Chapter 33
Chapter 33
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: The Pink Spiral
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[The Pink Spiral]
In a moment that stretched into eternity.
Just as I was about to grasp something that was slowly coming together in my mind.
A trembling hand grabbed my leg.
Clutch—!
I looked down at the desperate gesture.
"...Alvitt?"
"S-Senior...!"
Alvitt spoke, her face completely pale from the black mist.
"Run—!!"
"...!"
"We...! We can't... can't run... I think we're going to die...! So...!"
The girl with tear-filled brown eyes.
She was genuinely trying to save me.
Images of her everyday life, things I had seen before, came to mind.
"Run—!!!"
Rejoicing.
Raging.
Grieving.
Cheering.
The life I had watched over... your life was always so genuine.
The girls living in this world were always genuine.
"..."
I looked at my juniors, trembling in terror.
'Alvitt, Lotha, Kara...'
Was I ever genuine with you?
I, who had been wearing the mask of 'Clara'...
'What I wanted to give you was...'
I wanted to teach you about love, hope, and friendship.
I wanted to show you the beauty and brilliant hearts that exist in this world.
I wanted you to embrace those shining lessons and see the story's ending.
I wasn't a player raising you...
'...I was your senior.'
The moment I realized that.
The masks I had worn until now fell away.
Only one thing remained: the sincerity of being a 'senior'.
"...I see."
I gently set Lotha down on the ground.
"...!"
Lotha's face was one of resignation.
Tears streamed down her face as she nodded, biting her lip.
But what she had braced herself for was not going to happen.
Alvitt and Kara's faint cries reached my ears.
"Hurry!! Run—!!"
"Flee...! Please...!"
The girls who were always so confident and strong were trembling with such fear.
Yet even in this swamp of terror, they were trying to save me.
'Even as [The Faded Spiral], even as [Clara the Foolish Senior]... you're still trying to protect me.'
Just as Frida said.
The flower that bloomed from our meeting...
...was truly, incomparably beautiful.
'Then I suppose I have to show you my sincerity, too.'
I wiped away Lotha's tears.
Her cat ears twitched in surprise.
Her eyes rebuked me, asking why I wasn't running.
I caressed her cheek and said.
"Don't worry."
"...Senior?"
"Senior...!"
"Senior... Comrade...!"
"...I'll show you."
My juniors sat on the ground, looking up at me.
Their eyes were filled with questions.
Why aren't you running?
Aren't you the powerless [Faded Spiral]?
Deceived by the mask I wore, their sincere feelings were now in conflict.
"I'm sorry... for everything up until now."
I decided to answer their questions with action alone.
"From now on, watch how a [Spiral] moves forward."
"...!"
"...!"
"...!"
My [Spiral] is still shining.
'But I can't win at 100%.'
Following an instinctual pull, I walked toward the black crystals scattered around us. And I picked up the largest one.
Shhhk—
A heavy crystal, the size of a human head.
Within it, I could feel the Ether that the apostles of had collected by kidnapping countless students.
'I can feel it. I know where this Ether came from.'
Strangely, the moment I made my decision, I could feel something beyond what I'd ever felt before.
I could feel what lay beyond Ether, the power that constitutes this world.
'In that case, I...'
I poured my [Basic Ether] into the crystal containing the Ether of so many others.
Not chasing the right answer.
Following the path of my heart.
I simply pour in my Ether.
Amazingly... it reacted with my Ether without any issue.
Two years after arriving in this world, I had imbued an object with [Basic Ether] for the first time.
It was a long, winding road to get here.
I gave Alvitt a proud smile and said.
"[Basic Ether]... I finally did it!"
"...!"
Alvitt's brown eyes widened as far as they could go.
Pssssshhh—
The crystal instantly reacted with my Ether and dissolved.
From within it, I could feel the Ether of hundreds of students.
I could feel their memories, their hearts, their love, which constitute this world.
"..."
The kidnapping incident where I rescued Lotha.
The countless students who were caught up in it.
The incident was resolved safely, and they were freed.
But their Ether had remained in the clutches of .
'I'm so glad this Ether didn't become your memento.'
I was grateful for that.
The path I followed with my heart was more brilliant than the "correct" path of the original story.
'I'm glad I can protect your brilliant school lives.'
From the very beginning, I had been following my heart more than the right answers.
'I thank the heavens... for helping me realize all this.'
And so…
I could dare to ask the Ether left behind by the kidnapped girls.
To join me.
If 100% isn't enough, then I'll take everyone's power and charge forward with 200%.
If 200% isn't enough, I'll carry everyone's hearts and advance with 300%.
'Just a story of pure grit...!'
But.
This world may have started as a game, but it is not a game.
Let's forget about probabilities and correct answers.
Forget.
Everything.
Follow.
My heart.
Psssssshhhhh—
As the crystal dissolved, Ether spread out like dust.
It began to cling to my body.
Slowly, it started to glow pink and dance.
A vast amount of pink Ether appeared, pushing back the black mist.
Reacting to it, the hundreds of black crystals nearby began to dissolve.
The space filled with pink.
All the Ether within a radius of dozens of meters responded to my heart.
A true power of the world, different from the state of Apex.
"The power... of the heart...!"
Like the spiral flower born from our meeting.
Like the school uniform a single girl protected all on her own.
Like the cherry blossoms that bless the girls' new beginning on a late spring day.
Like the peach blossoms from long ago, at the moment the heroes' story began.
Past and future.
Previous life and current life.
The color of everything I've ever loved was pink.
"The name of my soul... is [Spiral]."
Everyone watching my actions was horrified.
Even the [Priest of Corrosion] loosened his grip, staring in bewilderment.
He could only gape, stunned by my sudden actions.
"...!"
"...?!"
Ether is the power of [Fate] that constitutes the world.
To take another's Ether into one's body is foolish.
External Ether, not built up by oneself, was nothing more than an impurity.
Unless you were like , who prayed to a dragon and changed their very existence.
Taking in the Ether of hundreds of people... was no different from suicide.
Everyone who knew this fact screamed.
"Senior—!!"
"What are you doing!! Stop it right now—!!"
"Pink hair...?! What are you doing!?"
"Spi...ral?!"
As expected.
Foolish acts come with a price.
Drip—
A hot nosebleed suddenly gushed out.
I tasted the bitter tang of blood in my mouth for the first time in a while.
My heart pounded as if I'd chugged a case of coffee.
But I didn't let it show, pressing forward and declaring.
Because it still wasn't enough to surpass 100%... I absorbed all the surrounding Ether and declared.
"The name of my soul is [Spiral]...! The color of my soul... is [Pink]...!"
KWAAAAAAAH—!!
Pink Ether spread out for dozens of meters.
It willingly lent me its power.
It approached as if to support my choice, telling me I was right.
I could now exert 200% of my power.
But just by accepting 200% of that power.
My entire body screamed, telling me to stop.
My heart raced, and my body felt like it would burst at any moment.
Then I had to steel my heart.
'Still not enough...!'
KWAAAANG—!
I will take one more step forward.
KWAAAANG—!!
With the step I took, all the black crystals around us scattered and floated into the air. The hearts and Ether of the girls sleeping within them reacted and added to my power.
The [Priest of Corrosion], startled by that single step.
"Kgh—!!"
Befitting the most cautious of the executives, he reacted quickly to the abnormal situation.
He hastily threw Eir aside and tried to return to his true form.
"Keuk?!"
Eir quickly righted herself, her eyes wide with shock as she looked my way.
"[The Pink Spiral]...!!"
The [Priest of Corrosion]'s body writhed as he rapidly prepared to transform.
"What is this Ether?! It's a color that didn't appear in the prophecy?!"
Ah.
He was flustered for the first time.
'So you didn't know about me.'
It seems that vaunted prophecy didn't include me or Clara.
How could it possibly predict a spiral spinning out of control?
Then let me tell you now.
My existence.
My name.
My soul.
My form.
The way I move forward.
It is the [Spiral].
For the first time in this world, I poured out my true feelings. I drew out all the overwhelming love and realization from the depths of my heart and roared.
"I am—!! The strongest in the Academy City—!! [The Pink Spiral]—!!"
"...!"
"Senior!!"
"Spiral...!!"
The truth is, I wanted to fight alongside everyone.
The truth is, I want to be a little more honest.
The truth is, I still wanted to beat Hilde.
'I want to become... the truly strongest!!!'
100% more sincere than I've ever been.
200% more powerful than I've ever been.
300% more perfect than any path I've walked.
A fist traveling on a more perfect trajectory than any I've thrown before. A single step taken with my most honest heart. They all reacted and began to shine.
In this moment.
The entire space was dyed pink.
Everything within a radius of hundreds of meters was dyed pink.
Pink.
The most honest color.
Lemon.
The most refreshing finish.
Sherbet.
It is...
『Clara! Let's all go to a cafe and get some delicious sherbet later!』
...a memory.
I poured all of it into my fist and unleashed it.
Thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of millions of hearts were born from that 300% heart.
Amplified dozens of times over by the near-infinite power of everyone.
'An attack I could never have done alone!'
And so, carrying the hearts left behind by countless girls, I unleashed a massive, hundred-meter-long spiral made of infinite hearts.
"Final Secret Art!!! Pink!! Lemon!! Sherbet—!!!"
KWAAAAAAAAANG—!!!
Let there be light.
This is both a greeting and a farewell from the former strongest of the Academy City.
The great pink flash is a crystallization of countless hearts and memories.
The spiral pouring from my fist is a universe infinitely engraved with a girl's love.
KUGUGUGUNG—!!!
The ominous energy and the very earth around us shattered, sucked into the pink universe. Those nearby hastily fled, taking cover from the storm of destruction.
Was it because I controlled the range so the kids wouldn't get caught in it?
Or was this the great price for borrowing the world's secrets on a whim?
I felt a terrible pain.
"Kuhk...?!"
Gush—!!
Blood poured from my nose and mouth.
The veins in my arms and legs burst, forming bruises.
But even through the soul-grinding pain, I kept my eyes fixed on the enemy.
Look at me.
I am the spiral now.
A pink flash of destruction.
KWAGAGAGAGAGA—!!
A pink storm raged, obscuring my vision as the earth buckled.
Everything in the several-hundred-meter radius before my fist was destroyed and vanished.
The pink pillar deleted everything that threatened the girls.
A spiral where everything vanishes in an instant.
But even within the pink storm, he was still alive.
He was enduring, his near-infinite Ether being whittled away.
KUOOOOOH—!!
The [Priest of Corrosion] had taken my ultimate art—a stroke of heavenly luck, amplified dozens of times over—and was still alive.
Grrrrrrrr—!!
The roar of a dragon.
He was returning to his true form.
Even within the massive pillar of the spiral, his shape slowly emerged.
Four wings blotted out the moonlight, covering the dim light of dawn.
An ominous dragon, like a centipede's body with hundreds of horns embedded in it.
I saw it.
"...!"
Taat—!!
I leaped up and prepared a second attack.
KROOOOOOOH—!!
Even in his incomplete transformation, the [Priest of Corrosion] fully regained his posture, raising his massive, tens-of-meters-long body into the air. He opened his mouth wide, preparing to spew ominous black Ether in my direction.
'If he flies into the sky like this, the attack range...!'
At that moment.
Eir shot out from beneath the dragon's shadow.
Her bizarre sword was wreathed in black and crimson flames.
Tatat—!!
Eir charged toward the dragon that had instantly taken flight.
Her sword drew a wheel of fire, like the chariot wheel of the old gods.
It was a flame of pruning, capable of purifying even the distortions of the World Tree.
CHWAAAAAK—!!
Eir carved a massive, fire-wheel-like path with her sword toward the dragon's belly.
"[Pruning Fire Wheel]—!!!"
Her name is [Trajectory].
The way the girl moves forward.
The wheel of flame spins.
CHWAAAAAAK—!!
The spin of the girl in the black leather coat.
It became a colossal flame hundreds of meters in size.
The great fire wheel spun countless times, grinding away the dragon's scales.
KADADADADADAK!!
KROOOOOOH—!!
"UAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!"
With bloodshot eyes and all her strength, Eir too swung her sword with a resolve that surpassed her limits.
I thrust my fist toward the point where the dragon and the wheel of fire intersected.
The pink spiral formed once more, becoming a storm.
Wreathed in that massive flash, I closed in on the dragon.
And unleashed my attack.
"Final Secret Art—!!! Pink!! Lemon!! Sherbeeeet—!!!"
The spiral extended.
KWAAAAAAAAANG—!!!
KUOOOOOOOOOH—!!!
The great fire wheel dances.
The pink flash sings.
The black dragon roars beneath the light of dawn.
'To think it's still not dead after a surprise attack during its incomplete transformation...!'
The evil dragon who prepared the most insidious trap.
Before this most unreasonable miracle, it was slowly trying to escape.
If it escaped now, it would surely return with an even more insidious trap.
'This very moment...! If not now, when all these miracles have aligned, I'll never catch it!!'
The dragon spread its massive wings, slowly rising into the air.
Eir could no longer reach the dragon and fell back to the ground.
"Dammit—!!!"
"..."
Even if I died here, I resolved to burn everything away, so that those left behind would not have to struggle against this absurdity.
300% is not enough.
With a pink spiral wrapped around my right hand, I circled wide in the sky. My fist, wreathed in the pink spiral, drew a massive pink spiral.
PAAAAAAAAT!!!
The path of a huge, spinning spiral.
I chased the evil dragon, drawing a pink spiral across the faint dawn sky.
I can't see ahead anymore.
My mind is hazy, as if it's about to drift away.
Swept away by the power.
Even if I look precarious.
My heart was aimed at that evil dragon's heart.
At last, the determined spiral covered the vast sky.
I can hear the beat of its wings close by.
Beneath the dawn light, I can hear the breath of the fleeing beast.
Through my blurred vision, I shouted with my final resolve.
"Final Secret Art—!!!"
The curve of the sky.
The light of dawn.
The evil dragon's heart.
The pink spiral.
Everything gathers.
[Pink Lemon Sherbet]
KWAAAAAAAAANG—!!
KUOOOOOOOOOH—!!
In my fading consciousness.
I pierced the fleeing dragon's heart.
My consciousness slowly slipped away.
Amidst the pain that felt like I was about to die, I gave a refreshing laugh.
'What the, he's the final executive... but he died like a first boss.'
Ah…
I'm worried about my juniors.
I miss Hilde. It's been a while.
The wind whipping past my ears.
My body swayed limply as I fell.
"..."
I closed my eyes, bracing myself.
Thump—
"...?"
It's warm.
But for some reason, the touch feels uncertain.
I struggled to open my eyes and look.
Before me, I saw the tears of a silver-white-haired girl.
The teardrops glittered, reflecting the dawn.
"...Hil...de...?"
"...Lara."
Is this a dream?
Or a vision before death?
In my hazy mind, I uttered the words I had held back for so long.
"I'm... sorry."
"..."
Keoheok—
Perhaps I spoke too much for someone who just used a forbidden power.
With those words, my mind slowly faded to black.
I could feel the blood flowing from my mouth, soaking the front of my clothes.
And then, I lost consciousness.