"Ah, what are you talking about?" Woz couldn't help but open his mouth slightly, surprised. "It's meaningless to fight him here."
"It makes sense," Sougo responded calmly.
"Ah?" Woz was a little confused. "If you kill him here, he can always be resurrected! The only way to completely solve him is to go back to the time of his birth!"
At this moment, Sougo added a new watch.
"Wuqi!"
"Armored Moment."
The scene changed, and time went back to 2012.
Hayase was now in his alien knight form. Standing on the rooftop, he clenched his palm toward a nearby building. In an instant, the building vanished.
He looked pleased with himself and muttered, "As long as I have this magical power..."
But before he could finish his sentence, Gates appeared beside him and said coldly, "I won't let you use this power again."
"Witch Knight!"
"Armored Moment."
Two long strips appeared behind Gates, his armor shining in the light.
Hayase, now a little panicked, asked, "No, what do you want to do?"
Without warning, Gates attacked Hayase, delivering a flurry of punches and kicks.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!" The two warriors fought fiercely, but Hayase was quickly driven back. He had just gained this new power, but it wasn't enough to face Gates, who had years of experience.
The scene shifted again.
In 2018, Sougo and the wizard Hayase clashed. Hayase was pushed back again and again, his confidence slowly crumbling.
"Why can't I beat Sougo?" Hayase shouted in frustration. "As long as I have this power, everything should change! Why am I still so weak?"
In a fit of rage, Hayase unleashed a massive blast of flames from his hands. The fire shot toward Sougo, but it didn't faze him at all.
Sougo pushed Hayase into the wall with a single motion.
"Maybe," Sougo said calmly, "but the power of a knight isn't meant for your own benefit. It's meant to protect others."
Hayase, desperate to justify himself, argued, "I did all of this for the lady."
Sougo shook his head. "No. You just want to satisfy your own desires."
"You like her, don't you?"
"Shut up!" Hayase shouted, enraged, his lungs almost bursting with anger.
Sougo took a deep breath and spoke gently, "Wake up, Hayase. You're attacking the person you're trying to protect. What you need isn't more power. What you need is the courage to express your feelings."
Hayase, completely struck by Sougo's words, transformed into his human form. He couldn't help but squat down, overwhelmed with complicated emotions.
But after a brief pause, he stood up and shouted, "Don't say anything more!"
With that, he transformed back into his armored knight form and charged at Sougo again.
Meanwhile, in 2012, Gates had acquired a large axe. He swung it a few times, and with each swing, it grew bigger and bigger.
"The end moment," Gates muttered under his breath.
The axe now gleamed with golden light as Gates swung it at Hayase.
"Split and chop!" Gates shouted.
The air around the axe was sliced apart as the blow crashed into Hayase with tremendous force.
"Boom!"
The powerful strike split Hayase into pieces, sending fiery explosions throughout the scene.
With a cry of, "The end moment!" Gates rose into the air, his hands outstretched as a magical circle appeared beneath him.
The audience from the three realms watched in awe.
"F**k, is this the power of magic?!"
"It's so cool!"
Gates shouted again, "Strike hard, time blast!"
With his body rising further, a dazzling pink and white halo appeared behind him. His feet grew massively, resembling the feet of a giant.
He kicked Hayase with terrifying force, sending him flying into the air.
"Bang!"
A small mushroom cloud rose from the impact.
And then, Hayase revealed his true form. The scene shifted once again to 2018, where Sougo knocked Hayase to the ground.
"End moment!" Sougo declared.
"Souki!"
"Limit, time crush!"
Sougo's body began to rise, and beneath his feet, a massive gray gas cloud formed due to the heat.
Then, Sougo charged toward Hayase. The first time, he passed right over him without making contact.
But then Sougo shouted, "Rocket Spin Kick!" His body spun at incredible speed as he rushed toward Hayase.
"Boom!" The two collided, and Hayase was blown to pieces.
The sky was filled with flames, and behind the flames, the human form of Hayase could be seen, defeated.
Sougo and the wizard Hayase locked eyes, and for a moment, Sougo felt a sense of sympathy for Hayase's struggles.
He then turned to Woz and asked, "Do you have that phone with you?"
Woz slowly walked forward. "Is this the one you mean?"
In 2012, Gates took out the time-space phone and spoke into it.
"Who is this?"
In 2018, Sougo responded, "Hayase, is he with you? Give him the phone."
In 2012, Hayase was shocked. "Is it me? My past self?"
He was stunned and couldn't believe it. Could he really talk to his past self?
The Hayase from 2012 was equally incredulous. "What? The future me?" He could hardly believe it. It felt like a dream.
The future Hayase spoke with authority: "You must summon the courage to tell the lady your feelings."
The past Hayase hesitated. "Tell her?" He was nervous and too scared to confess. He didn't feel worthy of her. "As long as I can watch her from a distance, it's fine."
"That's right," Woz muttered, watching Sougo's back with a slight smile. "The Devil's heart is kind."
In 2012, Hayase sat in front of his office door, feeling conflicted. He had never been able to confess his feelings to the lady. But now, hearing his future self tell him to express his feelings, he was filled with both courage and fear.
But before he could decide, the lady appeared and said, "Hayase, they said the person in charge of financing is on year-end leave. Am I too foolish?"
She looked frustrated. "It's obvious those investors don't want to invest in our store anymore."
Though Hayase didn't meet her gaze, he finally spoke up, "If you close this shop, Miss, you could try something else."
"Hmm?" she asked, surprised.
"I... I have something to say to you," Hayase said, his voice trembling with courage.
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