In front of him stood a girl.
The girl in the splendid blue kimono stared at him with her emotionless red eyes.
His instincts rang like a bell as those piercing eyes seemed to penetrate him.
‘If I stay still, I’ll be done for.’
Thus, he immediately tried to move his legs, but as if it were already too late, the girl reached out her hand and spoke.
“The beginning and the end of all life is here.”
As she spoke, droplets of water began to scatter around her, and the world transformed violently.
A palace.
The endlessly vast palace sparkled with countless water-colored ornaments, and the girl in the kimono had somehow perched herself on a gigantic throne, legs crossed.
“The bell that heralded the beginning melts into droplets, scattering and disappearing.”
With those words, a tremendous roar echoed, and droplets of water began to fall from the ceiling of the palace. The droplets gathered beside the girl and began to take the shape of a long spear.
He wanted to run, but he couldn’t move.
He wanted to look away, but he couldn’t turn his gaze.
“A bird that witnessed the end escaped its cage but will ultimately sink into the sea.”
Before long, the girl seated on the throne slowly began to change.
Her jet-black hair gradually colored itself in a silvery-blue, and her crimson eyes already shone in vibrant hues.
Only then did he understand.
That the opponent standing in front of him was some kind of existence, even one devoid of intelligence couldn’t help but understand.
“Child who knows not the beginning. Child who knows not the end.”
The spear made of water pierced through his body at a speed like lightning.
But for some reason, he felt no pain. Instead, he felt a warmth, even just a little.
As the spear melted away, it enveloped his body and took on a spherical shape.
The sphere had climbed onto the girl’s hand.
“Now, fall into the abyss of reincarnation…”
With those words, it scattered and disappeared in vibrant hues.
In the end, he quietly… murmured, “Beautiful.”
★
[Prepare for the fateful showdown! #Star’s Flow2nd Generation #Kainoh Izumi #Akabane Yukari]
“Be, before we start, I watched the 3rd awakening battle video again… Isn’t it super cool?!”
[Certainly, the change in hair and eye color in the middle had me spellbound.]
– Doesn’t it feel too much like a middle schooler’s delusion? LOL
“Ha?! This is obviously cool! Don’t joke around, you!”
I can’t forgive those who insult another me!
Actually, from what I heard in the community, everyone is praising it as the highest quality among the new heroes from this year’s fateful showdown.
If someone says this feels like a middle schooler’s delusion, that person is the strange one.
But the actual performance is pretty trashy.
What a shame….
– So is this what Mei-chan is like when she doesn’t stutter?
– Usually, Mei-chan only doesn’t stutter when she’s excited, so it feels a bit different.
Scrolling through the chatroom, I discovered that surprisingly, there were many compliments about my voice.
I was shocked to see so many positive evaluations during yesterday’s ego-surfing.
Of course, I never deny that my voice is youthful.
It’s common sense that a beautiful girl also has a beautiful voice.
However, my voice is typically quite high-pitched, so I thought it wouldn’t fit this cool atmosphere, yet for some reason, it surprisingly matched incredibly well.
Once the stuttering from my usual voice disappeared, it seemed to blend well with the cool atmosphere or something like that.
…Well, that’s why I got the strange nickname of Ice Princess at school.
It’s still spreading for bizarre reasons, though.
Of course, all this was edited after recording, cutting out all the stuttered parts…
I guess it’s my job to protect the illusion of Izutomo.
– Honestly, this is an interpretation inconsistency. LOL
– When you think of Mei-chan normally, it doesn’t fit at all.
– So ultimately, doesn’t that mean all interpretations from the first to the end are inconsistent?
“…Uh, no? I’m a complete ultra, popular girl JK, and actually, I’m a water avatar… So this coolness fits me quite well, doesn’t it?! Right, Akabane?!”
[…Well, since we haven’t even appeared in the event story yet, I think it’s okay to wait a little longer.]
Please don’t dodge the question!
★
[Well then, shall we really get started?]
“Alright.”
On the right of the gacha screen was me; on the left was Akabane.
I can’t believe my illustrated work is being used in a game like this.
To be honest, I still can’t fully grasp it.
But what matters now isn’t that; it’s the fact that it’s time for battle.
Akabane has 973 jewels, and I have 1698 jewels, almost double her amount, but that doesn’t matter at all.
The battle is determined by who draws the card for ‘Kainoh Izumi’ first.
[Who do you want to go first, Izumi? It doesn’t matter since I’ll win anyway, A-kak!]
“Simultaneously!”
[Are we going for a direct showdown? That sounds fun! Then here we go!]
With those words, I pressed the ‘Hero Summon’ button, and the screen transitioned to the card summoning animation.
Ten cards began to unfold.
And….
“Whoa?!”
A golden card in the third position was engulfed in lightning.
The animation guaranteed that a 5-star hero would appear.
Just to be sure, I glanced over at Akabane’s screen, only to see a regular golden card without the lightning effect in the tenth position.
– ???
– No way
The chatroom was engulfed in astonishment, and Akabane was at a loss for words.
The first and second cards featured each of us drawing 3-star heroes, Leonidas I and Theodoros I.
And then, the highly anticipated third card.
The lightning that had been swirling began to part, revealing the class illustration of the hero.
“Is, is it really here…?!”
It was a Berserker Class hero, featuring chained cuffs wrapped around its arms.
[Umm… congratulations.]
– Please tell me this is a lie.
– If it ends this quickly, it won’t be fun.
Akabane’s congratulatory remarks echoed in my ears, along with the chatroom exploding with excitement.
And the hero that appeared was…
[I wish to see her again. My eternal comrade… To see you again, I wander for eternity…]
Yamato Takeru no Mikoto.
“…Huh?”
– LOLLLLLLLLL
[Pfft…! cough… A-kak!]
“Hey, Akabane? There’s something strange about this game. I summoned someone who isn’t me but some weird girl…?”
Clearly, it was a 5-star guaranteed animation, and it showed a Berserker Class hero, right?
So naturally, another me should come out, right?
Why did Mikoto suddenly show up…?
Of course, Mikoto is a 5-star hero and belongs to the Berserker Class, but she’s not a character that should appear here right now.
“It seems the game has a bug; what do I do…?”
[A-kak! You, you’re unexpectedly humorous. Do you have a talent for being a comedian, Izumi? Pfft…!]
– The princess is so funny I can’t breathe. LOL
“I’ve already maxed out Mikoto-chan to Level 3….”
[Bwahahaha!]
★
In the end, the showdown concluded with Akabane as the victor.
The good part is that it didn’t end in overwhelming defeat like last time, right?
Akabane eating another me in 80 summons made sure of that, while I hit the ceiling to grab yet another me.
Last time, Akabane clearly pulled Heracles in just 30 summons and called it quits, so I managed to hold out for nearly three times longer.
For reference, the other Akabane had already drawn both 5 cards.
“…But will I be able to reach Level 5 Limit Break…?”
Of course, while the contest mattered, my goal today was to hit Level 5 Limit Break.
Cutesy trash talk and such evaluations are not important at all.
Another me appeared in the fateful showdown, and I didn’t want to wrap up with just one card.
But if it’s just one card and I hit the ceiling…
“No matter how I think about it, isn’t this a, a bit much…?”
Something’s off. I was supposed to have pretty good luck in the fateful showdown, so why does it turn out like this when broadcasting?
[It’s unknown until you try it, I think.]
“Th-that’s true, but….”
I now had only 648 jewels left.
Using 30 jewels for a 10 summon means I can only do about 210 summons at most.
[Well, if you, Izumi, want to try, I’ll join you.]
“Are, are you serious?”
[Yes.]
“Then great!”
With that, I began to press the ‘Hero Summon’ button again.
“…This game, is just trash.”
[Is that so?]
I was betrayed by another version of me and had to invest an extra 30,000 yen, barely reaching Level 2 Limit Break.
For reference, Akabane invested only 10,000 yen and achieved a Level 5 Limit Break.
…No matter how I think about it, isn’t Akabane taking all my luck…?
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