Unlike the mental world, Domain Expansion had many limitations.
Domain Expansion—Idol's Stage. It created a temporary field area like an idol's performance stage where both the user and opponent became the idols performing.
Anyone nearby who got pulled into the space would turn into audience members. Their memories before the battle would be erased, leaving them as neutral supporters.
Whoever gained more recognition and applause from the audience would receive a huge boost in strength, speed, and endurance etc. And since Orihime had already activated her battleform selection, her strength was already frightening.
But what truly mattered was that this was Orihime's domain. She had complete knowledge and experience inside it.
"Do you know about the legend of Tanabata?" Orihime asked with a wide smirk.
"Legend of Tanabata?" Aoto thought for a moment before remembering. In Japan, it was a very famous love myth that almost everyone knew.
It was a story about Orihime, the daughter of a god who lived in the Milky Way and spent her days weaving clothes for the gods. One day, she met her lover, hikoboshi, and the two fell deeply in love. But because of their obsession with each other, they started to neglect their duties. As punishment, they were separated and allowed to meet only once a year.
There were some variations of the story in different regions, but the core remained the same.
Aoto's lips twitched. "Does she really think she's Orihime from that story? She's completely delusional!" he thought, stepping back, realizing that this girl wasn't just hot-blooded—she was a total psychopath.
"Star Meteors!" Orihime shouted.
Out of nowhere, countless small shards of shining fragments rained down like meteors. Aoto barely managed to dodge them.
If landed they would definitely make a whole in his body or head.
To the audience, though, it looked like a stunning light show, and they were completely mesmerized. Orihime took advantage of that and began her performance.
She lifted the mic close to her lips and started singing while dancing gracefully.
Her voice echoed across the stage.
"Love me, applaud me,
Twirl, twist, and bleed for me, light on the stage divine,
Each step a promise, each smile a shrine."
Her voice was soft yet powerful, wrapping everyone in a trance. The audience began cheering wildly for her.
And to make things worse, she had activated her unique skill—Pure Love. With it, her charm became almost impossible to resist. Even Aoto felt his heart skip a beat as he stared at her.
He quickly shook his head. "No way… it's even breaking through my reality manipulation."
Up until now, he had been using his own unique skill to block Orihime's influence, but now it was starting to overwhelm it.
Still singing, Orihime vanished in an instant and appeared right beside Aoto.
"So fast!" he gasped, raising his sword to defend himself.
But before he could even react—
BAM!
His sword shattered with a single punch, and that same punch sent him flying like a ragdoll. The audience continued cheering as if watching the climax of a concert, not a brutal fight.
Aoto crashed into a wall, the impact breaking his right ribs. Pain shot through his chest as blood spilled from his mouth. His vision blurred, and his thoughts scattered.
"Someone save me from this woman…" he thought weakly but somehow stood up
Aoto used his skill to manipulate reality, making it seem like his body had never been damaged in the first place. But his head started to grow heavy. Although skills don't take mana, they take a heavy toll on the mind and body. Aoto had to fully master the skill to use it flexibly and consecutively.
But before he could even fight back—BAM!
A kick directly landed on his face, knocking multiple teeth out of his mouth and sending him flying again. Many cheered for Orihime, and some even laughed at Aoto.
BAM! KWACK! BOOM!
Orihime beat him to a pulp. Every time he tried to stand up, he got sent flying away again. She was completely overpowering him.
"Give up already! Can't you see how many people love me? I was meant to be loved by all of my hikoboshi. The only way you can survive this is to be my hikoboshi too, My love is too big, I will gladly welcome every hikoboshi!" Orihime shouted in a crazy way, as if she was in her own delusional world.
Aoto's body trembled as he barely sat up and spat some blood out of his mouth. "What love are you talking about? There's no love in this. Welcome every hikoboshi? That's a sign of being a slut!" he said, stuttering since many of his teeth had fallen out.
Orihime was stunned at his words and froze in one place. Her lips were mumbling something.
He pointed his fingers at Orihime like a gun and used his unique skill. At once, a strand of Orihime's hair turned into a sharp needle and directly pierced her cheek. The needle turned back into her hair. The damage was not big; only a few drops of blood came out of her cheek.
But to Aoto, it was a huge feat. Until now, he could only use his skill to manipulate reality on his body and the things he touched and held. He couldn't influence anything outside the world at all; his skill was completely useless.
But right now, he had finally gained inspiration on the brink of death and finally managed to do it. He laughed loudly. The audience was silent, worried by looking at the frozen Orihime.
Aoto laughed for a few seconds, and then his back couldn't hold it anymore, and he lay down on the ground fully.
He wasnt laughing at orihime nor at audience, He was laughing at his own life.
Although he finally managed to overcome his limits, it was too late. His condition was very bad. His ribs were broken, he tried many magic, his mana was running low too, and he was physically exhausted.
Although he could use his reality manipulation skill to manipulate reality and turn himself back to his prime again, there was a limit to how much he could do. His mind and body were exhausted too.
And even if somehow he just stabilized his condition, his opponent Orihime was in her peak condition; she would kill him ten times again. At this point, he was just open prey trapped in a trap and just waiting for the predator to come and hunt him.
---
Meanwhile, Aoto's words were echoing in her ears. She had remembered some similar words back then too.
Sometime ago, she was sitting in an office room with her cute smiling face. The vice captain of the holy knights was in front of her with an expressionless face. He adjusted his glasses and said, "I found out that you've captured 300 people and locked them up in a single building area. Why is that?"
"Captured? Of course not!" Orihime chuckled cutely, her eyes sparkling with a mix of innocence and madness. "They are all my greatest fans, my precious hikoboshi. Orihime and Hikoboshi can only meet once in a year. By that time, they will think about each other and grow their love! I too always think about all my hikoboshi every day," she said, her words growing more intense with each sentence. She hugged herself tightly, an aroused smile playing on her lips.
"Only after a year, they can finally meet their Orihime, and all of the accumulated love flow out. The place becomes a breeding shed!" Orihime added, her voice dripping with insanity and arousal.
"Hahaha, exciting, truly exciting! In this world... in this world, what is greater than love? Love is eternal, love is the pinnacle of power, faster than lightning, hurts more than any wound, feels more sweet than any fruit!" Orihime continued, her tone shifting to one of manic enthusiasm, as if she were talking about the weather.
Arthur, the vice captain of the holy knights, watched Orihime's manic face with an expressionless gaze, his glasses perched on his nose. After a few seconds, he spoke calmly, "What you said about love is true, but what you have is not love at all!"
He changed the topic abruptly. "The hero Aoto has recently gained the sword of lust. It'll suit you greatly. Do you want it?"
But instead of answering, Orihime was chewing her nails to the point that blood came out. "It's not love? No way, this is what real love is supposed to be. My love is pure love!" she continued to mumble, her mind clearly fractured.
---
In the current time, after hearing Aoto's words, Orihime started mumbling repeatedly, "My love is pure love, my love is pure..."
She ran towards the fallen Aoto and sat down on him, her expression ugly with anger. "You know nothing about love. You aren't worthy of being my hikoboshi!" she screamed, her voice filled with rage and betrayal.
She transformed her mic back into its original sword form, the sword of lust. And then, with a savage grin, she stabbed Aoto in the abdomen. But she didn't stop there. STAB! STAB! STAB! STAB! She continued to stab him until his stomach went wide open, blood spilling out and soaking the entire ground. Aoto's eyelids stopped twitching, and his body went limp.
He was no longer breathing.