The mental slugfest—a battle of sheer willpower against Megiddo-san’s Destructive Impulse—raged on. Unfortunately, time continued to slip away without me being able to land a single effective hit.
Even though I wasn't taking much damage, it felt as if I were completely helpless. Just as that thought crossed my mind, a ring suddenly wrapped around the Destructive Impulse’s body, much like the one it had worn at the start, and its movements ground to a halt.
"Kaito, sorry. That’s enough."
"Megiddo-san?"
I tilted my head at Megiddo-san’s voice. He sounded uncharacteristically apologetic.
"I’m sorry for dragging you into my mess. I can't stand watching you get beaten one-sidedly anymore just because of my circumstances... You’ve done well. So, enough of this..."
"..."
In the first place, I had agreed to this—despite being swept along by the flow—because Megiddo-san’s desire to deal with his Destructive Impulse was sincere.
Through my Sympathy Magic, I could feel his emotions. It almost felt as if he were crying out for salvation.
Indeed, Megiddo-san likely wanted to conquer this Destructive Impulse more than anything, just as he once asked Kuro and Alice to do. Having something inside your body that would run wild unless it was sealed... I could only imagine how that felt. At the very least, I didn't think I could endure it.
"Don't look down on me, Megiddo-san."
"Kaito?"
"Megiddo-san, you love fighting, and you do battles like this all the time, right? Do you really think a warrior would get fired up if the audience told them 'that’s enough' in the middle of a match!"
"..."
"If you have time to say something so pathetic, then give me a cheer instead!"
I didn't care about "submission" or any of that anymore. For now, I just wanted to do everything in my power for Megiddo-san’s sake.
"...Yeah, you’re right. My bad, I said something stupid. Kaito, go! Blow that piece of trash away!"
"Right!"
No more tricks. No more hesitation. I would throw everything I had at this!
Hearing Kaito’s words, Megiddo released the Resealing he had begun to place on the Destructive Impulse. Naturally, the impulse charged at Kaito with full force and swung its fist—but Kaito didn't look away or try to defend. He took the punch squarely on the face and swung his own counter-punch in return.
That single blow caught the Destructive Impulse in the jaw, sending its body reeling back.
Kaito had discarded all pretense of defense. He would take the impulse’s attacks head-on and strike back. He had switched to that simple, brutal tactic.
The Destructive Impulse swung its fists, but Kaito didn't flinch. He continued to take the blows, waiting for the exact timing to hammer home a counter. Each time he did, the Destructive Impulse was sent flying.
The Destructive Impulse possessed a will of its own, and that will was now flickering with confusion. The blow it had just received was far heavier than the ones before.
Thinking it was just its imagination, it attacked again, but after landing several strikes, it felt a mounting sense of wrongness.
At first, Kaito had at least recoiled. Whenever his spirit became unstable, the damage would pass through... but what about now? No matter how many fists it rained down, Kaito didn't move an inch. On the contrary, the speed and power of his occasional counters were steadily increasing.
That was the reality of it—having steeled his resolve, Kaito’s spirit was growing stronger at an exponential rate.
Before long, the Destructive Impulse could no longer track the speed of Kaito’s fists with its eyes. The frequency of his counters began to rise. Its own arms, used to strike Kaito, began to ache. Kaito’s spirit was strengthening at a terrifying velocity.
The Destructive Impulse’s hands faltered. Even if it attacked, it would only receive a powerful counter; it couldn't land any real damage. While it stood there wondering what to do, it was struck by shock.
It could not believe the fact that it, the Destructive Impulse itself... was hesitating to attack.
It had faced strong opponents before. Kuromueina and Shaltier—both had used their overwhelming technique to suppress and defeat it. Even then, the Destructive Impulse had never yielded, believing it would one day grow and overcome them.
But what about the being standing before it now? At first, there had been a gap, but the impulse had held the upper hand through sheer skill. Yet, Kaito was still continuing to grow at an accelerating pace. His heart grew so strong it felt as though his depths were bottomless.
The thought that it could not win crossed its mind. To shake it off, the Destructive Impulse charged toward Kaito and swung its fist—only to be intercepted by Kaito’s fist swinging down first.
Kaito had already raised his physical ability to the point where he could land a punch before the impulse’s attack even connected. A desperate gap in ability was forming between the two.
While the Destructive Impulse stood in shock, a sharp crack echoed, and one of its horns snapped. In this Heart Match, when clear damage was etched onto the body, it was proof that the spirit was beginning to break.
As it wondered what it could possibly do, the Destructive Impulse looked at Kaito—and Kaito suddenly burst into tears.
"Kaito!? What’s wrong, are you okay!?"
"Yes, sorry. I’m just... so happy..."
"Happy?"
At Megiddo’s puzzled voice, the Destructive Impulse also found itself unable to move, confused by the situation. Amidst that, Kaito quietly spun his words.
"No, I just realized how sudden it really is... and I'm glad that you stayed inside my heart without disappearing..."
"U-Uh, what?"
In his confusion, Kaito wiped his eyes and stared at the Destructive Impulse with intense eyes as he continued.
"Those hearts are a certain trail trodden—footprints of memories we laughed and cried over together—the bonds we spun are fragments of a miracle—my heart is here! Be one with me! Memories!"
As words of clear power were woven, Kaito’s body shone with a brilliant light. Then, a voice that belonged to neither Kaito nor Megiddo echoed through the space.
"Well, I'm quite late, but... thank you for waiting, Kaito-san. The 'Help Character' has arrived!"
Serious-senpai: "Objection!!"
???: "Whoa, what’s the matter?"
Serious-senpai: "I mean, look! I forgot which chapter it was, but there was a promise that Kaito wouldn't have some convenient 'awakening in a pinch'!!"
???: "I see. Well then, let's organize the current situation."
~~~
Destructive Impulse: (What is this being? My attacks won't even land properly anymore. He’s just getting stronger without limit. Even I, the Destructive Impulse, am about to yield... It's frustrating, but to have fought such an opponent is also a stroke of luck...)
Kaito: "Uooooh, Memories!"
Destructive Impulse: (Why did you come here just to overkill me? Tell me!)
~~~
???: "That's how it went, though?"
Serious-senpai: "...Yeah. I see. It wasn't an awakening in a pinch. He was already winning with an overwhelming advantage, and then he used an awakening just to go for the overkill... What a ruthless protagonist!?"