It's huge… An overwhelming, majestic surge of power.
At times like the fierce fatherly force of the earth… and at other times, as gentle and encompassing as the motherly embrace of the sea. Yes, this is the world itself. I suddenly realized that what I had always sensed through senjutsu was only a fragment of it.
Now, it felt as though the life energy of the planet itself was wrapping around me. I was a part of the world, and the world was a part of me. Despite the exhaustion I should have felt, my body brimmed with new vitality.
…And slowly, I opened my eyes.
"Nyo? I-tan, you're awake!? I'm so glad, nyo~!!"
In front of me, or rather, in the same bed as me, was a battle-hardened giant nurse who had likely walked countless battlefields.
"WAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!"
"Nyo! Such a quick reaction! Looks like your consciousness is clear too, thank goodness, nyo!"
"Too close! Too close!! You're way too close!!"
What the hell is going on here!? What even is this situation!?
Still in total confusion, I instinctively scooted away from Mil-tan, slamming my back hard against the wall. It hurt like hell, but I didn't even care.
"Uhh… Mil-tan… um… listen…"
Apparently, I was still too shaken to form coherent sentences. There were so many questions I needed to ask, but my thoughts were all over the place.
"H-How did this happen?"
That's all I could manage to say. In response, Mil-tan began to explain.
"Nyo! Mil-tan had gone to watch the Milky show on the department store rooftop nearby! Watching Milky live and in-person just hits differently than seeing her on TV, nyo!"
"Uh-huh…"
I gave a half-hearted reply, unsure where this was going.
"While walking home, still inspired by Milky's unwavering courage against evil, I sensed a really bad vibe from afar, nyo! As an aspiring magical girl who loves peace, I couldn't just ignore it! When I got closer, I found I-tan being bullied by an evil gang, so I used my Milky magic, still in training, mind you, and beat them all up!"
I mean… I guess it's not that strange for Mil-tan to beat rogue exorcists, but that's not something a normal person could ever pull off, right!? There were like ten of them! Well… not that it matters anymore.
"I-I see. So what happened after that?"
"I-tan was badly injured, so I brought you back to my apartment to heal you! When I traveled to another world before, I defeated a villainous snapping turtle who had kidnapped a princess, and I got his blood! According to a delivery guy who fought with me, it can heal any injury and cure all diseases! And look, you're all healed now! Yay!"
Nope. I can't process this. Or maybe I just don't want to.
Mil-tan's already been to another world!? She's had a whole adventure! It sounds suspiciously like some Super Ma**o knockoff, though. Wait, did I just regenerate using turtle blood!? My shoulder wound is completely closed! What is this, Phoenix Tears!? No, even better, this stuff cures everything?
"Next, I brought the bad guys back here with you, but I started wondering… why would they do such evil things? Then it hit me! It's because they've never experienced love, courage, dreams, or hope, nyo! So I gave them a passionate lecture about all the wonderful things Milky stands for! And then, nyo, they all started crying and realized how wrong they were!"
Yeah, no. I'm sure the crying and shaking were for entirely different reasons.
"...So where are these now-reformed bad guys?"
They weren't anywhere in the room.
"They said they wanted to take responsibility for what they did, so they volunteered to fill in the hole in the school grounds, nyo!"
...They ran. That's what happened. Sure, cleaning up their mess and reflecting on their actions is important and all, but let's be honest, they bailed.
"And finally… why were we in the same bed?"
I deliberately saved this question for last, but it's definitely the most important one. Depending on her answer, I might have to say goodbye to this world right here and now.
"Even though the turtle blood healed your wounds, your face still looked pale, nyo! One of the guys said that body heat might help, so I got in bed with you! And look! Your color totally came back!"
THOSE DAMN ROGUE EXORCISTS!! Looks like one of them didn't get enough of Mil-tan's Milky sermon! When I see him again, I'll personally send him to the afterlife!
====================
After thanking Mil-tan for everything, I finally made my way home.
She not only saved me, but also used a rare item that was basically the equivalent of Phoenix Tears.
…Sure, the moment I woke up will probably haunt me forever, but that's beside the point. I am grateful.
Also, she sewed up my torn clothes super fast. Apparently, her Milky outfit gets ripped so often she's become a pro at sewing. If she's that good, maybe she should just start making her own costumes already…
"…Sigh."
Luckily, my injuries and stamina had fully recovered, so I hadn't been unconscious for too long. I managed to get home before the 6 p.m. curfew.
Still, this whole ordeal revealed some major weaknesses in myself. I thought about that as I opened the front door.
"I'm home~"
"Welcome back, Ikki. Dinner's almost ready, so go take a bath and wash off that sweat."
I heard Mom's voice from the kitchen. Oh, by the way, she's calling me "Ikki" now instead of "Ikkun." I guess even she realized it's a bit embarrassing to use a nickname like that forever…
"Okay!"
After a bath and dinner, I returned to my room to analyze the mistakes I made during the fight.
First of all, I let the fallen angels get too close. They probably found me by coincidence, but that's no excuse. I'd scolded myself at the time for not using senjutsu detection, but realistically, keeping it active all the time is nearly impossible.
The wider the search range, the more overwhelming the incoming data.
Sure, I could keep it going in a small radius, but then it wouldn't help much.
So maybe I need the opposite approach: instead of detecting others, I should focus on hiding myself.
Suppressing my presence only requires managing my own aura, it's way more sustainable.
Even Azazel walked through the Hyoudou house without anyone noticing. And Grayfia, who probably has even sharper senses, didn't alert Kiba even when she was right outside the clubroom door. And they're both beings with Maou-level auras.
They must be experts at suppressing their presence naturally.
Thinking back, those fallen angels were leaking aura all over the place…
"…Actually, I was too, huh."
Anyway, my first goal should be to hide my presence subconsciously, even when I'm not paying attention.
Next, the problem with throwing my weapons, Zarich in the right hand and Tawrich in the left.
Looking back, there were issues everywhere. Sure, I thought I'd found an opening and launched a counterattack, but even if I hadn't gotten hit by that light spear immediately afterward, I would've been cornered eventually.
It was my first time throwing them, I was on the ground, and the enemy was airborne. Even setting those issues aside, from their perspective, there was no need to dodge or block. They could've just thrown up a barrier of light and been done with it. It's not like I had the power to break through one anyway…
Still, I did manage to land a finishing blow. So I guess the takeaway is: I need more practice with throwing techniques, and I need to improve my defenses.
As for [Self-Destruct]... Well, I kind of understand the power now, but what's the actual point? Sure, it's better than before when I didn't understand it at all, but as I continue to train and raise my base stats, the blast radius is only going to grow, right?
What, am I supposed to self-destruct every now and then just to measure it?
"Yeah, no thanks."
I now know how much it hurts. Let's leave it at that for now.
Lastly, my lack of foresight. I underestimated the enemy's strength. If I had assumed the worst, then after defeating the second one and waiting ten seconds without any new enemies showing up, I should've focused on hiding instead.
Whether or not I could've hidden is another matter, but choosing that option would've been wiser.
"Damn… My inexperience really stood out. I wish I had a proper mentor, but… what can you do?"
And that night, mentally drained, I went to bed early.
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