Chapter 246: What’s Wrong with a World of Fantasy!

Boom —

Suddenly, the sky tore through the dark clouds as silver liquid metal poured down from above.

“What?”

A flash of surprise crossed Pluto’s face. He abruptly halted his flight and looked up at the silver liquid metal dragon that was coalescing overhead.

Within the head of that giant dragon, Shadow Girl’s figure was embedded, her upper body exposed.

“Aren’t you supposed to be dead!? How could you…”

“Idiot!”

Jiang Jian Yue also stopped, tossing her rotary machine gun back into her storage space. “Didn’t you do any… research before attacking?”

Jiang Jian Yue hadn’t expected that Pluto wouldn’t even know about the Backup Rollback System. These days, even a child on the streets of Tokyo knew about that thing.

Roar —

The dragon let out a thunderous roar, spitting out silver liquid metal that instantly covered the sky as it poured down.

Pluto gave a furious roar of his own. His surging Purple Flame transformed into blooming lotuses, which shot toward the sky in clusters.

Jiang Jian Yue watched as figures continuously descended from the sky, landing on the surrounding buildings.

She knew in her heart that Koji Hattori had begun implementing the backup plan they had previously arranged.

Thus, she immediately disengaged from the battle and flew toward the location where she had hidden Yuki Asahi.

At the entrance of a small alley, Jiang Jian Yue landed steadily and hurried to clear the trash off Yuki Asahi’s body.

“Yuki!”

Jiang Jian Yue called out softly. She hadn’t expected that this guy still wouldn’t be awake by now.

There should still be some time left on his Backup Rollback System. Should she just send him out to wake him up?

Clang —

The Swift Sword left its sheath, its tip pressing against Yuki Asahi’s heart.

‘This is… a little…’

‘I can’t bring myself to do it.’

Even though she knew Yuki Asahi wouldn’t actually die, the tip of her blade still trembled slightly.

Just as she was hesitating, she suddenly felt a surge of palpitation.

‘Hmm?’

That feeling of palpitations rapidly intensified. A trace of pain appeared on Jiang Jian Yue’s cold face as she looked up at the slumbering Yuki Asahi before her.

A golden light was leaking from the slits of Yuki Asahi’s tightly closed eyes.

“Yuki!” Jiang Jian Yue thought he had woken up and reached out her hand, wanting to pat his face.

Boom —

The emotion of fear within Jiang Jian Yue’s heart hit her like a heavy punch. Her body went soft, and she collapsed onto the ground, her pupils trembling.

She knew that Yuki Asahi was using his Chantui ability, and… it seemed he was unconsciously performing “self-protection”?

What exactly was happening?

……

His fist slammed into the floor, and blood flowed freely.

Yuki Asahi looked at the panicked “Jiang Jian Yue” beneath him, his heaving chest gradually calming down.

“I know…”

Yuki Asahi muttered to himself, “I know…”

The “Jiang Jian Yue” in the Illusionary Realm stopped struggling. Those blood-red eyes no longer held panic, but a sort of all-knowing pity.

“What do you know?”

The illusory Jiang Jian Yue’s voice drifted from far to near, sounding incredibly hollow.

The Illusionary Realm shifted instantly.

It was no longer a dim classroom, but the center of last night’s… Arena.

Beams of light focused on the two of them from behind, like lights on some sort of stage play.

Behind them, the “Yuki Asahi” and “Jiang Jian Yue” were engaged in the battle that had decided their agreement.

But this time, the illusion was playing in Slow Motion, and the perspective zoomed in on that critical moment.

“Do you see it now?”

The voice entwined around his nerves.

“It wasn’t that you caught a flaw in my defense at all. It was I who intentionally gave that ‘victory’ to you.”

Yuki Asahi’s body gave a violent shudder.

‘All of this… of course I knew.’

“I am the Missy of DRG, possessing resources you cannot even imagine. I can easily decide the fates of countless people.”

“And you? Even if you have awakened a powerful ability, in my eyes, you are still an object that needs care or even pity.”

“The finish line you strive for with all your might is merely my casual starting point.”

“You will never be able to catch up to me.”

“Shut up!” Yuki Asahi roared, his lips trembling. The hand gripping her neck tightened even more, and his eyes turned blood-red.

“You think you won?”

Unexpectedly, “Jiang Jian Yue” seemed completely unaffected as she continued to speak.

“Admit it, Yuki Asahi.”

“You can never truly defeat me. Your strength, your victory, even your status as my ‘boyfriend’… they are nothing more than my charity.”

“In this Illusionary Realm, at least you can see the Truth clearly and vent your anger.”

“Why bother returning to that reality full of lies, where you have to look up at me?”

“Just sleep like this.”

“The efforts you cherish, the sweat you shed in the middle of the night, the moments you thought you could catch up to me… all of it was just self-indulgence.”

“I was the one who paved the road for you. I was the one who shielded you from the wind and rain. It was only to look after your pathetic self-esteem that I stuffed that victory into your hands, as if I were coaxing a child.”

“Jiang Jian Yue’s” voice gradually became ethereal, echoing throughout the dark space and burrowing into Yuki Asahi’s cerebral cortex through every available opening.

Yuki Asahi’s hand, which was choking her neck, began to tremble before slowly letting go.

His strength was fading.

It wasn’t physical strength, but the strength of the “Heart” that supported him to stand up.

‘If all of this is fake… if even that kiss, that word “Darling,” and that future promised under the moonlight were all just charity from the strong to the weak…’

Then what was the point of his struggle?

His golden pupils gradually dimmed.

Darkness surged from all directions, seeking to swallow him completely.

“That’s right… I’m a waste…”

Yuki Asahi loosened his grip and knelt on the ground, staring at the floor with hollow eyes.

“I can’t do anything…”

That familiar sense of inferiority transformed into countless cold hands that grabbed his ankles, dragging him toward the abyss.

It was a deeper abyss of despair than even Maeda Kaiichi’s bullying.

Because there was no light from Jiang Jian Yue there.

Because Jiang Jian Yue’s light had turned into a sharp sword that blinded his eyes.

……

Vision World, the alleyway.

Jiang Jian Yue used all her strength to get close to the youth, curling up beside him and deathly gripping his arms with both hands.

Her cold face, which usually carried a hint of arrogance, was now covered in tear stains.

The fluctuations unconsciously emitted from Yuki Asahi’s body took the most extreme despair, fear, and self-loathing from the depths of his heart, magnified them by 100s or 1,000s of times, and then poured them all into Jiang Jian Yue’s brain.

It was a flood of emotion sufficient to destroy a person’s sanity.

Jiang Jian Yue felt as if she had become a child abandoned by the entire world, placed upon an endless ice field where the cold pierced her bones.

All her defenses, all her disguises, and all her “Missy” airs collapsed at this moment.

“It hurts… it hurts…”

She cried like a little girl who couldn’t find her way home, her face smeared with mucus and tears, completely losing her usual image.

“Yuki… I’m begging you… wake up…”

She desperately shook Yuki Asahi’s body, but no matter how hard she tried, the youth’s eyes remained tightly shut.

The expression on his face was painful and distorted, and the golden light leaking from his eyes grew weaker and weaker, as if it would go out at any moment.

“Don’t leave me…”

Jiang Jian Yue buried her face in Yuki Asahi’s chest, her voice hoarse and broken.

“I don’t want to be alone… I really don’t want to be alone anymore…”

“I’m so scared… if you aren’t by my side…”

“We clearly agreed… that you would be my Darling… that you would stay with me forever…”

Great fear made her incoherent. She didn’t even know what she was saying; she was simply instinctively pulling out all the deepest weaknesses from the bottom of her heart.

“I’m an idiot… I’m not strong at all…”

“If you aren’t here… I can’t do anything right…”

“I’m not some high-and-mighty giver of charity… I’m only clinging to your side because I need you! You jerk!”

“Waaah… please… Asahi… save me…”

“Don’t leave me alone…”

Her tears soaked Yuki Asahi’s combat uniform. The scalding tears followed the fabric, appearing to seep into his very heart.

……

Within the abyss of the Illusionary Realm.

Most of Yuki Asahi’s body had already sunk into the dark mire.

Above him, that “Jiang Jian Yue” still maintained a cold smile, her eyes full of contempt.

“Is this the end? How boring.”

“Then disappear completely and become my nourishment.”

Right at that moment.

A drop of warm water seemed to penetrate through layers of dimensional barriers, dripping onto Yuki Asahi’s hollow cheek.

Next came a voice.

A cry filled with trembling sobs, even carrying a hint of spoiled whining.

Yuki Asahi’s sinking body gave a sudden jolt.

‘This voice… is it Yue?’

Yuki Asahi looked up blankly, staring at the high-and-mighty “Jiang Jian Yue” before him.

The illusory “Jiang Jian Yue” was still rambling: “Reality is just this cruel; you can only look up at me—”

However, the sound of the crying from reality became increasingly clear and more heartbreaking in his ears.

The fear and dependence contained within those cries were so real—so real that they made Yuki Asahi’s heart throb with pain.

A massive sense of dissonance exploded in his mind.

This “Jiang Jian Yue” before his eyes, who was perfect, powerful, and cold… and the Jiang Jian Yue in his ears who was crying and screaming “I’m an idiot” and “I can’t be without you”… they weren’t the same person at all, were they?

“Heh…”

A light chuckle suddenly escaped Yuki Asahi’s throat.

Within his golden pupils that were about to be extinguished, a flame suddenly flickered to life.

“What are you laughing at?” The illusory “Jiang Jian Yue” frowned slightly, seemingly sensing that something was wrong.

“I’m laughing at… myself… for being such an idiot.”

Yuki Asahi slowly raised his hand, grabbing the dark mire that was choking his throat.

“I actually… really believed your nonsense.”

“Jian Yue… she isn’t as perfect as you say.”

Yuki Asahi suddenly exerted force, the muscles on his arms bulging as he forced the upper half of his body out of the mire.

“She cries, she’s afraid of pain, she acts like a spoiled brat, and she plays dirty…”

“She isn’t some high-and-mighty deity at all…”

A blinding golden light erupted from within Yuki Asahi’s body.

It was no longer that weak, firefly-like glow, but a radiance as brilliant as the scorching sun.

Under the illumination of this light, the surrounding dark mire receded as quickly as melting snow.

“Impossible! How could you possibly break free from the shackles!?” A look of terror appeared on the illusory “Jiang Jian Yue’s” face.

Yuki Asahi stood up straight. The golden light on his body began to condense. It was no longer a vague aura, but had transformed into something resembling actual crystals.

He looked at the crumbling illusion before him, his gaze firm.

“She’s crying so loudly… if I don’t go and comfort her, she’s going to throw a tantrum again.”

Crack —

The sky of the Illusionary Realm shattered completely.