Chapter: 177. The Girl Meets the Boy (Part 1)
As Kanade unfolded the dual wings formed from black flames and sliced through the night sky of Chuan Ye City, memories of himself and Nagi in this city flashed in his mind.
Many previously overlooked details became remarkably clear as Kanade realized where the lingering sense of incongruity in his heart originated; this familiar feeling reminded him of when Nagi had “lost her memory” back then.
The pitch-black flames transformed into beast-like claws, ruthlessly tearing through the seemingly empty space before him.
The sensation at his fingertips felt extremely familiar, further confirming Kanade’s suspicions —
The “Mirror Flower” domain had been torn open by the black flames.
Through the crack, Kanade saw the black-haired girl suspended in mid-air, as well as the landscape of “the Ruins of Chuan Ye City” that had already turned to rubble beneath her feet.
Clearly, this domain had just experienced a fierce battle.
“Little Nagi…”
He whispered the girl’s name, and the black flames seemed to respond to some kind of sensation, swiftly climbing up his body, enveloping him entirely, transforming him into a black meteor, hurtling towards Nagi’s location.
“Kanade!”
Just as he was about to reach Nagi, a hoarse and strained shout pierced through the air and entered his ears.
He instinctively turned toward the sound; a soft light ascended from afar, reflecting tiny glimmers, resembling a star rising in the sky that captured his gaze.
Kanade unconsciously reached out —
It was a golden ring.
In an instant, the silver engagement ring he cherished in his pocket flashed through his mind.
However, the two were entirely different.
The silver ring embodied a longing for the ordinary and happiness, while the golden ring symbolized power and slaughter beyond the mundane.
— Authority.
Just by touching that ring, Kanade could clearly perceive the vast knowledge and power contained within it.
In this fleeting moment, his gaze fell upon Adam, who was wrapped in emerald light and rapidly descending.
Rationality told him that he should save Adam first.
But when he saw the unwavering expression in Adam’s eyes, he felt the resolve emanating from this man’s heart.
That gaze was telling him —
The one who truly needed to be rescued was not him, but —
Following Adam’s gaze, Kanade turned his head and landed on the floating Nagi before him.
At this moment, an understanding unique to men allowed Kanade to take the “baton” from Adam.
Did she notice his gaze?
A hint of an evil smile emerged on Nagi’s pure and adorable face, as if some wickedness had descended upon this black-haired angel.
— Yes, why had I not realized this before…
Kanade silently lamented.
He should have seen Little Nagi display such a demeanor countless times. In the horror films she took pride in, her lifelike acting — why had he only now noticed —
“Little Nagi, that’s enough, you don’t need to pretend anymore.”
Kanade spoke softly; though his voice was calm, his heart was filled with guilt and pity for Nagi.
— If only he had noticed sooner.
Similar thoughts flashed repeatedly through Kanade’s mind.
—————–
Interrupted by Kanade’s voice, Nagi was slightly taken aback.
In that moment, her brain seemed to stall, unable to comprehend what Kanade was saying — no, she was unwilling to understand.
— Why now?
She had already made up her mind, prepared herself, intending to die as “the heroine overtaken by the villain,” to embrace the fate that belonged to her.
— Why?
— It was so close.
— Just a little more, and she could die as “Star Palace Nagi.”
“Huh? What strange things are you saying?” Nagi forced down the surging emotions within her, striving to maintain her expression, revealing an evil smile, and sarcastically retorting.
She wanted to know the answer to that question as well.
She didn’t know where she had exposed herself.
Was it the truth about her pretending to be the End?
Or the fact that she had always been a supernatural being?
Or perhaps that she was the Elemental Sovereign?
Even that she was —
Regardless of which, Nagi was unwilling to let Kanade know.
She only wanted to preserve the most beautiful impression in the heart of the boy she loved at the very end of her life — a bright and cheerful girl who liked her childhood friend.
In Kanade’s heart, she did not want to leave any other impression.
But this world clearly would not answer her prayers.
Or rather, in the eyes of this abominable world, nothing would ever lead to a happy ending —
“You no longer need to act as the End… Little Nagi, you’re not controlled by the End, are you? This whole thing… is just to direct the spear of Special Restriction SEMA away from Kojima and Renji—”
“Really? So everything that just happened in your eyes was a touching development? Obviously, if it weren’t for you, that annoying guy, everyone present would have been—”
“—But every time, they have not suffered any fatal injuries.” Kanade interrupted her.
Having the Kao Lala’s Box, Kanade had tried to recall countless possibilities across different timelines and discovered a detail he had always overlooked: the ice spikes released by Nagi, though they seemed to indiscriminately attack everyone present, had not inflicted fatal harm on any of them.
Except himself.
Kanade quietly gazed into Nagi’s eyes, desiring to read her heart from those deep pupils.
But in reality, he didn’t even need to do that.
Because Nagi’s previous statement had already exposed everything —
“Little Nagi, you can retain the memories of reincarnation just like me, right?” The moment he spoke this, Kanade could no longer sort through the emotions in his heart.
Shock?
Relief?
Pain?
Or… deep guilt?
“!?” Nagi’s pupils slightly constricted; at that moment, she realized that her previous statement had given her away.
Because in this final decision timeline, she hadn’t had the chance to attack everyone present and had already been stopped by Kanade.
Nagi’s silence silently validated Kanade’s words.
However, Kanade felt no joy.
Guilt and pain surged like a tide in his heart.
If Nagi could truly remember each cycle of reincarnation —
Then his past actions meant that he had subjected this kind-hearted girl to unimaginable torment time and time again.
“…And there is also a decisive piece of evidence.” Kanade gazed at the still-silent Nagi, attempting to prompt her to admit everything.
“I had once rewritten the End. If Little Nagi, you are truly the End, you could never possibly be my opponent—”
Kanade had clearly been meant to notice but had been lulled into complacency by some kind of “existence is reasonable” illusion, continuously ignoring it.
And he had deeply experienced this feeling during a particular period in his second year of middle school.
At that time, the “amnesiac” Nagi had been the same.
He had at one point thought it was the influence of some kind of “curse.”
But if he pieced together all the clues and coincidences, the answer was already apparent —
Nagi possessed the ability to make people overlook and accept all “incongruities.”
The Angel’s Domain.
If he traced this clue back, Nagi had awakened this supernatural power during her second year of middle school.
It might even have been earlier —
When she had been dragged into the “Curse of the Evil Spirit DokiDoki-chan,” along with him into the Twilight domain, miraculously escaping unscathed —
Those details that had gone unnoticed in the past,
Those details that had been selectively ignored,
Those “coincidences” that had been taken for granted —
In this moment, all came crashing down.
Kanade’s nose tinged with a slight ache, a long-suppressed emotion violently surged, and even the voice he always wanted to control inadvertently tinged with trembling —
“Actually… all along, Little Nagi, you have been protecting us, right?”
