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Future Rekka was making a rather pathetic face.
“If you want to be defeated so badly, walk yourself over here. I’ll deck you good,” I called out to him.
“That’s a rather bold challenge,” future Rekka said in a tired voice. “But sorry—I can’t let you do that. Even if I’m mistaken, I still have important things I want to protect.”
“If that’s how you really feel, then stop making that face.”
“...”
“Granted, if I were in your position, I probably would’ve made the same choice.”
“Then...”
“But like you said, we’re different.” That meant we were capable of different things. “I actually wanted to persuade you... but I give up. I can’t leave this story and the heroines to you right now.”
“Then what do you intend on doing?” future Rekka asked.
And so...
“Let me show you!”
There, I activated the power I’d just gotten from Sith. I knew it would be a pain, but...
“Everyone... lend me your power!”
I yelled probably the lamest thing a hero had ever said. They were words that eluded both Yuuhi and future Rekka, who were always trying to solve things on their own. But me? I shouted them loud and proud. And when I did... everyone appeared. Literally.
“Huh?”
“Wha—here am I?!”
“Surprise teleportation?!”
Satsuki, Iris, and Harissa were all quite startled to be suddenly summoned to the arena.
“Wait, Rekka?!”
“No way! Why are you here?!”
“Wait, how is Sir Rekka over there too?!”
They looked back and forth between me and my future self in confusion. He appeared to be quite confused as well.
“This is my new ability,” I explained.
“Just what... did you do?” he asked, still dumbfounded.
“It’s simple. I dragged everyone into my story.”
The inherent power of my Namidare bloodline was getting caught up in the heroines’ stories. I’d requested the inverse of that from Sith as my reward for passing the divine trial.
“I’m the main character this time, and I needed someone to rescue me... So I forcefully dragged everyone into things. It’s an obnoxious power, but that’s how it works.”
As I explained things, more and more heroines continued to appear. Lea, Tsumiki, Tetra, Hibiki, and many, many others. Even the heroines from my daily life like President Momone and Tokiwa had arrived. Actually... Maybe it was a bad idea to summon the fragile Tokiwa here with a fight on our hands. Oh well. I guess she can stay.
Now, in order to really beat the point home for future Rekka, who was still standing there in a daze...
“Everyone! Sorry for calling you here so suddenly!”
“Hey, what’s going on here, problem child? I can’t make heads or tails of this,” President Momone asked, tapping her wooden sword against her shoulder as she glared at me.
“I’m sorry! I’ll explain everything later,” I said, pointing right at future Rekka. “But for now, in order to solve all this mess, we have to beat up my foolish self over there! So...”
I took a deep breath.
“PLEASE LEND ME YOUR POWER!”
Shouting with all my heart and soul, I bowed deeply. The girls had been summoned here out of nowhere, and now I was begging them for help. And yet...
“I don’t really get it, but okay,” said President Momone with a shrug.
“I don’t like the idea of beating up Rekka... but that’s what you need us to do, right? So count me in!” shouted Iris.
“As if I could refuse a request from you, Rekka,” said Rosalind with a sly smile.
“Ugh, fine. Get over here, Lea! I’ll whip up some dark matter for ya!” hollered Tsumiki.
“Harissa, I’m going to support Nammy with my spirit armor! Please chant the spell!” called Lyun.
“Oh no! I have to change into my Galactic Beauty costume!” shouted Kiri.
“Asking an angel like me to butt into the business of gods is absurd! I mean, I’m still going to help, but I expect a lot of love energy for this later, okay?!” demanded Rachelle.
Each of the heroines agreed to help me out in their own way.
Well, what do you think, future me? I bet you’ve forgotten what this looks like, haven’t you?
Future Rekka had gained countless abilities and powers, making him virtually the strongest man in the universe. He was the ultimate main character. So what did he need the power of heroines for? He was solving stories left and right without their help. The fact that he was standing here in this arena alone—in the middle of the most important story he might ever face—was proof of that. It also explained the lonely look on his face. He didn’t have anyone to rely on, and he knew it. He’d hit a dead end. So I was going to take it upon myself to break through to him. To make him remember just how small and weak Rekka Namidare really was in the grand scheme of the universe.
“Mudara Waffe!”
“Nammy! The spirit armor is ready!”
With Harissa’s spell, Lyun took an ethereal form and became a zephyrous set of armor to protect me. Her transformation signaled the start of the battle.
“Let’s go! Brace yourself, Rekka Namidare!” I yelled, borrowing Lyun’s power to fly.
When I did, everyone else started making their moves too.
“Heavenly wind, ancient wind, return what rightfully belongs back to dust.”
“Go, Robo-spider!”
Satsuki unleashed a roaring gust of wind as Shirley let loose a mechanical spider. The roaring wind assailed future Rekka from straight on, while the mechanical spider attacked his feet with tiny zaps of electricity.
“Alchemize: Stone Wall!”
In response, future Rekka summoned a wall from the arena floor to shield him from both the wind and the spider. The spider, however, was stronger than expected. It walked right up the wall and exploded, blowing both itself and the wall to smithereens.
“Shirley! Haven’t we talked about your dangerous toys before?!”
“Yes, and I told you that they’re made with all the proper safety measures in place! They’re fine!”
I’d heard that all before, but I didn’t trust Shirley or her inventions one bit... But I’d have to deal with that later.
“Kuh!”
The explosion had sent smoke and dust flying everywhere, momentarily blinding future Rekka. Suzuran had taken the opportunity to attack, slipping closer in the smoke before throwing one of her silver knives. Future Rekka raised his cyborg arm to deflect it, which left him open to Rosalind’s follow-up attack.
“Take this!”
She was going right for his undefended abdomen.
“!”
While vampires were super strong and one of Rosalind’s punches would ordinarily be enough to completely blow someone away, future Rekka was also part vampire. He had no trouble stopping her blow, catching her fist with his right palm before throwing her with it.
“Oof!”
Rosalind regained her balance midair and landed safely, but during her flight, President Momone, Chirika, Yulia, and Yorun came at future Rekka from four directions.
“Phantom Blade!”
“Silkworm Slash!”
“Take this!”
“Hyah!”
The swordswomen unleashed their special attacks while Yulia and Yorun both swung their oversized weapons with all their might. Future Rekka caught the first two attacks with his left and right arms, and the other two with a third and fourth arm that sprouted from his chest and back respectively.
“Whoa!”
“Since when did Rekka have such fancy skills—yaaah!”
President Momone immediately let go of her wooden sword and backed away, but Yorun was too caught off guard and didn’t react in time. Future Rekka tossed her just like he had Rosalind earlier.
“Yorun!”
I used Lyun’s wind powers to cushion Yorun’s fall so she’d land safely.
Even a four-person attack like that didn’t work?!
I’d offered to deck my future self earlier, but that was going to be harder to follow through on than I’d imagined. But as I was contemplating that, a lone shadow crept up behind future Rekka.
“!”
He seemed to notice it and swung his fist behind him, but caught only air... because the opponent that had approached him from behind was very, very short.
Chelsea’s shrinking magic!
Chelsea must’ve used her magic on whoever it was. Actually, who was it?
“Let’s make you a little shorter too!”
It turned out to be Ellicia the psychic, who proceeded to use her wall-walking ability to sink future Rekka through the stone floor.
“!”
She sank him all the way to his neck, leaving only his head sticking out of the ground.
“Rekka! Now’s our chance!”
“Kiri?!”
Kiri—now wearing her Galactic Beauty costume—leaped into the air and grabbed my arm.
“Let’s do this together!”
“W-Wait!”
She pulled me down with her as we both fell towards future Rekka. No, wait... We weren’t just falling!
“Galactic KIIIIICK!”
“Erk! Oh yeah, uh... KIIIIICK!”
I just barely managed to yell the special attack name and form a kick with Kiri, but even with my weak performance, the combined jump kick with both our weight and momentum behind it was a serious threat. A direct hit to the head would surely knock anyone out. But future Rekka looked strangely calm. What was he up to?
“Leg blaster! Ignition on!”
When he shouted those words, a sudden, thunderous rumble cracked the arena floor. Then, before our kick could land, smoke sputtered from future Rekka’s feet as he rocketed up and out of the floor. Having lost our target, Kiri and I landed helplessly.
“Uwah... That was close, Rekka!”
“But don’t you think we could’ve gotten off a better surprise attack if we hadn’t yelled the name of the move?”
“What? But Zeta said to yell it loudly.”
“Hey, Zeta! Stop feeding Kiri bad advice!”
I turned my complaint to Zeta, who had set up a director’s chair in the corner of the arena at some point like this was all a show to her. She even had a small camera with her.
“Shut up! I’m getting some real good footage right now, so stop complaining and get back to work!” Zeta yelled back at me through her megaphone.
“......”
Tokiwa had apparently taken refuge in the corner of the arena with Zeta, and leaned over to say something to her that I couldn’t hear.
“Girlie here wants some material for her novels too, so she’d like to see some racy stuff while you’re at it!”
“I don’t have time for that!” I shouted in abject honesty.
But Tokiwa simply gave me an enthusiastic thumbs-up like she couldn’t hear any of my angry yelling. She then took out the notepad she always carried in her breast pocket and began writing furiously. These damn creative types... Was art really the first thing on their minds at a time like this?!
“Argh, I give up! There’s no helping them!”
I mean, I was the one who’d called them here. As long as they stayed out of harm’s way, it should be fine. Now, back to the task at hand...
“Wait, you!”
I chased after future Rekka, who had fled upward. The heroines who could fly were already fighting him in the air.
“Gyaaaaaoh!”
✦ ✦ ✦
