Palinclone jumped lightly.
　And then, with the flowing swordsmanship he showed me when we first met, he attacked me to cut my head off.
　Smooth and seamless sword flashes. A rational technique backed by training. This is exactly the ideal sword for a knight - but it's just not enough.
　The degree of perfection (...) as a person and a knight is so slow that it is lacking.

　I crawl my sword into the belly of the approaching Palinclone's sword.
　The swords touch each other, but no sparks fly. There is no such thing as a rivalry, and my sword slides away. This is an art that can be done because there is a world of difference in "swordsmanship".

　The blades crossed, but the two swords were swung out without any resistance.
　The result was obvious. Palinkron's sword struck out and only my sword sliced through the flesh of my enemy.

　Three of Palinclone's fingers flew in the air. However, even though the fingers gripping the sword were dropped, Palinclone tightened his grip on the sword again. And as it is, he tries to cut my neck with his return blade.

　But vainly, that return blade is also too slow.
　It is fatally lacking in speed and skill at all.

　Before the return blade can reach me, my sword gleams.
　Next, the Palinclone's right arm was detached from its torso.

　With one arm slashed off, Palinclone loses his body balance.
　It would be a pain and loss that an ordinary person would not be able to endure. However, he grabs the flying arm while breaking his stance. The sword was still in his grip on the one arm that was slashed off. He wielded it with his other arm to forcefully use that sword.

　Of course, there was no way such a bullshit blow could reach me, and on the contrary, Palinclone would take my counterattack on his body.
　I let the crystal sword rush in a straight line and slash both eyes.

　Blood splatters fly, and both of Palinkron's eyes are crushed.
　That's when Palinclone finally cowered and retreated.

　Then he stops and begins to shake his shoulders.
　Heavy wounds upon heavy wounds, and yet Palinclone was still laughing.

''Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!　Hahahahahahaha!

　The fight lasted a little over two seconds. In that short time, I got both eyes and one arm as declared.
　By all accounts, it was a one-sided fight. There was an absolute difference in sword speed.

　Only the party involved, Palinclone, laughed at the merciless reality of the situation.

''Haha!　Are you kidding me?　You don't last ten seconds!

　He said he thought he could do a little more.
　To break that illusion, I recommend that he surrender again.

'Give it up, Palinclone ....... I'm not the old me anymore ......!

　I'm on the verge of becoming a "monster" more than a guardian (Guardian).
　It's a natural consequence of the fact that I can see the display.

No, not yet. I'm not giving up yet. Next to 'Half-Monster'.

　Palinclone happily declares to continue. Then, in a leisurely motion, he thrusts his sword into his own throat.
　The self-inflicted wound is painful to watch.
　However, the person in question remains laughing.

　Purple magic power leaks out of his stabbed throat.
　The magic power increased in line with that self-injury, and one could see that he was becoming more energetic.
　The sticky magic power envelops your body and turns into a sludgy liquid. The flowing blood turns from red to black, getting closer to the guardian I saw one day.

　The black liquid writhed like a living thing, entangling itself into the severed elbow tips and arms. Then, by aligning the severed surfaces, it made the arms stick together like a strange art.
　Both slashed eyes were also repaired by the black liquid. But they are not back to normal. The entire eyeballs were dyed black, and their humanity was fading.

　This is the 'Half-Corpse (Half-Monster)' of 'The One Who Steals the Dark Reason' -.

Here comes the second round.

　Palinclone's mouth twists into a half-moon.
　It rushes towards us in time with a horrifying smile.
　An ordinary person would probably freeze at the horrifying smile and transformation.

　But I was able to move to intercept it without much of a surprise. I knew it was coming, and I had taken all the necessary measures. And this is the second time I'm fighting this one.

　Palinclone waved his arms and sent a black liquid towards us.
　Those little water bullets are over a hundred in number. It's a spray of black water droplets.

　But I don't even let all of them graze my clothes. This is because of the grasping ability I gained in the Dimension Decisive Operation and the status-enhanced body language.

　I'm not going to be the only one who has to deal with this, but I'm going to be the only one who can.
　I couldn't do it when I fought Tida, but I could do it now. I can now perform feats that I once thought were divine, but now I can do them as a matter of course.
　Dimension Decisive Operations and physical abilities have grown to a different level - no, I don't think they have grown at all. I can see that they have been transformed.

　Palinclone sprays black liquid and also swings his sword.
　My hand count has increased hundreds of times, and I can no longer afford to put out.

''--Ice magic 'Midgalls Freeze'!

　As I had thought of it beforehand, the liquid attacks were responded to with freezing magic.
　The ice snake swallowed all the liquids that seemed to be impossible to avoid or dispel, the ice snake swallowed them all.

　Of course, the ice snake's role doesn't end with defense alone. As it swallowed the black liquid, it swam directly through the air and attacked Palinkulon.

　When Palinclone saw the great ice magic, his eyes widened and he jumped to the side in a hurry.
　However, that doesn't help him escape the threat of the 'Midgall's Freeze'. The ice snake turns and tries to bite into Palinclone's body.
　Realizing that there was no point in escaping, Palinkulon coated his sword in a thick layer of black liquid. The sword grew in size, swelling to many times its size.
　With his great sword, Palinclone attacked the ice snake.

　The ice snake's agitator and the black demon sword clashed, creating a special form of brinkmanship.
　It's a snake versus a sword, but in effect it's a contest of magic and magical power.

　With a chirp, the black liquid turns to ice.
　Even so, Palinclone didn't retreat and swung his sword out with all his might.
　The ice snake shattered as if the glass had broken.

　Of course, I didn't lose the competition in the contest of magic power.
　I only dared to do so for my next move.

　I'm not going to be able to get rid of it.
　With a high-pitched sound, the famous sword held by Palinclone was flung away.

　The Palinclone has lost its weapon, but it tries to use the black liquid to scramble. But I calmly cast more magic.
　That's the end of it.
　The image is a stake.
　A spear of ice to stab a sinner in the back--

Magic 'Winter in the Dimension (Di Winter)--......, The Last Frost'

　There's no water in the surrounding area, but thanks to the shattering of the 'Midgals Freeze', there are pieces of ice scattered around it. Based on that, the ice pillar, which resembles a spear, is completed. Like a trap (trap), multiple ice spikes extended from the foot of Palinclone.

　It would no longer be 'Dimensional Winter (Di Winter), Last Frost (Frost)' but a different magic. But I didn't give that new magic a name. Normally, I would have thought of it in a flash, but today I couldn't think of any fun words or rubrics.

　Without adding any particular magic name, he silently increases the number of ice spears rising from the ground.

　Unable to handle them all, Palinclone receives several of the ice spears on his body.
　Not just his clothes, but his hands and feet are pierced, and the black liquid is frozen with all his magic. The body is hardened and the countless ice spears make it impossible for Palinkron to move.

　I thrust the tip of my sword at its throat.
　It was an offensive and defensive move that lasted just about ten seconds. That was the end of the battle.

　Defeated again, Palinclone laughs.

''Oh, come on ....... Isn't this kind of a match?　We have 'magic stones' over here too. ......

　They had some confidence in the battle in "Half-Monster".
　However, I coldly tell him the difference in strength.

''I'm stronger now. I kept hiding and fighting in the labyrinth for a long time. Nothing has changed since that day, you can't win against me. ......

　Yes.
　Palinclone hasn't changed. But I've grown stronger.
　So (...), here we are (・・・・・).

　Palinkron writhes and shrugs his shoulders dexterously, unable to move.

'Ah, I guess. My fault for slacking off. I was too scared (...) to level up. No, it's really great, kid. You're like a mythical hero.

　I would have even clapped if my hand had moved.
　But it's not the praise I want.
　To make a point, I bring the tip of my sword closer to Palinkron's throat. If this is the case, I'll have no choice but to pierce it.

　So, Palinkulon.
　But first--

'--I can't help it (・・・・・). Let's talk a little bit about it, in spite of all that training. Fine. You can ask me whatever you want.

　Palinclone gave up on something and said he would speak honestly.

　I'm stunned.
　It's a situation I wanted it to be, but didn't expect it to happen.

　This aloof man doesn't talk seriously unless he's willing to give up something in exchange. Have I been able to offer something worthy of the current fight? I don't feel as if I did.

'Don't doubt it. Originally, we were promised that if we beat the guardians of the thirty layers, we would teach them the 'memory thing'. For what it's worth, I'm a man who never breaks his word, you know?　You see, you can ask me anything 'about memory'.

　He brings up an old promise.
　That promise was fulfilled by Mr. Rail, so I didn't expect it at all. But apparently it was different for Palinkron.

　He looks at the crystal sword held at his throat and is happy that his promise has been fulfilled.
　He was good enough to defeat the guardians of the thirty layers and Rowen's magic stone. In front of it, he's trying to speak as if he has no choice - it looks like he has no choice.

　Palinclone said meaningfully, 'A memory thing'.
　Undoubtedly, it was not only referring to the memories that had been erased by Palinkron, but also to memories from a thousand years ago.

　It's the situation I was hoping for. It would help in many ways if I could draw out some information here. So I'm going to ask as much as I can.
　But I'm not going to go along with what Palinkron wants. Frankly, I don't care about the past anymore (・・・・・・). I want to hear more than that.
　I'm going to ask about a completely different memory than the one I would have been pointing to.

'Then I want to know what 'you' remember. Hey, Palinkulon. Is this "World Service Corps" really what the Apostle Legacy--or is it what you want?

　I felt heat and chills down my back at the same time.
　It wasn't the fault of the Palinkron in front of me. It was the pressure of Maria, who was watching behind me.
　I could tell she was telling me to just finish it.

　But I really wanted to hear it. I stared at Palinclone, defying the pressure.
　It's more important to me now than my memory.

...... Hey, hey. You don't want to know your memory, you want to know my memory?　Haha, that's really crazy. That's okay. Fine, I'll tell you what. It's not something to hide anymore.

　To my twisted request, Palinkulon did not change his previous words.
　He begins to talk lightly, as if he were making small talk again.

'You want. Broadly speaking, ......, yes. I'd like to fulfill the unfinished business of this Apostle Legacey guy inside me.

　And then he mentioned the name of the apostle.
　His manner of speaking was as if he was in the same situation as me and Dia.

But his unrequited love was something that could only come true a thousand years ago. That's why I've decided to create the same situation as I did a thousand years ago. I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about this in the future. ...... Part of it is that I myself long for that mythical era.

　His tone is the same as always, but there are no jokes mixed in. Here, we are finally seeing a bit of Palinclone's true intentions.

''Is that Apostle Legacy guy's unfinished business over when he returns to the past?
No, he wants to come back and play with us. By the end, he was really regretting his decision to wait and see, wasn't he? I've heard that nothing is as empty as a fisherman's profit.

　'I want to play with you.' That childish unrequitedness left me speechless.
　But now that I think about it, Tida and Rowen's regrets were similar.
　The real regrets that remain at the end of one's life may be trivial in comparison.

　I'm going to have to be very serious about this.

"If ...... says I'm going to help you with that 'play', do we have to fight?
Kanami-san!

　When I started to talk about something different than I had planned, Maria's reprimand flew at me.
　I won't allow that to happen, Maria intensifies the flames behind me. It's almost as if she's going to set fire to the Palinkron with me. No, if she's in her natural habitat, she might try to set it on fire at any moment.
　Looking at Maria and I, Palinclone smiles.

You can't do that. After all, I've already got her cooperation. A thousand years ago, the play was a bloodbath of fresh blood. The Apostles, the Founders, the Saints, and the Stealers of Reason's killing spree - that's all we need to know. In other words, that's what we're doing now. This conflict is what 'we' (Legacy) want.

　Palinkron said as he looked around.
　He was surrounded by flames, robbed of his eyes and arms, pierced all over with icicles, and had the tip of his sword at his throat. 'This situation,' he said, 'is exactly what I was looking for.

'So, to the very end, I'll fight you as the boy's enemy. You don't become an enemy because you have a reason to be an enemy. I wanted to be the boy's enemy itself.

　I told him gently that Palinkron and I would never be compatible.

'Yeah, right: ......'

　I couldn't say anything.
　My dull brain, which has no 'parallel thinking', couldn't come up with an answer to it.

'Of all the characters from a number of millennia ago, you chose a boy as your enemy ......, just because you don't like him. I chose the boy because Legacy especially wanted to play with 'Kanami'. I liked him too, so I went along with it. Sorry, haha.
That's enough. I know a little bit more about why you're following me around: ......

　There is no point in asking any more.
　Perhaps there are many other reasons. I just didn't want to ask him why.
　Whatever the reason, I knew that Palinkulon would not be begging for his life no matter what. My personal questions were over.

　I had no choice but to ask the next question I wanted to know. I have to ask this one.
　For the sake of my friends - or maybe this is for my own sake, too.
　Pretending that it is for my friends, I ask, "Palinkulon, change the question.

'Palinkron, I'm going to change my question. Do you know how to remove the Apostle Sith from Dia's body?　Could it be that if he fulfills the apostle Sith's undoing, he'll disappear?
'...... Hmmm, I wonder?　And I may or may not know that. Well, even if I did, I wouldn't give it away for free, would I?　Other than the memory thing, that's an extra charge.

　Palinkron chuckled.
　From that disgusting smile, I finally felt like an enemy. Until now, it was like an extension of small talk and there was no tension. I didn't feel like we were still killing each other, even though I took his arms and eyes away.

　But here, Palinclone shows hostility.
　He wants to use what I want to know as bait, and he wants a real kill each other.

'The same as always. If you want to get me to talk, you'll have to get the right stuff.

　Adequate.
　I've just heard what the palinclones want.

　I mean, I'm asking you to play along.
　He wants you to satisfy Apostle Legacy with a bloody killing spree.

　I spit out abominably.

"What's that ....... If you're fighting for the reason that you want to be the enemy, there's nothing you can do about it: ....... Besides, it's (・・・・・) killing each other any more ....... It's not a fight or anything. It's just me killing you.
Well, that's all right. But I'm not ready to give up on you.

　Even with that, right now, the Palinkulon's body is full of holes. Any more attacks, and the Palinkulon will die. If that happens, he won't be able to listen to us. That's as good as saying no.

That's crazy. Hey, Palinkulon. There's another way--

　I knew I couldn't do it anymore.
　But I was determined to continue the conversation.
　I was about to divulge my true purpose for chasing the Palinkron to this point - but it was interrupted by Maria.

''--Kanami-san,''

　Maria, who I thought was behind me, had come out right next to me before I knew it.
　And she was looking at me with her eyes wide open.

　Underneath the eye lids, where there should be nothing.
　Both beautiful eyes, similar to rubies, were blazing there.
　I immediately realized that a condensed red sphere of flame was in their place. I know that the flames have the ability to see. But I have a gut feeling that there's more to it than that.
　This is a different 'power of something else'.
　For example, the skill that Maria lost due to the loss of her eyes, 'penetrating eyes' -.

　Maria turns her back to Palinkron and asks me.

'--It's funny (・・・・・・・), Kanami. Could it be that ......, you are trying to get to know Palinclone Legacy?

　The words pierced my chest.
　They were too urgent for me to say them back right away.

'--I'm trying to help you if I can ......, no, I'm trying to get Palinclone Legacy to help me (・・・・・・・・), don't you think so?'

　The red eyes were trying to see through me.
　They are eyes of fire that don't allow for any pretense of strength.

　In front of those eyes, I flinch.

"I'm not here to stop the 'World Service Squad', rather--
"--no!　That's the only thing that's definitely not true!

　I deny treating her as if she were an ally of Palinkron.
　I couldn't bear to have Maria look at me like that. It seems that my vain self was still there.

　The number of friends has decreased, and the wedge that held me together has been reduced by about five. The only 'wedge' that remained was Maria's one. That solid one won't allow me to completely collapse.

　I should have been trying not to feel anything, I should have been mindless, but my voice was terribly raspy.

'Then end it now!　I'm here for everyone else who can't be here. Whoever was here would definitely say.　-- 'Please fight'!
I'm fighting! I'm ready to take it out!　Like I said, it didn't take me more than a few minutes!
Then why don't you just end it now!　What are you waiting for?　As you said, are you really playing along!
No, I'm not waiting for anything!　I'm not even playing!
'I'm telling you this because it doesn't look like it!　It's too different from the story we decided in advance!
That's because Palinkron said some very strange things...

　The arguing accelerated and became more of an argument.
　I think we were doing something similar on Nativity Day.
　However, the positions have completely switched. Now, the one who has lost his mind is me, and the one who is trying to contain it is Maria.

''--Hahaha.''

　Laughter mingled there.
　Palinclone, who was being stabbed to death, seemed to let out a laugh, unable to bear it.
　That voice made both of us come to our senses.

'Oops.'

　Palinclone makes a gesture as if apologizing for interrupting us.

　Then we come to our senses and realize that we have come to our senses.
　We notice that Palinclone's feet are beginning to emit a dull glow.
　The light is the same as the one we felt in the fort. The magic construction is also very similar to what we felt before. As I thought (...), it seems that our earlier conversation was stalling for time. While we were arguing, Palinclone activated it.

''This, this--!

　I'm supposed to be here to keep it from activating it.
　I extend my sword and magic to try to stop Palinkron's magic.
　But the Palinclone dodges it just short of it. I escaped from my bondage by forcibly crushing my frozen limbs and discarding my body, which was stitched with an icicle. He then retreated, making both legs with the new black liquid.

　Maria also begins to construct magic in a hurry.

''I knew it, again--!　Last stop, Kanami!　If you're really different, then prove it with your example magic!

　We plucked some flames from the wall of fire around us and turned them into new magic.
　That's the magical framework we discussed and came up with yesterday. It's the last pseudo-resonance magic that the two of us came up with so that we could win no matter what Palinclone did to us.

　No, it's precisely the magic Maria came up with alone or ....... I just helped her construct the magic formula to make her killing intent a reality.

"Wow, I know!　-- 'Dimensional Winter (Di Winter)'!

　The arena of fire, where hot air reigns, is filled with the reign of cold air from Dimensional Winter (Di Winter).

　Ice and flame. Normally, they are attributes that inhibit each other.
　On the day of the Nativity, Arti and I's magic power was in conflict with each other, and we were grinding each other in the realm.
　However, my companions, me and Maria's magical power blended together in a terrifyingly natural way.

　Magic power of colors that could not be called red, blue or purple rose to the sky.
　In the bowl called the "Dueling Arena" of fire, a fantastic tree of magical power stands.
　It's a great tree of ice and fire - a tree of ice and fire.

　Freezing magic rises from my body and becomes a pale blue trunk. It freezes the air, and a crystal-colored stinging branch grows in the air. Maria's flaming magic adds color to it. The flames cause a bright red flower to bloom on the pale blue tree. All of its petals flickered as if it were alive.
　That insubstantial tree of magical power was clearer than water and shinier than a jewel. Exactly like an illusion.

　In front of that illusion, the Palinclone in front made his face tighten.
　But I didn't miss the fact that the edges of his mouth were slightly fished up. It looked somewhat happy. Palinclone does his best to build up his dark magic against the ice and fire magic.

　This was the first attack magic that Palinclone, who had been using only special magic, showed.

''Hey, this is too bad ......!　'Dark Sphere'!

　It's a magic I know from book knowledge. As I recall, it was a high-level dark attribute attack magic.
　Darkness floods out of the shadows of the Palinkron, and countless black spheres attempt to appear.
　Of course, I will interfere with that. This final magic is that kind of magic.

　I point my crystal sword at Palinclone and knock the pale blue trunk made of magic forward.
　As a result, the realm of Dimensional Winter (Di Winter) swallowed Palinclone with all its magic. Then, several black spheres are fizzled out before they are activated.
　Of course, caught by the pale blue trunk, the red flowers also move.
　The flames mercilessly attacked the dark magic weakened by the cold air. All the black spheres were devoured by the flaming petals in an instant.

　Thus, the "Dark Sphere" was forcibly "counter-magic" by their combined techniques.
　The Palinclone lost all of its intercepting magic and had no way to prevent the flames. As a result, he allows a direct hit from the flames created by Maria.

　A sizzling, heavy sound resounds, and the black liquid that makes up the body evaporates.
　Meanwhile, the petals of fire cling to Palinclone like a snake, refusing to allow him to defend or escape.

　In the midst of such hellish magic, a voice is heard.

"--Aah, aah, aah, aah, 'I'm dead to the world', 'Will, righteousness, idleness, pride, joy' -- 'Everything is back now. 'No' --!

　It was a chant I'd heard before.
　Palinclone had abandoned his defenses again to activate the 'World Devotional Formation'.

''Kanami-san, quick!''

　I shout in time with Maria's rushing voice.

''-- 'Dimensional Winter (Di Winter)!

　With that appropriate (...) declaration of the magic name, the cold air and the magic power of fire that had accumulated around Palinclone burst and mixed with it.
　And I formulate the chemical formula that was prepared in my brain. However, it's not a real physical law, but an image formula. It is an image, but I know that if it fits into the world, it can become a magical law.
　This world is like that.
　So this is a magical law, not unlike the laws of physics.

　--The image of it is a steam explosion - a steam explosion.

　This magic is a magic where the direction of all magic power turns to destruction.

　Along with the sensation of being fitted into the world with a snap, the world shrinks with a squeak.
　The magical power converges around Palinkron.
　The magic power of "Dimensional Winter (Di Winter)" and "Flame Decisive Flame Region (Gladiate)" piled up compression after compression, becoming smaller and smaller, and finally a crystal of magic power like a pebble-sized jewel flashed for a moment.

　The next moment - the magic power is released and it explodes (...).
　It's not just a magical explosion, it's an explosion of physical power as well.

　A white blast that paints everything while scattering the flame was blown around.

　This is the magic that dissipates the target's magic while engulfing it in flames and exploding it at the end.
　It's an indefensible explosion magic that combines phase killing magic (counter magic), binding magic (binding magic) and attack magic (attack magic) -- but this magic also has no name in mind yet.

　The power of that unnamed magic was immense.
　With a roar as if a meteorite had fallen, the hot air of white mist melted the surrounding plants and trees.
　Even from the aftermath of the explosion alone, a glimpse of its power could be seen.
　I'm sure it's not a good magic for one person at a time.

　It's not a good magic for people, but it's clearly an anti-personnel magic and one that's meant to kill. Since it was born from such a theory, it's only natural.

　I've finally used such a magic like a mass of killing intent.
　It's not just that, it's that I've used it on the Palinclone Legacy.