At first, Minerva hated Artemisia very much.
Weak, naive, indecisive. Basically every flaw one might expect from a sheltered young lady could be found in Artemisia. There were even rumors in the unit that Artemisia was a useless rich girl who had joined through connections.
The fact that soone like that stood above her made Minerva deeply unconvinced for a ti.
And so, Minerva challenged Artemisia. But Artemisia always refused with all sorts of excuses. In anger, Minerva vented her dissatisfaction on Artemisia's companions.
And on that occasion, Artemisia drew her sword.
With a single strike, Minerva lost. That slash, powerful enough to cleave through rock and destroy stone, left a faint scar over her right eye.
Just like that, the humiliation of defeat beca jealousy toward talent. Then, fernted by ti, it brewed into a twisted possessiveness.
…
"A barrier?"
Looking at the Territory enclosing the two of them, Mukuro tilted her head and raised her Angel toward the protective field.
Although this Territory had sowhat special strength, undoing it was not difficult for the conceptual level Angel Michael.
"Stop… Spirit."
As if sensing Mukuro's intention, Artemisia spoke to stop her.
"This is… a problem I want to settle with my own hands… Please don't interfere."
Hearing that, Mukuro frowned in dissatisfaction. Although she did not know Artemisia's intention, seeing her insist, Mukuro did not continue interfering.
Turning her gaze toward Minerva, Artemisia took a light breath, straightened her blood-covered body, and raised her sword above her head.
Seeing that familiar scene, an unknown fear suddenly surged into Minerva's heart.
"This is—kuh!"
Suddenly, Minerva felt a sharp pain on her face. At so point, a long, thin cut had appeared over her right eye.
Territory was a product constructed from a Wizard's imagination. The more concrete the imagination in the brain, the denser the Territory beca. But an overly powerful Territory could also reflect injuries that did not actually exist back onto the Wizard.
Ellen Mathers had once suffered near fatal injuries when she received mories of another tiline from Beelzebub.
Originally, this was sothing that would only happen under extrely low probability circumstances. But unfortunately, a Territory exceeding a certain threshold, an unstable ntal state, a deeply engraved mory, and a realistic sensation that surpassed reality—Minerva had coincidentally gathered all those conditions and rembered that forgotten wound.
"Damn it! What is this wound?! What did you do, Artemisia?!"
Pressing a hand to her wound, Minerva looked panicked.
Ignoring Minerva's shout, Artemisia maintained her stance and stepped forward. As if pressured by her presence, Minerva unconsciously took a step back.
"Minerva… Spirits are strong. Strong beyond reason… So being afraid and running away… is nothing shaful."
Artemisia spoke in a weak yet clear voice.
"But… I will not run. Behind , there are friends precious to , people I must protect, and the world I love… If anyone wants to destroy all that, no matter how strong the opponent is… I will never take a single step back."
Artemisia took another step forward, her voice firm and certain, without arrogance or conceit.
"So… if you want to replace … then at a ti like this, you are not allowed to run."
Minerva could not help taking another step back, only to feel her back touch a hard wall. Without realizing it, she had already retreated to the edge of Alice's coverage.
In an instant, sha and anger surged into Minerva's heart.
(What are you afraid of?! She's just soone half dead!)
Another voice sounded in her heart. Only then did Minerva react. Right now, Artemisia was already at the end of her strength. anwhile, aside from Jabberwock being destroyed, Minerva herself was almost unhard. Since she had been able to fight Artemisia evenly just now, it was even more impossible for her to lose now.
"Aaaaaaaaaah!"
Minerva gritted her teeth and tightly gripped her magical sword, pushing the magical power and spirit power in her Realizer to the limit. Then she suddenly charged into Artemisia's chest, intending to cut her in half at the waist.
However, just as she thought she had succeeded, Artemisia's figure suddenly vanished from her sight.
Imdiately after, there was only the sound of wind. Minerva suddenly felt the weight of the magical sword in her hand decrease by more than half.
Before she could understand the situation, more sounds of wind followed one after another.
Legs, arms, waist, chest, shoulders, head—sharp slashes skimd across her armor like dragonflies touching water, and the weight on her body continued disappearing. In that instant, Minerva felt as if she had beco a leaf drifting inside a tornado.
She understood very clearly that if any one of those slashes had landed on her flesh, it would have been enough to cut her to pieces.
Very soon, the wind stopped. The CR-Unit had turned into scattered tal fragnts across the ground. Only Minerva, wearing a wiring suit, remained kneeling on the floor, looking blankly and fearfully at the ground around her, which had been split apart in every direction.
In less than a few breaths, it felt as though she had wandered before the gates of hell for a very long ti.
Clang!
With a heavy sound, Lancelot stabbed into the cracked floor. Artemisia used the hilt of her sword to support her body and panted heavily.
"Now… you are not a Spirit… nor are you a Wizard… You are just an ordinary person… This is not a place where you belong. Now… get lost!!"
Frightened by Artemisia's final roar, Minerva completely lost her confidence and scrambled away from the area.
After Minerva disappeared, Artemisia seed to have all the strength drained from her body, and she uncontrollably fell backward.
Just as she was about to hit the ground, soone suddenly supported her back. Artemisia barely raised her head and saw that the Spirit nad Mukuro had co to her side.
"How are your wounds?"
"Terrible… But I used Territory to stop the bleeding, so I won't die for now."
Artemisia smiled bitterly, then her expression changed, and she said anxiously,
"Right! How is Leonora?! And Ryouko and the other Wizards! We need to hurry and—hiss!"
In her haste, she accidentally pulled at her wound, and the intense pain made Artemisia sharply inhale.
"Hmm. No need to worry. While you were fighting, Muku already brought the others to a safe place."
"I see… Thank goodness."
Hearing that, Artemisia slowly let out a breath of relief. Then she looked at the sword stuck in the ground and hesitated slightly before speaking.
"…You aren't going to ask anything?"
"What does Muku need to ask?"
Mukuro asked in confusion.
"Why I didn't kill Minerva… or why I let her escape…"
"It is fine. Muku had no intention of taking lives in the first place. Besides, if she still intends to do evil, soone else will deal with her."
Mukuro shook her head unconcernedly, then asked in return,
"Or did you want Muku to ask?"
"Haha… maybe."
Artemisia smiled bitterly, then closed her mouth. Her face carried a pained expression.
"I seem to… have lost mories. I forgot many people and many things. My friends… also seem to have been tampered with and made to forget ."
Hearing that, Mukuro could not help freezing.
"I see… and then?"
"I… It isn't that I didn't want to kill her. I was just afraid… What if she was also brainwashed and beca like that? What if she was once my friend, just like Leonora? What if this is another trap set by Westcott…? I'm afraid that if I'm careless… I'll kill soone important with my own hands."
As she spoke, Artemisia's voice began trembling slightly. Only then did Mukuro understand that the woman before her was not as strong and fearless as she appeared. What seed overly kind and naive in the eyes of others actually ca more from doubt toward herself and fear.
(If Muku had not listened to nushi-sama and the others back then… would Muku also have caused such a terrible mistake?)
Mukuro could not help thinking.
…
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!! That bastard Artemisia! How dare she look down on like that!!"
In an empty underground tunnel, Minerva cursed while sprinting with all her strength. Yet because of the aftershock of surviving near death, tears kept falling from her eyes, making her look extrely strange.
She hated Artemisia. Hated her for clearly being able to let Minerva die beneath that sword. Hated her for humiliating her by showing rcy, forcing her to keep living like this, fleeing everywhere like a rat crossing the street.
(That Spirit will definitely co after ! I have to run! I can't stop!)
Minerva looked behind her. There was no one in the empty corridor, only the echo of her own footsteps. But she did not dare relax in the slightest. After seeing Mukuro's elusive thods, Minerva felt that no matter how far she ran, there was still an invisible scythe resting on her shoulder.
(Right! Hostages! That Spirit doesn't seem willing to see casualties! As long as I catch a citizen as a hostage, she definitely won't dare attack.)
After figuring that out, hope once again burned in Minerva's eyes, and she sped up toward the shelter on the other side of the passage.
However, in her panic, Minerva did not notice that the originally crisscrossing underground tunnels had most of their exits sealed off. They had beco a one-way path.
I'm here!
Seeing light coming from the end of the tunnel, Minerva's heart filled with wild joy.
However, when she stepped into the shelter, the scene before her left Minerva completely baffled.
Dazzling lights. Sweet singing.
Not far in front of her, a bluish purple haired girl wearing a gorgeous stage dress was singing and dancing happily to cheerful music.
Even stranger, the tens of thousands of citizens who should have been fleeing in panic from the Wizards pursuing them had ford circles around that girl. They waved their phones and glow sticks while cheering.
It was as if this place was not a shelter, but a stadium holding a huge concert.
Bathed in this space filled with joy, Minerva, was as if this place was not a shelter, but a stadium for a mont, thought she had crossed into another world.
"Miku!! Miku!! Miku!!!"
"Thank you all for your support! Then, before rescue arrives, let's do one more song—ara? Arara!"
Noticing Minerva's arrival, the girl's eyes lit up, and a sweet smile appeared on her face.
"Oh my, what a lovely young lady! Welco to my concert!"
Original Author's PS: Just adding this here. Although I didn't ntion it earlier, according to the character designs from the spin-off manga, Minerva is actually a tanned gyaru with a spicy figure.
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