Act 6: Repercussions
The aroma of coffee filled the air in the calm, relaxed atmosphere of [Café Manhattan].
At first glance, it appeared to be nothing more than a stylish urban café, but in truth, it also served as a gathering place for [Negā-Messiah: The Covenant of Salvation].
On this unusually quiet holiday, the shop’s owner, Bakurou Yuika, placed an order in front of a customer seated at the counter—
a sweet café latte, generously mixed with honey.
Taking a sip, the customer relaxed her cheeks, and Yuika spoke.
“You seem awfully calm for someone who’s supposed to be in a hurry~.”
Hearing that, the guest—Kushibiki Kushina—set her cup down on the saucer.
“Is there any reason for me to be in a hurry?”
As Kushina tilted her head, her smooth, neatly trimmed black hair swayed gently by her cheeks.
Yuika didn’t answer the question and instead pointed outside.
Following her gaze, the white towers of a castle peeked through the gaps between the buildings.
“Ah, the open house tour… I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried. After all, it’s Ibuki and Tsukumo on this mission.”
“Hmm~ Yeah, you’re right~.”
Kushina nodded in understanding, and Yuika nodded back in agreement.
“And~ that’s not all, right~? Who knows if some unforeseen situation might pop up~?”
“…………”
Kushina thought for a moment before murmuring.
“—Ibuki’s always been a weird one, ever since the old days.”
“Oho~ Trying to show off that [you’ve known him for a long time]~?”
“Yuika-san?”
Kushina smiled sweetly, applying pressure, and Yuika smiled back just as sweetly, deflecting.
Clearing her throat, Kushina continued.
In her mind, she recalled Ibuki’s demeanor just before his first mission after joining [Negā-Messiah].
Specifically, a few days before the day he fought Hinata as a diversion.
Back then, Ibuki had repeatedly scouted the battlefield, formulating plans.
She distinctly remembered him muttering about “Plan E” and “Plan F.”
“He overthinks everything, yet he’s surprisingly bold when it counts.”
*Well, though that boldness often backfires.
The corners of Kushina’s lips curled slightly as she spoke.
“I suppose you could say his personality and talent don’t quite match. He’s the type who can’t rest unless he’s considered every angle, yet he’s strongest when he doesn’t overthink things.”
*So,she continued.
“This time, since the infiltration point is Libra’s branch, he couldn’t prepare much of a plan, right? If something unexpected happens in a situation like that—”
Her smile had, at some point, turned into a fearless grin.
“That’s when Ibuki is at his strongest.”
◇◇◇◇◇
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This time, I have two victory conditions.
The first is to draw out Utsurugi Rui’s full strength.
If Rui remains shackled by hesitation, she’ll inevitably face an irreversible situation in the future.
The thorns entangling her were sown by me—
so I must be the one to cut them away.
Free her from all worry, all restraint.
Let her be as she truly is—unbound.
That’s the first.
The second—comes after that is accomplished.
“I’ll kill you—!!”
The Conductor roared, swinging her right arm.
Four blades shot toward me as Rui herself glided through their center, closing in.
I dodged the first and second strikes with a [Separation]-assisted leap*.
Seeing me flung into the air, she must’ve thought it was her chance.
Rui lunged at me, accompanied by the remaining two longswords.
But—truth be told, you’re not the only one good at aerial combat.
For me, who can ignore gravity, this is just as much my stage as it is hers.
I kicked the rightmost longsword as it closed in.
The moment I made contact—[Separation].
The deflected blade crashed into the one approaching from the left.
[Separation] Targets: Longsword & Longsword.
The two silver flashes plummeted helplessly.
Without even glancing at them—
Rui, who had closed the distance, launched a kick.
The instant her foot touched me, my inertia vanished, and I was sent flying.
“………!?”
Rui stiffened, shocked by the lack of impact.
Breaking eye contact, I twisted midair and landed on the chapel’s inner wall.
Using [Separation] to negate the impact, I kicked off the wall—launching myself upward in an instant.
Perched atop a beam near the ceiling,
I glared down at the airborne Conductor and spoke.
“All this ‘kill, kill’ talk—you’re awfully chatty for someone who can’t even do it.”
“————”
“Ahahaha! An Excia, who can’t even bring herself to kill me? Pathetic. Not scary in the slightest.”
“Gh—…!”
Rui’s expression twisted—and so did my heart.
For an otaku like me, hurling insults at your own favorite is torture.
—But so what?
Compared to the suffering my beloved Rui has endured, this pain is trivial.
“I’ll definitely kill—”
“All that ‘kill’ and ‘die’ talk—it’s just self-hypnosis, isn’t it?”
“Wha—…?”
I’d thought this the first time we fought—Utsurugi Rui uses dangerously violent language.
The [Utsurugi Rui] I knew was cool, but not violent.
Her feelings for Hinata and her hostility toward me likely play a part.
But even accounting for that, it was odd.
However, if she “can’t kill unless they’re an absolute villain,” then it makes sense.
Seeing her react as if struck a nerve only confirmed it.
“You’re terrified of feeling real bloodlust, aren’t you?”
“Shut up…!”
“Ah, wait—was this Hinata’s idea?”
“Shut up…!”
Even through my hood, I could tell she was looking at me—so I smirked.
“Did she say something like—‘Say it to psych yourself up, Rui’?”
“—SHUT UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUP!!!”
With a scream, she swung both arms.
The longswords that had returned to her all turned their blades toward me at once.
—That’s right. You’re the Conductor. Swing your arms.
Unlike before, she remained in low-altitude flight near the ground.
Only the four silver blades flashed.
I parried, deflected, dodged—dancing through the air as I handled them.
“———!”
One of the longswords I tried to kick suddenly slowed midair.
I adjusted my kick at the last second, but my posture faltered.
In that instant—one of the blades, which had been charging straight at me from the side, rotated.
Not a *thrust*—but a *slash*, the sword’s true purpose.
I barely nullified it by grazing the flat of the blade.
—[Separation] in rapid succession, erasing my own inertia.
I pushed against the blade—but I was the one who moved.
Using a rough emergency evasion, I descended.
Landing atop a crucifix, the chapel’s most magnificent stained glass at my back.
Now, Rui and I were at eye level.
“…………”
Her handling of *Lux* had become far more fRuid—and unorthodox—than before.
The tactical maneuvering for suppression had shifted into a hunt for the kill.
—But it’s still not enough.
I don’t feel death yet.
The [Utsurugi Rui] I know is stronger than this.
I can’t afford to actually die—for both our sakes—but at the very least, she needs to reclaim her true, merciless self.
—Telling your oshi to kill you? Guess I’ve got to commit, too.
Locking eyes with Rui, I spoke.
“Come to think of it, you once asked me—‘What do you intend to do with Hinata?’”
“…………So?”
She must’ve sensed nothing good would follow—her expression darkened further.
Rui’s expression darkened further.
That assumption proved correct.
“Just as you said. Hinata’s a genius, after all. If I could get my hands on her, she’d make quite the useful pawn, don’t you think?”
“────”
What followed was a transformation unlike any before.
Nothingness.
That breathtaking beauty—the kind that could ensnare one’s gaze with a moment’s carelessness—melted into absolute blankness.
The purity of her frigid elegance intensified to spine-chilling levels.
“…………”
Rui said nothing.
Her lips remained sealed.
For the third time, her longsword whirled.
Each slash spun like a wheel, carving through the air as it closed in.
“────”
The rotation made each movement broader.
Focusing on any single point would be fatal.
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