Chapter 43 Happy Ending?

Lycoris descended, her feet touching the crystal floor without a sound. The divine radiance around her dimmed completely, revealing her face more clearly—it was Yumi Akari's face, etched with a gentle smile. 

"Miss Lycoris... did you finish him?"

She shook her head.

"No, Shota-chan. That was not enough to end him. Unfortunately, I resurrected in a very weak state."

She looked at her own hands.

 "If I had to guess, I am at maybe ten percent of my full power right now. My body was fully restored, yes. But the leftover mana from the Eternal Veil... it was a decaying spell. The energy I used to form this body is already fading. I don't have much mana left at all.

But do not worry, Shota-chan, this is not a permanent state. I have my body back. I have a connection to the world again. I will recover in time."

A bright, girlish giggle bubbled up from her lips and a faint, happy blush puffed on her cheeks.

"Oh... oh my."

She wrapped her arms around herself, her hands sliding over her own shoulders, down her arms, as if rediscovering a priceless treasure. A full-bodied shiver of pleasure ran through her.

"I have it back... my body. Ahhh... My beautiful, wonderful body! I missed it so much. Ten years... trapped, unable to feel anything. Just a ghost stuck inside a boy's body. The feeling of touch on my own skin again. I'd almost forgotten. Oh, the softness... the warmth... the touch."

 She ran her fingers through her long hair, shuddering. 

 "The senses! The smell of the air, even this burned air! The taste on my tongue! The feeling of my own heartbeat! And my mana perception of the world is finally back! No more of that... that disgusting, muffled feeling. No more being trapped in the void inside another person. It's so good to be alive again, Shota-chan. Truly, wonderfully, physically alive. There are so many things I've missed... and I intend to enjoy every single one of them, very, very soon. Shota-chan! Thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I couldn't have done it without you.” 

"Umm... you're welcome, Miss Lycoris. Sorry it took so long."

The sounds of distant screams and the deep-throated roars of Kaiju finally pierced the bubble of their conversation. The city below was still a warzone.

“Oh dear! Not the best time to celebrate, is it? Tokyo needs saving first.”

She floated a few feet higher then raised a single hand, palm open to the sky. Above her, the air began to shimmer with hundreds—then thousands—of pinpoint dots of absolute darkness. They were each no larger than a spike, but they were condensed with immense power.

"Black Flame Barrage: Purging Rain"

Thousands of black flame bolts shot downwards like a meteor shower. Each one homed in on a target—a Kaiju’s core, a minion’s spark of life, a knot of corrupted magic. Where they struck, there was a black flame explosion. Within a minute, the skyline was clear. The monstrous tide Victor had unleashed was gone, wiped clean as if it had never been.

Lycoris lowered her hand. She let out a long, tired breath. She wobbled slightly in the air before landing softly beside Shota.

“Whoooosh…” she exhaled, fanning her face with a hand. 

 “That… took a lot out of me. I’ve got barely enough mana left to hold my battle dress on, I think. You know, I just got resurrected. I’ve got… ah… nothing on underneath this. It would be very embarrassing to run out of mana now and just… stand here, naked.”

"That was amazing, miss Lycoris. You wiped all of the evil forces with one spell."

Her gaze looked over the wounded city. The monsters were gone, but the scars remained: broken buildings, cratered streets, and most importantly, the cries of the injured and terrified.

“The job isn’t done, Shota-chan. A wizard’s work isn’t just defeating the villain. It’s healing what he broke.”

She took a deep breath closing her eyes. Her form began to glow again, not with the fierce black of combat, but with a soft, warm, pinkish-gold light—the same color as her gentle pink flames. It was the light of creation.

“Sanctuary’s Grace: World-Restoration.”

The light spilled from her in a gentle, expanding wave. It washed over the city like a soothing tide.

Where it touched, healing happened. 

In the streets, the wounds of civilians and soldiers alike closed. Broken bones knitted, burns faded to smooth skin, and the dazed shock of trauma was soothed by a wave of calming warmth.

In the rubble where Enji and Mirai lay, the light seeped into their bodies, mending fractures, easing internal bleeding, and reviving them with a gentle energy. Arata, further away, felt his consciousness return as the wave found him, the brutal pain in his body receding to a dull ache.

The sliced skyscraper, cut by Victor’s Void Cleaver, shimmered. The cleanly severed section lifted from the ground and re-fused with its base, whole once more.

Craters in the streets filled with repaved asphalt. Overturned cars righted themselves, dents popping out.

The buildings damaged by stray attacks and collapsing debris reassembled, brick by brick, beam by beam, as if time were reversing the damage.

It was a city-wide act of magic.

When the wave finally faded, having reached the city limits, Lycoris’s swayed on her feet, her battle dress flickering transparent for a second before solidifying again. She was completely spent.

-----------------

In the control room, the monitors now showed a scene of the healed city. The monsters were gone. Mr. Shigeto stood frozen before the main screen, his knuckles on the console.

He had seen it all. The swat. The casual, effortless deflection of the world-ending beam as if it were an annoying insect. The city-wide healing wave.

A cold, creeping dread, deeper than any fear Victor Creed had inspired, solidified in his gut.

"Victor was a monster," he thought, "a catastrophe. But he was a force we could, in theory, understand. Contain. Bribe, even. But her… She didn't just defeat him. She made him look like a lost kitten. That power… if she ever turned it on us… if she decided the government was as corrupt as Victor claimed… it would be over. Not a war. She could simply erase us."

The bureaucratic part of his brain, trained to assess and neutralize threats, clicked into overdrive. 

"And now… she’s weak. Drained. She just used everything she had to save the city. She has no mana left. She can barely maintain her form. She finished Victor for us. The immediate threat is neutralized. But we cannot allow an even more powerful, uncontrollable wizard to just… walk around. A power that answers to no one. A living legend who could sway public opinion with a word."

The decision formed, cold and clean. It was the only logical move.

"I need to act now, if I hesitate, it will be too late. She will regain her power and there will be nothing I can do. This is our only chance. A preemptive strike. While she’s vulnerable. We can lock her in The Archive. No, too risky… better yet, with the right weapon, erase her altogether. A tragic accident during the attack. The Witch Queen gave her life to save Tokyo a second time. A perfect, closed story."

He reached slowly for a secure, red-line comms unit, his finger hovering over the button that would mobilize a very different, very secretive contingent of Pro Wizards—the ones who handled "internal affairs."

"Forgive me, Witch Queen. But you are simply too dangerous to exist."

-----------------

Lycoris looked out over a Tokyo that was no longer a warzone, but a healed, quiet city under a calm night sky. 

“There. Now… the job is done. I got no mana left; there is nothing else I can do. Uf... I feel lightheaded.”

"Miss Lycoris, we need to get you out of here. Let's go back to my place." 

"Yes, you're right, Shota-chan. That would be best. Let's leave the rest to Pro Wizards. I don't want to draw governments and Mr. Shigeto's attention. Seeing me in weakened state he might get some funny ideas."

 In the distance, they could see tiny figures—Enji helping Mirai to her feet, Arata already barking orders into comms.

Using the last embers of her mana she snaped her fingers and teleported them both.

----------------

The Next Day

Shota was pulled from a deep sleep by unfamiliar sounds. Not explosions or screams, but soft sounds, the rustle of fabric, and the gentle pop of magic.

He opened his eyes, the grey of his room feeling… different. Lighter.

His bare, dark walls were now a soft, warm white. Where there had been dust, there were now floating shelves holding small, glimmering crystal figurines that emitted a gentle light. A plush, pink rug covered the cold floor. The air smelled faintly of lavender and vanilla.

In the center of the room, Lycoris was on her tiptoes, using a fingertip to trace a glowing rune on the ceiling. With each trace, a small, luminous star sticker appeared, creating a constellation above his bed. She was wearing simple, comfortable clothes she’d conjured—a soft sweater and jeans.

She noticed him stirring and turned, her face breaking into a bright, slightly sheepish smile. 

“Good morning, Shota-chan! Did I wake you? I’m sorry. I just… couldn’t stand the gloom another second. A room should feel like a happy place, not a cave! I hope you don't mind.”

Shota sat up, rubbing his eyes. 

 “It’s… fine. Looks nicer now.”

He watched her put the finishing touches on her star constellation. The reality of the previous day settled over him—not the battle, but the aftermath. She was here. In his apartment.

“Miss Ly… Yumi-san. What now?”

She floated down to sit on the edge of his bed.

 “What do you mean?”

“I mean… you’re back. The Witch Queen. Will you… go back to being #1? Take your title back from Mr. Kenji? Will you continue being Pro Wizard?”

Yumi laughed, a light, free sound that filled the transformed room.

 “Oh, goodness, no. That life is over. Lycoris Noire, the Symbol of Peace, the Witch Queen… she served her purpose. She died a hero. Let her rest. I think I’ve earned a quiet life, don’t you? I’ll live as a normal girl. Yumi Akari. If a disaster happens, of course I’ll help. But I won’t take orders from politicians or attend press conferences. I’m done with that.”

A wistful, hopeful look crossed her face.

 “I was running a toy shop before, as you know. I will go back to that. A little place filled with happy things. But…” she sighed, gesturing to herself, “…there’s the small matter of explaining to the government how a publicly mourned, state-sponsored hero came back to life. It will take some time to sort out the paperwork and the… existential questions.”

She turned back to him, clasping her hands in her lap.

 “So, until I can figure all of that out and find my own place… would it be terribly presumptuous of me to stay here? With you? I promise I won’t be any trouble. I’ll keep the place clean and make sure you eat properly.”

Shota looked around his room, now warm and alive. He looked at her hopeful face. 

“Sure, you can stay as long as you want.” 

Yumi’s smile could have powered all of Tokyo. 

“Thank you, Shota-chan.”

The End