Arifureta Shokugyou de Sekai Saikyou (WN) Chapter 144

Completely Forgotten Memory

“FLY AWAYYYYYYY!!”

{GUUUUUH!!}

In a huge s.p.a.ce where an ice pillar was located, s.h.i.+a’s resounding battle yell was followed by a thunderous roar produced from Doryuken. Mixed among those sounds, a s.h.i.+a with black rabbit ears, a black tail, and black hair crashed into the center ice pillar with a grand impact.

The impact pulverized a part of the ice pillar scattering ice fragments magnificently everywhere. Inside the glittering ice fragments reflecting light, the black s.h.i.+a, s.h.i.+a’s false image, was holding her left shoulder, crouching on the floor while lifting her face. There was a bitter smile that seemed to say “You got me” floating on her face.

{Ahaha, you aren’t moved at all, eh? Indeed, it should be a darkness that you are harboring but……}

“That is that. How my family got driven out, how a lot of them lost their lives, no matter how much it was glossed over, no matter how tormented with guilt I am, no matter how much I try to obtain forgiveness, it doesn’t change that I am the cause of all those, those are things that I have to shoulder for my whole life. That worry, that resolve, I have since a long time ago.”

{… What is called the darkness of the heart, is something that will sink people into the bottom of the swamp even with all that you know.}

The part of darkness nesting inside your heart wasn’t something that someone could be liberated from so easily. Therefore, the false image s.h.i.+a could only laugh seeing how s.h.i.+a went completely unshaken no matter how many negative words she had whispered since the start of the battle.

“You are me, but as expected you are not everything of me. I understand that the will of the great labyrinth is included in you. If that’s not the case, then from the start you should have understood already that the current me won’t be shaken by words of that level.”

s.h.i.+a tapped her Doryukken on her shoulder while sending a powerful gaze at her false image who was trying to stand with trembling legs. In those eyes, just as the person herself said, there was not a single waver. For the current s.h.i.+a, the average mental attack wouldn’t even give her an itch.

Certainly, it was because of her that her family was driven out from the Sea of Trees, and due to that, she lost a number of her family members. For s.h.i.+a, that was a nightmare that couldn’t possibly be forgotten, an eternal wound of the heart. But she wouldn’t stop moving because of that torment anymore.

The reason was simple. Because Haulia clan was already strong, they chose the path that they walked by themselves. And because at her side, there was her beloved lover and friend.

Her families, including her father Kam who was strong and gentle through thick and thin had sent her off. Hajime, who was entrusted with s.h.i.+a by Haulia, had accepted s.h.i.+a from the bottom of his heart. Yue, who sometimes was like her big sister, sometimes as her best friend, always allowed s.h.i.+a to nestle close to her.

For herself who was that blessed to ‘fall’ at her own convenience, was something unforgivable especially to s.h.i.+a herself above all. She had been completely helped. All this time she had been protected. It was impossible for her to bend her knee just from hearing her own feeling. For the current s.h.i.+a, she felt like she wouldn’t lose no matter what kind of enemy she faced.

{Indeed, no matter what I say, it’s only me who gets weaker. I see, this trial to ‘overcome oneself’, you have cleared it already from a long time ago.}

“That’s how it is. My important people are waiting so… I’ll force my way through!”

{Fufuh, fine. The last attack, do it to your heart’s content!}

The white and black s.h.i.+a stepped with a force that pulverized the ground, at the same time they charged while their partner the war hammer burst. Echoing bursting sound and the impact sound that was like the air screaming. Attacks that were respectively unleashed from a large swing while rotating once surpa.s.sed the sound barrier and broke through the white membrane.

Two war hammers clashed right from the front, producing a thunderous roar and impact that pulverized the surroundings. A crater with s.h.i.+a and the false image at the center was created as though an explosion happened.

And then, the one that was blown away was… the black s.h.i.+a.

The black Doryuken that left her hand was spinning in the air. Black s.h.i.+a was blown away in a parabolic arc before she flickered and vanished without waiting to hit the floor. She was melting in the air from her legs. At last, when her head was vanis.h.i.+ng her lips slightly loosened.

At the ground zero, s.h.i.+a who was still in her posture of swinging Doryuken went “Fuu~”, she slowly breathed out and relaxed her body. Nearby, *karan, koron* the sound of cartridge falling on the ground resounded.

“Everyone that went ahead, will they think proudly of the current me, I wonder…”

While leaking a wry smile at her own words that naturally slipped out while looking at the ceiling, s.h.i.+a shouldered back her Doryuken. Ahead of s.h.i.+a’s gaze, a new pa.s.sage appeared.

“Surely for Hajime-san and the others, this trial won’t be a problem but… it’s worrying about s.h.i.+zuku-san and her friends.”

While stepping into the new pa.s.sage in a rush, s.h.i.+a thought about s.h.i.+zuku and her friends whose conditions were considerably beaten up due to the labyrinth, which put a worried expression on her face.

Actually, she never would have imagined that s.h.i.+zuku would overcome the trial and raise her maiden power.

s.h.i.+a’s rabbit ears were twitching while she was trotting through the pa.s.sage when she finally reached a dead end ahead. For a moment, s.h.i.+a considered whether she mistook the path, but her excellent sensing ability caught a familiar presence at the other side of the dead end causing her to reflexively made a joyful face.

Keeping her trot, she raised Doryuken in order to destroy the ice wall. A pa.s.sage was created for her. There was no way the pa.s.sage ahead was a dead end. An entrance would be automatically created there, which was something she could easily imagine, but… her mental tendency was to think “Let’s destroy the obstacle anyway!” Just who influenced her to think like this would be anyone’s guess.

“RYAAAAAhuaa-to-to!”

Doryuken was swung in order to smash the ice wall and as expected, lost its target because the ice wall vanished automatically when s.h.i.+a was near. This caused her to hit empty air. s.h.i.+a stumbled from the centrifugal force and flew into the new s.p.a.ce just like that.

“A, ahaha, I guess this is how it works if you think about it. So, it opened up. … I wasn’t seen by Yue-san, was I?”

s.h.i.+a’s cheeks reddened from embarra.s.sment while her gaze was timidly wandering around in wonder whether her failure was seen by Yue or not. Yes, the presence that s.h.i.+a sensed was Yue’s. Her tension rose up from happiness that she could be reunited with Yue quickly.

In the end, indeed there was a Yue ahead of her gaze. The same as with s.h.i.+a, at the center of the huge s.p.a.ce there was a gigantic cylinder ice pillar, Yue was standing quietly beside it. Her back was facing s.h.i.+a, so s.h.i.+a didn’t know what expression Yue was making.

There was no presence other than Yue at the surrounding, s.h.i.+a could see two other pa.s.sages other than the one she came out from, so she guessed that Yue had already defeated her other self.

s.h.i.+a smiled proudly of Yue’s achievement and she was going to call out to her. But, there, s.h.i.+a suddenly noticed how strangely ragged Yue’s state was.

Of course, Yue had ‘Automatic Regeneration’, so she couldn’t receive an external physical wound. But her clothes were not included as the target of that ability so there was a need to use regeneration magic but… her clothes, here and there they were torn, burned, or frozen.

That was to say that Yue received the attack of her false image time and time again…

s.h.i.+a widened her eyes slightly. Even if it was Yue whose way of fighting was pressuring the opponent with even more vast pressure while getting attacked herself, based on the nature of this trial s.h.i.+a thought Yue would be able to clear it unharmed.

Furthermore, although she had defeated her false image, Yue didn’t advance ahead. Far from that, she didn’t even repair her clothes and stood while thinking deeply of something. From how Yue was slightly looking up without the slightest twitch, it was possible that she hadn’t even notice s.h.i.+a’s entrance.

Toward Yue who was drifting off in an atmosphere that felt hard to approach, s.h.i.+a slightly hesitated. She took a deep breath and raised a determined voice.

“Yue-san!”

“… s.h.i.+a?”

Toward that bright voice that reverberated in the room, for an instant, Yue twitched in surprise before looking back over her shoulder. And then, looking at the figure of the smiling s.h.i.+a there her eyes looked down.

“s.h.i.+a… the rooms are connected?”

“Yes. That’s how it looks like. I cleared the trial, pa.s.sed the newly created pa.s.sage and arrived here. Yue-san, you have cleared yours too, haven’t you?”

“… Nn. No… problem.”

s.h.i.+a only confirmed her result without mentioning the terrible state of Yue’s clothes. Perhaps finally noticing her own state due to that, Yue used regeneration magic while glancing a little embarra.s.sedly at the unharmed s.h.i.+a. In an instant, her clothes were repaired.

s.h.i.+a felt lost inside her heart. Should she ask her whether something happened or not?

Yue was obviously shaken from the words of her false image. To the degree that she excessively got hit, to the degree that she even forgot to fix her state, to the degree that she didn’t notice s.h.i.+a’s approach.

Just what in the world was said to her? Yue’s appearance was unthinkable to come from how she normally was. That was how severe the words were that the false image had told Yue. For that reason, what kind of words should s.h.i.+a say to the shaken Yue, or should she snuggle close to Yue until Yue had put herself in order. s.h.i.+a was hesitating between the two choices.

(Just what in the world… Yue-san didn’t seem particularly affected in the labyrinth. I didn’t think Yue-san could be shaken by being confronted regarding the relations.h.i.+p between Hajime-san and us. I guess, the darkness of Yue-san’s heart, it might be the betrayal three hundred years before… hmm, even that feels like it’s already too old for the present…)

Exactly because Yue was important to her, the inside of s.h.i.+a’s heart kept muttering like that.

“… s.h.i.+a, I’m fine. Rather than that, let’s advance forward.”

“Yue-san… you are right. Let’s quickly reunite with Hajime-san and others!”

“… Nn. I want to quickly meet Hajime.”

“Fufu, that’s right!”

Yue guessed what s.h.i.+a was thinking and made a wry smile while urging her toward the new pa.s.sage.

Yue was obviously not ‘okay’. Despite this, s.h.i.+a couldn’t skillfully say any words for Yue’s sake. It made her down to the point that her rabbit ears flopped down and looked withered. But she put herself together thinking ‘when we meet with Hajime-san surely we will manage somehow!’, and with a deliberately bright tone she agreed with Yue.

Like that, the two of them walked through the new pa.s.sage side by side.

“Everyone, I wonder if they are able to safely overcome the trial? I think the difficulty level is lower than the forest of tree labyrinth but… the condemning here is unique, isn’t it?”

“… Nn, indeed. Perhaps it’s impossible for someone like the hero (lol).”

“Isn’t that right? Because this trial is something like his natural enemy…”

Along the way, the two of them became animated with trifling talk. Yue was nonchalantly handing down a sharp evaluation of Kouki, but in general what she was saying wasn’t mistaken, so s.h.i.+a couldn’t say anything. Certainly, for Kouki who loved to have a convenient interpretation, this trial that was pus.h.i.+ng various things at them was considerably unfit for him.

Although even though they were raising Kouki in the topic, inside their hearts worry for the hero was nonexistent. It was merely the flow of their dialogue, and in any case, it was also s.h.i.+a’s encouragement toward Yue who tended to submerge herself inside her own heart. Anyway, compared to one of them staying quiet, talking like this was s.h.i.+a’s consideration for distracting the mood.

Perhaps Yue also noticed s.h.i.+a’s intention, since she responded to the talk with the an air of humor. However, as expected, after a moment it looked like her mind was going far away somewhere. Her eyes strangely lost focus, wandering as though they were looking at a far distance.

In the back of Yue’s mind, the words of the false image she fought just now were flowing once more.

?Who was the real betrayer?

?You still, don’t remember?

?About your parents?

?What are you, did you forget?

?You are just trying not to think of it?

?You are running away?

?You are really thinking that you can be at his side forever?

“…”

The sneering false image of herself. That fake kept using words that hinted at the tragedy three hundred years ago.

Three hundred years ago… Yue was the inheritor of the throne of the vampire clan’s country. It was a small country, but it was a country so powerful that it was extolled as the country of a small fierce G.o.d.

The reason for that was the characteristic of the race of the vampire clan. Through the intermediary of blood, they strengthened their body, magnified their magic power, and lengthened their life. There was no other race with such a power. The act of sucking blood itself also made others harbor thoughts of awe.

The one born of the direct royal lineage of such a country was Yue. She stood out with beauty and overflowing magic power causing her to be given expectations since she was a baby. She had the natural talent to absorb all the magic and knowledge taught to her. Unfortunately, she didn’t have talent in martial arts alone, but Yue’s existence was so clearly above the rest that such a thing could be decided to be unnecessary.

And then what guaranteed her status was the cheating ability she manifested at the age of twelve. The direct manipulation of magic power and the ability to configure the magic circle by imagination, and then the characteristic magic ‘Automatic Regeneration’??those were terrific abilities just like those from the characters who were recorded at the age of the G.o.ds.

At that time, there was so many countries in number that couldn’t be compared with the present, the war only kept intensifying, but Yue who was dispatched on the battlefield as ready fire power for her country amply exhibited her strength, trampling down the enemy literally like a fierce G.o.d.

As the result, Yue’s fame and awe increased, and at seventeen she ascended to the throne.

At twelve, she was smeared with the killing intent and hatred of the battlefield, and just five years later she became the pillar that supported the country. If it was a normal girl, surely she would be crushed by the pressure and her mind fall sick. But Yue was too strong and wise to be crushed from that.

There was also the help of her trusted va.s.sals and her uncle who was the prime minister. After that too, Yue bet everything and offered her all for the country’s sake. he protected her country throughout the war. She believed that she would keep protecting them just like that.

Until that day when her most trusted uncle along with his subordinates came to kill her.

After two years pa.s.sed since Yue succeeded the throne, she noticed that a strange distance was created between her and her uncle. No, honestly speaking her uncle began to avoid Yue. And his subordinates were also the same.

Yue at that time was very perplexed at the sudden distance with her uncle, who in a certain meaning she had contact with even longer than both her parents. While worrying whether she had made a mistake that displeased her uncle, several times she tried to create a chance for the two of them to talk.

However, ultimately the chance for the two of them to speak frankly with each other didn’t come to pa.s.s when she noticed a gap had been created in their relations.h.i.+p and a few more years pa.s.sed.

Furthermore, unnoticed by her, the awe of the people toward Yue changed into simple terror toward a monster. Bad rumors regarding Yue were flowing without pause. Her great service in the battlefield for the sake of protecting her country was ironically spurring those rumors.

The people who she trusted the most had already left Yue’s side with no one remaining. In exchange, her uncle’s political power was increasing and people gathered around him. Such a thing happened to an unnatural degree.

And then, that final day arrived. The day of destiny.

At the time while she was welcoming an envoy from another country in the throne room, her uncle along with his subordinates in full equipment rushed in. And then they slaughtered without question her. These close aides that were from the faction of the previous king and queen, their killing blade, killing intent, were also directed at Yue.

While Yue was dumbfounded, her body was. .h.i.t with lethal attacks many times. Her ‘Automatic Regeneration’ instantly recovered her wounds, but even so Yue was at the height of confusion, no, Yue was denying the reality and didn’t even try to counter attack. Then she noticed she had been sealed with her body unable to move, and in the middle of transport to be imprisoned in that abyss.

Looking at it objectively, what happened could only be seen as her uncle aiming at the throne of the king due to his ambition causing a coup d’état. Actually, Yue herself submitted to reality and came to think that her uncle betrayed her during her three hundred year imprisonment.

But, but…

(… Why didn’t un… that man, kill me?)

That was right. That strangeness Yue only realized now while being sneered by her own false image.

That day of destiny. Yue didn’t resist the betrayal of her uncle. All this time, Yue was convinced that her uncle helplessly sealed her because he couldn’t kill her due to the ‘Automatic Regeneration’. The absolute darkness of three hundred years, and then the overwhelming isolation had stolen all thought of any other possibility.

But, ‘Automatic Regeneration’ wasn’t absolute. It was dependent on magic power. If her magic power dried up, then she wouldn’t regenerate. It was possible to kill her if she was continuously attacked until her magic power ran out. In actuality, Yue didn’t resist because of the extreme shock and in the end, her magic power was considerably decreased because she regenerated too much.

Her uncle should have killed Yue.

(… He was strong. He was at a level above the rest both as a politician and also as a fighter. For such a man to fail to kill me at that place… was impossible.)

In the back of Yue’s mind, the memory of three hundred years ago was resurrected vaguely. The truth that was pushed at the deepest recess of her mind inside the darkness was coming back little by little in a clearer image.

(… That man didn’t kill me, but he had to seal me. … Why is that?)

Yue immersed herself in her thought and traveled down memory lane. A nostalgic voice resounded in the back of her mind. A tone of voice that was gentle, yet painted with sadness and frustration, and also guilt to the utmost.

(?, I’m sorr?. Other than this, there is no other wa? Someday, surely, ?a person you can lean on will appear. If it’s that person, surely they will protect you from?without fail. ?, I, do something like thi?. But, don’t for?. ?e, I love?)

Blond hair exactly the same as hers. Red eyes. Face with standing out wrinkles carved from hards.h.i.+ps. For Yue who was hazy due to the effect of the seal and the mental burden and the heavy consumption of her magic power, she couldn’t listen to everything. But, one thing that she remembered? was the sensation of the hand lovingly brus.h.i.+ng the cheek of Yue that was sticking out from the cube that sealed her.

Yue quietly brought her hand to her cheek. Somehow she felt like she could feel the warmth of that time. That was a warmth different from Hajime. If she had to say, it was like what a parent would direct toward their daughter…

(… I, was thinking of that man as a father? But, that’s, my real Otou-sama and Okaa-sama were…)

To someone who should be a betrayer, who should be a hated enemy, a fragment of her memory was contrary to her expectation. She searched for her true parents deep in her hazy memory.

However, no matter how hard she fished at the shelves of her memory, no proper recollection came out. But rather than forgetting, it was more like there was no impressive event with them that she could remember even after three hundred years pa.s.sed… that was how she felt.

On the contrary, she had the feeling in her fragmentary recollection of her parents, that they somehow resembled closely the atmosphere of the people of the country that she saw at the trial of the Merujiine Undersea Ruins.

It felt like an ice block slid down Yue’s back. Chilling shakes a.s.saulted her whole body.

(… Don’t tell me, Otou-sama and others were…)

After she started doubting, unnatural memories kept coming out the more she pulled out.

Based on Yue’s memory, the war at that time was also heavily influenced by religion with no exception. But she thought that her country was unnaturally thinly related with such thing.

Even after Yue was enthroned, when she came into contact with the religious envoy her uncle would also attend with her without fail. In the first place, as long as the situation wasn’t something that was really important then it would be her uncle that would deal with all that.

Her uncle was deeply knowledgeable and wiser than anyone. If it was about domestic affairs, if it was on the battlefield, he was a powerful familiar user that made use of several monsters. But, now that she thought about it, it felt like he was off the proper track as a vampire.

Both of Yue’s parents treasured her and raised her up like a princess, they would give her anything she wanted and allowed anything that she wanted to do, but now when she looked back, rather than seeing it as love of parents toward their child, it felt like more of a respect and affection for her.

Rather, it was her uncle that gave her love as a parent.

Yue suddenly recalled.

(… That man when he began to put distance with me… he looked really painful.)

Her uncle, after one year past her enthronement, was constantly frowning in distress, it was like he was rapidly aging. That change was surely unnoticed except only by the people who were extremely close to him. Yue at that time was also feeling very worried at the same time when she was feeling anxiety and sadness from their distance.

Her uncle betrayed her for the sake of his ambition and imprisoned her for a very long time inside the prison of darkness. Yue believed that, but she was shaken by the words of her false image, a fragment of her resurrected memory was slowly showing Yue another possibility.

Surely, looking at it objectively, being imprisoned in endless darkness had fixed itself in Yue’s memory completely. If she didn’t hate someone, didn’t throw away her hope and soaked in despair while pa.s.sing her time apathetically, her heart wouldn’t last. That was why she firmly took the reasoning that looked the most correct as truth.

But…

(… I mistook my memory?)

By any chance, there might be something different to the truth. Yue who began to think so and once more asked a question.

That was… why did her uncle have to seal her?

At the same time, the words of her false image flashed.

??You really think that you can be at his side forever?

“…”

Terror ran through Yue’s body. Reflexively, she embraced herself tightly to repress her body that was going to tremble.

Hajime was the light for Yue. He appeared by tearing apart the darkness, illuminating, warming her, a light that gave her peace and happiness. To lose that, was the same as death for Yue.

But, if, if it turned out that she couldn’t stay by his side…

“Yue-san!”

“!? Ah, s.h.i.+a?”

When she noticed, s.h.i.+a had caught Yue’s shoulders and stared at Yue from the front with a serious gaze. Just how much had she immersed herself in her thoughts? When she noticed, the end of the path was visible behind s.h.i.+a who was looking at her, It seemed they had walked until the end of the path.

s.h.i.+a released her hand from the absent-minded Yue’s shoulders. This time, she grasped Yue’s two hands tightly. She clasped those hands to her chest in order to transmit her existence and warmth to Yue even for a bit.

“Please talk, Yue-san. What was said to you?”

“That’s…”

s.h.i.+a threw away her hesitation looking at Yue’s abnormal condition and asked straight. She thought that she must not wait anymore to deal with Yue because there was no more time for careful consideration.

s.h.i.+a was staring from really close as though to peer into Yue who was speaking ambiguously. Looking at s.h.i.+a’s determined face, Yue felt that she couldn’t avert this talk and sighed deeply.

“… I’m sorry s.h.i.+a. I myself still haven’t sorted this out.”

“You cannot talk about it?”

“… Nn. I was told of various things about the past… my feelings toward Hajime and s.h.i.+a is not shaken at all so there was no problem with the trial but… from that, there might be a mistake in what my memory remembers. I want to sort it out, so wait for a little.”

“Is that so…”

s.h.i.+a didn’t seem like she could accept it. Her hands were grasping Yue’s hands tightly and didn’t loosen at all.

Thinking back, s.h.i.+a had really come far and become strong, Yue secretly smiled of that. And then she considered while looking at her grasped hands.

Even though she was just a regretful rabbit that could only run away and cling to other people, she desperately worked hard, followed them with her all, and before they realized it, she had become like this, someone that could protect them. She even made the obstinate Hajime surrender. Perhaps she couldn’t even call her as someone like her little sister anymore. Now she was a splendid woman.

Perhaps because of that… the words which welled up from her bad premonitions leaked out from Yue’s mouth.

“… s.h.i.+a.”

“Yes. What is it, Yue-san?”

“… If, if, something happens to me then please take care of Hajime.”

“…”

Those words were entrusted to a beloved person, with a serious gaze. For Yue, those words were the greatest and highest words of trust.

But, s.h.i.+a who was entrusted with those words…

*PAN-!!*

“!?”

Returned a slap.

It wasn’t done with body reinforcement, but even so, it was a serious slap without any mercy or holding back. The eyes of Yue whose head was turned away from the snap widened. She returned her gaze at s.h.i.+a, there, she met eyes burning in rage that she had never witnessed until now.

“… Are you joking?”

Her voice too contained rage that she had never heard until now. s.h.i.+a’s body was trembling, surely from the overflowing emotion that she was currently repressing. Even her atmosphere, it was like the scorching magma that she experienced at the Guuryuen Great Volcano.

It was s.h.i.+a’s serious fury. That great pressure and rage made Yue stiffened for a moment.

She immediately opened her mouth to make an excuse.

“You, you’re wrong… I, if it’s s.h.i.+a…”

“So it’s not a joke?”

s.h.i.+a confirmed with scorching tone while taking a step back from Yue. She then abruptly shouldered Doryuken. She looked down at the dumbfounded Yue with dangerously narrowed eyes. And then, s.h.i.+a opened her mouth with even more scorching low voice.

“I don’t know what you were told about, but you really turned into a pathetic coward, didn’t you? That pathetic face, I’ll put it into shape together with your guts.”

“… s.h.i.+m s.h.i.+a? Wa?”

Toward s.h.i.+a who was releasing tremendous rage, Yue tried to tell her to calm down. At that moment, an attack of Doryuken without a single drop of mercy was swung at her.

Yue barely back stepped to dodge the horizontal sweep. Doryuken pa.s.sed by and impacted the ice wall at the side without stopping, pulverizing it with a thunderous roar. Although the ice wall began to regenerate immediately, the radial hole that was instantly created showed s.h.i.+a’s seriousness.

“… s.h.i.+a. This joke has gone too far.”

“Joke? Are you still saying cowardly thing like that after it has reached this point? If you don’t understand, then I’ll say it clearly, I’m serious here. If you don’t withdraw your previous joking statement… yes, I, will seriously wreck up Yue-san.”

“… s.h.i.+a, I’m seriously-”

“FLY AWAY! SHAORAAAAAA!!”

“!?”

s.h.i.+a’s Doryuken was swung fiercely once more. The speed of the swing surpa.s.sed the sound barrier and generated a wall of air like a white membrane, right after that, *PAN-* a bursting sound exploded. And then, the ice wall of the pa.s.sage that was. .h.i.t was pulverized into very small fragments with just one attack.

Yue desperately evaded that attack in the narrow pa.s.sage with few places to dodge. But in the first place, close range combat wasn’t her specialty. She was already surpa.s.sed by s.h.i.+a who specialized in that range. It was clear that she would be immediately cornered.

Yue thought that she had to restrain and calm s.h.i.+a down first. She resolved herself and stood her ground in the storm. In a moment, the war hammer was swung down with a terrific momentum from above. That grazed Yue’s right shoulder and pulverized her shoulder bone just from that.

Even while staggering from the pain and impact, Yue left that kind of wound to her ‘Automatic Regeneration’, invoked her ‘Calamity Sky’ and sewed the swung down Doryuken to the ground. At the same time, she invoked ‘Ice Coffin’ and jumped over the leaning forward s.h.i.+a.

While turning around, ice was visibly rising rapidly from below s.h.i.+a’s foot. Just like usual, Yue’s ‘Ice Coffin’ was trying to lock her inside the ice.

But, for the current s.h.i.+a, there was no way a magic of that level could stop her.

“That’s naïve, Yue-san!”

Doryuken should be hard to move with the weight of ‘Calamity Sky’, even if it could be moved the ice was clinging too close to the body that she wouldn’t be able to break it with Doryuken… Yue thought that but s.h.i.+a suddenly raised one of her hands and struck down on the ground.

Instantly, *DON-!!* such shockwave sound was generated while the surrounding ice was blown away with s.h.i.+a as the center. She blew away the ice clinging to her body by generating an impact with her fist.

Furthermore, without stopping she lifted up Doryuken with all her strength, changing it into firing mode and pulling the trigger without a moment’s delay.

A bullet flew out along with a bursting sound. A slug bullet in a narrow and straight pa.s.sage ? naturally it was hopeless trying to dodge it and Yue employed a protective wall. Aiming at that, this time s.h.i.+a fired the slug bullets rapidly. Inside the pa.s.sage, magic power rippled as faint blue color were spreading in many layers and the grand impact was raging on.

“… s.h.i.+a! Stop playing around.”

“That’s my line, Yue-san. Have you come to reflect on yourself a little to withdraw your statement?”

“… Why?”

“Why? Do you really not understand?”

“…”

The protective wall was cracked due to the impact of the bursting slug bullets. Naturally, Yue immediately repaired it, but she couldn’t move due to the extreme rapid fire.

Yue looked at s.h.i.+a across the protective wall. She was looking while frowning sadly, wondering why s.h.i.+a was that angry toward the proof of trust she gave her.

But, ahead of her gaze ? the expression of s.h.i.+a who was pulling the trigger of firing mode Doryuken was even sadder than Yue’s, even now she looked like she was going to cry. There was still fury overflowing there, but she was obviously hurt by Yue’s words.

“You said you entrusted, that means the future ahead from there will be without Yue-san there isn’t it…”

“… s.h.i.+a.”

“Something like that, such a future… do you think I will accept it? Do you think I will be happily permitting it!? Do you think I will honestly say [yes] hearing that!”

The reason s.h.i.+a was angry was, in other words, something like that. It sounded nice if it was called trust, certainly it was the greatest trust Yue could show, but for the receiving side it was something intolerable.

That was natural. s.h.i.+a loved Yue. A trust with the a.s.sumption that Yue who she loved wasn’t there wasn’t something she could accept with a smile while saying “Yes, that’s fine.”

After s.h.i.+a fired the last bullet of Doryuken, she stepped forward with a force that pulverized the ground. Yue whose eyes widened in realization from s.h.i.+a’s words, for a moment, shaved her consciousness from controlling her magic.

That was a fatal opening in front of the current s.h.i.+a. Doryuken weight was increased up to two tons in one mercilessly strike.

“Guh!”

The protective wall was pulverized, a shockwave along with strong wind attacked Yue. She has blown away magnificently.

In that interval, s.h.i.+a instantly reloaded Doryuken’s bullet. And then Yue has blown away until the wall of the dead end. The moment the entrance of the pa.s.sage behind her opened, she was further struck by the bursting slug bullet.

“‘Divine Severance’!”

Once more Yue deployed a protective wall while she was protected by that spherical wall she has blown away into the room from the entrance due to the impact.

From inside the flame explosion that wrapped the entrance of the pa.s.sage, s.h.i.+a leaped into the room with her rabbit ears flapping.

Ahead of them was…

“Fue!?”

{Wha, what is!?}

The appearance of Kaori and a gray false image in Nointo’s appearance stiffened in their posture where their twin swords locked with each other.

“Now, Yue-san! If you don’t want to be wrecked up, please say sorry right now!!”

s.h.i.+a pointed with a snap at Yue with her Doryuken.

… It seemed that she planned to ignore Kaori there completely.