Barely ten minutes had passed since the battle began, yet I wondered how many hundreds of blows had been traded in that brief window?
My eyes could hardly track the movements, but I could grasp the gist of the situation.
We were one move short. And that likely applied to Zex and his group as well.
Lilia was locked in a ferocious struggle with Noin, fighting on equal terms with the legendary First Hero, but it didn't feel like a decisive blow had landed yet.
Shia was taking on a crowd of Peerage-class high-ranking demons and had already knocked nearly half of them unconscious. However, she had yet to thin the ranks of the five Count-class demons; their magic power was on an entirely different level, and while she held the upper hand, she couldn't break them.
The trio of Raz, Acht, and Eva seemed to be winning their skirmish against the lower-ranked demons, but they were still being hampered by sheer numbers, caught in a repetitive cycle of advances and retreats.
While the battle appeared to favor us, no attack had managed to reach Zex, the lynchpin of the barrier.
That said, Zex and his subordinates looked like they were hanging on by a thread. The composure they had shown at the start was gone; if they let their guard down for even a second, their defense would crumble.
We were one step away from an all-out breakthrough, and they were one step away from a total collapse. It was a stalemate in the truest sense of the word.
As I turned these thoughts over in my mind, Shia and the others put some distance between themselves and their opponents to regroup by my side.
"Tch. When people with this much skill devote themselves entirely to stalling, it’s even more annoying than I expected," Shia muttered, clicking her tongue in irritation at her inability to reach Zex.
Just as I was about to speak, I heard ragged, heavy breathing from another direction.
"Hah... hah..."
"Lilia! You're drenched in sweat... Are you all right?"
"No matter how massive your pool of magic is," Shia noted, "you’re wielding a portion of the God of Space-Time's authority. You probably have barely any mana or stamina left, do you?"
"Hah... yes... she truly is... a magnificent warrior..."
Lilia was desperately propping herself up, using her greatsword like a cane. Even to my untrained eyes, it was clear she was at her limit.
In contrast, Noin—despite the visible damage she had taken—remained standing firmly on both feet. I was struck once again by the sheer depth of her strength.
Realizing Lilia needed to recover immediately, I pulled a bottle with a straw from my Magic Box.
"Lilia, please, drink this!"
"Oh, yes. Thank you... It’s delicious. Wait, what? This is... my magic and stamina are rushing back... Is this some incredibly expensive high-grade potion?"
"Ah, um... it’s a World Tree Fruit Drink."
Lilia did a literal spit-take.
It was one hundred percent pure juice, by the way. Since I’d had Alice prepare it, the flavor was guaranteed to be excellent—though I’d never tried it myself since it wasn't intended for me.
"Wh-Wh-What on earth are you making me drink!? Why would you turn a Fruit of the World Tree into a beverage? I've heard that if they aren't processed perfectly, the healing effects are ruined! Wait... don't tell me you had the Phantasm King make this just so you could feed it to Rin again?"
"N-Now then! What’s our next move?" I asked, trying to dodge the question.
"Kaito... we are going to have a very long talk once we get back to the mansion."
She saw through me instantly. I was suddenly very afraid of the future.
Regardless, Lilia’s strength had been restored. Even so, the feeling that we couldn't quite overcome Noin persisted. Lilia and the others seemed to feel the same tension, as they stood their ground, staring intently at Zex’s group.
Without a guaranteed finishing move, they couldn't risk a reckless restart. If the fight continued as it had, we would simply run out of time.
I didn't know exactly how much time Fia had left before she departed, but this wasn't a good situation.
As a prickling sense of impatience burned the back of my neck, Noin turned her gaze toward me.
"Kaito... surely that’s enough?"
"What do you mean?"
"Please. Just walk away."
It wasn't an argument. It was a plea.
Noin looked as though she were on the verge of tears as she begged me to retreat. I gave her neither a yes nor a no.
I hadn't been idle during these last ten minutes. Precisely because I couldn't fight, I had been thinking. I thought about Noin’s feelings and her wishes... because I was starting to realize who she really was.
"Your argument is likely correct," Noin continued. "But Fia understands that too... That’s why you should just leave her be."
"..."
"If you do, then surely 'someday'... Fia and Chrome-sama will find a way to reconcile..."
"When you say 'someday'... when exactly is that?"
"Eh?"
"It’s been a thousand years, hasn't it?"
"That’s..."
I didn't raise my voice. I spoke slowly and calmly, questioning her with a steady gaze.
"Noin, this is just a guess... but didn't you originally intend to bring Fia and Kuro back together?"
She flinched.
"But you probably found yourself in a difficult position. You were being hailed as a hero while Fia was being condemned. You felt guilty, so you hesitated to act... and eventually, time just slipped away. You eventually just half-gave up, didn't you?"
"No... that's not... I..."
I suspected that to Noin, Fia wasn't some "demon king" or personification of evil. She was a comrade, someone she respected because they had both fought to protect what was precious to them.
That respect manifested as a paralyzing guilt. It wasn't Noin’s fault, but given her personality, it was exactly the kind of trap she would fall into.
She was visibly shaken now.
"At first, you probably thought there was no rush. You told yourself you could take your time persuading her."
"No..."
"You thought that after more time passed, after the wounds healed, or when the next chance came around... you'd do something. But while you waited for the perfect moment, the years just kept piling up."
"That's... not..."
I wasn't trying to attack her. If anything, I understood her pain all too well. The scale of time was different, but what she was feeling was identical to the person I used to be.
"I’ve been there. Telling myself I’ll work hard 'someday,' that I’ll move 'next time,' that I’ll start 'tomorrow'... making those excuses until the wall I had to climb just kept getting higher and higher, until I couldn't move at all."
Noin let out a small, broken sound.
"I’m a hypocrite. I know I’m in no position to lecture anyone. But I’m going to say it anyway... because it doesn't just happen!"
"..."
"If you don't move now... 'someday' will never come!"
"Ugh... ah..."
"That’s why I won't stop. You can think I'm an outsider meddling where I don't belong. You can despise me if you want. But Noin... do you really believe that things are fine the way they are?"
Her eyes widened, shimmering with a deep, turbulent agitation. She took a step back as if my words had physical weight.
As I tried to step closer, Zex and his subordinates shifted to shield her. But before Zex could speak in her defense, a voice like a crack of thunder sliced through the air.
"Well roared, lad!"
"Huh?"
"Young people ought to be that reckless! I like it. You're exactly my type!"
"That voice... it can't be!" Noin gasped, her expression turning to one of pure shock.
"Go on, young man! Whether your choice is right or wrong is something you can decide once you've reached the end! If there's an obstacle in your way, just smash it! ...Though, it looks like you're short a blade. In that case, I'll lend you mine!"
A massive weapon—a spear over two meters long with a handle like a polearm but tipped with a blade as large as a greatsword—slammed into the ground between me and Zex with a deafening boom.
The owner appeared right behind the impact.
She had a marine blue bob, ears shaped like fish fins, and wore white and blue clothes that looked like a sailor's uniform. Despite her small stature—hardly reaching one hundred and fifty centimeters—she radiated a majestic, overwhelming power as she wrenched the spear from the earth and shouldered it.
"You can count me among your numbers. I'd love to throw away the title of King... but I have no intention of surrendering the title of 'Strongest in the Human Realm' just yet!"
"Laguna... why are you here!?" Noin stammered.
"Well, if a comrade has lost her way, it’s a friend's job to set her straight. Though, as you well know... I tend to be a little rough about it."
The missing piece to break the stalemate had arrived. Another soul who had been trapped by the past, now here to save her friend—Laguna Dia Hydra had entered the fray with impeccable timing.