Chapter: 92. Confession of Moonlight and Starlight
The pitch-black flames burned fiercely against the myriad stars in the sky.
The realm of stars collapsed swiftly before this overwhelming force—
The fantasy creatures that had just floated in the night sky transformed into elusive shadows, as if they had never existed there from the moment they emerged from the dark purple stars.
“Something is coming…” Omega raised its dragon head and looked toward the crack that appeared in the night sky.
The roars and hostility emanating from it forced Omega to adopt a defensive posture.
In an instant, hot dragon breath gathered in its opened mouth. As a pureblood dragon, Omega naturally possessed the inherent abilities of its kind.
The purple dragon breath that burst forth from Omega’s mouth was like a purple lightning bolt, piercing through the surrounding air and transforming into a dazzling purple beam that surged toward the crack burning with black flames.
The purple beam collided with the black flames, igniting a brilliant glow.
And this sound abruptly awakened Nagino.
She was all too familiar with this voice.
Even if the voice had become brutal and feral.
But echoing in her ears, it felt like that noon when they first met.
At a time when she was cornered and trapped in despair, it was this voice that had saved her from the endless abyss.
Nagino didn’t know what she should do or whom she should trust—
Helpless, she instinctively hugged her body, her lips trembling as she spoke the words she had kept deep inside since the first moment she saw that person—
“Kanade, save me…”
“GAAAaaaa——!!!” A roar that shook the heavens responded to Nagino’s call.
At that moment, the realm of stars completely shattered into countless fragments.
Black flames surged like a tide, swiftly engulfing the purple beam, devouring it as if the black flames were a ferocious beast.
Omega and the power of destruction were suddenly suppressed in that instant—
…..
…..
Kanade, through the crack he had torn open, saw the most important girl in his life.
In that moment, he felt as if he had been pulled back to the past.
It was their first meeting.
She gave the impression of a petite and fragile girl, with deep, night-sky-like hair cascading over her slim shoulders. On her overly delicate and adorable face were a pair of pitch-black eyes that seemed capable of peering into the souls of others.
But her gaze was so fragile and helpless; behind the facade of strength was an internal world on the brink of despair, as though it could shatter like a bubble at any moment, making people unable to let go of their worry.
Just like right now—
Facing her, Kanade found the darkness in his eyes flooding into his pupils like a tide, transforming into golden brilliance.
His completely beastly throat was torn under the black flames; the glow of humanity flared once more in his eyes as the bloodied throat and vocal cords writhed in a struggle.
Blood splattered, and from that hint of crimson foam, human words once again squeezed out—
“Get away from my girl—”
Beastly claw marks tore through the ground between Nagino and the embodiment of destruction, and Omega, having retracted its dragon breath, felt its massive body leaning back from the force of impact.
Enveloped in black flames, Kanade’s powerful body broke the sound barrier, creating sonic booms as it surged toward the embodiment of destruction.
Quickly responding, the embodiment of destruction morphed her hands into shadow blades, blocking Kanade’s attack at the last moment, the tremendous impact ripping the ground beneath her feet into countless fissures.
Recognizing who her opponent was, the embodiment of destruction frowned.
Then she noticed that her shadow blades were disintegrating at an astonishing speed.
It seemed the black flames before her had a strong corrosive effect on the embodiment of destruction.
“…Is this the power you yearn for?” The embodiment of destruction seemed to finally grasp Nagino’s previous actions. Faced with this oncoming force, she resolutely unleashed the authority of the stars.
No matter how strong the opponent was, in the face of the authority of stars, they would be reduced to the power of destruction.
The purple-black star pupils sparkled.
But—
Failure.
The embodiment of destruction realized that her authority could not resonate with the soul before her.
In the original series of “Star Pull,” the range of the authority of stars had always been limited.
That is, it could only take effect on targets that are “humanoid.”
Against a beast’s soul, the authority of stars could not produce resonance.
At the very moment the embodiment of destruction revealed a look of astonishment.
Kanade’s golden eyes began to shine with dazzling light—
【Rewriting itself】
Crack.
A clear sound of rupture echoed once more.
The black flames enveloping Kanade suddenly expanded.
【The absolute nemesis of destruction】
The shadow blades evaporated instantly before the black flames, forming claws of black flames that thrust towards the chest of the embodiment of destruction.
The pitch-black shadow surged beneath the embodiment of destruction, attempting to engulf her—
Failure.
All the shadows around the black flames seemed to lose their vitality.
The purple-black star pupils sparkled—
Failure.
The star pupils failed to capture any souls, as if they had lost their direction before these black flames.
The power of destruction was incredibly strong, but without those shadows, all that remained was a fragile human shell.
At the moment when Kanade’s claws were about to pierce through the embodiment of destruction.
A purple light erupted from the embodiment of destruction’s eyes.
Omega moved.
Not wanting to watch its contract partner perish—
Assimilation.
Rigid dragon scales suddenly covered the entirety of the embodiment of destruction.
The claws formed by black flames clashed with the purple-glowing dragon scales, erupting in dazzling purple-black electric light.
【It’s time to retreat; this is not the time to die here.】 Omega’s voice echoed softly.
“…That’s quite true~” The embodiment of destruction readily admitted her defeat.
Before the Beast of Star Eclipse, any individual was a weak existence.
Omega’s domain silently expanded.
Then, under the cover of Omega’s power, the embodiment of destruction leapt backward into the sky, enormous dragon wings unfolding behind her.
【Trying to escape?】 Kanade’s beast-like eyes contained that implication.
Golden brilliance erupted once more—
【Rewriting—】
【Deleting】
Omega’s authority transformed into countless purple beams, decisively shooting towards Kanade.
Though the latter managed to evade this strike with beast-like reflexes, it nonetheless interrupted the rewriting process.
“Let’s stop for today, Tsuki-mi Kanade.” And you, Nagino. The embodiment of destruction glanced at the kneeling Nagino out of the corner of her eye.
The embodiment of destruction’s lips moved slightly; although no sound emerged, Nagino felt her voice resounding in her mind—
“One day, we will see each other again, because only I can fulfill your wish.”
“This power of starlight, I’ll return it to you along with your contract beast; you might still need it.”
At the same time, countless silver-white star lights flickered in Nagino’s eyes.
She could also feel her soul reclaiming those contracts once more.
This was the moment the embodiment of destruction descended when Garuda and other fantasy creatures were recaptured.
The space behind the embodiment of destruction cracked open, the purple void pulling her body into it—
“And I will take Nanjou Akane’s body and soul with me~”
After saying this last line, she completely vanished from the space before them.
At the same time.
Omega’s domain collapsed with a roar, and the purple-black stars that hung high in the night sky streaked across the horizon.
The distant sound of waves, the alarms from the campus, and the increasingly loud voices and footsteps.
It was then that Nagino felt she had returned to the real world.
She lifted her head, and the night sky was just as bright.
The bright round moon cast down silver light illuminating herself kneeling on the ground and Kanade standing before her.
The long battle that had lasted this night seemed to finally come to an end at this moment.
But between the two, it was not over.
Kanade turned around, their gazes met, the starry-eyed gaze meeting the golden-glowing pupils.
Maintaining their gaze, Kanade stepped closer to Nagino.
The black flames on him dissipated at a visible speed, the beastly presence rapidly fading away, and the consciousness known as Tsuki-mi Kanade regained control of this body—
The golden brilliance disappeared from his eyes.
The silver-white starlight faded from her eyes.
Under the moonlight, two shadows were cast on the ground; at that moment, they transformed back into an ordinary boy and girl.
Kanade had many things he wanted to ask Nagino, many words he wanted to say.
But at this moment.
He just wanted to fulfill the promise he had made back then.
Slowly, he knelt before Nagino’s small frame.
Then gently embraced the girl who was still trembling slightly before him.
The latter could not help but reach out her arms to tightly embrace him back.
At this moment, they felt the proof of each other’s existence through the beating of their hearts.
“Kanade-kun… you really came to save me just like you promised…” Nagino’s head was buried in Kanade’s shoulder, making it impossible for him to see her expression.
But Kanade knew her current state from the dampness he felt on his shoulder.
“I’m sorry, I’m late.” As he spoke, Kanade gently tightened his embrace around Nagino.
“I… have a lot to tell Kanade-kun…”
“So do I. There are many, many things I want to say to you, little Nagino, but—” Kanade paused for a moment as if finally accepting something, then slowly began, “Can I go first here?”
“…Hmm.” The little head resting on Kanade’s shoulder lightly nodded.
“Thank you, little Nagino.”
“I no longer… want to hide anything… whether it be from you or from myself…”
“I… like you, little Nagino. From the moment I first saw you, I became incredibly concerned about you.”
“The times we grew up together as childhood friends made me realize that my feelings for you are affection, the kind that exists between a boy and a girl.”
“Hearing you call my name makes me happy, seeing your smile brings me joy, and just having you by my side makes me involuntarily feel blessed.”
“When I realized my feelings, I had already deeply fallen for you, more than anyone else in this world, loving the cheerful and optimistic side of you, loving your innocent and gentle side; even the times you lie, I love that too.”
“I wish for you to always stay by my side. I can no longer imagine a life without you, nor do I want to face such a future—”
“This world, to me, aside from you, I can forgo everything.”
“So, little Nagino, would you be willing to be my lover, to be the other half of my life, and stay by my side forever?”
Gentle moonlight and starlight fell upon the two of them.
Tonight was a night where one could see both stars and the bright moon.
“Can someone like me truly become the other half of Kanade-kun’s life?”
“There’s no one else but you.”
