Shea, she’d been jealous, sure. But she’d also been happy that one of her friends had had her wish granted.

“Yue really pisses me off. But at the same time, I want her around!”

Kaori would never again let her feelings of inferiority get in her way. She’d overcome those back in the Sunken Ruins of Melusine.

“I even managed to realize how Shizuku-chan feels!”

Kaori was still as reckless and straightforward as before, but she was at least more aware of her surroundings now. Rather than wallow in jealousy and hate, she had chosen to focus on bettering herself. Kaori had been facing her own negative emotions long before she’d reached this trial. Which was why—

“I’m scared of the ugliness inside of me. But I won’t turn away from it!”

Kaori cast one of her evolution magic spells, Limiter Removal. In doing so, she was able to simulate the Limit Break spell Noint had been capable of using. Clad in silver mana, Kaori shot forward at unprecedented speed. She had in every way become Noint’s equal in terms of strength.

“I’ll never lose to myself! I’m going to protect the people I want to protect, and go back home to Japan with everyone!”

“It seems there’s no need for words anymore. It looks like I won’t be getting any stronger.”

The copy smiled as one of Kaori’s swords sent it flying. Despite transferring bodies, Kaori was still undoubtedly human in the way she’d grown. The copy landed unsteadily on the ground, and Kaori alighted across from it. The two stared at each other silently for a few seconds.

“This is the end. Here I come!”

“Very well. Show me everything you’ve got! Prove you have what it takes to cut down our weakness!”

Two shooting stars shot toward each other, one silver one black. They clashed in the center of the room, right next to the ice tree. Shockwaves spread outwards from their swords, and eddies of mana swirled around them.

The two of them were evenly matched, but only for a moment. Soon enough, Kaori’s swords started pushing the copy back. Like sunlight banishing away darkness, her silver mana began to erode her copy’s black mana. Kaori and her copy looked into each other’s eyes, their faces inches apart.

Kaori’s eyes burned with a fierce determination, while her copy’s were dark and silent, like the sky on a new moon. Smiling faintly, the copy closed its eyes and resigned itself to its fate. It almost looked as though it was bathing in the light of Kaori’s mana. But just before Kaori could deal the finishing blow, a section of the wall crumbled away. There was a thunderous boom, and a familiar blonde girl rolled into the room.

“Wh-What!?”

“Wh-What just happened!?”

Kaori and her copy looked over in confusion. When Kaori realized the blonde girl on the floor was Yue and following in after her was Shea, she initially breathed a sigh of relief. But then she realized that Yue was sweating and her expression strained while Shea looked downright menacing. Confused once more, Kaori tried to puzzle out the situation. Before she could, though—

“Let me remind you what real resolve is supposed to look like, Yue-san! You better not underestimate this bunny girl!”

Kaori’s jaw dropped open in shock as she watched Shea point Drucken toward Yue. She had never seen Shea this angry before, and she had no clue what was going on. Moments ago, she’d been about to finish the epic showdown between her and her copy, completing her somewhat traditional, but nevertheless significant personal growth arc. But now Yue and Shea had butt in with a showdown of their own, and Kaori suddenly felt left out.

The copy, being a product of the labyrinth, already knew that Shea and Yue had cleared their trials. However, it still had no idea why two allies were fighting amongst each other. To it, it seemed as though Yue and Shea were in a battle to the death. Their swords still locked, Kaori and her copy stared at each other. They came to some kind of understanding and nodded to each other. Kaori then turned to her two friends, steeling herself.

“U-Umm, Yue? Shea? What are you—”

“Shea… Listen. My memories aren’t—”

“Shut the fuck up! I don’t care what reason you have! The Yue-san I know and love would never act so timid! She’d never give up her position as the only person special to Hajime-san! What do you mean, ‘You have to prepare for the worst!?’ You damn coward!”

Yue’s expression stiffened. She’d never expected to hear venomous insults from Shea, the one member of the party who treated everyone with kindness. Meanwhile, Kaori was beginning to tear up. Yue and Shea were ignoring her completely. Her copy drew its swords back and gently patted her on the shoulder. Though it was a product of the labyrinth, even it couldn’t help but sympathize with her plight.

“The reason I was sealed away wasn’t what I thought it was…”

However, Yue didn’t know what that reason was anymore, which was why she wanted to be ready, just in case. And the only one she could count on was Shea, the person she trusted most.

Why can’t you understand how I feel!? No matter how earnest Yue’s pleas were, though, Shea wasn’t going to listen.

“Like I care!” Shea rejected Yue’s explanation without hesitation. She didn’t care what kind of shocking truths Yue had discovered. She would never accept a future without Yue in it. Nor would she accept anything Yue had to say so long as Yue didn’t believe she had a future.

Why can’t you understand how I feel!? Shea’s sadness and frustration at Yue’s stubbornness turned into anger.

“If someone stands in our way, we slaughter them and keep going forward! That’s been our motto this whole time, hasn’t it!? So what the hell is this preparing for the worst crap!? You stupid midget vampire!” Shea was so worked up she was just hurling insults at random now.

“M-M-M-Midget? Fufufufu, now you’ve done it…”

This time, it was Yue’s turn to snap. Any sympathy she might have had for Shea’s feelings vanished. Her eyes glinted with a fierce light. She’d tried playing nice, and it had just made Shea cocky. Shea saw the anger in Yue’s eyes and scoffed. She puffed her chest out, showing off the difference between her and Yue’s assets. She was clearly trying to provoke Yue.

Thunder rumbled as Yue started the process of summoning her lighting dragon. She looked absolutely murderous. The battlefield suddenly got a lot more dangerous. Kaori and her copy both brought their hands to their mouths and watched on in trepidation.

Lightning struck the ground behind Yue as she muttered, “This is your last chance to take that back, you worthless rabbit.”

Shea calmly replied, “That’s my line, you old midget.”

There was no turning back now. Yue and Shea glared at each other, their lips twitching. Both of them were furious.

Kaori timidly butt in, “U-Umm, you two? Could you calm down for a second? I don’t know what happened, but—”

“Looks like you need to be reminded just which of us is stronger. I’ll turn you into roasted rabbit!”

“Hmph, I’m not worried about a cowardly midget like you! I’ll beat you for sure this time!”

Yue and Shea ignored Kaori’s attempts to mediate. This was going to be their first serious battle since they’d met. Yue’s thunder dragon shot forward with a roar, signaling the start of the fight. It bore down on Shea, intent on frying her to a crisp. Shea responded by shooting forward with explosive force. She swung Drucken sideways, the shockwaves from the blow powerful enough to interfere with the dragon’s gravity field. Without the gravity to hold it together, its lightning shot out randomly. Hair billowing behind her, Kaori watched the two of them fight with glazed eyes.

“Oh yeah… Those two are best friends. Of course they’d ignore me. Well… I guess I really am useless after all…”

“H-Huh!? My power’s returning!? Get ahold of yourself, you stupid woman!”

“See, I knew it… I’m just a stupid failure…”

“Wait, no, I didn’t mean that! You’re not stupid at all! Those two are just so into their fight that they’re not paying attention to you! It’s not because you’re easily ignorable or anything!”

“I knew it… It’s like I don’t exist to them…”

“Ah, I’m getting stronger again!?”

Kaori was so pitiful that the copy, a part of the labyrinth’s trial, was trying to console her. A sight like this had never been seen before, and likely would never be seen again. Yue and Shea’s fight grew even more vicious, their concentration focused solely on each other.

“I’m gonna make you eat your words, you fucking perverted vampire!”

“Like you’re one to talk, you exhibitionist rabbit!”

“Who’re you calling an exhibitionist!? You’re the one who keeps jumping Hajime-san in public!”

“Are you saying I’m just like Tio!? I’m gonna make you piss your pants again, you leaky rabbit!”

“What!? That was ages ago! I should’ve known you’d get petty in your old age, you hag!”

“Fuck you! I’m gonna kill you, Shea! I’m gonna flatten those stupid bags of fat of yours with gravity magic!”

“H-How could you!? I’m going to protect Hajime-san’s favorite boobs with my life!”

Or rather, Yue and Shea’s fight was growing even more petty, not vicious.

Of course, all the while they were battling at a level mere mortals could barely even comprehend. Yue would fire off thousands of bolts of magic, which Shea would reflect back or destroy outright with a single swing of her hammer. And yet, the pettier the insults became, the less tense the fight got.

“Sorry, but Hajime isn’t interested in big blobs of fat! He’s an ass man! More specifically, he likes my ass!”

“You’re delusional. Hajime-san loves my boobs! He was playing with them all night last time! It’s proof I’m better at you at fighting and sex! Pah!”

They’d devolved into discussing Hajime’s fetishes. Had Hajime been present for this, he probably would have been weeping in the corner with Kaori. Furthermore, Shea seemed to be channeling her inner Miledi. Her taunts were both annoying and on-point, making Yue angrier and angrier.

“I’m the one who taught you everything there is to know about sex. I’m responsible for your growth. I know everything you do! I’ll prove that no disciple of mine can surpass me!”

“Bring it on! Disciples always overcome their masters one day! I’ll beat you both at fighting and fucking right here, right now!”

A veil of pale blue light surrounded Drucken. Shea swung it faster than the speed of sound, crashing the hammer face into Yue’s lightning dragon. It blew apart in a burst of sparks, but then a second one appeared on her flank. It sped forward at tremendous speed, maw wide open.

Yue had chosen the perfect timing to strike. Shea had just finished a huge swing, meaning she inevitably had to show a momentary opening. However, Shea reacted instantly, dropping to the ground even as she was turning a full 180 degrees. The thunder dragon’s jaws closed on empty air, inches above Shea’s bunny ears. Shea then used the recoil from firing Drucken to slide underneath the dragon and used a single finger to flip herself up into the air. She landed feet-first onto the ground and launched herself at Yue.

“I’ll beat you to a pulp!”

“Weak! Just like your love for Hajime!”

Yue blocked Shea’s supersonic hammer smash with a spatial magic barrier. Shockwaves spread out in every direction, pulverizing the surrounding ice. A moment later, Yue dexterously counterattacked. She hit Shea with a space-severing strike that would turn normal humans into mincemeat.

The air creaked as it was ripped apart, and the nearby walls and ceiling disintegrated. However, Shea just—

“Secret technique— Grin and bear it!”

Withstood the attack. With her body. She was, of course, using evolution magic and strengthening magic to raise her endurance to the limit, but even Yue hadn’t expected her spell to do no damage at all. In fact, she’d been hoping the attack would have given Shea a concussion, ending the fight.

“Pathetic, Yue-san! If this is all you’ve got then you can’t stop meeeeeeeeeeee!”

“You damned overpowered rabbit!”

There was a quiver of fear in Yue’s voice. She couldn’t believe how tough Shea was. Panicking slightly, Yue retreated in the face of Shea’s charge. At the same time, she gathered all of her mana.

There was a loud boom, and chunks of ice were blown off the floor and walls. Flames scorched the air, while lightning blasted through the ice. Another explosion pounded at everyone’s eardrums, and ripples of mana spread out across the room. The severity of the damage to the environment showed just how serious these two were. However—

“Yue-san, you umm… jerkface!”

“Shea you… big dummy!”

Their insults were growing even more childish. It seemed they’d run out of good ones. Kaori and her copy watched with empty eyes as Yue and Shea called each other grade-schooler names while having an epic battle the likes of which history had never seen. They were both sitting in a corner of the room, hugging their knees. Even though this was meant to be the room for her trial, Kaori had become just a spectator. She’d been seconds away from completing her trial, but now she was watching Yue and Shea insult each other. Kaori’s despair was understandable.

Her copy slowly got to its feet and said resolutely, “I’m going.”

It looked surprisingly gallant. In fact, it was hard to believe it was composed only of negative emotions. It seemed more like a brave warrior heading off to die. Kaori’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Are you going to try and stop them!? You can’t, you’ll die!”

It was far too reckless to try. The battlefield occupied by the overpowered rabbit and broken vampire was undoubtedly a field of death. The moment anyone stepped between them, they would perish. However, the copy’s resolute expression didn’t change.

“I am a trial of this labyrinth. I cannot allow others to interfere with my, with your trial. This is my pride as an offshoot of the labyrinth.”

I will do this. For my sake, and for yours. Seeing the copy’s smile, Kaori was at a loss for words. She knew full well the copy stood no chance at stopping Yue and Shea’s battle. Something even deeper than friendship was connecting the two, driving them to fight. It was possible they’d just both gone crazy.

But even so, Kaori smiled. She got to her feet and looked her copy in the eyes.

“Come back safe and sound. I’ll be waiting for you!”

“Fufu, guess I’ve got no choice but to come back now.”

Kaori looked like a loyal wife watching her husband go off to war. The scene between the two of them would have been a perfect fit in a movie. If Kaori and her copy weren’t so mentally drained, they probably would have cared more about how absurd this situation was. The copy reluctantly turned away from Kaori, then stared at the field of death, destruction, and petty insults.

“Kaori Shirasaki’s copy, now sortieing!”

“Please stay safe!”

The copy charged forward without hesitation, just like the original would have. But second later—

“Outta my way!”

“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!?”

It was flying through the air. The copy traced a perfect arc through the sky.

“M-My faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaake!”

“Ngh, I-I’m fine! I can still keep going! I’ll stop them, so just watch!”

The copy flipped in midair during the peak of its arc and spread its black wings to steady itself. Its hair and clothes were singed, but its resolve was unscathed. Then, it raised its twin blades and faced the battlefield with the courage of a hero. In fact, it seemed to be enjoying playing the role of the tragic martyr. That made sense, considering it was a copy of Kaori.

The copy glared at Yue and Shea and shouted in a voice loud enough to shake the heavens, “Cut it out, you two! This is our battlefield! Stop disturbing the trial!”

Two simultaneous explosions and a barrage of insults flew between Yue and Shea as they ignored the copy completely. Both of them were focused only on each other. They’d attacked Kaori’s copy on reflex, registering it as nothing more than another obstacle. Annoyed at being ignored twice in a row, the copy snapped.

“Y-You bastards! Fine, I’ll make it so you can’t ignore me!”

Veins bulging in her forehead, Kaori’s copy flapped its wings. Moving faster than the eye could follow, it dropped right in between Yue and Shea. As it landed, it swapped out the grip on its blades. It held its swords in front of it, flat sides facing outward. The copy was planning to knock Shea and Yue out simultaneously with the flat of its blades. Its first target was Shea, who was currently being petrified by Yue’s stone dragon’s breath. Using gravity to accelerate its strike, the copy slashed down at Shea.

“I’ve got you now! Accept your punishment!”

But just before the copy’s blade hit Shea—

“Hmph!”

Shea broke free from the petrification. It seemed she’d used evolution magic and restoration magic to halt the petrification’s progress. After which sheer force of will had been enough for her to shatter the thin layer of stone that had formed over her skin. The copy didn’t even have time to be impressed. As Shea broke free, she grabbed hold of the copy’s blade with just one hand, avoiding getting cut by grabbing the blade between her fingers. Not only that, she’d grabbed it from the side, since Kaori’s copy had intended to strike with the flat of the blade.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me!”

The copy was utterly nonplussed. Meanwhile, Shea was still completely focused on Yue. She yanked the copy’s blade backward, like a pitcher. Then, with perfect form, she threw it right at Yue.

“Take this!”

Her throw was so perfect it could be called art. Naturally, Kaori’s copy was still holding onto the blade.

“Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

She shot toward Yue like a black meteor. Despite her screams though, Yue only had eyes for Shea.

“Swallow it whole, Overcharged Draconic Thunder!”

A lightning dragon many times the size of Yue’s previous ones descended from the sky. It opened its jaws wide, ready to catch Kaori’s copy.

“Eeek!?”

The copy squealed and desperately wrapped itself in its wings, activating its disintegration abilities. Yue’s oversized lightning dragon swallowed it whole. However, a second later, Kaori’s copy shot out of its back. It had used its wings’ disintegration powers to open a hole in the dragon. A second later, Shea dashed through the same hole. She’d charged forward the moment she’d finished throwing Kaori’s copy. It seemed she’d planned to use the copy as a meat shield all along.

On the other hand, Yue blocked the path in front of her by deploying multiple Heavensfalls. She was planning to push Shea back with the power of gravity.

“Hwaaaaaaaaah!?”

As a result, though, the copy was sucked into the gravitational field and slid across the ground toward the floating spheres. One couldn’t help but pity it. Had Shizuku been present, she would probably have gone off on Shea and Yue for hurting her best friend, even knowing it was just a copy of Kaori. And the copy writhed on the floor, struggling to get up against. The moment it finally managed to raise its head—

“Mmmph!?”

Shea jumped on its face, sending it crashing back to the ground again. Without even a backward glance at what she’d stepped on, Shea swung Drucken at Yue. While Yue managed to avoid the impact by falling backward and erecting a barrier, the copy wasn’t so lucky. Shea’s swing hit the ground, and the resulting shockwaves sent the copy flying. Slivers of ice glimmered all around it, as did a few droplets of water. It seemed the copy had begun crying.

The fight built up toward its climax, the combatants unaware of the poor victim they’d tormented. Both Yue and Shea’s clothes were a mess, and while their respective magic had kept both of them unscathed, they were both panting. Their mana was almost gone. It was obvious both of them were nearing their limits. But they were both too stubborn to pull out their magic accessories to replenish their mana.

“Yue-san…”

“Shea…”

Yue summoned her five elemental dragons while Shea readied her ball and chain. Waves of golden mana flooded the room while a tornado of pale blue mana rose up to heavens. The air crackled as their mana collided. Realizing this would be their final clash, both of them exchanged glances. Standing between them was a stumbling Kaori copy, but neither of them paid any attention to it.

“Run away, my fake! Get out of there!”

“Fweh?”

Kaori had her hands cupped around her mouth and was screaming at her copy to flee. But the copy’s reactions dulled. It seemed it still hadn’t fully recovered from that earlier barrage of attacks, meaning it was in no shape to escape from this final clash.

“You don’t understand a damn thing!” Shea shouted.

“You’re so stubborn!” Yue replied.

Yue unleashed all five of her dragons, focusing their destructive energies on a single point. In retaliation, Shea swung with all her might at her metal ball. She sent it flying at maximum power toward the dragon onslaught. The respective pinnacles of magical and physical destructive power clashed in the center of the room. Unbelievably powerful shockwaves rippled outward, destroying everything in their path.

“Ah!?”

The copy barely even had time to scream before it was hit. The shockwaves sent it flying toward Kaori, white smoke trailing behind it. It bounced across the ground a few times, then rolled to a halt at her feet. Smoke was still rising from its body, and it wasn’t moving at all.

Kaori covered her mouth and whispered, “H-How horrible…”

The copy’s face twitched.

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t defeat them.”

It seemed the copy was still alive, though only barely. Kaori swept it up in her arms and hugged it tightly.

“Don’t talk! If you waste too much energy, you’ll die! You’ve worked hard enough! Just rest!”

“You know…”

The two of them were talking to each other as if they were lovers, but they were ostensibly the same person. Of course, the copy was being guided by the labyrinth, but their emotions and personality were fundamentally the same.

Unfortunately, their reunion was cut short by an ominous rumbling above them. The ceiling had been so badly damaged by Yue and Shea’s fight that it was threatening to collapse on top of them. Seeing the cracks directly above it, the copy shouted, “Run! I’ll be fine!”

“No way! I can’t leave you behind!”

Both of them were spouting lines that would fit right in with a soap opera.

Too weak to move, the copy implored Kaori to run away on her own. But Kaori refused to leave her behind. Of course, this all could have been solved had Kaori picked the copy up and taken it with her, but such an aesthetically displeasing solution didn’t occur to either of them.

“I am nothing more than your copy. A shadow. It is my destiny to die here.”

The copy smiled faintly. Kaori hesitated for a moment, then steeled her resolve.

“I guess you’re right. Take this!”

With a cute yell, Kaori thrust her blade into the copy’s chest.

“Wha? Why?”

Kaori looked away awkwardly and replied, “I-I mean, if you died to something that wasn’t me, the labyrinth wouldn’t recognize me as someone who’d cleared it so… my only choice was to kill you before you died.”

Kaori was absolutely correct. But that then begged the question of why she’d bothered to have that dramatic exchange with her copy moments before.

Looking back on it though, all of Kaori’s entreaties could be interpreted as her not wanting her copy to die so that she could be the one to defeat it. Of course, Kaori wouldn’t admit that to her copy now that it was beginning to disappear. The copy, however, guessed everything and its eyes glazed over.

“Fufufu, looks like we’ve grown stronger than I thought. I’m happy you’ve matured this much, but this really isn’t the way I was hoping to go out…”

Looking up, the copy noticed the labyrinth’s self-restoring properties were fixing the ceiling already. That was hardly surprising; the labyrinth had been doing that ever since the party entered. Realizing that even its final sacrifice had been a waste, the copy slumped its head. Tears spilled from its eyes as it vanished into mist.

“Victory has never felt so hollow…”

Had anyone been listening to Kaori, they would likely have retorted “Like you have any right to say that.” The pure Kaori who had first come to Tortus was long gone. She’d been poisoned by Hajime’s philosophy now. Meanwhile, Yue and Shea’s battle had finally drawn to a close.

“Cough…”

“Wheeze…”

Both of them were lying on the ice, panting. They were so drained of mana they couldn’t even stand. Silence filled the space between them as they searched for the right words to say. After a few minutes, the first one to finally speak was Shea.

“Please don’t say such sad things anymore.”

“……”

“If you’re worried something’s coming for you, let’s beat it up together.”

“……”

“It doesn’t matter what we’re up against, it doesn’t matter how bad the odds are, as long as we’re together, we’ll never lose. I’m sure of it.”

Shea was surprisingly eloquent for someone completely out of breath. Yue listened quietly, her breathing slowly steadying.

“You and Hajime-san are the ones who taught me that. So no matter what you say, I’ll never accept your request. Not as long as you’re so scared you’ve given up on your own future, Yue-san.”

It was precisely because Shea could see the future that she would never allow Yue to act so defeatist. Especially since Yue was the one who stood by the side of the one man who never gave up no matter what destiny threw at him.

“Don’t entrust your future to me! Let me help you! Instead of asking me to take care of Hajime-san, ask me to fight together with you!”

Those who fought along Hajime had no need for weak-willed sentiments like self-sacrifice. If whatever was after Yue was powerful enough to destroy everyone’s future, they’d still fight it together. After all, they’d resolved to share their fates. And Yue should have known that best of all.

“I’ll never agree to your shitty request, no matter what. How could I?”

“Shea…”

Tears spilled from Shea’s eyes as her sadness finally overwhelmed her anger. She’d hoped to beat Yue in a fight, and thus prove she was strong enough to protect her. That way, Yue would have stopped acting so weak. That was what Shea had thought. But in the end, her master had proven too tough to defeat.

Shea had failed to win, and she was just as frustrated at her own weakness as she was at Yue. The thought that Yue might die because she wasn’t strong enough was unbearable. At the same time though, she couldn’t stand how defeatist Yue was being. She’d kept her emotions somewhat in check during the fight, but now they were spilling over.

As Shea bawled her eyes out, Yue gingerly lifted her head off the ground and stared at her best friend. Though Yue had expended every last drop of mana and was utterly exhausted, her mind felt as cool and clear as a sunny winter morning. The haze of unease that had wrapped itself around her had vanished.

“The future is something we always have the power to change.” That had been one of the first things Shea had said to Yue and Hajime. Furthermore—

“We’ll beat down anyone who stands against us and bust our way out of this shitty world.” She’d made that promise with Hajime.

Yeah, you’re right. Yue sighed to herself. She wanted to just crawl in a hole and hide. She couldn’t believe she’d shown such a pathetic side of herself to Shea.

Resolve, huh…? Shea was right. Yue had resolved to fight back when she’d escaped the abyss. What meaning was there in resolving to do anything else? Yue wanted to slap herself, but Shea had already done a good job of that.

Right now, what she needed to do was something else. She replenished her mana using one of her accessories and struggled to her knees. She then crawled over to Shea. Putting Shea’s head on her lap, she gently wiped away her tears and snot.

“Shea, I’m sorry.”

“Yue-san?”

Shea looked blankly up at Yue.

“You’re right. It doesn’t matter what happened in the past, or who I really am. I want to be together with you and Hajime. And if something stands in the way of that, we’ll blast it to pieces. Isn’t that right?”

“Y-Yeah, that’s right.”

“Mmm… Even if something does happen to me, I’m sure you and Hajime will save me. So there’s nothing to worry about.”

“Isn’t that obvious? Waaaaaaaaah.”

“Mmm… I’m sorry for asking such a horrible thing from you. Can you forgive me?”

“Of course! But don’t you ever ask for something like that again! Promise me!”

“Mmm… I promise.”

Shea dragged herself up into a sitting position and hugged Yue. Savoring the warmth of her best friend’s embrace, Yue hugged her back. The two of them stayed like that for a few minutes. It felt as though the air in the room had gotten warmer. This was the first time in both of their lives that they’d fought with a friend. Fortunately, their fight had only served to strengthen their bonds. As the saying went, what hadn’t killed them only made them stronger.

However, they had completely forgotten about the one casualty of their fight. Kaori approached the pair, her footsteps breaking the silence. In a low growl, she said, “Good for you. I have no idea what you two were fighting about, but it looks like you worked it out.”

“Hm?”

Still hugging each other, Yue and Shea turned blankly to Kaori. She was smiling, but that smile didn’t reach her eyes.

“Fufufu, you look confused. I guess you didn’t even realize I was here. That’s fine, I don’t mind. Not at all. You were busy fighting each other, right? You didn’t even notice you beat up my copy while I was in the middle of my trial. That’s fine, I guess I’m just easy to ignore! Fufufufufu!”

Yue and Shea exchanged glances. Then suddenly, they remembered. Come to think of it, didn’t I throw something in the middle of that fight? And then blow it up with my hammer?

Shea and Yue broke out in a cold sweat. They glanced back at Kaori, then quickly averted their gazes. Guilt colored their expressions. With all the caution of a bomb disposal expert, Shea said, “Ah, umm, Kaori-san? D-Don’t you think you should calm down a little?”

“Ahahaha, that’s a good one, Shea. I’m as calm as calm can be.”

Shea shrunk back and passed the baton on to Yue.

“K-Kaori… Umm, did you manage to clear your trial?”

“Hmmm? Oh, I beat my fake alright. Killed it with my own two hands.”

Yue and Shea breathed sighs of relief. They would have felt horrible if they’d accidentally destroyed Kaori’s trial for her. However, Kaori’s next words wiped away any sense of security they had.

“Yep, I killed it… after you two had beaten it to a pulp.”

“……”

“That still counts as a clear, right? The labyrinth won’t say it doesn’t count because you two beat it up first, right? What do you think?”

Yue and Shea once again broke out in a cold sweat. Kaori crouched down next to them, her grinning face inches from theirs. Neither of them could look her in the eye. Despite her docile posture, there was a deep darkness in Kaori’s eyes. Frankly, she was terrifying.

Unable to withstand the silent pressure coming off from Kaori, and wanting to protect her friend, Yue pointedly turned away from Kaori and said in a purposely provocative tone, “Then you should have just healed your copy and started over.”

Kaori’s smile grew deeper and even more terrifying. She’d truly lost it now.

“What did you just say, Yue?”

“It’s not my fault. You’re the one who killed it instead of healing it.”

Panicking, Shea hurriedly said, “Y-Yue-san, that’s going a bit overboard! We’re the ones in the wrong here! Hurry up and apologize!”

Much to Shea’s chagrin though, Yue just harrumphed and doubled down. Timidly, Shea looked over at Kaori. Seeing her expression, Shea hurriedly tried to apologize.

“U-Umm, Kaori-san! I’m really—”

Before she could, though, Kaori got to her feet. The only thing she was paying attention to was Yue.

“Fufu. That’s a funny joke, Yue. You barged into my room, messed up my fight, and that’s what you have to say? How about we deepen our friendship too, huh Yue?”

Kaori drew her twin blades, a murderous glint in her eyes.

Still avoiding Kaori’s gaze, Yue said, “F-Fine, bring it, you bitch!”

She dropped into some strange karate stance. Yue’s stubbornness increased tenfold whenever it came to Kaori. Likewise, Kaori had no qualms about going all out when it came to Yue.

“Fufufufu. You’re on, bitch!”

And so, round two of the best friend fights began. The room had just finished repairing itself, but it was once again ruthlessly destroyed.

“Y-Yue-san! Kaori-san! I know I’m not one to talk, but you really shouldn’t be fighting! Calm down!”

This time, it was Shea’s turn to act as mediator. No one even noticed that part of the wall had crumbled away, revealing the path forward.

Diamond. diamond. diamond.