Kaguya held the silver cross in her hand. This was it. There was no hesitation, no second thoughts, no fear, and no despair.
“We’re waiting for you.” Kaguya’s long hair whipped against her cheek. “Everyone is waiting for you, Captain.”
The cross—which Rindou had dug free, Haru had delivered, and Koyuki had passed into her hands.
“So hurry up and come back to us. Come back to us, Yuuri Azuma!!”
As the inward-facing storm drew her in, Kaguya extended a hand toward Azuma’s right eye and stabbed it with the silver earring. There was no scream. Blood spurted forth, staining Kaguya’s scarlet hair an even deeper red. Despite the intensity raging around her, Kaguya’s worry was no more than fleeting.
The moment she struck, as the wind threatened to tear her away, Kaguya had a thought.
This isn’t like last time. I’m not alone. There’s hope. A hope that we came together to create. A hope that I know will save you.
The moment Kaguya stabbed him with the earring, the wind ceased.
Kaguya lost her balance and clutched frantically at the dirt, fearing the wind would soon return.
However, all was quiet.
Without warning, the hero began to move. Kaguya braced herself, but the hero had simply started to fall backward. She stared at the creature intently as it crashed down to the earth. It soon took on the silhouette of a young man sprawled in the dirt.
“Captain…Azuma?” she called softly, moving closer.
Azuma’s bleeding had subsided.
If Kaguya’s hypothesis had been correct, Azuma was human once more. But what if he was still a hero? What would they do then? She hadn’t thought that far ahead. It was all a gamble—one last bid based on a private theory drawn from subjective experience.
“Ugh…”
Azuma opened his eyes. The others held their breaths. While they watched, Azuma casually sat up—and then realized several things all at once. His wound had closed. He was no longer on the verge of death. And the Goddess was still there.
“The egg…”
Azuma touched his right eye.
Having awoken from her own hero’s dream, Kaguya understood what he was thinking. His egg was probably gone. A look of stunned surprise, like Kaguya had never seen before, solidified on his face. He stood up with a gasp.
Azuma’s katana was currently thrust into the ground just next to him. He grabbed the hilt and pulled it free, flicking off the blood lightly. Kaguya stood next to him, Koyuki and Rindou behind them. Haru was located a little farther away, but her eyes were fixated on the same point as theirs were.
The Goddess.
It was gigantic.
But they did not despair. Not one of them. A myriad of possible outcomes flashed through Kaguya’s head, but not a single one of these options included the word defeat. It was time to end this for good.
The clacking of metal filled the air. Rindou had struck the brass knuckles on each of his hands together in anticipation.
“The hell are you doing still alive?!” Koyuki said in surprise.
“Sorry to disappoint you,” Rindou answered, not looking her way. “Anyway…I think these Chronoses have a bone to pick with that thing.”
“I bet they do…”
Koyuki readied her rifle.
The Goddess appeared in the shape of a bee again and was still flying in the air, but it was already on the verge of death. Azuma headed toward it first. The Goddess did not try to run—it simply continued to face them, hovering imperiously. As Azuma brandished his sword once more, Kaguya whispered to him softly.
“I…met Sakura earlier,” she said.
To which Azuma replied, “So did I.”
Kaguya glanced at Azuma’s sword. The image of Sakura, likely suffering inside that blade, floated into her mind.
“Don’t worry, Sakura. It will be my turn to help you next.”
The Goddess was already severely damaged. Kaguya had shot it several times and brought it crashing into the ground. It was still attempting to lift into the air, like the insect that it appeared to be, but its altitude was piddling at best.
The Goddess teetered sideways.
Koyuki took a shot at its flank to knock it off balance even further. The powerful anti-materiel-class rifle shaved off a chunk of the creature’s body, causing the Goddess to crash into the dirt with a screech.
Goddesses lacked offensive power but were highly durable. Rindou moved in close and grabbed the downed creature’s wings in a joint lock to prevent it from flying back into the air. Azuma seized the opening, pointing the tip of his sword toward the creature—
“Azuma!!”
Just as the blade was about to hit, the Goddess began to flap its wings. Azuma checked that movement with a single kick and then pressed the blade—Sakura—to the creature’s neck.
“Agh…! It’s too tough…!”
Either he had chosen a bad spot, or he wasn’t fully recovered yet. Either way, the toughness of the creature’s skin won out against Azuma’s attempts to chop off its head. The katana slipped from his grasp mid-strike. Ignoring the blade, Azuma kicked the Goddess as hard as he could instead. That force was enough to leave the Goddess’s head half-crushed, causing it to collapse fully into the dirt.
And yet somehow—it was still alive.
Its head was only connected by a thin scrap of flesh. It was bleeding intensely and did not look long for this world. After slipping from Azuma’s grasp, the katana had once again embedded itself in the earth. But the Goddess’s breathing was shallow. It would likely die soon, even without a finishing blow.
Hence why no one made a move.
No one, however, except for her.
Kaguya was standing closest to Azuma’s waylaid sword. She retrieved it, this sword that still held Sakura’s soul, and used it like a crutch as she approached the Goddess.
“Kaguya.”
Somebody called her name, but Kaguya ignored them. She had to be the one to finish this. She had already made up her mind on that point.
“I’m sorry, Ren. I wasn’t able to save you in the end,” Kaguya whispered as the insectile Goddess continued to hover on the verge of death.
The older brother she had been searching for all this time—his transformation into a hero had been the catalyst for all of this.
“I’m going to go on living. For both our sakes…forgive me.”
Kaguya thought she heard a voice, like some sort of hallucination. No, forgive me. It seemed to be coming from the Goddess, but Kaguya knew that Goddesses couldn’t speak.
I couldn’t say it until now.
But the voice was speaking to her.
No, the truth is I hadn’t even noticed. But I finally understand.
She knew this voice. It was real this time. Please, thought Kaguya. Please don’t say the rest.
Thank you, Kaguya.
How was she going to stop herself from crying once he said it? How would she keep from drowning in all the sorrow and pain? If he said it, she would have to face the fact that she was really losing him.
I love you, Kaguya.
“I love you, too, Ren…”
It was time for their last farewell. At the end of a blade. She didn’t care if the rebound sent her flying. Even that pain would be transformed into love and commitment.
“Thank you.”
And with that, she cut off the Goddess’s head.
Kaguya then collapsed.
Departing upon another comatose journey—into a sleep from which no one could shake her.