“…I’m sorry.”

That was the first thing Sorciera said.

At the center of the magic circle, the two girls pressed their foreheads together. At first, Kirara had no idea what was happening, but she quickly realized it was necessary for telepathy.

The words of apology flowing into Kirara’s mind carried far more emotion than Sorciera’s usual tone. Perhaps because they were unfiltered thoughts directly transmitted.

Kirara opened and closed her mouth, trying to say something in response, but no sound came out.

(…Is there… no sound here?)

The surroundings were wrapped in silence. Not a single noise—not even the rustling of their clothes, despite how close they were.

It felt as though they had been left alone in a quiet, closed-off world.

“My assumptions were naïve. That angel… is not an enemy we should be fighting right now.”

A voice tinged with urgency and regret echoed directly in Kirara’s mind. The strange sensation made it feel as though she and Sorciera had melted into one.

(Can I talk too? How do I even do this?)

She couldn’t just let Sorciera speak alone. If this continued, the girl would drown in self-loathing, piling apology upon apology. Realizing this, Kirara desperately tried to form words. And then—

“I love you.”

A mistake born of inexperience with telepathy. The words floating in her mind spilled out unfiltered, straight to Sorciera.

“………………!?”

Both of them froze for a moment. That brief silence stretched unbearably long.

“N-No, that’s not it! I mean, that’s not what I meant!”

Kirara immediately backtracked. Though she was usually quick-witted, telepathy was new to her. Still, she managed to regain control after that disastrous first attempt.

“I was just—uh, what I meant was—”

“Thank you.”

Suddenly, she felt a hand gently stroke the back of her head. Sorciera’s expression remained calm, eyes still closed.

But that simple gratitude carried a storm of emotions.

Pure thanks, hope, exhilaration, resignation, regret—and guilt.

Such a complicated response to a confession of affection made Kirara want to cry.

Sorciera couldn’t accept kindness at face value. That was just how she had lived. And how she would continue to live.

(That’s why she said “thank you.” Neither rejection nor acceptance—just the best answer she could give.)

Sorciera was broken. Yet, at the same time, she was also innocent.

She harbored a self-destructive desire to drag someone into an endless abyss with her, yet also believed she alone should suffer.

Caught between these two conflicting impulses, she must have been in more pain than anyone.

Because she understood this, Kirara couldn’t bring herself to say anything more. Whatever she said would only burden Sorciera further.

“…That angel is one of the Six Calamities—the harbingers of ruin.”

Sorciera cut off Kirara’s thoughts. Perhaps she had been reading them through their telepathic link.

“It was supposed to appear alongside the start of the Aohoshi Project. I’m sorry. Encountering it here was a complete miscalculation. My lack of caution is to blame.”

“It’s not your fault! Kisou Academy might have forced its summoning. This isn’t on you!”

“No, it is my responsibility. …I’ve put you in danger.”

Her voice sounded on the verge of tears. Though her face remained composed, the words from her heart betrayed her turmoil.

“Don’t worry. Just watch. I’ll kill that angel without fail.”

With that, Sorciera gave Kirara the faintest of hugs.

(Just watch…? That’s all I can do?)

Kirara reached up to touch the hand still resting on her head. And then, she noticed.

(Her hand… it’s shaking.)

Ever so slightly, Sorciera’s hand trembled.

The fate of humanity rested on the shoulders of a single girl. If the angel escaped here, countless lives would be lost in the outside world. At this moment, Sorciera was the only one who could kill it.

Against a high-ranking angel that had appeared without warning, fighting was the only option.

Suppressing her fear, Sorciera chose to stand her ground.

“The sound from its horns brings instant death. That’s why you must not leave this place.”

With those words, Sorciera pulled away. Rising to her feet, she smiled faintly and raised her scythe.

“——”

Kirara’s voice was silenced by magic before it could form. She reached out, but Sorciera was already gone.

■

Three times.

I’ve peaked three times now.

Sure, I’m a mysterious beauty, but even this is too much.

『…Huh?』

The moment I realized the telepathy with Kirara-chan was like ASMR just for me, I knew I was done for. My brain short-circuited.

She said she loved me.

You hear that, Starreader’s Staff?

Foreheads pressed together, whispering “I love you”—that’s straight out of a yuri visual novel. And the fact that it’s happening in a ruined, blood-red wasteland instead of some flower field just makes it even better.

Starreader’s Staff, this is love. This is eros.

The kind of love you can’t reach just by physical intimacy.

You get it now, right?

『Partner, you never cease to amaze me. You show me worlds I’ve never known…!』

If I’d kept up that telepathic link with Kirara-chan any longer, my hips would’ve given out. So I cut it off early. Time to kill this angel in the coolest way possible!

『Did you really think a mere Cherubim Angel could stand against me?』

I dashed across the desolate land where the sound of death echoed endlessly. Thanks to the small noise-canceling magic circles covering my ears, I could move freely without issue.

Though, to be fair, if you didn’t know the gimmick, hearing the sound even once would be instant death. Talk about cheap game design.

But with my meta knowledge, I’m basically cheating!

『Murder time~ ^^』

Of the Six Calamities, this one’s the easiest to counter. Just don’t listen to its sound.

The rest is just about breaking through its ridiculous physical stats and shock-absorbing skin!

“What an unpleasant noise.”

The moment I closed in, I swung my scythe at the angel’s neck. But all I felt was the blade cutting through empty air.

Wha—so fast! It dodged my attack?!

No way! I’m Sorciera, the S-Rank ultimate explorer!!

『Maybe you’re just the tutorial boss?』

As soon as that thought crossed my mind, I sensed something behind me. At the same time, my magic barrier activated.

『Hah! A cheap shot from behind? How pathetic.』

I turned midair, deploying a magic circle and firing a condensed beam. A silver flash tore through the crimson world, striking the Cherubim Angel head-on.

But all it did was slightly scorch the surface. No real damage.

Wait, how tanky is this thing?! In the original, Mihaya-chan’s cheat gun took it down. Does that mean it’s a pain without her?

『A basic bombardment won’t pierce it, huh? It must have countermeasures. But its attacks can’t touch us either. Let’s take our time and cook it slowly~』

Silver chains shot out from around me, binding the angel’s limbs. But the next instant, they shattered into pieces.

Hey, what the hell?!

『Impossible! My chains—broken?! No, no way! I’m the ultimate Demonsgear! There’s no way I’d lose to the likes of you!!』

…Maybe I am the tutorial boss.

The Cherubim Angel charged the moment the chains broke.

I deployed a ridiculously ornate magic circle as a shield, blocking its attack head-on. There’s something so cool about a girl summoning a barrier dozens of times her size.

『So cool…』

Still, what now?

A monster with an indestructible body and an instant-death sound attack. Hmm… scary.

Who’d be best to fight this besides Mihaya-chan? Rokuhara’s a wild card, so excluding him… maybe Ryuuko-chan or Kirika-chan? They can kill from range.

Matching their firepower for a one-shot kill might be the safest bet. So, Starreader’s Staff, prep the super-artillery!

『Double Star?! You’re going for Double Star?! Right after telepathic intimacy, you’re going to show her being devoured by the same existence as you?!』

No, that’s not—why are you so excited?!

『You should try looking at yourself objectively sometime.』

I’ll ignore whatever nonsense the staff’s spouting. Besides, showing Kirara-chan Double Star would be unpredictable. Better keep Zero sealed for now.

I’ll break her emotionally at the right moment.

『Then what’s the plan?』

Starreader’s Staff, I’m gonna use that Converged Slash you did before. It looked so cool.

The one where the scythe glows purple and goes ZABOOM.

Maximum firepower concentrated into a single point should pierce that squishy armor.

『Hmm. Let’s try it, then.』

Dispelling the barrier, I spread my arms wide—as if inviting the angel in.

“Here I am.”

The Cherubim Angel didn’t hesitate. Its powerful legs tore into the ground as it charged.

Maybe it planned to ram its horns into me, letting the death sound resonate inside my body.

But did it really think that would work on me?!

The instant its horn was about to hit, I scattered my feathers and teleported. Black feathers danced in the air as the angel frantically looked around for me.

“What’s wrong? Try hitting me properly.”

I announced my presence from behind. As it turned to charge again, I teleported once more.

“How pitiful. An angel, reduced to flailing at a mere human.”

I reappeared at its side, then vanished again.

Appearing and disappearing in rapid succession—this was the privilege of a top-tier character: sequential instant teleportation.

And as a bonus, the scattered black feathers turned the area into a mysterious, dreamlike space. Here, my hype levels skyrocketed, granting me a buff to all actions!

『The fact that’s not entirely wrong is terrifying.』

I kept vanishing and reappearing. The angel mindlessly charged, but it couldn’t touch me.

“You planned to destroy humanity with this? How foolish.”

Confused and agitated, the Cherubim Angel was completely disoriented by my teleport spam. Once I’d fully established myself as the mysterious overpowered beauty, I landed gracefully on its neck.

Then, I raised my scythe.

Normally, the angel wouldn’t let anyone get this close. But after endless teleportation, it had no idea where I was. Perching on its neck was trivial now.

“First, I’ll take this.”

I channeled magic into the scythe. The telepathy with Kirara-chan had amplified my mana dozens of times over.

This was the ultimate strike—practically the crystallization of our love. Like cutting a wedding cake.

『That metaphor is terrible.』

The blade fell, severing the Cherubim Angel’s head without resistance.

The head hit the ground with a thud. A fountain of dark blood gushed from the neck, but I didn’t bother dodging.

Getting drenched in blood is part of the aesthetic.

『Right… Wait, does this mean I have to clean the outfit?!』

Ignoring the suddenly practical Starreader’s Staff, I stared up at the sky, covered in blood for no reason.

Total victory for the mysterious beauty. All that’s left is to drag this corpse to Touraku-kun and say, “See? This is an angel.” Original plot: fixed.

“…It’s over.”

Just as I was about to lift the sound barrier and return to Kirara-chan—

A section of the red sky twisted, and something came flying through. Tossed haphazardly, it fell from above. My Mystic Eye caught sight of it.

Is that… Rinka-chan?!

『A girl falling from the sky… Is she the main heroine?』

No time for jokes—we gotta save her, Starreader’s Staff!

I rushed toward Rinka-chan, still plummeting uncontrollably.