Thanks to the monster being enough trouble to warrant caution and attention, Sanieve had focused all his efforts that way. Karkinos didn’t expect Thulhu to be an ally, of course. In this case, it was hard to say that the enemy of his enemy was a friend. If something were to happen, that thing could easily attack us, Karkinos thought. However, this was still a good chance. There was no doubt that the monster was exactly the new, uncertain variable that was needed to flip the board from its unwinnable state.
Karkinos grabbed Sei and ran, aiming for the ouroboros’s mouth. He aimed for the moment when the ouroboros finished its breath attack against Thulhu, which would give him the chance to jump inside of it. Though Karkinos might live, Sei would die when the next breath came. However, there should have been a place in the ouroboros’s body where this breath could not reach. There was no way Sanieve would’ve brought Virgo inside if there wasn’t.
Karkinos ran, and ran, and ran. He ran as fast and as long as needed until he found it—the one unnatural, branching path in a creature whose innards should have been a single, linear road. Karkinos immediately jumped down this side path and found what he was looking for.
Sanieve stood in a room with a sleeping Virgo in the back. There was a barrier around Virgo, stopping anyone from coming near.
“You...!” Sanieve yelled.
“O K! My hunch was right on the money. M E is doing great today!” Karkinos laughed, letting go of Sei before slashing at Sanieve.
Luckily, Thulhu’s erosion of reality had not reached this place. In other words, this place inside the enemy’s belly was a safe place to fight.
Sanieve caught Karkinos’s slash and returned with a kick to the crab’s gut. However, it didn’t do anything. Though he could place a limit wall on Karkinos, there was nothing Sanieve could do about the crab’s toughness.
Karkinos laughed fearlessly and didn’t hesitate to slam in a counterblow.
“Now, Sei my B O Y, it’s your turn! Give that sleeping Virgo there a H O T awakening!”
Half of the reason Virgo was sleeping was her own volition. She probably had no realization of this, of course, but her desire to not hear the continuation of what Sei was going to say that day had her unconsciously resisting her awakening. That was why Sei had to be the one to wake her up. No matter how much Karkinos called out to her, nothing would most likely happen.
“You lowly filth! Do you really think you can defeat me?!”
“Non, non, non. That would be impossible,” Karkinos admitted. “The damage that M E can inflict against you would be nothing but scratches. It wouldn’t even be a real battle. However, M E was never the one in charge of attacking in the first place.”
Of the Imperial Thirteen Heavenly Stars, Karkinos was never the one meant to attack. He may have had a decent amount of strength, and if he were to attack, he could take down most enemies. His main specialty was defense, however, and it was only there that he truly shined. Karkinos the Crab of the Imperial Thirteen Heavenly Stars stood out on the battlefield by becoming a shield for his allies and not letting enemies close.
“Did you know? There’s a certain saying in this world...”
Karkinos took Sanieve’s attack head-on while using a skill to attract the ranged attack meant for Sei to himself. Then, he activated his no-miss counter, Acubens. Because the lower limit wall applied to the counter as well, no real damage was done, but it was enough to interfere with Sanieve’s movements.
“Those who try to cheat on and steal someone else’s love...can get pinched by a crab and G O T O H E L L!”
“That’s a lie! No such saying exists!”
Sanieve’s fist and Karkinos’s scissors collided.
“Virgo, listen to me!” Sei called out from outside the barrier.
His face was already a flaming red from the mere thought of what he was about to say. Doing this didn’t mesh with his character. He would normally never shout a confession out loud so hot-bloodedly. However, Sei had to make things right. Up until now, he’d run away from making this confession, putting up masks and using their life span difference as an excuse to run away and pin the blame on Virgo. That was exactly why he’d made Virgo cry that day.
Even though I knew deep down...that Virgo knew everything, and she chose to be with me anyway. Even though I actually knew what she wanted...
Sei was not especially smart or insightful, but he also wasn’t dumb or dense. He had already known about the feelings Virgo had for him, as well as the words he should have said. He’d known, but he’d still run from it because he was scared of all the loneliness he would be pushing on Virgo after his death.
But I won’t run anymore. Sei paused, thinking. No, that’s not true. I’m actually still on the fence. I’m always just fretting about things and being scared...
At heart, Sei’s mindset was still that of a normal person, and he didn’t have the decision-making power or mental fortitude of Lufas or Benetnasch. Even so, he was able to move forward when it counted; that was what it meant to be human. And with this incident, something had been made very clear to him. Logic and reasoning don’t matter here, and I know I’m being selfish, but still... Still, I don’t want Virgo to be taken by some other man!
Sei was a male, and of course, he had a desire to monopolize and the ability to become a wolf. He realized he should have brought that to the forefront. Instead of acting like a gentleman and putting on a herbivore front, he should have put his affections on display, even if he had to go as far as to kidnap Virgo to do so. Virgo was rather passive fundamentally, so he needed to actively attack as the man in order to make up for that.
That was why Sei decided to put aside his shame, even if just for the moment.
“I LOOOOVE YOOOUUUU!” Sei shouted.
Anyone who knew Sei and his personality would wonder if he’d eaten something strange after hearing him scream passionately like that.
“I was running away back then! You were right. I’m a huge idiot! I was just scared... I couldn’t help but think that you would eventually become unhappy because of me. I...don’t think I wanted to shoulder the blame for that. I didn’t want to do something bad. That was why I used our life spans as an excuse, pinned the blame on you, and tried to justify playing the heel to hurt you as a noble act.”
Panicked, Sanieve jumped at Sei. However, the shield of the Thirteen Stars was not soft enough to let that happen. Kakinos cut in front of Sanieve, kicking him away.
They’re in a good spot right now. I can’t have you interrupting them.
“I...don’t live in the same time frame as you do. I’m sure I’ll end up leaving you all alone one day. But even so! I want to spend my life with you! I want to dedicate the rest of my life to you! And I would like just a little of your time back, so... COME BACK TO ME VIRGOOOOOO!”
Having said his piece, Sei’s face got even redder. It looked like you could boil water on it. Sei trembled greatly as he fervently wished in his heart for Karkinos not to speak a word of this to anyone. Why would Sei calm down here of all places? Well, he was just that kind of guy, just a little bit sloppy in everything. However, what he’d just shouted was undoubtedly his true feelings, and they had certainly reached Virgo.
The barrier cracked. The fissure spread and branched off into smaller cracks, making sounds all the way as it fell apart. Then, when the barrier finally came apart fully and scattered, Virgo came flying out of it.