As Rikka chanted her incantation, a faint magical power flashed, and Rikka and Toka began their direct confrontation.
Unlike their previous evenly matched encounters, this time Toka decided not to hold back; she was determined to pull Rikka back to reality completely.
Rikka unwrapped the bandage on her left hand, and from her perspective, she also had to go all out.
Toka, holding a spoon, slowly walked into the wasteland and confronted Rikka.
"Avalon Breaker!!"
Rikka roared, unleashing her chuunibyou skill, and forcefully swung her umbrella towards Toka.
If it were before, Toka might have dodged, but now, she simply steadily hit the umbrella back with her spoon. Toka's strength, which could not be compared to Rikka's, not only pushed Rikka's umbrella back but even made her stumble two steps.
"How long are you going to play this boring game?!"
By now, Rikka had already noticed something was wrong; today, the Saint Healer was exceptionally powerful.
But she did not retreat; instead, she picked up her umbrella again and attacked with all her might. Even when facing a powerful enemy, the Evil King's True Eye must never retreat! And it will definitely win!
Unfortunately, the Evil King's True Eye was the Evil King's True Eye, but at this moment, she was just Rikka.
All attacks were steadily parried by Toka. Toka, no longer holding back, quickly suppressed Rikka.
"Is it fun? Always being so willful like a child, is it fun?!"
Rikka, however, ignored Toka's words and continued to attack, immersed in her own world.
"Star Spear Flash Annihilation!!"
Rikka quickly retreated, leaning her body back, as if a wave of energy shot out from her eyes towards Toka.
But, in Toka's eyes, there was nothing. She quickly closed in, then slapped Rikka across the face, knocking her to the ground.
Looking at the fallen Rikka, Toka's hand trembled slightly. Her heart ached, but she could not stop.
"Are you perhaps hating mother?"
"No..."
Rikka, getting up from the ground, naturally denied such a question. Even if her mother had hurt her in the past, she could still not hate her.
"Then are you deliberately making things difficult for grandpa and grandma?"
Toka, having already decided to be ruthless, no matter how much pain she felt inside, still chose to strike hard, kicking Rikka's body and knocking her down again after she had just managed to get up.
"No!!"
"Then you should understand! Understand that all of this is unavoidable! Understand that we can do nothing!"
By now, Toka's eyes were also filled with tears. Her father's passing was also a scar for her. Seeing the old site full of memories being demolished into a wasteland, she was already feeling bad inside, not to mention violently beating her beloved younger sister. The long-term mental burden also put Toka at the brink of collapse at this moment.
"What will satisfy you? What can be done about this!"
"Evil Eye..."
Toka tried every way to make Rikka face reality. Facing reality after experiencing some pain and re-engaging with life was the best way. But Rikka still spoke to herself, unleashing her chuunibyou skills, which made Toka feel like she was talking to a wall, doing something useless. In a fit of anger, Toka kicked her hard.
This kick finally shattered Rikka's illusion completely.
Pain, humiliation, fear... brought Rikka's consciousness back to reality.
She looked around, and the warm old site, like an illusion, had turned into a crude, ominous paper house, which was even gradually burning down.
She wailed and cried, but was powerless, only able to watch as the paper house burned to ashes... Finally, she only saw a wasteland covered in wildflowers.
The wasteland from reality.
Seeing Rikka finally calm down, Toka breathed a sigh of relief, covering her slightly trembling hand.
"Our home is no longer here, and you won't find father. What invisible boundary line..."
"It exists..."
Facing her current situation, Rikka did not refute Toka. Only the invisible boundary line, she would not allow it to be denied.
"The invisible boundary line... it exists!"
Toka, who had thought Rikka had returned to reality, was furious. With a dark expression, just as she was about to step forward to deliver the final blow, Yuta finally stepped out and stopped Toka.
Facing Toka, Yuta wanted to stand up for Rikka, but he didn't know where to start. He didn't even have the standing to stop their family matter, because everything Toka said was correct...
He just couldn't bear to watch Rikka get beaten, so he stepped out.
"I also think what you said, Toka, is right... But, precisely because I know this, I think Rikka did this precisely because she knows this."
Looking into Toka's calm eyes, Yuta finally mustered his courage.
"Even if others say, 'this is the truth and you must accept it,' there are too many things that cannot be accepted... Things happen one after another, and there's no time to sort out one's feelings before everything is over..."
Yuta recalled his chuunibyou past. He remembered how lonely and helpless he used to be, those days when he understood but could only stick to his stubborn settings...
"This isn't escaping, nor is it deliberately turning a blind eye. It's just that, saying those self-evident words, letting go as if it's self-evident, is that really okay?
But everyone says, 'this is self-evident, this is reality,' and we can't help but wonder, 'is it really like this?'"
Facing Yuta's words, Toka's words, like her viewpoint, conveyed that cruel reality would not wait for you.
"This is reality, everyone lives like this, this is what's called maturity."
Cruel reality could never be refuted. Even Yuta could not continue speaking, because he understood that everything Toka said was true, every word accurate. This was the world, this was reality. She was Rikka's older sister. If Rikka still couldn't accept her father's death, could Toka? She loved her father just as much, but, as she said, cruel reality would come like a flood. Ultimately, for the sake of life, and even more so for Rikka to live better, she could only come out and face that terrifying, cruel, frightening reality.
These truths, so simple, Toka understood, Yuta understood, so how could Rikka not understand?
It's just that she chose to escape, just like now.
She ran away again.
"Rikka!"
"Eh! Rikka!"
Facing the fleeing Rikka, their reactions differed. Yuta, who firmly stood by Rikka's side, immediately chased after her, disappearing into the night with Rikka.
Toka, however, remained rooted to the spot, watching the two disappear, seemingly without mercy... After a long while, she slowly crouched down, covering her face, sobbing...
Fang Wuwei, who had witnessed all of this, just sat on the rooftop, his right eye bloodshot, enduring the cold wind, quietly waiting for Toka to leave.
Some things cannot be resolved by others' guidance.
Finally, not long after, Toka walked out of the wasteland and drove away...
Watching the distant car lights, Fang Wuwei finally leaped down from the roof, which was more than ten meters high. In his right eye, three tomoe connected to form a Mangekyo, and he slowly walked towards that wasteland.
All the wildflowers in the wasteland were of the same kind, which was so strange.
Fang Wuwei reached out and picked a wildflower, playing with it in his hand. The pale yellow flower emitted a faint, sweet fragrance. He faced the empty wasteland, yet spoke softly, as if to himself.
"...It is said that this kind of wildflower is called evening primrose. Although beautiful, its blooming period is extremely short. It slowly blossoms in the evening but withers at dawn... Such a brief life, yet it continues to thrive, passing down from generation to generation...
If I'm not mistaken, not only did you like this flower, but your two daughters, Toka and Rikka, also quite liked this flower, didn't they...? Otherwise, it's very hard for me to explain why this large patch of wasteland only grows this one type of flower, while other wildflowers with strong vitality aren't even seen..."
"Is that right, Takanashi-san?"
In Fang Wuwei's right eye, a somewhat transparent, pure white figure stood quietly in the center of the wasteland. Even without seeing its eyes, Fang Wuwei could feel that the figure was watching him.