Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? - Volume 19 - Chapter 7

The One Without a Future

Sunday, September 19th

Thanks to Nana destroying Elexis’s jamming device, the battle against Darkness Rainbow was practically even. However, because of that, if anyone one person were to fall, it would tip the scale and the entire balance of things would be disrupted. Both sides were now battered and fatigued, so it was only a matter of time before someone actually succumbed.

The first crack in the ice was the battle between Shizuka and Crimson. They were both high-powered attackers, and were using up more stamina and taking more damage than anyone else.

“Shizuka, we’re almost out of mana! We have to finish this!”

“I guess we don’t have a choice! Uncle, we’ll settle this with the next move!”

Normally, Shizuka probably wouldn’t lose against Crimson. A large-scale weapon would be required to defeat Shizuka when she was wielding the Fire Dragon Emperor’s full power. However, knowing that, Elexis had performed some emergency repairs on the jamming device to try and cripple as much of Alunaya’s power as possible. As a result, Shizuka and Crimson had been on relatively equal footing. At least until this point. Shizuka’s stamina and Alunaya’s mana were running dry; they needed to end things quickly.

“So she’s going for the finish... Well, of course she would. Just look at me.”

Seeing the fire in Shizuka’s eyes and knowing that their next clash would be their last, Crimson grinned. She was in a similar straits, and would be out of mana after a few more spells. Normally it wasn’t appropriate to smile in a situation where victory and defeat were uncertain, but this was just the kind of close fight that Crimson lived for. She couldn’t help but enjoy every moment of it. And of course, if Shizuka was going to settle things with her next attack, she’d meet her head on.

“It’s on, Crimson!”

“Just the way I like it, Shizuka!”

They advanced on each other at the same time. They were both aiming to close in and unleash a powerful attack to defeat their opponent. However, since both of them knew what the other was planning, charging in without a plan was foolish. As such, they both fired off a few attacks to limit their opponent’s movements as they approached one another.

“Haaaaah!”

Shizuka swung the dragon claws on her right hand and rent the air, forming vacuum blades that flew straight for Crimson.

“Explosion!”

In response, Crimson used her explosion spell. The explosion and blades of vacuum clashed between the two girls and created an even bigger explosion.

The shockwave from Crimson’s spell assaulted Shizuka. However, Shizuka’s vacuum blades had cut through the shockwave, greatly weakening it. And with only weak flames lingering from the explosion, both girls dashed right through them without hesitation.

“This is it! Raaaaah!”

Shizuka opened her mouth wide amidst flames. As she did, a surging heat began overflowing from within. This was the strongest attack Shizuka could use in her current state, Alunaya’s breath weapon. It generated flames so hot that they condensed into plasma.

“Inferno Fireeeee!”

Crimson’s answer was a familiar incantation. Of all the powerful spells that red magic specialist Crimson could use, this was her strongest. It was a simple spell that unleashed vast amounts of mana in an instant and converted it all into heat energy. The name was thusly quite fitting.

When the flames from the explosion finally cleared, the two girls were just a few meters away from one another, each about to unleash their most powerful attacks. It put them both in a situation where they would have to fire or be destroyed by their opponent.

Their final attacks clashed, resulting in a huge, terrific explosion. Though the attacks had mostly offset each other, the fallout was enough to blow out a portion of Sariachal Castle’s solid walls and shake the entire building to its foundation. If they hadn’t forcibly negated some of each other’s attacks, it likely would have destroyed the whole castle.

At ground zero of the explosion, both girls were swept away by the shockwave. When the smoke and flames cleared, they were both lying on the ground unmoving. It was a fierce double knockout.

Ruth and Blue weren’t fighting all that far from Shizuka and Crimson, and were both hit by the shockwave. Ruth was closer, however, and took more damage from it.

“Alert. First hip motor damaged. Left shoulder shock absorber has encountered an operating error―”

“L-Leave the reporting for later! Make sure that I can move right away!”

“As you wish, my lady.”

The effect on Ruth herself was negligible. She was shaken and her ears were ringing, but that was the extent of it. However, the damage to her armor was quite considerable. She was wearing a powered suit of armor like Koutarou’s. It was made for high defense and mobility, but several internal devices were damaged by the shockwave and stopped working, leaving Ruth frozen. The armor was too heavy for her to move with just her own strength.

“...I’ve won!”

Compared to Ruth, Blue—who had been a bit further away from the explosion—hadn’t taken as much damage. She wasn’t completely unharmed, but she and her familiars could all still move. Because of that, the rarely emotive Blue had a very clear smile on her face. In their battle of attrition, the moment of victory was upon her.

“You guys get the fighters!”

Blue had her four familiars stall the small fighters while she targeted Ruth.

“Titan Fist!”

Blue used her specialty summoning magic to attack Ruth as she tried to stand. Summoning magic wasn’t only for summoning creatures. This time Blue used it to summon a massive rock... right over top of Ruth. She was going to let gravity do the rest.

“Oh no! I need an emergency deployment of the distortion field!”

“Alert. The generator has not yet recovered. The distortion field’s strength will be less than 30 percent of its usual level.”

“It’s still better than getting hit directly!”

“As you wish, my lady. Deploying distortion field.”

Moments after Ruth heard Blue’s incantation, the massive rock crashed into her barrier. It was a simple move that was essentially just trying to crush her opponent, but the force behind the falling boulder was tremendous. It wasn’t something a weakened barrier could hope to block. The second the massive rock hit it, it collapsed completely as if under a titan’s fist.

“Did it work?!”

The next moment, Ruth was sent flying. However, that wasn’t because she’d been hit by the rock. She had deployed her barrier diagonally so that the rock would push her to the side rather than crush her. The barrier had only held up for a split second, but that had made all the difference. Ruth’s quick wit had just barely saved her.

“You think you can take it easy?!”

However, Blue wasn’t done attacking.

“Ice Storm!”

“Kuh!”

The next spell was a rain of ice shards. Ruth’s armor had used up all of its energy in handling the previous attack, so all she could do was protect herself with her beam sword.

“Hrgh! Aaah!”

However, blocking all of the shards raining down on her with just a single sword was impossible. She put up a good fight, but after being struck by ice shards from all directions, she lost consciousness.

Seeing Shizuka and Ruth fall shook Koutarou and the others. Especially Theia, Ruth’s childhood friend.

“Ruth?! Curse you, Blue!”

Theia was in the middle of fighting Orange, but when Ruth was defeated, she turned her focus on Blue and let loose with her beam rifle.

“I’ll have you pay for harming my vassal!”

She ignored Orange, who was right next to her, to attack Blue. It was a wild move, but if she did nothing, Blue might finish Ruth off. That’s why she turned to attack Blue knowing it would put her at risk. She and Ruth had decided to spend the rest of their lives together. Moving forward without her wasn’t an option in Theia’s book.

“Kyaaah! Y-You guys, protect me!”

Being attacked from an unexpected angle, Blue’s barrier was no challenge for Theia’s rifle beams. They easily pierced through and assaulted her. In retaliation, she hurriedly recalled her familiars and sent them after Theia. If she was attacked again like that, it would be the end of her.

“Nonsense!”

However, Theia was now wearing her Combat Dress in the Assault Red configuration, the mode with the highest attack power. She took aim at Blue and her familiars in the way with her main cannon and multi-launch missile system.

“Mishil, mishil! Vadras mishil!”

“Nooo! Scare, scareee!”

“Kyaaah!”

While the familiars were distracted by the missiles, they were sniped by the cannon. Their bodies of hardened mana crumbled, and their souls were returned to their world. Blue was then assaulted by the missiles that had gone around the familiars. She was able to avoid most of them through a quick spell, but not the last one. It sent her flying, and when she hit the floor, she was out cold. The only reasons she hadn’t died instantly were because she’d been lucky in where the missile hit her, and she had just enough protection from her magical girl outfit to save her life.

“I’m your opponent, you uncutie poo! I won’t forgive you even if you apologize now!”

After getting ignored by Theia, Orange was rather upset. In her pursuit of cuteness, there was nothing she hated more. It was just enough to push her over the edge and get her to use spells she ordinarily never would.

“Decrease Oxygen!”

This one in particular was a simple spell that reduced the amount of oxygen within its effective area. However, in contrast to its simplicity, it was extremely dangerous.

Humans inhaled oxygen through their lungs, which then circulated through their bodies in their blood. Just changing the density a little was enough to make them sick or lose consciousness. And there were barely any symptoms until it hit. Thus Theia lost consciousness without even realizing she’d been attacked.

“Seriously, how rude.”

Despite it being a simple and dangerous spell, Orange rarely used it. The reason, plainly put, was because it was uncute. Cuteness was Orange’s true pursuit in life, and she didn’t like using anything that didn’t fit her image. It was a spell she only used when truly angry.

Around the same time that Theia collapsed, another duel was about to reach its conclusion. It was the battle between Maki and Green.

“Crimson?!”

With her future forecast, Green had forseen Crimson falling just before it happened.

“I don’t have the time for this!”

However, Green was in the middle of her fight with Maki and couldn’t go to help her. She grew more irritated by the second while dodging Maki’s greatsword.

“What are you on about, Green?!”

“Shut up! This is all your fault!”

Green hurled her irritation at its source, Maki. She didn’t like Maki. In the last battle, Crimson had gone out to save Maki and come back hurt. And when they were retreating after fighting against Koutarou and the others, Crimson stayed behind to fight her again. Crimson clearly felt like Maki was more than just an ally in Darkness Rainbow. She clearly felt closer to her than she did Green, which annoyed Green to no end and only made her hate Maki more.

“Crimson, no!”

As Crimson and Shizuka’s last attacks clashed, Green completely lost her composure. She had to rescue the collapsed Crimson. That was all that was going through her mind.

“Kasagi-san?!”

“Out of the way, Navy!”

When Maki heard the explosion, she looked over towards Shizuka. However, with Green charging right at her, she had to refocus on her opponent before she got an accurate grasp of the situation. If she’d fully realized the condition Shizuka and Crimson were in, she undoubtedly would have responded differently.

“Mirage Blast!”

“Green’s been acting strange for a while now. But with this...!”

Thanks to her future forecast, Green was good at defending herself and her fighting style focused on counterattacks. That said, her forecasts were less accurate when she herself initiated the attacks because she was actively interfering with the futures she could see. And that was exactly what was happening right now. There were far more openings in Green’s offense and defense than normal. Maki was ready to take advantage of those, and she dodged the flying ray of magic that came at her as she swung her greatsword.

“Don’t get in my way! Why are you always, always, always in my way?!”

Green did her best to try and protect herself, but she wouldn’t be able to dodge or throw up a defensive spell in time. She wasn’t particularly strong, so it was unlikely she’d be able to hold out on her own, either.

“Don’t take my Crimson all for yourself!”

“Green, why―”

It was then that Maki’s greatsword struck Green. The blade was made from mana, so the instant it hit, the energy was released and sent Green flying.

“How can you feel so much for Crimson, but nothing for others? Can your eyes not see any other future...?”

Green didn’t get back up after that. Though she had won the battle, Maki looked far from happy. She couldn’t help but lament that Green was unable to break free from her shell of loneliness, just like Maki in the past.

The battle between Sanae and Purple was an intense one. Purple’s magic could manipulate spiritual energy, but in a straight competition of strength, Sanae, who could wield spiritual energy without the use of magic, would most likely win. However, the moment Purple opened the gates of hell, the outcome of the fight became uncertain. Sanae’s bright spiritual energy was being cancelled out by the malice overflowing from the gates, which reduced her overall strength.

“Purple, if you fight using that, something really bad is going to happen to you! Hurry up and get rid of it! Close those gates right now!”

Normally, Sanae used a bow and arrow made of spiritual energy to fight. But right now, she was fighting in close combat with spiritual energy focused into her fists and feet. If she sent an arrow flying, its power would be drastically weakened by the time it reached its target because of the gates of hell. That’s why she decided to rely on close combat instead.

“I don’t mind holding back if you do!”

“Don’t make a fool of me! I only need to kill you right now, and that will be the end of that!”

Purple refused to back down. She then summoned a couple of departed souls and sent them after Sanae. While she was occupied, Purple conjured another spell to attack. But the same way the gates of hell made Sanae weaker, they made Purple stronger. She now matched Sanae for power, or maybe even surpassed her.

“Like I said, you can’t do this! Why don’t you understand?!”

“You’re the one who doesn’t understand! You have no idea how deep and dark this desire burns!”

Moreover, Purple was gradually gaining more strength. The gates of hell absorbed her malice and generated power that it fed back to her in a vicious cycle. It was starting to make Sanae increasingly nervous, too. Not because Purple was getting stronger, but because she was walking closer towards corruption.

“What can I do to make you understand?!”

Sanae lashed out at an incoming departed soul as she tried to think of a way to persuade Purple. Since Purple had summoned two departed souls, Sanae spun around and kicked one soul into the other behind it.

“Urghhh...”

“Gaaah...”

Sanae had put quite a bit of spiritual energy into her attack, but it hadn’t been enough to defeat the souls. Purple’s increase in power made the souls she summoned stronger as well. But they weren’t Sanae’s only problem. While Sanae was occupied with the departed souls, Purple attacked too.

“Soul Energy Strike!”

Her spell generated a purple light. However, within seconds, it had turned from purple to black. It was the influence of the gates of hell at work. And with the color changed the effect of the spell. An offensive spell that slammed spiritual energy into its target turned into a dark spell that devoured the soul of its victim.

“I’m telling you, don’t do this!”

Sanae focused all of her spiritual energy to protect herself as she desperately pleaded with Purple. Purple herself wasn’t aware, but what her soul was experiencing was very similar to what had just happened to her spell. With her spirit sight, Sanae could see it happening in real time, and that’s what made her nervous.

How do I stop Purple?! At this rate, she’ll devour her own soul!

The current Purple now resembled the female ghost that Sanae had once fought. She didn’t want Purple to end up the same she had. It was terrible. She wanted to save her soul from ruin somehow.

“Young lady, can you hear me?”

“Huh?!”

That was when a man’s voice reached Sanae’s ears. Not in the form of sound waves, but spiritual ones.

“Wh-Who are you?! Where are you?!”

Sanae somehow managed to block Purple’s attack with a shield of spiritual energy, and quickly looked around for the owner of the voice she’d heard. She didn’t see anything, but it called out to her again.

“Here. I’m right next to you now.”

The owner of the voice had moved right over to Sanae. He looked human, but his body was translucent. He appeared to be the ghost of a young man. He moved alongside Sanae as she fought against Purple and continued talking to her.

“I want to borrow your power.”

“Mister, it’s dangerous here! Hurry up and run away, or you’ll get sucked in!”

Sanae urged the ghost to run while fighting against Purple and the departed souls. Regardless of who the ghost was, nothing good would come from standing so close to the gates of hell. In Sanae’s eyes, he looked like a normal ghost, so she wanted him to escape while he could.

“I’m afraid I can’t. I have to save Marina, the girl who calls herself Purple now.”

“What do you mean?!”

“She’s my woman, and she’s been consumed with the thought of resurrecting me ever since I died. However, I don’t want to be resurrected if it means sacrificing countless people. We would never be happy that way.”

Even if Purple, Marina, succeeded in reviving Kai, he would feel immense guilt over the lives she’d sacrificed to do it. That’s why he didn’t think they’d be able to live happily like that. It would only be the beginning of another tragedy.

“That’s why you want to stop her, right?”

“That’s right. But my voice can’t reach her the way she is now. That’s why I want to borrow your strength.”

“Stop running around! Just die, little girl!”

The current Purple couldn’t even see her love. She was so obsessed with trying to kill Sanae that she’d never even stopped to consider who that spirit floating beside her might be. If he was caught up in one of Purple’s attacks and disappeared, she probably wouldn’t even notice.

Ever since Kai lost his life, he’d been trying to call out to Purple. But she’d been too dominated and consumed by her sense of loss to hear him. She was so fixated on her wish of living a happy life with a revived Kai that she’d never once sensed the presence of the real thing.

“I want you to carry my voice to her. If it reaches her, I’m sure she’ll understand!”

Kai had but a single wish. He wanted to save Purple, his beloved Marina, from ruin. He had appeared before Sanae with only that in his heart.

“Okay, I’ll give it a try!”

Kai’s wish was something Sanae understood well. She greatly sympathized with the simple desire of wanting to save his beloved, which was why she didn’t hesitate to cooperate.

“If everything goes well, the gates of hell might can be closed with your power.”

“Okay! Let’s give it our best shot, mister!”

“Yeah!”

If Kai’s words reached Purple, her negative feelings would grow weaker, which in effect should weaken the gates of hell as well. If that happened, Sanae could pour her positive spiritual energy into the gates to close them. It was what needed to be done, for everyone’s sake. Especially Purple’s.

After defeating Theia, Orange was able to move freely, so she paused for a moment to consider her next move.

Let’s see... Should I finish off the fallen enemies, wake up Crimson-chan and Blue-rin, or go help someone else?

The first options that popped into her head were killing the enemies that were knocked out, waking up her fallen allies, or backing up her allies in need. She surveyed the hall to see who might need her most.

“Yellow-chan should be able to go on for a while even if she can’t win. Maya-yan and the young master should be fine on their own, too. That leaves GreeGree and Purple, sooo... maybe GreeGree?”

Out of the ongoing battles, Orange believed Green was in the most danger. She was getting oddly heated up and frantic about killing Maki. It also seemed like Green’s greatest weapon, her future forecast, wasn’t working properly. And most of all, Green as she was right now was super uncute. So Orange decided to help her out.

“Jeez, you’re such a handful, GreeGree... Wait, whaaat?!”

However, that was when she realized something. Something that made her abandon her thoughts of Green and turn to Purple with a pale face.

“Purple, this is weird! That uncute girl with glasses isn’t here!”

“What?!”

Orange realized that Clan wasn’t present. She had definitely been there when Koutarou and the others had infiltrated the castle. They’d confirmed it with magic. But she hadn’t been there at all for the battle in the third floor hallway. So where was she, and what was she doing? Clan had vanished somewhere between the underground aqueduct and the third floor, and there had to be a reason for it.

“Orange, the glasses girl is after the controller!”

“I see! We were tricked! These guys are all just decoys!”

Clan was missing because she was on a mission for the master controller for the automated weapons Darkness Rainbow had. If she could take that out while Koutarou and the others kept Darkness Rainbow busy, it would be their victory.

“They’ve caught on! Hurry up, Clan!”

“Understood!”

On the other end of Koutarou’s comms line, Clan began working faster. Speed was more important than caution now.

Darkness Rainbow had divination on their side, so Clan had followed Kiriha’s instructions carefully. After finding the controller, she simply waited a while before trying to hack into it. Since Green could only accurately see the near future with her forecasts, as long as Clan was simply biding her time, nothing certain would show up in Green’s predictions. After Koutarou and the others started a fight, Green wouldn’t have the leisure to look into anything other than the battle at hand, leaving Clan free to do as she pleased.

“Orange, hurry to the laboratory! Get her off the controller!”

“Okay, I’m on my way!”

Orange understood the importance of the automated weapons’ controller quite well, and she was the only one who was free right now to go after it. If she didn’t stop Clan, they would lose their machines and likely their battle against Rainbow Heart.

“I won’t let you, Orange!”

“Navy-chan?!”

However, Maki stood in Orange’s way. Since Orange had given up on helping Green, Maki had come out victorious.

“Don’t be such a bully, Navy-chan!”

“I won’t let you go any further!”

Orange reluctantly readied her staff and faced off against Maki. If she didn’t hurry up and defeat her, Darkness Rainbow would lose. Considering how smoothly things had been going earlier, this was a huge upset on the verge of becoming a genuine crisis.

Sanae and Kai’s plan was simple. First, Sanae would pour her spiritual energy into Kai to allow him strength enough to talk. In that state, he would approach Purple while Sanae headed for the gates of hell. Kai would talk to Purple, and Sanae would close the gates.

“Let’s do this, mister!”

“I’m counting on you!”

When Sanae poured her spiritual energy into Kai, his figure grew clearer. Eventually, his soul grew dense enough that he became visible to the naked human eye, and his voice was clearly audible.

“Wha?!”

Anyone would be shocked to suddenly see their dead beloved appear before them in the middle of a battle. It came as a complete surprise even to the calm, composed, and prudent Purple.

“Thank you, young lady! Now stick to the plan!”

“Yeah! Good luck, mister!”

Sanae and Kai split up accordingly. Sanae went after the gates while Kai went after Purple. They both had their own missions to accomplish.

“It’s all this thing’s fault!”

Sanae unleashed her spiritual energy at the gates. If she weakened them even a little, the dark power flowing into Purple would lessen, making it easier for Kai’s voice to reach her. And if Kai’s voice reached her, Purple’s malice would decrease, weakening the gates further.

“Marina, just stop this! Even if you do this, we can’t be happy!”

Kai ran right up to his love and desperately pleaded with her. That was what he’d always wanted to say to her, but never could. And finally, at long last, she could hear him.

“You’re lying! If I revive you, we can be happy! We can get married like we were supposed to and have a family! We’ll be happy that way, won’t we?!”

Purple was stubborn. Even if Kai himself denied it, the thought of reviving him and living happily ever after was what had driven Purple all this time. She couldn’t just let go of what felt like the only thing she had left.

“Just how many lives do you intend to sacrifice for mine?!”

“As many as it takes! I don’t care how many people have to die if it will bring you back!”

“Don’t be stupid, Marina! Amongst those people, how many do you think will be like us?! How much more misery do you intend to create?!”

That was the core of Kai’s wish. There was no point in bringing him back if it meant taking away someone else’s beloved. The tragedy would only grow. Even if Kai and Marina were to marry, the ever-growing chain of malice would only bring more misfortune upon them. The families of those sacrificed might come for revenge. Or they might come after Marina’s revival spell. Darkness Rainbow wanted to destroy Rainbow Heart and live in a world ruled by the strong, but Kai knew that wouldn’t lead to happiness for him and Marina. They’d be living their lives awash in blood instead.

“I get it!”

“You finally understand, Marina?!”

“Kai, you’re being controlled by that girl, aren’t you?! Right?! Just wait, Kai! I’ll kill her right now and set you free!”

“Marina!”

Purple couldn’t object to what Kai was saying. He was right, and she knew it from the bottom of her heart. But even so, she couldn’t accept it. She wanted to revive him no matter what. She couldn’t let the years of work she’d put into this all be for nothing. She also couldn’t accept that Kai was rejecting the way she’d been living.

That’s why she looked for an escape, and found it in blaming Sanae for controlling Kai with spiritual energy. The Kai that loved her would never reject her. And if this Kai was, it had to be Sanae’s doing. She must have bent and twisted his will, using him like a tool. If she just believed that, Purple would be able to continue on as she had been.

“I love you, Kai! I will destroy our enemies and revive you!”

“Stop it! If you go any further, you’ll―”

Kai abruptly lost his form. Purple’s malice was only growing stronger, and with it, so too were the gates of hell. Purple not wanting to hear Kai say any more sucked away the spiritual energy forming his body, and his voice along with it.

“Kyaaaaah!”

There, the strengthened gates of hell turned on Sanae, who had been trying to close them. The chaotic malice flowing outward from the gates fed back into Sanae’s soul through her spiritual energy, and robbed her of her consciousness.

“Heh heh heh... I won’t let anyone get in the way... I will destroy everything and revive Kai... heh heh, ahahaha!”

Dashing Sanae and Kai’s hopes, Purple’s malice and the dark power had grown stronger. Purple was planning on destroying anyone who got in her way. And right now, Clan was at the top of that list. For Purple and Kai to live happily, Darkness Rainbow first needed to win the war against Rainbow Heart. She would need sacrifices.

Purple ran out of the hall to go kill Clan. Because she’d been behaving so strangely in her fight with Sanae, Koutarou sensed that Clan was in danger and wanted to chase after her. However, his enemy wasn’t about to let him do that.

“I’m your opponent, Koutarou-kun!”

“Elexis!”

Elexis’s giant stood in Koutarou’s way. He’d been fighting it all this time, but still hadn’t managed a win. This lastest model had been enhanced with magic and spiritual energy technology, and was on a totally different level than the one he’d fought Elexis in before. Moreover, this one had plenty of automated weapons supporting it. So even with the combined powers of Signaltin and GoL, Koutarou just couldn’t get the upper hand.

“You should know that Purple won’t get to just walk away from this!”

Koutarou held Signaltin with both hands and slashed at Elexis’s giant. However, Elexis’s gigantic sword blocked Koutarou’s attack, and the beam shotguns equipped on both his shoulders fired back.

“Of course! We walked into this battle well aware of the risks! We’re trying to change the world, after all! There’s no way we’d back down just because we’re afraid it might be a little dangerous!”

“Take this!”

Koutarou blocked the beam shotguns with GoL’s barrier and fell back for a moment. As he did, a powerful bolt of electricity assaulted the giant. It was an offensive spell cast by Harumi. She’d been assisting Koutarou all this time, too.

“So you don’t care what happens to your allies?!”

“That’s why we’re fighting! That’s our wish!”

However, Harumi’s bolt was diffused by several automated weapons gathering in front of the giant to form a barrier. Not only was the giant upgraded, but RTS, the system that allowed the automated weapons to work together, had been vastly improved as well. As a result, while the giant on its own might not have compared to Koutarou, Elexis was standng his ground with a whole group of automated weapons to defend him. Taking him out quickly so Koutarou could go after Purple would be difficult.

Moreover, the girls were largely in the same stymied position. Crimson, Blue, and Green had fallen, but Orange, Yellow, and Maya were still present. There were also the additional soldiers and automated weapons keeping them pinned down.

“Not good! At this rate, Clan-san will be killed and we won’t be able to stop the war!”

Yurika, who was in charge of things, started to panic. Clan wasn’t all that good in direct combat, and she should be focused on hacking the controller right now. Purple, on the other hand, was now driven by some kind of alien power. She would likely kill Clan outright, and even if Clan managed to scrape by somehow, it would seriously delay taking over the controller. Either outcome was bad, and might spell the end of Rainbow Heart.

“Now that it’s come to this, we can’t get hung up on appearances! Yurika-chan, leave this place to me and go after Purple!”

In response to the imminent crisis, Nana was willing to make a stand and have Yurika chase after Purple.

“But Nana-san, you can’t face Maya-san on your own!”

Yurika and Nana were currently working together against Maya. Like Elexis, Maya had a lot of automated weapons with her and they were only just barely able to fend her off with the two of them cooperating, hence why Yurika was reluctant to leave Nana’s side.

“Nana, it looks like your apprentice understands the situation better than you do.”

Maya sneered at Nana. Not even a genius like her could take on Maya and a group of automated weapons alone. Maya felt like Nana might have stood a chance in the past, but certainly not now.

“I actually have an ace up my sleeve.”

Nana shrugged and smiled wryly. As she did, she called up the artificial limbs’ computer.

“An ace up your sleeve, huh?”

Maya’s eyes narrowed. Her experience told her to be very cautious when Nana flashed that kind of smile or she would end up facing something horrible.

“It’s not something I really want to do, though... Release final limiter.”

“A release code is necessary to execute this command.”

“Magical Girl Rainbow Nana, Radiant Angel.”

“Code confirmed. Releasing final limiter.”

Immediately after Nana gave that instruction to her computer, she began glowing seven colors. Light was flowing out from her body and the glow got brighter by the second.

“...That’s your ace?”

“Yes.”

“That’s awfully flashy.”

“That’s one of the reasons why I didn’t want to do it.”

Nana’s body had three limiters in place. The first was to keep her body’s capabilities on par with a normal human’s. That limiter was automatically released when she switched over to combat mode. The second limiter was to keep her from using more power than necessary to avoid damaging her frame. Maya had something similar, and they’d both released them a while ago. But the final limiter was the last safety device Nana had. It was in place to keep her artificial body from killing her. If she moved too fast or used too much spiritual energy, it would damage what Nana had left of an organic body. It might even be extreme enough to kill her, which was why the limiter had been installed. That was just how much power Nana’s new body had.

And now, Nana had removed all three limiters. She was throwing her own safety to the wind so Yurika could chase after Purple. The seven colors of light overflowing her body was proof of that. If she kept up the appearance of a perfectly human form, cooling, intake, and exhaust would all be insufficient. That was why she’d opened up several vents on her body, and they were where the light was leaking out from.

“Yurika-chan, go! I’ll do something about this!”

“O-Okay! I’ll leave the rest to you, Nana-san!”

The exhaust she vented made Nana’s hair flutter and the seven colors she was shining illuminated her. The strong determination in Nana’s eyes reminded Yurika of when Nana had fought against Darkness Rainbow in that fated battle a year and a half ago. She’d gone into that battle with the same expression she was wearing now. And she had returned victorious, though seriously hurt. Remembering that pushed Yurika forward. Nana would win. Yurika firmly believed that, and sped off down the hall after Purple.

“I see... Sure seems like it wasn’t your apprentice I needed to be worried about.”

Maya did nothing to stop Yurika from going, despite knowing what she was planning on doing. There was only one reason for that. If she took her eyes off Nana for even a second, she knew she’d be defeated. Maya carefully observed her opponent while increasing the output of her own generator and releasing an indigo light of her own.

The generators built into Maya and Nana’s artificial limbs started to roar like their fighting spirits as they began shining.

“You’re wrong, Maya. You don’t know how amazing Yurika-chan is.”

“Amazing? That coward? She’s certainly amazingly cowardly...”

Maya didn’t think much of Yurika. She had only been a hindrance in her battle with Nana, and she hadn’t stood out all that much when the two of them tangoed previously.

“...Maya, you know that Yurika-chan is my apprentice, right?”

“Of course I do. That’s why I kidnapped her once upon a time. It seems like she was your cooperator at first, though.”

“And how much time do you think has passed since I first met Yurika-chan?”

“To become an archwizard, she must have spent at least five years training. And it’s been over a year since she first succeeded your role, so maybe seven in total?”

It had taken Maya four and a half years to train up Maki as her successor, so that felt about right.

“You’d think so, right? But it hasn’t even been three years since I first met Yurika-chan.”

“Impossible! You’re saying that she became an archwizard that quickly?!”

Maya’s eyes shot open wide in surprise. If they’d only known each other that long, that meant Yurika had spent even less time in training than Nana had. In other words, Yurika had become a magical girl faster than the legendary genius magical girl. Maya knew just what that meant, but her brain denied what she was hearing.

“That’s right... Yurika-chan only spent about a year in training. Moreover, she should have been too old to start training. She was already fourteen. Yet nevertheless, Yurika-chan became an archwizard in no time at all. Even with her cowardly nature, the higher-ups of Rainbow Heart were forced to recognize Yurika-chan’s talent.”

“It can’t be...”

However, that rang surprisingly true for Maya. Up until now, Yurika hadn’t really played a big part overall, but she would sometimes use surprisingly powerful spells or clever strategies like summoning a higher existence or tormenting Maki with clouds of poison and acid. Those weren’t accidents, but rather glimpses of Yurika’s talent that just hadn’t fully come out into the spotlight. Sensing that, Maya felt a chill run down her spine.

“But it is. Yurika-chan is the real genius. She was just missing love and courage, so you couldn’t see how amazing she really was.”

Regardless of how strong a power she held, without something to protect and the desire to continue to protect it, it was simply a waste of talent. Yurika didn’t have the heart to make full use of her wonderful talent when she was younger. The weakness of her heart had kept it in the dark.

“And the past year and a half have nurtured Yurika-chan’s heart. Right now, she has plenty of love and courage. So let me say this loud and clear, Maya. There will come a day Yurika is hailed the strongest archwizard in history.”

The battles she’d been through before today had trained Yurika and given her love and courage. As a result, the true talent that hid within her had begun awakening. Once it all blossomed, Yurika would become a magical girl that surpassed even Nana. Nana was sure of it.

Koutarou and the others’ priority in Sariachal Castle wasn’t to defeat the leaders of Darkness Rainbow. It was to prevent the clash between Darkness Rainbow and Rainbow Heart. The easiest way to do that was to seize their central command controller for the automated weapons. And to pull it off, Kiriha’s plan was to use Koutarou and the others as a decoy while Clan found the controller and hacked it.

Of course, a countermeasure for Green’s future forecast was necessary, so Clan had broken away from the group using her stealth technology to stay hidden while Ruth displayed a hologram of her walking with everyone else. And after Clan found the controller, she remained hidden and stalled for a while. Once Koutarou and the others engaged Darkness Rainbow, however, Green would focus her readings on the battle at hand and wouldn’t have the time to do other things like survey the castle. And in the opening chaos of the fight, Ruth would casually dismiss the hologram while no one was paying attention. It would be far less suspicious than her just standing around. Out of sight, out of mind, after all.

When her sensors picked up the sounds of a skirmish elsewhere in the castle, Clan finally made her move. She took out a few guards watching the room, and then got to work. From that point on, she would be alone and there would be no one to protect her because everyone else would be battling Darkness Rainbow. Ruth should have cut the hologram at the start of the fight, however, meaning it would only be a matter of time before the enemy realized something was amiss. Would the enemy come for her, or would she be able to hack the controller first? The outcome would depend on her skill.

The controller had been placed in the corner of a large room that was most likely a laboratory. The equipment that filled it was almost all magical, which meant it was all rather unfamiliar to Clan. As a result, she could easily identify the controller at first glance. It was obviously different from the other devices in the room.

“That’s it. Then let’s go to... Wait, huh?”

But on her way over to the controller, something else caught Clan’s eye. It was a three meter high cylinder, and it stood out as the largest thing in the room. Clan slowly, curiously approached it. Since it was right next to the controller, she suspected it might be a weapon.

“This isn’t a magical tool... I just hope it’s not dangerous...”

Clan knocked on the surface of the metallic cylinder, trying to figure out how thick it was. It seemed she’d hit some kind of button in the process, as the surface of the cylinder slid away and revealed what was hidden beneath. The light sound of her knock had told her the metal was just a thin, protective cover.

“Wh-What is this?!”

Under the metal sheeting was an equally large tank that felt like glass to the touch. There was a man inside, suspended in a liquid that clearly wasn’t water.

“Is he sleeping... or is it a corpse? Why would he be here, though? Is it a spell component to make a zombie?”

Clan had heard about zombies appearing in the shopping mall the other day. It wouldn’t be all that strange to keep a corpse for one here. This was a magician’s laboratory, after all.

“But from the look of it, he’s not going to attack, so let’s forget about him for now.”

The control panel on the tank told Clan the preservation levels were good and the conditions were stable. If she took that at face value, it meant that she could leave the man be for the moment. Besides, she was on a mission and didn’t have any time to spare getting sidetracked.

“This is the real problem... Let’s see... It looks like it’s based on Forthorthian computers and communications, but some parts from the underground have been built into it as well.”

Approaching the controller, Clan felt some relief. It was mostly tech she was familiar with. Really, when it came to Forthorthian computers, there was no one more knowledgeable than Clan. She’d also gotten information on spiritual energy technology from Kiriha, so she should be more than outfitted to handle the controller.

“Now let’s begin!”

Clan got to work straight away. She removed the maintenance cover from the controller and revealed its inner workings before connecting her own computer to the device with some cables. The automated weapons’ controller was protected by several layers of security, and she’d need to undo each of them in order.

“If I fail, he’ll laugh at me for my lack of skill, and if I succeed, he’ll laugh and say that I have a terrible personality... No matter what happens, Veltlion is going to laugh at me...”

Clan sighed as she tapped away at her terminal, working to undo the first layer of security. Hacking was a battle of wits between the hacker and the system’s creator. In a not so nice way of putting it, the one with the more devious mind would win. Clan would come out on top, certainly, but Koutarou would tease her for it. Which irritated her to no end. And the fact that he wouldn’t really mean it made it even more irritating. In short, she was mad because she wanted him to praise her properly.

“In addition to all that... the people of this land are descendants of Forthorthe. But just because their ancestors were criminals doesn’t mean they are. This is for them, too. I’ll just have to keep my head down and bust through this, whether or not Veltlion laughs at me.”

The status of the automated weapons was sent to the controller in real time. Live data and footage was displayed on the screen. From that, Clan could tell that the war between Darkness Rainbow and Rainbow Heart had already started and that thousands were clashing in the suburbs of the capital of Thorthe. Since the fighting had only just begun, the casualties were still on the low size, but were steadily climbing over a dozen. Clan felt strongly about what she was doing because she wanted to put an end to that as soon as possible. She felt that way both as someone responsible for the Folsarians being here in the first place, and as an imperial princess of Forthorthe.

“...But if Veltlion does laugh, I really will kill him!”

Clan continued complaining about something Koutarou hadn’t even said yet as she pressed the key to execute a command on her computer. It put the script she’d written into action, and began searching for a hole in the device’s security.

And without much difficulty, Clan was already through the first layer. When it came to scientific knowledge, Clan was superior to Elexis. This job would have been a cakewalk if it weren’t for the stressful circumstances and time limit. Nevertheless, she swiftly moved on to the second layer of security. Based on the first layer, it seemed like there would probably be three or four more layers to go through. With her skills, that should only take a few minutes.

But before those few minutes were up, a loud boom rang out.

“Wh-What?!”

“...You can’t use your powers like that, Purple-san!”

“Don’t get in my way, Rainbow!”

That was when Purple and Yurika suddenly burst into the laboratory in a fierce clash of spells.

Purple’s magic was especially potent right now. Because the gates of hell were still whirling by her side, Yurika was no match for her in terms of sheer mana. But even though the odds were against her, Yurika remained optimistic.

There were lots of people stronger than Yurika in room 106, like Theia. In terms of actual physical power, Kiriha might actually be the weakest, yet she was always the one leading battles. Who knew what would’ve befallen them already today if she weren’t around? But having seen what she could do—having seen what all her friends could do—Yurika was encouraged.

When she started wondering to herself what Theia or Kiriha would do in this situation, she realized that there were still ways for her to fight Purple. She probably wouldn’t stand a chance in a straight-up contest of strength, but Purple was brandishing her incredible power with reckless abandon. It was like suddenly wielding a weapon that was several times larger than what you’re used to. While the power behind her spells was terrific, they were harder to control than normal and took more time to cast. If Yurika calmly observed Purple and used appropriate defensive spells and evasive tactics to her advantage, she could still avoid Purple's overpowered attacks.

“Damn you, Rainbow! Stop running like a little coward! I’ll end it all with this! Negative Energy Burst!”

Purple gathered the dark energy she had drawn out from the gates of hell and detonated it in an attempt to blow up Yurika. Her irritation at not being able to finish her off generated even more dark energy, and Purple’s magic power reached new heights as she fed off of it.

The power of the blast is inversely proportional to the distance from it, and its energy type is negative spiritual energy!

Fortunately, Yurika was able to correctly intuit how to defend herself based on Purple’s behavior. She had learned that the pressure and blast of an explosion were related to distance from Koutarou the other day. She also chose not to use a general-purpose defensive barrier, but one specifically meant to block Purple’s negative spiritual energy.

“Double Cast: Push! Protection From Soul Energy!”

Yurika jumped backward while activating two spells at the same time. Since they could be activated together, neither was a particularly high level spell. However, they were incredibly effective in terms of protecting her from Purple’s attack.

The first spell she used pushed her even further back as she jumped. The second she landed, she got low. The shield she cast next then deployed around her. Purple’s spell came flying at her not a moment later, yet the supposedly powerful blast was negated by Yurika’s low-level magic.

That was the result of the splendid combination of an evasive and defensive maneuver. She distanced herself from the center of the explosion, lowered her posture to reduce her surface area, and activated a focused barrier around her. Distancing herself from the explosion meant that blast was weaker by the time it reached her, and her concentrated barrier meant that it was sturdier than normal. Between the two, she was unaffected by Purple’s attack that probably would have killed her at close range even with the most powerful defensive spell she could cast.

“Curse you! Again with the petty tricks!”

Purple ground her teeth in frustration. Her biggest spell yet hadn’t worked on Yurika at all. She could hardly believe it. She couldn’t accept it. Irritated, she desired more power. The only thing on Purple’s mind was crushing Yurika with an even stronger spell.

Just as I thought, there’s an opening here for an attack...

The bigger the spell Purple used, the more she left herself open while casting it. It was no different than using a large sword or any other weapon. And Yurika didn’t let that chance slip past her. She didn’t hesitate to unleash the most effective spell for the situation.

“Poison Cloud!”

Past the tip of Yurika’s staff, an eerie orange mist began shrouding Purple. It was the poison cloud Yurika had just conjured. The cloud itself obstructed Purple’s vision, making it even harder for her to attack. Meanwhile, the vaporous poison assaulted her. It was one spell with two effects, which undoubtedly maximized Yurika’s mileage right now.

That coward has gotten better!

Purple temporarily halted her attack and rushed to escape from the poisonous cloud. She wasn’t foolish enough to try and continue her chant in the middle of it. However, that was exactly what Yurika had expected her to do.

“Now, Energy Bolt! Targeting Option: Auto Homing!”

“Damn it! One petty trick after another!”

Yurika had unleashed a magic arrow that tracked Purple on its own. It drew a shallow arc as it chased after her as she tried to flee the cloud.

“Don’t take me lightly, Rainbow! I’m not someone who would be defeated by a weak spell like this!”

Purple used the gates of hell to shield herself. The magical arrow that was coming at her flew right into them and vanished. Yurika’s strategy wasn’t bad, but Purple’s years of experience made her wise to such tricks.

“In the end, you’re just a burden for Nana! Just getting a little better isn’t enough to defeat me!”

Purple jumped out from behind the gates of hell and pointed her staff at Yurika again. She was going to blow her away this time. Her irritation at not being able to put an end to her yet fed the gates, which gave her the dark energy she needed to cast another big spell.

A burden?

There, Purple realized an effective way to defeat Yurika. And she would execute it without mercy.

“It’s over, Rainbow!”

Purple then turned her aim on Clan, who was leaving the fighting to Yurika while she focused on undoing the controller’s security. She thought that would be the quickest way for them and Rainbow Heart to come out victorious.

“I won’t let you!”

Protecting Clan was Yurika’s duty, so she defiantly stepped between her and Purple, her staff at the ready. She would use her own body as a shield if she had to.

“Yurika, are you going to be okay?!”

“I’ll be fine! Please continue, Clan-san!”

“You think so, Rainbow?! You won’t be able to dodge this one!”

Purple and Yurika began casting their spells simultaneously.

“Multiple Soul Energy Bullets! Modifier: Empower!”

“Greater Protection From Soul Energy!”

Bullets of spiritual energy powered by the whirlpool of malice. A shield of spiritual energy born from a strong desire to protect. These two spells that manifested completely different wishes collided.

“Die, Rainbow Yurikaaaa!”

The bullets Purple fired made a deafening noise as they slammed into Yurika’s shield. Purple had conjured a countless number of them, and they needled Yurika’s shield like spray from a machine gun. And for each one that hit, the glow of Yurika’s shield slowly weakened.

“I won’t lose!”

Yurika shouted out loud to cheer herself on, pouring as much mana as she could spare into her spell. It was just enough to sustain her failing shield through the rest of Purple’s attack.

“You did well to hold that off! But how about the next one?!”

“It will be the same regardless of how many times you try! I’m Rainbow Yurika, Nana-san’s apprentice!”

In reality, Purple had a good point. Unlike Purple who could draw out power from the gates of hell, Yurika’s remaining mana was limited. If they continued clashing like this, Yurika would be out of magic completely before too long. Nevertheless, her eyes were shining with resolve. She wasn’t going to give up. No, not like this. She was still racking her brain for a way to win.

The opening after Purple-san’s attack is the same as before... but I’ve put my all into defending, so I’m not in any position to attack. In that case...!

Yurika held her staff at the ready as she moved forward. If she let Purple take the initiative, she would just be pushed back by her powerful spells. So Yurika would make the first move to force Purple to use spells that focused on speed over power.

“You’re coming at me?! Soul Energy Strike!”

“Quick Cast Magic Shield!”

However, for some reason, Yurika used a defensive spell instead of an offensive one. Moreover, it wasn’t a specialized one, but a general all-purpose one. Purple knew it wouldn’t hold, so she sneered at Yurika and summoned more spiritual energy bullets at the tip of her staff.

“You fool! Even if I’m using spells focused on speed, that pesky shield won’t be able to block my attack! In the end, a failure is still a failure!”

Since the spell Yurika had cast was meant to defend against all kinds of attacks, it wasn’t all that strong against any particular one. Yurika would never be able to block Purple’s superpowered attacks with it. Even if she survived, she would be in no condition to fight. She had successfully gotten Purple to use a weaker and faster spell in response, but that was the extent of what she’d accomplished. Purple was convinced of her victory.

“Now, please do it!”

However, there was a second part to Yurika’s plan. Yurika actually had allies that Purple hadn’t noticed yet—the modified automated weapons that had snuck into Sariachal Castle with Green. Clan had summoned them to the laboratory, and she attacked with them on Yurika’s command.

“Order accepted. Self-destructing.”

“Oh no! Curse you, Yurika! Was this your―”

Yurika’s defensive spell was so that she wouldn’t get caught up in the blast of the automated weapons self-destructing. Purple, however, was completely defenseless.

When the flames from the explosion cleared, only Yurika was left standing. Purple had been caught in the blast and now lay collapsed on the hard laboratory floor. Seeing her friend safe, Clan let out an uncharacteristic cheer.

“You did it, Yurika!”

“No, this was all thanks to your cooperation, Clan-san.”

Yurika had come up with that plan because Clan had let her know she had the automated weapons on the way. Really, it was Clan’s idea to use them.

“Now it’s all up to you, Clan-san! Please hurry!”

“I know! I’m not going to let your efforts go to― What?!”

Clan suddenly turned as white as a sheet. For behind Yurika, the wounded Purple was standing back up.

“Yurika, behind you!”

“Huh...?”

Hearing Clan’s words, Yurika hurriedly turned around. However, by that time, Purple had already launched her attack.

“Ahahahaha, you’re too weak on the finish, Rainbow Yurikaaaaa!”

A pitch black mass of spiritual energy flew from the tip of Purple’s snapped-in-half staff. She had taken enough damage that the power of her attacks was compromised compared to before, but Yurika had completely let her guard down because she thought the fight was over. Clan was too far away to protect her, and they’d just had their ace in the hole—the automated weapons on their side—self-destruct. There was now no way for Yurika to block Purple’s attack.

“Oh no, everyone is always warning me about this―”

All Yurika could do was stare at the approaching spell like a deer in headlights. She had realized her defeat. Just like when she was playing games with everyone, she would let her guard down at the very end and lose in a sudden reversal. Yurika felt like this would be a very fitting way for her to go.

“You’re fine just the way you are, Yurika.”

However, the moment before the spell hit, a familiar silhouette appeared in front of her. With a single swing of a sword, Purple’s energy bullets were no more.

“Nobody wants you to become some kind of invincible heroine. There’s no reason for you to win on your own, because we’ll always win together!”

“Satomi-san!”

It was Koutarou. After flashing Yurika a brief smile, he turned his sword on Purple again and shot her a sharp glare.

Koutarou had been able to chase after Yurika because Theia had woken up. The Combat Dress she was wearing detected that she had lost consciousness and taken the means necessary to revive her. It was a safety precaution installed for use in space, but it certainly came in handy here. And once she was back on her feet, Theia tagged Koutarou out in his fight with Elexis so he could go after Purple.

Why does that girl have everything I’ve lost?!

When Koutarou appeared, a fierce rage and resentment started burning within Purple. Seeing Yurika and Koutarou reminded her of old days with Kai. They cared for each other, protected each other, and did their best to live their lives together. That was the exact happiness that had been stolen for her.

So why...? Why did Yurika have what she couldn’t? A blinding rage became one with her desire, and envy seized hold of her mind. She was on the verge of a complete meltdown.

“Surrender, Purple. You can’t fight like this.”

“Stop joking! I’d rather die than surrender!”

In her agitated and compromised mental state, the ordinarily practical Purple adamantly refused Koutarou’s demand to surrender. She knew good and well that she couldn’t fight anymore, but surrendering would mean giving up on her quest to revive her lost love. It would mean letting go of her future happiness. There was no way she could surrender when Yurika was flaunting her happiness in front of her like this. Consumed by rage over the unfairness of it all, the burning jealousy she felt over Yurika, Purple was hell-bent on pressing forward. She would seize her happy future one way or another, no matter who she had to sacrifice to get it.

“Purple-san, you can’t! If you fight anymore, you’ll―”

“I don’t care! You don’t understand what it feels like to lose something truly important to you!”

Purple’s gaze wandered to the tall, cylindrical tank in the room for a brief moment.

Purple-san, you...

In that moment, Yurika saw deep love in Purple’s eyes. Deep love in the midst of swirling malice and madness.

“I would sacrifice anything to fulfill this desire! Even if my body were to break or my soul to shatter! Because I’m going to reclaim my beloved Kai and my happiness!”

Purple couldn’t give up. Her life as Marina had been wonderful beyond belief, and she was robbed of it. Her life now was dull and dry by comparison, and she had no qualms about sacrificing that to get her happiness back.

“Oh gates of hell! I’ll pay any sacrifice—just give me the power to kill them! Aaaaah!”

Now Purple was supplying the gates of hell with more than just her negative feelings. She was willing to exchange her very soul for power.

“Negative Energy Lance! Modifier: Maximize!”

She converted that massive energy she received into a powerful attack in an attempt to defeat Koutarou and Yurika in one fell swoop. It was an attack very similar to the dark arrow Maki had created when she tapped into some of room 106’s power. However, the size and scale of this were much, much larger.

“Purple-san!”

“Yurika, don’t! We need to stop that spell first!”

“R-Right! Greater Protection From Soul Energy!”

“Clan, you help out too!”

“I know! Focus deployment of special distortion field forward, maximum power!”

In response, Koutarou, Yurika, and Clan worked together to block the deadly attack. Yurika’s spell and Clan’s barrier covered the three of them.

“Dieee! Return to your true homeeee!”

And Koutarou made a certain bet as Purple unleashed her spell. He was going to destroy the floor below them.

“How about this?!”

Koutarou swung Saguratin at the stone floor, which caved under the blow.

“Kyaaaaah!”

“What are you doing all of a suddeeeen?!”

The trio fell down through the hole that opened up. Not even Purple had expected Koutarou would choose to escape downwards. As a result, the dark lance that should have scored a direct hit flew right over their heads.

“Curse youuu!”

Purple focused and tried to change the trajectory of her lance midflight, but it had far too much momentum. She could only change its course slightly, and it merely grazed the top of their combined barriers. The lance then continued on, destroying the stone floor ahead of it and eventually exploding.

By the time Koutarou got up, there was rubble everywhere. He was directly below the laboratory in what seemed to be a storeroom. Clan and Yurika were right next to him.

“S-Satomi-san... are you okay?”

“Yeah, somehow.”

“Ouch, owowow... Hack, ack... V-Veltlion, wasn’t there a more elegant way to do that?”

“Sorry, the elegant approach would have gotten us killed. Look at this mess.”

“...You did well, Lord Veltlion.”

“I’m impressed you can say that so shamelessly...”

Fortunately, all three of them were safe. They were a little injured in the fall and the blast, plus a little shaken from the whole experience, but they could all still stand.

“We can’t let our guard down yet. We don’t know where Purple-san is.”

Just as Yurika said that, Purple pushed aside some rubble and climbed up out of it. She had been caught up in the floor collapse and had fallen down into the storeroom as well. In her case, she had only been showered in some rubble, but without any defenses up, she was just as bad off as Koutarou and the girls were. And that was on top of the injuries she’d already sustained.

“Please stop this, Purple-san.”

“Th-There’s no way I could! Why do you think I’ve been committing these crimes? If I stop here, it will all be for nothing! All that would remain would be a litany of terrible crimes with no meaning! My only option is to press on until I can get my beloved Kai back!”

Purple rose to her feet and dragged herself towards Yurika, Koutarou, and Clan. A trail of blood stained the floor behind her.

“So you’ll fight no matter what?”

“If you want to stop me, you’ll have to kill me... I won’t stop any other way!”

She couldn’t give up now. She was well past the point of no return. Her only two options were to revive Kai or die trying.

Or so she thought. But a new path suddenly opened up when something big came crashing down from the laboratory above.

It fell between Yurika and Purple and shattered. Shards of metal and glass flew everywhere, and the object inside was smashed. The moment she saw it, Purple stopped dead in her tracks. Her eyes went wide, and she let out a scream like she’d witnessed the end of the world.

“Aaah... Aaaaah, K-Kai... AaaAAAAAAHHH!”

For what had just shattered right in front of Purple was the tank containing her beloved’s body.

Koutarou had only smashed the floor below him and the girls, but that was just the start of it. Purple’s attack had chewed away at a bigger portion of the floor, causing the whole thing to give in. She was so fixated on destroying Koutarou and the others that she’d destroyed the remains of her late lover with her own hands. It was a horribly cruel twist of fate.

At that, her mind shut off and blinked back on. But it wasn’t the same. The very existence of Kai’s body gave her hope and solace, which had been the strings that kept her bound to sanity all these years. And now that those had suddenly snapped, she freefell into the depths of madness.

Purple’s collapsing mind fed the gates of hell like a fire, sending it out of control. Its power then began expanding exponentially, which Purple used to do two things. The first was to collect the remnants of Kai’s corpse and begin assimilating them with her own body. The second was to attempt to destroy reality itself, which had lost all meaning for her. She wasn’t aiming for anywhere in particular. She was simply casting spells indiscriminately. She wasn’t trying to put an end to Koutarou and the others now—she was trying to end the whole world.

“Purple-san, please keep it together! Stay sane!”

“Let’s go, Yurika! It’s dangerous here!”

“But Purple-san!”

“If we stay here, we’ll die! We’ll need to get outside of here before we can do anything else!”

Yurika wanted to help Purple, but Koutarou stopped her. It wasn’t unlike when Tayuma went on his monstrous rampage. Yurika’s heart was in the right place, but Koutarou knew that not being practical right now would get them killed.

“He’s right, Yurika! Let’s regroup with the others and think of a countermeasure!”

“A-All right... Let’s go!”

Yurika knew that Koutarou and Clan were right. That’s why she agreed to flee with them, despite her desire to stay put.

And so Koutarou and the girls fled Sariachal Castle, which had been the bastion of Folsarians banished from past Forthorthe all those years ago. It was the only thing that they had to remember their faraway true home by. But that precious landmark was now collapsing at the hands of Purple, who’d lost both her past and future. It was an ironic end for the castle that had watched over the development of Folsaria.