After Eriri's voice fell, the halted flow of time began moving once more.
The massive explosion that had been confined within a few meters resumed spreading outward, instantly engulfing all the remaining Reincarnators present, along with Eriri and Meido.
However, the aftermath of the self-detonation did not extend very far. Under the constraint of an invisible force, it spread only to a radius of ten kilometers before it could go no further, forced to rebound along the same path, causing one repeated detonation after another.
When the explosions finally subsided, the Reincarnators who had once stood in the cosmic void had completely vanished. Only Eriri and Meido remained, standing unharmed in the endless darkness of space.
...
A week passed quickly. Although all the Level 8 Reincarnators had been eliminated, there were still hundreds of thousands of Reincarnators below Level 8 surviving within the To Love-Ru universe.
Without Eriri personally taking action, the chat group members alone were unable to completely exterminate all of them within seven days.
Although Meido and D both possessed overwhelming power capable of crushing the remaining Reincarnators with ease, they could not, like the invaders, recklessly destroy entire galaxies. They could only eliminate their targets one by one, which slowed their progress considerably.
Among those brought along by the group members, not everyone was like Jibril and the other Flügel, joyfully slaughtering every Reincarnator they encountered.
Most of them came from peaceful everyday worlds—many had rarely even seen a dead person, let alone killed with their own hands. These people contributed little to the campaign, serving only as support and lacking the courage to deliver the killing blow.
Eriri did not force them to kill, merely treating this experience as a journey—though not necessarily a pleasant one.
Some group members were the same—such as Miharu Kirisu, Kaori Miyazono, Aoyama Nanami, and Keika Kiyotaki. Even though they had seen many bloody scenes in the shared memory projections, they still could not get used to killing.
After a week of destruction, a significant portion of the universe's galaxies had already been devastated. However, since Eriri and the others began their purge within the Milky Way, it remained largely unscathed.
At this point, Eriri had no further interest in continuing this "game." She intended to finish things at once by eliminating all remaining hundreds of thousands of Reincarnators.
Meanwhile, in a galaxy unimaginably far from the Milky Way, Arifureta was leading Shea, Loli, Myu, Illya, and several other little girls in clearing out Reincarnators within this galaxy.
However, they weren't all together, nor did all of them attribute the Main God Fragments gained from killing Reincarnators to Arifureta.
After all, among this group of little girls were several chat members themselves. Naturally, the fragments were shared equally between Tina, Enju Aihara, and little Sakura.
At this moment, Arifureta had just finished off a batch of Reincarnators below Level 7 and was preparing to head to her next target location.
Above her head floated a line of five enormous glowing digits — "85366."
In just seven short days, she had already slain more than eighty thousand Reincarnators.
Although that number might not sound like much, the record was already astonishing.
After all, Reincarnators were not fragile ants to be trampled at will. Many were even stronger than Arifureta herself. So for her to have killed more than eighty thousand of them in a week was an impressive stroke of fortune.
Had she encountered mostly high-stage Level 7 Reincarnators, she might not have even broken double digits.
Arifureta glanced briefly at the shattered planet beneath her feet. The survivors on its surface knelt toward her as if before a god, worshiping in silent awe. Without staying any longer, she vanished from the planet in an instant.
When she reappeared, she was already several tens of thousands light-years away, in the empty void between galaxies.
"Hmm… what's that…?"
At that moment, Arifureta's expression shifted slightly. Her eyes turned toward a distant point in the starry expanse.
Arifureta could clearly sense a fierce battle taking place in the distance—several powerful presences clashing at once. What caught her attention most was that she recognized almost all of those auras.
"It seems those little ones have run into a tough opponent."
Arifureta smiled faintly, then without hesitation, flickered through space and appeared at the edge of the battlefield.
At that moment, more than a dozen little girls led by Enju Aihara were surrounding three Reincarnators, launching a coordinated assault. However, their attacks barely scratched the enemies.
Of course, just like the Level 7, Stage 3 Reincarnator who once faced Lala and her sisters, these three couldn't harm Enju and the others either. They could only grit their teeth and endure the onslaught, their frustration visible on their faces.
This stalemate had lasted for over an hour. The Reincarnators had tried fleeing multiple times, but no matter how far they ran, they would instantly be chased down by the relentless little girls, followed by another round of mixed attacks.
Though their bodies showed little sign of injury, at this rate, they knew they would eventually be worn down to death.
All three of them were Level 7, Stage 9 Reincarnators, but their internal energy wasn't limitless. They could clearly feel their power rapidly draining away.
Unlike the increasingly desperate Reincarnators, Enju and her companions were full of excitement, gleefully attacking as though they had found the most entertaining toys in the universe. Their spells and abilities flew freely, as if costless.
However, aside from Yoshino Himekawa, Tina, Enju Aihara, Sakura, Rin Tohsaka, Myne, and Shouko Nishimiya—who could continuously restore energy through the chat group—the other little girls could not sustain prolonged combat.
Of course, the gentle Shouko Nishimiya wasn't taking part in the fight at all. With her current strength of only Level 5, Stage 8, it was impossible for her to join the battle.
The fully focused Enju and the others did not notice Arifureta's arrival. However, the three Reincarnators, who were still holding their ground, as well as the observing Shouko Nishimiya, immediately sensed her presence.
"Yue-nee, you're here."
In a flash, Shouko appeared at Arifureta's side, tilting her head up slightly as she greeted her softly.
"Mhm, what a coincidence."
Arifureta smiled gently, patting Shouko's small head before ignoring the wary gazes of the three Reincarnators. Raising her voice, she called out cheerfully to Enju and the others:
"Enju-chan, it seems you're having trouble taking those three down. Want me to lend a hand?"
The moment Arifureta's voice reached them, all attacks instantly stopped. One by one, the little girls turned their eyes toward her.
"Wah! Yue-nee! What are you doing here?"
Wearing a light blue dress, Myu flew out of the formation and happily rushed to Arifureta's side, eyes shining with excitement.
"Just a coincidence. I finished dealing with another group of Reincarnators, and when I teleported again, I happened to end up near you all. I saw you were in the middle of a fight, so I came to watch the fun~"
"Oh, I see!"
Myu nodded in sudden understanding, puffing up her cheeks and balling her tiny fists as she continued:
"Yue-nee, these three are really strong! We can't hurt them at all. Come help us fight!"
Her words were immediately echoed by the rest of the little girls—none of them showed any hesitation or prideful refusal.
After all, the strength gap between them and the Reincarnators was too large. Although battling opponents who could take endless hits was amusing, it was ultimately a waste of time.
At that moment, the three Reincarnators, taking advantage of the distraction as the girls chatted with Arifureta, tried to quietly drop lower and conceal their energy in an attempt to slip away.
But just as they moved, Tina's eyes flicked toward them.
"Trying to run? Not that easy!"
With a soft but firm voice, Tina's figure blurred and instantly appeared before the three Reincarnators, blocking their escape.
Enju and the others immediately noticed the Reincarnators' attempted retreat and swarmed in again from all directions. Arifureta, too, joined their ranks.
Standing at just over one hundred and fifty centimeters tall, Arifureta blended perfectly among the group of little girls—utterly natural and fitting.
Surrounded by a group of adorably cute, yet murderously fierce little girls, the three Reincarnators couldn't help but feel their hearts tighten.
They exchanged glances, then began a silent conversation through the Main God Space's communication system.
"This won't do. We can't break their defense at all. Worse, the strongest few among them haven't shown the slightest sign of weakening, and the protective barriers on the others haven't dimmed in the least despite all their energy expenditure."
"Now there's another one—she's at Level 7, Stage 5. Who knows how many more they've got? What if someone even stronger shows up...?"
"Tch, what rotten luck. If I'd known this would happen, I'd never have joined this mission."
"Let's scatter and escape separately. We'll have a slightly better chance that way."
"..."
At that final suggestion, the three fell silent.
They simply couldn't comprehend why this universe contained such bizarre beings—creatures with flawless, invincible defenses and unerring, almost preternatural tracking abilities. It felt as if these girls had been created solely to counter them.
But there was no point dwelling on it now. They agreed to scatter and flee in different directions. After all, each of them was strong enough individually to deal with everyone present.
As they had said, there was no telling if someone stronger—perhaps even a Level 8 being—would arrive later. If that happened, they would have no hope of survival.
Not that their chances were much better now.
Still, they decided to take the risk. Even a sliver of hope was worth seizing.
Without hesitation, the three Reincarnators turned toward their chosen escape routes and shot off at incredible speed.
But before they could get far—and before Arifureta and the others could teleport to intercept—their figures and energy signatures vanished without a trace, as if erased from existence itself.
"Uh... what?"
"What happened? Those three who were running away just disappeared!"
The little girls exchanged confused looks, completely bewildered.
Only Arifureta immediately understood what had happened. At the same time, she realized this meant the cleanup operation was over.
...
On Earth, Eriri lay lazily on a sofa, her head resting on a pair of soft, cushiony thighs as she withdrew her delicate right hand, which had just snapped its fingers. Her gaze returned to the TV, which was playing a science fiction movie.
Providing the lap pillow was Tearju Lunatique, dressed in casual home clothes. As for Eve and Haruna Sairenji, they were attending school or work as usual.
They had not joined the interstellar purge of Reincarnators, instead staying behind on Earth as the planet's guardians.
Ever since the initial invasion—when Jibril and the others had annihilated the attackers in seconds—no subsequent Reincarnators had dared invade Earth again.
Eriri herself was dressed in pink nightwear, paired with sheer tights. Reclining on the sofa, she looked both relaxed and dazzlingly beautiful, her effortless allure heightened by the tight, translucent fabric outlining every smooth curve of her legs.
"Haruna and the others should be finishing school soon," she murmured softly.
Picking up her phone from beside her on the couch, Eriri checked the time, tilting her head back in a leisurely pose as she spoke to Tearju.
However, given Tearju's rather... generous figure, Eriri couldn't actually see her face.
"They should be, yeah. What time is it now?"
Tearju, focused on the movie, turned her attention back at Eriri's words, lowering her gaze to look at her.
Unfortunately, her own "ample assets" blocked her view, so she hurriedly bent forward, trying to crane her neck for a better look.
As she leaned down, her soft chest—already dangerously close—pressed directly against Eriri's face.
Instantly, an exquisite softness enveloped Eriri's features, accompanied by a faint, intoxicating fragrance.
Feeling the contact, Tearju immediately realized what she had done and straightened up quickly, her pretty face flushed with embarrassment.
"Um... sorry, Eriri, I wasn't thinking."
Tearju stammered shyly, her cheeks bright red.
"It's fine~ I actually like it~"
Eriri replied with a playful grin, stretching her hands upward toward Tearju, whose blush deepened even more as her heartbeat quickened.
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