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"And so that thing is vanquished, right? A-Are you sure?" Matsuo asked.
"I cannot feel it anymore," Maria spoke up suddenly, her eyes gleaming bright red. "It’s dead."
"...Wow," Alma muttered. "Wait, Maria, how could you ’feel’ it?"
"...It’s a secret," Maria replied with a small smile. "But I could."
"Now that the thing’s gone, that fairy... will she not bother us anymore?" Erika asked. "I hope not! And who the hell was she anyway?"
"A Darkwood Fae," Harumi answered with a sigh, her mind drifting to soone of the sa race.
"Like... her?" Frank asked, his eyes filled with sorrow.
"Yeah..." Matsuo nodded. "Like Kireina."
"Wait, what? Kireina?!" Erika exclaid. "You an to say that bitch brought her family here?! W-Why?!"
"Don’t call her that, Erika..." Matsuo sighed. "She’s our friend."
"WAS, Matsuo, WAS!" Erika snapped angrily. "I don’t want to ever see that bitch again after what she did to us!"
"..." Frank remained silent. The topic clearly carried heavy weight for the entire friend group.
Elena and Elayne exchanged glances, they had no idea who these people were even talking about.
"Um, could you tell us who this Kireina is?" Maria asked first.
"Yeah, I was going to ask," Elisa added.
"Who is she?" Anna inquired.
"She’s..." Matsuo began quietly. "She was our friend back in Tokyo High School, before we graduated. We went on all sorts of adventures together, got into all kinds of shenanigans. Now it all feels so distant... after what happened."
"I guess this isn’t sothing you want to talk about. Sorry," Elayne said gently. "You don’t have to—"
"No, it’s fine," Harumi shook her head. "We can’t let those stupid feelings stop us from telling the truth about who she is—and her terrifying family. Kireina was once our friend. We went through so much together... until that day when she was forced to reveal who she really was."
"Stop talking like she’s innocent! She almost killed us all!" Erika burst out angrily.
"Why?" Elena asked softly.
"Ugh, it’s a long story," Frank explained. "Kireina is the daughter of the Chaos Gate’s Boss. She’s the daughter of the man they call ’Lord Chaos’—a supernatural cri lord who’s been threatening Japan for the last three decades."
"Oh..." Elena and her friends reacted with identical stunned expressions.
"This ans she’s likely participating in the Holy War too—and even dragged her cousin along?" Harumi asked. "I don’t know what she wants from it, but... I should have guessed."
"The Darkwood Fae are too powerful," Matsuo said, shaking his head. "They shouldn’t be allowed to do whatever they want. This isn’t their ho. If she keeps bringing those monstrously strong spirits here... eventually, all of Japan could be wiped out."
Elena and Elayne shared another glance. Mother and daughter quickly realized this Holy War carried far more personal stakes for these people than they had imagined.
"Hm... I see," Maria nodded in silence. "It looks like that’s all you want to share for today. I need to return to my room and rest for tomorrow’s classes, so if you’ll excuse ..."
As Maria left, her friends followed, leaving Matsuo and Elena’s groups alone. The atmosphere in the room grew even heavier, thick with unspoken tension and old wounds.
.
.
.
"Cough, cough..."
Alice landed inside her castle within the Realm of hundreds of Corrupted Domains controlled by the Chaos Gate. She coughed blood, groaning in pain as she crawled across the floor.
"A-Avenger...!"
She stared at her Command Spell Runes, eyes widening when she saw they were still intact. She had feared she’d lost her chance and that her uncle and cousin would punish her severely for failing.
"Wait... you’re not dead?"
Her eyes widened further as her hands flickered, dissolving into a mass of black-and-red miasma and ethereal, fla-like spiritual energy.
Slowly, from that energy, a handgun materialized—an elental fragnt of war, the smallest form Avenger could currently take.
"I cannot be killed so easily, Master. And above all, don’t you rember? We beca one. I exist within every cell of your body from the neck down."
"T-That’s right...!"
Alice smiled with relief and sat on her bed.
"However, I am greatly weakened... I don’t think I could fight in my current condition. Most of my Spirit Cores were destroyed by her..."
"Her... Who was she anyway?!"
"Ruler was... soone far stronger than we ever anticipated. But with all the information we’ve gathered, I believe we have a chance now."
"Oh?"
"I would recomnd you report everything to your uncle and cousin, Master. I hate to admit it, but... this is not an enemy we can face alone."
"Hm... I guess you’re right."
Alice smiled, holding the handgun with a soft chuckle. The gun vanished, replaced by a military cap that settled above her head, another form of Avenger.
"I suppose this form is more ’peaceful,’ maybe."
"Maybe~ I’m glad to have you back, Avenger. Let’s not let this loss dishearten us. The dream goes on."
"It indeed does!"
.
.
.
Maria returned to the assigned house for her and her friend group. After explaining what happened to her guardian, the professor nodded and left to drink sake around Tokyo.
Finally alone in her room, Maria exhaled heavily. Her aura shifted and spread like a black fog of death and curses. From within it, countless skeletons and ghosts erged.
Deep in that darkness, a Shadow—independent from everything else—wriggled toward her. It slowly took form as a small, amorphous mass of pure darkness.
"You lied to them, Master. You lied. Why. Why did you lie."
Her red eyes fixed on the dark creature born from shadows and the depths of humanity’s death itself.
"You lied about Conquest. He isn’t dead. My brother lives on. He is weakened, however. Kill him. Maybe."
It spoke in a strange, robotic, emotionless tone. This being had originally possessed no autonomy or personality, but after awakening within her Dream Heart, it had begun absorbing her emotions and personality, gradually becoming capable of speech.
"It would be better to lie than to let those foolish children rush into danger, Rider," Maria sighed, resting on her bed after slipping out of her dress. She stood in only her bra, revealing a Command Spell Rune glowing faintly on her chest. "And above all, the reason I have you with is because I stole you from one of them... they could assu I’m with the Chaos Gate, and that would be dangerous."
"Master. Too cautious. Why not. Kill everything? Death is purity."
"Shut up."
"..."
She rose and walked to the window, gazing into the distant skies. Her eyes narrowed.
"Now that I have finally infiltrated the Heavenly Domain of the Japanese Gods, I cannot act recklessly... What I need most lies in that Heavenly Palace."
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