You Wouldn't Want Agate to Die Either

Higashino Makoto stood on a small hill outside the town, looking at the rooftops with wisps of smoke rising from their chimneys in the distance.

He didn't rush inside, but instead pondered the situation in his mind.

The time-rewinding ability within the Akari is indeed troublesome, but not insurmountable.

He could pull her directly into the small world, severing her connection with this world, so she wouldn't be able to reload her save file.

You can do whatever you want with it afterwards.

Kill her, lock her up, or use the All-Race Charm to turn her into one of your own—there are many ways.

But that's not the problem.

His purpose in coming here was neither to kill Akari nor to kill Agate.

He needs power. He needs a third power to balance the Pride Demon and the game character.

The concept of "time" in the Akari and the concept of "white" in Old Yin Byakuya are both powers with extremely high limits.

Time manipulation and concept stealing are top-tier abilities in any world.

That's exactly the level of power he needs.

Something too weak cannot achieve balance with the Pride Demon and the infinite possibilities of the game characters.

It's like adding plain water to a glass of concentrated salt water; it only dilutes it, it doesn't neutralize it.

But how can we seize their power?

Higashino Makoto recalled a concept from the original work: the Conduit Link.

Agate uses this mechanism to incorporate the concept of "time" within the Akari.

The principle is roughly to connect the souls of two people, allowing one person to borrow the abilities of the other.

The original text says that they must be of one mind, and also mentions that the Agate has been bleached and has a special soul.

It sounds like a bunch of clichéd ideas piled up.

But I should give it a try, since there's nothing to lose anyway.

The Pride Demon is a very special being; it might be able to bypass all those messy prerequisites.

Even if it doesn't work out, he won't lose anything.

Higashino Makoto walked down the hill and headed towards the town.

He took a few steps, then stopped and touched his chin.

If you go directly to Akari and ask her to lend you her power, she probably won't agree.

Even hidden Agate like Byakuya might be tempted to make a move because of this.

Although he's not afraid, it would be troublesome to fight him.

Let's try a different approach.

He knocked on the hotel door.

The one who opened the door was Agate, with long pink hair, red eyes, and a religious text and a short sword hanging at her waist.

She looked at Higashino Makoto, her hand already on the hilt of her sword.

"Excuse me, who are you?"

Her voice was as cold as ice.

"Higashino Makoto has come to talk to you."

What do you want to talk about?

"Talk about the time-reversal ability of the person behind you."

Akari peeked out from behind Agate, her long black hair cascading over her shoulders, her pale purple eyes filled with confusion.

She probably didn't expect anyone to come looking for her.

She was wearing a simple white dress, barefoot, her toes slightly curled on the floor.

Higashino Makoto looked at her.

"I was the one who launched that attack in the last cycle of reincarnation; you should still remember."

The pupils in the Akari suddenly contracted.

Of course she remembers.

The images of crimson light descending from the sky, the corpses turning to dust, and the people she couldn't save.

She saw it all; every detail is etched into her mind.

Why did you do that?

Her voice trembled.

"Because I hate the rules of this world. Summoning people from New World and then killing them, do you think that's reasonable? They can kill transmigrators without Judgment, so why can't I just kill those guys who summon and kill transmigrators?"

There was no response from Akari. She felt that what the other person said was wrong, but she didn't know how to refute it.

Agate's fingers tightened on the sword hilt. From the conversation just now, she knew that she had already been killed once by the man in front of her. If it weren't for the time reversal in the Akari, she would be completely dead.

She actually agreed with what the other person said.

A murderer should be prepared to be killed, and she does not consider herself to be on the side of justice.

What do you want to do now?

The Agate's voice remained cold.

I want to do the same thing as you.

Higashino Makoto looked at her.

"Aren't you using the power within the Akari? 'Conduit Link,' that's the term, right? I'm going to try it too."

Agate frowned.

"Impossible. All Lost One would cause a great disaster, especially a powerful being like the one in the Akari."

Higashino Makoto wasn't angry; he had expected her to say that.

He turned to look into the Akari, his golden eyes meeting his Kohaku eyes.

"I don't know if you've noticed, but you're currently enveloped in my little world. Hmm... perhaps this is a bit hard to understand, but simply put, you can't reload your save file."

The expression on the face Akari changed.

She wasn't worried about her own life or death; after all, she and Agate had embarked on this journey with the intention of killing her.

But if I die now, and the person in front of me launches that kind of attack again...

Agate and Momo are definitely going to die!

She tried to activate her ability, but there was no response.

The small world severed her connection to this world.

In the original work, Higashino Makoto found it strange that such a powerful force could become unusable once he left this world.

Even if one succeeds, can this thing truly balance one's own power?

But since we're already here, we might as well give it a try.

At worst, it's just a way to relax.

"I can kill Agate."

Higashino Makoto's voice was very soft, as if he were saying that the weather was nice today.

"I can lock you up here, making it impossible for you to reload your save file, preventing you from reviving her, and forcing you to watch them die helplessly."

The body Akari began to tremble.

Agate stood in front of her, her short sword already drawn, but Akari grabbed Agate's hem.

What do you want?

The voice coming from the Akari was hoarse.

"I said, I'm just borrowing your power for a bit, Conduit Link. You don't need to do anything, I'll handle it. If it succeeds, I won't harm those two people beside you again. If it fails..."

He paused for a moment, then his smile deepened.

"You don't want Agate and the others to die, do you?"

The room fell silent.

She lowered her head in the Akari, remembering those struck by the crimson light, the corpses turned to dust, and the image of Agate turning to ash in that light.

Tears dripped onto the back of my hand.

"Good."

Her voice was soft, but firm.

"I... I agree."

Agate seemed to want to say something, but Akari shook his head.

Higashino Makoto nodded, walked to the Akari, and stretched out his hand.

Agate drew his short sword, the tip pointing at his throat.

But the short sword began to rot before it even arrived, and then she quickly lost all her strength, lying on the ground unable to move.

"You can turn back time later, and she'll be fine. Now, hold my hand."

Looking at the fallen Agate in the Akari, he reached out and took his hand.

Her hands were cold and trembling slightly.