Chapter 1077 - Nice to Meet You
The operational limit of [Shinuchi Gekka], which manifests through the activation of [Himorogi], is about four minutes. That is how long it takes for the white flames to travel from the hilt and consume the entire blade.
Furthermore, every time I set a memory of a slash, the limit accelerates. Activating the final strike requires a massive amount of resources...
Basically, after I let loose my ultimate move, [Hibana], I'm completely empty.
And that applied to me as well.
"Aaaaggghhh..."
Just like my weapon, I was finished. I dispersed the ash and flames, leaving only a pitch-black wooden stick. I gave it a mental pat of hard work and collapsed onto the surface of a floating sword tower, letting it carry my limp body through the void.
At the end of my magic sword taxi ride...
"Hey, you."
"Huh...?"
"What do you think you're doing? I didn't get a single cool moment at the very end. Are you an idiot?"
The first thing to greet me was a voice filled with exasperation. I didn't even need to see his face to know the expression he was making. I rolled my heavy body onto my back...
And there he was. The mournful face of the one left behind on guard duty. I knew what he wanted to say, but my head was too foggy from exhaustion and accomplishment to give a clever reply.
"Heh... ouch."
"Stop it. That pisses me off. Don't give me that satisfied look."
I gave a lazy laugh, only to be poked in the head with the butt of a spear. Tora-kichi stepped back, and then two distinct metallic sounds rang out nearby.
"Haru!"
Sora-san's voice and Ashe's silent presence.
Their faces faded into my upward-facing vision. I stared blankly at the swaying silver fox tail and the flowing blue-silver hair, lost in the beauty even with my brain half-offline.
"Yeah, I'm... fine."
I gave a smile to the worried amber eyes and the garnet gaze checking my condition. Then, I forced my exhausted avatar to sit up. I wasn't quite at the point where I couldn't move.
"Oh, so you can stand. That Sword Saint boot camp is terrifying."
The tiger made another jab at me, but I ignored him for now. I recalled [Satsuki] and [Kurikara]... the wooden sticks that had done such a great job... into my inventory. Then, I looked toward the quiet center of the field.
"Nia?"
"Mm..."
Her eyes were still dyed green instead of her usual indigo. The temporary goddess was staring intensely at the void where the blackness I had destroyed with [Hibana] had been.
"Mm... mm. Yes... yeah...!"
She was likely having a conversation with a voice we couldn't hear.
Nia nodded once, twice, three times, her eyes squeezed shut as if savoring the words. Then she opened them, turned around, and took a step toward me.
"Ngh... It's over!"
"Whoa, wait!"
Her indigo eyes sparkled as she lunged at me without hesitation, knocking me over. Well, more like I was so relaxed that I just fell over. We hit the ground with a thud, and I looked up to see two pairs of narrowed eyes looking down at us.
Well, that was expected. But still...
"...Phew..."
Sora couldn't even maintain her deadpan look anymore, her shoulders slumping as if a string had been cut. Ashe sat down next to her with a faint smile and started stroking Nia's head.
"...I guess the MVP is allowed this much."
"...Is it really over? If there's a second helping, tell me now, okay?" Tora-kichi grumbled.
"Ha ha... This silence must be the true end," Kendy-dono added.
Because we had worked too hard... or rather, because there was no role for the guard duty team to play in the first place, everyone in the party finally relaxed.
"...Um... excuse me, Goddess?"
"The Goddess has finished her term!"
"That was a short term... No, I need an explanation. A translation. I can tell your emotions are exploding, but at least share the basics so we can understand what's going on."
"Ugh, right. Sorry!"
The raid's MVP, who had resigned from her goddess role, looked at us. We had cleaned everything up without fully understanding it, but Nia's reaction confirmed that the festival was over.
Now we needed to know what would happen next. Or if nothing would happen. If something was going to happen, what did we need to do? If not, could we just wait?
...Actually, we all had a faint idea. After all, the clear result announcement hadn't appeared yet.
"Well, um... It seems they want to say thank you."
As expected. In what seemed to be the final event, Nia acted as the interpreter. She held up her right palm, and a green crystal appeared, flickering with light.
It was a massive downscaling from its previous appearance. Her indigo eyes looked at the light in her hand with a gentle gaze.
"The Second Generation... Green Connect, Jehatreglie... that's who this is."
The epilogue of the long Green Connect raid had begun.
But wait. Before that...
"Nia-chan."
"Ah, yes?"
"Could you please move off me now?"
"Ah, right!"
Let's get the picture right first.