Sora Akino was a high school student and a pop idol, and had received the class of Idol from the Gift. She was wearing a similar stage outfit as before, so she had likely received the same class upon entering Cavern Quest.
“I didn’t expect one of our classmates,” Yogiri said, shocked.
Tomochika felt the same way. If anyone, she would have expected it to be Hanakawa, Carol, or Ryouko, who would just be attempting to meet up with them. She didn’t know why Sora of all people would go out of her way to find them.
Sora stepped into the park, space flickering around them as she approached, signifying their shift into a battle channel.
“Hello. I see you’re here too, Dannoura.” Sora continued walking until she was standing just in front of them.
“Yeah...is there a point in asking why you’re here?” Tomochika replied. She had long since lost the optimism to feel happy about being reunited with her classmates. Anyone participating in the final stage of Cavern Quest must have heard the message from the Great Sage. It was obvious that Sora was here to kill Yogiri.
“I am more than happy to talk things through with you two. In fact, the main reason I’m here is to try and convince Takatou of something.”
“So, you’re not planning on fighting us?”
“Not without due warning, at least.” Although her phrasing was strange, it seemed she was at least willing to talk.
“Convince me of what?” Yogiri asked with a frown. “You want me to give up on going home?”
“Let me be blunt. Please kill yourself.”
“Well, that was definitely blunt!” Tomochika commented.
“Ryousuke Higashida. Yoshiaki Fukuhara. Yuuki Tachibana. Yukimasa Aihara. Romiko Jougasaki. Ayaka Shinozaki. Do these names sound familiar to you?”
Yogiri thought for a moment. “Are they all classmates of ours? I remember Tachibana and Aihara, at least.”
Though it seemed he was having trouble recalling, Tomochika understood immediately. At the very least, five of the six names she mentioned were people she knew Yogiri had killed.
“Is that all you can remember of them?” Sora seemed disappointed. “How dare you! Can you not at least remember the names of the people you’ve killed?!”
“Why would I? All I’ve done is kill the people who tried to kill me.”
“They were your classmates, people who suffered and celebrated alongside you! Do you not feel any guilt over having taken their lives?!”
“I mean, it’s not like we were all that close.” Though Yogiri took his studies seriously, he didn’t interact all that much with the other students. Even Tomochika had never spoken with him before coming to this world.
Now that she thought about it, that was likely due to his ability. If he got close to people, he might accidentally get them involved in his situation, and it would be more difficult for him to cut them off if they turned out to be enemies. At least, that was her guess.
“I’ve only done what I could. Are you saying I should have let them kill me?”
“Yes,” Sora replied instantly, catching Tomochika off guard. “If you had died, those six would have been saved. It’s rather simple logic, don’t you think?”
It seems this one would have no difficulty with the trolley problem, Mokomoko mused.
“From the outside it’s easy to make a decision based purely on numbers,” Yogiri said, “but it’s different when you’re on the scales yourself.”
“Of course not. If I were in your place, I would have killed myself long ago to avoid causing problems for others.”
“I see. I guess our values are too far apart for us to come to an understanding.”
“What do you believe, Dannoura? We now know that if he dies, the people he killed will be returned to life. Do you not think that to be the correct course of action? Shouldn’t you be trying to convince him of the same?”
“Oh, so it’s about me now!” The sudden shift caught Tomochika off guard again. “Well...I’m pretty sure I’ve said this before: when I decided to support what Takatou was doing, I agreed I was equally responsible for it. If I didn’t agree with what he was doing, I would have stopped traveling with him. But I’m still here, aren’t I? I came to terms with facing the consequences of that choice a long time ago.”
“I see,” Sora replied. “So that is your answer, knowing he killed not only six innocent classmates, but sixty million innocent people besides. You seem to take this all so lightly. How can the two of you bear the weight of such sin alone?”
“Who knows? If we can’t carry it, it’ll just fall off our shoulders, right? Don’t expect it to crush us or anything.”
“Ootori did mention you were abnormal. I had hoped I could convince you to see things my way, but it appears he was correct. You two are quite mad.”
Five men appeared at Sora’s side. She must have used her power somehow.
Yogiri Takatou vs. Sora Akino: FIGHT!!!
It seemed their appearance was enough to trigger the start of the battle. The five men in full concert gear charged as one, and likewise collapsed as one due to Yogiri’s power.
“I am quite surprised. You really have no qualms killing innocent people, do you?”
“That’s pretty bold, coming from the one who sent them to attack me.” Yogiri sighed. If Sora had summoned them and instructed them to attack him, it was technically her responsibility.
“What do you mean? They are simply my fans, acting of their own free will.”
“You can’t actually believe that ridiculous logic, can you?!” Tomochika exclaimed. But since Sora hadn’t been controlling them directly, the fans had died and she had survived.
“You know my power, right?” Yogiri said. “You don’t actually think you can win, do you?”
“I am aware of the situation,” she answered. “So this will be a war of attrition. I understand your mentality is thoroughly warped, but how many innocent people can you bear to kill?”
More fans appeared, men and women of all ages, eyes brimming with bloodlust. Though Sora gave them no instructions, they bore a clear hatred towards Yogiri.
“What you’re doing is way worse, isn’t it?!” Tomochika said. “What happened to the idea of killing people in droves being bad?!”
“I am only working to make everyone happy,” she replied. “My fans are happy to die for me, and if Takatou dies, everyone will be happy. Where is the cruelty in that?”
“Okay, it’s useless! This girl is a lost cause!”
“If Takatou dies, the world will be reset, and everyone who died will return to life,” Sora continued. “What meaning is there in being selective about the process required to accomplish that?”
“Too bad. I’m not going to die to save a bunch of strangers.” Despite saying that, Yogiri made no move to attack. She still had yet to try and harm him directly. However, he couldn’t leave the situation to develop.
“Should I fight her?” Tomochika asked.
Do you think you can kill her? Mokomoko asked. It appears to me that those “fans” appear spontaneously around her. I do not think knocking her unconscious will make them stop.
It wasn’t a question of whether Tomochika was physically capable of taking another person’s life, but whether she was mentally ready to do so. The thought of actively attempting to kill a person was a particularly heavy one.
“Gaaaaaaah! Of course! I knew something like this was bound to happen!”
As Tomochika hesitated, a hysterical yet all-too-familiar voice filled the air.
“Why are you here?” Yogiri sighed.
“How should I know?! More importantly, I thought you said your fans were illusions created from magic, Sora!”
Standing in front of Sora, wearing a common cheering outfit and holding a set of glow sticks, was Hanakawa.