Chapter: 67. Report on the Starry Conference Incident
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Walking with a somewhat hurried yet unmistakably joyful step, I walked down the pure white, quiet corridor.
My heart was racing, perhaps due to excitement or maybe anxiety.
I stopped in front of that familiar door, took a deep breath, and gently pushed the door open.
Inside the room, it was just like usual.
She lay quietly on the pristine bed.
Did she hear my footsteps? She slightly turned her head.
Our eyes met, and she immediately broke into a soft smile.
“Congratulations~”
Seeing the expression on her face, I instantly understood.
She had already known about this matter.
“…What? You’ve known all along?”
“Hehe~ Don’t underestimate my intelligence network~”
Lying on the bed, she snorted proudly, exhaling through her nose.
Her expression resembled a cat that had just succeeded in stealing a treat.
“What intelligence network? You probably just pestered the nurse to ask, right?”
I felt foolish for being so nervous just a moment ago.
I pulled a chair over and sat down by the bed.
“Ah, did I make you angry? I’m sorry, I’m sorry~”
She clasped her hands together, feigning sincere remorse, but the laughter at the corners of her eyes could not be hidden.
Of course, I wasn’t really angry.
After all, the news was only significant if it was known by her.
I took out the thick project proposal from my briefcase and gently placed it by her side.
“…Here you go.”
On the pure white cover, printed in bold black, was the title she had personally given to this story—
“Guidance from Starlight.”
……
……
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——▍▍▍▍’s World Line——
Nagi slowly opened her eyes.
She felt a familiar sense of weightlessness lingering in her mind, as if she had just had a long and nostalgic dream—
Similar things had happened before.
And the outcome was the same as last time; after waking up, she couldn’t clearly remember the contents of the dream.
She couldn’t recall who was in the dream or what happened in it.
Only that vague and gentle emotion lingered in her heart like a fading fragrance.
Upon waking, the scene before her inexplicably felt familiar.
The pure white ceiling, the soft light, the spotless sheets and blankets.
However, Nagi had no time to ponder the source of this déjà vu.
Because in the next moment, the figure that came into her view instantly tensed her nerves.
Standing in front of the hospital bed was a strange man.
Dressed in a white coat, the man stood quietly by the bed, his head bowed.
His sculptural, handsome features were softly outlined by the gentle light cascading from the ceiling, casting faint shadows.
His irises were currently radiating a silvery glow.
Although she was surprised by the sudden appearance of this person, Nagi quickly managed to control her expression, making an effort to maintain her persona as “Kamishiro Akane,” believing she showed no signs of weakness.
However, Nagi managed to maintain her composure initially.
“That’s great, Kamishiro-san, you finally woke up.”
He looked at her with kind eyes, his tone warm and gentle.
“…Y-You are…” Nagi pretended to show a confused expression, acting as if she didn’t recognize the man before her.
This was indeed the first time she had seen this face; it was their first meeting.
But the aura emanating from him felt all too familiar to Nagi.
It was the essence of the Elemental Sovereign—“Light.”
Standing face to face with him, Nagi felt a shocking sense of seeing her past self in the mirror.
“Nice to meet you, my name… you can call me ‘Mimic Light’ directly.” Mimic Light introduced himself politely.
He was the replica of the Elemental Sovereign from Starlight Academy—Mimic Light.
Although Nagi was already aware of his existence, she had never had the chance to meet him.
At this moment, the two “Elemental Sovereigns” finally met face to face.
—————–
The battle surrounding the “Starry Conference Island” had taken place three weeks ago.
After the final confrontation with “Elemental Fusion,” Nagi fell into a coma, likely due to the “injection of secret medicine” and the release of “Elemental Fusion” under extreme conditions, lasting for a full three weeks.
Fortunately—her true identity had not been exposed.
Although the presence of the “Elemental Sovereign” remained at the scene.
It was misattributed to the actions of the end of the world, as Shou became just in time to arrive on the scene, leading the SEEMA special forces and the investigative teams from the three major academies to believe it was his doing.
As for the Starry Conference members who witnessed her using “Elemental Fusion,” and the special abilities agents in the “End of the World Special Squad,” they only perceived Nagi’s identity after she had removed her colored contact lenses.
As long as the end of the world made a slight disguise for her shattered soul afterward.
What “Elemental Sovereign” and “Kamishiro Akane” did was differentiated in their hearts.
It was “Kamishiro Akane” who fell into a coma and was taken back to Starlight Academy for treatment; on the student roster, she was just an “ordinary person” who had not yet awakened her abilities, how could she withstand that pale beam of light falling from the sky?
When Mimic Light led the SEEMA special forces and the agents from the three major academies to the scene.
On the shattered island, only the unconscious Kamishiro Akane and Tsukimi Kanade remained, along with the members of the “End of the World Special Squad” he led; whether they were members of the Starry Conference or Erika—they were nowhere to be found.
Especially the latter, whose status was unknown.
Also deemed missing was Professor Amagi Shinkou, who had been kidnapped by the Starry Conference.
His whereabouts were unknown.
This put Kanade and the “End of the World Special Squad” he led in a very awkward and unfavorable position, particularly as the former, an S-class ability user, had lost to the Starry Conference twice.
Which caused Kanade’s support among the ability users to begin an irreversible decline.
In the aftermath, although SEEMA and the three academies wanted to identify the true culprit of this extraordinary threat as “the end,” it seemed inconsistent with the intelligence they had gathered.
Although the remnants of the end’s magical response and presence were left at the scene.
According to the accounts from personnel like Juuro, it seemed he had a hostile relationship with the party that hacked and launched “Elemental Fusion.”
In this incident, the end even saved their lives to some extent.
The existence controlling “Judgment’s Light” was someone else.
Even though the technical staff of SEEMA and the three academies had regained control of “Judgment’s Light” in this incident and put several “safety measures” in place to prevent a similar incident from occurring again.
It did not mean they could rest easy.
If a similar incident were to happen again, and the next “Elemental Fusion” targeted the headquarters of SEEMA or the three academies—the consequences would be unimaginable.
Therefore, SEEMA and the three academies decided to establish a joint investigation team to uncover the truth hidden behind this incident and catch the mastermind.
However, for Mimic Light,
At this moment, there was something he was more concerned about—
It was the black-haired girl right in front of him.
