Can someone in MyGo stay in an adventure group forever?

Page 142

When the extraction of magic finally ended, Koshimura knew that the painting was complete.

Or rather... at least this part is temporarily complete.

The magic power within him had been completely drained, leaving not a trace.

He looked up at Hachiman Kairin, who was still struggling against the monster's attacks, and Yutenji Wakamu, who was frantically rummaging through his backpack and stuffing unknown materials into empty bottles.

With his last ounce of strength, he shouted:

"I'm ready!"

Upon hearing the sound, Hachiman Kairin did not linger in the fight and immediately retreated, making room for Koshimura Sawa.

Yutenji Wakana suddenly looked up at the painting floating beside Koshimura Sawa, radiating dazzling light, her face filled with disbelief.

...What exactly is that thing?

The material was unidentifiable, the craftsmanship was unfamiliar, and the operating principle was beyond her comprehension.

But why is such a strong dragon aura emanating from above?

That was no ordinary sub-dragon or dragon beast, but... a real dragon.

At that very moment, the scroll floating beside Koshimura Sawa began to turn around, turning its original side towards the distant [noise].

Koshimura Sawa also raised his head.

This time, without the veil of "children's innocent words," they looked directly and without any hindrance at the monster composed of countless sheets of paper and negative emotions.

I looked into every eye on it, which was filled with pain and confusion.

Paper-like signs quickly appeared around his body, with paper peeling off and fluttering away, but he seemed completely unconcerned and slowly opened his arms.

Until the papers that fell from him and floated in the air touched the magnificent scroll behind him and merged into it.

The monster, or rather the noise, suddenly stopped moving.

Immediately afterwards, a huge and complex emotion surged up from its body, like a dam breaking, and swept towards Yuecunze!

Disappointment, pain, resentment, exhaustion, sadness.

Despair, confusion, resentment, anger, relief...

In the end, only a deathly silence remained.

Koshimura's consciousness was constantly being assaulted by this emotional torrent, and he was almost assimilated by the endless negative emotions.

However, the guitar melody that belonged to Ai Yin rang in his mind again, pulling him back from the edge of the silent abyss.

Even my originally heavy mood felt inexplicably lighter.

It seems I really made the right choice this time. It really is the pink dragon... no, the Saint Aine Anti-Stress King.

He took a deep breath and looked at the monster that had suddenly stopped in the distance: "To be honest, I can actually understand you quite well."

After all, East Asian students' experiences in this area should be largely similar...

A suffocating sky, insufficient sleep, endless homework, and a future that seems to stretch on forever.

"I don't want to say things like 'the pitiful must have something hateful about them.'" Koshimura's voice echoed in the empty subway station. "After all, the original meaning of this phrase has long been distorted through constant misuse."

Indiscriminately blaming both sides doesn't demonstrate your rationality or independent thinking; it only shows that you're someone who likes to use victim-blaming to grab attention and show off how incredibly trendy you are.

It doesn't solve any problems.

What turned him into this is perhaps his parents' desire for him to succeed, the rigid education system, or even this society filled with invisible pressure.

In every sense, it wasn't entirely his fault.

However, understanding does not equate to being correct.

If this situation is allowed to continue and grow, more innocent people will be drawn into it and harmed.

For an individual's suffering to be redressed, the person experiencing it must return the same amount of suffering to the one who inflicted it.

Rather than procedural justice, Koshimura Sawa prefers the most basic outcome justice.

However, the nature of the act changes when the flames of revenge spread to unrelated individuals.

You can protest the injustices of the world, but that doesn't mean that people you've never met should pay the price for the injustices you suffer.

Don't those you've hurt have their own troubles, their own pain, and their own precious lives?

After all...

One thing at a time.

Above the suspended scroll, the light shone even brighter, and the heat it emitted caused the surrounding air to distort.

Saint Aine, we're counting on you this time!

If you really win, I'll give you the right to be permanently protected from defamation.

[Fun fact: The last person to enjoy the permanent exemption from being spammed by Laoze was Brother Shui]

[Noise] As if finally realizing something, all the papers attached to the ground, walls and pillars in the entire subway station began to peel off, as if summoned, turning into white torrents that surged in its direction.

Like a surging tide.

Looking at the white ocean, Koshimura Sawa took a deep breath.

I will sympathize with you and feel pity and sorrow for the suffering you have endured.

So—the best thing to do now is to end your suffering.

This allows your 'human' aspect to be freed from the monster's shell.

This is my choice.

As he listened to the increasingly familiar melody, a complex smile suddenly appeared on his lips.

Immediately afterwards, he picked up the guitar sword, and shadow energy gathered at his fingertips, weaving into a pure black pick.

Following the familiar melody, I placed the pick on the strings and slowly began to sing.

"Servant of life is disgusting. (We are disgusted by life.)"

"The meaning of happiness is すらわからず, and the environment of production is ばかりhatんで (I don’t know the meaning of happiness, I only hate the environment I was born with)

"The past is simple. (Cursing the past blindly.)"

As if in response to his singing and determination, the painting suddenly burst forth with an unprecedented brilliance.

Immediately afterwards, a clear dragon's roar, seemingly from another world, echoed throughout the entire subway station, as if traversing time and space.

And so, a dragon was born here.

It had rather unimpressive dragon horns, furry ears, and a long, powerful tail.

It rises proudly from the magnificent painting, spreading its wings and igniting a raging fire, composed of pure elements, emerging from the subway station.

The firelight grew stronger, casting flickering shadows onto Etsune Sawa.

So this is what Aine's dragon ancestors were like?

But... what kind of dragon is this?

Yuecun Ze stared at its unrelated, bizarre features, somewhat lost in thought.

The dragon suddenly turned around and gave him a deep look.

His complex gaze held a sense of bewilderment, as if it had pierced through the long passage of time.

It blinked, and from its enormous eye sockets flowed molten lava-like tears, which turned into sparks and dissipated in the air as it fell.

Koshimura Sawa: "?"

Before he could react, the dragon had already turned its head again, facing the monster surrounded by a storm of white paper.

Having absorbed all the emotions within the paper, its power had reached an unprecedented peak.

What condensed in the air was no longer a thin, long paper dart, but thousands upon thousands of paper swords!

However, the moment those countless paper swords took shape, they began to burn quietly.

The flames licked the white paper gently yet cruelly, quickly turning it into pale ashes that danced in the air.

It was not the ordinary, bright orange flame. Rather, it was a multicolored, shimmering flame, as if it were constantly changing colors.

After all the paper swords were burned, the dragon faced the noise before it and slowly opened its massive jaws.

Thus, there was light.

Even more dazzling than before, colorful flames that seemed capable of engulfing everything spewed from its mouth, instantly filling the entire underground space with light, as bright as day.

Even the brilliance of the [Star's Edge] dimmed somewhat.

The hastily gathered pieces of white paper collided with the column of flames and were instantly burned to ashes, becoming fuel for the fire to continue burning and making the flames even more intense.

Finally, the indestructible rainbow flames touched the monster's body.

Koshimura's playing never stopped, and his hand movements transformed into intense strumming.

"You may die tomorrow. (You may die tomorrow.)"

"すべて无駄になるかもしれない. (Everything may become meaningless.)"

"Morning Night Spring Autumn Day"

"変わらず人かがどこかで死ぬ. (What remains the same is that someone always dies somewhere.)"

"Dream of tomorrow and nothing. (No need to dream of tomorrow or anything.)"

"君が生きていたならそれでいい. (As long as you can live, that's enough.)"

All eyes were instantly blinded by the intense light and closed abruptly.

But only one pair of eyes is missing.

Those were tired, black eyes, devoid of any emotion, as if they would never open.

At this moment, however, their eyes were wide open to the extreme.

There is no more pain, no more resentment.

It was as if they wanted to use this last moment to deeply imprint the beautiful, dreamlike colorful flames in their eyes.

Never forget.

In the end, the monster's entire body was enveloped by the all-consuming rainbow flames.

The black, twisted outer shell rapidly carbonized and crumbled in the flames, revealing layers upon layers of paper beneath. These papers tumbled and rolled in the heat of the fire, and the dense text on them vanished in pieces under the licking of the flames.

That was his life.

A life dictated by the gaze of others and the expectations of family.

From the moment we are born to the last moment of our lives.

Perhaps, only in those last half hour did he live for himself.

Now, that enormous body is beginning to disintegrate and collapse inch by inch.

Like a building whose foundation has been removed, it collapsed with a crash.

He fell limply to one side.

"Abhorred by life itself."

"In the end, everyone will die."

"Whether it's you or me, one day we will both rot like withered leaves."

Even so... we will fight to survive.

In the end, all that remained was a pile of pure white paper, still burning silently.

Everyone is born into this world as a blank sheet of paper.

However, from the moment you open your eyes, there are countless hands around you, eager to write down their expectations, their rules, and their judgments on this blank sheet of paper.

You should do this, you can't do that...

But what truly determines what you will become... can only ever be yourself.

The fire dragon, composed of pure elements, ceased its breath.

He slowly turned his head and looked at Koshimura Sawa again.