Chapter 522: First Anniversary Extra Chapter ~~ The Visitors Beginnings Part 3 ②: Beneath the Radiant Sun ~~ (1/2)

As I dodged and deflected the light bullets raining down like a torrential downpour, I looked at the enemy in the distance.

It's like she's something straight out of a beautiful painting, a beautifully unrealistic being with 20 wings…… The battle against the mysterious being that suddenly appeared in front of Kaito-san and I became more and more intense as time went on.

This strength, this magic power…… I'm not sure who this person is, but there's a chance that she's a god from somewhere. It's just an estimation but perhaps, this angel's combat ability…… may equal to or better than Kuro-san. Considering that each of those light bullets raining down on me contained enough magic power to wipe out an entire island, what I'm certain about is that I'm fighting against a monster beyond human comprehension.

If this opponent is comparable to Kuro-san…… I was already helpless compared to the past Kuro-san, so it should be normal for me to feel despair knowing that I'll be fighting against an opponent that I'm no match against.

However, the emotions I felt welling up within my heart were completely different.

……I don't feel like I would lose against her. Ahh, when was the last time I felt this way? This feeling……

I was certainly much more powerful in terms of both physical ability and magic power than I had back when I was Alicia.

But when I just came to this world, what came to my mind when Kuro-san defeated me was ”When did I become so weak?”.

It may be contradictory, but I had indeed felt like I had become weaker than when I was Alicia.

Back then, I never lost heart, no matter how strong my opponent was. If the me at that time couldn't win against someone, I will grow while in battle against that person to become strong enough to win…… If it was for the people I cared about, that's something I was able to do as a matter of course.

I guess you could say that it was all about my mentality. The Heart Tool is a special power that becomes stronger the brighter one's heart shines…… It's a power that can turn a sword into an invincible blade or a blunt one, depending on the user's mind.

My heart was broken once, and I lost the strength I once had. I didn't lose the power of Ἑκατόγχειρες itself, but as long as my heart is broken, Ἑκατόγχειρες would never reach its true power.

With Kuro-san's guidance, I was able to make use of my magic power to the fullest…… but I haven't grown a bit since then.

The feeling I once had, where I could be as strong as I wanted to be…… had been lost for a long time.

”The bonds I weave are my strength”…… That's what I used to say when I was Alicia. Those words are unmistakably the truth…… but having lost my heart, my bonds…… I've become incredibly weak.

But now, it's different. The light bullets released by the mysterious angel were certainly getting faster and faster in speed and power, but I could feel my speed was getting faster and faster along with it.

My heart beats loudly, and my body is overflowing with bottomless energy…… Ahh, I see. That's right, isn't it?

My heart that should have been broken…… before I knew it, Kaito-san picked it up and gave it a new shape. As Alice, I had been reborn with a new heart.

[……F- Fufufu…… Hahaha……]

A smile reflexively appeared from my lips. It's back…… My power…… My strength!

[Since ”I've lost everyone”, I've always, always been incomplete, as if I'm using incompatible parts in place of my insufficiency.]

[……Magic Power, Radical, Ascend?]

[There’s an enemy in front of me that I need to defeat, and behind me is my important person that I want to protect…… Ahhh, this is it…… This is the real me…… Finally, I’m finally “catching up to my old self”……]

My heart pulsed so fast as if it's going to burst open. A searing heat dwells within my entire body, and as if to match with my emotions, the light of Ἑκατόγχειρες dancing around me pulsates.

[This is—— At this moment—— The farthest my heart had reached—— Exceed my limits—— And now, weave the world! ——Ἑκατόγχειρες!!!]

This is the ultimate form of Ἑκατόγχειρες, the ability that I wasn't able to use in my battle with Kuro-san. Bringing all the bonds I accumulated into my body, I add them to my power.

The power that once weaved the wishes and hopes of people around the world to defeat the Evil God…… Just as there is no end to people's desires, there is no limit to my power.

[Iris, Noel…… Everyone, lend me your strength. I won’t let anyone steal Kaito-san, I don’t want to be parted with Kaito-san……. and I will not be defeated by anyone! Come…… Let’s begin! Let’s kill a God for the second time!]

With endless infinite power in my body, I drew my blade to kill the unknown god.

……Well, that battle ended up being called off. ……Whatever, I guess that doesn't matter. The big problem for me was after that.

I've caught up with my old self. The moment I realized that it was all thanks to meeting and falling in love with Kaito-san…… I suddenly feel terrified.

The reason I was trying to fall in love was so that I could follow Iris in death…… so, if my love for Kaito-san is fulfilled…… I ask myself, will I really have to die?

I want to stay with Kaito-san, laugh with him, forever and ever…… That was unmistakably my wish. But I suddenly felt uneasy, wondering what Kaito-san would think about this.

I was trying to fall in love in order to fulfill my best friend's wish and die. Frankly speaking, I think that's something a terrible person would say. If I conveyed my love to him that contained the desire for ruin within it, I wonder if Kaito-san would despise me? Would he pull away from me? Just the thought that happening scared me so much.

On one hand, I'm sure Kaito-san wouldn't do such a thing, he would accept me with open arms…… but thinking about the possibility of that not happening wouldn't leave my mind.

But more than that, I didn't know what I wanted to do. Whether I want to live or I want to die…… I wasn't so sure about how I felt now.

In the end, that hesitation I was feeling was crushed by Fate-san's straight punch…… To be honest, it was quite unexpected that Fate-san had such a passionate side to her.