No need for you to tell me.
S had completely come to a halt, yet its collapse, from the outside in, showed no signs of stopping. Knowing what that meant, Ash immediately rushed toward the others.
"Ash...!"
"Let me save one more!"
One, two, three—after realizing only one was missing, Ash squeezed Mana and the others into the sole escape pod and sent them all in. Just as he aimed it at Earth and was about to hit the launch button, he saw the girls desperately pounding on the window in front of them.
"Ash, at a time like this, don't you dare think about sacrificing yourself again—"
"Yeah, I know!" With a resolute expression, Ash showed them the ring on his hand. "We promised. Once I bring her back too, I'll go home with all of you!"
"We promised? We definitely promised!"
"Yeah, we promised!"
Watching them descend toward that blue planet, Ash finally relaxed and immediately began searching through the collapsing demon god's body, now deprived of its main support, for his very first friend—he found her!
"Finally—System, you're here!"
"[Ash...]" The girl who had replaced Dust and placed herself at the core looked at the man who had come for her, her expression indescribably complicated. "[You did it, Ash. You saved the world again, just as you always have.]"
"Enough reminiscing. We can talk later." Though the outside was rumbling violently, the core chamber was remarkably stable, giving Ash the chance to carefully examine their escape route. "How do we get out?"
"[I can't leave with you this time.]" Seeing Ash freeze completely, the System—Ashu—couldn't help but smile before patiently explaining. "[If you separate me from it now, all the energy accumulated inside will be released at once. All your efforts will have been in vain.]"
And