Chapter 68

"Ultimately, just a bug! Is this all you've got?"

"..."

Hoshigaki stood at the classroom door, took a deep breath, and firmly gripped the secret letter from her mother.

---

Hoshigaki, who was fighting Luna, was struggling now.

The reason was simple.

Her attacks were not reaching Luna at all.

"Evening Bullet!"

"It's useless! A mere bug like you!"

Hoshigaki released a human-sized ball of flame, but it never hit Luna.

All her attacks fell to the ground in front of her.

"As long as I have this <Gravity Magic>, you can't defeat me."

The "Evening Bullet" that was pressed into the ground failed to unleash its full power and dissipated.

Observing this, Hoshigaki began to think while checking her remaining magic power.

(I've fired at least five times... No matter the angle, they're all pressed down... If there's a strong gravitational field surrounding her like a barrier, my attacks won't reach her... To hit without being pressed down... Unconsciously... Maybe I should circle around to her back?)

Having roughly formulated her plan, Hoshigaki ran.

Her legs, enhanced by magic, were faster than a human's.

(Fast... )

In fact, Luna felt a sense of crisis in this situation.

Her magic had a unique weakness.

First, while it could crush anything, it had limitations in distance and range.

Creating a gravitational barrier around herself was easy, but the areas where she could intensify gravity were limited to about two spots, with a range of about 10 meters.

Within that distance, she could instantly press an enemy.

However, it was impossible to catch the fast-moving Hoshigaki.

Luna had never achieved much on her own.

Her true strength was only revealed when she was with her teammates.

Since she had created this situation, she had to take responsibility and defeat Hoshigaki, but she was already being forced to use her ultimate move.

(Damn... Without someone to hinder the enemy's movements, it's hard to hit...!)

Luna activated her magic.

The rain pouring down intensified in that area, and the ground began to sink.

However, Hoshigaki was no longer there.

Still, Luna smiled.

"Behind you!"

"..."

Hoshigaki, as planned, had moved to Luna's back and was about to cast a spell.

However, her plan was easily seen through, and it was exactly what Luna had anticipated.

"Indeed, casting a spell from directly behind does delay the activation! But if I knew you were coming, it's a different story!"

Her magic was neither fast nor had a wide range.

To hit, she had to predict the enemy's movements.

She subtly revealed that she often had a gap in her back, intentionally making it a target.

And then, she caught the bug that flew in...

"I'll finish you off like this! <Gravity Hammer>!"

It was too late to run.

Hoshigaki, who had stopped to cast her spell, was crushed by the immense pressure from above.

"Ugh... Ugh..."

"It's useless to struggle. You can't escape from this gravity."

Her body was being pressed into the ground.

The sound of her body being crushed began, and it seemed she was about to merge with the ground.

"Crush now."

"Ga...!"

Finally, Hoshigaki's body was completely crushed.

It was a gruesome sight... but then, something strange happened.

"What...?"

The body that was supposed to be crushed began to burn.

No, it was not just burning.

The body itself was made of flames.

What was thought to be Hoshigaki's body dissipated and disappeared on the ground.

"---You fell for my <Flame Clone> beautifully."

"Ugh, above!?"

Luna looked up.

Above her, Hoshigaki was there.

"If your magic intensifies gravity, then above you is safe, right?"

"Damn..."

When the enemy engaged in long or mid-range combat, Luna could display overwhelming defensive power.

However, if the enemy got close and took the position above her, her magic became almost useless.

Because if she used <Gravity Magic> on an enemy above her, she would crush herself as well.

"Evening Bullet!"

"Chii!"

The familiar Evening Bullet was released.

It exploded with a solid impact, producing steam.

"There was a solid hit... I think."

Hoshigaki, who had taken a slight distance and landed, waited for the steam to clear.

The Evening Bullet had definitely hit.

However, there was no sensation of taking a life.

One of Elka's teachings was never to let your guard down until you confirm the enemy's death.

Sure enough, Luna was still alive.

"Haa... Haa... You... Bug!"

"You seem more like a bug with that much vitality."

She had narrowly avoided a direct hit, and her right side was burned and charred, but there were no other noticeable injuries.

It seemed she had mostly taken the impact on her shoulder, which was badly burned.

The damage was severe.

However, her eyes burned with anger and fighting spirit.

"I'll definitely kill you... <Limit Break>!"

"What...!?"

With a roar of anger, Luna's magic power exploded.

There was no visible change in her appearance.

However, Hoshigaki sensed a clear difference.

"My body... is being pulled sideways...?"

"<Infinite Gravity>... You're going to fall sideways!"

It felt as if the ground was tilting.

Hoshigaki's resistance was easily lost, and she began to fall sideways.

"! <Sky Step>"

With nothing to grab onto nearby, Hoshigaki landed on the air.

<Sky Step> allowed her to walk in the air.

However---

"Such futile resistance! It won't work in my world!"

The gravity affecting Hoshigaki changed again.

This time, her body began to fall upwards.

"What!?"

At this moment, Hoshigaki felt her first anxiety in the battle.

Falling upwards meant falling towards the sky, and possibly into space.

While she had never tried it, even Setsu would not survive in space.

"Gravity is absolute! Fall... wherever you may!"

Hoshigaki used <Sky Step> again.

However, Luna was not about to let her.

"It's useless!"

The gravity changed again, and Hoshigaki began to fall sideways.

Furthermore---

"A bug like you can't predict such movements!"

"!"

On her third <Sky Step>, Hoshigaki suddenly found Luna in front of her.

Using the direction of gravity for high-speed movement, a technique Luna could use as easily as breathing.

"<Heavy Kick>!"

A heel drop, enhanced by magic, was slammed into Hoshigaki.

Though she avoided a direct hit with her arms, the gravity direction changed at that moment, causing her to lose her balance.

"Ah!"

"One more!"

Another <Heavy Kick> from the other foot exploded into her.

"Ugh..."

With her abdomen left unprotected, the heel drop, combined with the normal gravity, slammed her body into the ground at high speed.

The impact was so severe it took her breath away.

If Hoshigaki had just arrived in this world, this one hit would have killed her.

(No...! I'm hurting my internal organs and bones... I need to heal...!)

"Still not over!"

Before she could heal, Hoshigaki's body was lifted from the ground.

As she began to fall upwards again, Luna also started to fall with normal gravity.

This meant they were approaching each other at a high speed due to the double gravity---

"It's over! <Gravitational Break>!"

A powerful kick, enhanced by the double gravity, caught Hoshigaki in the abdomen.

The pain was so intense it almost knocked her out, and the damage accumulated to a dangerous level.

"Ugh..."

The gravity direction changed again, and Hoshigaki was slammed into the ground.

She created a large indentation in the ground and spat out a large amount of blood.

She knew something had burst inside her.

Her body was no longer moving.

---Luna judged that Hoshigaki was finished... but.

"Ah... It... hurts..."

"You... can still move...?"

Her bones were shattered, her internal organs damaged.

Yet, the judgment of combat inability was wrong.

"Elka has shattered my bones many times."

Her internal organs were destroyed many times.

Her limbs were severed many times.

She was burned and frozen many times.

Her body was torn apart many times.

"I once had everything in my body destroyed. This is nothing... It hurts, but it's not enough to stop me."

"You're... a monster..."

"No, I'm not."

This level of damage was far from making her a monster.

The one she loved and pursued was the true monster.

Hoshigaki wanted to become a monster.

To stand by his side, she wanted to become a monster.

She wanted to be the best woman, capable of supporting Setsu.

"I'm not a monster. That's why... you lose to a 'human.'"

Hoshigaki's magic power swirled inside her.

It gradually grew larger and eventually overflowed from her body.

Then, it began to burn.

"<Limit Break>"

Hoshigaki's entire body was engulfed in flames.

The flames clung to her body, changing shape like a garment.

It was an orange, fiery cloak.

"<Cloak of Evening Flame>"

The flames began to flicker from her skin.

Her hair swayed like flames.

Beautiful yet terrifying, it was like the sun itself.

"What... Are you trying to burn yourself with flames? Your ultimate move is quite a wild one!"

Luna, slowly landing on the ground, tried to act tough despite breaking out in a cold sweat.

Hoshigaki remained unmoved, expressionless.

"Want to try it out?"

"!"

Luna instinctively applied strong gravity to Hoshigaki from the side.

Her instinct told her to take distance.

With <Limit Break>, the distance limitation was almost non-existent.

Fighting at a distance should allow her to win safely.

...This instinct and thought were proof that Luna was afraid of Hoshigaki, but her pride was not low enough to realize it.

"It's useless."

However, Hoshigaki did not budge.

"What... Why!"

"My body... is made of flames."

Hoshigaki said this with a blank expression.

Unlike spells like <Evening Bullet>, which compressed and released high energy, her current body was made of weightless flames.

Flames themselves have no weight, meaning they were almost unaffected by gravity.

"So what! If you're like that, you can't touch me either!"

"Still... don't you get it?"

"Huh... What are you---"

Luna, trying to laugh it off, suddenly realized something.

The rain that had been pouring down was not touching her body.

And the ground, which should have been a mess, was completely dry.

"Could it be...!?"

The air was already scorching hot.

And it was still rising.

"This magic, by converting my body into flames, makes me completely immobile. In exchange, I can raise the temperature of the area I'm in to a level where humans can't survive."

The rain evaporated in mid-air, and puddles dried up instantly.

The temperature had already exceeded 100 degrees Celsius.

"What... So what if it's that hot? I won't dry up!"

For a normal human, it would be a fatal level, but Luna was different.

Her body, modified multiple times, was incredibly strong from skin to constitution.

Her skin would not scream unless she was thrown into flames.

Yet...

"What...?"

Luna fell to her knees.

She could not even stand, let alone use <Gravity Magic>.

Despite the temperature not reaching her activity limit.

"Can't... breathe, can you?"

"..."

She could not breathe properly.

While she could inhale a small amount of oxygen, it was not enough for normal activity.

(Could it be... the oxygen in the air...?)

"Fire... can't burn without oxygen."

In Luna's dazed consciousness, she realized something terrifying.

Oxygen was essentially infinite.

But in this area, the supply was not keeping up.

Hoshigaki was using the supplied oxygen as fuel.

"Ha... Ha..."

Luna crouched down.

Sweat evaporated as soon as it appeared, but her body temperature did not drop.

Her clothes began to burn, and her skin was already scorched.

She had no strength to fend off or move away.

"I can't... lose..."

Burning, Luna began to mumble.

"To be recognized... by Lord Fuyuma..."

"..."

Hoshigaki said nothing.

Seeing Luna's form, she felt no emotion, could not feel any.

This magic, which turned her body into flames, made it impossible to feel emotions.

So, she could not speak.

Realizing she could have been in the same position, Hoshigaki never opened her mouth.

"By Lord... Fuyuma's... side..."

Finally, she ignited from within.

A burning mass, no longer making a sound, Hoshigaki watched it burn out.

"You... were like me."

Perhaps, the way they felt about their loved ones was similar.

In front of the charred mass, Hoshigaki muttered softly.

---