I, Matou Sakura, Third of the Flame-Chasers!

Besides that, Akiko was the person best suited for the Fifth Magic.

And she did not need to worry about Pernor. As someone summoned into this world through the system, she could summon Pernor to her side at any time.

"I'll be going now."

With that, Matou Sakura vanished before Aozaki Akiko's eyes and flew into the azure sky. As successive sonic booms rang out, she grew faster and faster, eventually breaking through the atmosphere and entering the space beyond Earth.

An orange-yellow AT Field enveloped her. This time, she wanted to test the AT Field's defensive capabilities and, at the same time, use it to venture deeper into the sun and absorb purer Solar Energy.

When Matou Sakura appeared in space, the Wandering Star Vanguard, which had advanced slightly in the distance, immediately retreated a great distance after sensing that familiar, powerful aura.

She had grown stronger again!

What exactly was that lifeform?

She did not conform to common sense at all!

An Awakened One drifting through the universe suddenly opened Its eyes and turned Its gaze toward Matou Sakura, who was flying deeper into the sun.

Then the Awakened One closed Its eyes, crimson tears of blood slowly streaming from them.

After only a brief glance, It had been injured.

That girl could not be judged by common sense at all. No! Rather, she had transcended common sense and become an existence above it!

It was just... thinking of those two's plan, while it was feasible, the chances of success were far too low.

But if it truly succeeded, and they obtained a descendant with that person's bloodline, then this world's ending would surely be changed.

Or rather, if they received that person's help directly, this world's ending could likewise be changed.

It was just that this world seemed to have nothing capable of moving that person.

An Attack from Beyond Earth

"Say, are we really going to do this?"

Inside the Hall of Heroes, Gaia looked at Alaya before her. Although she and Alaya had agreed earlier to do this sort of thing—

Seeing that person evolve at a visibly rapid pace every day, Gaia was starting to lose her nerve.

She was afraid of being scolded by that person.

After all, that person and Aozaki Akiko seemed to have a very good relationship now. Would it really be appropriate for her to suddenly arrange for a third party to meddle in their lives?

It would be terrible if that person took a dislike to her.

"I know what you're worried about."

Alaya smiled faintly, looking completely confident.

"If it doesn't work, then we'll hand over Kama's power."

"Although Kama is a little weaker than that person, she is still a god. Her power should be useful to that person."

"If that still doesn't work, we can treat it as a gift for Aozaki Akiko. Seeing her girlfriend become someone else, with another style, should make her very happy."

"This..."

Gaia drew in a sharp breath. Where had Alaya gotten such ideas?

It sounded reasonable, but why did it feel so indescribably strange?

"Alright, leave this matter to me!"

Alaya patted the chest that was somewhat more modest than Gaia's and said confidently, "If that person really gets angry when the time comes, then at worst, I'll give myself to that person as compensation!"

"Huh?!"

Gaia's eyes widened. Give herself to that person as compensation? What kind of move was that?

No, what are you plotting now?

Gaia wanted to get to the bottom of it, but Alaya had already disappeared from before her.

That woman had slipped away.

"What exactly is Alaya trying to do?"

Gaia muttered to herself where she stood, then vanished from the Hall of Heroes as well.

Elsewhere, Aozaki Touko brought Kuzuki Alice to the place where she was holding Roa. It was an underground warehouse with no lights, yet it was not dark.

Roa, bound by several Chains of Light before them, had become the underground warehouse's sole source of illumination.

Roa had long since awakened. The moment he spotted Aozaki Touko, he glared at her furiously.

But he soon lowered his head.

The strange chains binding his body did not merely suppress his power; they also continuously absorbed his energy, keeping it at an extremely low level. This created a perfect cycle between his recovery ability and the energy he currently possessed.

Under such circumstances, he had no strength at all. He could only barely keep himself alive, yet he would rather die and start over. But now, he could not even kill himself.

What exactly were these strange chains?!

"Was this that person's handiwork?"

Kuzuki Alice examined the chains binding Roa. Roa himself interested her far less than the chains did.

"No, it was me."

As she spoke, Aozaki Touko raised a hand, and a bright light emerged in her palm.

"That person gave me some of her power, something like a seed."

"That's truly enviable."

The moment the light appeared, Kuzuki Alice's gaze was drawn to the glow in Aozaki Touko's hand. She wanted such power as well.

Lunch—she understood that very well.

She quickly withdrew her gaze, and Aozaki Touko put away the light in her hand as well.

"What are you going to do to her?"

"Following that person's wishes, make her bait."

Aozaki Touko said calmly, "According to the spies I arranged, that White Princess has already set out and is on her way here. The others are the same."

"The others?"

Kuzuki Alice raised a brow. "Who else?"

"Those who are interested in Roa, and those who bear a grudge against him."

Aozaki Touko said calmly, "That is that person's objective."

Kuzuki Alice frowned, unable to understand. Did that person truly have a grudge against those people? Yet it did not seem to be the case.

"All right, don't think too much about it."

Aozaki Touko lifted the suitcase in her hand. She had come here this time with proper business to attend to.

It had been inconvenient to bring this fellow along before, so she had left him here first. But today, she suddenly noticed that someone wanted to use this warehouse, so she hurried over to move him elsewhere, using the suitcase in her hand.

Although the case looked small, it contained its own space. It was more than enough to hold Roa, who was currently just a child.

Its soundproofing was also first-rate. There was no need to worry about this guy causing trouble midway. Later, she would set up a crucifixion scene for him with a few light spears—she guaranteed that by then, he would not even have the strength to scream.

"All right, come help."

"Mm."

Kuzuki Alice nodded and followed Aozaki Touko forward.

Arcueid suddenly stopped, a puzzled expression appearing on her face.

Meilin the Lapdog, one of the Twenty-Seven Ancestors of the Dead Apostle like Arcueid, noticed this and looked concerned.

"Princess, what's wrong?"

Arcueid ignored Meilin's words and merely stared blankly into the distance.

As a tendril of the world, an elemental, Arcueid was naturally able to converse with the world and obtain from it whatever information she desired.

But now, the world seemed to have rejected her?

She could no longer obtain the information she wanted from the world, nor could she even communicate with it.

"Why is this happening?"

Arcueid murmured to herself, her eyes filled with confusion.

As though sensing something, her gaze suddenly turned toward the sun in the sky.

As a nonhuman being, staring directly at the sun posed no difficulty for Arcueid.

Was it an illusion?

Arcueid felt as though the sun in the sky was watching her.

Someone really was watching Arcueid, but it was not the sun. It was Matou Sakura, standing on the sun's surface.

Relying on her AT Field, she further resisted the sun's extreme heat and drew closer to its depths.

The dense Solar Energy had brought her body to saturation ahead of schedule, but she did not leave. Instead, she remained in the outer layer, directly tempering her body further while absorbing even more Solar Energy.

Multitasking was no problem for her, so while tempering her body, she also used her super vision to observe everything happening on Earth.

Her repeatedly evolved brain allowed her to process vast amounts of information effortlessly. Then, she spotted Arcueid heading toward Japan, as well as the Lapdog by her side.

Should she just deal with them now?

Although she had handed the task to Touko, she had free time now as well.

In that case, she would do it.

Red and green appeared in Matou Sakura's eyes at the same time. The two colors intertwined, then abruptly spun.

Arcueid and Meilin, who were on Earth, instantly turned into a cloud of blood mist.

Meilin died, but Arcueid did not.

A dazzling sphere of light floated above the blood-soaked ground.

Was that a body of light?

Relevant information surfaced in her mind, and she then looked away.

Super vision combined with the Twisted Magic Eye unleashed precise targeted strikes across the world. Bursts of blood erupted again and again around the globe, terrifying passing pedestrians nearby.

One, two.

The system's missions refreshed rapidly, while fear spread throughout the world.

Matou Sakura did not care about any of that. She continued harvesting the lives of her targets.

Thirty: Cheap Love

"Looks like we came here for nothing."

Looking at the utterly warped box, Aozaki Touko took out a lady's cigarette, lit it, and put it between her lips.

"You mean this was done by that lady?"

Kuzuki Alice stared at the grotesquely twisted box, utterly astonished.

How had this even been done?

Going by that lady's habits, shouldn't she have been sunbathing in the sky right now?

Though she had never seen it herself, she had heard Aoko mention it. It was hard to believe, but if it was that lady, it somehow did not seem so unbelievable.

"Who else could it have been?"

Aozaki Touko smiled helplessly, though she was actually rather pleased inside.