The night sky was clear, filled with bright stars and a luminous moon.
Hoshino, his limbs withered, closed his eyes, ending the reception of the snow worrior. The two massive snow constructs dissolved into a flurry of snowflakes that drifted down.
Caw-caw~
A crow swept overhead as if offering congratulations, its glossy black feathers shimmering with silver under the moonlight.
"Kobeni!" Hoshino called out.
"Huh?" Kobeni Higashiyama, who was slumped on the ground, shook off the settled snow and looked over at him. "You're okay?"
"Yep!"
"Then get over here and protect your emperor already!"
"Ah! Right."
Hoshino sighed dramatically. "This emperor is so tired he's about to ascend to the heavens."
His body was manageable; it was mainly mental exhaustion from being tense for so long.
But thankfully, it was all over now.
The light dimmed slightly as Kobeni's face moved close to his.
Their eyes met.
Hoshino blinked. "Getting this close… wanting to kiss me?"
"Ah?" Kobeni's brain failed to process the turn in conversation.
"Go on then. In recognition of your meritorious service in battle, I bestow upon you the supremely soft lips of an 18-year-old royal-family member." Hoshino closed his eyes and puckered up.
"Ah… ah… AHHHHHH!" Kobeni steamed, her face glowing bright red, emitting incomprehensible sounds.
Smack!
A slap landed on Hoshino's face.
Then her eyes rolled back.
Thud.
"..."
Hoshino stared blankly at the sky, tilting his head back.
She fainted again?
In the first playthrough, I could tease her all day and she'd be fine!
A side effect?
Whatever. There's still one source of amusement left.
Hoshino laid his head back on the soft snow, his stray bangs shifting. His bright black eyes reflected the starlight.
"Plato said a philosopher's duty is to seek the answers of the earth while gazing at the stars. Right now, you, staring unblinkingly, must be grappling with an inexplicable philosophical dilemma, right?"
He turned his head. "Isn't that so, Blizzard-kun?"
Beside him, the Blizzard Fiend's head was tilted, stuck in the snow, motionless.
Not that it could move even if it wanted to.
Its vitality was tenacious; it still hadn't died despite its condition, but it clearly lacked the strength to regenerate its body.
"I lost," the Blizzard Fiend stated.
"Ara~ Blizzard-kun's brain might have a few too few folds. If it takes intense meditation to grasp the obvious, then the mystery of Hoshino-kun must be destined to remain unsolved for lifetimes."
The Fiend closed its eyes, ignoring him.
At that moment, Himeno and Hirofumi Yoshida arrived belatedly.
"Hoshino! Kobeni!"
Himeno jumped down from the giant octopus head onto the packed snow. Seeing both of them relatively unharmed, she let out a sigh of relief.
"Sorry! The snow was so heavy we got lost. I'm just glad you're both okay. We're so lucky to have survived that horror show. I almost got swatted out of the sky like a mosquito by those hands. Quick, let me carry you and run. If that Fiend comes back… that thing is way too strong. We need a better plan. Eh… what's this?"
Himeno finally noticed the Fiend's head.
She didn't believe it at first, rubbing her eyes repeatedly. It wasn't until Hoshino reminded her.
"We won?"
"As you can see, all things dark and evil ultimately kneel before the protagonist's sheer coolness." Hoshino slightly raised his chin. "Grovel before me."
Himeno was stunned for a moment, then broke into a wide grin.
"You're amazing, your big sis is—"
"Piss off!!!" Hoshino snapped, all his good mood evaporating with that "big sis."
I'll just have Kobeni-san praise me properly when we get back.
"I've changed my mind," the Fiend said suddenly.
Hoshino frowned. "What, you gonna flatter me too?"
"I'm going to tell you something you don't know—something that'll make you despair."
The tone was calm, almost gentle. Not a bluff.
Hoshino's stomach dropped. A cold premonition crawled up his spine.
"Remember what I said first?" the Fiend murmured. "You humans are so easy to read."
Its expression didn't change. "You all surrounded me, thinking the same thing: Kill him and it'll all be over."
"Wasn't it?" Himeno shot back, frowning.
"The power of Devils comes from negative emotion," it said flatly.
No one answered. That was basic knowledge.
"Which means Devil power isn't static," the Fiend continued. "Take 'Gun.' Or 'War.'
"The world's been at peace too long. People have forgotten the fear of war. A little news about conflict makes them puff their chests, ready to die for glory.
"Then one day, a robber storms their house and sprays bullets through their wife and kid. And suddenly—gun becomes terrifying again.
"The 'Gun Devil,' born from 'War,' outgrew its mother."
It went on, voice low and steady.
"And hunger. In ancient times, every creature fought daily just to eat. The agony of starvation was on par with death itself. But now? How many people truly fear hunger anymore? Its reign has ended.
"But if one day the Ice Age returns—blizzards covering every land—humans will feel that fear again. Frozen hands and feet rotting away, wives and children dying in the cold, nightmares full of frostbitten corpses. Every breath hurts, every night they wake gasping and half-dead, and yet they cling to life for the sake of their sleeping daughters.
"When pain and fear fill every heartbeat—then Blizzard will stand beside Death and Darkness as one of the primal fears.
"And I... will ascend to become a Primal Devil."
The four of them fell silent. An instinctive dread crept up from the pit of their stomachs.
"But the world won't go backward," the Fiend went on. "No new Ice Age, no primal conditions. So when lesser Devils want to ascend—and the Primal Devils want to keep their thrones—the only way... is to spread fear themselves.
"The time's not right yet. The great ones can't descend to the human world. Not easily. But there are ways to hasten it.
"The fastest is through a summoning ritual—a descent ceremony. It requires a specific place, specific sacrifices, specific timing... and a specific feeling.
"The more conditions met, the more Power they bring with them when they descend.
"The location comes first. Once it begins, it can't be stopped. A barrier forms to trap the sacrifices inside, waiting for the descent. When the being arrives, its first act is to kill the remaining sacrifices—to absorb their power.
"The key to that barrier is the being's own Authority. Even a fraction can open it. But no Contractor exists anymore who holds it. And the being would never lend it to a sacrifice.
"Everyone trapped inside dies. That is an immutable ending."
It paused, cracks spreading across its pale face.
"So I'll tell you everything," it whispered. "You can die in terror knowing the truth. See you in Hell—oh, right. You can't go there."