1.
Fate’s Path is not all-purpose.
It does not let you wield all kinds of powers and abilities at no cost.
The resource it uses is a special one derived from the Path: “imaginary energy.”
On planets that don’t know the Path precisely, it’s called by many different names—mana, magic power, inner energy.
“Damn it...”
I’d only just awakened, and yet I was already instinctively handling the Path.
Boom!!
As Silver Wolf spread her hand, blue neon light compressed and shot out. It was several times stronger than the slingshot she’d used before. The wall shattered to pieces, and a cloud of dust began rising from where Hanabi had been standing.
It was a race against time.
Silver Wolf still didn’t know how to control her power.
And Hanabi didn’t want to go all out while wearing a mask.
If Hanabi went all out, she could definitely kill Silver Wolf, but the fallout would be impossible to handle.
The fox mask hanging at her waist swayed.
“...Tch.”
Hanabi, who didn’t want to put on the mask, drew imaginary energy in the air and gathered it up. Once again, a revolver manifested, gleaming with a sinister light. Silver Wolf calculated the power she had left and threw herself toward the wall.
Speed and reaction time were both in Hanabi’s favor.
To seize the advantage, she had to make use of that absurdly powerful shooter.
After the slingshot disappeared, what emerged was the combination of [Ether Editing] and the Path.
Silver Wolf wrapped her right hand around the heavy sensation gathering there.
She didn’t have many chances.
Hanabi wouldn’t fall for the same trick twice.
She was cunning and devious.
Bang! Tatatata!
Gunfire cut across the wall once more.
The outer wall, poorly made from the start, had terrible durability, and Silver Wolf ducked her head again, dropping into a low crawl.
Boom!
It was a sound clearly different from gunfire.
The roar of artillery.
Its power was undeniable, but its flight speed and reload time were completely different. Hanabi planted a hand on the wall and leaped, deftly evading the bombardment.
Hanabi was also skilled with firearms.
The moment she kicked off the wall and sprang upward—
Bang! Tatatatatata!
Six gunshots rang out in a deafening burst.
Ricocheting bullets scraped across her body. A searing pain, like she’d been burned, shot through her. Silver Wolf gritted her teeth and glared at Hanabi.
“Let’s end this now. You still can’t beat me.”
As she said it, she drew her sword.
Hanabi rushed in, closing the distance at high speed.
In close combat, she was naturally at a disadvantage.
Silver Wolf’s swordsmanship wasn’t good, and the gap was obvious.
But she didn’t have the luxury of choosing a better option. Silver Wolf drew the Pixel Sword, which had evolved from a wooden sword into a stone sword. Their blades crossed, and their power collided head-on.
Time seemed to slow for an instant.
The two girls crossed paths as their swords swung.
Kaaaanng!
Neither of them was using a proper sword, but the clash still rang out sharply.
The distance closed, turning it into close-quarters combat.
Even after that, the sound of blades colliding kept coming, their fight moving so fast ordinary people couldn’t even follow it. Right now, people were leaning out of apartment windows to watch, eyes pouring down on them, but Hanabi and Silver Wolf paid none of it any mind. They only stared at each other.
“...I’ll admit it.”
She wasn’t just some weak, ordinary orphan.
Hanabi swung her sword wide and forced Silver Wolf back, then lightly twisted her blade in her grip.
“You’re not ordinary. Adrian isn’t, either.”
“You want to praise me now?”
“It’s no fun if the moment of death is painted with nothing but insults.”
The moment the distance opened up—
Silver Wolf gathered her power.
Energy condensed over her right hand and shot out like a cannon shell.
“This is as far as you go, Silver Wolf.”
What rose over her hand was red flame.
A crimson goldfish swam before her eyes.
“Aka.”
The sword she swung drew in the flames.
The gathered fire took the shape of a goldfish and sliced through the bombardment.
And at the very moment it was about to cut through Silver Wolf’s body as well—
Sshhk!
“...Ouch, that hurts.”
A tall figure, around 190 centimeters.
Amber eyes illuminating the dark alley.
Bandages wrapped across his upper body.
The hem of a loosely worn fixer’s coat fluttered in the wind.
“Hanabi, you want to die?”
Adrian was looking at Hanabi.
2.
Haa, I made a cool entrance and everything.
But it hurts. It fucking hurts.
The wound felt like it had been heated over a fire.
The goldfish floating beside Hanabi.
The sword wreathed in flames.
Just looking at the wrecked surroundings made it obvious Silver Wolf and Hanabi had been fighting. I could feel Silver Wolf’s body trembling in my arms, and if she hadn’t been strengthened, that last attack would have killed her.
“...Adrian.”
“No, no. You don’t have to say anything.”
But this was unforgivable.
I was grateful she’d saved my life, sure.
But she shouldn’t have laid a hand on my people.
“[Sky Leap].”
My condition wasn’t good.
If my instincts were right, Hanabi was definitely stronger than me.
Kang!!
I kicked off the ground and my body flew up like a feather. I swung my sword straight down from above, and Hanabi’s blade collided with mine.
Hanabi smoothly let my sword slide off and followed up with another attack.
The distance had closed. Before her blade could reach me, I kicked out and put space between us.
The moment we separated—
What I saw was a glowing revolver.
Well, shit. That wasn’t in the plan.
Bang!
The gunshot rang out.
My shoulder flared with a burning pain and my eyes flew wide. My shoulder caved in the same way it had back when I’d accidentally been hit by Silver Wolf’s steel pellet. Even if my body was strengthened by the Path, pain was still pain.
“Fuck...!”
Should I be grateful it wasn’t a piercing wound?
I took the first shot, but I quickly rolled away and hid behind the wall.
“Duck!”
I couldn’t even tell who was speaking because of the pain, but I dropped my head immediately.
Boom!
The wall behind me exploded, and cement dust scattered everywhere.
A neon bombardment shot toward Hanabi.
“Ghk...!”
She took it head-on, but blocked it with the flat of her sword held upright.
Hanabi should have had her arm broken by that blow, but she endured it.
“You bitch!!! I was gonna feed you and raise you, and this is how you repay me!?”
I was furious.
I’d tried to make a friend for Silver Wolf, and she’d immediately hit me from behind.
Grinding my teeth, I clutched my caved-in shoulder when Silver Wolf fired a second bombardment. It looked like she was buying me time.
Boom!
A powerful blast tore across the air, kicking up dust and dirt.
Smoke rose from the shooter on Silver Wolf’s right hand.
“Adrian!”
“I said I’m coming!”
The reason didn’t matter.
No matter what.
Hanabi had tried to lay her hands on what was mine.
Without even asking the owner’s permission.
That was what pissed me off.
“[Dice Roll]!”
As I flew through the air, the dice rolled.
Hit by the bullet Hanabi fired to block the bombardment, the dice flew again.
[1]
“Goddammit!!!”
Luck wasn’t on my side at a moment like this.
Alongside the number [1], I saw a glass filling with water.
Behind it, a grinning clown.
“[Sky Leap].”
“Aka.”
Before the flames rose and the slash could sweep across the ground—
Thud!
With a burst of footwork, my body was literally launched forward.
My upward strike collided with hers, and Hanabi’s sword flew through the air.
“...You.”
Hanabi stared at me with wide, rabbit-like eyes.
My speed and power were completely different now.
I squeezed every last bit of strength out of my aching legs.
And just as I was about to follow up—
BOOM!!!
The red goldfish that had looked like a flame burst apart in an explosion.
My body was thrown back, and Silver Wolf caught me as I staggered away.
“Are you okay...?”
“Cough, ngh. Shit... she’s fucking strong.”
Hanabi looked at me.
We glared at each other.
“Adrian.”
“Why do you keep calling me, you crazy bitch?”
“You owe me, don’t you?”
Right before I passed out in the warehouse.
That red energy that had cut into my body—Hanabi’s power.
“...Yeah.”
“Then could you just let this go without saying anything?”
Why was she making such a pitiful expression when she looked like she could wipe both of us out? I couldn’t figure it out. But the river had already been crossed. She had tried to kill Silver Wolf, and Hanabi had the power to kill us whenever she wanted.
“Too late.”
“...”
“A broken relationship doesn’t get stitched back together that easily. Even if you let this go now, you and Silver Wolf are going to fight again.”
“So you won’t take my side.”
“Honestly, why didn’t you wake me up sooner?”
I’m going to regress again.
That was the thought that came to me as I watched Hanabi put on the mask hanging at her waist.
I’d prepared myself for this. It was a quest at the highest difficulty, after all.
“I can’t die without doing anything.”
“...Adrian, I’m sorry. If you run away alone right now—”
“Fuck off. I’m holding back because I want to beat Silver Wolf up too.”
The emotional residue from the second run was gone now.
I knew Silver Wolf cared about me, sure.
But next run, you’re getting scolded!!!
“Hoo...”
As always.
The end, without regrets.
“Let’s fight without thinking about what comes after, Hanabi.”
Now then, let me see the bottom of you.
A fox mask split between red and white descended over Hanabi’s face.
The same mask as Aha’s, dyed entirely in red, descended over mine.
I focused.
Right now, I could do it.
If I had the bonus from the special effect.
My body was already burdened with injuries and fatigue.
And my understanding of [Elation] had suddenly deepened.
It was obvious I wouldn’t be able to keep using my body for long.
“[Acrobatics].”
About forty seconds was all I had to go all out while keeping my strength intact.
Without thinking, I poured every ounce of power into it.
Hanabi and I stomped the ground at the same time and vanished. I could feel Silver Wolf’s gaze following us as we flew into the air. Floating through the air, I stepped onto the apartment’s outer wall.
Kang! Kaaaanng!!!
We kicked off the wall again at the same time our swords clashed.
The red goldfish swam beside Hanabi.
All I could hear was the shriek of metal scraping against my eardrums.
I had no room for stray thoughts.
“[Sky Leap].”
“Shiro.”
Grrrk. An invisible shockwave slammed into me.
I heard the sound of my body being crushed. It struck my back, and the apartment wall shattered as I was blown away.
The moment I tried to step on the sky and exploit an opening, Hanabi reacted as if it were only natural. The goldfish that had been red had already turned white, staring straight at me.
Thirty-four seconds.
I planted a hand on the ground and sprang back up.
Before Hanabi could enter the apartment, I bounced away and flew back outside.
The moment her posture broke and Hanabi tried to seize the opening, swinging her sword down from above—
“...!”
I pulled my sword back and stepped on the air.
I ducked, then spun and kicked, striking Hanabi’s wrist with the top of my foot.
Even after taking the hit, Hanabi let go of her sword without a single moment’s hesitation.
Grabbing the sword with her other hand, she swung at me.
Even after stuffing my body full of power and preparing to die, she reacted the same way.
Worse, her reaction speed was faster than mine, and her strength was about equal to mine.
“Damn it.”
The short word slipped out.
Another shockwave came crashing down as if even the time to think was a luxury.
“[Over the Sky].”
Like clearing a ring or a vaulting horse, I leaped over the shockwave and charged Hanabi. It felt like I spent more time running along the apartment’s outer wall and floating in the air than I did fighting on the ground. We swung our swords without hesitation, barely dodging each other’s attacks.
I couldn’t use the revolver.
At this point, I’d be able to react to it.
But if this kept up, my body would reach its limit and I’d lose. That much was obvious.
Hanabi was in better shape than me even after fighting Silver Wolf.
Twenty-three seconds.
If I was going to die anyway—
I didn’t need pride, and I didn’t need stubbornness!
My blood vessels burst. Veins stood out over the sword in my hand as my heart swelled. Blood poured from my ears and nose, and I stared at Hanabi with bloodshot eyes. My blood flow accelerated, and blood began spreading from the wound in my chest.
The time I could keep fighting was dropping fast.
I knew my own condition better than anyone.
Ten seconds left.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
To make sure I hit you for certain.
I shoved energy my body absolutely could not endure into myself.
If Hanabi chose to go on the defensive and try to outlast me, it would be over. It was a gamble.
Like a bouncing ball, I kicked off the apartment wall and flew upward.
Crack.
A sharp thrust.
Amber light flashed.
Hanabi’s other wrist was pierced clean through and sent flying through the air.
“Kohaku.”
It followed. The goldfish, mixed with red and white, shimmered mottled in the air. A white shockwave, stained by red flames and fire, crashed down and shoved my body back into the wall.
“[Sky Leap]...!”
I endured it, taking the shockwave through my whole body.
I stomped on the crumbling wall and charged.
I broke through the dust cloud and faced Hanabi.
Three seconds.
Hanabi swung her sword with the remaining hand.
The moment I swung mine too, trying to time a counterattack—
In that brief span where I couldn’t even react—
My sword, swung to counter, cut through empty air.
Inside the mask, Hanabi’s eyes met mine.
One second.
She had deliberately charged in and swung a beat late.
She’d predicted I would react.
The tip of Hanabi’s sword trembled as it closed to point-blank range.
“...I lost.”
Flames surged, and then the sword was heated white-hot.
A shockwave of blinding white light.
Hanabi’s sword cut clean through my upper body, splitting the ground apart.
=======
『Ending 3 - Between Truth and Lies.』
Ignorance is the source of all sin.
It’s good to grow.
But right now, you’ve uncovered nothing.
If you don’t find the answer as soon as possible, you will die.
<■■>
♠ Successful challenges: 8
◆ Titles obtained: None
♥ Current points: +256 Pt
♣ Quests cleared: 0
Time limit - [ 695 : 54 : 24 ]
- At present, ■■■ ■■ cannot apply ■■ sa■■ pe■■ga.
May you reach destiny at the end of the star sea.
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