On the night before the battle, Ellen had once raised the possibility of Artemisia changing sides to Westcott.
Although so of Artemisia's values did not quite align with hers, as a Wizard, she indeed possessed enough strength for Ellen to acknowledge.
"It is not a possibility. It is a certainty. And I'm afraid Artemisia already knows she was brainwashed."
In response, Westcott readily agreed with her view.
"After all, the person she ca into contact with was Ryougi Yutsuki. Information about brainwashing technology, comrades used as hostages and brainwashed, Ashcroft Series… Perhaps she has even already grasped the thod to undo brainwashing."
"Then why are you still transferring those SSS Wizards to Japan?"
Hearing Westcott's unconcerned tone, Ellen could not help growing so angry that veins stood out on her forehead.
"What else should I do? Leave them in England and use them as hostages to threaten Artemisia into obeying ? No, no, no~ That would be terribly dull."
Leisurely pouring himself a glass of red wine, Westcott waved a finger, and a playful smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"We are currently standing at a turning point that will decide the fate of the future. Any resource should be used to its fullest. Since we have usable personnel, why leave them to gather dust in storage?"
"Tch!"
Ellen clicked her tongue and shot Westcott an impatient glare, clearly not taking his words seriously.
Westcott shrugged helplessly and obediently answered.
"Fine, I'll tell the truth. If Artemisia truly can undo the brainwashing, that would actually be exactly what I want. Who could imagine it? After solving the problem, what greets her is not her friend's embrace and smile, but a blade and bottomless hatred. After all, when it cos to brainwashing—"
At this point, Westcott deliberately paused for suspense, then smiled and said,
"No one ever said you could only do it once, right?"
Ellen raised her brow slightly, then seed to understand his plan and slowly breathed out.
"…I see. Since you already prepared for it, I won't say more."
"Naturally. Trust , dear Ellen. I have always been very serious."
Afterward, perhaps to pray for tomorrow's battle to go smoothly, Westcott raised his glass and elegantly took a sip.
The crimson wine flowed over his tongue and down his throat. Reflected in the glass, those eyes full of laughter were stretched narrow and twisted, like a devil's.
(Truly, thank you, Ryougi Yutsuki… for giving a proper reason to break my toys.)
…
The blade slowly withdrew from the smooth abdon. Artemisia collapsed weakly to the ground like a puppet that had lost its fra, warm blood spreading continuously across the floor.
Holding the magical blade that was still dripping blood, Leonora stood there in a daze, as if her system had shut down.
Clearly, the woman before her had betrayed them for power and wealth, causing them to suffer endless tornt in a laboratory, and had now finally received punishnt. Yet Leonora felt no pleasure at all. The hatred filling her heart had not been released in the slightest.
On the contrary, when she saw Artemisia collapse from her chest, endless regret seeped into her limbs.
Why? Didn't I swear that I would never forgive her?
—I was right!
Didn't I decide long ago that if I ever got the chance, I would cut her into pieces?
—I succeeded!
Didn't I decide that I absolutely had to save everyone from her hands?
—We have to save them!
"Ah… ugh… aaaaaaaaah!!"
A bizarre contradiction tore through her mind, and an explosive, intense pain made Leonora clutch her head with both hands, fall to her knees, and tremble continuously.
"What, did she finally break? Move aside, you're in the way."
Kicking Leonora aside like trash, Minerva looked at Artemisia lying in a pool of blood, and a mocking smile involuntarily leaked from the corner of her mouth.
"Pfft—hahahahahaha! Ahahahahahaha! Hahahahahahaha!"
Wild laughter echoed through the shelter. Ominous black light rose like flas, and also spread from her armor like blooming roses, gradually covering Minerva's body.
However, Minerva seed completely unaware of her own abnormal state and laughed excitedly.
"See? That's why I said you were too naive! Artemisia, you possess such trendous power, yet you always hesitate when doing things. If you had killed all of us from the very beginning, this wouldn't have happened! As an admirer of Artemisia, you've disappointed so much!"
Raising her blade above her head, imagining that she was about to end the other party's life, a faint blush appeared on Minerva's face.
"Go on, don't worry. After you die, I will replace you and beco the true Artemisia… Hm?"
Just as Minerva prepared to finish her off, an impact ca from outside her Territory barrier. Minerva turned around and saw that Kusakabe Ryouko had appeared behind her at so point.
Having such a rare good mont interrupted made Minerva frown in displeasure.
"What a surprise… I thought small fry like you had already run off cleanly."
"When a colleague is in danger, how could I run away alone?"
Holding the magical blade that had been blocked outside, Ryouko looked at the unmoving Minerva and answered with a grave expression.
"Hmph! Seeking your own death."
Minerva snorted coldly, turned, and launched an attack at Ryouko.
So heavy!
While dodging and dealing with Minerva's assault, Ryouko was secretly shocked.
When she had only been watching from the side, she still lacked a real sense of it. But after actually exchanging blows, Ryouko finally discovered that Minerva's magical power, Territory strength, and physical ability had all far exceeded her imagination. Each strike was as heavy as a speeding truck. For a mont, Ryouko even felt the helplessness she only experienced when facing a Spirit.
(Artemisia… was fighting a monster like this just now?)
Barely dodging Minerva's attacks, Ryouko inwardly groaned.
"Jabberwock."
After Minerva growled that, the wings on her back began to flash. Invisible electric arcs covered Ryouko like a fishing net. In an instant, Ryouko felt her Territory rapidly weaken, and her body lost its usual mobility, becoming incomparably heavy.
This was Jabberwock, an armant specially designed to target Wizards by interfering with others' Territories and stripping them of their combat ability.
Clearly, Minerva had no intention of letting Ryouko go. Her foot struck Ryouko hard in the waist. Ryouko vaguely felt a crack from her body, and she was sent flying uncontrollably. Only after leaving a long sliding groove in the ground did she finally stop.
"Honestly, if it were Executive Chief Ellen or Artemisia, that would be one thing. But a Wizard of your level thinks she can beat with a mass-produced Realizer?"
Looking at Ryouko fallen on the ground, Minerva spoke with disdain.
"Cough… The fact that you don't understand that… proves you can never beco Artemisia."
Ryouko spat out blood. Although she looked extrely battered, she still refused to back down verbally and mocked her.
"What!?"
For so reason, the instant she heard those words, Minerva widened her eyes like a vicious dog whose tail had been stepped on.
"What you admire… is only Artemisia's power. Aside from that, you sneer at her character and personality. So what can you beco? Don't make laugh. So what if you have the sa power? The mont you use such lowly thods, you are destined to never beco Artemisia."
"…Tch! I thought you were going to say sothing aningful, but it's just more nonsense!"
Although she said that, the gritted-teeth expression on Minerva's face suggested that Ryouko had unexpectedly hit a sore spot.
"If those are your final words, then die."
(Is this the end?)
After finishing her last bit of sharp tongued defiance, Ryouko looked at the laser blade swinging down toward her and closed her eyes with a bitter smile.
(I should've listened to my mother back then, gone to those arranged etings, and found a man to marry.)
However, the expected sharp pain did not arrive. Ryouko only felt the floor suddenly vanish, and her whole body fell downward.
After that, Minerva's surprised cry ca from far away, and in the next mont, she seed to fall into a soft embrace.
"Hmm… That was close. It seems Muku arrived just in ti."
An unfamiliar voice ca. Ryouko opened her eyes and found herself being held in the arms of a blonde girl with long braided hair, about the size of a middle school student. The girl had moved her several dozen ters away from Minerva.
"You are…"
Looking at the girl who had suddenly saved her, Ryouko could not help feeling confused.
"No need to ask much. Rest well."
"Who are you?!"
Minerva looked at the blonde girl in confusion. In that instant just now, she had only seen a strange rift swallow Ryouko one step before she could strike. Then, before Minerva could react, this girl had appeared here without anyone noticing.
"Hm? That is Muku's question. Are you human? Or are you a Spirit?"
Instead of answering Minerva's question, the girl tilted her head and asked back in an extrely innocent tone.
"You resemble a human, yet carry the power of a Spirit. From Muku's point of view, that seems very ominous. But Muku is not as Muku once was, and will not judge carelessly based on appearances."
"Spirit power… What are you talking about?"
Hearing the blonde girl's words, Minerva froze.
Thinking that her explanation had not been sufficient, the blonde girl added,
"Hmmm. In short, Muku was entrusted by a certain person to save soone nad Ar-sothing. But that woman fell unconscious before telling Muku the details. Muku could only rescue people underground while confirming along the way, and finally arrived here."
After saying that, the blonde girl gently set Ryouko down. She looked around, and her gaze toward Minerva beca sowhat unfriendly.
"Muku asks again. Are you a good person? Or are you an evil person?"
"…"
Minerva watched the blonde girl warily. Although the other party's words sounded rather confusing, she could still barely understand that the girl was Artemisia's helper.
Honestly, although she was furious, Minerva did not particularly want to fight the girl before her. Her intuition, cultivated through years of battle, gave her a faint feeling.
—What are you afraid of?
At that mont, the black spirit power had spread from her armor across Minerva's entire body. As if so demonic laughter were whispering beside her ear, it tempted her thoughts inside her mind.
—Haven't you already obtained power? Even that arrogant Artemisia has already been defeated by you. You have already beco the person you wanted to beco. There is nothing here that can threaten you. Just do whatever you want to your heart's content.
The pitch black flas danced and leapt. The caution in Minerva's eyes was replaced by killing intent.
"Hmph! What does it have to do with you? Anyone who gets in my way, no matter who they are, I'll—"
"Michael."
Just as Minerva spoke her threat, the girl in front of her suddenly opened her mouth. Yet her voice ca from behind like a ghost. In an instant, an unprecedented chill spread across Minerva's back.
(Jabberwock! Disconnect!)
The chanical sound of connection release rang out. Minerva abandoned the Jabberwock armant imdiately, throwing her entire body forward without hesitation.
Looking back, she saw an enormous tal lock erge from the void and insert itself into Jabberwock's wing.
"Segva—no… Lataib."
The lock twisted, and the wing wrapped in black light was shredded apart and scattered as if it had been placed into a paper shredder.
Seeing this scene, Minerva instantly felt as though cold water had been poured over her head. Thinking that if she had been one step slower, she might have suffered the sa fate, her face could not help turning pale.
"Rest assured. Muku does not wish to kill. Since you abandoned the weapon yourself, it spared Muku the trouble of directly destroying it through the labor of sealing."
The blonde girl spoke calmly. At so point, a key-like staff had appeared in her hand, and her clothes had transford into a glowing qipao and armor.
At the sa ti, the spirit power detectors on Ryouko and Minerva rang out alarms. Looking at that unimaginable value, Minerva's teeth could not help trembling.
"S-Spirit…"
Humanity's greatest enemy, an unavoidable disaster. Although Westcott had indeed ntioned a Spirit before the battle, because the orders had not included even a trace of combat related to Spirits, Minerva had assud it was rely a convenient excuse for the operation.
She never dread that Westcott's words had been true.
"Yes. If Muku rembers correctly, you seem to call Muku...Zodiac?"
The blonde girl—Hoshimiya Mukuro—nodded and took a step forward.
Zodiac?
Ryouko held her breath in shock. After this Spirit had been discovered and registered in space, she had only manifested once in Tengu City before vanishing. But in that single record, she had fought Inverse Princess and ended in a draw.
"D-don't co closer!"
Seeing Mukuro approach, Minerva shouted in terror as if she had seen so brutal monster, firing continuously at Mukuro with her magical gun.
Using a barrier to block the shots, Mukuro frowned unhappily.
"What nonsense. There are many injured here. What will you do if your attacks accidentally hit them?"
After saying that, Mukuro once again waved Michael. A lock ignored the distance of space and stabbed into Minerva's firearm. In the next mont, the magical cannon that had been constantly spewing flas went silent.
Cold sweat covered Minerva's entire body. Seeing Mukuro easily neutralize her attacks with every casual movent, Minerva felt like a child whose toys had been taken away by an adult, utterly unable to fight back.
"You're kidding! How could anyone beat sothing like this?!"
Completely lacking her previous arrogance and madness, Minerva threw away the useless magical gun and fled toward the shelter exit.
"…Alice…"
At that mont, a transparent wall blocked Minerva's path. The strengthened resistance ford an indestructible fortress wall, preventing her from advancing even a little.
Minerva widened her eyes in disbelief. The Wizard who should have been lying in a pool of blood had stood up at so point and was blocking her path.
"…Where do you think… you're going?"
Supporting her swaying body, Artemisia stared at Minerva with calm, stern eyes and questioned her in a low voice.
"Didn't you want to replace …? In that case, at a ti like this, you are not allowed to run."
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