High above, battle had already erupted, yet it presented an extremely strange situation.
Yatogami Tohka, holding the massive Last Sword, her purple spirit light like burning flames, each swing of her sword carried resolute belief, and sharp slashes tore through the air, relentlessly pursuing the white figure.
Her goal was clear—to prevent that dangerous "existence" from destroying the world Shido cherished.
However, her opponent, Heavenly Judgment, was fighting in a bafflingly bizarre manner at this moment.
The destructive energy emanating from her was still as vast as the sea, and her application of spatial authority was exquisite—her form flickered between solid and void, Spears of the Void darted out like venomous snakes from incredible angles, and twisted spatial folds easily deflected fatal slashes.
But upon closer inspection, one could notice the incongruity within.
Her attacks always carried a contradictory "deviation."
Those Spears of the Void, capable of piercing battleships, would often subtly deflect just before hitting Tohka, as if gently pushed by an invisible force, ultimately grazing Tohka's Astral Dress by a hair's breadth.
Her defenses were also not impenetrable.
Sometimes, facing Tohka's powerful cleaves, she could clearly construct a more stable, multi-layered spatial barrier, yet she would only deploy a thin barrier in front of her, which would erupt in violent ripples when struck by the greatsword, appearing precarious.
Other times, she would overreact, performing long-distance spatial jumps at suboptimal moments, needlessly expending energy and creating meaningless distance.
She was like a player with extremely high network latency, possessing a top-tier account and equipment, but whose operations couldn't keep up with her consciousness, forcing her to constantly dodge and block in a disheveled manner, almost unable to mount an effective counterattack.
"Tsk! So annoying! Weak Goodness, don't get in the way!~☆" World Ender Consciousness shouted exasperatedly in her inner world, frantically mashing the dodge button on the controller, but her external body's reactions were always delayed.
(Shut up! You destroyer! Give me back control!)
Chinatsu, meanwhile, was doing her utmost to interfere with her every press, like a stubborn computer virus, causing her "operations" to be riddled with errors.
Outside, Tohka quickly noticed this incongruity.
The opponent's energy was clearly far superior to her own, yet she fought so awkwardly, full of openings.
A hint of doubt flashed in her amethyst-like eyes, then transformed into an even more resolute gleam.
She recalled the destructive energy that shot into the sky earlier, the stiff and uncoordinated movements, and combined with this battle style full of internal contradictions… (This feeling… it's different from before…)
(She hasn't gotten weaker… nor is she toying with me…)
(The one from before… the one who was sad, who understood me… she's still there!)
(She's resisting! She's stopping this crazy "her"!)
(It's like… two consciousnesses are fighting for the same body!)
Although she didn't know the name of that gentle "her," Tohka, relying on her pure instinct, felt that will to resist.
A thought became clear in her mind—she wanted to help her! To help that "companion," who might still be inside, regain control of the body!
"Hey! You!"
After forcing Heavenly Judgment back once, Tohka didn't immediately pursue, but instead shouted loudly, trying to make her voice penetrate that arrogant facade.
"I know you're still in there! Don't give up! Drive this guy out! This world… still needs you to protect it!"
She didn't know exactly what to do, she could only rely on her intuition, using words to support that weak will to resist that she felt… Fraxinus bridge.
Everyone was nervously observing this extremely unbalanced battle.
"Just as I thought!" Kotori said, looking at the analysis data, "Heavenly Judgment's energy output level remains extremely high, but her reaction speed, movement precision, and ability release success rate have all plummeted! Severe internal interference confirmed!"
"The two emotional curves are still fiercely clashing," Reine added, "The curve representing 'destructive impulse' dominates the energy output, but the curve representing 'anxiety and helplessness' is constantly interfering with its specific execution. The judgment is correct; the 'personality' we encountered before is still resisting."
Kannazuki analyzed with rare seriousness: "It seems Shido-kun's 'death' and Tohka's rejection indeed became a critical turning point."
"The immense mental shock may have shaken the main personality's control, allowing this long-suppressed'second personality' to find a breakthrough."
"The current situation is that the main personality is fighting for her 'oversight,' trying to regain control and make amends for her 'mistake.'"
"Now we can only hope Tohka can hold on…" Kotori's gaze shifted to another small window next to the main screen, which showed the situation inside the medical capsule; Shido's chest wound was healing at a visible rate, and his vital signs were steadily recovering, but he was not yet conscious.
"Wake up quickly, Idiot Older Brother…"
Kotori murmured to herself, with a hint of undetectable urgency, "Now, to stop this farce, to truly 'persuade' that confused owner, only you can do it…"
They had basically confirmed that there were two consciousnesses within the Heavenly Judgment Herrscher: one was the "main personality" Chinatsu, who had temporarily lost control due to despair and wavering, and the other was the "sub-personality" World Ender Consciousness, full of destructive desires and newly awakened.
And Tohka, at this moment, was inadvertently becoming a crucial external force in helping the "main personality" resist.
Everyone's hope rested on Shido, who was rapidly self-healing, and Tohka, who was struggling in the air and trying to call out to her "companion."
The outcome of this battle hinged on the internal struggle, rather than the strength of external forces.
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