"What do you think? Does it suit me?" Mitsuha asked, showing off the necklace she had won earlier from the game.
"It suits you very well," Akira nodded, setting his PSP aside and picking up the necklace from Mitsuha. "Let me help you put it on."
"Thank you," Mitsuha smiled happily, holding her hair away from Akira to allow him to place the necklace around her neck without any hindrance.
Akira leaned toward Mitsuha and placed the necklace around her neck, seizing the opportunity to quickly lick her ear without anyone noticing.
"Un~" Feeling Akira's tongue lick her ear, Mitsuha couldn't help but let out a surprised, cute sound, startled by the unexpected act.
"I'm done," Akira said, moving away from Mitsuha, his face completely normal as if he hadn't done anything.
"Y-you…" Mitsuha could only stare at Akira with a red face, pressing her ear with her hand, utterly embarrassed by his actions.
"Me…?" Akira pointed to himself, feigning confusion and innocence, though the mischief and amusement in his eyes were unmistakable.
"Idiot…" Mitsuha muttered shyly and submissively. Despite her strong personality, she always turned into a shy girl in front of Akira.
"Alright, let's go. I want to eat some takoyaki," Akira said, grabbing Mitsuha's shy hand and pulling her away from the shooting game booth.
The two walked through the crowd again, stopping at various stalls and buying all kinds of food along the way. Soon, they arrived at the takoyaki stall.
"Looks crowded," Akira commented upon seeing the large crowd in front of the takoyaki stall. He couldn't help but feel a slight headache, as waiting in such a crowd would definitely be annoying.
"Look, there's a goldfish scooping stall," Mitsuha's eyes lit up as she looked at the stall opposite the takoyaki one. Goldfish scooping with a paper net was a very popular activity at Japanese festivals, and many people enjoyed it despite its difficulty, as they had to catch a goldfish using a fragile paper net.
"Goldfish scooping…" Akira muttered, staring curiously at the goldfish scooping booth. This was his first time trying it, and it would be his first experience using paper nets.
"…" Akira stared at the large crowd in front of the takoyaki stall before pulling Mitsuha toward the goldfish scooping stall. It might be a good way to kill time until the crowd at the takoyaki stall thinned out.
"Excuse me, I'd like two nets and two bowls," Akira said, pulling out 1,000 yen and handing it to the middle-aged man running the stall.
"Welcome, young man. But remember, you can't stack the nets or use them together," the old man smiled kindly as he handed Akira two nets and two bowls.
"Got it," Akira nodded lightly and gave Mitsuha one of the nets and a bowl. "Let's see who can catch the most fish with the fewest nets."
"I accept your challenge," Mitsuha smiled proudly, taking the net and bowl from Akira, a look of confidence in her eyes. She was sure she would win against Akira in this challenge.
Mitsuha participated in festivals every year and had a lot of experience scooping goldfish. She was so skilled that she could catch three goldfish with a single net before it tore.
But Akira didn't know this and had challenged her, which made Mitsuha very happy. She could now teach the arrogant Akira a good lesson.
"Hmm…" Suddenly, Akira, who was about to bend down to scoop the fish, paused and stared at the starry sky. A comet appeared above Itomari, cutting its way through the middle of the sky toward an unknown destination. "Looks like we'll have to postpone this competition for later."
"Wait here for me. I'll be back soon," Akira said, setting the net and bowl aside and standing up. He needed to take care of Comet Tiamat before it split in half and fell on Itomori.
"Be careful…" Mitsuha said with unconcealed worry. Even though she knew Akira's strength, she couldn't help but feel anxious for his safety.
"Of course," Akira smiled confidently and gestured for her not to worry. He wasn't so weak that he couldn't handle a mere burning rock.
"…" The old stall owner stared at the two in confusion. He hadn't expected the previously competitive atmosphere to turn so serious. He could only eat his watermelon while thinking about the various dramas he had seen about lovers running away together before returning to face their families.
After reassuring Mitsuha, Akira moved through the crowd before suddenly disappearing as if he had never been there.
_
"So this is Comet Tiamat," Akira muttered, standing in the sky and looking at the beautiful comet. He could feel a powerful magical energy emanating from it.
In the next moment, Akira disappeared from the sky and shot toward Comet Tiamat using the Third Cosmic Velocity.
[A/N: I don't have a deep understanding of the Third Cosmic Velocity, so I hope someone who understands it can explain it in the comments with a simple example.]
In a matter of moments, Akira passed through different layers of the atmosphere and reached the mesosphere, where Comet Tiamat was located.
"Looks like I need to take this seriously," Akira muttered as a seven-colored light gathered in his right hand. Upon reaching the mesosphere, he could feel the terrifying magical power contained within Comet Tiamat.
Akira was certain that if Comet Tiamat fell, Itomori would be wiped off the map, and the entire area would become uninhabitable. The density of magical energy in Comet Tiamat would poison all living beings, killing them slowly and painfully.
'Is this one of the changes from the merging of multiple worlds…?' Akira thought seriously. He was sure that in the original work, there was no poisoning of the area or anything like that. But now, magical poisoning was a certainty, as very few living beings could survive near such a powerful source of magical energy without being poisoned. Only a handful of people in this world could do such a thing.
"Well, there's no use thinking about it now," Akira could only sigh in resignation. This wasn't the time to ponder the reason for the change.
"Aurora Pillar!!" After gathering enough power from Gift: Last Future of Embryo, Akira didn't hesitate to deliver a powerful punch toward Comet Tiamat from a distance.
A giant beam of seven-colored light shot from Akira's hand and engulfed Comet Tiamat, which turned to nothing and disappeared completely without a trace or any fanfare.
After destroying Comet Tiamat, the Aurora Pillar's beam of power also disappeared without leaving the mesosphere.
"And now…" Akira muttered as he stretched his body slightly. "I think it's time to return and resume my date after a job well done."
_
I'm Back
...
To get more chapters please visit my p@treon :
p@treon.com/Akasaki_Ryujin
For support :
https://ko-fi.com/akasaki_ryujin