“[Magecraft Funeral (Delete)]!!”
I caught the no-time-to-think strike with my right arm alone.
“Gh…… uu……!”
If I can’t stop this, everyone below dies.
Not just Karen and the others — all Veret-territory residents become charcoal.
Where my hand touches vanishes. But that’s tiny; mass crushing me……! Trying to swallow me!
“Painful, hurting, terrifying!? Pour more mana or you can’t erase my [Lightning Vortex]!”
“Gaaa…… aaaa……!”
Endure, endure, endure! Enduring’s my specialty!
Wring out every drop of mana! No room for next-move thinking!
If I don’t survive this — no future……!
I thrust out my left arm too.
“[Magecraft Funeral]——!”
“Ouga! Don’t overdo it!”
Can’t say that now.
Where else would I overdo if not now.
Two-handed handling shrank the vortex.
A bit more! Just a little! Even if I empty — at least this——
“——Ah.”
My body tilted. Vision blurred.
Something inside snapped.
Fuel out; my body unresponsive, fell into the lightning shock.
“Aaaaaaaaa!!”
Divine judgment ran through my body.
Heat from inside; blood boiling.
As if blood spurted from every orifice.
Vision flickered alternating; reality unclear.
Consciousness barely there — pain past pain — kill me preferred — hell.
“Ah…… re?”
No sensation under my feet.
Not floating in dream — fell from Gauss?
”~~! ~~!”
Gauss yells something, can’t hear.
My head plays back days, capacity overflowed.
…… So this is a life-flash.
Childhood researching magic. Boyhood not giving up despite mockery.
Then Lichberg fun days.
First contact with Mashiro from rescuing her from Ruark.
After punching Prince Arnia, the engagement to Karen, fainting nostalgic.
Council-joining commotion. Teaming with Reina for the tournament; fierce fight to obtain her.
Alice’s brainwashing — stronger bond after.
Yueli’s trial-and-error, building me an arm.
Dates with everyone fun. To think those’d be first-and-last.
Wedding dresses beautiful. Wished to stand beside them in dresses.
Then — the bracelet packed with prayers——
“Packed with our love! Pray you return safe…… cherish it!”
—— Received…… right. I received it.
”…… Die……like hell I will……”
“My soul is with you always. Don’t lose to her.”
“Go, kid! You’ll be world-saving hero!”
Courage.
“Ouga-kun! Leave it to us! Smiling wedding together!”
“No issue! Lord Ouga, save Miss Liche first! I believe you’ll succeed!”
Trust.
All given to me.
So…… I can’t die here——
“——Ouga-kun.”
A voice loving I’d long heard — shook my soul.
A warm, soft, small hand in mine.
Even blind, I’d know whose.
”…… Mashiro?”
She held my left hand.
“Sorry, Ouga! That last shock woke me!”
She leaned out, desperate to pull me up.
I couldn’t process events.
“Maiden! Pull Ouga up fast! Next attack incoming!”
”! Mashiro! Let go! At this rate, you too——”
“NO!”
She gripped harder, declaring her will.
Weak Mashiro takes time pulling me; both fall — both die.
Then at least Mashiro……!
”——!?”
I yanked my hand free.
”…… Back then…… you saved me, Ouga, that’s why I’m here now……!”
—— But my body didn’t fall.
Linked through Mashiro’s hand.
The bracelet she grasped — still connecting us.
“So now it’s my turn to save you!”
“Mashiro……”
“Aaaaaaaa!”
With an instinctive shout, Mashiro pulled me onto Gauss’s back.
Without recovering breath, she hugged me.
“Ehehe…… packed densely, right? Our love.”
”…… Yeah.”
Her warmth all over me — proof I still can fight.
“Wretched survivor…… would have been easier to die there.”
I’d savor Mashiro’s presence longer.
But time waits for no one. Cruel, equal.
Floné wouldn’t miss this gap.
“Now die! **[Lightning——”
“[Thunder]!”
A beam pierced the descending divine spell.
The interrupted spell scattered; divine wrath quieted.
Our eyes dropped to the ground.
Alice had Floné’s subordinates bound; Reina pointed at Floné.
“My life (future) — I won’t let anyone steal it!”
“Cheeky doll……!”
…… Thanks, Reina.
Because of you, we can still fight.
Mashiro healed me; I stood with her support.
”…… Your judgment of people, Floné, is poor. Reina is earnest, kind, cute-smile, wonderful.”
“Silence! Brash from one survival! The situation hasn’t changed!”
“Mask falling off? Loud — composure gone. I’m still ahead.”
“Brazen…… but the situation hasn’t changed! What now? Trick exposed! Praying to gods, miracles don’t repeat!”
Realizing [Magecraft Funeral]‘s logic, Floné readied an even greater spell.
The sky swallowed light, dyed pitch-black.
Opposite of before — denser mana.
That she can prepare this quickly — Floné’s terror and strength.
What now.
Only confronting. But my mana drained from the extreme [Magecraft Funeral].
[Mana circuits] intact; if I had mana, I could manage.
Think — any plan……
“Kid! The scale!”
”! Gauss!”
“Yeah! Eat my scale! You can absorb it!”
Thumbs-up to Yueli for shouting; I shaved off Gauss’s scale with my crested dagger, swallowed.
Fireworks inside; mana filled me.
This is dragon mana……!
Recovered to pre-[Vortex] state.
“Now I can do it……!”
I stood before Mashiro to protect her.
Floné too near her limit.
No matter her unimaginable mana, area-destroying spells aren’t infinite.
Truly the deciding moment.
“Dark spirits! Change the world! Change fate! Return malice, hatred, and order from anger to nothing; grant the right to restart from zero!”
A full chant; Floné’s strongest.
“Suffer in darkness, depart to the next world! [The World Is Mine]!!”
What she released — pure darkness.
A formless phenomenon.
If swallowed, soul-and-all annihilated — bottomless abyss.
“Fine…… let’s see whose hope is stronger!”
Second clash with [Magecraft Funeral].
Air shook, ground trembled.
A world-split roar.
“With Mashiro’s body…… next life I build a new world! A war-eternal wonderful world!”
“A human becoming god is the height of arrogance! Trash like you shouldn’t be born twice……!”
“It’s what God wanted! To preserve excellent me, He gave power! Hence dark-element aptitude!”
Mana pressure climbed another level — two.
100 not enough — 1000! 1000 not — 10,000……!
Concentrate every drop of mana in me!
“I…… won’t give up! Promised I’d win…… with everyone!”
“Will doesn’t decide victory! Always one strong winner laughs last!”
The world-destroying darkness pierced through [Magecraft Funeral], reached out at me.
…… [Magecraft Funeral] can’t fully cancel!?
A sensation of my head being toyed with.
Strange memories flashed.
“Stop…… stop……!”
Mashiro consumed by Floné.
Karen broken by Arnia.
Reina fully drained of emotion.
Alice slaying innocents.
Yueli standing at a ruined workshop.
Futures I’d avoided.
Really? Is this real? Are these truths?
Aaah, no……! Mind, heart creaking. Cracking.
I…… what am I——
“It’s all right, Ouga. ……You aren’t alone.”
In the darkness, a warm light pierced.