From Run of the Mill to King of the Hill

A loud rumbling noise resounded as one side of the only building in this

space, the pyramid with a throne atop it, crumbled. Buried in the rubble, Hajime

coughed up a lungful of blood. His face was twisted in pain.

A few seconds later, there was a series of clattering noises as pieces of metal

hit the ground. They were the remains of Hajime's prosthetic arm.

"Ngggh!"

Through sheer force of will, Hajime lifted Donner. Blood was running into

his eye, making it difficult for him to see properly. His vision was coated in a

layer of red.

In the distance, Ehitruje got to his feet and glided forward, appearing

weightless. As he drew close, he snapped his fingers, and Hajime felt a sharp

pain in his right hand. He felt Donner get knocked out of his fingers, and looking

down, he saw that all five of them were bent at painful angles, clearly broken. As

Donner spun through the air, it was enveloped in platinum light and crumbled to

dust. There was also a small plink as his Treasure Trove fell off his broken finger

and hit the ground.

"Well played, Irregular. That was well played indeed. I'm impressed you

actually managed to hit me with your ultimate trump card. Unfortunately for

you, it seems it wasn't sufficient to defeat me."

"..."

Ehitruje touched down on the ground and started walking slowly toward

Hajime. Normally, his feet made no noise when he walked, but now he was

purposely letting his footsteps echo loudly. In his hands was a necklace,

Hajime's Guardian Talisman. He'd stolen it when he'd sent Hajime flying. He

held it up for Hajime to see, then destroyed it with a flash of platinum light. With

each step he took, he destroyed another one of Hajime's precious artifacts. He

brought Schlag, Laobenschiram, Aideon, and even all of Hajime's scattered

Exchange Cases to him with Heavenstep and destroyed them one by one.

"You must be confused. Why is it that I'm still alive after being hit by godslaying concept magic, you wonder? Heh..."

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"..."

Ehitruje gave Hajime an amused look, but Hajime didn't respond. Instead, he

simply slumped against the wall, looking as if he was too exhausted to even

speak. His eyes were still open and he was looking at Ehitruje, but his gaze was

empty and there was no fighting spirit left in it. It looked like he might pass out

at any moment.

Ehitruje loved seeing him in such a pathetic state. His fear and panic gone, he

smiled at Hajime and explained, "Your concept magic may have worked on me a

few thousand years ago, but my very existence has continued to evolve thanks to

all of the faith people have placed in me. The sheer level of divinity I possess is

too much for a mere god-slaying concept to destroy me. I have reached far

greater heights than just that of a god."

"..."

Ehitruje stopped right in front of Hajime. Then, he raised one foot, showing

off a completely unblemished leg.

"Though I admit I wasn't absolutely certain your concept magic would fail.

Besides, even if this body does have the power to repair itself, it would have

been unforgivable for my divine being to be injured even in the slightest, so I

had no intention of taking that bullet of yours," Ehitruje stated as he brought his

foot down, crushing Hajime's Treasure Trove. It leaked a bit of light as it

shattered, its magic depleted. "You should be proud, Irregular. No one else has

managed to make me panic before."

"..."

Hajime had now lost every single one of his artifacts except for his Demon

Eye. Ehitruje looked haughtily down at him, and though he was smiling, his eyes

still burned with a fierce rage. It galled him to no end that a mere human had

managed to scare him, even if only for a moment. He had never felt such

humiliation in his life, and it was only his pride that kept him from lashing out

like a kid throwing a tantrum.

However, Hajime continued to remain unresponsive. His left eye finally

closed, and though his Demon Eye was still open, it was hidden behind his eye

patch, so it was hard to tell. He wasn't moving at all either, and it really seemed

like he was dead.

Still, Ehitruje wasn't going to let him die that easily. He needed to return the

humiliation he'd felt tenfold or he wouldn't be satisfied. Though he'd managed

to keep himself from throwing a tantrum, he was still an immature brat. Thus, he

knelt in front of Hajime so that his face was at the same level. He then caressed

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Hajime's thigh gently.

"Agh!"

A second later, he fired a bullet of light through it, shattering bone and

opening a hole in Hajime's thigh. Hajime's body twitched and he let out a groan

of pain. Ehitruje then cupped Hajime's chin with his bloody fingers and lifted his

head. Smiling sweetly to hide his rage, he brought his face close enough to

Hajime's that he could kiss him if he wanted to. However, just before their lips

touched, he moved his face to the side and leaned even farther forward to

whisper directly into Hajime's ear.

"I'm going to destroy everything and everyone you ever cared about. All of

your friends who came into the Sanctuary with you, all of those idiots fighting

on the ground below, your family back in your world, everything. I'm going to

make them suffer the most painful deaths imaginable."

"..."

Still, there was no response from Hajime. His expression didn't change

either. It was almost as if he'd become an empty husk. But that wasn't what

Ehitruje wanted. There was no joy in tormenting a husk, after all. He wanted

Hajime to cry and beg for mercy. He wanted Hajime to get on his knees and

entreat him to spare his loved ones...for nothing else would be able to quell the

rage burning within him.

Determined to get a rise out of Hajime, Ehitruje decided to hit him where he

knew it would hurt most. What he didn't realize, though, was that was the very

thing that also served as Hajime's greatest source of support, and the very reason

he would never break.

"But don't worry," Ehitruje said with a smile. "I promise to take very good

care of this body. It's quite a splendid vessel, after all. I'll be sure to explore

every single nook and cranny of it too."

Knowing that his beloved was going to be violated finally seemed to get a

reaction from Hajime. Or at least, that was how it seemed to Ehitruje. That

couldn't have been further from the truth, though. In reality, Hajime had been

ignoring everything Ehitruje said, knowing it was pointless drivel. However, he

did suddenly reach out to grab Ehitruje by the collar, and Ehitruje, thinking that

Hajime had finally snapped, grinned sadistically.

"I've finally...found you..." Hajime muttered quietly.

"Huh?"

Ehitruje had no idea what Hajime was talking about, but he was confident

Hajime must have finally given in to despair. And so, he leaned in closer,

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wishing to hear the defeated cries of a broken man. Instead, he heard just one

word as Hajime invoked his greatest weapon.

"Transmute."

Ehitruje gave Hajime a confused look, but before he could ask Hajime what

he was playing at "—Gaaaaaah!"

Countless blades sprouted from his chest. Pain wracked Ehitruje's body as

the blood-soaked blades sliced through his innards. More blades sprouted from

all over Ehitruje's body, joining together to create a cage holding him in place.

This development was so unexpected that Ehitruje just stared in shock for a

few seconds. He'd been taken completely and utterly by surprise. And

unfortunately for him, those few seconds he left himself open gave Hajime all

the time he needed to carry out his plan. This, in fact, was the real moment of

truth Hajime had been waiting for all along.

"Transmute!"

Once again, Hajime activated his ultimate skill. All it did was allow him to

shape and move metal, and as far as Ehitruje could tell, the only metal around

was the blades sprouting from his body. Sure, they'd caught him by surprise, but

they couldn't do any permanent damage when not even god-slaying concept

magic had been able to truly hurt him. However, Hajime's right hand—which

he'd forcibly moved using his ability to freely manipulate his own mana, since

his muscles no longer worked—was pressed against his own stomach instead of

the blades.

Crimson sparks ran down his fingers and a second later, another blooddrenched blade sprouted from Hajime's own stomach.

"What?!" Ehitruje exclaimed in shock. Not because Hajime had been hiding

metal in his own stomach, or that he'd been willing to slice through it just to get

a surprise attack off, of course. No, the reason Ehitruje was so surprised was

because he felt the overwhelming, deadly power emanating from that blade.

Chills ran down his spine, and his instincts told him to run. He could tell from a

glance that the new blade Hajime had sprouted was enchanted with concept

magic.

"Agh!"

Ehitruje tried to activate Heavenstep, but the countless blades slicing through

the inside of his body were causing him too much pain to concentrate. Not even

the auto-repair ability he'd inherited upon taking over Yue's body could fully

heal damage that was being applied constantly. To make matters worse, the two

blades that had shot out of his feet had dug deep into the ground, holding him

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physically in place so he couldn't just jump away. As a result, Hajime's blade

reached him.

The translucent, pale-blue knife made of pure Divinity Stone stabbed into

Ehitruje's chest, glowing crimson with the light of Hajime's mana.

"Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Ehitruje screamed in agony. He no

longer had the presence of mind to try to retain his dignity as a god. Frankly, it

was hard to believe such a small knife had caused that much pain, but it had.

Using up a tremendous amount of his mana, Ehitruje destroyed the blades

holding him in place with a flash of platinum light and staggered backward,

cradling his head.

A second later, ripples of energy started pulsing out of Ehitruje. They grew

stronger with time, indicating that the true owner of this body had finally

awoken.

"Impossible, I eliminated every last trace of that blasted vampire princess!"

Ehitruje had indeed watched as Yue's soul vanished in a scream of despair,

so he couldn't understand why Yue was still alive...or why her soul was growing

in power with each passing second, slowly but surely pushing his own soul out.

Grinning fearlessly, Hajime decided to throw Ehitruje a bone and clear up his

confusion. In a flat tone, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, Hajime

said, "Yue was smarter than you. That's all there is to it."

"Gah!"

Gasping in pain, Ehitruje finally realized he'd been tricked not just by

Hajime, but also Yue. Even when she'd been reduced to nothing more than a

soul, she'd put on a show of attempting to resist him while in reality focusing her

efforts on finding a hiding place within the vastness of Ehitruje's soul. She'd

believed with absolute certainty that Hajime would come to rescue her, so even

the dying screams Ehitruje had heard had all been part of Yue's act.

"I see now...this knife is..."

Ehitruje pulled the knife out of his chest and looked down at it with

bloodshot eyes. He destroyed it with a flash of platinum light, but Hajime

seemed unconcerned. He was already moving on to the next step of his plan, his

right hand once again emitting crimson sparks.

"That god-slaying bullet's only purpose was to shake your soul a little and

give Yue's soul the signal it needed to wake up. Now, this Oath Bloodedge on

the other hand? Well, that was meant to actually sever your connection to Yue's

body and give her soul the strength it needs to take it back."

The god-slaying concept magic had been born out of a pure desire to destroy

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Ehitruje's soul and nothing else. But when Miledi had given the dagger to

Hajime, she'd warned him that it might not work at this point. And so, from the

start, Hajime had decided to make use of its property to affect only Ehitruje's

soul and nothing else, while assuming that all of its other powers would be

ineffective. Hitting Ehitruje with the god-slaying bullet had let him make a clear

distinction between what had been his soul and what was Yue's.

The reason he'd been silent the whole time Ehitruje had been taunting him

was because he'd been using his Demon Eye to pinpoint the location of Yue's

soul. His true trump card would only work if he could reach Yue's soul with it,

after all.

The Oath Bloodedge that he'd hidden in his stomach in spherical form was

the true attack aimed at Ehitruje. The god-slaying bullet had just been there to

get Hajime to this point. The concept magic imbued into that knife was, in

simple terms, "Don't touch my woman." It was an ability that kept anyone from

interfering with Yue's soul that had been born from the monster of the abyss's

rage and hatred at having his beloved Yue stolen away from him.

Now, no matter how hard Ehitruje tried, he wouldn't be able to maintain his

hold on Yue's body for long. The concept magic he'd been hit with wouldn't

allow it. His attempts to suppress Yue's soul were all stopped by the power of

Hajime's concept magic, and as she awakened, her body started treating

Ehitruje's soul as an invader and started to attack it, the same way white blood

cells attack viruses.

"You mean this was your plan all along?!"

"I mean, if I could have just overwhelmed you with force, I would have. But

Yue's life was on the line here, so I wasn't gonna leave anything to chance. It's

only natural that I'd have two or three backup plans just in case, right?"

The platinum mana shooting out of Yue's body slowly started turning golden

as she started regaining control. As the pulsing grew stronger and stronger,

Ehitruje's expression twisted in pain and he started losing the ability to

command Yue's limbs.

Yue's ironclad will was strong enough to push out even god's soul. This was

her body, and in her mind, the only one allowed to touch it was Hajime.

Ehitruje looked into his own soul and watched as a golden glow began

expanding from a dark corner, blotting everything out. The eternal vampire

princess had awoken, and now the look in Yue's crimson eyes was one of love

and trust, rather than hate and condescension. Ehitruje no longer looked out from

Yue's eyes.

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Hajime looked lovingly at Yue, Ehitruje momentarily forgotten. This was the

moment he'd been waiting for since she'd first disappeared. Though the two of

them had been ripped apart, they'd continued to have absolute trust in each

other, and that trust was now being rewarded.

In that instant, Ehitruje realized that from the moment he'd left Hajime alive

upon feeling Yue resisting his takeover of her body, he'd already lost to the

strength of their bond. His defeat had long since been sealed.

Feeling an unpleasant sense of dread, he shook his head and screamed,

"Don't underestimate me, Vampire Princess! This body is mine! I'll destroy

every last shred of your soul for good this time! And once that's done, you're

next, Irregular! A concept this weak won't be able to stop—"

"True that," Hajime said lightly. Once again, he was two steps ahead of

Ehitruje. He'd predicted that the Oath Bloodedge alone wouldn't be enough.

"What?" Ehitruje muttered, looking over at Hajime. He still didn't have the

strength to stand, but he'd thrust his trembling right hand out, and upon seeing

that, Ehitruje once again felt a primal fear.

As much as he didn't want to believe it, he could sense concept magic

emanating from Hajime's closed fist. Hajime opened his palm, and sitting in it

was a single bullet. It was covered in blood, and he'd clearly pulled it from out

of his body just like the Oath Bloodedge.

"Wh-What good will a single bullet do?! You don't even have any artifacts to

shoot it with!"

Ehitruje's battle with Yue's soul was so fierce he could no longer move, and

he could feel panic creeping up on him despite his bravado.

It was true that Hajime couldn't move, and that Ehitruje was too far away for

a blade to reach him now. A bullet alone couldn't accomplish anything. But of

course, Hajime knew all that. And so, for the third time, he cast his ultimate

spell.

"Transmute!"

Waves of crimson mana spread from his hand. A second later, glowing

particles began to gather around Hajime's palm. They coalesced into a familiar

shape.

"You're taking in metal particles from the air?" Ehitruje muttered in

amazement. That was indeed what Hajime was doing.

"I figured I would need at least three concept magic artifacts to get Yue back

for certain. I told you, I wasn't leaving anything to chance."

"You mean to tell me the entire time during our fight...from the very start,

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this is what you were aiming for?"

This was the real reason Hajime's Crosswelts and Grim Reapers had selfdestructed upon being cut down. Of course, the explosions had also been an

attempt to eke out a little more damage, but that had just been a cover for

Hajime's true aim. His plan had been to spread metal particles all over this

dimensional space. That way he could transmute no matter where he was. In

fact, some of his crow-shaped Grim Reapers had only pretended to fight, while

in reality, they'd been running around the battlefield to disseminate more metal

particles.

Hajime had made this backup plan just in case he wasn't able to beat Ehitruje

in a battle of numbers. He'd made Ehitruje think he was fighting as hard as he

could to hit him with the god-slayer artifact, while in truth he'd simply been

spreading ingredients for transmutation all over the battlefield without letting

Ehitruje notice. That was how he'd also gotten the metal blades to come out of

Ehitruje. All of the Crosswelts that Ehitruje had cut down had spread tiny metal

particles that he'd absorbed without realizing it. And as soon as Hajime had

confirmed that Ehitruje wasn't aware of them, he'd immediately switched to his

backup plan. Just in case, he'd also injected liquid metal into Ehitruje when he'd

grabbed him with his prosthetic arm.

The last piece of the puzzle that had made this plan possible was Transmute's

final derivative skill, Expanded Transmutation. Normally, a synergist needed to

be touching whatever object they were working on to Transmute it, but it was

this skill that let Hajime work with all of the metal particles scattered about.

He'd learned that skill at the same time he'd learned Image Composition back at

the Demon Lord's castle.

Its effect was quite simple. It let him transmute things without directly

touching them, that was all. It was a fitting final derivative skill for a job as

commonplace as synergist, but it was that exceedingly commonplace job that

had gotten Hajime this far. It was his ability to transmute that truly made him

into the monster of the abyss. So naturally, this very commonplace ability was

more than strong enough to destroy a god.

Hajime's lips curled up into a feral grin as he declared, "You beat me in a

battle of numbers, you overwhelmed me in close combat, and you were able to

destroy all of my artifacts. But so what? Did you really think that you won just

because of that?"

Ehitruje's jaw dropped open. That fierce battle where Hajime had nearly died

a dozen times had been nothing more than a step of his enemy's plan.

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Indeed, the fact that Ehitruje had so carelessly approached Hajime after

destroying his artifacts had been because Hajime had lured him into thinking he

was beaten. It was unbelievable to Ehitruje that Hajime's true plan had been to

shred his beloved vampire princess's body from the inside out. Only an insane

person would have come up with such a deranged plan.

Ehitruje was so taken aback by Hajime's insanity that he let his concentration

slip for a second, letting Yue gain the upper hand in the battle for her body. As a

result, he was unable to do a single thing to stop Hajime.

Using his Expanded Transmutation, Hajime created a very basic, single-shot

revolver. However, that simple gun was more than enough. Hajime loaded his

concept magic bullet, the final weapon he needed to deal a lethal blow to

Ehitruje.

"Stop getting in my way!" Ehitruje roared, trying to push away Yue's soul to

no avail. He couldn't move, and every single time he tried to cast magic, Yue's

soul disrupted the flow of mana in her body. She was clearly assisting her lover

as best she could.

"Hajime."

Hajime heard her confident voice, clear as day, and he grinned fearlessly.

"I'll be taking Yue back now. Every last drop of her blood, every last strand

of her hair, every single fragment of her soul belongs to me!"

Hajime pulled the trigger, and a crimson streak shot through Ehitruje. The

bullet he'd fired was an Oath Bullet, enchanted with the exact same concept

magic as his Oath Bloodedge. Naturally, the bullet was just as effective as the

knife.

Ehitruje had just barely been managing to contain Yue's soul until now, but

this one shot wrested control of her body away from him. He let out a wordless

scream, and at the same time, Yue crowed in triumph.

A second later, there was a burst of golden light. It was far warmer and far

more vivid than the platinum light of Ehitruje's mana. Nostalgia washed over

Hajime as he basked in the golden glow of his beloved Yue's mana.

Something that looked vaguely like a shade was expelled from Yue's body

and she closed her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath. When she opened

her crimson eyes again, the only thing reflected in them was her beloved Hajime.

She smiled as bright as the sun, looking like a flower in full bloom.

At long last, the Yue Hajime knew and loved was free. She slowly walked

over to him. Though she was covered in as much blood as he was, that only

made her more alluring.

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There were no words to describe the wealth of emotions the two of them felt

as Yue spread her arms wide, her golden-blonde hair splaying out behind her. It

was hard to tell if she was inviting Hajime into her embrace, or if she wanted

him to embrace her. Either way, Hajime smiled gently and reached out to her

with his one arm.

Yue hugged him tight, burying her face in his chest. Hajime wrapped his one

arm around her as well, bringing her even closer. The embrace made his wounds

ache, but the pain of his physical injuries was nothing compared to the pain of

being apart from Yue for so long.

Yue pulled her head back a little and cupped Hajime's face in both hands.

She then pressed her forehead against his, her eyes looking directly into his. A

warm breath escaped her lips, and Hajime rested his hand against her cheek.

In a voice gentle enough to touch the hearts of any who heard it, Hajime said,

"I came for you, my vampire princess."

"Mmm... I knew you would, my demon lord."

Both of them chuckled, then leaned in closer for a kiss. It was a brief brush of

lips against lips, but was filled with as much emotion as any longing, passionate

kiss might have been. Their lips tasted like blood, but neither of them seemed to

mind. In fact, Yue licked up the blood on Hajime's lips with relish.

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Suddenly, a blast of lethal platinum light interrupted Hajime and Yue's

touching reunion.

Yue reflexively turned back and held out a hand, immediately casting

Hallowed Ground. As the beam of light hit it, she let out a small groan.

"Mrgh..."

Her brow furrowed. Yue had expended a great deal of her strength when

she'd chased Ehitruje's soul out of her body. That was why she'd only been able

to cast Hallowed Ground in response to the attack, rather than a much more

powerful spatial magic barrier.

While this beam of platinum light was much weaker than the destructive

force Ehitruje had unleashed from his three-ring halo, it was still a miracle that

Yue had been able to stop it with just a Hallowed Ground.

Though Yue was exhausted, Hajime was too injured to even move. She knew

it was her turn to protect him this time. Determined, she continued casting more

Hallowed Grounds to keep the two of them safe.

"Die! Die! Die! Die, you goddamned Irregular!" a voice dripping with hate

screamed. Looking over, Yue saw a human-shaped silhouette made purely of

light standing at the point of the beam's origin. It looked just like the light

apostles Ehitruje had mass-produced from his halo. While the tone and pitch of

the voice were very different from when he'd been inhabiting Yue's body, it was

obvious whom it belonged to. No one else sounded that childish, after all.

That puny silhouette of light was undoubtedly Ehitruje.

"This is MY sanctuary! Even if I'm stuck as just a soul, I still have enough

strength left to beat you! I'm going to kill that Irregular right in front of your

eyes, Vampire Princess, and then I'll make your body mine for good!" Ehitruje's

voice echoed throughout the pure-white dimension, sounding like it was coming

from everywhere at once. Despite his boastful claims, it seemed he couldn't use

his claymores or his teleporting attacks anymore. The god-killer bullet Hajime

had hit him with had likely done more damage than Ehitruje had let on.

Moreover, Ehitruje had also expended a great deal of his strength trying to

suppress Yue's soul. The Oath Bloodedge and Oath Bullet had exhausted him

greatly too.

That being said, the platinum disintegration beam was still quite powerful,

and as Ehitruje raged on, it started growing stronger. Cracks started appearing in

Yue's multilayered Hallowed Grounds.

"Despair, puny mortal! Even your final trump card wasn't enough to kill me!

You have nothing left to stop me with!"

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The platinum beam grew larger, causing the cracks to spread. Yue

desperately poured mana into her barrier to try to repair it, but it was taking

damage faster than she could fix it.

Of course, Ehitruje didn't even suspect that Hajime might still have a concept

magic artifact left. After all, only a handful of people in all of history had ever

managed to use concept magic, including Ehitruje and his old comrades.

"When did I ever say that was my final trump card?" Hajime declared with a

feral grin.

"What?!"

Once again, Ehitruje had underestimated the sheer depth of Hajime's

determination, as well as his desire to get Yue back.

"Yue."

"Mmm..."

That brief exchange was all they needed. Though Yue didn't know the exact

details of Hajime's plan, she knew exactly what he wanted from her. They

understood each other well enough that longer explanations were unnecessary.

Yue rose to her feet and stood protectively in front of Hajime, focusing all

her attention on holding back Ehitruje's beam. She stuck both her hands out,

pushing her Hallowed Ground as far back as possible, angling it so that the

shock waves of the impact would spread upward rather than toward Hajime. At

the same time, she created a very tiny hole in her barrier, allowing a stream of

metal particles to flow through it. They gathered around Hajime's palm, which

was emitting crimson sparks, and formed into a single bullet. Hajime then bit

down on one of his teeth and spat out a small stone fragment covered in

sealstone.

This was the final concept magic he'd prepared to take down Ehitruje. The

concept magic that denied the existence of anything it touched, the very same

concept magic he'd created when he'd felt true despair after Yue had been stolen

from him at the Demon Lord's castle. When his chains had disappeared, so had

the concept magic he'd imbued them with, but by using Expanded

Transmutation, he'd managed to salvage a thimbleful's worth of existencedenying material, which he'd then hidden in his back tooth.

The Oath Bloodedge and Oath Bullet's main purpose had been to rescue Yue,

not kill Ehitruje. Hajime had known from the start he'd need more than just that.

And so, he transmuted the piece of stone he'd spat out of his mouth into the

bullet he'd just made and looked over at Ehitruje.

"You asked how I managed to kill Alvaheit, right? Well, the truth is, he just

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had the misfortune of being close by when I got truly pissed. Do you really think

a guy like me would come up with something as banal as god-slaying concept

magic?"

"Y-You bastard!"

Hajime wasn't trying to kill Ehitruje because he was an evil god who was

trying to destroy the world, and that certainly wasn't why he'd killed Alvaheit.

The gods had simply pissed Hajime Nagumo off...and that was the one and only

reason they were about to be killed.

Hajime was treating Ehitruje like a common thug who'd tried to mug him. It

was a huge blow to Ehitruje's pride. No one had ever humiliated him so

thoroughly in his life. He let out a scream of pure rage, but at the same time, he

could instinctively sense the extreme threat the concept magic in Hajime's hand

posed, and a big part of him wanted to run away.

Caught between his senses of pride and his self-preservation, Ehitruje

hesitated. And that hesitation proved fatal.

"This is checkmate, you third-rate poser."

Grinning fearlessly, Hajime loaded the bullet into his single-shot revolver

and pulled the trigger. The existence-denying bullet shot toward Ehitruje,

leaving a crimson trail behind it. It easily cut through the platinum disintegration

beam without slowing down in the slightest.

Realizing he couldn't win, Ehitruje finally decided to try to flee.

"I order you in the name of Yue—don't move!"

"Impossible!"

Yue hadn't just been sitting around and twiddling her thumbs while waiting

to be rescued after Ehitruje had taken over her body. She'd been keeping a very

close eye on him, analyzing all of the spells he cast and figuring out how they

worked. She was a genius mage who'd become the strongest vampire in

existence by the time she was a teenager. Ehitruje's magic may have been

complex, but she'd felt him using it with her own body, so she was now able to

replicate it to some extent. Though of course, casting Ehitruje's Divine Edict

cost so much mana she nearly blacked out. Still, she gritted her teeth and kept

herself conscious through sheer force of will. As a result, Ehitruje was

momentarily bound in place.

"I-I'm a god! You can't do this to me! Damn you,

Irregulaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar!"

Though his face was just a blurry oval of light, it was clear his expression

was twisted in fear. He watched in slow motion as the bullet sped toward him,

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counting down the milliseconds to his demise.

For millennia, he had thought he would live forever, but now he could see his

death inching closer to him at supersonic speed. No matter how much he told

himself he was a god, and that this couldn't be happening, he couldn't avert his

eyes from reality. The merciless, unstoppable, unreasonable monster of the abyss

had sentenced him to death, sealing his fate. The bullet that could destroy

anything parted Ehitruje's beam of destruction and pierced his heart.

"Gaaaaaaaaah!"

The remnants of Ehitruje's disintegration beam dissipated and he touched the

hole in his chest with a trembling hand. Within seconds, his light-forged body

began to break apart.

"Aaaaaah! No...this can't be...happening..."

Unable to stop his own destruction, Ehitruje could only watch as his body

crumbled away. When he was nothing but a head, he looked up at Hajime and

Yue.

"This can't be..." he whispered again one last time, then vanished.

Yue dispelled her Hallowed Ground and fell to the ground in a sitting

position. Hajime slowly lowered his gun as well. The only sounds in the purewhite room were Hajime's and Yue's heavy breathing.

Smiling, Yue looked over her shoulder back at Hajime. He smiled back at

her, but then a second later, his expression was filled with panic.

"Yue!" he shouted.

As she turned back, a truly unearthly scream reverberated across the room.

"Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

An invisible shock wave slammed into Yue and Hajime. Taken completely

by surprise, Yue was blown back into Hajime, who wrapped his arm around her

and twisted his body to shield her from any follow-up blows.

Another roar echoed through the room, and the altar Hajime was half-buried

in was shattered into a thousand pieces. It was a small mercy that he wasn't

simply crushed against the altar wall, but the force of the shock wave still sent

him and Yue flying now that there was nothing to catch them.

Hajime bounced against the floor multiple times before finally coming to a

stop a good distance away from the altar's wreckage. Rubble was scattered all

around him.

"Gah! Yue..." Hajime wheezed, coughing up blood.

"Ngh... Hajime!"

Thanks to Hajime, Yue hadn't taken any serious damage, but the shock wave

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had still knocked the wind out of her. The two of them clasped each other's

hands and unsteadily rose to their feet, leaning heavily against each other. As

they looked around to see what had attacked them, their expressions stiffened.

"You've gotta be fucking kidding me..." Hajime muttered.

"Is the Sanctuary...falling apart?" Yue asked.

The perfect, pure-white dimension did indeed look like it was breaking.

Cracks ran through the walls, floor, and ceiling, and sections of the room were

warped into strange shapes and flickering unsteadily. From beyond these

dimensional rifts, Hajime and Yue could see glimpses of the Sanctuary's other

rooms. They were visible for only a few seconds before they were replaced by

another, cycling through in random order. It was clear what was causing this

breakdown.

"Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

A black miasma was pouring out of the cracks and warps in the room. It

gathered at a single point and started whirling like a vortex. There were a few

apostles and monsters that had been caught in the flow of miasma as well, and

they were crushed in the vortex with a series of sickening crunches.

Another bloodcurdling scream emanated from the center of that miasma.

"I guess...this is what's left of him?" Hajime muttered.

"Mmm..." Yue said with a nod. In the midst of the screaming, the two of

them could pick out a few words here and there.

"I don't...want to...die..." "Why...can't you understand...that..." "Eternity...is

everything..." "I...I am a god...why...?" "I'm not the one who's mistaken...you..."

"Kneel before me...or I will destroy..." "Behold...the masses of

people...worshipping me...giving me..." "No...I don't want...to die..."

Those words were a manifestation of Ehitruje's attachment to eternal life, his

hatred for those who had disagreed with his ideals, his childlike desire to rule

over everything, and his overwhelming narcissism. Ugly as they were though,

Hajime could understand Ehitruje's overwhelming desire to not die, and his wish

to destroy everything after he'd been abandoned and left alone. Though he didn't

want to admit it, he'd been in a similar state of mind when he'd first fallen into

the abyss. In order to survive, he'd become someone who didn't give a damn

about anyone else and was willing to dine on even the meat of monsters to live.

Plus, that part of him had never truly gone away, as evidenced by the fact that

he'd been able to create existence-denying concept magic when Yue had been

taken away from him.

"If I hadn't met you and the others, Yue, I might have ended up just like—"

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Before he could finish, Yue put a finger to his lips and shook her head. In a

gentle voice she said, "No, that thing is nothing like you, Hajime. I'm sure there

were people who cared about him and tried to steer him back to the right path

before he ended up alone. When he was talking about his past, he even

mentioned that some tried to reach out to him. He was the one who chose not to

take their hands...and this is the result. Who you are now is a result of the path

you've walked so far. A path that was very different from Ehitruje's."

Yue's crimson eyes sparkled with affection, and she gently stroked Hajime's

cheek. Even after closing his heart off to others, Hajime had still answered Yue's

cry for help. And despite saying he didn't give a shit about the rest of the world,

he'd done a great deal to help many of the people he'd met on his journey. Had

he not, perhaps there wouldn't have been anyone around to stop him when he'd

gone on a rampage at the Demon Lord's castle. But there had been, and that was

the definitive difference between him and Ehitruje. Yue knew that, which was

why she didn't want Hajime putting himself down.

"I guess if you're saying that, it must be true," Hajime replied with a small

smile.

"Mmm..."

Considering how dire the situation was, this was hardly the time to be

doubting himself or getting all sentimental. Hajime once again steeled himself

for the battle that was not yet over, and Yue smiled at him.

A second later, the miasma shot out in all directions. There was still a small

core of miasma whirling around the center of the room, but it had thinned

enough that the creature controlling it was now visible.

"That thing really is a monster."

"Mhm. I almost pity it."

It looked like a giant lump of flesh. Various creatures' bones, muscles, and

skin had been smashed together to form its body, and numerous limbs stuck out

of the misshapen lump at odd angles. It also possessed several writhing tentacles

that looked utterly grotesque. Simply staring at it was enough to sap one's sanity

with how deranged it looked.

Hajime couldn't sense anything of Ehitruje's personality or will from the

creature. The existence-denying bullet had indeed killed Ehitruje himself. The

only reason he hadn't completely disappeared was because his attachment to

eternal life and desire to trample over everything were so strong that a shade of

him composed of only those feelings had remained.

The creature that had once been Ehitruje let out another scream.

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"Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

A storm of wind swirled around it and the black miasma once again

coalesced, sending out a series of invisible shock waves.

Hajime and Yue both dropped low to the ground, but they couldn't avoid

being blown backward. They groaned in pain as they bounced across the ground,

but they didn't let go of each other's hands. Once they came to a halt, they once

again staggered to their feet, using each other for support.

"Yue, suck my blood," Hajime said calmly.

"But..."

"It'll be fine."

Yue hesitated. Hajime had said he'd be fine, but there was no way he'd

survive losing more blood. He was already on the brink of death, after all. The

deep wounds in his stomach and thighs hadn't even closed up yet. He'd stopped

the bleeding by clenching his muscles, but he'd already lost enough blood that it

was a miracle his heart was still beating. It was only thanks to his unnaturally

sturdy body that he was still conscious and capable of clear thought. Thus, Yue

could tell that sucking his blood might really kill him.

In the distance, the flesh beast let out another howl. More shock waves

rippled out, widening the cracks in the room and destroying entire chunks of it.

The tentacles started extending in all directions as well, as if searching for prey.

At this rate, both Hajime and Yue would die unless they did something.

Still, Yue hesitated, and Hajime gave her his usual fearless smile, baring his

teeth. There was a dangerous glint in his eyes, the same glint that always

reassured his allies and struck fear in the hearts of his enemies. Yue's heart

skipped a beat.

"Do you really think I didn't have a backup plan for this eventuality?"

"Hajime..."

"It's true that I'm out of trump cards, but you're not."

Yue was at a loss for words.

Ahhh, the man I fell in love with really is...incorrigible.

Her fears assuaged, Yue nodded and buried her fangs in Hajime's neck. As

she sucked his blood, she could feel her mana recovering little by little—and

then suddenly her heart rate jumped. Her Blood Oath skill made it so that she

could more efficiently convert blood into energy from one specific target, but

that alone didn't explain the sudden surge of power she felt as she drank just a

few drops of Hajime's blood.

The final artifact Hajime Nagumo had prepared for this battle was—himself.

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Or to be more specific, his blood. He had enchanted the iron in his blood with a

combination of evolution magic, spirit magic, and specialized CheatMates to be

as effective as possible at restoring Yue's strength. He'd turned his own body

into a unique artifact just for Yue.

On the off chance that he lost all of his artifacts, Yue was too exhausted to

fight, and his existence-denying bullet didn't kill Ehitruje, Hajime had wanted to

make sure there were still options available for them.

"Mmm..." Hajime's blood was so delicious that Yue let out a small moan of

pleasure.

A second later, the flesh beast's tentacles shot out toward the two of them.

Their ends were tapered and sharp enough to pierce through flesh. Yue pulled

away from Hajime's neck and stuck her hand out toward the tentacles. The space

in front of her warped, tearing open a hole to another dimension. The tentacles

passed through the hole and were immediately destroyed.

Yue had opened a portal to another disintegrating section of the Sanctuary

and let them be destroyed along with it. Normally, that would have taken a lot of

mana, but as the Sanctuary was falling apart, the borders between dimensions

were quite thin and she was able to do it efficiently.

Once she was sure the two of them were safe, she turned back to Hajime. His

eyes were unfocused, and his face was pale. Even the few drops of blood that

she'd sucked had taken quite a toll on him. It was clear he was struggling just to

stay conscious. If not for the severe pain of his wounds, he might have actually

blacked out.

Yue hurriedly started casting restoration magic on him, but after she saw the

look in his eyes, she stopped. He didn't want her to expend any unnecessary

mana. Though she desperately wanted to ease his pain, she nodded and instead

picked him up.

In a raspy, yet still determined voice, Hajime said, "Regular...attacks won't

be enough..."

"Mmm... We'll need concept magic stronger than the one you just used on

him."

Hajime nodded in agreement while Yue created another portal to redirect the

flesh beast's next attack.

"But I don't have enough mana to do it alone..." Yue added.

"Use metamorphosis magic...on me to—"

"You want me to turn you into a vampire? Are you saying you'll heal

yourself with my blood because I have a lot left?"

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Yue was stunned. She hadn't even considered that possibility. But after

thinking about it, she realized it was theoretically doable. She ran some quick

calculations in her head. Of course, Tio had already proven it was possible when

she'd obtained magic that had let her turn other creatures into dragon familiars.

Granted she'd needed the help of Hajime's artifact for that, but Yue's skill with

magic was far greater.

Yue had no way of knowing that Tio had done something similar already,

since that had happened after she was kidnapped, but she was once again amazed

at just how thoroughly Hajime had prepared for this battle. She was also

overjoyed because it meant Hajime trusted her enough to make this insane plan

work. If she didn't meet his expectations here, she didn't deserve to call herself

his woman.

"What will we use to make the artifact, though?" she asked curiously.

"My eye."

It was at that moment that Yue realized Hajime's eye patch had been

enchanted with magic that made it difficult to notice whatever was behind it

unless Hajime specifically brought attention to it. Of course, if someone was

calm, they'd be able to overcome that minor enchantment, but this was why

Ehitruje, who'd been acting purely on rage and a desire to humiliate Hajime had

overlooked his Demon Eye.

Yue peeled away Hajime's eye patch and dug her slender fingers into his eye

socket. Hajime let out a small groan, and Yue pursed her lips and swiftly pulled

the Demon Eye out. It was perfectly spherical and glowed a faint, pale blue.

"Yue...I'm counting on you."

"Mmm... Don't worry, I'll take care of the rest."

Hajime's body was enveloped in golden light as Yue started the

transformation process. She used spatial magic to keep the flesh beast's attack at

bay while casting a combination of metamorphosis, spirit, and evolution magic

on Hajime. It was honestly awe-inspiring how many different types of ancient

magic she was managing to juggle at once.

There was no need to turn Hajime into a full vampire, so all Yue had to do

was grant him the ability to regenerate by sucking blood. Still, even that was a

nigh-impossible feat.

The flesh beast that had once been Ehitruje instinctively seemed to realize

that tentacle attacks were getting nowhere and started slowly lumbering toward

Yue and Hajime. Yue had until it reached them to transform Hajime, or they'd

all be dead.

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She was so focused on the vampirification that her defenses weakened for a

moment, and a few tentacles grazed her. But she paid them no mind and

concentrated only on the task her beloved partner trusted her to accomplish.

"Yue."

"Mmm... I'm ready, Hajime."

Hajime's canines grew a few centimeters and his irises had turned crimson.

He leaned closer to Yue and bit into the soft skin of her neck.

"Nnnaaah."

Yue had succeeded with flying colors. With every drop of blood Hajime

drank, his wounds healed a little. And though Yue knew this was no time to be

getting horny, she couldn't help but moan a little every time Hajime sucked on

her neck. She wanted this moment to go on forever, but the rational part of her

mind that was still focused on their predicament came to a worrying conclusion.

It's not enough.

Indeed, even after giving Hajime her blood, the two of them combined still

didn't have enough mana to create a concept stronger than the existence-denying

bullet Hajime had used. And she knew she wouldn't be able to give Hajime

much more of her blood without running too low herself. Moreover, she'd

expended a great deal of her mana to transform him into a quasi-vampire. At this

rate, they really would die here. As always though, Hajime had thought ahead.

"Don't worry. When I made myself into an artifact for you, I did a lot more

than just make my blood better."

Simply hearing Hajime's confident voice was enough to reassure her. Hajime

pressed his lips against Yue's, but this kiss wasn't just to show his affection. It

was, in fact, the final backup plan that he had prepared.

Ignoring her small moan of pleasure, he bit into her lips with his fangs. A

second later, she did the same, and the two of them started slurping each other's

blood.

After that, an explosion of mana erupted from both of them. Golden and

crimson mixed, creating a spectacular light show. Their mana spiraled upward,

breaking straight through the roof of the Sanctuary and rising toward the

heavens.

Both of them should have been completely spent, yet the amount of mana

pouring out of them was greater than ever before. This was all thanks to the

technique Hajime had devised to theoretically let both of them generate infinite

mana, Ultimate Bond. The metal particles Hajime had injected into Yue's body

during his fight with Ehitruje had actually been an artifact in and of themselves,

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but they'd been designed to only activate when mixed with Hajime's blood and

when Yue was using her power to convert blood into energy. This artifact had

the power to restore the power in one's blood that was temporarily lost when it

was sucked by a vampire. Since both of them had this artifact in their blood now,

they could theoretically generate infinite mana.

In other words, as long as they were kissing, they would keep increasing their

mana.

"Aaahn..." Yue trembled, both from the pleasure of the kiss and the rush of

power flowing through her. It was the same for Hajime. He held Yue close,

savoring the taste of their bloody kiss.

The flesh beast was now only a few meters away from the two of them.

"Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

It let out a scream, shooting out its tentacles and shock waves at the same

time. Yue didn't even look at it as she dispelled her portals. There was no need

for defense anymore. In fact, the torrent of mana rolling off of Hajime and Yue

was so dense that it was creating an unbreakable barrier by itself. It filled the

room, and it was quite possible there had never been such a concentration of

mana in one place in the entire history of the world.

Hajime and Yue finally broke apart, but they kept their gazes fixed on each

other. This was hardly the time and place to be flirting, but they were surrounded

by such a dense wall of mana no one could have stopped them anyway. The two

of them placed their palms together, Hajime's Demon Eye, made from Divinity

Stone, and the tiny revolver he'd made nestled between them.

Once again, Hajime activated the spell that had gotten him through every

hardship he'd come up against thus far.

"Transmute!"

Crimson and golden mana melded together completely, creating a burst of

sunrise orange. The surge of mana was powerful enough to force the flesh beast

to take a few steps back and scream in pain.

A second later, the burgeoning bubble of light shrank down, coalescing

inside the small gun Hajime and Yue were holding together. Hajime's hand was

shaking with exhaustion, so Yue helped steady his aim. Their gazes were both

focused on what had become of Ehitruje.

Crimson and golden sparks ran down the length of the gun barrel. The bullet

capable of finally putting an end to the monster that Ehitruje had become started

to form within the gun's chamber. The concept magic imbued into it was without

a doubt the strongest concept either of them had ever created.

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"Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

The flesh beast launched its tentacles at Hajime and Yue, instinctively

sensing the threat that the bullet they were making posed. However, such a

haphazard attack was, of course, incapable of even hitting the two of them.

"You're like a fairy-tale heroine, Yue, blessing the protagonist with victory

with a kiss."

"Mmm... And you're the perfect protagonist, grasping victory from the jaws

of defeat at the last minute."

As they bantered, the two of them slowly started to pull the trigger.

"All right, you half-dead shade. I've got only one thing left to say to you."

"Yeah."

The two of them sucked in a deep breath and shouted in unison, "You get

what you fucking deserve, you bastard!"

They finished pulling the trigger and the bullet shot out with a surprisingly

quiet noise.

How dare you use my body to hurt Hajime?! Not even a thousand deaths can

atone for such a sin!

Hajime's thoughts were, of course, in a similar vein to Yue's. The two of

them loved each other so deeply that any time the other was hurt in any way,

shape, or form, they immediately flew into a rage. Moreover, the concept packed

into that bullet—that one should pay for the sins they've wrought—was akin to

an encapsulation of the feelings of every single person across the history of

Tortus that had been toyed with and trampled on by Ehitruje.

A single streak of light shot across the room and, small though it was, it

contained the most powerful concept magic that had ever been. All the pain and

suffering Ehitruje had inflicted on humanity over his long, long lifetime was

coming back to smite him.

For a moment there was silence as the streak of light pierced through what

Ehitruje's body had become. Black blood as thick as sludge spilled from the hole

the bullet had made, then the flesh beast began to disintegrate.

"Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

The pained screams of a dying monster filled the room and a mixture of black

miasma and platinum-colored mana started rising up into the sky. They traveled

through the Sanctuary's ceiling and even the dark red sky above it.

For eons, Ehitruje had caused the people of this world untold amounts of

suffering. And now, at long last, he was paying the price for his crimes. Not

even the fires of hell were hot enough to give him the suffering he truly

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deserved, but it would be a start.

After a solid minute of screaming, the black miasma and platinum mana

finally faded completely, leaving nothing behind. This time, Ehitruje—the selfstyled god of this world—was dead for good.

The small revolver that had slain god crumbled away into dust. For a while

after that, Hajime and Yue just leaned against each other in silence, enjoying the

feeling of holding each other's hands. They looked at each other, smiling

happily.

"I guess this isn't really the time to be resting, huh?" Hajime said.

"Mhm... Can you stand?"

"Tch, I can't even move my arms, let alone my legs. How about you, Yue?"

"It's hard enough just to stay upright."

With the death of its creator, the Sanctuary had started falling apart. The

rumbling was growing louder by the second, and there were countless cracks and

holes in the pure-white space. Unfortunately, neither of them had the strength

left to move. Even Hajime hadn't predicted the real trial would come after

Ehitruje was dead.

"Sorry, Yue... I was thinking that after we killed Ehit and healed up, we'd be

able to use the particles left in the air...or even my bones...to make a Gate Key,

but..."

"Mmm... Doesn't look like we have the time for that."

They couldn't even recover their mana using Ultimate Bond. The metal

particles that served as the basis for the technique hadn't been able to withstand

the burden of constant use and had lost their power. Plus, both Hajime and Yue

were exhausted down to their very souls, so even if they did have mana left, they

wouldn't be able to cast ancient magic. Trying would just knock them out.

Hajime had prepared as best as he could, but he wasn't omnipotent. In their

current situation, he couldn't think of any way to buy them the time they needed

to recover either.

Hajime frowned as he watched the room start to break apart even faster.

Despite the hopeless situation though, he refused to despair.

"There's no way...I'm going to let it...end here... We're going back home

even if we have to crawl there."

"Mmm..."

Lending each other their shoulders, Hajime and Yue literally started crawling

across the room. They were heading toward one of the holes that was showing a

hazy image of the surface of Tortus. It was slow going, since they had to avoid

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all of the giant cracks that were more like crevasses and detour around the holes

that led to dimensions they didn't want to fall into, but step by step they pushed

forward, just like they always had.

Eventually, they reached their destination. The warped, twisted space that

stretched out below them looked too turbulent for any living creature to survive

passing through. Hajime and Yue could both tell instinctively that if they jumped

in there, they wouldn't come out alive. Even though they could see the unified

Tortus army spread out below them, they couldn't reach it. Even though Kaori

was down there waiting for them, they couldn't get to her. It was right below

their eyes, but the surface was still so very far away. Their only hope was to wait

until the very last second and pray that Hajime recovered enough mana to make

some artifacts that could protect them during their journey through that twisted

space before the Sanctuary fell apart completely.

Unfortunately, reality was cruel. The room started disintegrating faster and

faster and the black void crept ever closer to the two of them.

"Yue," Hajime said.

"Hm?"

"I love you."

"Mmm...I love you too."

Hajime wouldn't recover in time. However, that helped both of them steel

their resolve. As the cracks reached their feet, the two of them calmly smiled at

each other and kissed. They then prepared to jump, willing to gamble everything

on a reckless attempt to reach the surface through that portal.

"Waaaaaaaaait! The super genius beautiful mage Miledi Reisen-tan is here

right on tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiime! Did you miss me? Didja?"

Right before they jumped in, something popped out of the portal.

"..." Hajime and Yue stared at the newcomer in utter shock. It felt like

they'd been in the middle of a funeral, but then a clown had suddenly popped out

of the coffin.

Miledi continued as if she hadn't just popped in out of nowhere, in the same

excited tone as always, "Come on, guys, where's your thanks? I came here to

save you and you're just sitting there staring! You could have at least given me a

round of applause! You're making me cry. I went through all this trouble and

this is what I get?"

"God, she's so annoying," Hajime muttered.

"Mmm... That's definitely Miledi."

No one else could be that annoying. Hajime and Yue had no choice but to

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accept that the smiley-faced golem making a peace sign and winking at them

was indeed real. At the same time, they realized Miledi had somehow stopped

the destruction of the Sanctuary from reaching the small area they were in.

"Are...you doing this?" Hajime asked.

"He he, that's right. Something like this is a piece of cake for the great leader

of the Liberators, Miledi-chan! Aren't I great? Oh, but save the praise for later. I

can only keep this up for a few minutes."

"Can you get us out of here?" Yue asked.

"But of course! I already sent the bunny girl and all the others back. You two

are all that's left! See, I planned ahead! Now, where's that applause?"

Miledi's smiley-faced mask sparkled as she spoke, making her appear even

more annoying. Still, Hajime and Yue were genuinely grateful for the assistance.

Though admittedly, it galled them that they felt that way. Miledi's next words

wiped the budding smiles off their faces, however.

"All right, here you go. A weaker replica Arrow of Boundaries. It's my last

one. It probably wouldn't even work if the space here wasn't so unstable, but it

should be enough to get you guys out. And here, have some bonus mana potions!

They should get your mana back up to the point where you can activate the thing

at least. Once you've recovered, activate that arrow and get the heck outta here!

I'll take care of the rest!"

"What do you mean? You're not coming with us?" Hajime asked as Yue

grabbed the arrow Miledi tossed over to them. It definitely sounded like she

intended to stay behind in this decomposing dimension. And indeed, her next

words confirmed Hajime's suspicions.

"Yep, I'm staying here. I can't just let this messed up space run rampant. If it

self-destructs naturally, it'll cause damage to the land down below too. I need to

stay back to stop that."

"You make it sound like you're dying here," Hajime said, able to speak with

a lot less pain now that he'd drunk the potion and recovered enough mana to

activate the arrow.

In a matter-of-fact tone, Miledi replied, "That's right, I'm going to die here.

I'm going to use my last and strongest spell to compress this entire space into

nothing. This is a dimension that can't be allowed to exist, so I was planning on

doing this from the start."

In truth, Miledi's last-ditch backup plan had been to use this spell to kill

herself and Ehitruje along with the Sanctuary if Hajime failed to end him, but

that would have been pretty difficult to actually pull off had Ehitruje been alive,

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so she was honestly quite grateful that Hajime and his friends had succeeded.

"Don't be stupid. Sacrificing yourself in some heroic fashion isn't your style

—"

Annoyed by how easily Miledi had accepted her own death, Hajime tried to

speak some sense into her. But before he could finish his statement, an ethereal

image of a blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl of about fourteen or fifteen appeared

above the golem. Miledi had projected her spirit out of her golem to show

Hajime and Yue what she'd looked like back when she was human. She smiled

gently at the two of them, and said in a satisfied voice, "This isn't self-sacrifice,

it's selfishness. Long ago, I made a promise to my comrades. We swore that

we'd kill god and save this world. It was an impossible dream back then, but

now I finally have a chance to fulfill that promise."

Miledi looked off into the distance, recalling the past. Her sky-blue eyes were

filled with a mixture of regret and unyielding determination.

"In my time, I couldn't save the world...or any of my friends. All I could do

was entrust our hopes to the future. I've been waiting for this moment for

thousands and thousands of years. Using up all my power right here, right now,

to help the people of the world is the only reason I've lived this long."

Hajime and Yue sat there, listening quietly. It was clear to them that this

wasn't just an attempt at a noble sacrifice to make herself feel better about her

past failures. Miledi truly was trying to fulfill the promise she'd held dear to her

heart for all these millennia.

Miledi closed her eyes and added, "Thank you, Hajime Nagumo-kun, Yuechan. Thank you for achieving our long-held desire. And thank you for using our

magic for good."

For once there was no playful note to her voice, and Hajime and Yue were

both moved by her heartfelt gratitude. They no longer felt compelled to stop her,

but they were glad they were there to witness her final moments.

Smiling, Yue replied, "No, thank you, Miledi. Your magic helped me out the

most. In a way, you could say I'm your successor, Miledi Reisen."

"He he he. Sure, I'll allow it!"

"'Live your life however you wish. I know your choices will definitely help

this world.' That's what you told me when we first met. Now that it's all over,

do you still think my choices were the right ones?" Hajime asked.

"Of course! You sent that shitty god to hell, and I'm still here. You even gave

me the chance to use what remains of my washed-up life to help people. Thanks

to you, I can finally go meet my comrades with my head held high."

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Had Miledi still been in her mortal body, she likely would have been tearing

up right now. Though as it was, her soul projection still looked overcome with

emotion.

"All right, you two, I can't hold off this dimension's destruction for much

longer. It's time to return to the people who are waiting for you. Don't worry,

that's what I'm going to be doing too."

The room rumbled, and the cracks started spreading again. Feeling that,

Hajime and Yue rose unsteadily to their feet. Yue activated the Arrow of

Boundaries in her hand with the little mana she'd just recovered thanks to

Miledi's mana potion. As the arrow began to glow, the two of them looked into

Miledi's eyes.

In a solemn voice, Hajime said, "Miledi Reisen. You have my utmost respect.

No matter how many millennia passed, you never once wavered. You have the

strongest will of anyone I've ever met, without a doubt. Oscar Orcus. Naiz

Gruen. Meiru Melusine. Laus Barn. Lyutillis Haltina. Vandre Schnee."

Hajime named all of the labyrinth creators—the Liberators who'd fought at

Miledi's side until the very end—one by one. He then placed his hand over his

heart and bowed deeply.

"I swear I will never forget you, or your precious comrades."

Yue also bowed and said, "None of your struggles were in vain. I swear that

future generations will know what you did for them."

Stunned, Miledi was momentarily at a loss for words. It almost looked like

she'd just received a treasure she'd always wanted, but hadn't expected to ever

find.

"Oh, umm...come on, guys, why're you getting all sappy on me?! I can't

even think of what to say! Anyway, get out of here. I really can't hold this place

together for much longer!"

Embarrassed, she looked away and waved at Hajime and Yue to get going.

The cracks at their feet really were getting larger, and if they didn't leave soon,

they'd be swallowed up into the void.

Hajime and Yue smiled at Miledi, who still wasn't looking at them, one last

time, then turned their backs to her. After making sure the surface was still being

reflected in the dimensional tear they were about to jump into, they nodded to

each other.

"See you around, Protector of the World," Hajime said.

"Goodbye, Protector of the World," Yue said at the same time.

And with that, the two of them jumped into the unstable portal.

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Once they were gone, Miledi stared at the spot they'd been standing in.

"Protector of the World, huh? Come on, guys, that's just not fair. Saying that

at the very end is going to make me feel like I actually did protect the world."

Miledi smiled to herself, and a second later, her sky-blue mana flared out.

Cracks appeared in her golem's smiley-faced mask and her metal body started

fading away from the edges, as if it was disintegrating.

Sparks ran down the body of the golem that had been made with all the

knowledge and abilities at the seven greatest Liberators' disposal, and a giant

black sphere appeared above it. Just then, Miledi felt as though she sensed

another person's presence, so she looked up.

"Oh..."

Standing in front of her were her six irreplaceable comrades. Millennia had

passed, but her memories of them were as vivid as when they'd first met.

"Guys..."

The specters of her fellow Liberators said nothing, but they were all smiling

proudly at her. Miledi knew it was just a hallucination, but that didn't matter.

"You all came to pick me up together? He he he, well, all right, then. I guess

there's only one thing to say!"

The swelling black sphere started swallowing everything up. The white room,

all of the dimensions it was linked to, the cracks and holes that opened up into

empty voids, all of it. It was like a true black hole.

Miledi's golem was destroyed along with everything else, but her soul

glowed brilliantly for one last moment, and she shouted with all her might the

words that finally signaled the end of her long, solitary journey.

"I'm back, guys!"

A second later, the Sanctuary and everything in it vanished without a trace.

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The dark crimson pall that had hung over all of Tortus inverted itself and

started to fall apart. The air creaked and groaned as cracks spread beyond the

layer of crimson and started extending up, down, left, right, and in all other

directions. It wasn't just the crimson pall that was falling apart, it seemed, but

the entire world.

Though the army of apostles had fallen to the ground like rag dolls, no one

was cheering. In fact, they were all looking up at the sky and praying for

salvation.

"Please save us, God..." a soldier muttered.

Most of the regular soldiers didn't know the truth about what god was. In

order to avoid confusion, Hajime and Liliana had come up with a propaganda

cover story that the leaders of other nations had agreed to spread as well. The

average person thought there were two gods, a good one and an evil one, and

that they were fighting against the evil one.

Naturally, that meant when things got this crazy, they turned to the good god

they believed still existed. But then Aiko Hatayama—the beloved Fertility

Goddess—addressed everyone in a clear, calm voice, wiping away the soldiers'

desire to cling to god.

"There's no need to despair, everyone! Even now, I'm certain that Nagumokun is continuing the fight against the evil god! The fact that the apostles have

fallen and the Sanctuary is breaking is proof that god is struggling! I'm sure that

Nagumo-kun will find a way to stop the destruction from spreading to the rest of

the world, so hold fast! Pray not to god but for Nagumo-kun's victory! Let him

know that we're supporting him from down here!"

Silence followed Aiko's words. For once, this wasn't a prerecorded speech

Hajime had given to her. These were her genuine feelings. She believed with all

her heart that Hajime and the others would return safely, and that they'd save the

world.

Because she'd fought on the same battlefield as these soldiers, her sincerity

got through to them. However, the first to respond was Liliana.

"That's right, we've won!" she shouted, using her artifact to amplify her

voice across the battlefield.

A second later, Gahard, who was covered head to toe in cuts and bruises,

shouted, "Victory is ours!"

Kuzeli, Lanzwi, Ulfric, Cam, Adul, Simon, and Yuuka all followed suit.

"Victory is ours!" they shouted in unison. Rallied, the soldiers started

stomping their boots and chanting, "Victory is ours! Victory is ours! Victory is

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ours! Victory is ours! Victory is ours! Victory is ours! Victory is ours! Victory is

ours! Victory is ours! Victory is ours! Victory is ours!"

Their chanting grew louder with time, everyone hoping that their

determination and will would reach those still fighting up above and clear away

the darkness enveloping Tortus.

Humans, beastmen, and the visitors from another world all chanted in unison,

putting their faith in Hajime and the others. There was only one person who

didn't join in on the chanting—Kaori. She was so drained of mana that she could

barely keep herself airborne, but she stubbornly remained in the sky and kept her

gaze focused upward at the Sanctuary. She wanted to be as close as possible to

greet Hajime and the others when they returned, which was why she forced

herself to stay airborne even though her wings were flickering in and out of

existence.

After a few seconds, Kaori's face lit up in joy. They were still a few thousand

meters up in the sky, so a normal person wouldn't have been able to make them

out, but Kaori could.

A small hole appeared in the cracked, deteriorating Sanctuary and a group of

familiar faces leaped out of it. They started free-falling and didn't seem to be

doing anything to decelerate.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

"Nuwoooooooooooooooh!"

Two of them let out rather pathetic screams as they fell.

"Shea! Tio!" Kaori shouted. It was indeed Shea—her bunny ears flapping

wildly in the wind—and Tio—whose torn kimono was revealing far too much

skin—falling from the sky.

A short distance above them, Shizuku, Suzu, Ryutarou, and Kouki were all

on Skyboards. Seeing that Shea and Tio were free-falling, the four of them

hurriedly dived down to try to grab them.

Seeing their worried expressions, Kaori realized Shea and Tio were actually

too exhausted to break their fall. She flapped her silvery-black wings, forcing her

exhausted body into action. She accelerated upward, matching her speed to their

downward acceleration, and grabbed Shea's and Tio's arms in midair.

"Shea, Tio! Welcome back!"

"Kaori-san! We made it!" Shea exclaimed.

"Many thanks, Kaori. It's good to be back," Tio said in a more calm tone.

The three of them hugged each other tightly, glad to see everyone safe and

sound.

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Kaori didn't have the strength to stay airborne for a long while also holding

Tio and Shea, so she glided down to an empty patch of ground a short distance

away from the army.

Shea and Tio breathed sighs of relief once they were on solid ground and all

three of them sat down, too tired to stay standing. A few seconds later, Shizuku

and the others came down as well.

"Kaori!" Shizuku shouted, dropping her Skyboard and running over to Kaori.

"Shizuku-chan!"

There were tears of happiness in Kaori's eyes as Shizuku came over and

hugged her. Suzu and the others followed suit.

"Kaoriiiiiin! We're back!"

"Suzu-chan! Oh...welcome back!" Kaori paused for a second when she

realized Eri wasn't with them, but then she hugged Suzu back as well, deciding

it was best not to touch on that subject right now.

"Yo, looks like you guys got out all right," Ryutarou said with a cheery

wave.

"I'm glad you guys did too, Ryutarou-kun."

Kaori gave Ryutarou a relieved smile, then turned to Kouki, who was

standing awkwardly a short distance away. She smiled at him too, and he felt a

weight lift from his chest.

"I'm glad you returned safely, Kouki-kun."

"Oh, yeah. I'm...really sorry about everything. I mean it. And...thank you."

Kouki bowed his head, tears spilling from his eyes. He had been prepared for

a stern lecture, considering that he'd attacked Kaori back at the Demon Lord's

castle, so he was pleasantly surprised when Kaori welcomed him back like

everyone else. He was eternally grateful that Kaori, just like Shizuku, hadn't

given up on him. Of course, he understood now that wasn't because they loved

him either, at least not romantically.

Kaori nodded to him, then looked back up at the sky, searching for two

certain someones.

"Kaori-san...Hajime-san and Yue-san weren't with us," Shea said hesitantly.

"But fear not. We parted ways midway because it was necessary. I do not

doubt that Master will return with Yue before long," Tio added.

Shea and Tio also looked up at the sky. They, too, had absolute faith that

Hajime and Yue would return.

"Besides, Miledi-san went to go get them, so I'm sure they'll be fine..." Shea

said, looking a little forlorn. She was thinking back to when Miledi had given

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them all a weakened knockoff version of the Arrow of Boundaries.

At first, Shea and the others had insisted on going with her to find Hajime

and Yue, but Miledi had explained that she only had a few arrows left and that

they were quite frail. Once used, they'd break and would only be able to keep a

human-sized portal open for a short period of time. If she ended up having to use

too many to get to Hajime and Yue, there would only be a limited number of

people she'd be able to send back with the last one.

Still, Shea had been reluctant to just leave, but Miledi had insisted that she

would get Hajime and Yue out safe and sound, and in the end, Shea had chosen

to believe her. After all, she'd correctly surmised that Miledi herself wasn't

planning on returning. The last living Liberator had, from the start, been

prepared to sacrifice everything, including her life, to save Hajime and Yue, and

more importantly protect the world.

"I know she's really annoying, but she's really strong too, so they'll be fine!"

Shea said with a nod.

"Shea... Yeah, you're right. Besides, if the two of them are together, there's

nothing they can't do," Kaori said.

"Indeed. Failure is not a part of their vocabulary," Tio agreed.

Kaori broke away from Shizuku and Suzu, then looked back up at the sky

again. Shea, Tio, and even Shizuku did the same. They glared up at the decaying

Sanctuary, praying for Hajime and Yue's safe return.

Meanwhile, the army was still chanting so loudly that it was a wonder they

didn't lose their voices. And after a few minutes that felt like an eternity, it

happened.

"Ah!" Kaori gasped.

A pillar of gold and crimson light shot up out of the Sanctuary. There was so

much mana in that pillar that even Shea's and the others' jaws dropped open.

The will, the concept pouring off of that mana could be felt even from here, and

the soldiers fell silent as they looked up at it. Everyone else did too. They were

too enamored by that spiral of crimson-gold light to do anything but stare, after

all.

"Hajime-san! Yue-san!" Shea shouted happily, the first to break the silence.

A second later, the mana was sucked back into the Sanctuary, presumably

converging on the point where Hajime and Yue were. Then, a pitiful scream

echoed throughout the entire world, and though it wasn't ear-splittingly loud or

anything, everyone all across Tortus definitely heard it. And at the same time, a

streak of platinum light with dark black miasma swirling inside it rose out of the

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Sanctuary.

In that moment, everyone was absolutely certain that the light was the

lifeblood of a god, spilling out from him. The platinum light dispersed into

nothing, and silence returned to the world.

A few seconds later, the destruction of the world stopped spreading and

instead turned back inward toward the center of the Sanctuary. It was almost as

if it was being sucked in by a powerful black hole.

Once all the cracks were gone from the world, the Sanctuary vanished. Its

destruction wasn't accompanied by an explosion or a shock wave, but instead

just silence and a brief ripple of light made up of seven distinct colors.

The bright golden yellow of noon, sunset orange, moonlight silver, verdant

green, earthy brown, the obsidian of a night sky, and finally, an allencompassing tinge of sky blue. As that seven-colored light spread outward, it

erased the crimson pall that had settled over the world, returning proper color to

the sky.

It was a beautiful spectacle.

"Ah...God..." one of the soldiers muttered. This time, though, it wasn't a

voice of supplication, but rather one of everlasting gratitude.

As the light spread it became fainter, but it never quite disappeared. Instead,

it turned into a faint aurora in the sky, watching over the people of Tortus as they

quietly shed tears of joy.

"Hajime-kun...Yue..." Kaori muttered through gritted teeth. She was

squeezing her fists so tight they were drawing blood.

"Hajime..." Shizuku whispered.

"Nagumo-kun..." Suzu said.

"Goddammit. What's taking you so long, you idiot?!" Ryutarou shouted.

"Nagumo," Kouki said simply.

All four of them were looking up at where the Sanctuary had vanished. It was

completely gone now, and all that could be seen in its place was the sun, shining

its light down on everyone. But despite all their waiting, the two people Kaori

and the others wanted to see most didn't show up.

Though the world had returned to normal, the battlefield remained silent.

Up on the fortress rooftop, Yuka said in a trembling voice, "What are you

doing? Hurry up and come back..."

Kousuke and Cam were both so exhausted that they had to lean against each

other to stay standing as they looked up to the sky and shouted.

"Stop fucking around and get back to us, Nagumo!"

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"Boss, you can't vanish yet, I haven't even repaid my debt to you!"

In the command room, Liliana had her hands clasped together in front of her

chest so tightly that her knuckles were white.

"I won't allow things to end like this. Please come back, or I'll have to go

looking for you."

On the opposite side of the fortress's roof, Aiko was also praying fervently

for Hajime's return.

"Nagumo-kun, you promised you'd return. You're not allowed to break your

promises. As your teacher, I won't allow it."

She was desperately holding back tears.

As time continued to pass, the common soldiers—as well as Kouki,

Ryutarou, and Suzu—started to think that Hajime and Yue really might have

died up there.

"It'll be fine!" Shea shouted in a confident voice. She said it so loudly even

the soldiers heard her, though they were a good distance away.

Kouki and the others looked up, and they saw Shea standing defiantly in front

of them, her rabbit ears standing up straight. She was still looking up at the sky,

her gaze unwavering.

"It doesn't matter what anyone else says, or what happens! As long as

Hajime-san and Yue-san are together, they'll definitely be okay! When they're

together, they're invincible!"

Shea had no doubt that in her mind that they'd make their way out of this

predicament. Her absolute confidence bolstered the spirits of those who were

beginning to doubt, and suddenly, everyone felt foolish for ever having worried

in the first place.

"He he, true that. They're probably flirting right about now and have

forgotten all about us," Kaori said with a grin.

"I could honestly see that happening," Tio said with a nod.

"It is their heartfelt reunion, after all. I guess we should give them some

time," Shizuku said with a coy smile.

Suzu's and the others' expressions softened as well, and a second later,

Shea's words were proven true.

"Hah! See, look!" she said, pointing up at the sky.

A small crimson ripple spread out from a specific point, and a tiny hole

opened up in the seven-colored aurora that now appeared to be an ever-present

feature of the world.

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"Whoa!"

"Mmm..."

Hajime and Yue tumbled out of the hole, wrapped in each other's arms.

Hajime had his one arm around Yue's back, while she'd wrapped both of his

around his neck. The wind whistled in their ears as the two of them quickly

accelerated to terminal velocity. From their height, they would hit the ground in

about forty seconds or so.

In the distance, they could see Tortus's army. With their bearing, they'd fall a

few kilometers away from them.

"Yue, can you fly?"

"Nope. I used all my mana activating the arrow."

"Yeah, figured. All right, this is gonna be a bit bumpy, so hang on tight."

"Mmm... Don't worry, I'll never let you go again."

"..."

They were falling thousands of meters through the air, but Yue had eyes only

for Hajime. In fact, she was smiling and licking her lips, seemingly unconcerned

with the dire straits they were in.

Hajime coughed loudly, and ignoring his racing pulse, got to work. He only

had one arm, so it was hard to balance in midair, but he managed to right

himself. As he did so, his body glowed with crimson mana.

"I can use this...maybe ten times if I push it as hard as possible."

With his mana reserves nearly depleted, he could only create that many

footholds with Aerodynamic. Somehow, he needed to soften the blow of falling

eight thousand meters with just those ten footholds.

"Well, I guess if I'm with you, it's not so bad," Hajime said, looking at Yue.

"Mmnnnh."

Yue kissed Hajime's cheek, which was an impressive feat considering how

much the air pressure was restricting their movements. She, of course, had

absolute faith that Hajime would succeed, no matter how impossible the odds

seemed.

Naturally, Hajime had every intention of proving her right. He concentrated,

and a crimson ring rippled out as he created his first foothold. It, of course,

shattered immediately, but it slowed their descent somewhat. He repeated the

process, calculating their speed and the distance to the ground as he did so.

At some point, the army noticed the ripples of crimson mana that were

getting steadily lower in elevation. There was a lot of pointing and shouting, and

then a second later, the commander of the allied forces of Tortus shouted,

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"Victory is ours!"

At long last, Hajime was able to hear the declaration he'd been hoping for.

Shortly thereafter, the soldiers let out cheers of joy. It wasn't just them either;

people all across the world cheered at the prospect of living in a world that

would no longer be toyed with by god.

Almost as if in response, the seven-colored aurora that covered the sky

started emitting particles of light. They glittered in the bright sunlight, looking

like diamonds sparkling in the sky. The Liberators, too, were celebrating the

birth of a new world.

Bathed in the light shower, Hajime used his last Aerodynamic to perfectly

decelerate just enough before hitting the ground so that the impact didn't hurt

too much.

Unfortunately, the holes in Hajime's legs hadn't fully healed yet, and

Aerodynamic had completely drained him of mana, so he wasn't able to absorb

even the mild shock with his legs. The two of them fell, hitting the ground with a

pathetic thud.

"Ha ha, that was a pretty uncool landing," Hajime said, unable to move even

an inch. His expression was relieved, though.

Yue was on top of him, content to simply rest in his arms. She shook her

head and said, "That's not true. That was the coolest landing ever."

"Really?"

"Mmm... Hajime, thank you. I love you."

She smiled, then kissed Hajime on the lips. Hajime couldn't move, so he just

let her have her way with him. Granted, even if he could have moved, he

couldn't ever say no to Yue. He simply had no desire to resist her, after all.

The two of them enjoyed a long passionate kiss, and the army's cheers faded

away into the distance. But soon enough, voices they couldn't ignore reached

them.

"See, I told you! They forgot all about us and are flirting! Wait, Yue-san?!"

"Sh-She's turned into an aduuuuuult?! Oh god, she's seducing Hajime-kun

with her wily adult charms!"

"How can this be?! Master doesn't seem to be resisting either... It's as if

she's drained his soul!"

"Sh-She looks really sexy...but I won't give up! A real woman forges her

own path!"

Shea, Kaori, Tio, and Shizuku had arrived. Suzu, Ryutarou, and Kouki were a

short distance behind them.

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Shea and the others rushed over to Yue, their touching reunion marked with

the same lively bickering as usual. Yue stopped kissing Hajime and got up,

while Hajime simply turned his head, and the two of them beamed at their

companions.

"Yo. We're back, guys."

"Mmm... I'm finally home."

"Welcome back!" Shea and the others said in unison, their happy voices

echoing over the grassy plain.

The sky above was covered in glittering diamond dust and the dazzling

sunlight was as bright as everyone's smiles. In the distance, Hajime could hear

other people running over and calling his name as well.

Surrounded by warmth and feeling as though he'd accomplished something

truly worthwhile, Hajime smiled back at everyone. It was a mixture of his usual

fearless grin and the kind, gentle smile he'd had before being dropped into the

abyss, and it immediately melted the hearts of all the girls who were in love with

him.

Eventually, the exhaustion of the long, long battle overtook him, so he closed

his eyes, falling into a deep sleep.