Withstood the attack. With her body. She was, of course, using evolution magic and strengthening magic to raise her endurance to the limit, but even Yue hadn’t expected her spell to do no damage at all. In fact, she’d been hoping the attack would have given Shea a concussion, ending the fight.
“Pathetic, Yue-san! If this is all you’ve got then you can’t stop meeeeeeeeeeee!”
“You damned overpowered rabbit!”
There was a quiver of fear in Yue’s voice. She couldn’t believe how tough Shea was. Panicking slightly, Yue retreated in the face of Shea’s charge. At the same time, she gathered all of her mana.
There was a loud boom, and chunks of ice were blown off the floor and walls. Flames scorched the air, while lightning blasted through the ice. Another explosion pounded at everyone’s eardrums, and ripples of mana spread out across the room. The severity of the damage to the environment showed just how serious these two were. However—
“Yue-san, you umm... jerkface!”
“Shea you... big dummy!”
Their insults were growing even more childish. It seemed they’d run out of good ones. Kaori and her copy watched with empty eyes as Yue and Shea called each other grade-schooler names while having an epic battle the likes of which history had never seen. They were both sitting in a corner of the room, hugging their knees. Even though this was meant to be the room for her trial, Kaori had become just a spectator. She’d been seconds away from completing her trial, but now she was watching Yue and Shea insult each other. Kaori’s despair was understandable.
Her copy slowly got to its feet and said resolutely, “I’m going.”
It looked surprisingly gallant. In fact, it was hard to believe it was composed only of negative emotions. It seemed more like a brave warrior heading off to die. Kaori’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Are you going to try and stop them!? You can’t, you’ll die!”
It was far too reckless to try. The battlefield occupied by the overpowered rabbit and broken vampire was undoubtedly a field of death. The moment anyone stepped between them, they would perish. However, the copy’s resolute expression didn’t change.
“I am a trial of this labyrinth. I cannot allow others to interfere with my, with your trial. This is my pride as an offshoot of the labyrinth.”
I will do this. For my sake, and for yours. Seeing the copy’s smile, Kaori was at a loss for words. She knew full well the copy stood no chance at stopping Yue and Shea’s battle. Something even deeper than friendship was connecting the two, driving them to fight. It was possible they’d just both gone crazy.
But even so, Kaori smiled. She got to her feet and looked her copy in the eyes.
“Come back safe and sound. I’ll be waiting for you!”
“Fufu, guess I’ve got no choice but to come back now.”
Kaori looked like a loyal wife watching her husband go off to war. The scene between the two of them would have been a perfect fit in a movie. If Kaori and her copy weren’t so mentally drained, they probably would have cared more about how absurd this situation was. The copy reluctantly turned away from Kaori, then stared at the field of death, destruction, and petty insults.
“Kaori Shirasaki’s copy, now sortieing!”
“Please stay safe!”
The copy charged forward without hesitation, just like the original would have. But second later—
“Outta my way!”
“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!?”
It was flying through the air. The copy traced a perfect arc through the sky.
“M-My faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaake!”
“Ngh, I-I’m fine! I can still keep going! I’ll stop them, so just watch!”
The copy flipped in midair during the peak of its arc and spread its black wings to steady itself. Its hair and clothes were singed, but its resolve was unscathed. Then, it raised its twin blades and faced the battlefield with the courage of a hero. In fact, it seemed to be enjoying playing the role of the tragic martyr. That made sense, considering it was a copy of Kaori.
The copy glared at Yue and Shea and shouted in a voice loud enough to shake the heavens, “Cut it out, you two! This is our battlefield! Stop disturbing the trial!”
Two simultaneous explosions and a barrage of insults flew between Yue and Shea as they ignored the copy completely. Both of them were focused only on each other. They’d attacked Kaori’s copy on reflex, registering it as nothing more than another obstacle. Annoyed at being ignored twice in a row, the copy snapped.
“Y-You bastards! Fine, I’ll make it so you can’t ignore me!”
Veins bulging in her forehead, Kaori’s copy flapped its wings. Moving faster than the eye could follow, it dropped right in between Yue and Shea. As it landed, it swapped out the grip on its blades. It held its swords in front of it, flat sides facing outward. The copy was planning to knock Shea and Yue out simultaneously with the flat of its blades. Its first target was Shea, who was currently being petrified by Yue’s stone dragon’s breath. Using gravity to accelerate its strike, the copy slashed down at Shea.
“I’ve got you now! Accept your punishment!”
But just before the copy’s blade hit Shea—
“Hmph!”
Shea broke free from the petrification. It seemed she’d used evolution magic and restoration magic to halt the petrification’s progress. After which sheer force of will had been enough for her to shatter the thin layer of stone that had formed over her skin. The copy didn’t even have time to be impressed. As Shea broke free, she grabbed hold of the copy’s blade with just one hand, avoiding getting cut by grabbing the blade between her fingers. Not only that, she’d grabbed it from the side, since Kaori’s copy had intended to strike with the flat of the blade.
“You’ve gotta be kidding me!”
The copy was utterly nonplussed. Meanwhile, Shea was still completely focused on Yue. She yanked the copy’s blade backward, like a pitcher. Then, with perfect form, she threw it right at Yue.
“Take this!”
Her throw was so perfect it could be called art. Naturally, Kaori’s copy was still holding onto the blade.
“Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
She shot toward Yue like a black meteor. Despite her screams though, Yue only had eyes for Shea.
“Swallow it whole, Overcharged Draconic Thunder!”
A lightning dragon many times the size of Yue’s previous ones descended from the sky. It opened its jaws wide, ready to catch Kaori’s copy.
“Eeek!?”
The copy squealed and desperately wrapped itself in its wings, activating its disintegration abilities. Yue’s oversized lightning dragon swallowed it whole. However, a second later, Kaori’s copy shot out of its back. It had used its wings’ disintegration powers to open a hole in the dragon. A second later, Shea dashed through the same hole. She’d charged forward the moment she’d finished throwing Kaori’s copy. It seemed she’d planned to use the copy as a meat shield all along.
On the other hand, Yue blocked the path in front of her by deploying multiple Heavensfalls. She was planning to push Shea back with the power of gravity.
“Hwaaaaaaaaah!?”
As a result, though, the copy was sucked into the gravitational field and slid across the ground toward the floating spheres. One couldn’t help but pity it. Had Shizuku been present, she would probably have gone off on Shea and Yue for hurting her best friend, even knowing it was just a copy of Kaori. And the copy writhed on the floor, struggling to get up against. The moment it finally managed to raise its head—
“Mmmph!?”
Shea jumped on its face, sending it crashing back to the ground again. Without even a backward glance at what she’d stepped on, Shea swung Drucken at Yue. While Yue managed to avoid the impact by falling backward and erecting a barrier, the copy wasn’t so lucky. Shea’s swing hit the ground, and the resulting shockwaves sent the copy flying. Slivers of ice glimmered all around it, as did a few droplets of water. It seemed the copy had beg
un crying.
The fight built up toward its climax, the combatants unaware of the poor victim they’d tormented. Both Yue and Shea’s clothes were a mess, and while their respective magic had kept both of them unscathed, they were both panting. Their mana was almost gone. It was obvious both of them were nearing their limits. But they were both too stubborn to pull out their magic accessories to replenish their mana.
“Yue-san...”
“Shea...”
Yue summoned her five elemental dragons while Shea readied her ball and chain. Waves of golden mana flooded the room while a tornado of pale blue mana rose up to heavens. The air crackled as their mana collided. Realizing this would be their final clash, both of them exchanged glances. Standing between them was a stumbling Kaori copy, but neither of them paid any attention to it.
“Run away, my fake! Get out of there!”
“Fweh?”
Kaori had her hands cupped around her mouth and was screaming at her copy to flee. But the copy’s reactions dulled. It seemed it still hadn’t fully recovered from that earlier barrage of attacks, meaning it was in no shape to escape from this final clash.
“You don’t understand a damn thing!” Shea shouted.
“You’re so stubborn!” Yue replied.
Yue unleashed all five of her dragons, focusing their destructive energies on a single point. In retaliation, Shea swung with all her might at her metal ball. She sent it flying at maximum power toward the dragon onslaught. The respective pinnacles of magical and physical destructive power clashed in the center of the room. Unbelievably powerful shockwaves rippled outward, destroying everything in their path.
“Ah!?”
The copy barely even had time to scream before it was hit. The shockwaves sent it flying toward Kaori, white smoke trailing behind it. It bounced across the ground a few times, then rolled to a halt at her feet. Smoke was still rising from its body, and it wasn’t moving at all.
Kaori covered her mouth and whispered, “H-How horrible...”
The copy’s face twitched.
“I’m sorry. I couldn’t defeat them.”
It seemed the copy was still alive, though only barely. Kaori swept it up in her arms and hugged it tightly.
“Don’t talk! If you waste too much energy, you’ll die! You’ve worked hard enough! Just rest!”
“You know...”
The two of them were talking to each other as if they were lovers, but they were ostensibly the same person. Of course, the copy was being guided by the labyrinth, but their emotions and personality were fundamentally the same.
Unfortunately, their reunion was cut short by an ominous rumbling above them. The ceiling had been so badly damaged by Yue and Shea’s fight that it was threatening to collapse on top of them. Seeing the cracks directly above it, the copy shouted, “Run! I’ll be fine!”
“No way! I can’t leave you behind!”
Both of them were spouting lines that would fit right in with a soap opera.
Too weak to move, the copy implored Kaori to run away on her own. But Kaori refused to leave her behind. Of course, this all could have been solved had Kaori picked the copy up and taken it with her, but such an aesthetically displeasing solution didn’t occur to either of them.
“I am nothing more than your copy. A shadow. It is my destiny to die here.”
The copy smiled faintly. Kaori hesitated for a moment, then steeled her resolve.
“I guess you’re right. Take this!”
With a cute yell, Kaori thrust her blade into the copy’s chest.
“Wha? Why?”
Kaori looked away awkwardly and replied, “I-I mean, if you died to something that wasn’t me, the labyrinth wouldn’t recognize me as someone who’d cleared it so... my only choice was to kill you before you died.”
Kaori was absolutely correct. But that then begged the question of why she’d bothered to have that dramatic exchange with her copy moments before.
Looking back on it though, all of Kaori’s entreaties could be interpreted as her not wanting her copy to die so that she could be the one to defeat it. Of course, Kaori wouldn’t admit that to her copy now that it was beginning to disappear. The copy, however, guessed everything and its eyes glazed over.
“Fufufu, looks like we’ve grown stronger than I thought. I’m happy you’ve matured this much, but this really isn’t the way I was hoping to go out...”
Looking up, the copy noticed the labyrinth’s self-restoring properties were fixing the ceiling already. That was hardly surprising; the labyrinth had been doing that ever since the party entered. Realizing that even its final sacrifice had been a waste, the copy slumped its head. Tears spilled from its eyes as it vanished into mist.
“Victory has never felt so hollow...”
Had anyone been listening to Kaori, they would likely have retorted “Like you have any right to say that.” The pure Kaori who had first come to Tortus was long gone. She’d been poisoned by Hajime’s philosophy now. Meanwhile, Yue and Shea’s battle had finally drawn to a close.
“Cough...”
“Wheeze...”
Both of them were lying on the ice, panting. They were so drained of mana they couldn’t even stand. Silence filled the space between them as they searched for the right words to say. After a few minutes, the first one to finally speak was Shea.
“Please don’t say such sad things anymore.”
“......”
“If you’re worried something’s coming for you, let’s beat it up together.”
“......”
“It doesn’t matter what we’re up against, it doesn’t matter how bad the odds are, as long as we’re together, we’ll never lose. I’m sure of it.”
Shea was surprisingly eloquent for someone completely out of breath. Yue listened quietly, her breathing slowly steadying.
“You and Hajime-san are the ones who taught me that. So no matter what you say, I’ll never accept your request. Not as long as you’re so scared you’ve given up on your own future, Yue-san.”
It was precisely because Shea could see the future that she would never allow Yue to act so defeatist. Especially since Yue was the one who stood by the side of the one man who never gave up no matter what destiny threw at him.
“Don’t entrust your future to me! Let me help you! Instead of asking me to take care of Hajime-san, ask me to fight together with you!”
Those who fought along Hajime had no need for weak-willed sentiments like self-sacrifice. If whatever was after Yue was powerful enough to destroy everyone’s future, they’d still fight it together. After all, they’d resolved to share their fates. And Yue should have known that best of all.
“I’ll never agree to your shitty request, no matter what. How could I?”
“Shea...”
Tears spilled from Shea’s eyes as her sadness finally overwhelmed her anger. She’d hoped to beat Yue in a fight, and thus prove she was strong enough to protect her. That way, Yue would have stopped acting so weak. That was what Shea had thought. But in the end, her master had proven too tough to defeat.
Shea had failed to win, and she was just as frustrated at her own weakness as she was at Yue. The thought that Yue might die because she wasn’t strong enough was unbearable. At the same time though, she couldn’t stand how defeatist Yue was being. She’d kept her emotions somewhat in check during the fight, but now they were spilling over.
As Shea bawled her eyes out, Yue gingerly lifted her head off the ground and stared at her best friend. Though Yue had expended every last drop of mana and was utterly exhausted, her mind felt as cool and clear as a sunny winter morning. The haze of unease that had wrapped itself around her had vanished.
“The future is something we always have the power to change.” That had been one of the first things Shea had said to Yue and Hajime. Furthermore—
“We’ll beat down anyone who stands against us and bust our way out of this shitty world.” She’d made that promise with Hajime.
Yeah, you’re right. Yue sighed to herself. She wanted to just crawl in a hole and hide. She couldn’t believe she’d shown such a pathetic side of herself to Shea.
Resolve, huh...? Shea was right. Yue had resolved to fight back when she’d escaped the abyss. What meaning was there in resolving to do anything else? Yue wanted to slap herself, but Shea had already done a good job of that.
Right now, what she needed to do was something else. She replenished her mana using one of her accessories and struggled to her knees. She then crawled over to Shea. Putting Shea’s head on her lap, she gently wiped away her tears and snot.
“Shea, I’m sorry.”
“Yue-san?”
Shea looked blankly up at Yue.
“You’re right. It doesn’t matter what happened in the past, or who I really am. I want to be together with you and Hajime. And if something stands in the way of that, we’ll blast it to pieces. Isn’t that right?”
“Y-Yeah, that’s right.”
“Mmm... Even if something does happen to me, I’m sure you and Hajime will save me. So there’s nothing to worry about.”
“Isn’t that obvious? Waaaaaaaaah.”
“Mmm... I’m sorry for asking such a horrible thing from you. Can you forgive me?”
“Of course! But don’t you ever ask for something like that again! Promise me!”
“Mmm... I promise.”
Shea dragged herself up into a sitting position and hugged Yue. Savoring the warmth of her best friend’s embrace, Yue hugged her back. The two of them stayed like that for a few minutes. It felt as though the air in the room had gotten warmer. This was the first time in both of their lives that they’d fought with a friend. Fortunately, their fight had only served to strengthen their bonds. As the saying went, what hadn’t killed them only made them stronger.
However, they had completely forgotten about the one casualty of their fight. Kaori approached the pair, her footsteps breaking the silence. In a low growl, she said, “Good for you. I have no idea what you two were fighting about, but it looks like you worked it out.”
“Hm?”
Still hugging each other, Yue and Shea turned blankly to Kaori. She was smiling, but that smile didn’t reach her eyes.
Arifureta: From Commonplace to World's Strongest Vol. 10 Page 7