Aoko lowered her hand.
His crimson hair and eyes gradually returned to their original chestnut brown and bluish-green hues.
She breathed a sigh of relief.
"Phew--It's done."
"They've shifted the crisis directly to the future."
Crimson Moon nodded.
"As for future Earthlings who will face this crisis again many years from now..."
Aoko shrugged.
"Then let them fend for themselves."
"We'll deal with it when the time comes."
"Maybe humanity will be extinct by then, which would be perfect, the problem would be solved automatically."
Crimson Moon glanced at Aoko.
He didn't speak.
Then her figure vanished into nothingness.
Aoko stood still.
I looked down at the bunch of radishes in my hand that had gone completely cold.
My oden!
She took a bite.
It's cold.
"It tastes awful."
The Reverse Side of the World.
There is no up or down, no near or far, no concept of the passage of time.
Only endless darkness and emptiness.
But within this void, two entities are locked in a standoff.
Demon Dragon Satan.
Yoshino.
The pillar of God's Atonement continues to emanate.
Yoshino remained in her defensive, crouching position with her head in her hands.
The Siryon began to crack and break from its edges.
Silvery fragments peeled off her shoulder armor, back armor, and arm armor, scattering into the void of darkness.
Then Yoshino infused these cracks with her Spirit Power to repair them.
Then it gets destroyed.
Further repairs are needed.
This is a protracted tug-of-war.
The spear kept stabbing.
The shield kept being raised.
Neither side was willing to back down first.
Demon Dragon Satan, could not retreat, for Pride would not allow it.
Yoshino could not retreat, because there was no way out behind her.
Time loses its meaning in this space where time does not exist.
A few seconds may have passed.
It may have been several hours.
But at a certain moment...
The damage output of the Demon Dragon Satan fluctuated.
The brilliance of the seven Crown of Deadly Sin began to dim.
The time for God's Atonement has been too long.
Even with Satan's vast magical reserves, it's impossible to sustain this level of output indefinitely.
final.
The Demon Dragon Satan was the first to exhaust himself.
The beam of light went out.
The brilliance of the seven Crown of Deadly Sin dimmed.
The dragon's massive body swayed slightly.
It opened its mouth and let out a low, weary breath.
Unable to maintain the continuous output of God's Atonement, it fell into a brief state of weakness.
Yoshino was also not feeling well.
The Siryon was covered with fine cracks.
Most of her magical power was depleted.
My limbs feel sore and weak.
My head is spinning.
She wanted to lie down and take a nap right there.
But she couldn't.
Since arriving in this godforsaken place, the contractual bond between her and her Master, Tsubaki Kuruoka, has become extremely unstable.
It's always something that's there, but not quite there.
Like a phone call with a poor signal, it's intermittent.
If all contact is lost, and I run out of mana, I might be forcibly sent back to the Throne of Heroes.
That won't do.
" Yoshinon..."
"Exist."
"Can I still move?"
"You're asking me? Who should I ask?!"
"Then I'll pretend I can still move."
Yoshino stood up from her crouching defensive position.
The cracks in the Siryon were slowly healing.
She looked at the dragon.
The dragon was panting.
Its massive body undulated slightly.
The seven crowns shone as faintly as candle flames about to go out.
Now is the opportunity.
Taking advantage of Demon Dragon Satan's temporary weakness, Yoshino suddenly exerted force with both legs.
Her petite figure transformed into a streak of white light.
It crashed directly into the black sphere held in the dragon's arms.
The demon dragon saw Yoshino's actions.
It wants to stop it.
But my body wouldn't cooperate.
Its state of exhaustion significantly reduced its reaction speed.
Yoshino is too fast.
The white light struck the surface of the black sphere.
It was not bounced off.
Yoshino passed directly through the surface of the black sphere.
It crashed in.
Upon entering the sphere, Yoshino felt as if she had entered another world.
The interior of the black sphere is neither hollow nor solid.
Rather, it is a peculiar state, existing between existence and non-existence.
There is no light.
But it can't be described as dark.
Because darkness itself is a kind of "existence," but there isn't even darkness here.
Yoshino's sense of direction was greatly weakened.
She wasn't even sure if she was moving.
" Yoshinon... what can you see now?"
"I can't see anything! It's pitch black! No, it's not even black, it's more like... a feeling of indifference! You can't quite put your finger on it!"
"Um..."
Yoshino closed her eyes.
She began to carefully sense the essence of Origami.
Origami.
Origami Tobiichi.
Another version of yourself.
They all originate from the same being.
Although memories are no longer shared.
Although they are now two separate personalities.
But their essence should be the same.
If you listen carefully, you should be able to find it.
Yoshino focused all her senses on one point.
Searching in this world where there is no direction, no distance, and no time.
Searching for that aura that shared the same origin as himself.
Yes.
My intuition was vaguely pointing in a certain direction.
Although the word "direction" itself has no meaning in this context.
But Yoshino sensed it.
She headed in that direction.
I don't know how long I've been walking.
It could be a step.
It could be 10,000 steps.
It's also possible that it didn't move at all.
But that feeling is getting closer and closer.
It's getting clearer and clearer.
Then.
She saw it.
In the void ahead.
A figure hovered there.
She was dressed in black Astral Dress.
The coronal ring at the back of his head shimmered dimly.
Origami Tobiichi.
She had her eyes closed.
His expression was calm.
It felt like I was having a very long dream.
Yoshino looked at Origami's face.
It looks familiar.
After all, it's his own face.
They just have completely different temperaments.
Origami looks more sophisticated.
It's also a bit colder.
Even when he was asleep, there was a subtle sharpness in his eyes.
"Found it."
Yoshino said.
"Then we need to figure out a way to wake her up," Yoshinon said.
What should I call it?
"You're asking me? How would I know! Aren't you her? What did people call you when you woke up?"
"Alarm clock."
There are no alarm clocks here.
"Pour cold water on."
"That's a good option."
Yoshino is located near the Origami.
He raised his right hand.
A small ball of frost condensed in his palm.
She reached her hand behind the Origami.
It was aimed at the back of the neck.
Then blow gently.
A small puff of cold air landed precisely on the back of Origami's neck.
"Hiss--"
Startled by the sudden chill, Origami instinctively shivered.
The chill ran from the back of my neck along my spine to the top of my head.
It felt like a bucket of ice water was poured over my head.
Origami suddenly opened her eyes.
A void was reflected in the blue pupils.
Then she saw the figure in front of her.
A green hooded cloak.
Rabbit ears.
Short blue hair.
The rabbit hand puppet in the left hand.
That face.
Origami blinked again.
She looked at Yoshino.
Yoshino looked at her.
"Isn't that Yoshino...?"
The sound of Origami was hoarse, as if the person had just woken up.
"What are you doing here...?"
She looked down at the black Astral Dress she was wearing.
He glanced again at the surrounding emptiness.
Then I looked at Yoshino.
"Did I wake up too quickly... or am I still not fully awake?"
Yoshino tilted her head.
"You're awake?"
"Perhaps..."
"That's good."
Yoshino nodded.
Then she reached out her hand.
" Origami, let's go back."
"Go back?"
"There are still many things waiting for you to handle outside."
Origami looked at Yoshino's outstretched hand.
There was a two-second silence.
What's the situation outside?
"To put it simply, after your Spirit Core was severed, Satan emerged, then knocked the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse to sleep, and then tried to destroy the world. So we fought together, and now we're outside the world."
Origami looked at Yoshino.
Then he stared at her with a look that seemed to say, "What are you talking about?"