The Last Miracle

Class was over, closing the curtains for another completely indifferent day in Ayumu's life. As usual, he would go straight home.

Upon arriving at the school gate, he came across someone who greeted him with a smile. Who was that person? He couldn't remember.

The two walked together, that person trying to talk with Ayumu, but he didn't answer. In fact, a single thought crossed his mind.

Leave me alone.

It was the morning of the first day of school and the time to wake up was drawing near. Still in his dreams, Ayumu heard that girl's wish.

“I hope you’ll find happiness this time.”

The alarm clock rang and it was time to get ready for another chance in his school life.

Meanwhile, a girl with long black hair was watching Ayumu's house from the outside. She was lost in thought.

How should I proceed now? It's the first time we've started over after all that has happened… Will the guardian still be more powerful or will it also return to square one?

The girl had been watching Ayumu for so long that no one could even tell the exact amount of time, and now she was finally approaching the end of her wait. Any mistake means wasting even more time, so she needed to plan her next move well.

I could just make it appear, but one mistake and only I’ll die, leaving Ayumu in that girl's hands for this entire loop. I shouldn't rush, I’ll use that girl to make Ayumu awaken again and make sure he can beat the guardian.

She smiled as she imagined the end of everything.

Once he wins, I'll have seven minutes to talk with him safely.

The girl looked one last time at Ayumu's house and slowly disappeared.

Let's all enjoy these days to come, after all, this is the end.

“My name is Akemi Endo, but forget the formalities and call me Akemi. I will call you all by your first names too.”

It was the third day of school and a transfer student ended up in Ayumu's class. Everyone was mesmerized by her unparalleled beauty.

Akemi went to the desk that was just to the left of Ayumu. Ayumu who kept staring at the girl who was also looking at him. After she sat down, she turned to Ayumu to talk with him.

“Hello, Ayumu! Let's be good friends!"

“Huh? How do you know my name?"

She didn't answer and turned to face the teacher, leaving Ayumu confused, but something felt strange.

What is this feeling? My heart is racing and I feel a certain nostalgia… She knows my name, so did we already know each other?

Without an answer, the class continued.

When the lunch break bell rang, Ayumu was getting up when Akemi talked with him.

“Ayumu, could you show me where the cafeteria is?”

I just need to do the same thing I did last time, so Ayumu will have those memories again.

“You are kind, aren't you?”

I just need to keep smiling.

"I’m so happy! I won’t have to walk alone!”

I just need to repeat the same words.

"Wait! I made for you too!”

I just need to repeat the same steps.

"Let's have lunch together!"

This way, step by step… We’ll reach the same result.

“Don't worry, I like to cook!”

Ayumu will be happy…

“It won’t be a problem for me!”

But why? Why does my chest hurt so much? Why am I suffering so much?

“Akemi, are you crying?”

The two were about to leave the school several days after they had first met.

It's too painful to be forgotten.

Tears didn't stop flowing from her eyes.

It's painful to know that even if I redo everything, I will be forgotten again in the end.

“Akemi, what happened!?”

This world is too cruel.

Akemi put her face on Ayumu's chest.

“Akemi?”

“Please let me stay like this for a moment.”

"Sure…"

And then the girl cried like a child for a few minutes, letting out all her frustrations.

"Are you better now?"

“Yes. Thank you, Ayumu.”

Akemi said as she finished wiping the tears from her face.

“Now tell me, what happened?”

She shook her head.

"Forget it, let's go home."

Akemi took a step and Ayumu quickly grabbed her left hand to stop her from continuing.

"Please talk with me."

"I told you to forget about it... After all, it's not anything important."

“Akemi, please.”

She stayed silent for a moment and then she screamed.

"I can’t say anything!!!"

The scream echoed through the strangely empty schoolyard. Ayumu was surprised for a moment, but he insisted.

“Don't you see me as a friend? Am I not worthy of your trust?”

“It’s precisely because you are my friend that I cannot say! So please…"

Tears were again welling up in her eyes. Seeing that, Ayumu took a deep breath before speaking again.

“Akemi, we already knew each other, didn't we?”

"What are you talking about? We only met on the third day of school...”

“I don't know how to properly explain what I feel when I'm with you, but it's nostalgic and painful at the same time. I feel like I'm forgetting something extremely precious to me…"

“Ayumu...”

“So please, I want to know more about you. I want you to talk more with me.”

“I want to talk with you… But if I say anything…”

"The guardian’ll appear."

Akemi's eyes widened when she heard that voice. She turned around and there was that girl with long black hair.

"Who is she?"

Ayumu asked not recognizing that girl who suddenly appeared.

"What are you doing here!? And by 'guardian'...? It can’t be!"

"Yeah. That's right. I believe your interaction with him is already enough.”

"What are you girls talking about?"

Ayumu had barely asked that question when he saw that being that shouldn't exist in this world appear behind the girl who had just arrived. The demon raised its claw ready to rip her apart.

"Watch out!"

Ayumu jumped, holding the girl and pulling her out of the way of the attack.

“Ayumu!”

Akemi screamed.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes. Thank you for saving me, Ayumu.”

Seeing that Ayumu was now close to the girl in black, the demon changed its target to Akemi, but Ayumu immediately noticed this.

“Akemi, run!”

There was no way she could escape. The demon had regressed to its original form and strength, but it was still incredibly stronger than any normal person.

I have to save her!!!

The same strong desire of that moment. Ayumu's physical strength increased to superhuman levels and he intercepted the demon with a violent punch to its face. The impact was so strong that the demon flew across the schoolyard.

“Akemi, are you okay?”

“Yes, you saved me again.”

"Again?"

"I don't want to spoil this happy moment for you two, but it's coming back."

The demon was already walking again, heading towards them.

“Damn monster!”

Ayumu advanced attacking with a sequence of punches, but with some effort, the demon dodged every single one.

If I want to hit it, I'll have to catch him with a counter-attack!

He reduced the speed of his attacks to give the demon an opportunity to attack. Shortly after, the demon tried to hit him with a left punch.

Not the claw? Then victory is mine!

Before the punch hit him, Ayumu grabbed the demon's fist with his right hand, pulled the demon towards him, and punched that thing with a left punch so hard in the face that its neck broke.

"He did it!"

The black haired girl was very pleased to see the demon fall to the ground and disappear.

"What was that?"

Ayumu was panting a lot.

“Well, now we can finally talk! Ayumu, I want—”

A pair of hands covered the black haired girl's mouth.

“Shut up!”

Akemi didn't want to let that girl speak, the girl who was now desperately trying to break free.

“Hey, you… two…”

Ayumu tried to get closer to them, but when he tried to take the first step, he fell sitting on the ground. It was as if all his strength had disappeared and now he was struggling to stay conscious.

The two girls were still struggling, despair growing in the black haired girl who ended up elbowing Akemi in the belly and she released her.

“What do you think you're doing!? Don’t you want to say that to him too!?”

"Yes, I wanted him to know so he could make his choice, but…"

Akemi didn't finish that sentence.

"But what!? This is the chance we've been looking for!”

“But we can only say that after he finds happiness!”

"What!? What are you talking about? Happiness? Don't make me laugh!"

“This may not be important to you, but it’s to me.”

“Oh, that's enough! I'm sick of you! I'll put an end to this now!"

Before the girl could do anything, Akemi jumped on her and the two fell to the ground.

“You bitch! I already told you that you’ll regret this!”

The girl was furious.

“Ayumu… is someone very important to me!”

Ayumu, who was struggling with himself to stay conscious, seemed to overcome that after hearing those words from Akemi.

"I won't let you keep him for yourself!"

“Oh, so I was correct! You really came here to try to steal him from me! You can't even imagine how long I've been watching him just for this moment! I won't let you show up in the very end and ruin everything!"

It looked like the discussion wouldn't have an end.

As he tried to get up, something caught Ayumu's attention.

"This can’t be true…"

Near the girls, something was appearing, something that should have died.

“Akemi!!!”

Ayumu's desperate scream made her notice the monster that reemerged before her. She immediately released the other girl and stood up.

"What happened?"

The girl in black sat up and looked back. The demon was fully there already.

“Has… seven… minutes passed already?”

Seven minutes. That was how long it took for the girl to feel the demon's presence again after it was defeated that summer.

“It revives that fast?”

Akemi didn't seem to believe in what she was seeing.

“Look what you've done! I wanted to talk with Ayumu, so of course the guardian would reappear immediately after reviving! It's all your fault!"

While the two were still fighting, the demon was already ready to rip the black haired girl to pieces, but again he was stopped by Ayumu's punch, a punch so strong that the impact's sound was like a rumble that echoed through the school, but that only made the demon take a few steps back to regain its balance.

“This thing got stronger!?”

Up until a moment ago, Ayumu looked exhausted, but the two girls getting in danger again was enough for the flame of his strength to rekindle.

“Be careful, Ayumu! It's not the same monster as before, look how big its horns are!"

“You're right, Akemi. But I'm going to win anyway!"

The demon didn't want to hear any more talking and advanced against Ayumu, this time it decided to use its claw, forcing Ayumu to jump to the side to dodge, but he couldn't dodge perfectly and three cuts appeared in his belly. Luckily, it was superficial.

That claw is as dangerous as I imagined. A direct hit would be the end for me.

“Why is he using the claw now?”

"You really don't know anything, do you?", the black haired girl was still annoyed with Akemi. “We’re the guardian's target, it wants to kill us and not Ayumu. But after being defeated, it now sees Ayumu as a real threat to its mission.”

"But if it kills Ayumu…"

The fight continued, Ayumu attacked and the demon dodged. And then the demon attacked and Ayumu dodged. They both didn't want to be hit by each other's attack, which made it even harder to anyone to make a direct hit.

I can't keep like this for much longer! I have to do something!

The demon lunged forward with the claw and Ayumu prepared to receive the blow, but the demon immediately stopped the attack and retreated slightly.

Did it realize what I was going to do?

The demon had seen that once. His claw getting stuck in Ayumu's belly, leaving it completely vulnerable.

There's no other choice! I'm going to have to give up in defending and bet that I can beat him before I get killed!

The demon was already preparing to attack again.

This power I've awakened… I need it not only to give me speed and attack strength, I need it to increase my body’s resistance! This power is meaningless if I can still be easily made into pieces!

Ayumu screamed and attacked. The demon's claw was also coming towards him, but he only moved a little to the side so as not to be completely hit, the claw ripping through his chest, but unable to apply a deep cut. And then, Ayumu's punch connected with his target. Not wanting to miss the opportunity, he tried another punch, but the demon quickly brought its claw down on top of his left shoulder. Blood spattered.

“Ayumu!!!”

Akemi screamed in despair, but Ayumu smiled. The claw failed to rip his arm off with just one swipe.

"It's my turn!"

Ayumu punched the demon in the belly and then kicked it so hard the demon went flying again.

"It’s not over yet!"

Ayumu advanced with a ludicrous speed, reaching the demon that was still in the air, and then he threw a sequence of punches at it, with the last punch forcing the demon to fall to the ground, or rather, it was shoved inside the ground that exploded.

Again, the battle ended with Ayumu's victory.

"I did it…"

“Ayumu!”

Akemi ran towards the bloodied Ayumu. It was literally a miracle he was still alive.

“At least he managed to win again.”, the black haired girl was very pleased with that result. "And it seems that I'm free to do whatever I want now."

"Oh no!"

Akemi was so worried about Ayumu that she forgot about the other girl, leaving her alone.

“So, let's get this over with!”, she was walking slowly towards Ayumu. “Ayumu, do you want to know the truth?”

Ayumu who was struggling to breathe looked at that girl.

"The truth…?"

“Yes, the truth of— Ah!!!”

The girl began to scream in pain.

"That is...!"

Akemi couldn't believe in what she saw and Ayumu’s eye also widened in surprise. A hand as dark as the night had appeared above the black-haired girl's head and it was crushing her.

"Why!? Why!? Why is this thing already here again!?”

The girl struggled in pain. Meanwhile, an arm appeared and then a body also began to appear.

“I should have seven minutes! Why!?"

Blood started to run down her face as the claw was already raised and ready to kill its target.

“Aaaaaahhhhhhh!!!”

Ayumu screamed and hit the demon with a flying kick, throwing it away. Because of that, it released the girl who fell unconscious in the ground.

“How many times do I have to kill this thing!?”

The demon had already recovered from the attack and was walking towards Ayumu.

"Oh, now you have a tail."

“Ayumu, it must got even stronger!”

Akemi went to the other girl.

“It doesn’t matter, I will win again!”

May this power of mine break its limits!

Ayumu wished for that and attacked. Seconds later, blood was falling. His belly had been easily pierced by the demon's claw. To make matters worse, he didn't even see the attack that hit him.

“Ayumu!!!”

The demon took out the claw from his belly and used its left arm to hit Ayumu on the head who was thrown to the ground, far away from the girls.

What was that? It was too fast and too strong.

Ayumu was lying there, watching the demon approach Akemi who was paralyzed with fear.

This is the end? Will I die here after seeing Akemi and that girl get slaughtered by that monster?

Ayumu's thoughts raced, the world became a completely dark place for him. In the middle of that void, he was there alone, lamenting his impotence.

If I had a weapon…! A way to fight that damn claw!

Despite his inexplicable strength, Ayumu was always at a disadvantage. Even if he wasn't torn to pieces in a single attack, the claw always did too much damage to him.

If I had a weapon, I could win! I want to win!

As if responding to his will, a wooden sword appeared, floating a few steps away from Ayumu.

"A sword…?"

Ayumu got up, the wound in his belly had fully healead. Or was he not hurt because that was just an hallucination?

“With that, I…!”

Ayumu reached out to catch it, but he couldn't touch it.

"What is this?"

Chains appeared on his wrists. Ayumu was pinned to the ground.

"Where did this come from!?"

He tried and tried to release his arms to no avail.

“Stop messing with me! I need to save them!”

At that moment, a girl appeared a few steps behind the sword.

"Who are you?"

For some reason, he felt like he knew that girl.

She was someone he'd seen countless times.

“I hope you’ll find happiness this time.”

The girl said with a beautiful smile on her face.

"Happiness?"

She didn't answer and just clasped her hands together like she was praying.

“Happiness… Yeah, I really wanted to be happy.”

The girl was still there, smiling.

“I desperately wanted to grab at least a fragment of what they call happiness.”

Because I had a miserable life. Because I threw myself into the darkness.

“I wanted to change… I wanted to create happy memories at school. Memories that would help ease the pain of regret for having had an empty life during middle school.”

“I hope you’ll find happiness this time.”

The girl repeated that wish one more time.

“Yes, I want to be happy… But!”

Ayumu began to use even more strength to try to free himself from the chains that bound him.

“How could I be happy letting two girls die right in front of me!?”

The smile disappeared from that girl's face.

“But I want you to be happy!”

For the first time, her words changed.

"I appreciate your wish, but if happiness means being a weakling who can't protect the most important person in my life, then I don't want to be happy!"

Ayumu increased the strength in his arms, but the chains were still holding strong and blood began to spill from his wrists.

I don't know how to explain it, but I feel very happy with Akemi by my side! A mere smile from her makes my day better! I feel like we've already spent a lot of time together! So…!

“I will protect her!”

The chains started to break and Ayumu screamed while putting even more strength into his arms, his wrists bleeding.

The mysterious girl couldn't understand anything, her face contorting with mixed feelings. After all, her greatest wish was being refused.

“Akemi… She is my happiness!”

The chains broke and Ayumu took the sword, causing him to feel an indescribable nostalgia. It was like holding a sword was something extremely normal to him.

“Is that what you want?”

A male voice that seemed to speak directly into Ayumu's mind asked.

“Yes, this is my wish.”

“Even if the path you are about to take leads you to an unthinkable despair?”

“Despair is lying here while watching the one who is precious to me being killed.”

“If this is your choice...”

The wooden sword glowed brightly and turned into a real sword. And then, the mysterious voice grew stronger.

“O heir of the last miracle, accept the parting gift I give you and use it to fight for what you wish! Prove the strength of your will, regain control over your destiny and find the truth! And if your wish prevails in the end, when you face the infinite darkness, I hope you can cut it with the light of this sword and with the radiance in your heart. Together with that girl, I'm sure you’ll be able to light a small flame of hope.”

What is it like to die? Will it be like when everything disappeared that time?

The claw was raised, ready to put out the flame of those two girls' lives. Akemi couldn't help but watch, while the other girl was still unconscious.

And then, the claw descended. Akemi instinctively closed her eyes and, shortly after, there was a sound of something falling to the ground. Strangely, Akemi didn't feel anything and opened her eyes again, and before her was the demon who also didn't seem to understand what had happened.

“Why did it stop…? Huh!?”

The arm with the claw was on the ground, separated from its body.

And then, Akemi finally saw that someone was standing right behind the demon.

“Ayumu!”

He was standing still, still in the position of someone who had just attacked with a sword. Akemi couldn't see his eyes and the sword in his hands caught her attention.

“Why does he have that sword!?”

The sword had a divine aspect. On its hilt was a pair of wings, on its blade a text in Latin, “fiat voluntas tua”, was shining, and an aura enveloped both the sword and the one who wielded it.

“One of the swords that God bestowed to his angels.”

Seeing that, the demon felt fear for the first time. And before it could do anything, Ayumu attacked again, cutting off its other arm and then, the demon was decapitated.

Akemi was completely stunned by what she just saw, but when she noticed the demon was disappearing…

"Oh right! If I touch it…!”

She quickly placed her right hand on the body that was starting to disappear.

If this thing is considered a living being in this world, I must be able to feel the source of its life!

Akemi closed her eyes.

I feel something… This is… A blessing…

There was something incredibly sacred inside that monster.

"Seven lives…"

Seven, the perfection of God. It sounds like a bad joke.

“Akemi, are you okay?”

Hearing that voice, she opened her eyes, seeing Ayumu right beside her. He had fully recovered from his injuries and the sword was no longer in his hands.

“Yes, thanks to you!”

She replied with a big smile.

Seeing it, Ayumu felt a great joy filling him.

He still didn't know anything, but now he had the power to protect someone and find the truth.

Meanwhile, on the top floor of a tall building, a secretary entered her boss' office.

“Excuse me, but I have urgent news. We have confirmed the heir's awakening.”

The young man of about nineteen years old smiled upon hearing that news.

"Is that so? Then it's time for the fun to begin.”