'I messed up.'
...
That was my single thought as I watched absurdity itself unfold before me...
My thoughts were racing unfathomably fast as the tensions around us heightened to an unprecedented level...
I could quite literally feel the amount of magic power being amassed in this single spot effortlessly.
Honestly, I could describe myself as terrified as Callum or Kira right now. And that's saying a lot, since they were pretty much at the very border of insanity, but for very different reasons...
I was quite sure that, judging by Haruto's standard, Sakura would be completely unable to respond to Myria's and Scarlet's combined power...
I was sure she'd die if my friends were even able to complete their chants...
And yes... sadly, despite my promise to forget her, and never even think about her again, I couldn't bring myself to calm down...
'This can't be happening!!!'
I could feel every fiber in my body screaming to help Sakura, yet... regardless of my intentions, I found myself unable to, regardless of whatever I devised...
It was all happening too fast...
I could barely even comprehend fully what was about to go down before my eyes...
But...
As I was falling into desperation while vividly picturing the entire guild being disintegrated...
And as the three girls were mere instants from bringing such a nightmare into a reality...
A voice echoed in my head...
A very feminine... and very familiar voice...
...
As if the world had suddenly been placed in slow motion, I heard the voice utter words I dreaded...
"So, no deaths, right〜?"
...
'You again...'
...
Immediately, it hit me. The strange perception around me... the uneasy feeling I was getting... and the quite particular throbbing of my sentiments...
I had suspected it, but this had just confirmed it.
"Hey Reiki〜"
...
It was none other than that monster...
I could hear her bloodthirsty voice resonating within my head as she spoke with a sadistic and darkening undertone...
"Reiki〜 How will you get out of this one〜?"
'...'
I did not want to answer... Every time I've gone out of my way to direct even a single word to this... thing... The events following our conversation would catapult into sorrow and depression...
I had decided long ago, I would attempt to ignore this voice from that point onwards... But as I held my stern and unchanging expression proudly... she...
chuckled?
"Hahaha〜 You're cute〜"
'...'
I really did try my best this time to remain with my poker face on, yet her sudden laughs had really caught me by surprise. Unlike her previous laughs, these seemed... happy? Just... what is she doing now?
It all seemed so unpredictable to me, yet... she didn't mind my obvious hesitation when she continued to speak her true intentions...
"Hehe〜 You know〜 this can all end in an instant〜"
'...'
I knew this was coming, yet I still wasn't prepared for it...
"Hehe〜 I know you're desperate right now〜 I can feel that you know〜?"
'...'
I knew perfectly well what she was scheming... yet... I couldn't simply ignore her proposal...
Right now, my childhood friend would be mutilated in an instant, the moment my friends had a chance to attack...
And despite her not being the same girl I remember... Despite her being broken... Despite her no longer being herself...
I couldn't let go...
As I lifted my head in determination, I slowly placed my hand on Boukyaku's hilt...
I could feel the power, the bloodlust, the dread... spreading over my body just by placing my hand over the jet-black handle...
And as I closed my eyes... I heard the teasing voice utter once more:
"So〜 No deaths right〜?"
...
'...yes...'
Sakura Kaneshiro's P.O.V.
"[Holy Beam...]"
"[Obscurum Chains...]"
"[Judgement Beam...]"
...
...
...
I had to...
I was left no choice other than to chant...
I didn't understand at all why this had come to be...
All I knew was that the moment Pietro announced my name... 2 of the girls from "The Curse" including the princess of the kingdom itself became engulfed in killing intent...
And... it wasn't like any other aura I've seen before...
'W-what's this strength...?'
It was quite literally indescribable...
The strength these girls had in them was quite literally unmeasurable...
I could every ounce of my body yelling in fear and pleading for my escape...
It felt as if a black hole of terror had just been opened before me, sucking my very essence by the second...
I was left petrified by the sheer pressure as my thoughts raced without interference...
'No... No... No... Please... Stop... I'm scared... I don't want to die... I don't want to be a...lo...ne...'
I had literally not a single sliver of confidence or hope left in my being as I was plunged into despair...
...
But...
This suffering... this pain... this despair... I had felt it all before...
And as darkness had filled my mind... I was able to picture a small glimmer of light within my mind...
...
...
...
'No...'
Unintentionally, I had just allowed my thoughts to bring back a painful memory... I had preferred to keep buried within my mind...
Yet... here it was... I could vividly picture his curly brown hair... his deep brown eyes... and his young smile fading away in the distance...
Just remembering him made my heart sob and ache in suffering...
I wanted to reach out to his gentle figure... yet the more I tried to reach... the further away it appeared...
...
...
...
Seeing that image... reignited my hate... my sadness and frustration...
My burning passion that had been brought down by that stupid b***ard of a person...
The one person in this world I won't forgive for ending the one I cared about the most...
I wasn't ready to die yet...
' I CAN'T!!! I WON'T!!! I WON'T DIE!!! NOT UNTIL I MAKE SURE I MAKE HIM PAY!!!'
...
I could feel a slight glimmer of control returning to me as I became ready to confront such absurd power...
I was no longer left a choice... nothing even mattered anymore... All that I could do... was try to avenge the one I lost...
But for that...
I...
Needed...
To...
Live...
As my eyes filled with determination once more... I could clearly picture the two girls beginning to chant...
Their stupidly absurd rates at which they gathered were nothing less but inconceivable...
But I couldn't allow myself to be taken aback...
I felt rage and drive filling my body as I ignored the single greatest concentration of magic I had seen ever since arriving at this absurd world...
And without hesitation, after seeing them begin to chant... I followed suit...
...
...
...
"[Judgement Beam...]"
...
I had done it now...
It was too late for anything...
This could very well be the end of my road...
I could clearly tell their chants were severalfold stronger than mine... but there was nothing more I could've done...
I could feel my body, mind, and consciousness blaming me for such a stupid act... but I had no regrets...
If I went back on my word now...
I wouldn't possibly be able to fight him...
He had done so much wrong and I had always... foolishly ignored it...
I always knew... it would never end well, yet I did nothing about it... I shrugged it off as a joke or as a phase...
But when he... killed... the one person who had always been there for me...
I could no longer look at them in the eyes...
...
I couldn't spend a single day where I didn't blame myself for such an atrocious event happening...
'If I could've been with him... none of this would've happened...'
The whole reason I decided to finally get stronger... to try and thrive as a hero in this damned world... was for him...
Even... if I could only try or consider avenging him... I would...
It didn't matter I could fail...
It didn't matter I would have to end up fighting everyone after killing their fake savior...
Honestly, they could lock me up for a 1,000 years and leave me to rot after for all I care...
But... I need... I must... kill him... otherwise... I'll never rest easy...
If that fake, disgusting, deceitful hero kept preaching his unreal achievements based on murder and lies... I would rather die...
Back on Earth, I had barely managed to stay sane from even existing within the same space as that abusive c**t...
If it wasn't for... him... I couldn't have possibly dealt with that...
But now...
He's... gone...
...
...
...
To be fully honest, I did not even want to kill that worthless faker... he isn't even worth it...
The only thing I truly wanted... was him...
I just wanted to bring him back... even though it was impossible...
And even now... as I thrust myself with staff and power forwards...
The only thing in my mind... was how different all would've been with him here...
As I felt the calcinating and growing magical power materializing, I closed my eyes as a final thought crossed my mind...
'I'll meet you soon... Reiki...'
...
...
...
But, life truly is strange...
When the infamous party, 'The Curse" entered my attention, I immediately noticed... her...
A girl who had been acting strangely since entering was now before me...
She had flowing silver hair, deep yellow, and bright blue eyes, a curvaceous figure and skin to die for...
She was probably the single most beautiful girl I've seen in my entire life...
And it was that same girl who had caught my attention at this point...
For some reason, her voice, her walk... even her laugh and smile... it all seemed so perfect... so glorious...
So familiar...
There was something about her that got me intrigued by her mysterious person...
Furthermore, I got even more curious when realizing that this girl was none other than the leader of the strongest party of the Litherm kingdom...
However, all of my curiosity and expectations were thrown out the window in disappointment after she began freaking out like a child by her friends' anger...
Honestly, if she was truly the leader she would've been able to control her peers, yet she was completely unable to...
...
But when all was said and done... with the most absurd amount of magic power being fired at terrifying speeds heading for me...
That same girl who had been freaking out up to this point... That same strange, yet cheerful and beautiful girl pulled off...
Something...
Reality-shattering...
...
As I was left chanting, the moment my chanting came to an end... the girl, in the blink of an eye, broke her restraints and unsheathed what was probably, the single most sinister-looking sword I've ever seen...
With a single swift and decisive movement... her sword... cut all of the magic away...
Without an abrupt explosion or even a bright reaction, without leaving me a single instant to even react... the blasts, the magic, the very thing I was prepared to die by...
Was all gone...
...
...
...
*BOOOOOM*
I was left in shock as I couldn't believe my eyes...
"S-she... just... slashed... magic...?"
Without much effort or time... the deadly blast was purged of this reality as a cloud of smoke was raised...
As far as I knew... that should've been impossible... No element, no weapon, no person... was able to provoke such a reaction... yet here it was...
Breaking all expectations, standards and even the natural laws...
From her companions to the guild masters... Everyone was left to stare in awe as I involuntarily uttered some words of shock...
"How can this... be...?"
None of us in the room could believe our sights... I guess this was a first, even for the members of her party...
But, as the smoke cleared...
Something was clearly not right...
The moment the smoke cleared... what was left behind send chills down my spine...
There she was... that peerless beauty with such refined details and proportions... yet... something ominous now made itself present...
...
...
...
Right there, replacing that girl's beautiful smile... now presented itself a non-existant emotion...
Her gaze, cold as ice...
Her lips, silent as a coffin...
Her soul, dry like a desert...
And as that same girl now stood expressionlessly... I could feel the tension growing around us...
And finally, she turned to me...
Reika's P.O.V.
I turned to face a petrified Sakura...
In the end, I had managed to remain calm and in control after receiving power from that... thing...
Furthermore, I could clearly see a shocked Myria and awed Scarlet in the corner of my eye... They were clearly staring at me in doubt...
However, I quickly restored them, as I told them, with an honest smile:
"Sorry... As much as you may want to protect me... that may be overdoing it... hehe"
They were both clearly relieved seeing I was still in control, yet... they still seemed confused by my actions...
However... I had... a final duty...
With that now solved... there was still one far more pressing issue on my mind...
I inhaled deeply as I readied myself mentally... and finally directed my words to Sakura...
"Sakura... I..."
(AN: Hey there!
First of all, I wanted to apologize for 2 things: First, being the obvious lack of chaoter yesterday, and second, being the 2 hour delay on today's chapter. I'm really sorry but school has been pressing hard lately. So, I'm sorry in advance if I miss any uploads :(
Anyways, here's my question for today:
Should I reveal Reika's identity to Sakura?
It should make the story far more interesting, but I'm asking because I first want to know how you feel about Sakura so far. (Try to answer this too please)
Anyways, with that out of the way, thanks for reading, voting and sharing my story so far!
Thanks)