He tried to call Yukari Yakumo through the "contract," but without a doubt, he failed. Watching the approaching white "water surface," Lancer felt as if the Grim Reaper were right beside him at this moment. It was just that, perhaps because Lancer himself was a firm Big-Boob Partisan (self-proclaimed), the Grim Reaper he saw was a red-haired girl with large breasts. But then this "hallucination" vanished, replaced by the faces of several women, until finally fixing upon a girl wearing a maid outfit...
Although the other party was just looking at him with a smile and not saying a word, Lancer felt as if he could read the other's expression.
'You promised to come pick me up.'
When they had separated originally, the two parties hadn't made such an agreement, but both Lancer and the other party knew.
The girl who had experienced death once and the two who had experienced loss once had both gained growth far beyond what ordinary people could imagine. Even if they didn't wish for this kind of growth, sometimes some things don't need to be spoken; this was the unspoken understanding belonging solely to the two of them.
Lancer didn't have any evidence to prove he would go back, but in his heart, he silently swore he must go back; and the other party hadn't received any guarantee from Lancer mouth, but she firmly believed Lancer would come...
'Can't die! I can't die yet!!'
A strong desire for survival drove him—having lost his right hand, left arm severely burned, and both feet nearly destroyed—to forcibly use his core strength to flip his body so that his back faced downward. At the same time, the last trace of power in his body was injected into the Rune symbols.
He didn't know how long he could hold on, but even if death was within arm's reach, he would absolutely not give up because there was still someone waiting for him!
No matter how humble and meaningless this struggle appeared in the eyes of an onlooker, he would still make such a choice, because death meant everything was over.
But just as he prepared to face the oncoming molten lava and wait for the support that he didn't know would arrive—
'To live? What a simple wish...'
With the sound of this voice, Lancer felt himself finally fall. Only, he didn't land in the scalding lava, but rather in an extremely warm place.
Because his body had been roasted, Lancer had nearly lost his ability to sense temperature, but at this moment, he could feel an unusual warmth.
His body, which had been nearly burned away, also gradually recovered within this warm sensation.
Kasen Ibaraki, who had climbed down the volcano along the rock wall, undoubtedly found Lancer. At this moment, Lancer was enveloped in a ball of flame, but this flame not only didn't continue to destroy his body, but was instead repairing it.
But what she found even more incredible was that at this moment, the Phoenix, which seemed like the incarnation of fire, was silently supporting Lancer with its wing. The flame that was healing Lancer body was the very flame burning on the opponent's wing.
But before she could make any reaction, a voice rang out in her mind.
'Another little fellow with interesting power. It seems this world has undergone no small changes during these few hundred years I've been resting.'
The massive head had now leaned right in front of Kasen Ibaraki. Under the gaze of those pupils composed of fire, Kasen Ibaraki felt a massive pressure. For a time, she didn't even know how to speak. After all, unlike Lancer, she had never seen such a terrifying existence as the one before her, so she didn't know how to react for a moment.
Fortunately, however, at this moment, accompanied by a whimper, that massive head also looked toward the man who was gradually waking up nearby.
The surroundings were no longer that hellish sea of fire but felt more like a warm hot spring. But then, Lancer suddenly stood up and looked around alertly.
The last memory he had before his consciousness vanished was taking the crest feather from the Phoenix's head and falling toward a sea of fire from the air. At that time, he had lost control over nearly his entire body, but now he could actually feel his limbs!
That's right, limbs!
Lancer actually felt his right arm, which had vanished several years ago. Although through the Rune symbols his right hand was nearly indistinguishable from a normal hand—both tactile sensation and power control could be achieved through magic—even so, if it weren't for occasionally dispelling the illusion and removing the bandages, he would sometimes forget that he had already lost his right arm once.
At this moment, he wasn't relying on mana but was normally feeling the existence of his right arm, which even made him a bit unaccustomed to it for a time. Clearly, it was just the movement of raising a hand, but it seemed a bit awkward as he did it.
'Could it be that I'm already dead? So in the world after death, I have my right arm again?'
Then his expression became somewhat complicated for a time because he didn't know if he would meet his master (mentor) after death. If he did meet her, should he be happy about having the chance to see Leone, or would he be killed once again?
'Little fellow, you are still very much alive.'
That voice, heard only a few times but extremely characteristic, rang out in Lancer mind. Immediately, Lancer looked up and saw that terrifying existence. Moreover, what was even more unbelievable was that the opponent's head still had its crest feather.
Could it be that he hadn't actually taken the opponent's crest feather and it was all a hallucination?
Or was it taken back by the opponent?
For a time, Lancer expression became incredibly complex because he knew that in either case, he wouldn't have another chance to take it. After all, previously he had entirely relied on the element of surprise and the powerful will that must be paid to complete that surprise to accomplish that seemingly impossible feat.
But this had all relied on catching the opponent off guard. So, either way, the opponent now knew his plan and his trump cards, which meant he would never have another chance.
Because he had put all his thoughts on the "crest feather," he even overlooked what the opponent said. However, very soon he realized something was wrong, because his mouth was still biting something.
After opening his mouth, what he saw was a massive crest feather falling into his palm. Its length even exceeded Lancer arm. But looking at the crest feather in his hand and then looking at the opponent's head, for a time he didn't quite understand what had happened.
The flames on the "Phoenix's" head, which had appeared emotionless from the start, flickered for a moment. Although the specific meaning was unknown, it gave off the feeling that it had experienced a psychological fluctuation.
And in fact, it was so. Lancer reaction made it feel somewhat "interesting."
As a "Phoenix," it had existed for so many years that even it had forgotten. After all, this time was truly too long. During this long period, it had seen countless existences, some great and some humble, but those as "interesting" as Lancer were not many.