Impatience. Confusion. Conflict. 

　Shelly had been dominated by them all along. Thinking back, how could she have tried to become a strong counter-magician? Going back to its origins, it still comes down to the fact that her own father had fought and died in the twilight. My father and I were very close. So was my mother, but most of all, my father was very affectionate with Shelly. 

'Shelly, be a good girl, okay? 

'Yeah!　I'll be waiting for you. Daddy, come home early too, okay? 

Of course. 

　An exchange they had exchanged many times.  

'...... 

　Rain. And it's just raining incessantly. Shelley is dressed in mourning clothes and holding up a small umbrella. Her mother is next to her, in tears. So were the other relatives. Everyone is in tears. And yet, Shelly just stared blankly at her father's gravestone. The rain was hitting him in the face and it looked as if he was also crying. 

　Lamentation. Everyone is wailing. But Sherry was the only one who couldn't fully accept this reality. I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make it work. 

(Why?)　Why did my dad die? 

　No. Shelly was firmly aware of her father's death. But it wasn't just grief that dominated her mind. It was the pure question. How could people fight and die in this twilight world? It was taught as knowledge. That they had been defeated in the human-demons battle hundreds of years ago, and that this world was ruled by the twilight. But that didn't ring a bell with Shelly inside the warded city. Just enjoy every day as long as it was fun. I want to enjoy these pleasant days forever. That was her only modest wish. She didn't know the outside world and lived in the warded city, so that place was all she had to live for. 

''Well Shelly, you're not going to disappear. 

　My mother hugs me as I cry. Gone?　Yes.................I don't have a father anymore. Shelly finally burst into tears as she realized that again. I'll never see that kind father again. I'll never see him again. Besides, the only thing that came back was his left arm. Although, Shelly would never know that fact. 

　Shelly's father was quite skilled among first-class anti-magicians. As such, he had gone to level 4 on this mission. However, it was there that he met a demon. Fighting with a higher level demon race would be impossible to talk about unless he was at the special level anti-magician level. And he fought through the battle alone to escape his friends... and died. 

　 

'Papa.........' 

　Gently tracing the photo. Nearly ten years have passed since then. Sherry had just gone on selfishly. Her mother had also turned to the side of organizing the anti-magic academy to support her. At first, she was against it. Maybe her daughter would also die........I can't put her in such a situation. That's what she thought, but her mother couldn't deny Shelly's path to the end. She just saw her daughter behaving stoutly and decided to be the one to support her. And then.........Shelly became a first class anti-magician at only 15 years old, which was unusual for her talent. 

　Fighting for her father........she didn't have the guts to do so. It wasn't that I had a strong hatred for this world. I just wanted to go to the world my father had seen....maybe that was my motivation at first. Then Shelly met Yulia. 

'Hey, why do you fight, Yulia?' 

"I just want to help someone else. I want to reduce the number of people who are sad in this world as much as possible, and that's a beautiful thing. Haha..... 

　The words Julia spoke were just dazzling. He has a strength that he doesn't have. I was attracted not only to that strength of his, but also to his heart. But surely it wasn't just meant to be a love affair. Julia was the version of herself that Shelly had dreamed of. Shelly had moved on in the wake of her great father. She was moving through the darkness with a vague thought that one day she, too... would become an antimage like her father. It was at that time that Julia appeared. Sherry had always wanted to become something. The frustration that she has always held. Who am I, and how can I become someone like my father and Julia? 

　After the attack, I was even more confused. I am still weak. I need to become stronger, even stronger. If I don't, I can't become my father. I can't become Julia. But Julia reminds me. One cannot become someone else..... 

(Then who the hell am I?)　(I'm not...) 

　But she knows. But she knows who she is and what she needs to do. 

　◇ 

.... 

.... 

　Facing him is a special class anti-magician, first in the pecking order. He measures his spacing with jittery. Cyrus' weapon is a wire. Although he had never fought with a wire user before, he still thought that he could win if he came within the range of the sword.............if it was at super close range 《Cross Range》. 

　However, Shelly changed her perception. 

　There is no gap. I can't see anything. I'm just standing there. At first glance, it appears to be full of gaps but instincts are sounding the alarm bells. If you jump in carelessly you will be killed. 

'Hmm?　Are you not coming? 

.... 

　You're inviting me to join you?　Cyrus spreads his hands out and says so in a leisurely manner. Of course, it's not Sherry who gets in on it. Once again, I measure the distance. What we should do now is how we should fight Silas......... Everything else is just a trivial matter. 

'Shh! 

　A moment later, Shelly was kicking the earth and running out. She hadn't drawn her sword yet. With the delivered sword still in place, she went towards Silas. And then........a flash. Shelly launched the fastest sword strike she could have. 

''Wha........? 

　But it was caught by an invisible wire. I don't understand what kind of trickery it was, but Shelly's sword couldn't cut through Silas' wires. But not everything is uncuttable. It was divided into two categories: those that could and those that couldn't. 

''........Huh, I'll do it. But..... 

　Shelley perceived. Definitely, he thought, the wire was ejected at him. This was not the time to leave it out. Thinking that, Shelly activated her recently acquired singular ability, Extra. 

''--The Absolute Realm [Fortis Territory]. 

　It's a unique ability of the sensory system, Extra. It is similar to Julia's divine realm, Sanctuary, but the perceptible range is narrower than that. Using all five senses to the fullest extent, rather than sight, he brings everything within a one-meter radius under his control. 

　When Sherry perceives a wire being released as it is, she ducks everything. Right now she had a firm awareness of what order of action would allow her to duck the attacks. No ... strictly speaking, that wasn't a conscious action. Instinct. That was what was driving her. It was already beyond the realm of an ordinary person. That talent has entered the realm of a special grade anti-magician.......but it wasn't just a talent.......it wasn't just a talent either. 

''Brilliant........after all, a successful body is so different.......'' 

...? 

　It was a soliloquy. But this time, Shelly's ears did not miss the words. 

(...........Successful body?　(What the hell does that mean?) 

　I can't help but think that way now. There's no way to check the answer to that question, because there's no way to check the answer to that question. Once she exhaled and calmed down she turned to face Silas again. 

''Oh no, Sherry Amis. That skill to be admired. I'm simply in awe of it. There are only a few special-grade anti-magicians who can do this much in melee combat.......but not good. Yeah, not very good.  

　A man who talks a lot... Sherry thought, but at the same time she sensed a change in the quality of the air. And she also activates the strongest trump card she can have. 

''--Rokuhana, Rikka.'' 

　The battle rages on - and on.