Chapter: 84. The Girl Who Loves You Most
“Garuda, how is that fool doing?”
“Sorry, I took a little extra time to help her calm down,” Garuda replied.
In the thirteenth district of the artificial academy island, the warehouses in the storm’s domain had already been reduced to rubble.
Maria lay in a pool of blood, her contract beast, in its fully unleashed form before Garuda, had been turned into a puddle of blood by wave after wave of storm mixed with lightning, temporarily losing its ability to move.
Without the Blood Raven, even Maria’s strong physical constitution found it hard to contend with the forces of nature.
Although the magic power continuously surging from her hollow soul was sufficient to help her utilize the Blood Raven’s extraordinary abilities to heal her injuries.
But the moment the long-unseen Mirror Domain enveloped the entire artificial academy island, Maria’s eyes, shimmering with a purplish-black glow, momentarily froze, as if reminiscing about the past. It was precisely because of this that she lost her last fighting spirit and was defeated.
Among the battlefields scattered across the artificial academy island, only Nagi still remained unaware of the situation—
“Kanade-kun, isn’t he in the domain?” Nagi coldly stared at the black dragon and Nanjo before her, her lips moving as she asked Garuda, who floated beside her.
In response to Nagi’s question, Garuda and Amaterasu, the two contract beasts who had activated their domains first, shook their heads.
“My authority didn’t hit the guy named Kanade Tsukimi.”
“It should have been shot in that direction.”
“Same here.”
“But it seems to have been covered by another kind of domain…”
Hydra chimed in chattering.
“A domain?” Nagi’s mind raced with thoughts.
The only one with authority on the island was the Azure Dragon, and he indeed had deployed the domain of Thundercloud at Noah Hall.
However, given the Azure Dragon’s strength, how could he possibly escape from Hydra’s grip?
“Kanade-kun… where on earth did you go?”
—————–
On the sea reflecting the silvery moonlight.
With only a final flicker of strength left, Kanade was captured in Chimera’s claw-like hand and raised to the front of Nagi.
“You… are lying… how could you possibly do this to little Nagi…”
Kanade struggled, but the light in his pale yellow eyes was rapidly fading.
The “beastly” side of him was disappearing.
This thought was not baseless.
From the moment he first met Nagi, he could keenly feel the persistent emotion he had for her.
Without a doubt, this boy named Raku Itori held feelings for Nagi.
Although Kanade had felt jealousy because of it, at this moment, it became the last key that allowed him to maintain his consciousness.
No matter what, Itori couldn’t kill little Nagi, so she was definitely still alive—
“Ah, I don’t want to either… but all of this is because of you, Tsukimi-senpai.” Itori, feeling somewhat displeased by Kanade’s gaze, decided to return this pain to him doubly.
“I…?”
“That’s right, as long as Hoshimiya-senpai agrees to be with me forever, I won’t kill her~”
“But unfortunately, Hoshimiya-senpai only seems to have eyes for you, a useless childhood friend. I really don’t understand what she sees in you—” Itori jeered as he viciously grabbed Kanade’s hair and brought his face close, as if savoring his pain.
“Because it can’t be obtained, it has to be destroyed in the end, right? It’s truly painful for me too~ It’s rare to meet such a lovely heroine~” Itori released Kanade and reached into his pocket, preparing to take out the evidence he originally intended to use to “report” to Teacher Kitano.
“It seems I can only leave this bracelet as my last tribute to her~” Itori opened his palm, revealing a bracelet with star elements quietly lying there.
Its silver surface was now stained with blood, reflecting an ominous red light under the moon.
“….. N-No way—” The moment the bracelet came into view of Kanade’s gradually fading eyes.
He widened his eyes in shock and instinctively reached for the bracelet, but Chimera’s unreasonable strength held him firmly, making him unable to escape.
“You, where did you get this thing—” Kanade, whose body was on the verge of death, suddenly burst forth with unimaginable strength, twisting his body toward Itori, trying desperately to get closer to that bracelet.
“You bastard! What did you do to little Nagi—! What have you done to her—!!!”
Kanade clearly understood that Nagi wouldn’t casually take off that bracelet.
On the day they reunited after more than two years, when Kanade saw her still wearing the bracelet he had given her on her wrist, he understood how much she cherished it.
Although it was not a precious item.
But Nagi had continuously worn it—
“Tsukimi-senpai, do you have a bad memory?” Seeing Kanade’s reaction so fitting, Itori couldn’t help but reveal a proud smile.
From Kanade’s twisted expression, he perceived an intertwining sense of anger and fear.
This deeply satisfied Itori, as if having this as a spice gave him a sense of being the victor.
“What?” Kanade, taken aback by the answer, hesitated.
He knew what Itori was trying to say; he also knew what Itori had said before.
But at this moment, he rejected that answer.
——Impossible, this must be a lie.
——Little Ma could catch up and rescue little Nagi.
——This is just one of Itori’s tricks; this isn’t Nagi’s bracelet…
“It seems Tsukimi-senpai still holds onto some fantasy~ Then let’s have you witness it with your own eyes, shall we?” A satisfied Itori planned to use the expression of despair and collapse from the other as the finale of this farce.
As soon as Itori finished speaking, Chimera loosened its grip slightly, allowing Kanade to move the remaining hand freely.
“…W-What do you mean?” Kanade widened his eyes, staring intensely at Itori before him.
“Of course that is—” Itori tossed the bloodstained bracelet toward Kanade.
The latter hurriedly twisted his battered body to catch the bracelet in his hand.
“——A final message from your girl.”
Kanade’s left hand, gradually losing consciousness, delicately rubbed the outer layer of the bracelet, and behind one of the stars, he felt some unevenness.
In an instant, all of Kanade’s attention focused on his fingertips.
With the aid of the bright moonlight, Kanade’s trembling hand turned the bracelet over, slowly wiping away the bloodstains, revealing the inscribed words beneath—
【The Best Gift】
Kanade was stunned, and then his fingers moved, reaching toward another star—
【The Most Loved Kanade-kun】
In that moment, Kanade’s mind went blank.
What emerged before him was Nagi’s shy yet happy smile when she took the bracelet to have this phrase engraved.
“So then, Tsukimi-senpai, go to hell and accompany this girl who loves you the most.” With a wave of his hand, Itori directed Chimera to throw Kanade’s shattered body into the air.
And even after plunging into the cold ocean, Kanade’s remaining left hand tightly clutched the bracelet without letting go.
