Episode 9: Star Whale

Before we knew it, we had reverted to our original forms.

"...Oh, crap."

The effects of noapusa had worn off while we were in the cockpit of the spaceship Ibis-2. Koito-senpai had probably realized she was a fake. Teru-senpai's eyes went wide at the sight of me suddenly appearing before him.

"Y-you, you, you, you, you... YOUUUUU!!"

"I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry!"

But there was nothing we could have done. Because Koito-senpai had vanished.

"...I thought something was off. Even for Koito, there's no way she'd be late for the Ibis-2 boarding. I was wondering if maybe she'd run into some kind of trouble."

"I thought so too. Koito-senpai was probably caught up in something. ...Something big enough that even she couldn't easily escape from."

Neither Teru-senpai nor I had even considered the possibility that she'd gotten scared and run. That woman didn't have those kinds of normal nerves. We'd been searching for Koito-senpai with the staff after she disappeared, but when she still hadn't shown up by launch time, the mission was on the verge of failing.

"That's why Master-chan became Koito-chan. That's all."

"--Huh?"

At the sound of that downer female voice, Teru-senpai startled even more. The glove clinging to my arm unraveled, reshaping itself into the form of a woman. Carrying the faint scent of cigarettes.

"Heeey~. For the record, I tried reeally hard to stop Master-chan~"

Luna-san, in her usual tracksuit-maid getup, stuck out like a sore thumb among us in our spacesuits. But the space environment didn't seem to bother her -- she was grinning coolly.

"Wha--... Y-you too...!?"

"Well, I mean, I just got totally argued into a corner, y'know? He said if this mission fails, everyone dies anyway. ...So I was like, yeah, fair point. If we're gonna die either way... so yeah."

Luna-san was playing it cool now, but when she'd tried to stop me, she'd been half in tears. She really, seriously tried to hold me back. That was why we'd ended up cutting it so close...

"Luna-san! I told you not to come!"

Because she didn't need to be here. But the moment I'd used noapusa to become Koito-senpai, I'd forgotten everything up to that point. Luna-san had secretly clung to my body after I'd become Koito-senpai and come along for the ride.

"Shut up. You went and forgot our promise, Master-chan. That's the worst."

I hadn't forgotten. She'd told me so many times just a little while ago, crying the whole time.

(Luna-san and I would die together. We decided that when we made our master-servant contract.)

That was why she'd come all the way here. For me. To spend these final moments with me. And that was... I really shouldn't have thought this, I knew I shouldn't have, but... I was actually... happy.

"Tch, you idiots! No, the biggest idiot is Koito! What the hell is that moron doing!?"

"...Teru-senpai. Please don't blame Koito-senpai."

"Hah?"

"If this mission succeeds, she'll be the one who cries the most..."

If we managed to stop the Star Whale, everyone on Earth would survive. At our expense. Teru-senpai could return to the surface with his Gunscar, the Weeping Giant Bird.

"Could you tell Koito-senpai something for me? That I still want her to be the one who protects everyone, after all."

"You... that's..."

Teru-senpai's eyes went wide, and he trembled slightly.

"...That's cruel."

I knew. But there was no other way to say it. She was a strong person, so she'd surely be fine -- she'd protect everyone. And every now and then, she'd remember me and cry a little.

(That alone was enough.)

I believed that, strongly.

"...Damn it."

Teru-senpai scratched his head, forgetting he was wearing a helmet.

"You can pull it off, Kotoyorozu?"

I'd had this conviction for a while now, though I hadn't told anyone.

"Yes. I can... become Koito-senpai."

Because I loved that person. Because I wanted to be like her. She was... one of my ideals of what a human being could be.

"Hmph, I'll take your word for it. That's all we've got. But, Kotoyorozu!"

"Y-yes!"

Teru-senpai raised his fist. I flinched, thinking I was about to get hit, and squeezed my eyes shut--

"--Good call."

"Huh...?"

"Your judgment... was right. If the launch had been delayed, everything would've been ruined."

Teru-senpai smiled awkwardly and patted my head. Seeing that expression, I thought -- yeah, he really is Mef's brother. That clumsy kindness was the same.

"...Well done. You're... incredible."

Something that small was enough to redeem me. I felt like I might cry a little. Because I'd actually thought -- this was better. Better that someone like me was the sacrifice instead of Koito-senpai. I'd thought that was the right thing. So I was glad.

"...Teru... there's... not much time... left...!"

A crackling transmission echoed through the cabin. Teru-senpai looked at us with resolve in his eyes.

"I'm counting on you, Kotoyorozu. --Go save the world."

I nodded. Luna-san was holding my hand. She whispered in my ear.

"...I'm going with you. Master-chan. If you go alone, I'll kill you."

"...Okay. I understand. We're together. Until the very end."

It was sad, but I wasn't lonely.

"Let's go, Luna-san!"

"Yeah, Master-chan!"

I pressed noapusa against my own temple. Luna-san's hand covered mine.

I pulled the trigger.

The bullet tore through the spacesuit and splattered my brain matter, and consciousness was lost. My body and senses melted into a gooey mess, becoming a glistening lump of flesh -- but only for a moment. Gradually, it began regaining a human shape. Transforming into a beautiful cherry-blossom-pink girl with rabbit ears.

"...Mya?"

When I came to -- I had woken up.

"Huh? Where am I? Wait, we're already in space!"

Teru was staring at me with wide eyes. He muttered quietly.

"...I see. He can only reproduce her from the last point he observed."

I didn't quite understand what he was saying. The last thing I remembered was parting with Kotoha in the women's restroom. After that, everything was fuzzy and unclear.

"Koito. This is already a different dimension. The side effects of Nguyen's ability are probably scrambling your memories."

"Oh, I see. So that's what's going on."

And then -- I noticed. Nguyen was inside the spaceship, no longer moving. I felt like I might cry for just a moment, then smiled and whispered, "Thank you."

"Now all that's left is for you to go wild."

"...Okay."

"Now go -- blow away the strongest Apocalypse in history!"

I smiled and nodded. Teru had actually learned how to talk to a girl face to face without losing it. In that case, maybe next time I'd invite him to a tea party. Though there would never be a "next time."

"Wait... what's... this?"

A golden scarf was wrapped around my neck over my spacesuit. It had a certain dignified color to it, yet its texture was endlessly gentle.

"...A good luck charm. Wear it. That's an order."

"? I don't really get it, but roger!"

I released the restraints on my seat and floated gently in the zero gravity, heading for the hatch.

"Airlock... depressurization... complete... You can go... anytime..."

I entered the airlock and operated the panel. The massive hatch opened slowly.

"...!"

Beyond was the infinite expanse of outer space... No, wait -- I'd heard this in the briefing. Since this universe was still young, it only extended about 30 kilometers, right? Nothing existed here but tiny fragments of stars. This was a miniature dark world where you could almost touch the edge of existence.

(The Star Whale travels between dimensions. It will definitely pass through this one.)

I -- leaped from the hatch into the void.

"...Here I go!"

I pulled out my white guitar and let loose a wild, ringing strum. In a world without atmosphere where sound and vibration shouldn't have existed, the distorted notes of the strings rang out clearly. That was the work of the cherry-blossom-colored miracle.

"Let's go!"

I shouted once more. Because I had to give it everything. Now was the time.

Tokyo had become a battlefield to the death.

"Don't fall back! Keep up the fire support! There's nowhere left to fall back to!"

In front of the University of Tokyo's Akamon Gate. The JGSDF pounded the hordes of Corpse Soldiers with artillery fire on the front lines, buying even a moment's time for the Azure Academy students -- the only ones capable of directly shredding the Ectoplasmic Fluid -- to attack.

"...I... I'll go...!"

A student, battered all over with her Gunscar overused to the point she could barely stand, took a handful of comrades, turned invisible, and repositioned to the top of a building in Ueno to fire down.

"Like hell I'll let you! I won't let you get any further!"

A swarm of Corpse Soldiers immediately converged, but one student with a Slash capable of rending even souls desperately fought them off. And protecting that girl were divine fox spirits, covered head to toe in wounds.

But they, too -- had begun reaching their limit.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!"

Yet the Black Demon Lord guarding Ueno Park still blazed with fire in her eyes.

(I can still fight.)

Her shadow giants were desperately holding back the soldiers of the dead swarming in like a colony of ants.

(This isn't my Apocalypse! This isn't my "happy ending"!)

Azure Academy's elite were barely managing to suppress the Crimson Rot Giant Butterfly's scale-dust, allowing the Demon Lord to focus entirely on defending Ueno Park.

"Grr... DON'T UNDERESTIMATE MEEE!!"

A massive Corpse Soldier hurled a smaller one skyward -- a projectile aimed directly at Shinobazu Pond. The Demon Lord's giant, Sand and Wind, desperately stretched its body to catch it.

(These things -- their numbers keep growing!)

Even with the Demon Lord's resistance to Parallel Law, the sheer volume was overwhelming. They were absorbing soldiers -- dead JGSDF members, Azure Academy students, even corpses buried in graveyards -- commandeering the Ectoplasmic Fluid, usurping their bodies.

"--♪ --♪ --♪"

The only reason the Black Demon Lord could barely continue fighting against the infinite legion was mALEEa's Invincible Princess (Princess Brave!). Her singing voice was buffing the Demon Lord's maximum stamina.

(Everyone... so many of them... hurt...!)

mALEEa sang while using the shared vision from Praise Chaos (DISCORD), watching the various battlefields. She'd been singing nonstop for hours without a break, and blood was flowing from her throat -- but she'd forgotten even that, her heart aching as she watched her allies fall one by one.

What she couldn't tear her eyes from most of all -- were her childhood friends from back home.

The undead pirate ships had closed to within 50 kilometers south of the Miura Peninsula.

"Kahahaha! Hang on tight, ya bastards! If ya fall in the sea, I ain't fishing ya out! But don't worry -- worst case, ya just die! We're the undead buccaneers! Surely we ain't scared of dying at this point!"

The seas near Japan were being ravaged by an extraordinary storm -- one the undead pirates had whipped up. The Pacific coastline was swallowed by record-setting tsunamis, and people were scrambling to cope.

"Reinforcements from Yokosuka! But we can't fall back any further!"

The 54-year-old captain of the Maya glared at the raging sea with bitter frustration.

(How are we supposed to fight pirate ships that control the ocean and regenerate no matter how much we destroy them?)

Half of the JMSDF's escort fleet had already been sunk. Yet the enemy's ships kept swelling ever larger. Their only accomplishment was buying some time -- and that was it.

"Admiral."

The one who spoke to him was a tanned, good-natured young man -- Fiddler Reynolds.

"Their immortality is far superior to what we'd anticipated. Burn them and they rise from the ashes. Blast them apart and the wreckage is drawn back together -- and the speed at which it does so is... unbelievable. There are many beings called immortal, but these ones are abnormal even among them."

"...Yes. At this rate, it's only a matter of time before they make landfall in Tokyo."

"Yes, and so--"

The teenager smiled warmly.

"Please have your fleet pull back and prepare to defend the Tokyo coastline. We'll buy time here."

The Maya's captain widened his eyes briefly, then--

"...Buy time, and then what? It's probably already the end of the world."

"That's what we are."

"What?"

"The Apocalypse Stagnation Committee. -- Those who hold an inevitable Apocalypse at bay, even by a single second."

Fiddler didn't dislike the philosophy of the organization called the Apocalypse Stagnation Committee. It was certainly defeatist, a backward way of thinking. But the path it led to was hope.

"Lend us one unmanned ship, please. We can buy enough time for your forces to regroup."

"...That's--"

The captain clenched his fist, started to say something, then dropped his shoulders. But when he raised his head again, his eyes burned with fighting spirit.

"I'll stay and fight alongside you."

"That won't do. What we're taking on is a losing battle. The Nights! can handle navigation."

"At full speed? Can you steer and focus on combat at the same time?"

"..."

"You think an old man like me would let boys like you guard my back? Don't look down on me. I am an admiral of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. If this is a losing battle, all the more reason I should be fighting it with you."

"You must have things worth living for."

The elderly captain laughed through his nose at the young man's words.

"--Hmph. That goes for both of us, doesn't it?"

Fiddler started to voice a rebuttal. But the ones who cut in were the officers and crew who'd been listening.

"Admiral. Naturally you'll let us come along too, right?"

"We can't let you be the only one who looks cool!"

The admiral's eyes wavered for an instant, then he quickly smiled.

"Of course! I can't run this ship alone. I expect each of you to see your duties through to the very end."

"Aye aye!"

Watching all of this, Alex Cave cracked a small smile. He'd warned Fiddler about this -- that they'd surely want to come along, and that they absolutely should accept their help.

"Then let's get the preparations started, shall we?"

The one who murmured this was Gray. To her, these people were being oddly somber about the whole thing. She had absolutely zero intention of dying here.

"Preparations? What's your plan in the first place?"

"Their weapons are primitive. The main problems are: they're using our own ranged armaments against us, their wave manipulation allows high-speed movement, and obviously their immortality. Those three factors are what's forcing our retreat."

This was definitely a losing battle. But it was one well worth fighting, she felt.

"So -- we flip it. We go in close. Melee combat."

"What? Against immortal ships?"

"Yes. That's why this is ultimately just stalling."

"In the meantime -- Koito Hikari will... No. Kotoyorozu Kotoha will win."

Fiddler believed. In that sad man. That boy one step away from madness.

The Death Spirit Floating Castle had closed in over Nagano Prefecture. Considering its speed, its advance had been remarkably slow. The reason was primarily one thing.

"HAAAAAH! Get blown away! Lightning Gae Bolg!"

Platinum Story End. Her straightforward "strength" was an excellent match against the Death Spirit Floating Castle, which was simply big and strong. Her massive spear pierced the castle walls, and the Floating Castle was forced to divert its energy from advancing to repairs.

"Master, please be careful! You have less than twenty percent of your stamina remaining!"

"What are you talking about? My soul is connected to the Unlimited Source Code! I have no limits!"

"That's not how--"

"--I said I have no limits!"

The massive skull atop the Death Spirit Floating Castle opened its jaws. Energy charged to more than full capacity. Platinum took her battered shield and streaked across the sky.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

A devastating beam of death engulfed Platinum. But she raised her enormous shield and protected the Kanto region. Without her, the area would have long since been reduced to a sea of fire.

Many Azure Academy students had already entered through the gates to try and take the Floating Castle from within. But no good reports had come back. Everyone was sick with worry.

(But I have to keep at it!)

The Arboreal Knights served as Azure Academy's campus police. Platinum, guileless to a fault, had been recommended for commander by the previous knight captain more for her character than her strength.

That previous commander was none other than -- Nguyen Bao Lan.

(Nguyen is probably dead.)

The plan to transport Koito Hikari to another dimension. Only Nguyen could have pulled off that mission. Even for her, it must have been an operation that required throwing away her life.

(From now on... I'm on my own.)

The only reason the earnest Platinum had been able to serve as commander was the support of Nguyen -- a wise, experienced veteran who also served as a surrogate mother. Platinum had truly loved her.

"--That's why I have no limits!"

There was no time for whining. Platinum gripped her shield with everything she had and deflected the death beam.

"Wh--!"

From the edge of her vision -- an indigo light-arrow was hurtling toward her.

"GAAAH...!"

The light-arrow that pierced Platinum's shoulder had been fired from the gate of the Floating Castle -- a brick plaza in front of it.

"...Don't... get in my way."

A girl over two meters tall, wielding a massive bow glowing indigo, stared at Platinum with eyes on the verge of tears. She wore a revealing dress of bone armor, trembling as she aimed her arrow.

[No. 8403: "Princess of the Floating Castle"] -- Stage 4: Excitatio

Properties: Necromancy, Parallel Law

Details: A girl who commands the Death Spirit Floating Castle. The Floating Castle is operated almost entirely by programmed spirit devices -- she is the only individual with high intelligence and free will.

Traits: Gifted with portal technology by the Indigo Rabbit, she can fire arrows through portals. However, her power is limited within the Cherry Blossom Dimension.

(None of the Azure Academy students who went through the gate have come back out — but she appeared.)

Platinum understood instantly. The princess was already a wreck. She'd clearly just come through a brutal fight. She was drenched in the blood of others. And yet she was still standing.

(Everyone... lost...)

The assault team that entered the Death Spirit Floating Castle had included many of Platinum's subordinates and friends. They must have all fallen to this princess. To an immortal archer...

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!"

Enraged, Platinum cranked her motorcycle to full throttle and charged at the princess with staggering speed. Like a bullet fired from a gun.

"Don't... GET IN MY WAAAAY!!"

But what materialized before Platinum was a wall of over a hundred portals. Each was tiny, but radiated an ominous aura. The princess drew her indigo bow.

"...!"

A hundred arrows fired simultaneously from the portals, blocking the knight's path like a wall.

"Something like THIS won't—!!"

Platinum raised her enormous shield and charged. Her defense was too thick for those thin arrows to pierce.

"...Gah."

— But a single arrow had pierced Platinum's back.

It had been fired from a portal that appeared behind her.

"Please just... don't... get in my way... I promised everyone... I'd go save them... If we keep... dawdling here... our friends will come to help... and..."

The Cherry Blossom Dimension was currently checkmated. The situation was already dire, and a second wave from the Necromancy Dimension was waiting in the wings. A desperate, costly operation. The princess hated that. She wanted the sacrifices to end with just her side. That was why she was in such a rush.

"You're going to lose anyway! So just give up already!"

The girl drew her bow with tears streaming down her face. She — hated fighting more than anything.

"...Don't... you dare..."

Bleeding from her entire body, the arrow through her back piercing all the way to her chest — the dark knight screamed.

"So what if we're going to lose!? So what if we can never win!? So what if everything's going to end someday!?"

"......!"

"How is any of that a reason to stop fighting!?"

The princess nocked an arrow with tears in her eyes. A hundred portals appeared in a sphere around Platinum, surrounding her from every direction. Platinum was ready to die.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!"

Even so, the dark knight didn't stop. She charged straight ahead.

A low, distant booooom resonated deep in my ears.

"This entire dimension has been compressed in time by Nguyen's ability."

Von Simon's voice echoed inside my — Koito Hikari's — head. I nodded. This was an undeveloped, unformed newborn universe. Its R-value was extremely low. Relatively speaking, the power of Gunscars grew stronger here.

"...Phew... I'm okay... I'm okay!"

The Star Whale was coming from the far edge of the universe at a speed of light to the 1,298th power. I had to flood space with the cherry-blossom-colored miracle and stop it.

(Even with Nguyen's ability, the Star Whale is moving far beyond lightspeed. It's not something I can track with my eyes. So Von Simon should be the one to tell me when.)

I clenched my hands open and shut, checking how my body felt.

(Strange. I feel better than I ever have!)

Why was that? The golden scarf around my neck felt warm and cozy. That was the only difference, yet I felt like I could perform better than ever.

"Koito. No holding back."

I deactivated Cherry Red Pistol and glared into the depths of space.

Nyao — would probably cry her eyes out. She might even act out a little, like she used to. But she'd pull herself together eventually. Because the precious memories would remain.

Mef — would try to stay composed. She'd push herself too hard because of it. But she'd turn that pain into pride and become an even stronger girl.

Kotoha — he'd be wounded deep in his heart. It would become one more scar among the many he already carried. But he was a strong person, so he'd support everyone.

(I'm not the least bit scared!)

That wasn't true at all. My fingertips were trembling. My heart was cold. I couldn't even imagine fighting something stronger than me, and I wondered — what's it like to die?

But my feelings didn't matter. That moment was coming regardless.

"...!"

A low, distant booooom resonated deep in my ears.

It was approaching. From a dimension impossibly far away. A monster that had shattered the theory of relativity.

"It's coming."

I gripped my guitar tightly. I felt no vibration, no sound. Because — the Star Whale was far swifter than any of that. No sense capable of detecting it existed in this world.

"Right then — let the rock and roll begin!"

The cherry-blossom-colored miracle spread across space like roots. Touching this power felt like being gently embraced by someone. Probably because — it was the very essence of wanting to protect someone.

"Star Whale... approaching...! Twenty... seconds!"

The countdown had begun. Those numbers had been calculated desperately by the people of Azure Academy. I'd heard that some had even sacrificed themselves to gather the observational data.

(I stand at the very front of all those sacrifices.)

I don't want this. I'm scared. I'm lonely. So I squeezed the golden scarf tight.

It's going to be okay. I felt like someone told me that.

(Here it comes—)

I gripped my guitar.

— In that instant, I felt my body warp.

"Wha—!"

It had come. The Star Whale. Warping the very dimension I stood in.

[No. 8389: "Star Whale"] — Stage 10: Apocalypsis

Properties: Collective Illusion

Details: A creature that continuously moves at a speed of light to the 1,298th power. Its "speed" defies the properties of light, defies the properties of gravity, defies the properties of time and space. Any dimension the Star Whale touches has all its laws shredded to pieces, and ruptures in the Star Whale's wake.

Traits: Its body has no mass — only "wishes" give shape to its outline. There is only one way to stop the Star Whale. To defend the laws of this universe to the very end.

"GUHHH... AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!"

The Star Whale had arrived in my dimension. The instant it did, a pain like being torn limb from limb ripped through me. That was the Star Whale's nature. It was trying to destroy the laws of this universe.

"Like hell you will!"

I desperately bound the unraveling laws of the universe together with the cherry-blossom-colored miracle. Like roots anchoring the earth. But what I was actually doing was more like — a dandelion root trying to hold tectonic plates in place during an earthquake.

"I WON'T LOSE!!"

The whale's cry echoed through space. The Star Whale drifted leisurely through the newborn universe. It was the fastest law itself. Though a living creature, it was closer to time and gravity than to anything like us.

"GAH... AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!"

This was bad. The universe was being ripped apart. My miracle was desperately trying to hold it together, but bit by bit, piece by piece, it was being pulled apart.

(I won't lose I won't lose I won't lose I won't lose I WON'T LOSE!)

Because! If I lost! Everyone would disappear!

No more gathering around a hot pot with everyone in the dorms after school!

No one to say good morning to me, or good night!

"I don't want that! I DON'T WANT THAAAAAT!!"

Through me — like a faucet — the cherry-blossom-colored miracle poured endlessly from the very foundations of the universe. "Cherry blossoms" were the symbol of guardianship and compassion. The very embodiment of the universe's desire to protect someone.

"So give me everything you've got! Give it... to MEEEEE!"

My skin screamed with a burning pain. My body was on the verge of crumbling. My spirit was about to wither. But none of that mattered. I didn't need me anymore. All I needed was a burning will and a result I could leave behind for everyone.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!"

The people on the ground were watching Koito Hikari's — Kotoyorozu Kotoha's — battle.

"Please... win this, Kotoyorozu...!"

In the underground command center at Ichigaya garrison, Von Simon stood with his eyes closed in desperate prayer. Kotoyorozu Kotoha's live feed had been made accessible to everyone through Praise Chaos (DISCORD).

"You're humanity's last hope."

Many people knew that he had swapped places with Koito Hikari. Countless warriors were watching Kotoyorozu Kotoha's fight — even as they themselves were locked in their own battles to the death.

"No way... Why is Kotoha-senpai up there...?! Mef-senpai... Mef-senpaaai..."

"Koshiba! Focus! We do what needs to be done."

High above Tokyo, Koshiba and Mef were fighting for their lives, intercepting the winged Corpse Soldiers and keeping them from getting anywhere near Ueno.

"If it's Kotoyorozu-kun — if it's our captain — he'll definitely take down the Star Whale. We know that better than anyone, don't we? We've seen it up close more than anyone, haven't we?!"

"...Y-yes..."

"Then! Believe in him and wait for him to come back! Do everything you can! Protect as many people — as many people's loved ones — as you can!"

Mef was fighting desperately against the urge to check that broadcast. She was bad at multitasking. She knew that if she checked Praise Chaos (DISCORD), her own performance would drop.

(Please... please, I'm begging you... come back...)

Praying from the bottom of her heart, she kept fighting across the skies of Tokyo. Kept protecting his hometown.

Because if she wasn't fighting for her life, she felt like she'd burst into tears right then and there.

"Kotohaaa...! No! I don't want this! I don't want iiiiit!"

Screaming with her face a mess of tears was the real Koito Hikari, on the ground. She had driven the Skull-Masked Man to the brink of defeat, but he'd ultimately escaped. By the time she got back to the space research center, Kotoha had already launched into space.

"...Quiet down...! Koito!"

That shout came from Ter. He had died when the Star Whale's approach caused the collapse of the laws of physics in space. He'd already been revived on the ground ahead of everyone else, thanks to the Weeping Giant Bird (Alp Kara Kush)'s ability.

(Kotoyorozu has probably only been facing the Star Whale for a few seconds, from his perspective.)

That was a remnant of Nguyen's ability. The dimension they were in was currently under time compression. From the ground, it had already looked like Kotoha had been fighting for several minutes.

"Ter! Can't you do something?! Can't I get up there?!"

"Obviously not. All you can do is sit here and cry your eyes out."

"Then... at least... let me go to the ground...!"

"By the time you get there, it'll already be decided. You're better off watching for stratospheric portals from here."

When Koito crumpled to the ground and began sobbing quietly, Ter realized for the first time that she was just an ordinary girl.

For the first time in her life, Koito Hikari thought of herself as weak.

"Koto...ha..."

"Haha... He really is incredible, that guy..."

Deep beyond the gates of the Death Spirit Floating Castle — in the festival hall, riddled with indigo arrows and collapsed in pools of blood, lay PM and Arav. Both had lost too much blood. They didn't even have the strength to stand anymore.

"Please... please... Kotoha..."

The usually composed, dark-skinned boy — Arav — was shedding tears.

"We were... weak... couldn't do a single thing... not a single thing..."

"A...rav..."

"So... in our place... please... I'm begging you..."

Seeing him like that, PM found himself crying too. He wanted to be strong. Strong enough to protect someone. Strong enough to protect that classmate fighting at the edge of the universe — he wanted to become a man like that.

So just for now, he entrusted it. To that friend. A fragment of his feelings.

"—Ah, look, my lord. Look at them."

In Akihabara, where the fighting had already ended, a girl gently stroked a fallen demon.

"...Yes."

She was the being called the King of Anomalies. A girl who had once fought endlessly to protect someone.

"They're giving it everything they've got, aren't they?"

One of the fallen, blood-soaked, nearly vanished demons smiled contentedly. The divine fox spirits had almost all collapsed to the ground. The Ten Thousand Immortals Formation was closing, and the power of Collective Illusion was fading.

"Made it all worthwhile."

The demon murmured and closed its eyes happily. And that fearsome-looking demon would never open its eyes again, for all eternity. The King of Anomalies gently stroked the hero's brow.

"That is why I find you all so beautiful."

Stroking the gentle demon. Watching the cherry-blossom girl fighting alone in the distance.

"...I believe you are more precious than anything else in this world."

The King of Anomalies simply prayed.

That the road ahead for the boy and the girl would lead to a wonderful ending.

"Get out of my WAAAY! Move it! Get out of my WAAAAAAAY!!"

The battle at Ueno Park had grown even more ferocious. The Black Demon Lord's shadow giants were already being overwhelmed by sheer numbers. She was tearing apart Corpse Soldiers with her own hands.

(Yeah, I knew it. I really do have an eye for people.)

Watching Kotoha fight desperately in another dimension, the Black Demon Lord thought that from the bottom of her heart.

(Hey, did you all know? That guy — he made a promise to marry me.)

That filled her with pride, and with sadness, and she kept screaming.

(Ah, but still. I knew it. My story is going to end as a bad ending after all.)

The Black Demon Lord's Yearning, "I want a happy ending," meant, conversely, that she was terrified of bad endings. She simply knew that a happy ending would never come for her life. That was all it was. So she felt a kind of resignation.

"But... even so—!"

She ripped a Corpse Soldier's skull clean off, jammed it into its chest, and launched it with a devastating high kick.

"—So what!"

No matter how sad it was, no matter how painful, no matter how lonely.

The Black Demon Lord kept walking. With a smile befitting a demon lord.

"Come on! Bring it, you heroes! You're not my Apocalypse! I'm YOUR Apocalypse!! I'm... still... alive...! I'M STILL ALIIIIIVE!!"

A staggering swarm of Corpse Soldiers descended on her all at once.

The Black Demon Lord smiled faintly.

"Haha! ...He really is something, Kotoha-kun."

The one who murmured that was Fiddler, challenging the raging seas.

"Fiddler! How the hell do you have the luxury of looking away?!"

Alex shouted. He had transformed his entire body into Night and wrapped it around the escort ship Maya, shielding the hull from the machine gun fire of the Death Spirit Fleet. The Maya was tearing through the fleet at extreme speed — a single ship, all alone.

"Port side approaching! Stand ready!"

The captain shouted, and the one who answered was Gray.

"—Fool's Footsteps (Go Far Kid)!"

A red portal appeared beside Fiddler. Its exit — a blue portal — appeared on one of the closest Death Spirit ships.

"Here!"

Fiddler produced a Seal from his fingertip. It was the ability of Koshiba's Gunscar, Shamshir. He tossed the Seal into the red portal — sending it straight to one of the Death Spirit ships.

"Missile — READY! FIRE!!"

The captain shouted. Missiles launched from the Maya at tremendous speed. These were missile warheads that Fiddler had already modified in advance. So the moment the missile reached its peak altitude, he shouted:

"Shamshir!"

In that instant, the undying ship swapped positions with the missile warhead. The missile's speed naturally exceeded Mach. Its range was several hundred kilometers.

"Hell yeah!"

The hurled Death Spirit ship shattered apart, tumbling all the way beyond the horizon.

"Guh... move it, the barrage is too heavy here!"

With this tactic, they could push the Death Spirit Fleet far, far back. And since the ships scattered in pieces across the ocean, it would take considerable time for them to revive.

"Hang in there... Alex!"

But the toll on Alex was even greater. He was taking every single attack aimed at the Maya with his body alone. The question was how far they could push before he hit his limit.

"Kakaka! ...Not bad."

The captain of the Death Spirit Fleet watched his ship fly through the sky and laughed with delight before taking the helm.

"That's some nerve! Fine, let's do this! A head-on brawl!"

"Alex, Fiddler! Incoming!"

Gray shouted, and the Maya began moving at extreme speed.

Slicing through the terrifyingly massive storm, it simply charged forward with single-minded determination.

---Platinum Story End had taken arrows all over her body and was falling.

"...Ngh."

She hit the ground in front of the floating castle gates with a sickening crunch. Every bone in her body shattered. Blood pooled around her like a spring.

"...I'm sorry."

The Princess of the Floating Castle murmured. She genuinely honored the warrior who had fought bravely to the very end.

In less than an hour, if they couldn't destroy the Iron Heart, the plan would begin.

"I... don't want to lose any of those children..."

---It was a large-scale ritual using the Corpse Soldiers' children. The hundred children the Corpse Soldiers were trying to protect. A ritual to transform half of them into catastrophe-spreading monsters. Fifty children into ten thousand monsters, to annihilate the Cherry Blossom Dimension. It was the option they despised most.

"So... I'm sorry... I don't want to sacrifice the children."

The Princess of the Floating Castle reached toward Platinum with a face on the verge of tears. Just to close her eyelids, at least.

"...!"

---A twitch. She moved.

"Impossible."

Platinum had taken dozens of arrows across her entire body. She'd clearly lost a fatal amount of blood. Every bone in her body was shattered. And yet. This dark knight.

"You still... intend to stand...?"

"...Of... course..."

Even as she spoke, Platinum coughed up a massive clot of blood. But she never --- never --- let go of that enormous gunlance. The dark knight had a reason she couldn't lose.

"From the Old General... I learned... technique. From her... I learned... heart. ...Love."

The Princess of the Floating Castle went white as she tried to nock another arrow, but her fingers trembled and she dropped it.

"...I can't lose. I have to show her... that I can do this on my own."

Platinum tried to stand, but on her already-broken legs, getting to her knees was the best she could manage. She desperately tried to walk, but all that came out was blood gushing from her wounds. The Princess of the Floating Castle drew her bow.

"MASTEEEEEER!!"

---A flying motorcycle slammed into Platinum's back at full speed.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

"...!"

The impact launched Platinum into the air. That blood-soaked dark knight never let go of her enormous gunlance. She stared straight at the Princess of the Floating Castle, unwavering.

"Chaotic --- DRAGON BUSTER!!"

"Eek---"

The massive ten-thousand-ton gunlance simply, bluntly, crushed the Princess of the Floating Castle beneath it. Her body was undying and desperately tried to heal --- but she couldn't lift the enormous gunlance, and the healing stalled. Without its rider, the floating castle ground to a halt.

"Good work, Master."

Covered in blood, Platinum Story End collapsed on the spot.

"Hah... hah... hah... sniff. ...sniffle."

"Rest now. Once you've rested, get back up. You still have work to do."

"I... know..."

Platinum's face was a mess of blood and tears.

"But for now... just a little longer... let me stay like this and cry..."

The talking motorcycle silently nestled close to its knight.

Student Council President Elif Anatolia had made her decision.

Under the blue sky, at the center of the world. She carved a warrior's resolve into her very being.

She alone turned her back on the battlefield --- and plunged into an even more terrifying one.

---Countless warriors were watching Kotoyorozu Kotoha. Cheering for him from the bottom of their hearts.

JSDF soldiers. Azure Academy students. Students from other schools. The fading divine fox spirits.

(Ah. This is. A loss.)

Only one person was calm. A girl with indigo hair, watching Kotoyorozu Kotoha from Azure Academy's space development center control room. The Indigo Rabbit. She alone watched the fervor with cold eyes.

(What a waste. Kotoyorozu Kotoha-kun, was it? He'd replicated the exact same specs as the cherry-blossom rabbit. But even that wasn't enough to beat the Star Whale's absolute power, it seems.)

The Indigo Rabbit had been watching Kotoha through Praise Chaos (DISCORD). Even she had wanted Kotoha to win. She didn't want any of the Corpse Soldiers to be hurt either, if it could be helped.

(But. There isn't much time left before the operation.)

The children of the Necromancy Dimension --- they were misshapen giants. Mortal children with powerful Anti-Reality. Corrupt them through ritual, let them rot crimson. Scatter them across the earth. Within hours, the species called "humanity" on this planet would likely be extinct. That was their plan.

(If possible, I don't want to resort to that. ...Looks like the people at Azure Academy failed too, so---)

The Indigo Rabbit snapped her fingers, and her body dissolved into a cluster of microscopic portals, vanishing from Azure Academy in an instant. She had no choice. To protect what mattered most, she had to fight.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAH---"

Just as the Indigo Rabbit had predicted, Kotoyorozu Kotoha --- Koito Hikari --- was reaching her limit.

---BOOOOOOM!

The whale's mournful cry echoed through the miniature universe. That alone was enough to half-shatter Koito's sanity. The cherry-blossom miracle was the most continuous substance in the universe, but even that was starting to break down.

(I won't... lose! I WON'T LOSE!)

Laws of physics torn to shreds, the tattered universe held together by the cherry-blossom miracle. But all the while, Koito Hikari's body and Ectoplasmic Fluid kept screaming in protest.

"Who... do you think I am...!"

Still, the girl screamed.

"In heaven and on earth, I alone am supreme! The one and only, past and future --- the strongest beautiful girl, Koito Hikari!"

Her body was melting. Her entire body was impossibly heavy, as if sewn in place. Breathing was like having mud poured down her throat. Her heart felt like it was being stabbed over and over.

"---As long as I'm still breathing, I won't let you lay a finger on anyone!"

The people on the ground were watching.

The sight of the girl --- the boy --- fighting desperately, all alone.

"Fire---! Cover fire! Protect the Demon Lord! If this line breaks, it's over---!"

The defense of Ueno Park was on the verge of collapse.

The Black Demon Lord could barely stand anymore. A Corpse Soldier's blow had left blood streaming from her head. Normally she could repair something like that instantly --- but she didn't even have the stamina for that.

"Fall back...! To the final defensive line!"

"...But... you... people..."

"Never mind us! Go!"

A young JSDF soldier smiled, trembling.

"Just a little longer... those kids are gonna win for sure!"

The Black Demon Lord dragged her legs behind her, retreating, utterly battered.

"AAAAAH! Don't come! Don't come near us!"

"There's nowhere to run! Fight like you mean it! Don't let a single one through here!"

"OOOOOOOOOOH!"

Proper equipment was nearly exhausted. Young men grabbed grenades and hurled themselves at the Corpse Soldiers. Tanks commandeered by Corpse Soldiers blew groups of people away. And still.

---And still, everyone believed Koito Hikari would win.

(Huh...?)

So. In a distant dimension. When a piece of the cherry-blossom girl's face cracked.

(Was I... Koito Hikari?)

When the girl's power reached its limit.

(No. I'm---)

The cherry-blossom miracle rapidly collapsed.

(I'm --- I am Kotoyorozu Kotoha.)

He had reached his limit. With a sharp crack, Koito's face fractured and shattered in an instant. Through the broken pieces of Koito's face, Kotoyorozu Kotoha's right eye peered out.

(This is bad. Koito-senpai's power just gave out.)

Everyone saw it. The warriors on the ground. The people who had desperately been buying time, believing she would win. They all watched as their hero's body crumbled apart.

"...That's... not..."

A single young JSDF woman watched it through her tears.

"Gi gi gi gi."

"Gi gi gi gi."

Ueno was already surrounded. Encircling them were tens of thousands of Corpse Soldiers. The JSDF had fewer than a thousand troops left. Weapons and ammunition had already run out.

(Getting killed by those things here.)

(World ends. That's it?)

Even so, the handful of people who still wanted to protect someone rose to their feet, screaming desperately, rallying themselves. They refused to give up until the very end. And yet.

"---Well now. It's been a long fight. Shall we end it?"

Lightning seemed to fall from the sky. It was a girl with indigo rabbit ears.

(That's. Bad news.)

The battered Black Demon Lord, instantly assessing the new threat, turned on her heel. She knew she was the only one who could face that thing head-on.

"---Sand and Wiiiiiind!!"

The Black Demon Lord summoned a colossal giant from her own shadow. It cost every last drop of her stamina, and in exchange, the mountain-sized colossus tried to crush the Indigo Rabbit.

"...A beautiful blue. Much purer than ours."

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

What caught the giant's fist was --- a dimensional rift.

"But... I'm stronger."

The Indigo Rabbit held the dimensional rift itself in both hands, wielding it like a sword. She raced up the giant's arm at terrifying speed and closed the distance to the Black Demon Lord in an instant.

"Bye-bye."

"...---"

The dimensional rift pierced the Black Demon Lord's body.

"Ah... uh..."

The warriors on the ground watched it happen. The demon lord who had been protecting them with a smile --- struck down so effortlessly. The great giant unraveled into blue threads and dissolved away.

"Now --- everyone, it's time! Head for Shinobazu Pond!"

The Indigo Rabbit shouted. In that instant, the tsunami of Corpse Soldiers surged even faster, ignoring the bullets entirely, charging straight ahead.

"...Fire... FIRE!!"

A young officer screamed.

"...What's the point... of shooting...?"

An even younger soldier asked.

"Even if we shoot... it's over anyway..."

Despair filled the people's eyes. There was no longer any means to defend Shinobazu Pond.

Koito Hikari had been defeated. The Black Demon Lord had been run through. Everyone had fallen to their knees from exhaustion and grief.

The Apocalypse had come. Humanity --- the world --- was finished. Tears overflowed.

---And the one girl who could never forgive that was standing alone, gripping a microphone.

"...Huh?"

It wasn't that she hated the idea of extinction. It wasn't that she feared death or defeat. That rainbow-haired girl ---

"What is... this music...?"

It came from somewhere. Not from a speaker. A human voice. It rang across Ueno. ...No, not just Ueno. Across Tokyo. Across Kanto. Across Japan. Across the entire Earth.

"If tomorrow should be sunny..."

It was a gentle singing voice. She simply couldn't stand that everyone was crying.

Invincible Princess (Princess Brave!) --- You're next Princess! [Half-Wing] [Endpoint]

A Half-Wing that "makes people smile." It gives every being that mALEEa loves just a tiny bit of courage. The details differ from listener to listener. Some remember what matters most to them. Some recall words once spoken by someone dear. It brings to mind the people you love, the things you love, the beautiful things in your life. That's all this Half-Wing does. Everyone who hears this song can't help but break into a smile. It reverberates the sound and releases it across the world.

The cost is her singing voice.

"What... is this... huh? ...Tears..."

A young, battered JSDF soldier had tears rolling down his cheeks. But he was smiling.

(What is this. I just suddenly remembered. The smell of Mom's curry, from when I was a kid.)

Whenever he came home from his after-school lessons, the scent of curry would waft over the hedge. He'd look at his brother, two years older, and they'd grin at each other as they walked through the front door. The whole family would eat curry together while watching TV.

(...Right. I have something this precious.)

His mother, his brother, his father. The friend who'd been with him since soccer club, and his ex-girlfriend who was apparently married now. His JSDF comrades. He was remembering all of them. He wanted to protect them.

"I... have to... keep going...!"

---Despair had already left the young man's eyes.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAH!!"

Every last wounded person rose up from the depths of despair.

mALEEa's Endpoint was nothing more than that.

(I've always been like this.)

She was singing with a smile on her face. Because that was the emotion she truly wanted to convey. She didn't want anyone to cry, or grieve, or suffer. She'd never wanted that from anyone.

(If the people I love would just smile ---)

That was enough. That was the one thing she could never have. That was mALEEa's life.

(Kate. I'm sorry. Looks like fighting really isn't my thing.)

The conditions for an Endpoint were despair and Yearning overlapping.

mALEEa's despair --- a world where everyone was crying.

mALEEa's Yearning --- to make everyone smile.

Those two had now overlapped. mALEEa was staking her life on her song in the truest sense.

(I know it's a pretty pathetic power, even by my own standards, but...)

Her singing voice reached every human being on earth. Even ordinary people who had no idea of the crisis. Even people fighting each other somewhere in the world. Even people who cursed life itself and chose death.

(Believe. --- That someday, a day when you can smile will come.)

If this song could help even one person smile, that would be enough. That Half-Wing was certainly small... but it was beautiful. And the troublesome thing about this girl called mALEEa was that she showed no discrimination whatsoever.

"What... is this... song...?"

---The Indigo Rabbit had frozen mid-action, clutching her head.

"...Ah, how..."

For this rabbit who had lived thousands of years, her beautiful memories were the most distant of all. So far away she could barely remember them. But mALEEa's singing voice was dredging up her memories from the deepest recesses of that faded past.

"Damn... damn... ...Beautiful..."

The Indigo Rabbit shed large tears and smiled.

"DAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!"

A massive shadow arm pierced the rabbit's back.

"Wha...!?"

A hole was blown clean through the rabbit, who had been completely dazed. It was --- the Black Demon Lord's arm.

"...Yeah, I get it. Can't be helped. Once you hear this, keeping your guard up is impossible."

"You... you're still... alive...!"

"Sorry though, I'm fine. I'm the Demon Lord, after all."

The Black Demon Lord wore a smile as beautiful as a crescent moon. Listening to mALEEa's beautiful singing, she bored through the Indigo Rabbit's body --- and drank in her shadow.

"I'm taking your shadow."

"Stop... it...! STOOOOOOOOOOOP!"

"Don't beg. You're a hero facing a demon lord."

The Black Demon Lord absorbed the Indigo Rabbit's power like a parched desert drinking in water. The exposed "indigo miracle" was pure energy itself. Far more useful than Ectoplasmic Fluid.

"Heh."

The Black Demon Lord's shadow swelled enormous. The girl tossed the Indigo Rabbit aside.

"Here it comes! It's here, it's here, it's here! It's HEEEEEERE!!"

The blue phosphorescence of her shadow --- now contained a tinge of indigo.

"---We're just getting started!!"

The Black Demon Lord screamed. Her shadow giants revived with all the vigor of their prime.

"We follow the Demon Lord!"

"Protect them! Our families! Our friends!"

"Don't give up until the very end!"

The battered warriors rose to their feet. To protect what mattered. To laugh together again.

The rainbow-haired girl watched it all, then quietly collapsed. Her singing voice had reached everyone. She had made them all smile. That was the dream of a girl who had once longed to be a songstress --- a dream she'd had since she was small.

(It reached... everyone... right...?)

mALEEa believed with all her heart as her consciousness faded.

(Hey? It reached you too, right? --- Kotoha.)

The girl looked up at the high sky, smiled softly, and closed her eyes.

I --- Kotoyorozu Kotoha --- had hit my limit.

(Koito-senpai's body is on the verge of collapse.)

Her entire body was cracking apart, and my own body was showing through beneath. At this rate, she'd break. We'd lose. That's what I thought. I had to do something, but I had no means.

"...See? Told you so. You really do need a maid."

Golden threads covered the cracking parts of Koito-senpai's body.

"---Luna-san!"

"Focus, Master-chan! I can't hold on for long either!"

Luna-san's threads desperately patched the crumbling body of Koito-senpai. I was still half-merged with Koito-senpai's mind, pouring out the cherry-blossom-colored miracle with everything I had.

"I --- I'm --- IIIIIIIIIIII---!!"

---I'd found people I truly cared about.

(Koito-senpai, Koshiba, Mef. Wu-senpai, President Elif, Lea, mALEEa, Black Demon Lord, Magina-senpai... They're all precious to me. My... precious... friends...)

I'd thought that was impossible for me. That I'd be alone in the darkness forever. I wanted to give back to them. I wanted to protect the people who'd saved me from loneliness.

"Luna-san...! At this rate, we won't hold!"

"...Then what are you gonna do!? Give up!? Now THAT'S what's impossible. For us!"

I couldn't help but laugh. Because she was absolutely right. We couldn't give up anymore. We'd fight desperately to the very end. So I clenched my fist.

"Luna-san --- let's combine!"

"...Pfft, are you serious. Hot-blooded robot anime much."

She laughed like she was making fun of me, and her threads wrapped around my body.

"But sure. Let's become one. You and me!"

Those golden threads embraced my body with such gentleness. In that instant, I felt our bodies becoming one and the same. Koito-senpai's crumbling body and the golden light blended together.

""OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!!""

In a dimension on the verge of shattering, Luna-san and I desperately held onto each other. This was surely a job too big for small fries like us. But even so.

(I want to protect everyone.)

---A golden rabbit floated in the pitch-black cosmos.

Master-chan... this form...?

Yeah... What is this? It's completely different...!

We pulled out our guitar and strummed with everything we had. What poured out was a golden miracle. Compared to the cherry-blossom color, it looked more violent, more crude. But --- it was powerful.

BOOOOON! The Star Whale cried out. It was looking at us.

"Guh... OOOOOOOOOOOOOH!!"

Its gaze alone nearly tore us apart. But we endured it desperately. We kept patching the crumbling cosmos with the golden miracle. Protect. Protect. Protect!

Unlike Koito-senpai's failing power from before, we could control this one entirely by our own will. The raw output wasn't that different. But compared to the cherry blossom, there was something more ominous lurking beneath it.

""STOP!! STOOOOOOOOOOOOOP!!""

In the vacuum of space, Luna-san and I screamed.

BOOOOON! The whale cried out. Thrashing. Trying to communicate something?

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!"

At the speed of light to the 1,298th power, the cosmos was being ripped apart. We fought it desperately --- but it still wasn't enough.

(...Because it's a simple truth.)

Powering up through sheer guts and winning --- that kind of convenient plot development didn't happen. The weak stayed weak. You couldn't beat what you couldn't beat. Our bodies were beginning to collapse --- again.

(We still can't reach it...!?)

The Star Whale was destroying the cosmos far faster than we could patch it.

"No...!"

I'd been having fun lately.

(I finally feel like living is fun again.)

Sure, it was nothing but hardship.

...But it was fun. ...Fun. ...It mattered to me.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!"

I screamed until my throat was about to tear apart. But reality came anyway.

With a crack, my body split in two.

(We're going to lose.)

It was over, I thought.

"---If tomorrow should be sunny..."

So.

In this world of solitude.

When a beautiful singing voice echoed from far, far away.

(Is this... a dream?)

I doubted it from the bottom of my heart.

Because it was so unbearably gentle.

So beautiful.

So nostalgic.

So happy it made me want to cry.

"...Kotoha!"

It was --- mALEEa's singing voice.

"...Huh?"

"I gathered everyone's feelings! Everyone's hearts --- listen, they're resonating!"

I could definitely hear mALEEa's voice. Not through Praise Chaos (DISCORD). Her real, unfiltered voice. My eyes went wide. mALEEa was smiling.

"Listen, Kotoha. Prick up your ears?"

I obediently closed my eyes, somehow. That's when it happened. A song rang out. A mass of wishes.

I won't run. Not till the end. I'll protect what matters to me.

Go for it! Leave the rest to me! I'll just go on a little ahead.

This feeling of happiness... I won't let it be a lie. I absolutely won't let it end in sadness!

It's okay! It's still okay! Kotoha-senpai will definitely come back!

Go, human! You think this is where it ends? Push forward! Beyond the farthest edge!

I'm scared. All these monsters are scary. But there are people crying even more, so I have to help.

The place for Kotoyorozu-kun to come home to. I'll protect it, no matter what.

Kotoha... hang in there... for my sake too... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry...

I can still fight. I can still stand.

I refuse to end things in tears! I'm going home to where everyone is!

---I know you'll be fine. Never give up hope!

It was nothing but singing. Nothing more, nothing less.

"Is this... everyone's...?"

"That's the nature of sound. The nature of song. Hearts resonate with hearts."

mALEEa's song embraced my body. And not just that. Her song echoed through this infant cosmos. Everyone's prayers echoed. Everyone's feelings echoed. Everyone's hearts echoed.

"I see. This is---"

---Collective Illusion had begun reshaping the world.

Master-chan! With this---!

Collective Illusion was a mechanism that remained only in the primordial cosmos. And this place we were in right now was the primordial cosmos itself. Collective Illusion --- the universal law that what is strongly wished for takes physical form.

""HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH---""

Around Luna-san and me --- the golden rabbit --- six billion hearts had gathered. Every single one remembered happy days and wished, if possible, for them to last forever.

This infant cosmos, influenced by that powerful wish, began funneling its power into us.

"...!"

The compressed laws of a cosmos fresh from its Big Bang gathered into us. Since it was wished for, it forced itself into being --- violently warping its own nature to comply.

It was less a prayer by that point --- already closer to a curse.

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH---!"

Countless prayers forced us to be the world's protectors. We would stop being ourselves. But that was fine. ...That was fine!

"Let's go, Luna-san!"

Yeah! Together...!

We strummed the guitar with everything we had.

""Listen --- to our sound!!""

A staggering concentration of Collective Illusion filled the narrow cosmos in an instant.

---BOOOOON! The Star Whale cried out. In that moment, our bodies broke again.

(...Seriously. Even this... isn't enough?)

But giving up was impossible. We had to see it through to the end.

Luna-san and I desperately played the guitar while holding our own bodies together.

(Ah... body, mind, consciousness, breaking apart---)

A voice echoed in my head.

...Sorry, Master-chan. Even after all this... doesn't look like we can pull it off.

(No... thank you. I should be the one... I'm glad I got to meet you.)

Heh. Same here.

Our bodies shredded into pieces and began to crumble.

Consciousness was already fading.

But I didn't want to give up until the very end --- so from my fingertips, I extended a thread.

(Until the very end.)

I'll try my best, I thought. That was all there was to it.

---BOOOOON.

The whale cried. A golden thread touched the whale's head. It was a coincidence.

Just a coincidence, but.

Something shattered with a tiny snap.

"...Huh?"

We opened our eyes wide and looked ahead. There was a great whale. With the gentlest eyes, an expression on the verge of tears, it was looking at us.

Thank you.

Through the golden thread, the whale's feelings flowed into us.

Thank you for stopping me.

That was when I learned it for the first time.

(This thing... it's a mass of countless humans.)

Countless human prayers, having spent an astronomical span of time together, had become one and the same. --- Collective Illusion. This whale, too, was something that had gone out of control through that very mechanism.

"---Welcome home."

The words left our lips before we knew it.

"Good work. You tried so hard, for so long. ...You can rest now."

Pop, pop, pop --- like bubbles bursting, the enormous whale's form dissolved away. The whale had been near its limit too. Everyone's voices had helped push it along.

---BOOOOOON!

The Star Whale let out one final, mighty cry, then slowly, slowly, faded away.

With a terribly happy smile on its face.

"Ah---"

And with that, our bodies had reached their limit too. The transformation came undone.

"...Ha ha... man... this is way too brutal..."

Luna-san and I had been cast out into the pitch-black cosmos. Both of us in our real bodies. But the cherry-blossom miracle saturating this cosmos was sustaining our flesh --- because it was a power born from the desire to "protect someone." We forced our heavy eyelids open and held each other's hands.

"...We did it, huh."

"Gotta be... great-person-level stuff, this... put us in a textbook or something, seriously."

Luna-san was so completely her usual self that I couldn't help but laugh. When I die, I won't be alone. That felt like nothing short of a miracle.

"Ahh... I had a dream, you know... I guess it just wasn't meant to be..."

We floated in the tiny cosmos, and all we could do was wait for the end. So we both figured we'd at least like to spend our final moments chatting.

"A dream? First I've heard of it. What kind of dream?"

"...So like, Master-chan, you're gonna get a girlfriend eventually, right...?"

"What's this all of a sudden."

"And I'd be bummed about it, but, whatever, I'd deal."

"Okay."

"Then you'd get married, and I'd help raise your kids..."

"That's a surprisingly long-term dream."

"And those kids would grow up and leave the nest... and you'd be an old man..."

"Okay."

"And you'd tell me stories about the old days. Over and over, to me. And every time, I'd say 'yeah, those were the days' and laugh, and we'd drink tea together in the garden..."

"That sounds nice. But what happened to my wife?"

"Dunno."

"Harsh."

"Just listen? So then? You'd die first, right? When you're dying... I'd hold your hand until the very end... and this time I'd be the one telling you all the old stories..."

"......"

"And after I pulled off your funeral flawlessly, I'd die at your grave."

"That's ridiculously heavy."

We looked at each other and burst out laughing. What wonderful days those would be. How amazing it would be if we could live a life like that. A fantasy that would never come true. But it was a happy time.

"What's your dream?"

"My... dream...?"

I thought about it for a moment.

"Mine... just came true."

I smiled, meaning it from the bottom of my heart. Luna-san's face crumpled, and she looked like she was about to cry.

"...Sorry... I lied."

"Huh?"

She pulled me toward her in the weightlessness and held me tight.

"My real wish... was... for you... to stop feeling that way..."

"...I'm sorry."

Someone like me, getting to protect the people I cared about and then die --- I was so happy I couldn't stand it. But I knew that made Luna-san sad.

"It's fine. It really is. That's just who you are. I'm the one who should say sorry... okay...?"

Luna-san's arms were warm. She was a mechanical doll, yet her body temperature was much higher than mine. Wrapped in her soft warmth, I felt happiness from the very bottom of my heart.

"If there's a next life..."

Luna-san smiled.

"You should be born as a puppy or something. I'll make you happy forever."

"...That means I'd die first again and you'd follow me."

"Oh, true. Then a turtle would be nice. They live for ten thousand years, they say."

"Would you still make a turtle happy?"

"Duh. Don't underestimate a maid."

She held me tighter. As if trying to shield me from every painful thing in the world. I wished I could have made her happy. That thought alone made me lonely, and I cried a little.

"...Thank you... Luna-san... truly... thank you..."

"...Yeah. ...Same to you."

I felt my body growing cold. The cosmos was expanding. The cherry-blossom-colored miracle was scattering. Bit by bit, it could no longer protect us. Cold. Just cold, as the cosmos cooled.

"You gave me a reason to live... I love you... Master-chan..."

She held me tight, so tight, stroking my head.

The cosmos, slowly, crumbling. Consciousness, slowly, fading.

I was just so happy, so happy. Before I knew it --- I closed my eyes.

He simply prayed that everyone would be happy.

Collective Illusion

When universes overlap, no laws exist at all.

But the instinct particles carry — the desire to “exist” — slowly begins to shape the laws of a universe.

“I want to exist” becomes “I want to continue,” which becomes “I want to be stable.”

The collective yearning of all existence constructs the fundamental science of a universe.

This primordial law is what is called “Collective Illusion.”

In a world that has fully stabilized, “Collective Illusion” is relegated to the universe’s Homeostasis.

Because the law itself holds a strong will to “be stable,”

and illusions that permit exceptions are, at that point, simply unnecessary.

All existence is born from illusion.

Indigo Rabbit

Common demon of the Necromancy Dimension.

“Indigo” is a symbol of great ruin.

At the same time, it signifies a parting from one’s homeland.

The survivors of the Necromancy Dimension — expanded to its limit and meeting its ruin — are, to the world, nothing more than the remnants of a civilization.

Even so, she wanted to protect what mattered to her. And so she took up an unfamiliar sword.

Parallel Law

The fundamental science of every dimension is entirely distinct.

Because the source of fundamental science is Collective Illusion,

and there is no knowing which desires will be most strongly reflected.

For this reason, the fundamental science of other dimensions is collectively called “Parallel Law.”

Because even the most similar dimensions operate under different laws,

it is not difficult to identify visitors from other dimensions.