Chapter 15: A Small Epilogue and a Prologue No One Knows

The shapeless god extermination operation, which had begun with Raika going berserk, somehow ended in success without a single casualty.

Everyone else in Fox Platoon had also managed to return from that world that looked like a painting.

When I told Raika, who was lying in a hospital bed, about it, she narrowed her eyes with emotion and simply murmured, "I see. That's good."

Mana, who had used Fantasy Liberation to fight the angels, ultimately returned almost completely unharmed. However, the price of wielding such immense power was that she was unable to move properly for a while, so Victoria carried her back.

She spent some time sleeping and recovering her strength, but today, three days after the battle, she was already moving around as if nothing had happened.

It seemed Victoria and Hibari had fought as a pair, kicking the angels around.

It was thanks to them that the enemy never got in our way while we were fighting the shapeless god.

When I thanked them for that, Hibari and Victoria both gave me delighted smiles.

Hazuki kept crossing blades with the shapeless god in a terrifyingly fierce manner, yet she survived with only minor injuries.

Hazuki had already been one of the top-tier Bluffers when it came to close-quarters combat, but that day, her movements had been even sharper than usual.

She seemed to have broken through some kind of barrier during that battle.

Maybe the fight had given her confidence.

From interacting with Hazuki, I'd sensed a dangerous vulnerability born from how excessively uncompromising she was.

Perhaps she had been dissatisfied with always being the one who had to be saved by Raika.

But she had saved Raika.

She had rescued Raika when she was in a hopeless situation, then put up a spectacular fight against the enemy.

"Once Raika's fully recovered, I'm gonna punch her once. A liar who tries to sacrifice herself without asking anyone has to have her rotten attitude straightened out."

The way she went on about it, she was bursting with energy.

The one who had taken the most damage was Raika.

The massive wound to her abdomen had damaged her internal organs.

On top of that, she'd overused her power and become far too heavily inclined toward Fantasy.

Apparently, she'd been just one step away from Ascension Flyout.

However, by using the power of my Anchor, I could treat both her physical injuries and her mental inclination.

And so, we ended up with the strange sight of Raika lying grumpily in bed while I had one hand placed on her stomach.

Still, there was little strength in Raika's eyes. Maybe she was simply exhausted.

"—Hey."

Raika looked at me and called out in a sharp voice.

I stared into her eyes.

Something was different.

Her expression was more severe than usual. Her brows were furrowed.

As if she were trying to convey something, her right hand trembled ever so slightly.

"I'm going out for a smoke. Let go."

"Of course not! What kind of patient tries to smoke a cigarette!?"

When I gave her the most obvious refusal in the world, Raika glared at me with the face of a wild beast.

"You bastard... How much time do you think it's been since I last smoked...!?"

"Can't be helped. You're supposed to be on complete bed rest."

Besides, it's only been a day.

Her bloodshot eyes were those of a heavy smoker on the third day of quitting.

...I called them bloodshot, but in reality, Raika's eyes were still slightly red. It wasn't quite like ordinary bloodshot eyes. The color was unnatural.

I'd wondered about it ever since I found her in that place, but I hadn't had a chance to ask until now.

Perhaps sensing my gaze, Raika gently touched her own eye.

"Ah, this? When a Bluffer is about to Ascension Flyout, their eyes turn red like this. You should remember that, too."

"Oh... I see."

I fell silent, unsure what to say to such a matter-of-fact explanation.

The glimpse I'd had of her past came back to me. A Bluffer with eyes bright red, and Raika pointing a handgun at her.

Since I didn't know the details, I had no idea how I should approach the subject.

But apparently, there was no need for me to worry about it.

"If she reaches the state of the Bluffer I killed, it's already too late. If she can kill herself right away, that's still one thing, but sometimes they attack the Bluffers around them. The odds of them returning to their senses are almost zero."

"...Who was that?"

"I think she was a Bluffer from my previous platoon. Not that I can remember her name. Some of my memories are missing."

"Your memories...?"

"Yeah. I was right on the verge of Flyout myself back then. I barely managed to come back, but I was barely conscious, and my memories were hazy, too."

She spoke calmly. By now, I could clearly tell that all kinds of emotions were swirling beneath those words.

"Then what about that... bank? person?"

"That had absolutely nothing to do with a Bluffer."

She said it decisively and looked out the window.

"It was simply a suicide in an ordinary world where there was no room for anything as fantastical as fantasy."

She remained silent for a while before raising her head and looking me in the eyes.

"Anything else you want to ask? I might be willing to tell you the truth about some things, for once."

That was quite an unusual thing for her to say.

Her clear eyes were looking straight at me. Perhaps some of the malice that had clung to them had finally faded.

If it was the Raika standing before me now, maybe she really would tell me without lying.

"Then how old are you?"

"I don't know. I might be in my thirties, or I might be a teenager."

"I thought you said you'd be honest..."

I let out a sigh, immediately disappointed.

Raika awkwardly turned her face away.

"Can't be helped. It's complicated. Things like the definition of personal identity, the age of the mind versus the body, fictional worlds versus the real world... All kinds of things."

"Can you really worry that much about your age?"

Since she'd had experience as a working adult, I'd assumed she was simply around thirty.

"What makes me me? Is the me inside memories that shouldn't exist actually me? What about the me from the time when I had no memories? If the me that's a lie isn't really me, then what is the real me? And if I happened to be part of a story that repeats over and over, what loop am I even on? ...Those are the kinds of questions I'm talking about."

"...That's a little beyond me."

"Well, I'm talking about it without really understanding it myself. That's why I call myself someone in their late twenties or early thirties, and I also call myself fourteen. Just accept it for now."

"I don't really get it, but don't you think you're overthinking things, Raika?"

I gave her my honest opinion.

Thinking about things like that was probably why she'd gone berserk in such a strange way and made everyone worry about her.

She should just accept other people's goodwill instead of being so needlessly difficult.

When I told her as much, she gave me a wry smile and simply answered, "Yeah."

"Oh, right. I forgot to give you something, Raika."

I collected myself and said one more thing.

I rummaged around in my bag for a while before finally pulling it out.

I handed her the item, wrapped in a small package.

"...?"

She opened it with a puzzled expression.

"...A comb?"

"Yep. You helped me pick out presents for everyone before, and it felt unfair not to get something for you, too."

"I don't really care."

I did, though. I didn't want to be the only one receiving things.

"So, why a comb?"

"Because your hair is really pretty, but it gets pretty messy surprisingly often."

"How rude. If you say something like that to a lady, you're liable to get your cheek slapped."

"You wouldn't care, Raika. And it's true."

As if you're exactly the type to call yourself a lady at this point.

"I can't become as smart as you, Raika, but I can at least worry about your everyday life."

"That way of putting it pisses me off, but... well, it's a gift, after all. I'll take it. Personally, I'd have preferred some whiskey or a lighter."

"You're really hopelessly unladylike..."

Do you really have to complain before you can accept someone's kindness?

"That's right, Raika. Return the favor for the gift."

"...What?"

Don't expect something in return for a gift. She probably intended to say something along those lines, but after thinking for a moment, she ultimately decided to simply listen to what I had to say.

"Will you tell me your real name?"

"..."

"Come to think of it, you never really tell me anything about yourself. I don't know what's a lie and what's the truth, so I figured I'd at least like to know something as simple as that."

"...Do you even understand what you're asking?"

What did she mean by that?

Seeing my attitude, Raika let out a deep sigh.

Then she straightened her posture and looked at me.

"Well, it's not like I'll lose anything by telling you. Fine. Raika. That's the name my parents gave me in this lifetime. Remember it well, Nakatsuka Shota. I'm never saying it again."

I was a little surprised, then honestly told her what I thought.

"It's a nice name."

〈TIPS〉 The eyes of a Bluffer who has undergone Ascension Flyout become stained red. If both eyes become completely red, the probability of returning to sanity is virtually zero.

The appearance of a massive "Fictional Erosion" and the emergence of a bright blue sky were recorded in history as "The Day We Defied the Last Judgment."

The "Fictional Erosion," possessing unprecedented endurance and overwhelming destructive power unlike anything ever observed, and the amorphous god were defeated through the efforts of Fox Platoon, led by Raika.

The crisis had passed, and Fantasy High School was believed to have entered a brief period of respite—

Or so everyone thought.

The Son of God was resurrected on the third day after his execution.

This tradition, repeated consistently throughout numerous texts, was no exception in the case of "Fictional Erosion."

In the very heart of the ruined city, a cross towered into the sky.

The place where the amorphous god had been defeated.

A crucifixion platform that had not existed just one day ago now stood there, towering as though it had been there from the very beginning.

—And beside it stood the amorphous god, which should have been erased from existence.

Its body still crackling with static-like noise, it maintained a humanoid form. There were no missing parts; it was in perfect condition.

The wounds inflicted by Usobuki Raika and the damage dealt by Tatewaki Hazuki had all been completely restored.

For the Bluffers who had defeated it with their lives on the line, it was a sight straight out of a nightmare.

In the story observed by Usobuki Raika, the amorphous god had certainly been destroyed.

After being weakened through the process of reproducing the atonement of Original Sin by Kanon the Savior, the amorphous god had lost its attribute as the Son of God.

As a result, the legend of resurrection did not apply to it, and it simply disappeared.

But in this world—

In this world where the girls' wishes had been granted while their dreams were protected, without a single sacrifice—

the amorphous god had been able to resurrect.

"I must carry out the Judgment. Once again, I must prepare the stage for judgment."

The amorphous god released its power. There were many things it needed to do, such as manifesting the angels and spreading the blue sky across the world.

For the great cause of judging humanity, the god that had emerged from fiction blindly carried out its mission.

—But there was another who sought to become a god.

"Shinbutsu Shugo. Gods are simply manifestations of Buddhas in another form. —Salvation is my responsibility. Would you please refrain from imposing your so-called judgment on everyone?"

A girl stood beside the amorphous god.

She wore the uniform of Fantasy High School, and her eyes glowed brilliantly red.

The resurrected amorphous god mechanically attempted to eliminate the Bluffer.

It drew back its fist and swung it toward her delicate body.

However, when the girl murmured something, a gigantic statue of Kannon appeared behind her, towering taller than a human being. It was a Buddhist statue possessing a solemn, almost living presence.

The Kannon statue raised its right hand.

A divine light radiated from it, directed toward the amorphous god.

Bathed in the light of the Buddhist statue, the amorphous god slowly began to be absorbed behind the girl, like dust being sucked into a vacuum cleaner.

"Ah... AAAAAAAAA! Why? Why, why, why?! There is no existence more sacred than a god! A god cannot possibly be absorbed by a mere human!"

"No. This body has already become a Buddha. According to the theory of honji suijaku, it is only natural that I can merge with you."

It was normally impossible for a Bluffer to absorb "Fictional Erosion."

Another person's Fantasy, another person's fiction, was poison.

For a Bluffer who maintained their sense of self by balancing Fantasy and reality within themselves, it was simply too much to endure.

But what if the Bluffer had already become detached from reality?

What if there were a madwoman who had undergone Ascension Flyout, lost the ability to maintain a human mind, and yet could still preserve a human form while pretending to be an ordinary person?

"I... must carry out the Judgment... Punish Original Sin..."

"Please, rest assured. I will save the world in your place. With this power, I shall liberate everyone in this mortal world from their suffering."

One of the one-percent of survivors who had overcome madness.

A person possessing a mind far beyond the ordinary.

"In the name of Guze Kannon, I shall paint over this world with a happy fiction."

Her name was Guze Kanon.

Having departed from the story and failed to become a noble sacrifice, she was now on the verge of becoming a calamity.