“Hey, Albi.” I had no one else to ask. “If we can make it out of this alive, what the hell am I even supposed to say to her?”
Lost in darkness without an exit, I asked Albi a question without an answer.
I couldn’t be completely sure, but normally, skills such as Manifest that allowed spirits to appear in the physical world could only be used for short periods of time.
Taking into account the countless AOE attacks coming from the sky and the black-lightning breath that Keraunos had just launched at full blast, it was reasonable to assume that the manifestation would only last a few minutes.
There was a very good chance that between the experience I’d received in the dungeon and in our battle with Szilard, Fourth Field had become strong enough to outlast Keraunos.
But unfortunately, that was only a temporary solution. Even if I was able to run out the clock, all it would take was for Jupiter to recharge her spiritual power and get stressed out again for it to show up once more.
And when that happened, I was sure that she would only blame herself. And the more she blamed herself, the more her stress would pile up. And the more her stress piled up, the more active Keraunos would become.
It was a vicious cycle. An endless loop that got worse and worse with each rotation.
It made me shudder just thinking about it.
“I believe you’ll be fine, Master.”
Albi’s answer was terribly irresponsible.
“No way!” I barked, full of anger.
My mental voice suddenly turned nasty.
“There’s nothing fine about this! You think a couple flowery words from me are gonna be enough to dry her tears? Even with this busted-ass cheat-code-level power, I couldn’t do anything to protect her, to keep her smiling… How can I be so freaking weak?!”
I knew that I was just venting, but I couldn’t control my horrible emotions. I felt so low.
I know it’s my fault. This is all because I’m weak.
Damn it! If only I wasn’t completely useless from a distance…!
“Indeed. You’re quite right, Master.”
“Huh?”
Albi’s voice rang through my mind.
I couldn’t make heads or tails of what she was agreeing with. My rampaging emotions calmed down long enough for me to imagine a big question mark.
“What’s this thing I’m supposedly right about?”
“You’ve hurt your party member because you’re still inexperienced. So, just as you hurl curses at yourself now, so, too, will she disdain herself. And in that case, what you should say to her is clear, is it not? The words that you yourself wish to hear the most at this very moment—those are the ones you should say to her. Do so and you’re certain to avoid any extra conflict.”
I was astonished. She was totally right.
I was used to Albi saying only horribly mean things to me. I could hardly believe the good advice she was giving me.
“Luckily for you, you still have some time to fret and ponder. Think carefully about what words you should give to this girl that you’ve disappointed.”
“Yeah… I guess you’re right.”
I gazed out at the world that had been dyed in black and took a deep breath.
…After a while, I managed to calm down somewhat.
Maybe I can think of something now.
I tried to keep a cool head and focus my thoughts solely on Jupiter, the girl from abroad who lived her life in constant fear that her angry father figure might hurt the ones around her.
The powerlessness, the guilt I feel from hurting someone close to me—I understand exactly how you feel now.
But despite all that, you keep moving forward. You keep trying your very best.
Even though you’re still just a kid, you’ve been trying so hard all by yourself to make sure you’re not a bother to anyone… Ah, goddamn it! Why’s this messed up world gotta make someone who’s trying so hard suffer so much?
Not her family, not society, and not even her spirit treats her with any basic human decency!
…Kids aren’t just your damned playthings.
How come no one recognized her for the upstanding person she is?
How come no one ever made a place for her in this world?
How come no one ever believed in her?
The reason Jupiter joined the organization in the original version of this world wasn’t because they tricked her into it.
It was because she had always, always been alone.
She was sold by her parents to be used as a test subject by some evil scientists and then treated like scum in her adopted country… Under those brutal circumstances, if the devil himself whispered, “None of this is your fault” in your ear, any reasonable person would want to believe him.
If there had been even one person along the way that had been there for her, there’s no way she would have ended up like that…
So…why…?
“…Oh.”
Suddenly, I found the missing piece of the puzzle I’d been looking for.
For a second, it felt like a small light had been lit in the pitch-black world.
I can’t believe this. The answer’s been staring me in the face this whole time.
I feel like an idiot for not realizing sooner.
It was so obvious—if she didn’t have a place where she belonged, we just needed to make one for her.
“…Hey, Albi. I figured out what I should say to her.”
“Let’s hear it.”
And so I—
“Haruka!”
—I yelled. The world was full of color once again. I was back in the three-dimensional world, and it tasted like a mouthful of blood.
“Is it… Is it still going?”
The beast’s black breath had ceased. That massive attack had wasted a ton of the spiritual power it needed to stay manifested. Keraunos wasn’t budging an inch. But it kept its eyes trained on us the entire time.
It was a glare that seemed to say, “I’ll let you live for now.” Its stare, a mix of hatred and ridicule from a being who knew it was in charge, almost made me lose my nerve.
In all honesty, if I was looking for the most efficient path to self-preservation, I likely should have chosen to accept its silent offer.
If I had continued cowering, let it beat me, or even just tiptoed around Keraunos in an attempt to keep it happy… Each of these options would have been correct, and each one was incredibly tempting.
But—
“We’re takin’ that thing down.”
—that wasn’t good enough for me. Not in the slightest. I hadn’t been able to prevent Keraunos’s rampage. I had allowed Jupiter to hurt her own friends. I had no doubt that when she came to, she would blame herself for everything. She would probably apologize a bunch.
…I want to tell her that it was no big deal. I want to laugh and say, “Psh, that thing? What a pushover. We kicked its butt.”