Meanwhile, as the people on the rooftop garden watched the golem’s spears of light rain down on them...
“What is that...?” Latifa asked with a puzzled look.
“Look out! Everyone, put up a barrier!” Orphia screamed in a panic. At that point, the spears of light had approached close enough to be clearly seen.
“Octo Magus: Magicae Murum!”
Oh no! I can’t put up any more in one go than this!
Celia cast a magic essence barrier around everyone to protect them, but she was unsure if they could hold up against so many spears.
“What?!”
Suddenly, Rio had landed on top of Celia’s barrier, his entire body glowing with light. He arrived like he had teleported to them, making everyone’s eyes widen in surprise.
I can’t use my transcendent power, so...
Rio looked up at the spears of light raining down from above and created the same number of spears of light hovering around himself. They each had the same might as the golem’s spears.
They all shot upwards at once, immediately colliding with the golem’s spears of light. Blinding light illuminated the area as explosions occurred one after another. Matching every single one of the hundred or so spears raining overhead, capturing their locations, and shooting them all down was a feat beyond human bounds. Even a human with their physical body enhanced wouldn’t be able to process the task with their brain. But in Rio’s current state, it was possible.
“What...?!”
Everyone gazed up at the fantastical sparkling explosions with dumbfounded looks and bated breaths. But the sight of the golem rapidly descending soon came into view, followed by Sora behind it.
Rio silently held his left hand up at the golem. He manifested an extra four spears of light and leaped towards the golem; the four spears of light pierced through each of the golem’s limbs. The impact slowed the golem’s speed dramatically, allowing Sora to catch up.
“Haaah!” she yelled, slamming her fist into the golem’s back.
Immediately after, the golem’s energy-covered body with enhanced defense crumpled, separating into upper and lower sections. Sora then grabbed the golem’s head, but the head turned into particles of light and vanished like a spirit turning into its spirit form.
“Huh?!”
Meanwhile, the bottom half of its body flew away energetically, fleeing from Rio and Sora. It was probably trying to regroup itself—its lower body was already beginning to regenerate.
“Tch.” Sora immediately tried to fly after the lower body, but Rio called for her to halt.
“It’s okay, Sora! Thank you, I’ll take it from here!”
“Okay!” Sora replied in a lively voice.
In that time, the golem had retreated several hundred meters away from Rio. It had even finished repairing its destroyed armor and torso.
“Did you think I’d let you get away?”
Rio caught up with the golem in an instant. He grabbed the repaired torso of the golem with his left hand and held his sword in his right, then activated his transcendent power
The golem immediately swung his tail and stabbed Rio’s heart, but his expression didn’t change. Physical attacks didn’t seem to affect him at all, and there was no blood where the tail pierced through him.
“It’s over.”
Rio took his sword with the activated power and stabbed it into the golem’s repaired body. With that, the regeneration that had completed up to the golem’s head completely stopped. The white light of Rio’s sword seeped into the golem’s body.
Once the power was used, the golem’s body completely vanished. There was a hole left in Rio’s chest from the tail, but it cleanly and instantly regenerated. The core of the golem left behind began to fall.
“Conditum.” He stored the golem core in the Time-Space Cache, then returned to the rooftop garden in an instant. He moved like a bolt of lightning, surprising those on the ground. They stared at him with wide eyes.
“Hm...?” Rio reduced the degree of his assimilation and the Spirit Arms in his hand vanished. His body suddenly felt heavier, making him stagger where he stood.
“Let’s go, Sora.” There was no place for a transcendent one like him here. With that thought, Rio forced himself to stand firm. He looked around at everyone and started to leave reluctantly.
“W-Wait!” Latifa yelled. Rio turned to her, and she ran up to him and hugged him with all her might. “Onii-chan!”
“Huh?” Rio looked at her blankly.
“Onii-chan! Onii-chan! Onii-chan...!” Tears welled in her eyes as she hugged Rio with all her might as though to say she wouldn’t let him leave or forget him ever again.
“Why...?”
Did she remember him? Beneath his mask, Rio swallowed his breath.
What about the rules of god?
That was the question that immediately popped into his head.
Oh, I see. So that’s why she said to wait until the sorcery activated before using my transcendent power...
Inside this barrier, the rules of god were invalid. That was the theory Rio immediately came up with.
“I see... You remembered,” he said with a soft smile, happily hugging Latifa back.
“I remembered! I remembered you, Onii-chan! I’m sorry! I’m sorry, Onii-chan!” Latifa sobbed, unable to contain her emotions.
“Why are you apologizing, La— Suzune?” It had been so long, Rio almost called her Latifa as he smiled. But he didn’t know why she was apologizing, so his expression was one of confusion.
“Because I forgot you, Onii-chan! Even though you’re my big brother...!” Latifa wailed loudly as she explained why she was apologizing. She clung to Rio even harder and buried her face in his chest.
“Is that why...? It’s fine. Don’t worry about it,” Rio said gently, reassuring her.
“It’s not fine!” Latifa argued immediately.
“Even then, there was nothing that could be done. Besides...” Rio cupped Latifa’s face in his hands and stared at her at close range.
Latifa flinched and turned red. “Wh-What? Besides what...?”
“You remembered me in the end, right? That makes me very happy. Thank you.” Rio grinned at Latifa, which calmed her down completely.
“Y-Yeah.” Her cheeks turned as red as a ripe peach.
It was the touching reunion of two siblings. Everyone else wanted to run up to Rio as well, but they read the mood and watched over them instead. Sora also puffed up her cheeks in envy, but she read the mood as well and watched on.
“Sorry for worrying you all,” Rio said to everyone.
“Haruto...” Everyone slowly approached him with beaming faces.
“Onii-chan, why are you wearing a mask? Show me your face,” Latifa said, looking up at Rio’s face from his chest.
“Huh? Oh, right...”
Rio remembered he was wearing a mask and reached up to take it off, revealing his face hidden beneath.
“Wha...”
Latifa and the others looked overcome with emotion. Their gazes made Rio chuckle in embarrassment.
“Ahaha...”
“Are you crying, Onii-chan?” Latifa asked, peering up at Rio’s face from close range. A single tear had indeed rolled down his cheek beneath his mask.
“Am I?” Rio asked, playing dumb as he dabbed his wet cheek with his sleeve.
“You are! You’re definitely crying!” Latifa declared happily. That tear was proof of Rio’s joy at reuniting with everyone. That’s what Latifa seemed to believe.
“Those must be tears of joy from seeing everyone again... I’m really happy right now,” Rio admitted honestly. However, he still seemed to be feeling shy, as he couldn’t look at everyone directly.
I used my powers twice, and it’s still not broken?
He looked down at the mask he removed and furrowed his brow in confusion.
Now that he thought about it, after the second large-scale sorcery was activated, the burden on his mask fell completely silent. Rio concluded that the barrier currently surrounding the capital had the ability to nullify the rules of god.
He looked up at the sky to see the giant sorcery circle had disappeared at some point. Despite that, its effect still seemed to be in place—everyone’s memories of Rio served as proof of that.
“Whoa?!”
Suddenly, Latifa silently headbutted Rio in the chest. It was a wordless objection to him looking elsewhere and not paying attention to her.
“Ahaha. Sorry,” Rio apologized with an awkward laugh, patting Latifa’s head. But the next moment, a haze fell over his vision.
“Wh...” Rio staggered. Not wanting to fall forward on Latifa, he tried to fall backwards.
“Onii-chan?!”
“Haruto?!”
Latifa quickly hugged Rio’s body, while everyone else rushed closer to him.
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