Noir-chan moved to the clock tower, which boasted the second-highest height in the Great Holy Capital after the castle.
From her vantage point, perfect for observing the castle, she strained her eyes.
Her gaze fell not on the “Summit” where my corpse lay, but on the grand entrance below. However, the area was surrounded by a swarm of soldiers and towers, making it difficult to see inside.
“—Vibration.”
So, Noir-chan released an omnidirectional vibration magic from her entire body, intending to use her heightened senses from Demonization to capture the reflection, like a bat’s echolocation—
“—Dimension.”
Something better than that would be imposed, overriding her intent with basic dimensional magic.
Of course, this was not Noir-chan’s will, but the result of her mouth and magic moving on their own.
Her perception range rapidly expanded. While this was a familiar sensation for me, it was clearly different for Noir-chan, and her fear and trembling intensified.
“Eh? D-Dimension? Ah, aahh…!”
Though I felt sorry, I focused my consciousness inside the castle, past the paling Noir-chan.
Honestly, I couldn’t stop thinking about the situation within.
Finally, I could clearly confirm what had happened behind the scenes when I was resurrected that day.
Focusing on Dimension, I gazed at the first-floor grand entrance of Fuziaze Castle.
The last time I saw the first-floor grand entrance was when I went to pay my respects to the Senate with Ragune. Back then, the grand entrance had retained the solemnity befitting the entrance to the great nation of Fuziaze, and it overflowed with expensive furnishings that made the most of its spaciousness.
—It had been transformed into a desolate state.
There were no longer any expensive furnishings left. Wreckage of furniture was scattered everywhere, giving it the appearance of ruins. Most importantly, the biggest change was the dried, solidified blood adhering to every part of the space. The gruesome, dark red marks transformed the grand entrance into a battlefield.
In that battlefield, four men and women were fighting.
The strength ratio was three to one.
The three formed a constant triangular formation, surrounding the one in the center. No matter how much the four ran around and how intense the battle became, the formation remained unchanged. It conveyed the unwavering will to never let the person in the center escape.
And as I looked at each of their faces, I was stunned.
The first person.
A man about three meters tall, wielding a massive halberd, responsible for the apex of the triangular formation.
The man was a giant, matching the size of his weapon. Beneath his spiky, blue hair was a scarred, stern face. The word “manly” came to mind first, followed by the urge to praise him as a “brave general.” He exuded such gravitas. He wore thick armor, more like that of a military commander than a knight.
His most distinguishing feature was his race.
He was a Dragon Person.
He had horns and a thick tail. Like Snow, he tried to conceal them with decorations and heavy equipment, but they couldn’t escape Dimension’s confirmation.
I had seen him before in the memories of Titty, the former “Thief of the Laws of Wind” and “Ruling King.”
I knew that this man was Seldra, the “Thief of Nothingness.”
Next, the second person.
Responsible for the second point of the triangular formation was a man with vacant eyes, repeatedly performing the action of turning pages in a book in the empty air. He was Fafnir, the “Thief of the Law of Blood.”
From his appearance, it was clear he had lost his sanity somewhere, but his magic remained powerful and sharp. Even as he muttered to himself, he generated a large number of blood dolls and arrows.
And the third person.
Standing at the last point of the triangular formation was a girl I knew well.
She wore the magic-suppressing clothing I received from Apostle Diplakla, a girl with black hair and black eyes like mine. She was Hidaki, the “Thief of the Principles of Water.”
Around her, a blizzard swirled due to the influence of her overwhelmingly cold magic. It was undoubtedly Hidaki that Noir-chan had feared earlier.
In other words, one side of the battlefield consisted of the “Thief of Nothingness,” the “Thief of the Law of Blood,” and the “Thief of the Principles of Water.”
Facing such excessive combat power alone was—
“Hahahaha! Hah! Hahahahaha HAH—!!”
A girl with “Sky Sword Noah” in her hand, her golden hair flowing, laughing as she ran through the deathly arena, riddled with wounds. She was Rustiara Fuziaze.
At that fact, I held my breath.
I knew Rustiara was strong.
But that was within the bounds of common sense. While she was born with a sorcery etched into her blood, giving her theoretically perfect physical abilities… she was no match for “Thieves of Principles” who shattered common sense.
In the past, Rustiara was incapacitated by Idol, the “Thief of the Laws of Wood,” with recovery magic, and was utterly defeated by Palinkron, the “one who steals the logic of darkness.” Afterward, she had despaired at the power difference with Maria, who inherited the power of Arti, the “The One Who Steals the Logic of Fire,” and had intended to focus only on support.
And yet… if it were one-on-one, it might be one thing, but this was three against one.
Hidaki was among them. From what I could see, Seldra was a warrior. Fafnir could also be described as combat-specialized. There was no way this could be a fair fight.
However, even as I thought this, Rustiara continued to survive.
“Hah! Haa! Haa—! Finally, finally, finally…! Finally!!”
While running and laughing, Rustiara deflected the magic of the three.
Her fighting style was something I had never seen before, even in my long life in another world.
Rustiara continuously cast magic while fighting. She circulated her blood to its fullest, consumed her magic power to the maximum, and rapidly wove basic spells one after another.
“—Flame! Ice! Wind! Earth! Wood! Light! Dark! Water—”
These overly simple basic spells, activated almost simultaneously, interfered with each other and mixed.
I thought it was similar to “Cancellation Magic,” but it never dissipated.
I couldn’t understand the mechanism at a glance. I could only vaguely tell that it was the culmination of the skill “Magic Combat.” Rustiara built all attributes by herself, established resonance magic by herself, and manipulated the finished product by herself.
—As a result, Rustiara’s magic had transformed into a light I recognized.
It resembled Ragune Kaikuola’s magic.
However, compared to her early magic, it was not dark.
To put it into words, unlike “dark star magic,” it was worthy of being called “bright star magic.” Various colors like red, blue, yellow, and green playfully intertwined, leaped, and sparkled.
It was rather close to the magic I saw at the moment of Ragune’s death.
It was like a colored circle of a rainbow halo around the sun.
The magic of the white rainbow.
“—Impulse.”
Against that Rustiara, Seldra swung his halberd, releasing vibration magic from its tip.
In an instant, the air throughout the grand entrance distorted, further crushing the scattered debris into powder.
The refined vibration magic seemed to destroy objects at a molecular level.
Furthermore, it was imperceptible to the eye. It was a vicious attack magic. Rustiara couldn’t dodge it all—but by waving her free hand, she unleashed her white rainbow magic and successfully canceled it out.
“—Blood Arrow.”
Next, multiple blood arrows, likely intended as a feint, were fired by Fafnir.
But this also ended with the same result as the previous vibration magic. The white rainbow magic covering Rustiara’s body seemed impenetrable even by the “Thieves of Principles.”
“Heh…!”
Seldra muttered with an expression of interest and lunged at the running Rustiara.
He raised his halberd, imbued it with vibration magic, and swung it down with great force. It was a technique his comrade Snow often used.
Of course, the density of that magic was incomparable to Snow’s.
Upon contact, it was an attack that could decompose any matter—Rustiara imbued her “Sky Sword Noah” with magic and met it head-on.
—In an instant, all sound disappeared.
An impact that blew away all vibrations in the grand entrance surged.
However, both Seldra and Rustiara, the sources of the impact, were unharmed.
Neither let go of their swords, and both wore smiles.
Against the man called the “Strongest” by an Apostle a thousand years ago, Rustiara was not falling behind.
Rustiara, who had once lamented that she was useless as a combatant, was now nearing the “Thieves of Principles.”
Seldra, still locked in a mutual grip, increased the force in his hands to push forward.
But mid-struggle, his expression changed, and he leaped backward, retreating.
“—! This is from that time…!”
From a safe distance, he examined the magic clinging to his halberd.
Then, without hesitation, he discarded the halberd.
Although it was magic that had not yet become magic, he must have judged that some kind of power was imbued in it.
It was a foul power, similar to Ragune’s “Reversal.” I too felt such a rule-breaking power from Rustiara’s magic.
Rustiara’s current magic was abnormal.
Fafnir, sensing this nearby, raised his head from his downward gaze and looked at the magic filling the grand entrance, his voice trembling.
“Wh-what is this…? Is this the girl from that time? The girl who stood next to our ‘Great Savior’ back then, now? A thousand years of magic, is it now…!”
Not only his voice but his entire body trembled, and tears welled up in his eyes.
In his usual manner of speaking, Fafnir rejoiced and offered blessings.
“Hah!! Ah, then you truly were… undeniably a ‘Saint’!! ‘Saint’ Tiara, that’s what it meant! That’s what it meant! —Hallelujah! That’s Hallelujah, Tiarraaaaaaaa!!”
He praised the power of Tiara from a thousand years ago, not the Rustiara before him.
And in sync with his emotional surge, several blood monsters were born around Fafnir and attacked Rustiara.
Rustiara repelled them all with her magic-imbued sword.
Even against the “Thieves of Principles” in their madness, Rustiara did not take a single step back—but the third “Thief of Principles” had met her match.
“—However, unfortunately, I am superior in its handling. I have no intention of playing along with your time-wasting.”
My sister, as a matter of course, switched her magic.
Mimicking Rustiara, she manipulated multiple magical attributes, changing the pale blue color to white rainbow.
I gasped, calling it “unfair,” but at the same time, I thought, “It can’t be helped.” If it could be used on Ragune and Rustiara, there was no reason why that Hidaki couldn’t use it.
Hidaki, who easily prepared star magic, spread her magic throughout the grand entrance, eroding Rustiara’s magic.
Despite having almost the same magic, Hidaki held the superior position.
At that moment, I realized one fact.
Both Rustiara and Hidaki were now using star attribute magic—the power that an Apostle had once defined as “the star is the peak and the end.” Both were brilliant, powerful, and unfair, but not exactly the same.
Ragune’s ‘Star’ magic.
Rustiara’s ‘Star’ magic.
Hidaki’s ‘Star’ magic.
Three kinds.
I thought they were all different. The way they arrived at it and their interpretations were different, I could tell from their light.
It was especially easy to tell when compared to Ragune. Her magical light was heavy, dark, and menacing, while the other two were light, bright, and divine.
The biggest difference was their expressions.
Among the three I’ve mentioned, who was struggling the most—
“—! Haa! Haa! Haa—!!”
Rustiara, who had been running and fighting, spat blood from her mouth, despite not having taken a direct hit.
Just a few seconds of pushing against Hidaki’s magic seemed to have caused internal damage.
Right now, Rustiara was undoubtedly shaving away her life.
She was losing maximum HP in place of her depleted MP.
This light, scattering like a rainbow, was the final radiance of her life.
And seizing the opening of the staggering Rustiara, Seldra approached.
He had no halberd in his hand, but instead, he held a broken stone pillar. He plunged his fingers into the stone, making the giant mass, which should normally be unable to be a weapon, his prey.
Seldra, who had approached, swung the stone pillar with great force.
Rustiara dodged the violence of its mass by leaping, but waiting for her in the air was Fafnir’s blood arrow. She once again waved her free hand, canceling the blood arrow with her white rainbow magic.
However, she could not react to Seldra’s subsequent pursuit.
Seldra, still holding a stone pillar a hundred times his weight, leaped lightly, chasing Rustiara.
Rustiara, who was physically and magically exposed in mid-air, had the stone pillar swung at her.
At the moment of contact, the stone pillar shattered into pieces, and Rustiara was blown straight down.
She was slammed into the ground, the marble of the entrance was gouged, and dust clouds rose.
Furthermore, a barrage of Fafnir’s blood arrows followed. And all the while, Hidaki continued to suppress Rustiara’s white rainbow magic. It was a perfectly coordinated attack.
Even though I was in “Past Sight,” I shouted, “Rustiara!”
I searched within Dimension for any help, but none of my companions were in sight.
Dia, Maria, Snow, Reaper, Rainer. Anyone, I just wanted someone to come and help Rustiara immediately.
Why isn’t anyone here?
Why does Rustiara have to fight all alone—
“—I’m okay.”
As if hearing my call, Rustiara answered from within the dust cloud.
And then, Rustiara herself blew away the dust cloud that concealed her body with magical wind.
Rustiara stood there, filled with fighting spirit.
One arm was bent at an unnatural angle, she was covered in gashes, and though she staggered, she still gripped her sword, smiling and muttering to herself.
“Finally, I got it too… The feeling of loving someone, even if I die… Now, I can say with confidence. This is my feeling, as heavy as anyone else’s…”
I didn’t know who she was talking to.
At that moment, Rustiara looked up.
She looked towards the ceiling of the grand entrance, narrowing her eyes.
Since the castle’s center had a large opening, the light from the “Summit” reached this first floor.
It was Nosfy’s light. The light rained down like water, affecting Rustiara’s body.
This was not just light attribute magic that simply “straightened” things. It was the light that Nosfy vowed to bless many unrewarded souls at the end of his life. Did Rustiara understand its intention from the first floor, and she rejoiced in her own birth.
“Yes… I’m glad I was born. Mother, thank you for leaving this to me…”
Bathed in Nosfy’s gentle light, her power seemed to surge further, and her entire body’s white rainbow magic expanded.
Seeing this, the “Thieves of Principles” around her paused for a moment.
Hidaki seemed to be touched by Rustiara’s words and spoke, not with magic, but with words. Very slowly, as if picking up a fragile glass figurine that might break at any moment.
“Rustiara Fuziaze… You are a four-year-old child who knows nothing. You just don’t know that you are being deceived by your mother…”
Then, Hidaki looked up at the “Summit.”
It was clear that her words were not directed only at Rustiara.
“Yes… Not knowing you are being deceived…”
These words were also directed at the three people who were likely on the “Summit” now—myself, Ragune, and Nosfy. Hidaki said that we too were children who knew nothing, but Rustiara replied without hesitation.
“—Even so.”
As if acting in place of us who were not present, she spun out her “answer.”
“Even if I’m being deceived, it won’t change. Both of us, Nosfy and I, of course. I think even Ragune-chan and Kanami’s ‘answer’ won’t change, even if they’re a little sad. So, it’s okay. Thank you for worrying about me.”
As someone bathed in light on the “Summit,” I knew that this was a sincere “answer” without falsehood.
Precisely because I knew this, I was speechless. Noir-chan, who was watching with me, was also speechless. We couldn’t believe that Rustiara, who understood the abnormality of this battlefield, was being so brave, saying “it’s okay.”
The third girl, Tiara Fuziaze, was the same.
However, she was more shocked than us and lost for words. The torrent of emotions she felt was transmitted even to us sharing her body.
It was a guilt that stretched endlessly like the sea.
It was accompanied by a pain that felt like being crushed by the water pressure of self-blame at the bottom of the deep sea.
“Aaah, aaaaaah…”
Drawn by Tiara’s emotions, Noir-chan moaned from the distant clock tower.
Alone on the summit with no one else, she let out the most heart-wrenching cry.
“Aaaah…! Ahhh, ahhh, ahhh…!!”
Noir-chan’s tears wouldn’t stop, though she wasn’t sad.
Just by empathizing slightly with Tiara’s emotions lurking within her body—her eyeballs felt like they were about to shrink.
For a moment, my attention turned to Noir-chan, but I quickly refocused on the castle.
I felt bad for Noir-chan, but Rustiara had higher priority.
Even if this scene was already over, I couldn’t look away.
Returning my consciousness to the grand entrance of Fuziaze Castle—I saw Hidaki, who had silenced herself with a frown upon hearing Rustiara’s “Thank you.”
Hidaki seemed unable to accept that one word, even if she could forgive all the white rainbow magic and spells filling the grand entrance.
Rustiara spoke to that Hidaki in a gentle voice.
“Because, my little sister just told me, it was out of pity for me, right? The laws that the ‘Aikawa Kanami’ who will continue to live will bear, you went out of your way to tell me—”
She reiterated the meaning of her thanks in this situation, hoping to convey her gratitude.
To that, Hidaki replied as if soothing a persistent child.
“That explanation was only necessary to make your life the ‘Price’ for my brother. It was merely a ritual to show the world that the one who will continue to die is ‘Rustiara Fuziaze’.”
“But you told me. You went out of your way to tell me the truth, even though you didn’t have to. Knowing my life, my little sister… As expected, everyone in this world is kind…”
Rustiara, still smiling, immediately denied Hidaki’s denial.
“Nothing is kind. First of all, you already knew, didn’t you? Otherwise, you wouldn’t have cooperated with my brother and me like that.”
“Only vaguely. And I wasn’t cooperating with just two people, but with everyone.”
“Haa…”
At that, Hidaki sighed and shook her head, as if it was pointless to talk.
Rustiara responded with a wry smile.
Mutual understanding was impossible, even though we both had things we wanted to say.
Therefore, there was no further conversation, and the battle resumed.
Hidaki meticulously continued to suppress Rustiara’s new power, the white rainbow magic. From mid-range, Fafnir maintained pressure with blood arrows. Seldra, as the vanguard, approached Rustiara using scattered rubble as a weapon.
The coordination of the three “Thieves of Principles” was ideal and overwhelming.
Their individual powers were too great, far exceeding the difference in numbers.
No matter how much Rustiara awakened to her new power, she could not possibly handle it.
The outcome of the battle was likely already decided.
All that remained was how Rustiara would be crushed and defeated—but even amidst this defeat, Rustiara was still smiling.
She wasn’t concentrating on the battle, her eyes darted around repeatedly, and she even showed a余裕 to look up at the sky at times.
And she muttered.
“…’Starry sky’ and the ‘Moon’? And then—ah… ah hah.”
I, the person involved, understood the meaning of those words.
It seemed that Ragune and I had begun fighting on the “Summit” right now.
I knew that Ragune’s magic and spells at the moment of her death were special, and from a third-party perspective, they were breathtakingly beautiful.
Ragune was beautiful like the moon.
Around her beautiful form, swords that emitted light like stars orbited.
Looking up at the scene of the battle on the “Summit” from the ground, Rustiara—
Her eyes widened, reflecting the flickering starry sky.
She opened her mouth slightly, mixing the pouring light with white breath.
Ah…, she let out a sound and summarized her long impressions very briefly.
Finally, looking at the “brightest” star next to the “Moon,” she seemed very happy.
With a longing face, she mumbled.
“—Kanami, are you listening?”
Her voice was too quiet.
These were not words directed at the opponents she was fighting.
It didn’t seem like she was even addressing me on the “Summit.”
—A pain that felt like my heart was being squeezed ran through my chest as I was in “Past Sight.”
It felt like a dying wish directed at myself who would “see” this in the future.
“Kanami… We’ve already said our goodbyes, so it’s okay, right? More importantly, Kanami, let’s watch together…”
Rustiara was no longer concentrating on the battle at all.
Thinking that she would lose anyway, her fighting style became very careless. It was obvious that she was prioritizing buying time over winning or losing.
What she was concentrating on now was something else entirely.
“That ‘Story of the Starry Sky’ was truly beautiful and cool… It was a very stimulating and fun ‘Adventure,’ and then… And then, you see…”
Without regard for her location or life, Rustiara just talked happily.
I shook my head.
None of that mattered.
More importantly, it was Rustiara.
I wanted Rustiara to think only about her own survival. The words of farewell were not yet over. The reason I could allow death before was because I was with someone. Unlike with my father or childhood friend, it was because I could be with someone that finally I—
Contrary to my feelings, she focused her attention not on herself, but on the person she had acknowledged as her mother just a few days ago.
“It was also ‘My and Kanami’s Story.’ That’s why I’m not lonely at all. Until now, and from now on—”
With those words, my vision began to distort.
The battlefield on the first floor of Fuziaze Castle—the day “Aikawa Uzunami was resurrected”—started to recede abruptly.
I turned my attention to the cause of time receding.
Noir-chan, the basis of “Past Sight,” had closed her eyes.
Noir-chan, having heard Rustiara’s wish, and under the instructions of the third person within, was trying to fulfill the wish to “watch together.”
Despite my immediate pleas of “Stop!” and “Wait!”, I couldn’t stop the movement of time.
In this situation, I had the lowest authority. I couldn’t grasp the reins of “Past Sight,” and I had no body or blood here.
I was forcibly moved from “The day Aikawa Uzunami was resurrected” to “a thousand years ago.”
The story of how the girl called Tiara became a “Saint” was about to begin.
—In other words, it was the next part after “the circumstances of Aikawa Uzunami’s summoning to another world,” which I had seen shortly before under Hidaki’s orders.
Suddenly, the image of an old book being turned came to mind.
The hand turning the pages was likely Tiara’s, who was now hijacking the “Past Sight” magic. There was no one else it could be.
However, that hand was far from the Tiara I knew.
It was a thin, wrinkled, and strangely aged hand.
That aged hand quickly withered and became mere bone. Even as the bony hand weathered and crumbled, it didn’t stop. She apologized, saying “I’m sorry,” and one by one, she began to read to me.
That apology felt directed at my faint wish for “everyone together”—
Now.
The reader of the world was shifting from Hidaki or myself to Tiara.
