Some time passes, but shows no sign of reappearing.
In the painfully silent aftermath, as we finally start to relax,
“Ugh…”
The urge for Umbra compensation hits like a storm.
I desperately suppress my body that wants to hug Hinata-chan standing nearby.
“Ah… ugh.”
Snapping out of her surprise, Hinata-chan’s body also crumbles.
On her knees, she grits her teeth against the hunger gnawing at her entire body.
We’re both in tatters.
On the deserted main street, festival decorations sway lonely.
A quiet atmosphere dominates the scene.
We’re not close enough to praise each other after fighting together.
The ally of justice stands up.
“Now then…, let’s settle… this too…”
Her face contorted by the hunger consuming her body and mind.
Still, she confronts evil.
As I’ve become an enemy of the justice I admire, this is an unavoidable conclusion.
What to do from here—
–The sound of rubble collapsing is heard.
As we turn our heads in shock,
“Ha, haa… — ha, haha, hahahaha!”
From the large hole in the wall, a giant figure emerges with a rumbling sound.
“No way…”
To endure that strike without proper defense, just how much physical enhancement does he have?
No matter how you look at it, this is too absurd…
“Well, well, you’ve really done it now, haven’t you?”
Even the giant man couldn’t escape damage, it seems, as he’s covered in blood here and there.
However, ‘Gouki’ doesn’t have the restriction of compensation umbra.
In contrast, we had already reached our limit.
Looking at us, with our pale faces, biting our lips, and taking shallow breaths, ‘Gouki’ laughs.
“Hey, hey, what’s with those faces, you two?”
“…!”
There must be… there must be something we can still do…!
Even if it’s unsightly, if we struggle until the end, maybe something—.
“…Ah.”
—It’s impossible.
There’s nothing we can do.
“Can’t even speak, huh? How boring.”
Despite his heavy breathing, ‘Gouki’ still has the luxury to move his mouth.
He approaches Hinata-chan, who like me can’t even speak,
“Ugh, ah…!”
He grabs her by the throat as she glares at him.
“You landed quite a blow there, didn’t you, woman?”
“Uu…”
Hinata-chan’s feet leave the ground as her small body is lifted up.
“——”
The moment I see her pained expression, my stomach boils as if on fire.
Even knowing it’s pointless, I try to activate ‘Separation’ beyond my limits, but.
“Hmph, here you go!”
Before I can activate it, ‘Gouki’ throws Hinata-chan at me.
Trying to catch her reflexively,
“Ow…!”
“Ugh…!”
We tumble onto the road surface, entangled.
And then— the [Contact] compensation umbra activates.
I hold Hinata-chan tightly in my arms.
“Kyaa…! What are you doing! At a time like this!”
“Sorry! It’s not—”
Once the compensation umbra activates, it can’t be stopped until it’s paid off.
In other words, we’ve lost even the opportunity to resist.
“Damn it…”
‘Gouki’ walks towards us, looking down with a mocking expression as we lie on the ground.
Seeing that in my field of vision, but.
“S-sorry…”
My consciousness is completely swallowed up by the payment of the compensation umbra.
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Hinata, still trapped in ‘Divergence’s’ arms, was overwhelmed by a hunger so intense she couldn’t even struggle.
“—…Uu.”
There’s nothing she can do anymore.
As a last resistance, she endures the immense hunger.
But it doesn’t last long,
“…Ah.”
Her consciousness becomes hazy due to the feeling of starvation.
And then—— what first disturbed the fog covering her thoughts was her sense of smell.
(Huh, this… this smell. I’ve smelled this somewhere before…)
The scent of wooden buildings, of cedar that has lived with people.
The fragrance of clothes dried carefully in the sun.
A faint aroma of coffee.
Inappropriately, the voices of people dear to her flashed through her mind.
—Ah. You know, sometimes you remember the smell of people’s houses. It brings back old memories too.
—It’s the Proust effect. The phenomenon where memories are evoked by smells. The sense of smell is directly connected to human memory, you know.
“——Ah.”
The arms holding her.
The smell of the black robe pressed against her, brings back memories.
A place she used to visit so often, but now rarely goes to.
Yet the nostalgic scent she can’t forget.
It shakes the depths of the hood that always seemed blurred as if covered by a veil.
(No… it can’t be, it can’t——…)
In the depths of her heart trying to deny it, the scattered puzzle pieces begin to glow.
—Well then, see you later, Hinata-chan.
—Squad Member Soehi.
The way he addressed her when they first opposed each other, and how he called her just now when they fought side by side.
Why he knew her name, why he tried to hide that he knew.
(It can’t be, and yet. Why——)
Behind the hood is the face of the person she loves most in the world, more than anyone else.
It’s not a hallucination shown by the fear of approaching death.
Rather, the illusion has cleared, and everything is crystal clear now.
“——”
It’s Onii-san—Ibuki Ibusuki.
The young man Hinata looks up to like a brother.
That undeniable face.
Why is he in the dark black robe of an enemy… no.
What constricts Hinata’s heart is a thought too convenient.
At the shopping mall, and just now too.
The true intentions of the one who appeared whenever she was in danger.
(To… protect me…?)
That’s the only way she can think about it.
Once she realizes it, that’s the only way she can see it.
She doesn’t want to think about it.
(Ah… already…)
The veil of truth has been removed.
The lie that had been covering his true face, and her own honesty.
The person she loves, ■■■■ is right in front of her.
A warmth spreading from deep within her heart makes everything else seem unimportant.
Even though there’s no acceleration, everything starts to flow slowly.
Her sweetly numbing head illuminates the guiding light with unusual clarity.
Her thoughts lead to the reason why she’s being embraced in such a situation.
If ‘Divergence’ is Ibuki, there’s no reason for him to restrain her to interfere.
There must be some unavoidable circumstances.
So, what are they?
(…Could it be)
Because the truth is connected as a single path, memories are illuminated like street lamps.
After the chase, she was suddenly embraced.
After catching the ice cream, he suddenly held her hand.
(And then, well, I was hugged a lot… ~~~!)
Despite her melting mind, her thoughts accelerate even more.
She already knew about Ibuki’s innate Lux.
She wasn’t told about the compensation umbra because “it’s embarrassing,” but now she understands.
The innate light is ‘Separation’.
Its compensation shadow was [contact] touching.
From its nature, it’s almost certainly the same forced development type as hers.
That’s why she could realize.
No, she had to realize.
That the ‘degree’ of contact and the ‘time’ of payment are inversely proportional.
Even for just a little use, they had to hold hands for over a minute.
Even after using it a lot, they had to embrace for about thirty seconds.
——Then, for more contact than that…?
Surely, the time would become shorter.
As soon as she realized this, Hinata’s thought process was locked in a cage.
Once trapped, she can never escape from this cage.
(To get out of this pinch… it’s for that reason, so it can’t be helped.)
As if making excuses to someone, or to herself, she convinced herself of this.
What wells up from the depths of her heart is the maddening hunger she had forgotten due to the shock.
(I want it… I want it…!)
Driven by that hunger.
She surrenders herself to be satisfied.
Because she wants it so badly.
“Nnn…”
——Your lips.
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