Chapter Seventy-Six: This is a World of Excrement
This is a cruel and unreasonable world.
The strength of a supernatural being’s ability comes from their resentment and obsession with this world.
It comes from the void within themselves.
The larger that void is, and the deeper the pain delves into their soul, the stronger they become.
Although Alice is a child born from the union of humans and fantasy monsters.
She does not need to awaken in times of despair; she possesses supernatural abilities by birth.
However, the strength of her power is inseparable from the emptiness in her heart.
And her emptiness comes from—
Killing her own mentor.
That was the darkest time in her life.
For that reason, she once fell into madness, desperately seeking the power to “revive” someone.
The Authority of Dusk.
That was what she sought at the time.
It was something she once possessed and held.
Having obtained the Authority of Dusk, she earned the title of “ACE,” the strongest among supernatural beings.
But Alice quickly discovered that the Authority of Dusk could not bring someone back to life.
Dusk merely halts life at the moment before death.
And it must be a life that is about to die in the domain of Dusk.
Only then can it continue to exist in the world.
There was no way to “revive” her mentor.
Understanding that there was no resurrection from death, she surrendered the authority to the “Academy” after regaining her senses.
But why has the “Authority of Dusk” appeared in Kawano City? Why is it held by the “False God Shiro”?
Is there a traitor like “Gen Katsuichi” even within the “Academy”?
…
Alice’s ability to think gradually diminished under the erosion of dragon blood.
The desire to tear apart everything before her filled Alice’s mind.
She continuously withdrew swords and blades from the box, one by one piercing through the fur of the False God Shiro, deeply embedding them into its body.
The pure dragon blood contains an extremely high magic power content.
It is venom, but also a source of energy.
It can be used as “liquidified magic power.”
This set of fantasy spiritual attire crafted for Alice by the “Academy.”
The weapons within can be activated by infusing them with magic power.
For an ordinary supernatural being.
To use a piece of weaponry.
They must infuse their magic power into the weapon and adjust the magic power fluctuations to match the weapon.
Only then can they unleash the inherent supernatural abilities of the weapon itself.
Thus, basically, supernatural beings cannot dual-wield weapons of different natures.
But if it is Alice, who possesses “blood control.”
Because her blood is a high-purity “liquidified magic power,” it can disregard the frequency of magic power fluctuations.
So she can simultaneously wield multiple fantasy weapons and use the supernatural abilities they possess!
It’s as if she alone can utilize various supernatural powers in battle.
Combined with the high physical capabilities and dragon power brought forth by her transformation.
This is the true strength of “ACE Half-Blood Dragon Princess.”
Even against a primate, she might easily prevail.
“Is it already over…?” A deep voice, like a dragon’s roar, came from Alice’s throat.
As her body gently descended from the air.
Lying before her was the figure of Shiro, filled with swords.
As she was once the possessor of the Authority of Dusk, she understood its weaknesses better than anyone.
“Unlimited rebirth” has its limits.
Dusk is like a net that catches those who are dying.
Every time life falls towards death, this net catches it again and again.
But if the speed of killing it exceeds the speed of its “rebirth.”
It can break the boundaries of this net.
Before Alice.
The massive body of False God Shiro collapsed with a thunderous sound, blood and swords piercing it, its crimson eyes losing their light.
It seemed to announce the result of this battle.
And Alice’s body had also reached its limit.
Originally forced into a “dragonized state” by an imbalance in her blood, her body was at the brink of collapse, compounded by her reckless use of the fantasy spiritual attire.
Now, she was already at the end of her strength.
Alice could no longer support her broken body, slowly kneeling on the ground, her brilliant golden eyes losing their luster.
“Alice—!”
Suddenly, Alice heard a familiar voice behind her.
“Why did you all come back…?”
In Alice’s hollow eyes, the figure of Kanade, running with a beaming smile, reflected back at her.
Following him were the unscathed Chika, Mana, and Kozuka.
DD-chan hovered beside Kanade, wearing an expression of “I can’t do anything about you.”
“Let’s go home, Alice~” Kanade smiled and extended his hand toward Alice.
“Yes, it’s all over now.” DD-chan smiled as well.
“Thank you, Alice~” Chika also revealed a smile.
Yes, it was over—
Alice slowly reached her hand toward “them”—
“It’s all over…”
A white mist enveloped the kneeling Alice.
In the direction she reached out.
The figure of False God Shiro stood proudly.
Its eyes, emanating a purplish-black light, quietly gazed at Alice.
The Authority of “Mist.”
The master of illusions interwoven with reality.
Threat level 10.
Simultaneously wielding both the “Dusk” and “Mist” authorities as a “Divine Being.”
False God Shiro.
Underneath the dusk and mist.
Life around them was being reborn.
In an infinite life and endless illusion, they would live happily ever after here—
“Welcome to join us, new Shrine Maiden—”
“—I’m sorry, this child has a place to return to.”
The starry eyes sparkled.
Starlight pierced through this white mist.
The orange-yellow dusk was corroded by the pitch-black night sky.
The unconscious figure of Alice vanished in place.
In her stead was Nagi, dressed in a red and white shrine maiden outfit.
The dazzling starry eyes in her gaze sparkled with a light even brighter than the sunset, and a bittersweet smile appeared on her adorably upright face.
In that instant of seeing the newcomer.
The purplish-black light in the eyes of False God Shiro dimmed, and its massive figure shed the solemn and sacred posture of a deity, revealing a “humanity.”
Its blood-filled mouth slowly opened, and from that mouth, filled with sharp teeth, a soft, childlike voice emerged—
“Light brother…?”
“…Long time no see, Yui.”
Nagi lifted her head to gaze into the eyes of False God Shiro.
The silvery brilliance of her starry eyes met the crimson glow representing the fantasy monsters.
“…You’ve gotten bigger, Yui.”
“…Is it really… Light brother?”
False God Shiro’s right hand suddenly clenched, and the thick mist dissipated rapidly.
The Authority of Mist was retracted by it, seemingly just to confirm that the person before it was not an illusion it had created.
“……” Nagi remained silent and did not respond.
Yui had seen her starry eyes, and at its current level, even if she “perfectly played the part,” she would be seen through in an instant.
So Nagi did not intend to disguise her true identity before it.
“…You liar.” False God Shiro violently shook its massive head.
“Liar—!” The ominous purplish-black light reignited in its eyes.
“You’re such a big liar, Light brother—!” Fur fell from its body as something appeared to writhe beneath the shell that belonged to “Shiro.”
“Clearly, we had a promise—!!!”
Multiple black tendrils burst forth from its back, breaking through Shiro’s skin and extending outward.
Then those writhing tendrils grasped Shiro’s shell, tearing it in half.
The true form of False God Shiro emerged from within—
Nagi had her eyes fixed on the False God Shiro the entire time, not looking away for a moment.
The “Star Draw” series is a piece of garbage.
Undeniable garbage.
The female protagonists from the previous installment appear in the sequel as bosses.
No matter how deep the bonds they formed with the protagonist or how powerful enemies they defeated, or what kind of happy ending they achieved in the previous story.
In the sequel, they appear in grotesque forms.
Thus, Nagi was alone in her previous life from beginning to end.
So in this life, Nagi could no longer face them.
It was her loss.
She lost to this unreasonable world.
She lost to this world of garbage!
So when Nagi learned that she had reincarnated into the world of “Star Draw 2.”
Her mind was already on the brink of collapse.
She should not be the protagonist, she cannot be that protagonist.
Otherwise, she would have to—
She couldn’t bear to watch this world face its end while she stood by.
Because aside from “them,” there were many things she cherished, many things she wanted to protect.
So—
“Tsukimi… Kanade?” Upon learning the name of that boy.
She found her direction to move forward for the first time.
“Star Draw 2” has two protagonists.
The male protagonist of “Star Draw 2″—
Tsukimi Kanade.
He is her redemption, allowing her to continue living in this world.
