“Tsukumo.”
“Mmm?”
Somehow already beside me, Tsukumo watched the fight with sparkling eyes like the other kids.
Though I wished she’d stop muttering “So cool how she disappears into shadows…”
“I need to get to the [Moon Tower].”
“…Oh? And?”
“Uh, yeah. I mean, …… ”
She looked intrigued.
I look back into those big eyes and ask.
“Well… You got any ideas?”
I asked about escaping this battlefield.
Half-resigned to impossibility,
but—having a genius inventor stepsister pays off.
“I do.”
“Yeah, asking out of nowhere is probably—Wait, really!?”
I kept my voice down
but couldn’t hide my shock.
“Indeed. The problem is your absence, yes? Then simply be present.”
“???”
As I tilted my head, Tsukumo rummaged through her bag.
“Hmm… This one.”
She pulled out an articulated wooden doll.
Ordinary-looking, except—
“Emergency Security Use – Simplified Replica-Type Artificial Doll 〈Dimension-Coreless-Interface Mk-VII〉. “
She presented it with a flourish.
“—That’s way too long.”
“Hehe, cool right?”
“…Sure.”
No time for nitpicking.
“So it…?”
“An excellent question! It mimics its user’s appearance and replicates their behavior!”
“What? That’s absurdly advanced.”
“Indeed. …Though it can only perform pre-programmed responses to set scenarios. Mark VII has my behavioral patterns, so essentially…”
She turned it away from me.
“…Niisama’ll get a version of yourself that acts like me.”
A male college student mimicking an elementary schoolgirl’s mannerisms…?
“Uh, isn’t that creepy?”
“Very.”
Her innocent eyes delivered the blunt verdict.
No time to argue!
“I-I’ll do it…”
“Really, Niisama…? Then I won’t stop you…”
Gulping, I took the doll.
◇◇◇◇◇
Meanwhile, Hinata felt her senses sharpen during combat.
Anger fueled her—
though outwardly calm, her fury hadn’t diminished since [Izayoi]’s second attempt on Ibuki.
As the fighters separated after a clash—
“Kyaaa!?”—
a child’s scream rang out.
Both Hinata and [Izayoi] froze.
“…The hell?”
[Izayoi] looked puzzled at the commotion behind Hinata.
Turning cautiously,
Hinata saw—a whirlwind of red confetti.
“What…?”
The tornado dispersed instantly, revealing—
And standing there was…
“—Eh!?”
Ibuki—no, a man in black robes: .
The real shock came from seeing Ibuki still standing elsewhere.
(Two Onii-san────Eh? What is this, a bargain…?)
But looking closer, standard Ibuki was… staring at with sparkling eyes like an innocent boy.
(He’d be mortified seeing himself like this.)
Yet—
(Eeeh! That version of big brother is so kyawa~!!!)
Hinata was thoroughly delighted.
No one could guess her accelerated thoughts.
Amid the chaos, spoke:
“Hello everyone. Sorry for barging in like this—”
Then sprinted full-speed toward the balcony,
shouting:
“Just this once, let me pass! I’ll do anything later!”
◇◇◇◇◇
A sudden appearance by a [Nega Messiah] member.
Normally, no one would allow such an intruder to escape—
but the angels were busy protecting children, and Hinata couldn’t move.
Thus, inevitably, the killer acted first.
“Guess I’ll kill him first…”
As sunset expanded the shadows, just as her small frame began sinking into them—
A kick came rushing at [Izayoi].
Dodging with a tilt of her upper body, she scowled.
“Why interfere?”
Her question went to Hinata, frozen mid-kick.
Then Hinata said it as if it was nothing:
“Well, because He said ‘I’ll do anything’.”
“…The hell?”
Seeing [Izayoi]’s utter confusion, Hinata cleared her throat.
“Ahem, joking. —[When facing fleeing enemies and advancing enemies, prioritize the latter]. The second principle we learn at the academy.”
“Hmph. I’d kill the weaklings first.”
“Maybe that’s why these lessons exist for dealing with people like you.”
[Izayoi] chuckled darkly. “kihihihi!”
“Well then, playtime’s over~. Shall I get serious about killing now? Starting with the weakest~?”
“You won’t get the chance. We’ll protect them.”
As if responding to those words, the angels guarding the area simultaneously tensed, their vigilance sharpening.
◇◇◇◇◇
I kicked off the balcony railing and activated [Separation].
The sky swallowed me whole.
But even so—there was no way I could cover fifty meters in one leap.
Landing on one of the “spider’s threads” stretching toward the [Moon Tower], I immediately pushed off again.
“Now, the only question is… where to enter.”
I glanced up at the Tower stretching over 250 meters into the sky.
For a brief moment, I wondered how Rui had gotten in—then dismissed the thought.
The sounds of fierce combat behind me reminded me I didn’t have the luxury of dawdling.
The momentum from my leap wouldn’t kill me.
So I aimed straight for the cathedral’s outer wall.
“Sorry about this, holy ground!”
My target wasn’t the white stone—but the magnificent stained glass.
My crossed arms took the impact—lighter than expected. A sharp, brittle crack rang out as I shattered through.
Rainbow fragments exploded around me as I soared through the cathedral’s open air.
Looking down—there she was.
Rui, and a girl with tear-swollen eyes.
She must have rescued her from wherever she’d been trapped.
Scanning the cathedral, I found no enemies, no abnormalities.
—No.
The very absence of anything wrong was proof of the enemy’s presence.
Me.
“〈Separation〉…!”
Rui bared her teeth, her beautiful face twisting with hostility.
Her sword left its sheath in an instant.
Shielding the girl behind her, she leveled the pale silver blade at me.
Impeccable reflexes, flawless judgment.
—And yet.
None of that mattered when her attack lacked any real force.
[Separation] Targets: Self & Longsword.
Without any fancy tricks, I kicked the straightforward strike away.
The second slash came—and I activated my Talent Lux again.
[Separation] Targets: Self & Longsword.
Same as before.
But this time, I wasn’t nullifying the sword’s energy—I was nullifying my own.
By kicking the blade upward from below, I sent myself crashing down instead.
Far faster than freefall.
“Tch—!”
Rui’s expression soured as I effortlessly countered her.
Now standing, I faced her across the crimson carpet stretching between us.
—That brief exchange confirmed it.
I’d thought charging into an area with no enemies or abnormalities was a mistake.
But this time, it was the perfect move.
There’s no way [Rui Utsurugi] is this weak.
Not just compared to the original story.
Even stacked against our first fight during the Officer Retrieval Operation, the Rui from back then was clearly stronger.
If I recall how thoroughly she crushed me during the Satanalia Centennial, something must have happened after—no, during that event.
Come to think of it, back then, she’d been unusually persistent in questioning my motives.
I remember feeling suspicious about that interrogation.
…Maybe that was her way of justifying it.
Justifying murder.
To kill someone, she needed them to be undeniably evil.
Irredeemable. Someone whose death would be unquestionably right.
“—Gh.”
If that guess is correct… how tragic. How kind.
I stared down at the beautiful angel glaring at me with pure hostility.
She must have heard it from Hinata after the Satanalia Centennial.
That my warning—“Hinata’s in danger”—had been true.
That her own judgment had nearly gotten her partner killed.
—That she’d almost taken another life.
“Rui Utsurugi.”
I didn’t realize I’d spoken until the words were already out.
“Are you afraid of killing people?”
In that instant, her expression shattered.
Even without superhuman perception, the shift was unmistakable.
Shock. Shame. Fury. Despair. Bewilderment. Sorrow.
And finally—a face on the verge of tears.
The moment I saw it, something inside me snapped.
Maybe it was the last “spider’s thread” I’d been clinging to.
This feeling, like my guts were being wrenched from within—this must be rage.
—What the hell am I doing?!
Not just asking her “Are you afraid?”
Everything.
Making my oshi character suffer to the point of tears.
Discarding all that “oshi” nonsense and stealing the smile from a fifteen-year-old girl.
They seemed like contradictions, but they were the same.
I made Rui Utsurugi cry.
—Well then.
“……Hah.”
Let me repay you with this all-consuming fury.
“HAHAHAHAHAHA—!”
Standing before the altar, I howled with laughter.
Rui’s beautiful face twisted back into fury.
“W-what’s so funny!?”
“Isn’t it obvious? —The pathetic sight you’re making.”
“………!?”
My venomous words left her speechless.
Sorry, Rui Utsurugi.
Just moments ago, I’d thought, “I’ll become someone you can rely on.”
Because otherwise, my words would never reach you.
That was a lie.
There’s one other role that lets me get through to you.
Back then, Kushina asked me:
[Ibuki, what do you want?]
Those words undeniably exposed my true nature.
But during the Satanalia Centennial, someone else said the same thing.
[What do you want?]
You.
It wasn’t just Kushina, the “reliable one.”
You—the “absolute enemy”—were the one who woke me up.
So, yeah.
“Fretting over lives that aren’t worth shit, almost losing what truly matters—”
—Because I’m the enemy you love to hate.
“How utterly stupid—you and Hinata both.”
I’ll wake you up.
“Y-YOUUUUUUUUU—!!”
As Rui snarled, a faint smile touched my lips.
“…That’s more like it.”
Come on, Rui Utsurugi.
Try to kill me.
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