No matter how much the Sword Intent of the Sword of Erasure was thinking, 'My Yuzu's making a move—I'm out, I quit'—
It was already too late.
The rolling black thorns had, in almost an instant, already wound around her wrists and ankles.
They didn't give the Sword Intent of the Sword of Erasure even the slightest chance to struggle. Even though she was the very origin existence of the Sword of Erasure, she had no opening whatsoever to draw the Sword of Erasure and sweep these thorns away.
And what was more... the Side of the Abyss—
The girl, whose expression was now perfectly identical to Sakura Mai's slightly terrified, stunned look, went from standing quietly propped on her sword—letting the shrieking of vicious ghosts stir up her wildly disheveled white hair—to the exact same posture as Sakura Mai: hoisted up and bound by the thorns.
Had there been an Esper with spiritual perception present, they could probably have seen the two figures—or rather, one person and one sword—now overlapping into a single silhouette.
The will of the Sword of Erasure even discovered... that it now couldn't so much as flee back into its host's body.
Those thorns that grew madly, gradually swallowing the girl's frame... were not life, nor energy, nor soul power in any conventional sense.
They were something more like the manifestation of a Rule.
She was the 「Throne」 of this era!
In the changing-room shower, now wholly devoured by black, the Sword Intent of the Sword of Erasure trembled all over, as if reverting to a shape from before it had fallen—before it had ever even become corrupted.
"I..."
"I don't taste good."
But there was no longer any road back to speak of.
"Sword of Erasure?" The girl's near-empty, hollow voice sounded, to the Sword Intent of the Sword of Erasure, almost terrifying.
And yet—
Mixed within it there seemed to be a kind of demonic allure, one that would make her fling herself in like a moth to a flame, plunging in even at the cost of her own annihilation.
"I-I am the Lone—"
"Lone?" The girl before her tilted her head. "Cute."
The Sword of Erasure—the whole person, no, the whole sword—was about to fall apart.
Whether in her life or after her death, no one had ever dared describe her that way. But... but... now all she could do was force out an apologetic, strained little smile.
Had she been her former self, at her full prime, perhaps she could have used the Rule of 「Erasure」 to put up some kind of fight against the girl in front of her.
But... the her of now was merely a will awakened from an evil relic.
A cursed sword reduced to lodging inside someone else's body to siphon off power.
"Your timing is perfect—" Smiling, Yuzu upon the 「Throne」 gently embraced Sakura Mai—or rather, the Sword of Erasure.
This was nothing like a so-called second personality or a subconscious.
After Su Yuzu ascended the 「Throne」, she could clearly sense her own self, fully aware of her own condition.
She had merely released the Beast that lay hidden in the darkness beneath that hollow chest.
Released the darkness that welled up from the deepest recesses of her own heart.
Listening to Su Yuzu's words, an extremely ominous feeling suddenly rose from the very bottom of the Sword Intent of the Sword of Erasure's heart.
"You see, if it had actually been Sister Mai..."
"I really wouldn't have known what to do."
Thump, thump, thump—
The Sword Intent of the Sword of Erasure's heart and lungs seized to a halt.
Oh, wait—that sort of thing had already been gone since the moment she died.
She wanted to run.
But the spirit-body of the Sword of Erasure was likewise bound tight by those thorns; there was no way at all for her to shrink back.
[I wanted to eat HER—]
[Not to BE eaten!!!]
Su Yuzu gently curled her arms around Sakura Mai's shoulders.
The girl flashed Sakura Mai a great big smile, showing off neat, pearly-white teeth.
"G-gently... a little gentler." The Sword Intent of the Sword of Erasure quivered, not even understanding why it could bring itself to utter such humiliating, shameful words.
"Time to dig in~" Su Yuzu bit down hard, in one direct chomp.
Countless vicious ghosts trampled over one another as they clambered up through the Abyss.
They loosed furious howls toward the girl who stood at the Side of the Abyss, quietly propped on her sword.
Only, today... the girl's whole vibe seemed just the tiniest bit off.
The Sword of Erasure was still planted there.
But the white-haired, frenzied girl...
"Yiyayayaya!!!"
Her inhuman vertical pupils were on the verge of shattering.
At the same time—
Out on the embankment, the black tide was slowly receding, and the sun was gradually sinking, hanging upon the distant sea horizon, staining half the sky ablaze and turning the fine, broken ripples of the seawater into the shapes of shattered gemstones.
The retreating tide lapped in and out, just barely covering the girl's ankles.
The girl stood barefoot, her cute little feet planted in the perilous tide.
The soaking-wet fabric of her skirt clung tight to her skin, and through the damp cloth one could faintly make out the plain, snow-white skin and the lovely lines beneath the girl's thin skirt.
She gazed out at the distant surface of the sea.
There upon the water, a survey ship belonging to the Imperial Capital University was slowly making its way back.
The girl's clear, limpid gaze blinked—yet it seemed to pass straight through that survey ship, glimpsing the scene within: something even more adorable... and even more enticing.
"Yu... zu..."
—
Cradling Sakura Mai, whose whole body seemed to have gone utterly limp, Su Yuzu sat in the changing room.
Her own poison had been cured.
Though... the way it had been cured differed by a hundred-million-tiny-bits from every single solution she'd had in mind.
She... seemed to have eaten the Sword of Erasure.
As she reached toward the Sword of Erasure resting in Sister Mai's arms—before Su Yuzu had even drawn the blade—Sakura Mai's shoulders gave a pitiful little shudder along with it.
It seemed that although Sister Mai had no memory of Su Yuzu eating the Sword of Erasure, the sensations hadn't been left out at all.
And yet... just from gripping the warm, jade-smooth hilt of the Sword of Erasure,
Su Yuzu could feel that the nature of the Sword of Erasure had undergone a slight, subtle change.
From the previous 「evil relic」, it had shifted into something that—while it couldn't quite qualify as a 「Holy Relic」—had nonetheless been purified for the most part.
The Sword of Erasure's aura of ruin had all been devoured by her, little by little, mouthful by mouthful, inch by inch.
[Ding—]
Only now, as dusk slowly gathered, did the mechanical woman's voice so familiar to Su Yuzu seem to arrive, belatedly.
Or perhaps... a moment ago it simply hadn't wanted to disturb the girl.
[Cocoon Breaking: Sakura Mai Favorability +1.]
[Favorability-increase reward obtained: Sheath of Unknown Purpose.]
[Sheath of Unknown Purpose: It looks more like a few scant plates of armor cut in a bikini style—is this thing really a sheath?]
[Sakura Mai Favorability +1.]
[Sakura Mai Favorability 59 (Favor) → 99 (Doting).]
[...]
[Favorability-promotion reward obtained]
[Inherent Ability: Lone Bravery.]
[Lone Bravery: Tenacious and unyielding—when you battle alone against multiple foes, your health recovery rate increases, ability recovery rate increases, stamina recovery rate increases, and spirit recovery rate increases.]
[Congratulations, you have unlocked a new achievement: Corner Excavator.]
[Congratulations, you have unlocked a new achievement: Master of the Sword of Erasure.]
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💖 Gift for Everyone: Once we hit 50 Powerstones, I'll release +1 bonus chapter to warm your hearts.
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