Chapter: 155. Your Girl
Boom—!
Everything happened suddenly.
Neither Kanade nor Adam and the others had time to react.
The blazing firelight illuminated the pupils of everyone present, causing them to collectively look up at the sky.
Suddenly, the dark clouds dispersed, revealing a patch of bright blue sky. A silver-white meteor fell from the horizon, streaking across the sky.
However, just as that meteor passed through the gap in the clouds, another point of light suddenly illuminated the hollow center.
It was a purplish-black star.
It hung in the sky, radiating a brilliance that rivaled the sun.
[Backtrack]
Almost the instant he regained his senses, Kanade activated the backtrack ability.
However, this time the mist of backtracking was unable to take him anywhere—
Responding to Kanade’s endless silence.
Kanade heard Adam and the others behind him seemingly making some noise, but his brain was unable to process the information at that moment.
…..
…..
“What? Is Nagino Tsukimi the protagonist? Where did you hear that information?”
Adam stared fixedly at the purplish-black star hanging abruptly in the sky, a trace of cold murderous intent flashing in his eyes.
“It’s you, Mr. Adam,” Kurakawa’s answer momentarily stunned Adam.
“You will tell us in person.”
Almost simultaneously, a terrified and urgent shout came from his earpiece—
“Abort the mission! Mr. Adam, you cannot attack Tsukimi Nagino! The Book of Future has just been deciphered! The true protagonist is not Kanade, but—Tsukimi Nagino! The very target the phantasm monsters have been trying to eliminate is her!!!”
“……Nagino Tsukimi is…..the true protagonist?”
Adam’s first reaction was that Kurakawa and his secretary were colluding to deceive him.
But when he looked into Kurakawa’s eyes, the unwavering determination made him realize that what the other party said was indeed the truth.
“It’s Nyarlathotep; its chaotic nature allows it to glimpse all possibilities within the ‘box,'” Kurakawa explained.
“Nagino Tsukimi is…..the protagonist?”
This was the first time Adam showed signs of wavering today.
He stiffly turned his neck to look at the collapsed building ruins—
The sudden halt of the storm, the disappearance of the gate of the underworld… he had seen similar scenes before.
Years ago, on the altar, after witnessing the death of the protagonist “Light,” his contracted beast had also vanished in an instance.
In a moment, it felt as if he was pulled back to that distant memory.
He once again became the helpless boy kneeling in a pool of blood, his hands stained with the blood of a benefactor, filled with a pain as if his soul were being torn apart.
“I…..again…..will bring back the protagonist…..”
In an instant, purplish-black radiance surged from the cracks of his soul, as if an abyss was slowly opening.
…..
…..
Kanade’s throat moved, but he could not make any sound.
He knew he should rush to the collapsed building because Nagino was just inside and would certainly need his help now.
But for some reason, he felt fear toward that place, his feet heavier than ever.
Until Kurakawa suddenly pounced on him from behind.
“Be careful—”
The impact of his body hitting the ground temporarily brought Kanade’s thoughts back to reality.
What he saw next were wings of darkness large enough to block out the sky.
The black dragon, with its back turned to the purplish-black star, floated above the ruins of the amusement park, its golden eyes emotionlessly gazing down at the land.
“…..Omega?”
Adam’s murmuring voice drifted into Kanade’s ears.
But just as he spoke.
A purplish-black crystal on the chest of the dark dragon erupted with dazzling light.
“Nyarlathotep!” Kurakawa shouted almost simultaneously.
A massive amount of purplish-black beams swept across the area where Kanade and Adam were. Although the espers there immediately took defensive measures, no one could withstand even a moment in the face of the authority of “deletion,” and they were erased from this world.
The places swept by the purplish-black beams erupted in violent implosion explosions.
The entire amusement park turned into a sea of fire—
—————–
When Kanade’s consciousness fell into darkness, he returned once again to the past in the kindergarten.
This is a dream.
A dream named memory.
This is the scene of his first meeting with Nagino.
It was the first time he heard Nagino’s name, seeing the gleam in her fragile eyes and realizing that he could not let her be neglected.
However, this time, the scene in the dream seemed to have changed.
In the memory, his first meeting with Nagino should have ended after introductions.
But in this dream.
The young black-haired girl walked closer, crouching down in front of him.
“That’s enough, Kanade-kun.” The girl gently placed her hand on his head, stroking it tenderly.
“…..Enough?”
Kanade did not understand what the other party meant by those words and inadvertently repeated them like a parrot.
“Yes, Kanade-kun has worked very hard, so—”
The gentle smile on her face made Kanade’s mind flash with his last memory before fainting.
The collapsed building, the ineffective backtrack, and the black dragon floating high in the sky.
—No, that’s not right, that was…..
In the dream, Kanade suddenly reached out his hand, wanting to grasp the girl before him.
But his hand could only grasp at emptiness.
For the first time.
His hand could not touch Nagino—
…..
…..
“Kanade! Are you okay!” Kurakawa’s shout woke Kanade from the dream.
Thank goodness, it was all just a dream.
Kanade first thought of this in relief, but the moment he pushed himself up from the ground.
What filled his eyes was a sea of red flames.
Every familiar sight had disappeared.
In its place was a ruin engulfed in flames.
Not just the amusement park, but Kahono City had completely vanished.
In this land of death, Kurakawa and he were the last survivors.
Nyarlathotep had now transformed into a tall black man, standing beside Kurakawa and Kanade, with the twisted chaotic scenery nearby being the key that apparently saved them.
“What on earth… happened…” Kanade felt the scorching heat wave fill his nostrils.
“…..I’m sorry, I couldn’t save everyone,” Kurakawa said, lowering his head in shame.
Around them were countless corpses of espers, and even Adam’s figure was among them.
When Kanade raised his head.
The purplish-black star still hung high in the sky, seemingly casting endless taunts.
“End of days….. Its target is Nagino…..”
“Nagino…. right! Little Nagino—”
Kurakawa’s words finally brought Kanade back to his senses.
Whether it was him and Nagino returning to Kahono City or witnessing the building where Nagino was collapsing.
“I’m sorry, Nagino has already—”
“You’re lying! This is also part of your SMEA conspiracy, right? It’s a play to deceive me into becoming the protagonist, right!” Kanade struggled to stand up, staggering back a few steps.
“Kanade…..” Kurakawa dared not look up at Kanade.
“Little Nagino is fine, right? She has become your hostage to threaten me, right!”
“Answer me!” Kanade suddenly lunged at Kurakawa, his hands tightly gripping Kurakawa’s collar.
But Kurakawa kept his head lowered the whole time.
His silence seemed to answer everything.
“I understand…… you have won! I’m willing to become the protagonist! I swear! I will serve you, I will save this world! So please, tell me! Little Nagino, she’s in your hands, right!”
“Even if you take her to a place I’ll never be able to see her again, it doesn’t matter….. even if I can never say a word to her again in this life, it doesn’t matter….. just tell me—little Nagino, she’s still alive, right……”
“She knows nothing; this entire operation was planned by me. She’s just an innocent person who got caught up in this, so everything has nothing to do with her…..”
“She’s just a girl who doesn’t understand anything…..”
“She…. she…..”
In the end, Kanade nearly buried his head in Kurakawa’s chest.
“Kanade…… I’m sorry……”
“…..Can I see her?”
“If it’s the gentle Nagino, she certainly wouldn’t want you to see the way she is now…..” Kurakawa gently placed his hand on Kanade’s shoulder: “She would definitely prefer to maintain the most lovely image in the hearts of her beloved.”
Kurakawa’s gaze looked past Kanade’s shoulders, landing on the ruins not far away.
“…..Can you tell me?….. Little Nagino….. her left hand…..”
“Yes, Tsukimi Nagino….. is your girl.”
