Chapter 627: The 'Entertainment-Use All-Purpose Angel' Icarus!
The atmosphere in the living room was heavy, thick with a silence that seemed to press against the walls.
"..."
A crowd of beautiful women and young girls squeezed into Ren's living room, their expressions a mixture of shock, awe, and lingering fear. They had listened to Ren's explanation, and surprisingly, they understood it.
It wasn't because they were experts in occult sciences or planar theory, but because what Ren said was simple, brutal, and easy to understand.
The world faces Apocalyptic Disasters from time to time—threats capable of unraveling the fabric of reality. And Ren? He is the existence who "conveniently" deals with these disasters before they can swallow everyday life whole.
The monster named The Indestructible Reptile—that nightmare of flesh and bone they had witnessed at the zoo—was merely one of them.
That was it.
Simple. Direct. Terrifying.
But even with this simple information, everyone felt as if they were sitting on pins and needles. The reality of their peaceful lives had been peeled back to reveal the abyss beneath.
Komari Koshigaya, who was already quite timid by nature, unknowingly shrunk her petite body, pressing closer to Ren. In this room full of incomprehensible truths, he was the only anchor of safety she could sense.
After Yatogami Tohka slowly recovered from the shock of this information, she swallowed hard and asked, "Such a big commotion just now... someone must have seen it, right?"
Her voice trembled slightly. She was recalling the scene—something like a black hole devouring light, and a monster that grew rapidly until it seemed to cover the sky.
It was too obvious. It defied all logic. Yet, looking back at the zoo before they left, it seemed the people there had no reaction at all. It was as if they existed in a different world.
"No, the location we were in at the time was just an alternate dimension I created," Ren explained calmly, taking a sip of tea as if discussing the weather. "There's no point in worrying about being discovered."
"Alternate dimension! Then... Dark Hero! Can you find the Invisible Boundary Line?"
Takanashi Rikka clenched her small fists, her colored contact lens flashing with intense anticipation as she asked nervously. Her "Wicked Eye" persona was fully active, desperate for validation.
"Rikka!"
Tohka frowned, stepping forward. This was not the time for chunibyo delusions; they were discussing matters of life and death. She prepared to stop her sister from acting up.
However, Ren did not mock her. He looked at the girl with the eye patch and said indifferently, "The boundary between life and death, illusion and reality... I can find what you call the Invisible Boundary Line."
The air in the room seemed to freeze.
"So," Ren leaned forward slightly, his golden eyes piercing through her fantasy, "what do you want to do?"
"..."
Rikka's excited mood instantly cooled down. It was like a bucket of ice water had been poured over her enthusiasm.
Because of Ren's question.
What did she want to do?
For a moment, Rikka felt a bit lost. The fantasy crumbled, revealing the raw wound underneath.
This touched upon the essence of her chunibyo. Her father's sudden death three years ago—it was a reality she had refused to accept. It left her unable to accept the fact even now.
It was when she was at her most painful and helpless that she understood what chunibyo was. It was a shield. A way to rewrite a cruel world.
She believed her father was in an "alternate world on the other side of the Invisible Boundary Line."
She developed chunibyo in search of the "Invisible Boundary Line."
But when Ren said he could really find the boundary between life and death...
Rikka became afraid instead.
Afraid that her father wasn't there at all. Afraid that the "Invisible Boundary Line" was just a cold void, and her father was truly gone.
Seeing Rikka lower her head and stop talking, the light in her eye dimming, Ren also said nothing more.
Facing herself and facing her inner thoughts was something she needed to do on her own; what others said was useless. Growth could not be forced.
Ren shifted his gaze to the rest of the group.
"Do you all have anything else you want to ask?"
Everyone looked at each other, the tension slightly diffusing but the curiosity remaining.
Miyauchi Kazuho weakly raised her hand, adjusting her glasses nervously. "Um, does this matter require a non-disclosure agreement or something?"
"Hmm?" Ren chuckled, finding her bureaucratic worry amusing. "You wouldn't think I'm some official personnel, would you?"
Ren found it amusing.
"Uh, aren't you?"
Kazuho really thought Ren was like those official secret organizations protecting the world in the novels she read—mysterious, government-funded, and full of paperwork.
"You're thinking too much."
Ren waved his hand dismissively. "As for a non-disclosure agreement, let's forget it. I'm not some official force; just don't spread it casually."
"Oh, oh!"
Kazuho nodded her head vigorously. Not having any pressure from a non-disclosure agreement really lightened the burden. She breathed a sigh of relief.
"Ahem, Ren-nii, can I also fight monsters?"
Compared to Kazuho and Konomi, who thought a lot about consequences and logic, Koshigaya Natsumi's idea was simpler.
She thought fighting monsters with superpowers was super cool!
"I want to fight monsters too!"
Miyauchi Renge also followed Natsumi, waving her small fists in a boxing stance. "Nyanpasu!"
"Heh heh, of course, if there's a chance."
Ren rubbed their little heads, messing up their hair affectionately.
Suddenly, his gaze turned in one direction. He looked towards the corner of the room.
"Why... are you looking at me?"
Kagayama Kaede thought he was looking at her, feeling a bit shy and adjusting her position.
"Nothing, it seems you're all a bit tired from suddenly receiving all this information. Go rest. I'm going out for a bit."
With that, Ren disappeared from the spot. Space warped, and he was gone.
Everyone didn't know what was happening. But the fatigue hit them. Receiving too much information was indeed true.
So they all got up and left, preparing to go back and properly digest this information.
Rikka, uncharacteristically silent, walked with Tohka.
"Rikka..."
As her older sister, Tohka was a bit worried about Rikka's state. Rikka was usually loud and delusional, but this silence was unnerving.
But now, she also didn't know how to comfort her.
...
The Night Sky.
Stars filled the sky, twinkling like diamonds on black velvet. The air was cool and crisp.
But a point of light was falling from the sky. It disrupted the tranquility of the night.
Whoosh!!!
It wasn't a shooting star. It was a roaring ball of fire.
It was falling to the ground at a meteor-like speed, burning through the atmosphere with catastrophic momentum.
Just a thousand meters from the ground.
Ren instantly appeared below. He stood in the air, defying gravity.
He stopped the ball of fire with one hand.
Boom.
The kinetic energy vanished instantly. The flames licked his palm but could not burn him.
"Hmm?"
As the flames dissipated, Ren saw a scene that surprised him.
Floating in the center of the impact zone was a pink-haired girl, curled up and completely naked.
He held her in a princess carry. Her skin was soft and cool to the touch.
Seeing her sleeping face up close, it was remarkably familiar.
He had come here precisely because he sensed an anomaly.
Just a moment ago, space fluctuated, and a life form was inexplicably born into this world from nothingness. It wasn't a summoning; it was a genesis.
That life form was this girl who had fallen like a meteor.
Suddenly.
The sleeping girl's eyelashes trembled slightly.
She slowly opened her eyes.
They were mesmerizing. Her iridescent eyes looked directly at Ren, shifting colors like a prism.
Her gaze rippled.
Her rosy lips parted, letting out a soft, almost mechanical murmur: "Master..."
The next moment.
Her slender arms reached up and wrapped around Ren's neck, and she lifted herself to kiss him on the lips.
"..."
It was a kiss of contract. A binding of souls.
Under Ren's unwavering gaze.
Her body transformed.
Clank—Whirrr—
Her naked body shimmered with light. Matter reconfigured instantly.
White armor and a skirt appeared, clothing her in a flash of particles.
Pure white wings, metallic and majestic, unfolded behind her.
A heavy black collar appeared on her neck with a metallic click.
A silver chain from the collar extended, connecting to Ren's hand.
Their lips parted.
The girl's iridescent pupils stabilized, turning a faint green.
She looked at him, void of emotion, and said blankly, "Contract complete, Master, Entertainment-Use All-Purpose Angel, Icarus is at your service."
Although her words were very light, the emotion in her eyes, fixated on Ren, revealed a fear of being rejected that she herself was unaware of. She was a weapon terrified of being discarded.
Ren knew why.
He simply smiled. A gentle, accepting smile.
"Yes, Icarus, from now on, I am your Master."
"Yes."
It was a plain answer.
Yet, Icarus felt her power core overheating.
Warning. Reactor temperature rising.
Because of her Master's gaze and words... was that the human word for gentleness?
She did not know.
"Well, this doesn't seem like the place to talk. Do you want to come back with me?"
Icarus did not answer.
Because Ren was not speaking to her.
Instead, he was facing the mid-air behind her.
Crack!
The sound of glass shattering echoed.
The space there shattered.
A figure slowly emerged from within the rift.
"You... are her creator."
A crisp female voice came from her mouth, directed at Ren.
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