Chapter 50: Shinozaki Nagisa Wants to Reach Out

The hand I held with Sora-san was burning hot.

Part of the burden from her using Abaddon’s power was flowing into me as well. It was heavy.

"Are you okay, Nagisa-kun?"

Sora-san’s blue eyes peered into mine with concern.

For some reason, my heart skipped a beat. Maybe it was because of the situation.

"I’m fine, Sora-san."

I squeezed her hand tighter. Sora-san blushed shyly and nodded.

"That’s good, then."

We’d been holding hands this whole time, yet she still wasn’t used to it. ...Honestly, I felt like I was starting to think weird things, so I needed to calm down a little.

"You two really don’t have time to flirt right now."

"...We’re not flirting!"

"You’ve gotten pretty good at reacting like a proper girl."

"That’s Nagisa-kun’s fault."

"Huh? Me?"

"Try not to overdo it."

Shiishiba-san let out an exasperated sigh.

It looked like she’d been waiting for the right moment to use the power of the Returned-from-the-Abyss.

Among our group, Shiishiba-san had the highest firepower, so she was probably being careful about when to unleash it.

"――!!"

A beast-like roar echoed through the air. The deafening sound made me stop in my tracks.

It came from the giant hybrid-type near Nishizono-san. The creature lumbered forward on its massive legs.

The Connect Link between us was still active.

If we were still connected... maybe I could do something by reaching even deeper?

I strengthened the sensation of our connection and dove further into it.

Memories nearly flooded into me. Pain throbbed through my head.

"Don’t come."

――I heard Nishizono-san’s voice.

"I’ll handle everything myself, so you just focus on Sora-chan."

Her voice was firm, almost as if she were rejecting me outright.

"Oh right, what do you think about calling this form the Beast of Ruin Megatherion?"

Her voice trembled as she forced out a laugh.

"If you like it, maybe tell Sora-chan for me?"

Snap.

The Connect Link was severed.

"...Nagisa-kun? Nagisa-kun?"

"A-Ah... sorry."

When I opened my eyes again, Sora-san’s face was right in front of me.

"What did you do?"

"The Connect Link was still there, so I thought maybe I could do something... but she cut it off."

"Hm. That all?"

"...Yeah."

"Well, whatever. Let’s keep after her."

For now, we had to catch up to Nishizono-san.

After that... I had no idea how we were supposed to stop her.

"The Beast of Ruin Megatherion, huh..."

"What’s that?"

"Nishizono-san said that’s what she wanted to call that form."

"...She’s naming something that didn’t even exist in the original story."

Sora-san puffed out her cheeks while staring toward Nishizono-san.

A sickening chill crawled down my spine.

Another Cerberus-like hybrid-type appeared.

In response, a beastly face bulged grotesquely out from Nishizono-san’s gigantic body — now transformed into the Beast of Ruin Megatherion — and launched forward like a cannonball.

The enormous beast head bit into the hybrid-type’s torso and crushed it apart.

"Ahh, this is such a mess."

"Hmm... doesn’t she seriously have power on the same level as that enemy?"

Shiishiba-san and Sora-san watched with visible unease.

Honestly, the power really was overwhelming. Every enemy that appeared was instantly trampled.

...But even Sora-san, while transformed into Abaddon, was struggling just to keep using her power. At this rate, Nishizono-san wouldn’t come out of this in any decent condition.

"Nagisa-kun, you’re going to reach out your hand to Mahiro too, aren’t you?"

Sora-san turned toward me as though she’d seen straight through my thoughts.

"Yeah."

"Back then, you said it, didn’t you? That you wanted someone to save you."

She was probably referring to what I’d said when I reached out to her.

About wanting her to live because I wanted her to save all of us.

"I’ll handle things for a little bit."

She let out a small laugh, then took Shiishiba-san’s hand with her free hand while still holding mine.

"Huh? Wait, what are you—"

"We’re flying!"

""Flying?""

The moment our voices overlapped, my heartbeat thundered.

Was Sora-san trying to use her power at full strength?

"《Saint Arts》――"Angel""

Wings of light burst from Sora-san’s back.

Gently, we floated into the air.

"Here we go!"

At Sora-san’s shout, we soared through the sky.

Nishizono-san, now fully transformed into a beast, had finally reached the central hybrid-type.

The two gigantic shadows collided head-on.

The enormous faces attached to their bodies bit into each other’s torsos while their claws tore at one another.

Both of them were grotesque monsters — four-legged beasts covered in countless faces and limbs. No matter how much they clawed and bit each other apart, it was impossible to tell whether either of them was even taking damage.

"――"

"――"

Their roars thundered against one another.

Again and again, they slammed into each other. Nearby Deep Calamities were caught in the crossfire and smashed apart.

"That thing’s completely insane..."

Dangling from Sora-san as she carried her, Shiishiba-san grimaced.

We were almost at the center of the clash.

"So what’s the plan here? If we jump into that mess, we’re getting turned into minced meat."

"Yeah, so I’ll stop the clash for just a tiny bit, then Hohana will charge the enemy side, and Nagisa-kun will somehow deal with Mahiro! How’s that sound?"

Sora-san grinned proudly, making me let out a wry smile.

"Even if you say ‘somehow,’ I’m not sure what I can do..."

"Well, I do trust you, Nagisa-kun... but that’s not really it. I trust Mahiro. If she knows you’re there, I don’t think she’ll do anything to hurt you."

I couldn’t say I truly understood what kind of person Nishizono-san was.

――I’ll handle everything myself, so you just focus on Sora-chan.

I remembered her words.

Nishizono-san was probably a kind person. Even in that state, she still retained her sense of self.

It felt wrong, almost like I was taking advantage of that kindness.

But I couldn’t just leave a girl alone when she was pushing herself this hard.

"Okay. I’ll try to do something."

"Are you serious? You’ll die."

"...I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen."

"Hah... fine then. So I’m supposed to take down that giant thing?"

"No, you don’t have to kill it. Just hit it really hard."

"You ask for the impossible... Fine. I’ll put in a little effort. I was basically told to defeat that thing from the start anyway. Though I doubt one hit will kill it."

As if steeling herself, Shiishiba-san closed her eyes, then snapped them open sharply.

"Alright, we’re almost there, so here we go. 《Saint Arts》――"Wrath of God""

Light rained down from the heavens between the two clashing giants.

Nishizono-san didn’t seem to take much damage, but the giant Deep Calamity was slightly torn apart.

And both of them stopped moving.

"Do your best."

"Leave it to me. 《Slash Territory》――Switch: Single-Point Focus."

Shiishiba-san gripped her katana as she dropped through the air. The blade glowed, and as the wind tore away her hair tie, her freed brown hair turned golden.

Then—

A single flash.

One of the giant creature’s legs was severed clean off.

"I’ll play with you for a bit, big guy."

Maybe the momentum of her attack had slowed her descent, because Shiishiba-san landed lightly on the ground and flashed a fearless grin at the giant hybrid-type Deep Calamity.

Held in Sora-san’s arms, I stared directly at Nishizono-san, who had finally stopped moving.