Chapter 37: Difference Ideal

The girls glance around, realizing Morgan has vanished. Ahead, the sound of a struggle draws their attention. As they run towards it, they are shocked to see two Meis fighting. One Mei is clearly in a much worse state than the other. They then notice Morgan standing silently beside them, already observing the scene. Before they can question her, a song begins to play. The dark-haired Mei, still fighting, slowly opens her mouth and begins to sing, joining the song already in its verse.

JUSTICE mada minu ōzora ni
Nari hibike toki no Campanella

Then suddenly they glimpse a past version of Mei, wearing a dull cloak and gear, facing someone. The scene gives the girls a weird feeling as they gaze toward Morgan, but she just watches without saying anything, which confuses the girls even more.

JUSTICE kako to kyō wo tsunagu
Factor no subete wo Just Reset

The fight continued, but Serena could no longer bear to watch. It was essentially a one-sided beating, and Mei was already tattered. Then, Serena noticed something strange: a shadow of a tattered Mei overlapped with the blonde Mei who was fighting the black-haired Mei, the latter of whom continued to sing.

JUSTICE ano hi no namida sae
Gensō no mukō e kiete ku

They see a tear fall from Black-Haired Mei's cheek as she continues to sing while fighting Blonde Mei. Blonde Mei is barely fighting back, but she manages to land a blow so hard that Black-Haired Mei is thrown backward. The song doesn't stop, which gives them a bad feeling.

JUSTICE tamerawazu ni yukou
Sā hajimari no sekai kara Restart

Then, as the song slowly entered its instrumental break, they noticed that the black-haired Mei was standing as if nothing was wrong, with no wounds at all. Still confused, they looked at the blonde Mei and saw she was also standing far away, her wounds gone too. Seeing this, Kanade clenched her fist even harder, realizing then that the black-haired Mei had power over time.

JUSTICE tadashīsa no kanashimi
Kanade yuku toki no Campanella

The fight continued, but the other girls slowly began to notice something: every time the blonde Mei landed a powerful hit, time would reset. This made them realize just how much the Mei outside had been holding back against them, as they would never stand a chance if she were to use this ability. Hibiki and Kanade, however, remained unfazed, determined to push through regardless.

JUSTICE nando kurikaeshite
Tachikirenu rensa wo Just Reset

Blonde Mei tried every option she could, even her clone technique, but it was all useless against black-haired Mei's might. Maria and Kanade, as the oldest of the group, had mixed feelings, their fists clenching without them even realizing it.

JUSTICE yoake no ōzora ni
Nari hibiku toki no Campanella

Kanade began to suspect that the black-haired Mei's power was not limited to rewinding time. Her suspicions were quickly confirmed when she saw the black-haired Mei's expression change. From that point on, every time the blonde Mei was about to land a hit, she was suddenly struck by something as the black-haired Mei rapidly changed her position.

JUSTICE kako ya yume ya kioku
Karamitsuku subete wo Just Reset

Maria, who noticed this a bit later than Kanade, slowly glanced at her. Seeing Kanade's reaction affirmed that Maria wasn't the only one thinking it; the rest of the girls were starting to notice as well. Blonde Mei tried fighting smarter, like leaving hidden traps, but it was all useless as black-haired Mei simply destroyed them outright.

JUSTICE ano hi no itami sae
Dakishimeru yo ni kiete ku

Kanade had a bad feeling as she saw the situation turn against blonde Mei, who was suddenly bound by chains. However, Hibiki, Tsubasa, and Chris reacted the most strongly, having experienced those chains themselves and knowing how difficult they were to break free from.

JUSTICE furikaerazu yukou
Ima hajimari no sekai kara Restart

Just like in the real world, blonde Mei received the same kick as Hibiki, Tsubasa, and Chris. Black-haired Mei didn't even glance at her, instead walking away as the song began to fade. The girls slowly turned their attention to Morgan, who had remained silent throughout.

As they were about to speak, a new song suddenly started, drawing their gaze back to the arena. Black-haired Mei and Morgan both looked surprised, as if they had never heard the song before. Then, the shadow of Hibiki appeared next to the fallen blonde Mei. However, this Hibiki had a completely different expression and was wearing different gear, leading them to realize this was the Hibiki from Mamoru's world.

The song continued as more shadows appeared: Morgan, Tsubasa, Chris, Fine, Enki, and many others. Even without knowing the rest, the girls recognized these as people from Mamoru's world—a world he could no longer return to.

Black-haired Mei watched silently as the shadows supported blonde Mei. Blonde Mei slowly opened her mouth, her gaze fixed on black-haired Mei.

Kuzuresaru sekai de narihibiku Aeolian
Mi wo kezuru itami ga kakenukeru Phrygian 

Then they see black-haired Mei dash toward blonde Mei, who begins to glow gold as the gear on her body, hands, legs, and back disappears. Gold flower-like gems then appear on both of her arms, legs, and finally her back. The girls look on in confusion, but Morgan, who possesses a copy of Mamoru's memories, recognizes this form and its name: Amalgam.

Dorehodo kizutsuki kudakechiroutomo
Kono ryouude wa kesshite hanasanai

But from the song, they noticed a hint of sadness. They then saw blonde Mei's eyes change, her left eye turning from blue to yellow-gold. She slowly punched the ground with her right hand, and the golden gems on her right hand bloomed into a beautiful golden shield, blocking black-haired Mei's attack.

Chi wo nagasu kobushi de tachifusagaru Locrian 
Yowasa wo sutesari tsume wo tateru Ionian

Kanade noticed that the blonde Mei was still not recovering from her wound. Despite this, she fought so well that even when the black-haired Mei stopped time, she managed to fight her on even ground and began to push her back. Then, the girls noticed that the people who had appeared started to glow before turning into light and gathering on the blonde Mei's gear.

Ubawase wa shinai kimi no hohoemi wo
Watashi ga subete wo uketomeru kara

Tsubasa and Chris then see their counterparts look in their direction and smile before turning into light as well. Instead of going into blonde Mei's gear, they enter the golden gems on her back. Looking at this gives them a complicated feeling, as if they are being entrusted with something. Tsubasa accepts this with a nod, but Chris has a hard time accepting it; the Chris over there was so different from her that she doesn't know if she can do it.

Mune no koa ga genkai wo koete moeru 
Zesshou no nami ni kono mi wo sasagete

Blonde Mei closed her eyes, a golden flame beginning to spawn around her. She looked to her left at Morgan, who smiled and slowly nodded. Mei then turned her gaze to her right, where Hibiki, from Mamoru's world, displayed a different smile for the first time. The girls watching were shocked; the usually cold-faced Hibiki was now showing a sweet smile, a contrast that gave them a strange feeling.

Lydian no hikari de zetsubou wo utsu!

Morgan and Hibiki slowly stare in the girls' direction. Morgan slowly smiles at her counterpart, who is just standing there. Even though she knows she is a fake, she is fine with it. She then turns into light and goes toward Mei's left hand. At the same time, the cold Hibiki slowly stares at her counterpart, who is making a shocked expression. Her gaze then turns toward Miku as she studies her look, suddenly showing nostalgia. Before finally turning to her counterpart again, her expression never changes, as she only shows her normal cold reaction before turning into light and going toward Mei's right hand.

Subete wo mamoru fumetsu no tate Aegis! 
Mixolydian no hi wo sakebe

The table overturned as it was now the blonde Mei's turn to unleash a one-sided beatdown on the black-haired Mei. The girls noticed that the scene suddenly began to overlap with the earlier shadow, the one they'd seen fighting the tattered Mei. This time, however, she was in her X-drive form.

Tatoe watashi ga chiri to naroutomo
Kimi no ikiru ashita wo mamorinuku!

What was even more eerie to the girls watching was that blonde Mei's movements overlapped with Past Mei's, even to the exact detail. The only difference was that after both of them bound their enemies with chains, instead of following it with a kick like before, blonde Mei instead rode a surfing shield of gold before shining brightly as Hibiki and Morgan's shadowed figures appeared once more behind her.

Karada ga yabureyoutomo
watashi wa mamoru

They should be happy that Blonde Mei won, but they see the gear start to crumble away after it hits Black-Haired Mei. She is also having a hard time standing, though she is faring a bit better compared to Blonde Mei.

Aegis Shield
Full Drive!

Blonde Mei finished her strike, punching Black-Haired Mei on the cheek. As Black-Haired Mei fell, the world began to crumble around them. This surprised both Meis, as well as Morgan. All of them then started to shine brightly before finally disappearing from the world.

I slowly open my eyes to see Morgan and Hibiki, but I know they aren't the Hibiki from this world. This makes me question how they're here. Then, Mei, the black-haired girl I defeated earlier, appears with a guilty expression.

Hibiki lets out a sigh, and Morgan giggles at her, which gives me a bitter feeling. I just smile along with them.

"So you guys were inside me all along, huh?"

"Of course. It was our relic to begin with, so naturally, we all watched your struggles, you blockhead."

"Fufufufu, that can't be denied."

Watching them begin to converse with each other gave me a strange feeling. I could see their figures overlapping me: Hibiki, the cold Hibiki, with Chris, and Morgan with Serena. Still, I wondered why I had lost my memories and why they had become like this.

"Well, this is basically the power of the Holy Grail. When you resurrected Kanade and Serena, Mamoru, you unknowingly awakened me—your past regret, as I failed to achieve my dream. The byproduct is probably the two of them."

"Hoho, so you're starting to talk to your girlfriend like that, huh?"

"Wait, Hibiki, I was joking! Please, no!"

I slowly stare at my past self, being bullied by Hibiki, as I glance at Morgan beside me.

"So, in my past, I was like that, huh?"

Morgan doesn't answer, but she smiles and slowly nods before walking closer to the bullied me and kissing her on the cheek.

"Even though he was a bit dumb, dense, and a bit of a blockhead as well."

"Hey."

"But he is the one and only that we love with all our hearts, right, Hibiki?"

Hibiki doesn't answer but looks away, her blush reaching her ears, giving the answer away immediately, which makes Morgan giggle. Then she slowly stares at me.

"Still, we're already in the past, and the past should stay in the past, so you shouldn't be chasing them anymore."

"But—"

"I know you're probably curious, right? But I will quote the guy we admired back in the day: 'That is hell you're walking into.'"

Hearing myself talk like that, I slowly smile as I gaze at him.

"Then I will reply, 'This is what you forgot.' Yes, I was curious at first, but now I need to know. Not because of curiosity, but to honor the past we walk through, the suffering we feel, and the bonds we make. Because just like a rose that is beautiful to look at, it has thorns that will pierce everything that carelessly picks it."

She just closed her eyes as she slowly smiled at me.

"Then go on, as we will stand here watching you."

"You really like to act cool, but you completely forgot that you're a girl now, Mamoru, or should I say Mei."

"Geez, Hibiki, this was a cool moment, okay? Please don't ruin this."

"Fufufufu, it's okay, Mei. Hibiki just said that because she remembered something from the past, right?"

"Shut up, Morgan, and no, I don't remember anything. But Mamoru, the world is hard, and now you plan to explore even more worlds. Just make sure you strengthen your heart."

"Well, as for me, I can't wait to see how many hearts you'll catch by then."

Somehow, I had a bad feeling looking at Morgan, who was smiling while giggling, but I just looked at them and slowly walked away.

"Then I will get going."

"Sure, go for it, me."

"Of course, me."

"Don't get held back by things like this again, you hear me?"

"Maybe, since I don't know what the future will bring."

"Make sure you take care of Me there, Mei."

"I will, Morgan. Then, see you all later."

Suddenly, I felt something pushing me, but before I could see who it was, I was blinded and then slowly woke up.