Erina kicked off the ground with explosive force, charging the colossal dragon. Having consolidated the Resources of the Special Six—those who possessed true memories and emotions—her physical capabilities were in an entirely different league now.
With her very first stride, her speed easily surpassed a hundred kilometers per hour. Her leg strength allowed her to sprint up the vertical sides of buildings, and her fists possessed enough power to crush concrete blocks into dust.
And yet, it was "only that much."
Meeting Erina’s charge, the giant dragon swung a massive arm downward. It was a blow of pure, crushing mass. If it connected cleanly, the battle would end in that single instant.
Anticipating the strike, Erina pivoted sharply to avoid the limb. She leaped before the shockwaves could even tremble the earth, landing atop the dragon’s arm. She sprinted up the massive appendage, firing her pistol as she ran.
Though the tiny rounds failed to inflict obvious damage, Erina didn't miss the faint trickle of black water seeping from the dragon’s hide.
(So it's not invincible. It is taking damage... but compared to its total Resource, the amount I'm dealing is infinitesimal. Killing it isn't realistic. Even if every shot destroyed the equivalent of one Black Zombie, I’d have to land seven billion hits.)
Erina pushed her speed to the limit as she climbed. Against an opponent this gargantuan, staying at a distance was suicide. A barrage of flame bullets would incinerate her in a heartbeat. Her only sliver of hope lay in agility—using its own massive size against it by staying beneath its guard.
The dragon’s other arm swept toward her, attempting to swat her off its limb, but Erina skillfully varied her pace to keep the monster from pinning down her position.
(If this dragon moves like a living creature, its blind spot must be its rear. I’ll stake out a position from the back of its neck to its spine. I'll chip away at its health and keep its attention locked on me!)
Her strategy wasn't wrong. Getting inside a giant’s reach and utilizing irritating tactics to hold its attention was sound reasoning. In fact, Erina successfully navigated to the nape of the dragon’s neck, unloading bullet after bullet into the black mass. Even if the individual strikes were weak, she hoped that the cumulative effect might eventually force it to flinch.
However, she had made one fatal error—a preconception.
"What?! Ngh—!"
Caught in a violent gust, Erina reflexively clung to the dragon's hide to steady herself. In that moment, her vision was filled with the looming wall of a skyscraper approaching at terrifying speed.
The dragon was slamming its own back into the building just to crush her. Realizing this, Erina leaped away instantly, skipping down its shoulder, arm, and knee to reach the ground.
She watched the office building shatter into rubble. As she tried to reset her stance, the giant dragon’s silhouette vanished.
"Wait... above me! It jumped?!"
She looked up. The dragon hadn't used its wings; it had used its legs to vault into the sky. It was falling toward her now, its massive hands clasped together like a hammer.
Erina had fallen into a classic trap: assuming that something so massive must be slow. That perception was a lie. The dragon was fast—faster than Erina.
The hammer-blow struck. A massive crater opened in the earth, accompanied by a violent tremor. Though Erina managed to scramble out of the impact zone within the rising dust, the situation was dire. The distance had been reset. And at this range, there was only one thing coming.
"Flame bullets... Dammit, I can't see!"
Massive spheres of fire tore through the dust cloud. The battle had devolved into the exact scenario Erina had feared most. She managed to evade them by a hair’s breadth, but every shot was a potential death blow. She had no room to counterattack.
(My position... I have to make sure none of these fly toward Kaito-kun...)
For Erina, failure meant Kaito getting hit. As long as she could draw the fire, she still had a reason to fight. If the dragon's attention remained on her, Kaito would have the chance he needed. Navigating this chaos to reach the cemetery would take time, but there was still a chance. Hope remained.
But the dragon tore through that hope as its giant arm swept horizontally through the dust.
"When did it get behind me—?! Ngh—!"
It was incredibly agile, moving with a cunning speed that escaped even her heightened senses. It had circled behind her under the cover of the dust. Erina leaped to avoid the sweep. It was the only way.
But she realized the mistake even as she did it. Fleeing into the air against an opponent this fast meant giving up all mobility. It was a fatal opening.
A whip-like tail lashed out toward her. It looked like a black wall rushing through the air. The impact was irresistible, and it sent Erina flying.
"Erina!"
Kaito, who had been watching for an opening to move toward the cemetery, screamed. Erina smashed through a building’s windows and disappeared from view. Crumpled on the floor inside the building, she struggled to rise with trembling limbs.
"Guh... I... I can't... move..."
She had managed to roll with the impact enough to avoid instant death, but the damage was staggering. Her body refused to obey her. Her heart hadn't broken yet, and as long as Kaito was safe, hope lived. But she no longer had the strength to defend him.
As she tried to crawl forward, the dragon loomed over the building. It unhinged its jaw, gathering fire for a point-blank blast. There was no escaping this. The flame bullet would incinerate both the building and her. It was the inevitable end. The gap in power was simply too wide. Six Small Lights against a 7-billion Darkness—there was only one way this could end.
The fire approached in slow motion. Tears escaped Erina’s eyes.
"I'm sorry... Kaito-kun... I'm so sorry... The Real Me... I couldn't do anything."
She whispered her apology and closed her eyes. But one second passed. Two. Ten. Consciousness did not fade.
——That isn’t true.
"What...?"
Erina opened her eyes at the sound of a gentle voice. A girl stood before her, catching the flame bullet. The girl had the same face as Erina, but wore a long black coat. With a casual wave of her hand, she brushed the fire aside and turned to smile at Erina.
——You worked so hard, and because of that, I made it in time. I was able to interfere with this world, if only just a little.
"The... Real Me?"
——Truly, thank you. But you need to hold on for just a little longer. Take care of Kaito-kun for me.
"But... I don't have the power..."
——It’s alright. I told you, didn't I? I was able to interfere...
As Erina tried to argue that she couldn't possibly defeat the dragon, Kuromueina gave her a comforting smile. As if responding to her words, the pitch-black sky erupted with a brilliant radiance.
——That’s why I brought them. All the countless wishes for Kaito-kun’s return...
Light began to rain from the sky. Guided by five massive pillars of radiance, thousands of smaller lights descended toward Erina like a meteor shower.
——Receive them. The bonds Kaito-kun has forged... and these warm, powerful wings!
Kuromueina’s form dissolved into light, and the cascading brilliance was absorbed into Erina’s body. The light was heavy with emotion. The children from Kaito’s original world, the staff of the mansion where he had lived for a year, the Elves who admired him, everyone he had met and spoken with, and even those who had never met him but were grateful for his presence... every warm, kind wish for his safety was gathered there.
"It's so warm. So these are Kaito-kun's bonds... his wings."
Carrying that strength in her heart, Erina stood up. Her injuries vanished as if they had never been. Her body felt light as a feather, and an ocean of power welled up from within. Clad in a shimmering rainbow light, Erina looked toward the obstacle ahead—the giant dragon.
"Wait, it’s hundreds of meters tall, yet it moves that fast and even jumps? Ah, there’s no mistake. This thing is definitely a tuna-eater. The tuna-eaters really are built different."
"Hey! Stop putting weird gags in! This is the climax! The serious energy is peaking right now!"