… …
In the dim space, Katsu took a deep breath, and his eyes involuntarily glanced at the young boy Katsu was not far away. Katsu did a lot of thinking after being trapped in this place, he already understood the truth.
"Can you tell me the truth? Was all of this the system planning, being stuck here, meeting the future me?"
His gaze sharpened. Voice calm, but heavy.
"The only reason I got trapped in the first place was because of my system identity, because of this mission. I wasn't allowed to seek help from others … not until I was pushed to the brink. Only then would I be desperate enough to make a deal."
He looked directly at the boy.
"The system didn't gain anything from this… except one thing: you. You must have a system too. That's what this is really about."
He paused.
"This whole mission… it was about upgrading the system. Once the future is changed, you'll disappear—because you're a version that no longer exists. But if the system finds a way to stay, maybe even merge with the present… that's the upgrade it hinted at. That's what it wanted all along."
"…Yeah. The cat's out of the bag," Katsu Shota muttered with a small sigh. "You're not as dumb as I thought. Even I got fooled for a few years until I realized."
Then, without warning, glowing letters lit up in the void, and a voice echoed around them, calm and emotionless.
[CONGRATULATIONS.]
[You have uncovered the truth.]
[As a reward, you may ask several questions. A minor bonus will also be granted.]
"What is your goal?"
[This system needs energy to maintain its service, so our goal is to harvest energy by saving the world, or do some tasks to maintain it. That's where all the points come from; you can also count the killing, but it's too little.]
[Each world has an anchor—in other words, a protagonist whose loss brings dire consequences. The worlds we pass through often experience events that diverge from their original timeline, ultimately leading to collapse.]
[In Shiho Miyano's world, the protagonist who should have been the anchor, Kudou Shinichi, was never born, triggering countless disasters.]
[In Junko's world, without intervention, she would have succumbed to ultimate despair, extinguishing the last hope of that world.]
[Kazuha's world is too powerful. His death is inevitable, and with it, the failure to defeat the Demon King.]
[Gwen will in the future face an unsolvable challenge, one that will seal her world's fate if left unchecked.]
[By resolving these crises, we establish a connection to each world and harvest energy. In essence, we act as a service, offering aid in exchange for energy.]
"What about Shiho?" Katsu pressed. "If her world lost its anchor… how do we fix it?"
[Normally, if an anchor dies of old age, their role naturally transfers to someone else. But if the anchor is lost due to unnatural causes or was never born at all, the only way to restore balance is by resolving the crisis threatening that world. By doing so, the person becomes the new anchor, ensuring the world avoids destruction.]
[A world can have many anchors, but it cannot survive without at least one.]
[Of course, danger always follows the protagonist. That's their curse and the shield for their world. Trouble finds them, so it doesn't consume the entire world. That's why the protagonist can save the world, but the world can't save the protagonist.]
[This world doesn't have a future if we don't intervene sooner or later, earth will be gone.]
[Not every version of Shidou is lucky. In this one, his fate was sealed from the very beginning. The destruction of the world wasn't just a possibility; it had already been written.]
[That's why your intervention is necessary, Katsu.]
[You must bear the burden that Shidou could not carry.]
[I struck a deal.]
[Usually, the one I speak with is Gaia—the will of the planet itself.]
[But this time, it's different. The strongest entity in this world isn't Gaia.]
[It's Mio, the Spirit of Origin.]
[A being that can easily destroy Earth has a higher priority.]
[Knowing the future, she was happy to accept the deal, even offering aid with the ability to seal the spirit.]
"So that's why the ability to seal the spirit is limited," Katsu mumbled, then turned to Shota Katsu.
"Is the future Kurumi I meet in the dream also in the plan?"
"Yes, she did guide Kurumi and even let her open up for you sooner. We prepared everything. Now… our future is in your hands."
[This is the only exception I allow the future to come here. If anyone can change the past, it will become a mess.]
"…Was all of this worth it?" He stared at his younger self. A thousand emotions flashed behind his eyes.
"Didn't we promise to [Fight for all that's beautiful in the world!](Chapter 93). My only regret is that I waited so long for the system to save enough energy to do this."
"I hate bad endings the most, I am counting on you to keep that promise. You carried the future and the present. I already smashed the board of fate, now you just need to rebuild the future." Shota Katsu simply smiled and reached his hand to him.
Katsu looked at the hand, the weight of this promise was suffocating, but rejecting it is disrespecting the sacrifice the future Katsu has made. He grabbed his hand firmly.
"I promise."
Shota Katsu let out a breath, then looked up. "My spell card [Time Travel] is almost out of time. I've already used nearly a month just to take one last look at this world."
He turned to Katsu.
"Give me two of your banished cards."
Without hesitation, Katsu reached into his coat and handed over two gray, dimmed spell cards: [Final Countdown] and [Time Travel], both stripped of their power after being banished.
The moment Shota took them into his hands, the cards shimmered softly, returning to their original, vibrant form.
He handed them back with a grin.
"Does this count as breaking the rules?" he asked, almost teasing.
A familiar voice echoed in the void.
[I'll allow it… just this once.]
"Are you ready?"
"Mana" "Kisara" "Polymerization"
The two spirits emerged from their card forms and fused together. Their power enveloped Shota as his hair turned from yellow to blue, and dark ink-like lines spread across his body.
Shota directed his power at Katsu, who suddenly found himself flooded with a memory. A very painful one.
Tohka stood before him, tears brimming in her eyes, her body slowly disintegrating into particles.
"Living with you and everyone… It's been the happiest time of my life. You gave me a home I never thought I'd have. You were always there for me, you saved me."
She smiled through her tears.
"I want to be with you, Katsu. I want to spend more time with you. No… I don't want to disappear… I don't want to be apart from you… But if it means you can live on, then I'm willing to go. I love you! Please… live on for me!"
Tohka reached out, her hand brushing his cheek before pressing a kiss to his lips.
Then she vanished completely.
"AAH!!"
Suddenly, a wave of excruciating pain surged through Katsu's entire body. His pupils contracted and shook violently. The agony was unbearable, even he couldn't hold back a scream.
The space around them cracked like shattered glass, and then a massive explosion erupted.
"This should be my last help. I know you will hesitate to kill me, so I will have to do it myself. If these points can't help you, then you're really useless past me."
Shota Katsu, who had been watching from not far away, shook his head as tears welled in his eyes.
"I'm sorry, Tohka…, I can't keep your promise, but I won't let this tragedy happen again."
He stepped forward directly into the explosion's range, without hesitation, accepting the full force of the surge. He even lowered all his defenses so that he could receive most of the damage.
At the same time, on the battlefield against Origami, Miku and Natsumi, who were suppressing Origami, protecting the city from being destroyed, almost simultaneously missed a beat, feeling a sense of connection that made them frown.
And over there, Kurumi, who was frantically extracting the spiritual energy from Shidou, couldn't help but frown slightly...
She sensed an invisible connection... This feeling... was familiar to her, a connection between the past and the present...
"Katsu-kun?" Kurumi's heart skipped a beat, and then without saying anything, he suddenly increased the intensity of her spiritual energy extraction---
"Ah!!" Shidou screamed in pain from the sudden extraction, but at the same time he also noticed that Kurumi was showing the Zafkiel Emperor... ...did she find it? Shidou's heart moved slightly, and he forcibly suppressed the urge to scream----
"[Zafkiel]---[Twelfth Bullet]!" The moment she took back the City of Time, Kurumi once again activated the ultimate power of the Time Angel [Zafkiel]---
A low gunshot sounded, and a pale golden bullet flew out, hitting the beautiful girl herself...
"Tokisaki-san, you must bring Katsu back! I'm counting on you!"
This was the last sentence Kurumi heard before she disappeared from this space and time.
"Ahhhh!!" At the moment when Kurumi disappeared, Origami, who was suppressed by the double [Rondo.] and unable to move, suddenly roared. Then, Miku and Natsumi, whose power was drained away, could no longer suppress themselves---
"Ah!!" Origami roared again, and all the [Demon King of Salvation] gathered rapidly at this moment, flew behind Origami, and formed the shape of a pair of wings.
As she flapped her wings, Origami got rid of the suppression of [Rondo.] and flew into the air.
"Not good..." Shidou and the spirits were all shocked.
… …
… …
After being hit by the Twelfth Bullet, a feeling of weightlessness and dizziness enveloped Kurumi's mind. But within moments, she shook it off—she knew she had to stay conscious now.
She reached out, searching in the darkness… searching for the connection across time and space…
After a few breaths, Kurumi opened her eyes. Before her was the same familiar scene—Tengu City.
"…Is it… here?" Kurumi murmured, slightly furrowing her delicate, beautiful brows—
Just then, a youthful voice suddenly called from behind her. "You're here."
"…?!" Kurumi flinched in surprise, but quickly composed herself and turned around gracefully, only to be stunned by the sight before her.
"Katsu-kun?" Kurumi's voice couldn't help but reveal a hint of confusion.
"Well, I suppose so," the boy answered with a shrug. "But I'm not the same one you're thinking of. You can tell just by looking at me."
He was right. Although he resembled Katsu, he was clearly younger, more immature, and still a child.
"Ah… that's true…" Kurumi's joy faded a little as she narrowed her eyes.
"Where is the real Katsu?"
"That's still me," Shota Katsu replied casually. "I said I'm not the same person you're thinking of, but I never said I'm not Katsu."
Kurumi paused, visibly restraining the urge to attack him. "…So, where is my Katsu-kun?"
"Ha---that's right." Shota Katsu suddenly smiled happily: "He has been waiting for you for a long time, come with me---" As he said that, Shota Katsu took a step forward and came in front of Kurumi.
But Kurumi couldn't help but take a step back - although this man was Katsu... he was not the Katsu she knew... so she would not let him touch her!
The young Katsu noticed this, his grin widening. "Don't worry, I won't touch you. Besides, you're not my Kurumi. My Kurumi is here."
From the shadows beneath Kurumi's feet, another Kurumi stepped out—this one embraced Shota Katsu warmly.
"Ah… so this is where you've been hiding," Kurumi said softly, her expression easing.
Katsu smiled, then raised his hands and clasped them together.
Golden magic circles formed beneath their feet.
"It's open—"
As soon as he spoke, the magic circles flashed, and in an instant, everyone vanished.
….
In the dim cracks between time and space, Katsu knelt on one knee, gasping for breath. Sweat from the pain flowed down his face.
"Haven't they arrived yet…? I can't hold on much longer…"
Just as he muttered this through gritted teeth, a golden light burst forth, and two figures appeared not far from him.
Katsu looked up. A faint smile tugged at his lips, though it was clearly forced.
"Kurumi… you're here."
"Katsu-kun…" Kurumi opened her mouth, but no words came out. She didn't know what to say.
"Alright, alright, enough with the drama." Future Kurumi rolled her eyes. "I hate sappy scenes. You need to get out of here fast, you two still have urgent business, remember?"
"… …"
Katsu was speechless. The mood was completely ruined.
"Kurumi… take me home…"
"…Yeah." Kurumi nodded slightly. Then she turned toward the young Katsu and the other Kurumi, took a deep breath, and said,
"Thank you."
Shota Katsu waved it off with a smile.
"Go on, quickly."
Kurumi didn't hesitate. She walked over to Katsu and gently placed her hand on his shoulder.
"Let's go home, Katsu-kun."
"Yeah… let's go home, Kurumi."
Just as Kurumi summoned Zafkiel and prepared to leave the dimensional rift.
"Hey!" Shota Katsu suddenly called out.
Katsu turned around in confusion.
"Hmm?"
Without a word, Shota Katsu tossed a golden glowing apple toward him.
"…What's this?" Katsu caught it, completely bewildered. Then his mind quickly clicked as he realized what this was.
"Bite it after you get back."
"… …" Katsu furrowed his brow slightly, then sighed.
"Alright. I understand."
… …
Now, only Future Kurumi and Future Katsu remained in the void.
Future Katsu sighed.
"I hope you don't repeat my mistakes… ugh—"
He suddenly fell to his knees, coughing up blood.
Though he still appeared normal, it was only an illusion. His body had been severely damaged by the blast, and the apple had accelerated his impending death. This should be the punishment for aiding Katsu.
Future Kurumi quickly knelt down and let him rest on her lap.
"I don't know is this a punishment or a reward." Katsu smirked weakly.
"I'm sorry… Kurumi. I won't be able to stay with you to the end…"
Kurumi gently caressed his face.
"I never regretted loving you. If you could do all of this for Tohka… then you could do it for me, too. I came along so you could leave this world in peace. So please… rest Katsu-kun."
Future Kurumi gently closed Katsu's eyes and kissed his lips like an angel of death, bestowing a final sweetness.
"You don't have to bear this burden anymore."
Future Katsu's heart finally stopped. The transform finally lifted, revealing that his hands were only dragon claws. His once yellow her turned blue with a demon horn, and a wizard's hat sat atop it like a lonely crown.
Despite finally winning the final battle, the price the future Katsu pays was consuming all the powerful monster cards in his hand. This not only turned him into a monster but also lost two most important cards accompanying him.
Then, slowly, both of their bodies began to fade, erased by the flow of time.
[Humans are so stubborn... You could have continued your journey, but you still came back…. Goodbye, host.]