Chapter Seventy: Choice
Nagi looked incredulously at the scene before her.
Crimson stars hung high in the sky.
In the original “Star Gathering 2,” this “Ritual of Stars” appears only in the mid to late stages of the Manaka route.
But as the “vessel,” Manaka had been by her side until just now.
So now, as the “vessel,” who is holding the ritual is—
Nagi once again looked at the nameplate in front of her: 【Tenkain】.
For a moment.
Nagi wished more than anything that she had misremembered the location of her home.
But the presence of Asa, who was just standing here, cruelly shattered that assumption.
She didn’t have the surname “Tenkain” in her previous life.
Then it means—
—After I left, did my mother remarry into the Tenkain family?
—The Tenkain Tenkuki, who shouldn’t exist in the original “Star Gathering 2,” and the mother who was supposed to be dead in the original “Star Gathering 1.”
—The Tenkain equipment that appeared in the Kawano City special area SEMA branch’s data room.
—The artificial deity project.
—Tenkuki’s silver-white hair… yet no one seemed to care.
Clues began to connect little by little.
Tenkain Tenkuki is…
“…Little… Nagi!” Kanade’s shout finally pulled Nagi’s consciousness back to reality.
Coming back to herself, Nagi looked pale at Kanade beside her.
“What’s wrong? You look terrible…”
“…Kanade-kun.”
Nagi’s eyes sparkled with countless purple-black starlights, reflecting Kanade’s worried face.
Standing in front of her is the male protagonist from “Star Gathering 2.”
Tsukimi Kanade.
If it’s Tsukimi Kanade… if he has the power of “choice”—
At that moment, urgent footsteps were heard behind them.
It seemed that Manaka and the others had reacted and were on their way.
“Onii-chan~ where are you?” Yukino seemed to still be calling for Kanade.
Her voice steadied Nagi’s weak heart once more.
No, I can’t give up—
I—
Didn’t I make a decision?
Absolutely will not let anyone die before me again—
—I must make the decision here by myself.
“Kanade-kun… I’m sorry…”
“Little Nagi?”
Nagi gently reached out her hand to Kanade’s cheek.
At the same time, a dazzling light flickered in her eyes.
That was a fluctuation of magic power.
“I’m sorry… I’ll be back… I will definitely return to your side—”
A fierce wind howled.
…..
…..
Nordic.
The Star Church.
Facing Alice’s question.
The priest quickly adjusted his expression and revealed a bitter smile.
“I’m sorry, I don’t know what you are referring to?”
He tried hard to play the part of an ignorant person.
“The Star Association, in collaboration with Tenkain and the Kawano City special area SEMA, is attempting to create artificial ‘deities,’ right?” Alice stated her assumptions as if they were facts.
Meanwhile, she observed the priest’s reaction.
From the moment he reacted to the artificial deity project, Alice was already certain he knew some insider information.
And his response at this moment further validated Alice’s suspicion.
So Alice had no intention of beating around the bush to extract information.
When it came to obtaining intel, she had more unreasonably direct methods.
Facing the serious and resolute Alice, the priest realized that either he or the Star Association had been exposed.
So in that instant, he chose to commit suicide directly.
The priest decisively bit down on the poison hidden in his teeth.
—The plan must not be exposed.
—The summoning master plan must not fail.
The poison quickly took effect, and the priest’s hunching body trembled and fell to the ground.
His body convulsed repeatedly, spitting bloodied saliva from his mouth.
But he underestimated the capabilities of the blonde girl before him.
Dusk had already descended upon this frozen world.
The line between life and death became blurred.
No one could die under this dusk.
In the twilight, the priest’s consciousness returned to his body, and his form gradually returned to normal.
Alice was quick-witted and immediately pinned the priest’s body to the ground, locking his hands and restricting his movements.
“It seems you do know something… Mr. Priest.”
“W-Why…” The priest looked at the scene in front of him with confusion, clearly tasting the poison in his mouth.
It was lethal poison.
It could turn him into a corpse in less than a second.
“Sorry… I won’t allow anyone to die in front of me again.”
Alice coldly replied: “At least not until I’ve figured out everything you know.”
Meanwhile.
Other members of the investigation team suddenly stood up and began to alert the surroundings.
“I-I will never betray the master!”
“Though I could torture and kill you countless times to make you talk… but don’t worry, I’m not good at torture.”
The moment Alice finished speaking, DD-chan’s figure appeared beside her.
“Leave it to you.”
“Another man…”
Evil spirit Dokidoki-chan, possessing the ability to spy on the memories of the possessed subject.
Combined with Alice’s authority of dusk.
Even seeking suicide couldn’t prevent DD-chan from stealing memories.
“…Artificial fantasy monster?”
The priest looked at DD-chan with shock.
As a member of the Star Association, he seemed to have the ability to distinguish artificial fantasy monsters.
“Well then, old man, I beg your pardon~”
While speaking, DD-chan possessed the priest who was pinned down by Alice.
Was it because the priest was an ordinary person?
The possession succeeded very easily.
Then the investigation team acted just like they usually would.
Another member activated their ability against the now-possessed priest, putting him into a state of sleep.
“Let me see what exactly you know—” A red light flashed in DD-chan’s eyes.
It also desperately wanted to understand everything about its “birth.”
What is the relationship between the artificial deity project and the artificial fantasy monsters?
…..
…..
“Onii-chan… what on earth were you running around for just now?”
Yukino sprinted up with an unhappy face when she spotted Kanade around the corner.
“Indeed, it’s easy to get lost running around in such an unfamiliar environment, right?” Ryou also wore a helpless smile and shrugged.
“Ah, no, I’m sorry… I-I can’t remember, haha~” Faced with the two’s scolding, Kanade honestly apologized.
At the same time, he felt that his thoughts were somewhat jumbled.
This made him unable to help but cover his forehead with his hand.
Kanade truly couldn’t recall why he suddenly found himself “alone” running around on a strange street.
He vaguely sensed that something was off.
But he couldn’t pinpoint where this discomfort was coming from.
It felt as if certain memories and existences had been “cut off.”
“Seriously, Kanade, are you too excited because of the school trip?”
“Could it be that Onii-chan suddenly saw some cute girl—”
“Not at all!” Kanade knew what his sister was implying and quickly interrupted.
“If all is well, let’s go back; it seems the sacrificial ceremony for the Sea God Festival is about to begin!” Ryou turned around and suggested.
Then he noticed Manaka, who was also holding her head in pain.
“No, that’s not right…” Manaka raised her head in a state of discomfort.
Tsukimi-kun, you shouldn’t be alone—
But her words couldn’t come out, and what caught her eye was the crimson starlight.
“What is that…?” Kanade also noticed the crimson light coming from above.
He looked up.
The blood-red stars reflected in Kanade’s light yellow eyes.
In the next moment.
He heard two dull thuds nearby.
“Yukino, Ryou!?”
Yukino and Ryou both simultaneously lost consciousness, collapsing to the ground.
Kanade and Manaka hurriedly crouched down to help them up.
They saw them bathed in that red starlight, revealing expressions of pain.
The same situation occurred to everyone on the entire island.
Anyone illuminated by that starlight fell one after another.
“Indeed, they are ability users, huh?”
A pitch-black shadow approached Kanade and Manaka from behind.
Manaka immediately turned around and stood up.
It was that deliberate man she saw on the luxurious cruise ship, a man in a black suit.
His face, hidden in the shadows, only revealed two flashes of crimson menace.
“Tsukimi-kun, take Hyoujin-kun and the others and leave first…”
Manaka faced the man, adopting a cautious stance—
But the next moment.
A shadowy spike that stretched up from the ground pierced through Manaka’s heart.
“Too weak.”
The man said coldly, then shifted his gaze to the boy behind the girl.
On the latter’s astonished face, his eyes flashed with golden light—
—
A dream that does not exist here.
Nagi sat on a beach.
She looked up at the starry sky.
A faint smile appeared on her fair and cute face:
“Light-kun, what should you do this time?”
“Will this time also be my victory?”
