Meteora slowly raised her hand, pointing toward Shimazaki Yuna amidst the monstrous horde. Her voice, calm yet carrying an unwavering resolve, reached everyone's ears clearly.
"This person is Shimazaki Yuna... and at the same time, she is the one who summoned these monsters into our world, manipulating them from the shadows to destroy this world."
Mirokuji Yūya stood right beside Meteora. Upon hearing her words, even he froze momentarily, doubting his own ears.
"...Hey! Meteora-chan, your jokes are seriously terrible."
"Do not call me Meteora-chan. My name is Meteora."
Meteora frowned slightly, giving Mirokuji Yūya an annoyed glare. "And besides... I wasn't joking."
"Then are you talking nonsense?"
Mirokuji Yūya's expression darkened as he glanced at Meteora, then shifted his gaze toward Altair and Blitz Talker, hostility flaring dangerously in his eyes. "Did you bastards do something? Did you brainwash Meteora-chan?"
"What a pity. All I did was present you with the truth."
Facing the hostility radiating from Mirokuji Yūya, Altair remained entirely unruffled. "The being who dragged these chaotic, maddening creatures from beyond the stars in an attempt to destroy this world is none other than the one you call Shimazaki Yuna. My true goal has always been to rescue Van Gogh—my Master who, like a princess imprisoned by a dragon within a castle, has been waiting for me to save her."
"Honestly, my head's spinning. Everything you guys are saying sounds fishy as hell."
Mirokuji Yūya slightly lowered his stance, like a starving wolf about to lunge at its prey, muscles tightening as if ready to explode into action at any moment. "So, could you first hand back the genius little painter girl you're holding onto?"
The moment these words were spoken, Altair's expression instantly turned cold.
"Do you even realize what you just said? Trying to take my Master away from me again... Do I need to teach you what it means to court disaster with your mouth?"
Killing intent... a sharp, freezing killing intent, as cold as the winter wind, as ruthless as a blade of frigid steel.
Throughout their previous battles, Altair had mostly been playing around, testing her abilities. Even when she single-handedly crushed Selesia and the others, it was always just a playful whim to her.
However, in the moment when Mirokuji Yūya declared he intended to reclaim Van Gogh... Altair revealed true killing intent.
She was serious—she truly intended to kill Mirokuji Yūya.
At that very instant, a blazing brilliance suddenly lit up the night sky, scattering the darkness as if the heavens themselves had caught fire, and a radiant sun appeared overhead.
"O Sun Wheel! Gather here all your strength to expel every evil from this land, to rescue my country from endless flames of war!"
Alicetaria's voice pierced through the heavens.
She raised her right hand. In the next moment, that burning golden sun became a spear held firmly in her grasp, the spear of divine judgment that could burn the land, scorch the skies, and incinerate the mountains.
"O Holy Lance! Manifest and grant me miraculous power! Blossom your radiance here!"
There was no hesitation, for Alicetaria had already heard the truth directly from Altair.
This holy spear condensed from the Sun Wheel—bearing terrifying heat and brilliance capable of melting the earth and collapsing the sky—was hurled violently by Alicetaria, aiming straight for Shimazaki Yuna within the monster horde.
That spear, like a meteor ripping through the sky, carried the wrath of gods, the judgment of heaven itself.
Even before the strike arrived, the brilliance and scorching heat from the Sun Wheel already blanketed the land, a burning wave capable of obliterating evil, souls, and matter alike.
Even Meteora, strengthened by Recognition, wouldn't survive in the terrifying aftermath, no matter how much defensive magic she cast.
Escape was the only choice.
"Wait a minute!"
Mirokuji Yūya shouted in sudden panic. "That little girl Hikayu is still over there!"
Not even Mirokuji Yūya could survive a direct strike from such supreme, blazing holiness. The attack hadn't even reached him yet, but he already felt his body burning away to nothing. What about Hoshikawa Hikayu? Right now, she was just an ordinary high school girl!
But what could they possibly do?
Could they break through the layers of monster barriers, reach the unconscious Hikayu, and carry her safely away before the Sun Wheel's brilliance engulfed everything?
Impossible. None of them could manage that, even if their legs broke from trying. Such speed was beyond them.
At this moment, Altair's chillingly indifferent voice rang out.
"If sacrificing just one girl could eliminate the greatest disaster threatening this world, then you've saved me quite a bit of trouble."
"You bastard!"
Altair's casual dismissal of life, her disdain for Hikayu's existence, filled Mirokuji Yūya with immense fury.
"Calm yourself, Mirokuji-dono. Watch closely. This endless night is far longer, and far more deathly silent than you can imagine."
As if validating Altair's words, the sun dominating the sky suddenly warped and twisted.
The scorching heavens, blazing with the brilliance of the fierce sun, suddenly resembled a rough canvas—crumpled into a careless ball by a great hand from some higher dimension, then casually thrown into a trash can.
All of it vanished—the brilliance covering the skies, the heat melting the earth—all replaced by darkness... deep, empty, and heart-stopping blackness.
An icy wind swept across vast stretches of empty ground. Just moments ago, countless monsters had stood there, now utterly burned away by the holy lance's brilliance. But Shimazaki Yuna still stood there, unmoved, with Hoshikawa Hikayu lying safely at her feet.
Shock, an overwhelming dread of the unknown, surged through everyone's veins, akin to the primal terror felt by ancient humans first gazing into the endless, unknowable depths of space.
"What... did she just do?"
Someone finally asked this question.
Yet nobody could answer. All of them were trapped within an uncontrollable panic.
This fear of the unknown, rooted deep within the rational minds of all living beings, was a fear even the strongest wills couldn't erase—just as ancient humans once stared into the vastness of the night sky.
Faced with such terror, most people would abandon thought, lose themselves, and quietly wait for annihilation. Only a few brave souls would raise their weapons and torches, continuing onward—because true human courage wasn't about forgetting fear, but about stepping forward even after fully understanding the terror and danger ahead.
"[Bayard]—!"
Responding to Hakua Shō's call, the centaur-like Astral Double Bayard suddenly materialized, raising its spear and charging straight toward Shimazaki Yuna.
The sharp spear tip, glittering coldly, abruptly halted, stopping right before Shimazaki Yuna's face—the final three centimeters seemingly an impossible gap, as though separated by an infinite abyss.
"What kind of freakish ability is this now?!"
Hakua Shō, described by Mirokuji Yūya as a "hot-blooded, single-minded idiot," shouted his frustrated thoughts aloud. It felt like playing a shooter game when the enemy suddenly rolls out an armored tank—you'd want to smash your keyboard in frustration.
Beside him, Mirokuji Yūya muttered with a complicated expression, "Now you get how I felt when I fought you, huh? Before coming to this world, I never saw a trickier, dirtier—no, more unpredictable ability than yours."
"Yūya, you bastard! Were you about to say 'dirty trick' just now?"
Hakua Shō glared angrily at Mirokuji Yūya, scolding him loudly. "And why are you just standing around? Get ready! Isn't she trying to destroy our world? No way we let her succeed!"
"You hot-blooded idiot! There's still a ton of unanswered—"
Mirokuji Yūya wanted to say more, but Hakua Shō had already rushed forward, swinging his three-sectioned staff. Completely unstoppable.
"Aaah, dammit!"
Scratching his head forcefully, Mirokuji knew hesitation wasn't an option now. Fight or don't fight—there were only two choices left.
In the end, he chose to trust Meteora's judgment.
"[Hangaku]!"
The Astral Double of the Sengoku-era female warrior manifested behind Mirokuji Yūya, drawing her bow. The next instant, three arrows transformed into meteors wrapped in blazing blue flames, streaking brilliantly across the sky.
Though Hakua Shō had charged first, Hangaku's fiery arrows arrived ahead of him. Realizing it couldn't pierce the enemy no matter how hard it tried, Bayard decisively shifted aside, clearing a path for Hangaku's arrows.
The flame-infused arrows exploded suddenly, turning into a towering tornado of fire rushing skyward. The chilling wind now carried scorching heat, dotted with glittering sparks like stars.
Hakua Shō didn't think for a second this would finish the enemy. Alicetaria's earlier solar lance had been vastly more powerful, yet Yuna casually deflected it in ways none of them could comprehend.
Unprecedented strength, unprecedented strangeness!
So Hakua Shō coordinated himself with Bayard, gripping his three-sectioned staff and charging bravely into the blue-flamed tornado.
In an instant, right before Hakua Shō's eyes, the flaming whirlwind split apart.
The blazing, dancing flames had been sliced cleanly in half, and something emerged, radiating a sharpness that stung his skin.
A presence so sharp, Hakua Shō thought at first it must be a sword…but he was mistaken.
Pitch black, deeper than darkness, like a black hole devouring all surrounding light. Its shape... was like a key, or perhaps a paintbrush—but certainly nothing like a sword or blade.
Why did I mistake a key or paintbrush for a sword…? Hakua Shō couldn't help wondering.
The very next second, the paintbrush moved.
Its tip abruptly splattered large swathes of black paint. Hakua Shō didn't know what it was, but he absolutely didn't want to get hit by it, immediately stopping his charge to dodge.
Bayard, however, was too close. Unable to evade in time, the Astral Double was splashed with a drop of black paint.
Shimazaki Yuna then emerged unscathed from the flames, as expected.
Hakua Shō, standing on Yuna's left, saw that she wasn't paying attention to him. Seizing the chance, he closed the hundred-meter gap instantly, swinging his staff violently toward her head.
Clang!
The sharp metallic ring echoed as his strike was blocked... by the spear tip of a lance.
Staring at the figure who had blocked his attack, Hakua Shō's face twisted in disbelief.
"Bayard?!"
Now entirely pitch-black instead of its original bronze color, Bayard thrust sharply, knocking Hakua's staff aside. Hakua, already sensing danger, swiftly retreated dozens of meters.
Looking at Bayard loyally protecting Shimazaki Yuna, Hakua Shō's brain short-circuited.
Did I just get hijacked?
Suddenly, his expression drastically changed. Remembering something urgent, he frantically reached into his pocket, pulled out a pair of sunglasses, and threw them away with all his strength.
As soon as the sunglasses left his hand, Bayard's figure appeared on them, spewing thick black smoke, seriously obstructing Hakua's vision. Hidden by the smoke, Bayard thrust its lance at Hakua from multiple angles.
Unable to see clearly, Hakua Shō parried several blows relying purely on beast-like instincts. But he couldn't dodge the last attack aimed at his back.
At this critical moment, a naginata engulfed in ghostly blue flames sliced through the smoke, deflecting Bayard's certain-kill strike and rescuing Hakua.
Simultaneously, Mirokuji Yūya's mocking voice rang out nearby:
"So, do you finally understand how dirty and underhanded your power is?"
Hakua Shō froze briefly, then angrily snapped back at Mirokuji Yūya.
"So you were going to call me 'dirty' earlier after all, you bastard!"
Suddenly, Shimazaki Yuna swung her brush again, splashing another swath of black paint. The two men instantly abandoned their bickering, dodging desperately.
"Don't get hit by that black stuff! Including your Hangaku!"
"No shit! Worry about yourself, idiot! Don't end up like Bayard!"
Charon also acted now. On the Vogelchevalier under his control, seventy-two points simultaneously glowed, unleashing blasts of tremendous magical energy streaking like meteors toward Shimazaki Yuna.
Yuna casually swung her brush again, space itself becoming her canvas. Black paint seeped into reality, forming a picture frame—not a painting inside, only absolute, empty darkness.
The meteor-like barrage suddenly twisted, all sucked neatly into that frame. Then, the frame filled with countless silvery points of light, resembling falling stars.
"Charon! Stop!"
Selesia cried out, still confused, still hesitant. "Yuna can't be a villain! She's kind… gentle…!"
In Selesia's mind flashed countless memories of Shimazaki Yuna, especially how gently she cared for Van Gogh.
A person so gentle…how could she possibly destroy the world?
"This must be a misunderstanding!"
"Stop being naive, Selesia," Charon's voice echoed from Vogelchevalier. "Are you still deceiving yourself? Those terrible monsters obey only her. She hid these strange powers from us—isn't that proof enough?"
I am the protagonist, bearing the fate of a world. I must save the world!
So all threats must be eliminated, exterminated, annihilated—destroyed utterly!
"Charon!"
Selesia cried out, but her voice couldn't reach him. Her own Vogelchevalier was destroyed by Altair earlier, leaving her powerless.
As Alicetaria descended, Kanoya Rui piloted the massive Gigas Machina to block Charon's advance.
"Wait! Calm down!"
Kanoya Rui frantically shouted. "Yuna isn't like that!"
"Move aside!" Charon ignored Rui's pleas. "Are you worthy of being a protagonist if you ignore obvious truths just for baseless intuition? How can you justify that to the world?"
"I…I…" Rui was speechless, overpowered.
Watching quietly, Altair smiled softly, whispering gently to Van Gogh in her arms:
"This is the story of heroes, each fighting desperately for their beliefs."
"But…why must friends fight each other?" Van Gogh murmured sadly. "Theo… what should I do?"
"No need to worry, Master. They're only fulfilling their roles beautifully."
Altair gently touched Van Gogh's shoulders, triggering madness in the surrounding monsters—which vanished instantly, becoming red petals.
"[The Third Movement of Cosmos: Representation Exposition]."
Shimazaki Yuna rushed desperately, but was blocked again by Alicetaria's blazing charge.
Altair calmly gazed into Van Gogh's eyes, gentle yet triumphant.
"I found it—the seal on Master's memories. Now, it's broken…Victory is ours, evil god!"
A shattering sound echoed clearly in everyone's ears.
Van Gogh saw it—forgotten memories flooding back:
A childhood, a first love for manga, meeting a sad, lonely girl, suffering bullying, someone dear giving unconditional recognition…
That was the forgotten past—the true memories of [Shimazaki Yuna].
---
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