Alice had told me that a Heart Tool awakens in an instant, and she had been exactly right. The name of my own Heart Tool—along with its power and application—crystallized in my mind like a sudden flash of intuition.
My Heart Tool was called Memories. While its primary function was to grant powerful buffs to those with whom I shared a bond, it also allowed me to summon the dead—at least, those I recognized as having coexisted with me.
This was likely born from the way I had clung to the grief of my parents' deaths for so long. The sheer duration of that mourning had shaped the ability, allowing it to reach even the souls of the departed.
In the moment Memories awakened, I realized something else. The members of the Research Club who had fought alongside me during Shiro-san’s trial were there, too. Even if they had only been fleeting memories of a temporary reality, they were precious people with whom I had truly lived.
The vestiges of those girls, whom I thought had vanished forever, still lived within my heart. Realizing I could call upon them with Memories, I found myself moved to tears.
However, perhaps because I was still unpracticed, my current limit was summoning a single person for a very short time.
That was why I chose her. She was the one who had stayed by my side as my best friend longer than anyone else in that world, the one who had left the deepest impression... Arisa Mamonaka.
As she appeared before me, her long blonde hair fluttering and her eyes hidden behind her signature sunglasses, I knew without a doubt it was the Arisa I remembered. A dull heat prickled the backs of my eyes.
"It’s been a while, Kaito-san."
"Yeah."
"I’ll give you my honest assessment of the situation... right now, I want to die."
"Wait, what?"
I blinked, confused by her sudden declaration. As I tilted my head, I realized her face was turning a deep shade of crimson behind her sunglasses.
"I mean, think about it! I said those damn embarrassing lines back then because I thought that was the end! Nobody told me there was a continue screen! This isn't just my face feeling hot; I feel like my entire head has actually transformed into a fireball!"
"Pfft... Ahaha!"
"Hey, it’s not a laughing matter!"
She was exactly the Arisa I remembered. It was only natural, of course, but that certainty filled me with such profound relief that I couldn't help but laugh.
"What is that thing? Is she different from Shaltier?"
"Oh, uh, it's a long story. I'll explain later. Arisa, for now, I need your help. Do you understand what's happening?"
"Yes, I've got the gist. I just need to beat this thing up, right? Leave it to me. I'll show this creature the power of my journalism!"
"Journalism? Does that have... anything to do with this?"
It didn't seem like the right word for a fight, but Arisa had an extraordinary, inexplicable obsession with being a journalist. I decided to let it slide.
Just then, the Destructive Impulse stood up. It lunged at us with an expression that looked even more infuriated than before, as if protesting the fact that we were ignoring it to have a conversation.
Arisa stepped in front of me to shield me. She held out her hands, and in an instant, a pair of handguns appeared in her grip.
"Don't underestimate me. Right now, I am Kaito-san's Heart Tool; his mental fortitude is converted directly into my strength. You couldn't even best Kaito-san on his own, so you don't have a prayer of winning against me. I'll show you one of the eighty-eight Secret Journalist Techniques... Gun-kata!"
Before the retort in my head—Why on earth is a journalist using Gun-kata?—could reach my lips, Arisa dashed forward. True to her word, she engaged the Destructive Impulse in a spectacular display of dual-pistol close-quarters combat, completely overwhelming the creature.
Because Arisa was a manifestation of my Heart Tool, her physical ability in this space was equal to my own. Combined with her combat instincts—which were vastly superior to mine—the Destructive Impulse couldn't even mount a defense. I watched as damage rapidly accumulated across its form.
"Regrettably for you, your spirit was already half-broken from your fight with Kaito-san. Allow me to give you your final send-off."
As Arisa made her declaration, her pistols vanished, replaced by a single revolver and a bullet that shimmered with the colors of the rainbow. I recognized that light. It was the same bullet Erina had used to pierce the Giant Dragon in that other mental world.
"Wings of Bonds."
Arisa leveled the revolver and pulled the trigger. The rainbow bullet drew a shimmering arc like a pair of spreading wings, piercing through the Destructive Impulse and shattering its body into countless particles of light.
I didn't know if I had successfully forced it to yield, but a definitive conclusion had certainly been reached.
"Whoa...!"
"You aren't used to this tool yet, Kaito-san. Maintaining this form seems to drain you quite a bit."
"I guess so... I wanted to talk to you more, though..."
"It’s okay. I, and everyone else, are still right here in your heart. You can call us with Memories whenever you want to talk."
"I see... You're right. Thank you. And... welcome back, Arisa."
"Yes!"
At my words, Arisa gave me a beaming smile before dissolving into light and flowing back into my body.
Serious-senpai: "I see. They look similar, but her character is definitely different from Alice."
???: "Hoh, in what way?"
Serious-senpai: "Unlike Alice, she hasn't spent hundreds of thousands of years becoming twisted. Deep down, her personality is actually quite honest."
???: "...It seems she's dying of embarrassment, though."
Serious-senpai: "Oh..."