Chapter 80: I Did It
Takahashi saw the fist coming for his face, but he couldn't dodge in time. It connected squarely, cracking his jaw under the brutal impact and sending him sprawling backward.
For a moment, he lay there, staring blankly at the sky, completely stunned. But that shock quickly gave way to rage as he scrambled to get back on his feet.
"Raaaaaaaaaaaagh!"
A guttural scream tore from his throat, and an intense aura began surging around him. The energy radiating from his body was so oppressive that Nagisa could feel its force, keeping her at bay. But before he could launch another attack, she struck again, her fist driving hard into his stomach.
Takahashi tried to block, but her punch was too fast and powerful, slamming into his gut and forcing all the air out of his lungs.
"Guaaah!"
His body couldn't take any more. His knees buckled, and he collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath.
"W-What's happening…? My strength… It can't be…!" he muttered weakly.
"You've already lost," Nagisa said, looking down at him with an air of finality. "Don't fight anymore."
"T-That can't be! I'm… I'm supposed to be powerful! I am powerful! And yet… and yet… why did I lose?!"
His voice was trembling with disbelief, his eyes blazing with fury. He couldn't accept the truth.
"I won't be defeated this easily!" he bellowed. Suddenly, a burst of aura erupted from him once again.
Though it wasn't as strong as before, the sudden surge was enough to make Nagisa step back.
Takahashi struggled to his feet, clutching his stomach with one hand. Blood dripped from his mouth, and a deep cut on his forehead gushed red, staining his face. Despite the injuries, he stood there, his teeth gritted, madness gleaming in his eyes. He looked dangerously unhinged.
"You're stubborn," Nagisa said, her tone sharp. "If you just stayed down, this wouldn't have to get worse for you."
"Shut up, you slut!" he snarled at her.
"Hey, that's too far!" Nagisa snapped back, her voice laced with irritation. "And for the record, I was a virgin until just earlier!" She said it with pride, though the insult clearly stung. More than that, Kouhei was visibly offended.
"Take that back, Takahashi-kun!" Kouhei growled, his hand clenched tightly around the hilt of the shinai.
"Take what back?" Takahashi sneered, a twisted grin spreading across his face. "I mean, I'm not wrong, am I? Kiyohara-senpai has been with so many guys. She dates them for a day, and people say she lets them fuck her in that short time before breaking up because they don't satisfy her. I even thought about going to her myself, you know? I wanted to stop being a virgin, and having Kiyohara-senpai as my first sounded perfect. So yeah, calling her a slut isn't far off. Why should I take it back?"
As he shouted, the maddening aura around him intensified, growing more chaotic. It lashed out, hitting the school building behind him, leaving cracks and fissures in the walls. The structure looked like it might collapse at any moment.
"Nagisa-san isn't like that…" Kouhei said, his voice trembling with barely contained anger as he gripped the shinai in his hand.
"Kou-kun, don't let him get to you. He's doing it on purpose," Nagisa said calmly. "You know the truth, right? As long as you know, words like his don't bother me."
And it was true. Kouhei knew Nagisa better than anyone. She wasn't the kind of girl who slept around or let men use her. In fact, until earlier, she had been a virgin—something Kouhei knew intimately.
"Now then, I should finish this before this guy does any more damage to the school," Nagisa said, determination flashing in her eyes.
She charged at Takahashi, her fist clenched tightly. He tried to counter with a punch of his own, but Nagisa ducked beneath it, her movements swift and precise. Instead of landing a hit on her, his fist crashed into the ground with a resounding crack.
Thrown off balance, Takahashi stumbled again, leaving him wide open. Nagisa didn't hesitate, slamming her fist straight into his gut. The force drove the air from his lungs, a guttural gasp escaping his lips as his eyes rolled back, revealing only the whites.
And then, just like that, his body went limp. Takahashi collapsed, unconscious and utterly defeated.
As soon as Nagisa saw him drop, the intense aura that had surrounded her dissipated like smoke in the wind. She realized that the boost she'd gained from her earlier… intimate session with Kouhei had been temporary. It wasn't a permanent power-up, but honestly, she didn't mind. If she needed another boost, well... that just meant another round with Kouhei. She smirked faintly at the thought.
But now, the adrenaline was fading, and exhaustion hit her like a freight train. Her legs buckled beneath her, and she collapsed to her knees.
"H-Huh...? I'm..." Her voice was faint, her body trembling from the aftershock of expending so much energy so quickly. The sudden surge of strength had left her drained, and now her body was paying the price.
Just as her vision began to blur, a deafening crash snapped her attention upward. Part of the building's upper floor had crumbled, and a massive slab of concrete was plummeting straight toward her.
"I... I can't move..." she whispered, panic gripping her as she watched the enormous chunk of debris hurtling down.
Kouhei saw it too, and without a second thought, he bolted toward Nagisa. His heart pounded in his chest as he pushed himself to his limit. He didn't have enough time to drag her out of the way—nor could he leave Takahashi, who was still unconscious, lying directly in the falling slab's path.
Even though Takahashi had insulted him and Nagisa, Kouhei couldn't let him die. That wasn't who he was. But saving both of them at the same time seemed impossible.
His mind raced, but his body didn't wait for an answer. He sprinted forward, raising the shinai in his hands.
A part of him knew how absurd this was. He hadn't even managed to cleanly slice through a training dummy made of hay with a wooden practice sword, and now he was aiming to cut through concrete. The thought was ridiculous. The odds were laughable.
The shinai was blunt, the surface too wide for a clean cut, and the sheer weight of the falling debris should have crushed it like a twig.
But Kouhei didn't care. He poured every ounce of strength into that swing. His muscles screamed in protest, his grip tightened, and his shout rang louder.
"Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!!"
The shinai met the falling slab—and to his astonishment, there was no resistance. No jarring impact, no shockwave running up his arms. Instead, the concrete split cleanly in two, as though it were paper beneath the blade of a master swordsman.
The two halves of the wall fell harmlessly to either side of Nagisa and Takahashi, scattering debris across the ground. Kouhei stood there, chest heaving, the shinai still raised in his trembling hands.
"I did it..." Kouhei muttered, his voice barely audible.
The debris was split cleanly in half. It was a feat he could hardly believe he'd pulled off, but there it was—proof of what he'd done. The impossible had become reality.
But just as the realization settled in, all the adrenaline that had been surging through his body evaporated in an instant, like smoke disappearing into the air. His vision blurred, and his strength gave out. Before he could do anything else, he collapsed, unconscious.
With that, the battle against Envy had finally come to an end.
***
When Kouhei woke up, the first thing he noticed was a warm, soft weight pressing against him. Groggy, he turned his head to the side and found Hina lying beside him, her body nestled close to his. She was sleeping soundly.
"Where…?" he murmured, his voice hoarse. He blinked, and his eyes landed on the ceiling above—a familiar sight. It was the infirmary.
"Mmm…" Hina stirred beside him, her eyelids fluttering open. She blinked a few times before her gaze focused on him. As soon as she realized he was awake, her face lit up with relief and joy.
Without a word, she leaned in and pressed her lips to his in a deep, tender kiss. Her lips were soft, her warmth spreading into him. When she finally pulled back, she smiled, her expression filled with affection.
"It's good to see you awake, Kouhei," she said softly. "Yuuna was worried sick that you might not wake up, but I kept telling her you'd be fine. And, well… I was right."
Kouhei flushed slightly at the closeness, but his thoughts quickly shifted. "W-What about Nagisa-san?"
Hearing him call Nagisa by her first name rather than the usual "Kiyohara-san," a knowing smirk spread across Hina's lips. She had suspected Kouhei was starting to feel something for Nagisa, and now it seemed like he was finally accepting it. It made her happy to see him embracing his feelings.
"She's fine now," Hina assured him. "She was pretty banged up, but Yumi already healed her injuries. She's resting, but she'll be good as new."
"Thank goodness…" Kouhei let out a deep sigh of relief, his body relaxing slightly. The encounter with Takahashi had been far too close for comfort. If he hadn't acted when he did, Nagisa might have been lost forever.
Still, the situation had highlighted something crucial. His ability to power up women through sex—specifically by syncing their orgasms—wasn't just a convenient tool. It was a lifeline, one that could mean the difference between life and death in a fight.
'I need to understand this power better,' Kouhei thought to himself, his resolve hardening. 'If I want to protect Yuuna-san, Hina-san, Nagisa-san, and the others, I need to learn how to use this properly.'
While he was lost in thought, Hina's gaze softened. A playful smile tugged at her lips as she leaned closer to him, her breath warm against his skin.
"I'm just glad you're safe and sound, Kouhei," she whispered, her tone brimming with warmth. She scooted even closer, her body pressing against his in a way that made his pulse quicken.
With Hina so close, Kouhei felt an overwhelming sense of safety and comfort. Despite everything that had happened, in that moment, he felt at peace.