I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

"As Vaquo said, cut it down."

Amamiya turned her gaze to Yuriko, who was holding a multi-functional axe and looking eager to try it out: "...Please."

Chapter 54 Only a storm can bring down a great tree!

In this other world, there is no such rule as 'only storms can knock down trees'.

However... this other world follows "concepts".

Conceptually, it's like a wall; no matter how fragile it may seem, an attack that hits it cannot break it—it's indestructible.

The same is true of the 'tree of regret' that takes root and grows from regret.

It has the shape of a tree, but in reality, it is an aggregate formed by the embodiment of the concept of regret.

What is needed to cut down 'regret'?

The answer is... 'the belief of walking with one's head held high'.

The act of 'felling a tree' itself is a special kind of attack on beliefs.

Holding a battle axe in both hands and wearing the 'goggles' of her Persona, the fox-eared girl standing before the tree took a deep breath, rubbing her knuckles to loosen them. (Yue—Yi Yilin "8 Si? Qi Si Liu")

Then, she raised her axe high, and the azure fluorescent paint of the "Doomsday Horn" burst forth with a dazzling bright blue light.

Regret is an emotion that often accompanies despair.

So, what causes despair?

'Boom——'

After a loud crash, the axe blade became embedded in the tree trunk, leaving a deep mark.

At the same time, the earth shook violently.

With a single blow of the axe, the tree swayed precariously, its branches seemingly activated by an instantaneous will to survive, rapidly taking root and sprouting, instantly 'reviving the withered tree' and growing vigorously upwards.

Wisps of smoke began to rise from the cut, and hot liquid and black mud gushed out, quickly spreading to Yuriko's feet.

Despair often arises from various realities such as being crushed by reality, feeling lost and helpless, and facing high environmental pressure.

Yuriko's gaze was calm and steady. With a click, she pulled back the axe, which was emitting wisps of smoke, and began to charge up her power for the second time.

Despair can be suppressed by reason, but reason alone is not enough to extinguish it.

If despair becomes too overwhelming, even rationality will be swept away by the flood of despair.

In the process of conquering the tree of regret, one must always maintain 'exceptional rationality'.

'Crack--'

With the second blow, the already somewhat repaired gap widened, and the tree showed signs of collapsing.

The black mud spread to her ankles, and the sticky feeling made Yuriko frown.

Pure reason is not enough to fight against an impending crisis of destruction; sometimes it is necessary to try to believe without reservation.

Why did Rin take such a huge risk, uniting the vast majority of the Federation Student Council students to come on a 'vacation', and leaving Hana, such an unstable factor, in the Federation Student Council to run rampant?

It was definitely not the result of a rational choice.

It means 'believe'.

But it's not blind faith.

So, why did Rin choose to 'believe'?

The answer is most likely the 'Federal Student Council President' and the influence of her personal will.

If Rin's entrustment was overly influenced by emotional factors...

So, what about 'colorful flower decoration'?

'Colorful Flower 'Leaves its final legacy,' which is the result of its remaining willpower, to Sensei... Is this a silent entrustment?

Yuriko was willing to believe that this was a 'trust' between strangers.

Although it is not yet clear how 'Colorful Flower Cocoon' managed to cross the sea of ​​collective unconsciousness and 'deliver' herself here through sheer willpower, Yuriko is certain that she has the ability to 'set sail again' if she wants to.

The sense of oppression they brought upon first meeting wasn't simply a case of 'being so weak that one has to find a successor'.

When your 'exceptional rationality' tells you that everything before you is unreliable... then you might as well try to break through rationality and touch the blurry boundary of emotion.

This means 'a trustworthy entity'.

Rin must have judged Sensei to be trustworthy, which is why she chose to place her complete trust in Sensei.

Taking a half-step back in the mud to gather her strength, Yuriko spun around and suddenly swung her sword a third time.

With a 'crack', the 'Tree of Regret,' which had lost its original form but returned to a lush state, collapsed with a crash.

The bare tree roots stopped growing and instead burst into flames, scorching themselves into charcoal.

The 'distrust' between each other will eventually lead to all sorts of rifts, big and small.

But if they can trust each other, then perhaps the result will be greater than the sum of its parts.

After the tree stumps were burned, the shaking in the cemetery became even more intense.

Amamiya paid close attention to the 'Regret' Tree, which remained motionless after being cut down, before carrying Yuriko, who had finished cutting down the tree, back to the safe zone in a princess carry.

Then he went to the muddy area where the mud was up to his calves, bent down and planted the olive tree seedlings as if planting rice.

Trees in nature take hundreds of years to grow.

But this is the world of perception, which obviously cannot be explained using the rules of the real world.

The gushing sludge stopped its surging and spreading, and then quickly rolled back.

The sense of 'earthquake' and collapse was gone. The blood-red sky and earth seemed to be accelerated a million times. In the blink of an eye, the stars and moon shifted, and the ominous dark red faded away.

Lush with life, the fields are covered in green.

In the blink of an eye, this desolate cemetery has been transformed into a vibrant cemetery.

—Although it is still a cemetery, it no longer gives people the feeling of 'life ends here', but instead you can feel the rhythm of 'life cycle'.

The seedling that broke through the soil, under the acceleration of time thousands of times, gradually grew at a speed visible to the naked eye, and became a mature olive tree.

The fallen 'Tree of Regret' has not disappeared.

Over thousands of years of decay and erosion, it gradually dissolved into a stable ball of light.

Amamiya stepped forward and grabbed it; the ball of light transformed into a blue, semi-transparent butterfly-shaped hair clip in his hand.

It's half broken, and looks like a broken-winged butterfly... so it should also be classified as a 'relic'.

'Hana's inner world... is truly unique.'

Stroking the hair clip in her hand, Amamiya really didn't know what to say.

The 'olive seed' is a relic left behind by the colorful Hanaya after the entire worldline of this existence was destroyed...

And what about this one? Who left it?

Is it someone who 'drifted' here from a timeline that was already completely destroyed?

As some kind of 'major event' approaches, even the sea of ​​the collective unconscious begins to stir...

This is truly worrying.

After carefully putting away the 'relics', Amamiya vaguely recalled some things that the 'Demon King' Rion had casually mentioned when they were conquering Rion's Palace.

(Chapter 32 of the Universe Volume)

Crossing the sea of ​​the collective unconscious is extremely difficult, even more so than breaking through the world barrier.

But it's also very low... As long as you have 'determination and perseverance' and can endure the loneliness and suffering of constant wandering, it is still possible to cross it—unlike a world barrier, whose defense is 'impenetrable' when your means are insufficient to bypass it, drill a hole, or break it directly.

Thinking back to the recent 'precognitive dreams' that happened to herself, Shirako, and even Alona, ​​Amamiya smiled with relief.

Kiwatos, this 'sea of ​​collective unconsciousness,' is truly...

It's filled with all sorts of "obsessions".

It was precisely these "obsessions" that gradually gave me a sense of urgency.

"Is this... already good enough?"

Having witnessed the entire process of felling and planting trees, 'Judas' blinked blankly: "No need... I sacrificed myself?"

This slightly relieved expression made Kirino squint and retort, "You acted so tragically back then, but you walked so slowly because you wanted one of us to persuade you or call you back."

"Were we actually not prepared for the 'necessary sacrifice' plot points typical of shonen manga?"

Judah: "..."

Her face flushed red after Kirino's words, and she seemed to want to argue, but when she opened her mouth, she couldn't say anything.

"Indeed, you don't need to 'sacrifice' yourself."

Amamiya walked over, patted the dejected 'Judas' on the shoulder, and pointed to the olive tree that had sprung up in front of him.

"Your 'sacrifice' will be more meaningful. Protect this tree."

'Judas' remained silent, but eventually nodded quietly.

At this moment, the "light armor of the goddess of wisdom" reappeared on her body.

"No need for further explanation..."

Her voice choked with emotion: "Thank you, heroes."

"Perhaps I will never become the 'guardian of the world'."

"My wisdom... is very limited."

"Then I will use my limited wisdom to do the best I can to do the limited things."

"I don't need that 'golden apple' to prove my charm and radiance..."

"Hold tight to my olive branch, I will protect this pure land."

'...'

After bidding farewell to Athena, who was crying with tears streaming down her face, Amamiya returned to the evacuation point.

Amidst the blessings emanating from the sea reefs, Amamiya activated the Otherworld App.

[Returned to the real world.]

【Thanks for your hard work. 】

Chapter Fifty-Five: The fox's heart is bitter, but the fox...

'When our wishes reach the stars in the distant, radiant night sky.'

'The light will cross the sea of ​​the collective unconscious and arrive here with its current.'

"..."

Holding onto the railing, the girl in the night turned slowly, facing the cool autumn breeze.

"The sea of ​​the collective unconscious... it really is a magical place."

The sky was ablaze with starlight, the sea shone with dazzling brilliance, the distant sunset glowed, and nearby all was quiet amidst the hustle and bustle.

If I hadn't witnessed the world crumble into fragments of a mirror before my eyes and then recombine into another landscape, it would be hard to believe that the splendor I saw, like the famous Impressionist painting "The Starry Night," was composed of pure "cognition."

Just a moment ago... this place was shrouded in a spiderweb of pulsating blood vessels, a 'city of desire' formed by a dark red sky and parched, cracked earth.

The transformation from 'terrified and uneasy' to 'a breathtaking view ahead' truly only takes a single breath.

Despite being impressed by the beautiful scenery, Yuriko did not linger too long at the view.

She took out the 'ominous object' she had obtained from the other world—that unique-looking 'shroud'—and asked the question that had been weighing on her mind for most of the day: "Sensei, the sea of ​​collective unconsciousness... why would something like this appear?"

"It's like catching a fish from the ocean, but picking up impurities from stagnant water..."

Finally getting to the point, Amamiya gave Yuriko a 'subtle' look and teased, "...Isn't it a bit unnecessary to be so curious?"

Similarly, the attitude of knowing something but being unwilling to say more...