"Ahem."
Ei coughed pointedly whether to cover up her own earlier dazed stare at Yuki or to snap the others out of their trance, no one could say.
Probably both.
"Saeko-san, now that's just shallow of you!" she declared, crossing her arms. "Yuki-kun might be unfairly handsome, but reducing someone to just their looks is unacceptable!"
Her tone was stern, but even she faltered mid-speech.
Hypocrite much?
Not like she had been any better—one glance at Yuki's face, and her heart had practically stuttered to a halt.
And then that damn fox's teasing words echoed in her mind:
"At your age, you're probably never getting married~"
…Well. If she were to consider a partner, someone like Yuki might be the only conceivable match.
Seitenshi and Huaizhu snapped back to reality, their cheeks flushing like twilight. Their eyes kept darting toward Yuki, betraying the same struggle.
Yuki, meanwhile, could only shake his head in amusement.
"Alright, alright," he chuckled, raising his hands in surrender. "Let's focus on the match, shall we?"
His gaze shifted to the towering mechanical figure across the arena.
Even back on Earth, he'd seen Artemis' mechanized form in games—but witnessing it in person? That was surreal.
Officially, she was a sniper-type interstellar fighter, yet her silhouette reminded him more of a colossal bow.
Then again, for a sniper, the symbolism fit.
Artemis, for her part, froze when Yuki looked her way.
A strange sensation flickered through her systems—one she couldn't define.
Logically, as a machine, she shouldn't possess a "heart" capable of human emotions like love or attraction.
And yet…
"Nee, Yuki-kun," she blurted out, her voice echoing metallically. "Why do I feel like I… love you?"
"Eh?!" x4
The four women below nearly choked.
Yuki's eye twitched.
"…Must be my face," he deadpanned.
He knew exactly why—his damn "Charm beyond All" was at work again. It bypassed species, forms, even abstract concepts. Of course a mechanical goddess wouldn't be immune.
…As long as they're female, he grimaced internally. The alternative was too cursed to contemplate.
"That's your answer?!" Seitenshi groaned.
"I think it's valid," Saeko mused, her smile cryptic. "From the moment you see him, Yuki-kun feels different."
Huaizhu and Ei stayed silent, but their studying gazes lingered on Yuki.
"Mmm… too complicated!" Artemis' mechanical body whirred in frustration. "But no worries! Lord Zeus is planning to let us all try out humanoid forms soon."
"Maybe then I'll understand this 'heart' thing you humans talk about!"
"Ah, so your chief god Zeus has some foresight after all," Yuki remarked, unsurprised.
This outcome was inevitable.
When the Machine Gods arrived on Earth, they became humanity's protectors—yet as mechanical beings, they lacked the capacity to understand the "heart" of organic life. Without it, they couldn't navigate conflicts with the nuance of living beings, trapped instead in endless, agonizing loops of logic.
So of course Zeus, the flagship annihilation-type mobile fortress and their leader, would propose this: mimicry as evolution.
"Mmm-hmm!" Artemis hummed in agreement, her mechanical voice buzzing with enthusiasm.
"Enough talk! Let's begin!" she declared, energy cores whirring to life. "I want to see what an Multiversal-level powerhouse can really do!"
"Very well," Yuki nodded.
Battle Start!
"My turn first!"
Artemis initiated the assault, her main cannon charging with cataclysmic energy—a blast capable of erasing entire nations from the Earth's surface.
A searing beam lanced toward Yuki, its brilliance blinding.
From the sidelines, even Ei—an Archon—felt a chill.
"That attack… If it were aimed at me, I'd be annihilated instantly."
Her fingers tightened around her sword's hilt. How will Yuki handle this?
The answer came swiftly.
As the beam reached him, Yuki smiled—then raised a single hand.
No barriers. No dodging. Just his bare palm.
BOOM—!!!
The explosion shook the arena, light swallowing everything…
…until it faded, revealing Yuki unmoved, his hand pristine as jade.
"Huh? That's it?" Artemis' voice crackled with disbelief. "You really are strong!"
"Keep going," Yuki said, lowering his hand. "Once I make my move, you won't get another chance."
"Grrr—that's so infuriating!"
Artemis' chassis reconfigured, hundreds of artillery ports unfolding like the petals of a deadly flower.
"TAKE THIS!!"
A rainbow of annihilation erupted—countless beams converging into a spectacle of destruction.
Yuki's response?
A snap of his fingers.
Click.
Snap.
With that single, crisp sound, the cataclysmic barrage of beams disintegrated into nothingness—vanishing like dust in the wind.
Silence.
Artemis froze. The four spectators stared, slack-jawed.
"Wha… what just happened?!"
Seitenshi rubbed her eyes, as if the scene might reset. Even Ei—usually unshakable—blinked in disbelief before muttering under her breath:
"…Absolute monster."
"Waaaaah! Yuki-kun, how'd you do that?!" Artemis' mechanical voice pitched higher, gears whirring in frantic confusion.
"Easy," Yuki grinned. "I just snapped my fingers."
Everyone gaped at his response.
"Easy?!"
If snapping away planet-level firepower was easy, they might as well all retire now.
"Ahem. Kidding, kidding," Yuki backpedaled, scratching his cheek. Better not push my luck.
"Truth is, it's reality warping."
He held up a hand, as if conducting an invisible orchestra.
"I simply decided your attack didn't exist—then made that thought into fact."
Blank stares.
Some nodded slowly (cough Ei cough). Others looked like they'd been handed a quantum physics textbook written in emojis.
"So… you turn imagination into reality?" Ei summarized, violet eyes sharp.
"Bingo."
A beat. Then—
"That's terrifying," Saeko breathed, her usual composure cracking.
The girls nodded in agreement, their eyes fixed on Yuki, sparkling with awe and admiration.