As I drove my fists home, I shouted with all my breath:
"No, you're wrong! Even if it's for the sake of the future, your way tramples over the people fighting to live in the present! So I'll say it as many times as it takes! I will never accept your way!"
Rias, Sona, Saji, Sairaorg-san, the children of the Underworld—everyone has dreams and is moving forward!
My mind flashed back to our time at Aulos Academy.
"There are children with dreams! Children who started learning magic just to make their dreams come true! There was a kid who couldn't cast magic like the others, who struggled, who suffered, but kept trying anyway! And he finally managed to create a tiny spark of fire! Are you going to steal the future from a kid like that?!"
"Even if things are fine now, despair will eventually cover this world if we do nothing! When that happens, dreams! Hope! The future! Everything will be reduced to nothingness! Can't you see that?!"
Delivered alongside his shout, Asem's fist drove deep, echoing through my core.
Unable to hold back what welled up inside, a thick glob of blood burst from my mouth.
Crimson blood spilled without stopping, dyeing the ground beneath my feet a dark red.
As I swayed on the verge of collapsing, Ddraig's voice echoed within me.
『Endure it, Issei! Just a little more and I can transfer power to you! Endure it for now!』
…I know, Ddraig.
There's no way in hell I can fall here.
I definitely won't fall.
Until I take this guy down, I'm—
"I will never…! Fall…!"
Channeling strength throughout my entire frame, I somehow forced my battered body to stay upright.
…The power that once felt infinite had almost completely run dry.
It was sheer willpower and raw grit alone keeping me on my feet.
Asem let out a small, faint smile.
"…You really won't fall, will you?"
"…I won't fall."
No matter how broken I get.
No matter how many times my knees threaten to hit the ground.
This soul of mine will never break.
That's why I won't fall.
Besides—
"I have things I want to protect. Family, comrades, and so much more… Before I knew it, I had so many things I wanted to protect."
"I see… That sounds tough."
"Yeah, it is. But… that's exactly why I'm gonna win!"
Both of us were panting heavily, utterly covered in wounds.
Even so, our bodies kept moving.
Channeling aura into our fists.
Unleashing the absolute maximum power we could summon at that very moment—
"Zeahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"
"Nuugh… Oahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"
Echoing across the battlefield were our roars and the heavy impacts of colliding fists.
Our physical stamina should have crossed its limit long ago, yet our aura soared in inverse proportion to our exhaustion.
With every exchange of fists, the ground fractured and space itself tore open.
I could no longer feel the pain.
Even though we had traded enough heavy blows to die several times over.
The endless flurry of punches wouldn't stop, couldn't stop, wouldn't let us stop.
Because the opponent standing before us refused to fall.
And if he wasn't going down, there was no way in hell I was falling either.
Surging my aura higher, I roared:
"Asem! You said it yourself—that without 'pain', the world won't change! Then what about her?!"
"…!"
At my scream, Asem's eyes widened, and his hands faltered for a fraction of a second.
Right at that instant, Ddraig shouted from within me:
『Issei! Count of five!』
"Gimme the count!"
—Five seconds.
During that time, I absolutely cannot break!
I'll trust my partner and ride out this moment!
『Ⅴ』
The crimson gauntlet covering my left arm lit up.
A digit surfaced upon its jewel.
Checking the count, I caught his incoming strike.
Locking our hands together, it turned into a raw contest of physical strength.
Erupting with aura as I pushed back, I kept screaming at him:
"Did the woman you wanted to protect change because of 'pain'?! No, she didn't! She changed because of you—because your heart reached hers!"
The count advanced.
『Ⅳ』
Four seconds remaining!
Hurry!
Asem yanked my arm, trying to throw off my balance.
"But she vanished! At the hands of the very world she loved!"
Using the momentum, he slammed his forehead directly into mine.
The impact split my brow, and blood poured down, dyeing my vision red.
『Ⅲ』
Screaming with raw, bare emotion, Asem swung a vicious right roundhouse kick.
Failing to guard in time, I took the blow head-on and was slammed hard into the dirt.
"Gah… Cough!"
To think he could land such a devastating blow at this critical moment…!
Whenever I tried to move, sharp pain tore through my back…!
Did he mess up my spine…?!
"She, and the boy belonging to this body—unreasonableness took everything from them! That's why I…!"
Crack! Snap! A heavy, brutal strike drove deep!
Swinging down at my immobile body, his strikes smashed my flesh, threatening to snap my spirit in two!
『Ⅱ』
Just as Asem was about to drive in another blow, I kicked him straight in the stomach to force him back.
Forcing my screaming, agony-ridden body to move, I turned to face him once more.
Hunched over in a forward stance, I choked out:
"So to change this world, you're going to become that very unreasonableness? But aren't you forgetting something? You yourself are a part of this world too… She never wanted you to cast yourself outside of it! Because inside the world she loved—you were included in it too—!"
I stepped forward.
One step, then another.
Planting my feet firmly into the earth, I sprinted toward Asem.
"You don't need 'pain' to change! Even without that bullshit, people—and the world—can change!"
A straight right was unleashed as I closed the distance.
I deflected Asem's fist with my right hand, letting it slip past.
『Ⅰ』
Slipping into his inner guard, my eyes locked directly with Asem's—
『Extreme Full Booster!!!!』
A new activation sound resonated from the gauntlet.
It echoed with a strength far greater than any sound before it.
In that exact instant, a massive torrent of aura—a roaring crimson flame—erupted from my left gauntlet.
『Now, Issei! Strike him downnnnnn!』
Ddraig roared!
I swung up my left fist, wrapped in blazing crimson flames.
The crimson light, heightened to its ultimate extreme, manifested into the shape of a soaring dragon—
"The version of you that she loved—the real you—should already know the potential of the light within human hearts! That light can overcome any unreasonableness in existence! You of all people should already know that, dammit!!!!!!"
『Welsh Impact!!!!!!!!』
Carrying the crimson dragon, my fist caught Asem square in the face, smashing him directly down into the earth—
Next time: The conclusion…?!
~Afterword Mini-Story~
Koneko: "...I wonder when my chest will finally get bigger."
Ignis: "Don't worry, Koneko-chan. Issei will make your breasts bigger for you. Right, Issei! Let's grope them right now! Make them bigger this instant~♪"
Issei: "Me?! No no no, doing it right now is obviously impossible…. But leave it to me! I will definitely make Koneko-chan's chest grow! Let's take our time and nurture them from here on out!"
Koneko: "Your nose is bleeding, Issei-senpai. And your breathing is really heavy… Are you okay?"
Issei: "When it comes to breast growth, I neither rush prematurely nor do I lose hope over flat chests!"
Ignis: "As expected of Issei! The Breast Dragon Emperor isn't just for show!"
Koneko: "...I don't really get it, but all of you are terrible. More importantly, aren't you going to get yelled at soon?"
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