rned to his lips at the thought of his friends who were thinking about his safety.

"That old man sure is making some crazy suggestions. He's as reckless as Shishō ..."

He made up his mind. Nozomu exhaled loudly to get himself together and relaxed his entire body.

"... Alright, I'll do it. I'll go with your idea, old man."

(Nozomu !? Stop it !!)

(Wait! What are you saying out of the blue?! Think about what you're going to do a little more!)

Irisdina and Shīna's loud voices echoed in Nozomu's head. Their voices were already close to screams.

Nevertheless, he didn't think there was any other way. Even though they were connected by contract magic, it was basically difficult for them to intervene directly within this barrier.

While apologizing to Irisdina and the others in his mind, he let go of the invisible chain he was holding.

As if he had been waiting for it, Tiamat and Abyss Grief began to squeeze Nozomu's spirit even more.

"Ga, gaaa! Guuu~u ..."

A burst of shock continued to assault Nozomu's entire body.

It was painful and agonizing.

The intense pain that was running through his entire body was getting worse and worse, robbing Nozomu's body of all sensation.

The ringing in his ears was numbing his hearing, and his vision was already painted white.

His heart continued to beat as if it was about to burst, and his whole body was burning as if it were on fire.

(Shīna-kun! Increase your synchronization rate with Nozomu-kun! We'll share our senses and put up a barrier around Nozomu-kun's spirit to lighten the burden on him as much as possible!)

(Eh?! If I do that then ......)

(You must do as Inda-dono says. I don't know what's going on, but it's the only way to reduce the strain on his mind right now!)

Inda and Jihad spoke up as Nozomu focused his attention on himself.

What Inda and Jihad had suggested was to deploy a barrier to Nozomu's spirit through the path, to reduce the burden on him as much as possible.

It was certainly possible to do so if they were deeply in tune with Nozomu's spirit.

However, if they increase the synchronization rate of the contract magic, the person who was going to put up the barrier will also suffer the same pain that Nozomu was experiencing.

The sensation of having their soul chipped away by a legendary dragon and an unidentified demon beast. If they made a mistake, they would definitely go insane.

There are so many other factors to worry about. To be honest, no one had ever heard of anything like this happening.

Besides, there were so many other factors to worry about. Honestly, no one had ever experienced anything like this before.

(Don't worry, not only Inda-dono, but I'll also be in sync with her to reduce the burden as much as possible. Don't worry. I'm old, but I'm sturdy.)

(Then I'll also do it. Shīna, I'll leave the maintaining of the contract magic to you.)

And when Jihad agreed to sync with Nozomu, Irisdina followed him.

Mars and the rest of the group came up one after another, asking to be in sync with Nozomu.

As expected, there was no way for all of them to be in sync, and Irisdina was the only one other than Jihad and Inda to be chosen.

(Mars-kun, when it comes down to it ......)

(I know, we'll just use my skills and Tima's magic to smash through that barrier, right?)

Mars and Tima were left behind because the two of them had the most destructive abilities among the remaining members other than Jihad.

Mars' combination technique and Tima's attack magic. Both of them were difficult to control, but in such case of an emergency, they had no time to choose a way to destroy the barrier in front of them.

"Geez! Everyone is so selfish!"

Shīna's voice rose in anger, but she carefully explored the paths of four people and strengthened their connection.

The spirit of the four began to synchronize deeply. Deep wrinkles appeared at the corners of Jihad and the others' eyes, probably due to the partial flow of the pain Nozomu felt, and greasy sweat began to break out all at once.

(Nozomu-kun! As I said before, if we all decide that we're at our limits, we'll destroy this barrier from the outside, no questions asked. Do you understand?! Because I don't take a no!)

Despite the shouts of anger from Shīna, Nozomu's cheeks relaxed after hearing the words of his friends.

With the support of his friends' encouragement, Nozomu closed his eyes and focused on his inner self while enduring the pain in his body.

The ringing in his ears became more and more distant. It was as if he was sinking to the bottom of the ocean.

On the other side of the pounding heartbeat, he could see a faint light.

A ball of light colored in five different colors. It was a small ball of light that could fit in the palm of his hand, but it gave him an unfathomable sense of power.

It was Tiamat's power that had tormented and saved Nozomu so many times before.

But what Nozomu needed now was not this power.

Deeper. Nozomu was sinking to the far bottom of this lake.

He wondered how deep he sank. The muffled ringing in his ears had already faded, and the presence of his friends had disappeared. Only silence and darkness prevailed.

But in the silence, something gradually came into view.

What Nozomu saw was the figure of himself cowering in his room in the dormitory. He was slightly younger than the current Nozomu and was holding his knees with an expression as if his soul had been drained.

(Why, how did this happen ......?)

"This is...."

As Nozomu reached out, the scene in front of him popped with a crack and disappeared like a bubble.

Then again, within seconds, the next scene unfolded before Nozomu's eyes.

(What are you doing? ...)

The next scene that spread to Nozomu's eyes was in a forest that he was familiar with.

In front of Nozomu, who slumped to the ground, stood his master, who had cut down countless Wild Dogs.

(Who are you, old lady? ......)

(Be more respectful to the elders.)

The scene of Nozomu's encounter with Shino. This was the event that triggered Nozomu to start training in the intense Mikagura style. It was also one of the major turning points for Nozomu.

"The past ...... memories of me."

While Nozomu was muttering, scenes from the past came and went one after another.

The days of hellish training started with the shocking encounter. It was just an excuse to escape, but those days were definitely in the flesh and blood of the current Nozomu.

The last fight with Shino, where he risked his life. It was the event that triggered Nozomu to start moving in a real sense. This scene still occupied a large place in Nozomu's life.

The encounter with his friends. And their differences. Friends he hadn't made in a very long time. However, he couldn't tell them his secret, and that's why they clashed.

But even so, Nozomu and his friends didn't fall apart.

Because unlike when he was with Lisa and Ken, they had the courage to face him in the true sense of the word.

However, that was not the only scene in front of his eyes.

Nozomu and his childhood friends. Among them, there was Ken, who was watching Lisa who was concerned about Nozomu.

Ken had loved Lisa since they were children. But it was his childhood friend, Nozomu, that she had feelings for, not him.

Every time Ken saw her walking next to his best friend, an inexplicable dark feeling welled up in Ken's heart. It was frustrating and sad. Still, he kept his feelings to himself, because it was Nozomu who she had chosen.

Then the scene shifted to when they arrived at Solminati Academy.

(Hey Ken, that sure is tough. You've been forced to deal with such a waste ...)

(Nazwell ....)

Ken was talking with Nazwell, who died in a demon beast attack in his first year. By this time, Ken's jealousy of Nozomu had grown to the point where he couldn't suppress it.

Still, Ken could not take out his negative feelings on Nozomu and the others. He didn't know how to deal with his feelings except to be patient.

But no matter how big the pot was, if he kept pouring water into it, it would overflow.

And when Nazwell was killed by a demon beast and the fear that Lisa might die combined with jealousy, he finally started to lose his way.

(Nozomu ....)

The image of Lisa running around the city with an anxious look on her face.

While breathing hard, she didn't stop to look for Nozomu.

(It's alright. It'll be alright ... He promised me ...)

It was a scene of Lisa looking for Nozomu. She was anxious about the rumor that Nozomu was having an affair.

Lisa shook her head and tried to deny the unpleasant thoughts that came to her mind.

The next thing she knew, Ken, disguised as Nozomu, was kissing a woman she didn't know.

The next image was of a room with the curtains closed. The next image was of Lisa sitting while holding her knees on the bed in a dimly lit room, even though it was daytime. With her eyes just staring at the floor, she did not move a muscle.

Ken and Camilla rushed in through the door of the room.

It was the moment when Nozomu and Lisa's time together ended and Ken's fake relationship began.

"Is this...."

What flowed into Nozomu was what could be called a residue of memory.

Three souls, Nozomu, Lisa, and Ken, were connected, and it was a glimpse of a part of their memories.

One after another, the past of the three of them floated in and out like a running lantern.

As Nozomu watched the scene, he felt as if his heart was being choked.

Nostalgia and melancholy, hatred and love.

Everything was nostalgic, resentful, sad, and various emotions poured out of his chest.

Eventually, everything in front of him disappeared, and the jet-black space returned.

However, unlike the darkness of the past, something was reflected in Nozomu's eyes. Something was spreading like a spider's web in the space filled with darkness.

"Is this ... a chain?"

If he looked closely, he could see that the chain was covered with a faint light. However, the amount of light was unusual.

He wondered how many chains there were in this place. The shining chains stretched out in all directions, covering far beyond the jet-black space.

"How far does this thing go? Hm? But this chain is ......."

When he looked closely, he saw that the chains were somewhat familiar to him. The chains of Ability Suppression that had bound Nozomu's body for several years. It was exactly the same thing.

"Is this... my power ......?"

Is there something more to this?

Before he knew it, the voices of the Zonne and the others had disappeared, and Nozomu's murmur dissolved and faded into the jet-black darkness.

There was no point in thinking about it. He couldn't help Lisa if he stay here.

Nozomu tried to wade through the glowing chains and go deeper.

But the moment Nozomu put his hand on the chain, it shuddered as if it were pulsating with an exceptional amount of light.

The next moment, all the chains in the air flew towards Nozomu at once and began to wrap around his body.

"W-what happened !? Gah~ !?"

The chains tightened around his body with a creaking sound. Breath leaking out of Nozomu's mouth.

Nozomu quickly reached for the chains that were wrapped around his body. He struggled to remove the chains that were suddenly tightening up on him, but then a voice echoed in his brain and Nozomu involuntarily stopped his hand.

(I'm sorry....)

A weak voice, clearly different from Tiamat's. The owner of the voice came to mind, and Nozomu couldn't help but look up into the void.

"This voice is ... Lisa?"

Nozomu was startled by Lisa's voice resounding in his head. At the same time, he saw Lisa's facing his head down in front of him, holding her knees and crying.

(I'm sorry, I'm sorry)

"Lisa! Oi!"

Lisa continued to apologize for her actions. When Nozomu raised his voice, Lisa's body, which had been lying face down, twitched.

She looked up fearfully and looked around. But she couldn't see Nozomu, and she didn't seem to notice him.

She scurried around and let out a disappointed voice.

(Haha, I just heard Nozomu's voice... I wonder if I've gone crazy...)

A hoarse voice. A smile full of exhaustion appeared on Lisa's face. Her face, pale with exhaustion, looked as if it had a hint of death on it.

(But it doesn't matter. I don't care if it's just my hallucination. At least, I could hear Nozomu's voice at the end ...)

With a sad, yet somehow satisfied smile on her face, Lisa's figure faded into a blur.

Lisa's figure disappeared into the darkness like sugar dissolving into water. On the other side of the darkness, something was lifting its mouth.

Countless red eyes appeared in the darkness. The eyes were gazing with satisfaction at Lisa, who was about to disappear.

Without a doubt, it was Abyss Grief trying to devour Lisa.

Amid the countless stares, Lisa curled herself up like a baby and hugged her hands tightly to her chest. It was as if she was trying to hold on to something precious, something she would never let go of.

Not clear if it was Nozomu's words from earlier, or if it was the memories of the happy times she had spent with him.

Nozomu couldn't see what was going through her mind. What he did know was that Lisa's spirit, which had maintained itself by keeping her mind closed, had completely given up resisting.

"Lisa! Hold yourself together! If you don't ...!"

(But at least ... I wanted to apologize properly.)

The last of her remaining regrets leaked out of Lisa's mouth. Her figure had almost melted into the darkness.

(I'm sorry ... I didn't believe you ...)

The moment those words rang in his ears, Nozomu's nearly paralyzed spirit came to life at once.

He raised his fist and punched himself in the cheek.

A white light flashed in front of his eyes, and Nozomu glared at the chains in front of him, feeling the numbing pain.

"Guu! Aaaaaa!"

Shouting from the bottom of his stomach, he reached out and grabbed the chains stretched out in front of him with all the strength he had.

At the next moment, the chain pulsated and the pale light turned into a powerful flash that filled the jet-black space.

"W-what !?"

In the blink of an eye, the intricately entwined chains were unraveled.　And then, with a fierce sound, the chains sprinted through the air.

(Gi~! Gi~uuuaa!)

Chains flying in the air, tearing through the darkness with a strong flash of light. The darkness and red eyes that surrounded Nozomu trembled in fear and were torn apart by the chains that flew around him one after another, screaming as they shredded and disappeared.

It was like a school of sharks rushing for their prey.

The shining chains converge on a single point in the air.

Soon, the sound of cracking glass echoed, and a crack appeared in the space.

The chain, which was rushing fast, jumped into the crack and pulled Nozomu's body, leading him to the crack in the air.

"Uwa! What? What's going on!?"

Suddenly lifted into the air, Nozomu let out a cry of surprise.

What he saw behind the tearing crack was a world covered with walls of flesh and the figure of Ken Notis, or rather Abyss Grief, with his eyes wide open within it. Beside him was the figure of Lisa, who was lying face down inside the black ball.

"You bastard! How dare you escape from my fangs!"

A look directed at Nozomu as he landed on the meat floor. The look in his eyes was one of astonishment and slight fear.

Perhaps because Abyss Grief had caught a glimpse of Ken's memories, even though he had turned into a different form, Ken's desire for Lisa was still there.

An inexplicable feeling welled up inside of Nozomu's chest.

But, even so .......

He was reminded by his master of what he had been running away from, and his friends taught him the courage to move forward.

(I will save Lisa. This time I will fulfill my promise!)

With this determination in his heart, Nozomu sprinted towards the person he was supposed to save.

As Nozomu picked up the [Mumei] from the floor and ran, a single tear fell from Lisa's eyes, which had a blank expression on her face.