Chapter: 174. An Unchangeable Ending
In the original work of “Star Pull,” the shards of the end are an almost “unclearable” existence.
Therefore, the sequel “Star Pull 2,” which carries on the ending of “Star Pull,” has faced severe criticism, with a vast majority of players deeming the storyline a complete failure.
In the seemingly beautiful ending of the predecessor, all the female protagonists become infected by the shards of the end while fighting alongside the protagonist to eliminate the end, ultimately becoming villains in the sequel. Players can hardly find a way to “clear” these shards and rescue them, except by using the power of the “natural enemy” to kill them one by one, thus erasing their lives along with the corruption.
However, in this “Star Pull” world that has already become a reality, there exists an unexpected factor that shouldn’t have been in the original.
In this world, the “Fantasy Monster – The End” has not disappeared as it did in the original “Star Pull.” Instead, its true form has informed Nagi how to clear the shard corruption.
The shards of the end are like the “evil” that must exist in the world; the only way to clear it is to—transfer this “evil.”
Then, through—
……
……
The azure ice crystals flowed around Nagi, freezing the air like invisible wings, carrying her soaring through the sky.
This was her first time losing Garuda. After losing the power of the storm, she could no longer summon the fierce winds using Garuda’s strength.
Though she could still rely on the abilities of other contract beasts to fly, she felt that something was missing, as if a void had appeared within her.
Translucent mirror flowers silently bloomed in the sky above Kawanose City.
That was the stage she prepared for Adam.
To free this high-ranking member of the Special Operations SEMA from the control of the end.
Nagi had already decided that, just as in the past, she would absorb the shards of the end from his soul through soul resonance.
This was the only way to cleanse the corruption from his soul.
The Special Operations SEMA and the three major academies might now have been taken over by the end; someone must step up to save this crumbling organization from within.
Before she knew it, she had arrived above the white spirit mountain in Kawanose City.
She still remembered that it was at the Baijing Shrine where she absorbed the shard of the end that had polluted “Yui’s” soul, allowing her to infuse its pure soul into DD-chan’s body.
“……Artificial Deity.”
The images from her memories involuntarily made her recall one of the significant events in the original “Star Pull 2.”
The “Artificial Deity Project,” developed to create a vessel for the “end,” was, in a sense, a taboo form of “human transmutation” aimed at reviving the dead. Researchers intended to understand and replicate the principles of the birth of fantasy monsters, creating soulless vessels, then injecting “souls” into them, allowing a person to “revive” in the form of a “fantasy monster.”
Such “taboos” led to failures, both in other works of the same genre and in the original “Star Pull 2.”
Nagi remembered reading a saying online in her previous life—
In the storyline of “Star Pull 2,” Yui, who was infected by the end but failed to resurrect the protagonist of the predecessor, descended upon Kawanose City bearing the powers of Mist and Dusk, tearing apart the artificial deity Bai Ling and transforming into “False God Bai Ling,” using her two powers to create a beautifully dreamlike “inner world.”
From a narrative perspective, this symbolized the game developers’ complete denial of the view of “resurrection of the dead.” They seemed to believe that even in this extraordinary world filled with supernatural powers, death remained an insurmountable existence. The deceased remained dead, and the so-called resurrection was merely a fog, an illusion that could only be glimpsed at dusk.
Clearly, a world filled with fantasy would not allow a space for fantasies to exist.
—When did “Star Pull” become such a failure?
An inexplicable thought flashed through Nagi’s mind.
She did not understand why she felt this way, nor did she have time to think deeply.
Because the hostility coming from behind compelled her to concentrate.
Adam’s figure had not yet entered her line of sight, but the fist’s wind, sharp enough to tear through the air, had already struck with a tremor-inducing force toward her back.
In an instant, the light of magic shimmered in her eyes.
The mirror flower unfolded like a water mirror, blocking the path between her and Adam.
However, under the influence of the power Adam held, the mirror flower, which was supposed to ignore physical attacks, shattered as if it were real glass, struck by a single punch.
The shards scattered like shining raindrops falling from the sky.
“End! Don’t think you can escape this time!”
Adam’s roar reverberated through the skies.
His body loomed like a towering giant, suspended in mid-air with an overwhelming aura emanating from his massive frame.
The two faced off in the air, their eyes locked.
Both their eyes shimmered with a brilliant star pupil.
The difference was—
Nagi’s star pupil emitted a silver-white radiance, representing the shards that had not yet been tainted by the end, while Adam’s star pupil emitted an ominous purple-black glow, proof that he had been tainted by the end.
“Adam…”
Looking at the figure before her, Nagi whispered in her heart.
In her last life, Adam had left a profound impression on her. He was a character who had not appeared in the original “Star Pull,” yet he was a decent, kind-hearted boy with noble aspirations, much like the protagonist.
If “Star Pull” was a work of righteous and passionate adventure, then Adam had undoubtedly been one true protagonist.
At that moment—
She heard a faint, urgent shout coming from Adam’s earpiece.
“Abort the mission! Mr. Adam, you must not harm Hoshimiya Nagi! The Book of the Future has been decoded! The true protagonist is not Tsukimi Kanade, but—Hoshimiya Nagi! The goal that the fantasy monsters have long sought to eliminate is her!!!”
However, Adam only silently reached out, took off the earpiece, and casually crushed it.
He discarded it as if it were trash.
Without a doubt, the person standing in front of Nagi was no longer the Adam from the Special Operations SEMA or the righteous boy she knew, but rather a puppet controlled by the end, a piece brought to execute the end’s “plan,” arriving to kill her, merely a pawn to transform Kanade into a beast that would destroy the world.
“I will not repeat the same mistake! I will absolutely not let you succeed—!” Adam’s voice twisted and echoed maniacally.
Nagi remembered witnessing a similar scene, and in the same place.
Above the white spirit mountain.
Once before, a girl tainted by the end had let out such a frenzied roar.
And Adam’s body began to change at a visible speed, much like that girl.
His muscular frame, tightly clad in black uniform, suddenly swelled, muscles bulging grotesquely, the sounds of bone cracking echoing from within his flesh. As his deep facial features became distorted in the metamorphosis, the purple-black star pupil shone with an even more dazzling light, gradually transforming his body into a horrifying monster.
Just like the rampaging “False God Bai Ling” from years ago.
Tentacles thrashed wildly, twisted limbs spasmed like broken puppets, and the bloated, rotting flesh grew menacingly protruded fangs, sharp and erratic, as he slowly morphed into a “giant” steeped in Cthulhu’s aura.
If the two were not currently within the domain opened by Nagi, this terrifying sight would undoubtedly send the people of Kawanose City below into panic and despair.
Reflected in Nagi’s eyes, the monster was no longer the righteous boy of years past.
—It’s all my fault… I’m sorry.
—But don’t worry, I’ll change you back to the way you were…
She slowly raised her hand, silver-white radiance beginning to shimmer.
—————–
Kawanose City.
Near the amusement park, Kurokawa was waiting quietly on standby.
The power of chaos, while effective against the power of stars, required separate arrangements for him elsewhere to prevent unexpected occurrences, especially if the opponent was the true form of the end.
Other than him, all other abilities in Kawanose City had been summoned.
Just as Kurokawa felt anxious due to the lack of further information.
Suddenly.
In the high sky, a surge of magical power erupted, sufficient to tear the very fabric of the domain; the air and the earth vibrated violently at the same instant, causing even Kurokawa, an ACE-level ability user, to lose his balance and fall directly to the ground.
But before Kurokawa could react to what was happening.
From another direction came several familiar yet strange magical responses.
According to the orders he received, this was precisely where Adam led the other Special Operations SEMA ability users to launch their surprise attack.
Among the transmitted magical fluctuations, one bore Adam’s magical response, undoubtedly the best proof.
However, Kurokawa was puzzled; despite the magical fluctuation being incredibly familiar, he sensed an unusual sense of discord—like some impurity that did not belong to Adam, rendering this magical power alien, making it hard for him to believe at first that this magic emanated from Adam.
But that was not the most shocking thing.
Another two magical fluctuations that followed brought Kurokawa a sense of trepidation. One came from his former student—Tsukimi Kanade.
Yet the intensity of this magical power far surpassed his understanding, so much so that Kurokawa could hardly believe this was the power that boy possessed. If someone told him it belonged to another person, he might be more willing to accept that.
If the appearance of these two magical powers filled him with uncertainty, the emergence of the third magical power completely overwhelmed him with a feeling of uncontrolled “fear.”
That magical power surpassed everything he had ever felt in his life.
Just feeling its oppressive aura from afar was enough to render him breathless, causing the flow of magical energy within him to spiral into chaos.
Even with Midelash right beside him, and even with the residual effect of the power of chaos still exerting influence, Kurokawa still struggled to breathe. His body instinctively urged him to have Midelash unleash her true form, transforming into Nyarlathotep, to barely withstand that oppressive force.
“What… is happening? This power…” Kurokawa gasped heavily, as if he had just survived a calamity, greedily inhaling the oxygen in the air. He struggled to lift his head and look toward the source of the magical fluctuations.
Standing beside him, Nyarlathotep had already transformed into a black man.
She quietly answered Kurokawa’s question.
“That is the power of Hoshimiya Nagi.”
“Nagi? So, Nagi is indeed the end…?” Kurokawa murmured quietly, his sigh carrying an indescribable weight.
Even though he had no way to connect that horrifying magical fluctuation with the innocent black-haired girl in his mind, he knew Nyarlathotep would not deceive him.
It seemed the speculation of the Special Operations SEMA regarding Nagi being the end was not mistaken.
Everything seemed to have become clear.
Whether he wanted to admit it or not, the truth before him was apparent—
“No, that is not the power of the end.”
Nyarlathotep’s voice was calm, yet it overthrew Kurokawa’s answer.
“……What?” Kurokawa’s eyes widened in confusion, “If Nagi is not the end, then why does she possess such terrifying power—”
Before he could finish, an urgent shout suddenly came through the communicator in his ear from Adam’s secretary:
“ACE Midelash!”
“The threat level in Kawanose City has officially risen to Level 12! The true protagonist is not Tsukimi Kanade, but Hoshimiya Nagi!!!”
“Hoshimiya Nagi is the target that the fantasy monsters have long sought to eliminate!”
“Adam has lost control! Currently, you are the only ability user in Kawanose City still in fighting condition!”
“We have dispatched the strongest ability users from Special Operations SEMA and the three major academies for support. Before they arrive—”
“——You must do everything you can to protect Hoshimiya Nagi! You cannot let Adam kill her!”
“Repeat: Hoshimiya Nagi is the true protagonist! Protect her at all costs!”
……
……
“Nagi… is the true protagonist?” Kurokawa was stunned.
But he knew this was hardly the time to understand the implications of this information.
Threat level 12.
The highest level of Special Operations SEMA and the three major academies—meaning this was a world-ending supernatural disaster.
This also meant—that for the completion of the mission, any sacrifice was acceptable. Whether the interests and lives of ability users or ordinary people…
“Nyarlathotep! Did you hear that?!” Kurokawa forced himself to stand.
However, Nyarlathotep did not respond, instead silently looking up at the sky.
“Nyarlathotep?!” Kurokawa frowned and shouted.
“It’s useless. Fate has already been decided.”
Nyarlathotep, the fantasy monster that governs the power of chaos, finally spoke in a tone akin to a pronouncement:
“Before fate, all efforts are futile.”
Nyarlathotep lowered her head, locking eyes with her contractor Kurokawa—
“Crossing countless possibilities, this is her moment of curtain call.”
“Even I cannot change it.”