Chapter 121: It really came out…!

The one standing before him was a girl.

Dressed in a dazzling blue kimono, the girl gazed at him with crimson eyes devoid of any emotion.

The moment he met her piercing gaze, his instincts screamed a warning.
‘If I stay still, I’ll be done for.’

He immediately tried to move his legs, but it was already too late. The girl reached forward and opened her mouth.

“To this place, where all life begins and ends.”

At that moment, droplets of water began to scatter around her, and the world underwent a drastic change.

A palace.
An endlessly vast palace, adorned with countless water-colored ornaments, gleamed brilliantly. Before he knew it, the girl in the kimono was sitting on a massive throne, one leg crossed over the other.

“The bell that signaled the beginning melts into the droplets and scatters away.”

With those words, a thunderous roar reverberated through the space. From the palace ceiling, water droplets started to fall, gathering beside the girl and taking the shape of a long spear.

He wanted to run, but he couldn’t move.
He wanted to look away, but his gaze was locked in place.

“The bird that witnessed the end escaped its cage, only to sink into the sea.”

At some point, the girl on the throne had begun to change.
Her jet-black hair was gradually turning silver-blue, and her crimson eyes now shone in an iridescent glow.

It was only then that he finally understood.
Even without intelligence, even without reasoning, he instinctively recognized what kind of existence stood before him.

“A child who knows not the beginning. A child who knows not the end.”

The spear formed of water pierced through his body with blinding speed.
Yet, strangely, there was no pain. Instead, he felt a faint warmth, almost comforting.

The spear slowly melted, spreading over his body until it took the shape of a sphere.

Before he knew it, that sphere was resting in the girl’s hand.

“Now… fall into the abyss of reincarnation.”

With those words, it scattered into iridescent light and vanished.

In the end, his final thought was a quiet murmur.
‘…Beautiful.’

[【Fateful Showdown】Wait for me, my other self!]

“B-before we start, I rewatched the Third Awakening Ultimate Battle video… Isn’t it seriously cool?!”

[Yeah, that part where their hair and eye color changed mid-scene… even I was mesmerized.]

– Isn’t this way too chuuni? LOL

“Hah?! How is this not cool to anyone with a proper sense of aesthetics?! Don’t mess with me, you bastard!”

I refuse to tolerate chat messages that insult my other self!

From what I’ve seen on community boards, everyone agrees that this year’s new Fateful Showdown hero has the best quality ever.
Anyone calling this chuuni is the weird one.

…Though, it’s a bit disappointing that their in-game performance is basically just pretty trash.

– Is this what Mei-chan sounds like when she doesn’t stutter?
– Mei-chan only stops stuttering when she’s excited, so this feels a bit different.

As I skimmed through the chat, I noticed an unexpected amount of praise for my voice.
Even when I ego-searched yesterday, I found a lot of similar comments, which honestly surprised me.

Of course, I’d never deny that my voice is beautiful.
It’s common sense that a beautiful girl should have a beautiful voice.

But since my voice is naturally quite high-pitched, I thought it wouldn’t suit this kind of cool atmosphere.
For some reason, though, everyone was saying it actually fit perfectly.

Apparently, removing my usual stutter made my voice sound oddly cold and composed.
…Come to think of it, that’s probably why I got that weird nickname at school—Ice Princess.
Even now, people are spreading that for some ridiculous reason.

Of course, all of this was just because I edited out my stuttering after recording…
But hey, maintaining Izutomo’s illusions is part of my job.

– Honestly, this is such a character mismatch LOL
– This doesn’t match Mei-chan at all if you think about her usual self
– So you’re saying all her lines from start to finish are completely out of character?

“…N-no way! I’m, um, totally a s-super sociable, ultra-popular, energetic high school girl, and actually, I’m the incarnation of water, so… of c-course something this cool suits me, right, Akabane-san?!”

[…Well, considering we haven’t even appeared in the event story yet, I think it’s fine to wait a bit longer.]

Stop dodging the question!

[Alright, then. Let’s finally get started.]

“Okay.”

On the right side of the gacha screen stood me, and on the left stood Akabane.

Seeing the illustration I drew being used in the game like this…
Honestly, it still didn’t feel real.

But that wasn’t what mattered.
The important thing was that this was a battle.

Akabane had 973 gems, and I had 1,698—almost twice as many.
But that fact was completely irrelevant.

The match would be decided by who pulled Kaino Izumi first.

[Who wants to go first, Izumi? Not that it matters since I will win either way. Akakak!]

“S-Simultaneously!”

[A head-to-head duel? That sounds fun! Then, here I go!]

At those words, I pressed the “Summon Hero” button at the same time as Akabane, and the screen transitioned to the card summoning animation.
Ten cards began unfolding one by one.
And then—

“Uwaaah?!”

Lightning crackled around the third golden card.

It was the animation that guaranteed a five-star hero.
Curious, I glanced at Akabane’s screen.
Her tenth card was just an ordinary golden card, without any lightning effects.

• ???
• No way

The chat was in shock, and Akabane couldn’t even speak.

The first and second cards revealed three-star heroes, Leonidas I and Theodorus I.
And then, the much-anticipated third card—

The lightning that had been crackling around it slowly split apart, revealing the hero’s class illustration.

“I-It’s real…!”

A Berserker-class hero, wrapped in broken chains around their arms.

[Hmm… Congratulations.]

• Tell me this is a joke
• It’s no fun if it ends this quickly

Akabane’s congratulations echoed in my ears, the chat was exploding at an insane speed, and the revealed hero was—

[“I wish to see her again… My eternal companion… I have wandered through eternity, just to find you….”]

Yamato Takeru no Mikoto.

“…Huh?”

• LOL

[Pffft…! Kkhuh… Akakakakakak!]

“Hey, Akabane? There’s something wrong with this game. I was supposed to get me, but some random girl showed up instead…?”

It was clearly a five-star guaranteed animation, and even the Berserker class was right.
That meant it should have been another me.

So why the hell did Mikoto show up out of nowhere…?

I mean, sure, Mikoto was also a five-star Berserker-class hero,
but this was not the time for her to appear!

“I think the game is bugged. What do I do…?”

[Akakakakak! Y-You… Pfft…! You seriously have a talent for comedy, Izumi! Pffthaha…!]

• The princess is killing me with laughter LOL

“B-But I already have Mikoto-chan at Limit Break level 3….”

[Hahahahaha!]

★

In the end, Akabane won the match.
If there was any silver lining, it was that, unlike last time, I didn’t suffer a completely crushing defeat.

Akabane pulled another me in 80 summons,
while I had to hit the pity ceiling to get another me.
Last time, she got Hercules in just 30 summons,
so I lasted almost three times longer this time.

By the way, another Akabane already had five copies of both versions.

“…But, uh, do you think I-I can actually get to Limit Break level 5…?”

Sure, the match was important,
but my real goal today was Limit Break 5.

I don’t care if people call it a “pretty trash” character or whatever.
Another me made it into Fateful Showdown,
so there was no way I was going to stop at just one copy.

But if it took me the pity ceiling just to get one…

“No matter how I look at it, t-this is impossible…!”

Something’s wrong.
I usually have pretty good luck in Fateful Showdown,
so why does everything go to hell whenever I stream?

[You never know until you try.]

“Th-That’s true, but….”

I only had 648 gems left.
Since a 10-pull required 30 gems, the most I could do was 210 pulls at best.

[Well, if you’re determined to give it a shot, I suppose I’ll join you.]

“R-Really?”

[Yes.]

“Then let’s do it!”

With that, I started pressing the “Hero Summon” button again.

“…This game is trash.”

[Is that so?]

Betrayed once again by another version of myself, I had to invest an additional 30,000 yen just to reach Limit Break Level 2.
Meanwhile, Akabane spent an extra 10,000 yen and easily hit Limit Break Level 5.

…No matter how I looked at it, wasn’t she just stealing all my luck?

Name: Akabane Yukari
Illustrator: Kaino Izumi
Voice Actor: Akabane Yukari

A self-proclaimed “Crimson Witch” who has come from a distant star.
She dreams of one day dyeing the entire world red.

“The world will turn red soon enough. In that case, there’s no harm in making my move myself.”

She grins, saying she can finally go all out in this world, but no matter how you look at her, she’s just an adorable girl.

Strength: D | Endurance: D | Agility: B | Magic: A | Luck: A | Ultimate Skill: B

In her original world, she’s mistaken for a chūnibyō girl.
However, she’s actually the rightful successor to the legendary “Ashen Witch.”

“I mean, if water spirits, beastmen, and angels exist, then obviously witches exist too… Are you stupid?”

Every time someone questions her, she scoffs as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world.
That’s why she enjoys this world, where she can finally unleash her full power.

Name: Kaino Izumi
Illustrator: Kaino Izumi
Voice Actor: Kaino Izumi

An incarnation of water who moves to save the world from a distant star.
In her own world, she prides herself on being the most popular.

“A beautiful high school girl is humanity’s treasure, don’t you think?”

With that dazzling smile, she certainly seems divine.

Strength: E | Endurance: D | Agility: C | Magic: EX | Luck: A | Ultimate Skill: EX

She always claims to be an ultra-popular, life-of-the-party type.
And when she’s in her school uniform, she certainly acts the part.

…But it’s all just the power of her incarnation at work.
Her true self is the one who hides behind her kimono, painfully shy in front of others.

…Though, when she uses her ultimate skill, she does look kind of cool?

[Deep down, she’s probably trembling. Thinking, ‘I have to look cool at least in moments like this…! Otherwise, they’ll kick me out…!’ Ahaha!] (According to Yukari)