Chapter 88: Even in such a world, our story continues.

Even in such a world, our story continues.

The yellow unit that had just sent Ambrosius flying—inside it, seven students all shouted at once.

"Hey!! We almost fell out of the sky, you know!?"

"My body literally floated in midair…!!"

"You looking to get dragged out of the cockpit, huh?"

"S-Sorry…!"

Each one protested in their own way.

"Now, now—everyone, calm down!!"

"Yose, there’s no need to defend her."

"There is, though!? She protected Azusa-chan, didn’t she!?"

"Well… that’s true enough."

At Yose’s words, everyone gradually settled down. One by one, they released their grip on the unit and dropped down to the ground.

"You guys…!!"

"Squad leader!?"

"Squad captain… we came to help…!"

The eight squad leaders of Arius Branch School—every single one of them—had come.

"Ugh…! S-Sorry, everyone!! I’m at my limit!"

"Huh—? Wah!?"

At the same time—

"Oww… ow ow ow…"

"Hey, Asiri!? A little warning would’ve been nice!"

"S-Sorry…! The oxygen level in the cockpit was hitting critical…!"

The unit’s chest opened, and three additional students, along with two motorcycle-like vehicles, were launched out.

"Come on, Koharu-chan, Asiri didn’t mean to cause trouble… Besides, there’s something more important right now, isn’t there?"

"Ugh… y-yeah, but still…!"

"We’ll buy you time with the squad leaders! In the meantime… please, take care of Azusa-chan!"

Even though all of them had fresh bumps on their heads, Azusa understood immediately. There was no mistaking them. She had longed—and feared—to see them again.

"……"

"…!"

Hifumi stopped rubbing her head and started walking toward Azusa. She looked utterly unconvinced that a gas mask and a hood could pass as a disguise.

Azusa tried to step back, but with her injuries, she couldn’t even move.

"Azusa-chan! We’ve come to get you!!"

"…!! W-Why…!?"

Those words—and the warmth that followed—wrapped completely around her trembling hands. A warmth she had longed for all this time.

"Azusa-chan, that disguise of yours is far too obvious. I bet Sensei noticed it right away."

"At least hide your wings, maybe…?"

Their teasing closed in from all sides, and before she knew it, she was completely surrounded by the members of the Supplementary Lessons Department. When she glanced toward Saori for help, all she received was a small, relieved smile.

"Azusa-chan. I’m angry with you."

"…!"

Of course she knew. She’d known all along. Even someone as gentle as Hifumi—Azusa might very well have killed her. Feeling anger or fear toward someone like that wasn’t strange at all. Azusa had been prepared for it. That’s why she’d made that choice.

"Why do you always try to go off alone before we even have a chance to talk?"

"…Huh?"

"You promised we’d hang out a lot, didn’t you? We’ve only managed to do one thing so far."

The words that followed were something Azusa could never have expected.

"Y-Yeah! I even bought a swimsuit for that, you know!"

"Hehe, it was adorable. Not seeing you wear it would’ve been such a huge waste."

Why were they talking about that now? She tried to ask, but all that came out was ragged breathing. Still, she managed to force out a hoarse voice.

"I-I… I didn’t mean to… Hifumi, I—"

"Azusa-chan. Look at me."

Oh—had she been looking down all this time? The thought came vaguely, but she couldn’t move. Hifumi’s hands gently cupped her cheeks, lifting her face.

"Do you see any injuries on me?"

"…"

"Not a scratch, right? Not even a little one."

It was a face Azusa had never seen before. Her gaze was drawn into those golden eyes, endless and deep.

"Do you know what I’m angry about?"

"B-Because… I betrayed you… turned my gun on everyone… maybe even tried to—"

She couldn’t say the rest. Saying it out loud would make it real.

"I’m not hurt, am I? I wouldn’t get angry over something like that. I believe you must’ve had your reasons."

"…"

"You really don’t get it, huh? Why I’m angry."

That struck home—and it hurt.

"I’m not angry at you, Azusa-chan. I’m angry at what you did."

"What I… did…?"

"Why did you just leave without saying anything!?"

Hifumi’s voice rose suddenly. But it wasn’t rage—it was raw, emotional, and full of warmth.

"We believe in you, Azusa-chan! But it’s the same for us as it is for you! If you don’t tell us anything, we can’t know what you’re feeling!"

"…!"

"That’s why we talk! That’s why we fight! That’s why we face each other, Azusa-chan!!"

Her words were far too kind. So painfully kind that Azusa felt she might melt away in them.

"Come closer—let us in! Tell us! What are you carrying, Azusa-chan? Why did you leave without a word!?"

"I… I just…"

Her lips trembled—and then, at last, the sobs broke free, carrying her true feelings with them.

"Everyone in Trinity… everyone in Arius… I love them all…! I didn’t know what to do…!"

"I see."

"But that was the only way I could think of…! Still, I was so scared you’d all hate me…!"

"We’d never hate you."

"But more than that…! I was terrified of hurting anyone…!"

"…"

Afraid of hurting others—those words made Hifumi pause for a moment.

"The next time, it might not stop at just pointing a gun…! Arius Branch School is dangerous—really dangerous…! I didn’t want to drag anyone into that! If that’s what it would take—if that’s what I’d become—!"

She hadn’t wanted to show this side of herself. This weak, fragile side. When had it started? Maybe the day the Squad found her. When Suou treated her wounds. When she met Asiri. When she joined the Supplementary Lessons Department. All of it had led to this.

"I… I was never meant to be with you all…"

"…!"

Right now, she was so weak. So powerless—and so capable of hurting those she cared for.

"Our worlds are different now… yours and mine, Hifumi…"

With broken wings, she could no longer fly.

"I’ve already made my choice…! I can only stay here…!"

She couldn’t say anything more. If she did, she would only end up hurting Hifumi further. Thinking that, Azusa rose to her feet.

"Thank you, Azusa-chan. For telling us how you feel."

And yet, Hifumi still said that. The strength in Azusa’s legs gave way like those of a poorly made puppet.

"You thought about us, worried about us… that’s why you tried to push us away, isn’t it?"

"…"

"But we’re the same way!"

"What…!?"

For a moment, Hifumi seemed to understand Azusa’s resolve—but that thought was swept aside as quickly as it appeared.

"We’re worried about you too, Azusa-chan!! We don’t want to see you get hurt!! So yes—it’s selfish of us!!"

"…!"

"So go ahead and drag us into it too!!"

It was such a selfish declaration. The kind that could shatter the decision Azusa had suffered so much to reach.

"If we’re friends, that’s normal! Friends face hardship together! We work hard so our efforts pay off! When things are tough, we comfort each other! We share the pain—and the joy! And at the end of it all, we laugh together!!"

And yet, for Azusa, those words were salvation itself.

"…!"

"Azusa-chan!! Please—live ‘together’ with us!!"

That warmth surrounded her completely.

"…Even so…! I can’t… not anymore…!"

Maybe that light was just too bright—she couldn’t open her eyes.

"Enough already!"

"…Koharu…"

"I’m not so soft that you need to worry about me! I-I mean, I am an elite member of the Justice Realization Committee, you know!?"

But the words reached her heart.

"If that’s how you feel, then you’d better protect us, Azusa-chan. Oh my, that means you’ll have to stay with us even more, doesn’t it?"

"Hanako…"

She could feel the warmth of their joined hands.

"Azusa-chan…"

"Hifumi…"

"When that time comes, let’s go to the Rescue Knights together, all right? We might get scolded… but we’ll face it together. If there’s trouble, we’ll handle it together. Because we’re friends."

"…! U… aaaah…!"

Her eyes, which she had tried to keep shut, were forced open again.

"You’re not ending this on your own… nothing’s over yet. It hasn’t even begun. Let’s start—together."

This time, she could clearly see the hand being offered to her.

"Our story—our youth—our Blue Archive."

"…Yeah…!"

She took that hand. And this time, strength welled up inside her from somewhere deep within.

"Hifumi… Koharu… Hanako… I’m sorry… and thank you…!"

"Of course."

"Naturally."

"Hmph."

Her body felt entirely different from before. She didn’t know where this energy was coming from, but it burned bright inside her weary frame.

"I… I want to save my sister…"

There was no need to think about it.

"Please, everyone… help me!"

"Of course! We’ll do it together!"

The students of Arius were here. The students of Trinity were here. Just knowing that was enough to fill her with courage again. Because Azusa was no longer alone.

"All right, you lot!! Let’s move!!"

"You don’t need to tell us! We’re not letting your sister die!!"

"Can’t imagine the squad captain going down that easily. Let’s give it everything we’ve got!"

The squad leaders called out to one another as if to psych themselves up. Normally, they were anything but cooperative—but this time, their purpose was perfectly aligned.

"We’re going to save our squad captain—our idiotic squad captain!!"

"Yako-chan, did you really have to call her an idiot…?"

To save Kirihana Suou—that was all that mattered.

But the enemy would not make it easy. Ambrosius, the same monster who had nearly taken Azusa out earlier, was not alone. Nearly ten of them had materialized one after another. On top of that, the number of lesser soldiers was steadily growing.

"That looks… really bad…"

Even so, they had no choice but to fight. Following that shared resolve, each one raised their weapon.

"Finally!! Took long enough, but this thing’s up and running!!"

At Mayumi’s loud, goofy yell, everyone froze mid-motion.

"...That’s reassuring, but will that machine even be of any use at this point? It looks like it’s already on its last legs."

"…Well, yeah, you’re probably right. It might already be at its limit."

Several of its main systems were damaged, and most of its armor plating had already peeled away. Even if it could still move, it was clear it wouldn’t be much help now.

"Not by itself."

Suddenly, the two remaining mechs approached Mayumi’s machine—three in total, centered around the red one.

"They’re seriously strong…!"

"I thought I’d done plenty of upgrades, but… I’ve still got a long way to go."

"That’s nothing new. We’ve all still got a lot to learn—but!"

In that instant, the three machines began to transform.

"Together, the three of us are unstoppable!"

With a loud mechanical roar, the units merged into a single colossal form.

"Transformation complete—Combine!"

Finally, the upper torso unit—Sayuri’s mech—opened a hatch at the top, revealing what looked like a small head.

"Fufufu… Ahahahahaha!! Behold! The culmination of my life, intellect, and budget—the ultimate monster machine, Super Kivotos Robo! There’s no way you grunts can stand against this! Now, let’s go, Sayuri! Asiri!"

"How many times do I have to tell you to drop that lame name!?"

"I have to agree—Mayumi, your naming sense is seriously questionable!"

The gigantic robot, painted in red, blue, and yellow, struck a dramatic pose—so sharp it practically made a “shwing!” sound—and flung an Ambrosius aside with a single hand.

---

Elsewhere — in the Old Cathedral.

"Kh… ngh…!"

Beatrice, no longer wearing her usual composed expression, clutched her solar plexus and groaned in pain. Even as an inhuman being, she still possessed organs—and no amount of bodily enhancement or transformation could nullify the damage done there.

"Heh… kuhuhuhu… You got me good, Kirihana Suou…"

Dark red blood, far deeper than the color of her flesh, dripped from her torn lips. Even breathing had become an act of pain.
And above all—

"That level of resistance was… unexpected."

The squad that had followed Suou—Sensei, the mysterious mechanical unit, the squad leaders, and even students from Trinity—had all gathered.

Good thing I accelerated the reinforcement of the Council of Saints, Beatrice thought bitterly as she spat out more blood.

"But once that’s complete, all of this will be meaningless."

At the head of the Justina Council of Saints stood the greatest of all saints—Barbara. Alongside her, the resurrected, powerful saints of ages past. Once their revival was complete, time itself would be on Beatrice’s side.
And then—

"With you as the sacrifice, the ritual will finally be complete… Kirihana Suou!"

Before her hung a young girl, impaled in a cruciform pose, her small body bleeding. The deviation in the plan—the failure of everything—all of it was her doing.

"You will pay for the damage you’ve caused… with your own life!"

It was nothing short of a miracle—a convergence of countless impossibilities.

Kirihana Suou had modified a Halo-destroying bomb. It was an outdated model, one that could at most destroy a single student’s Halo. A fragment of the Mask still clung to her, and she herself possessed an immense reservoir of mystical power. The Justina Council of Saints had detected the bomb just in time, minimizing the damage of the explosion—though Suou had been caught in it herself. That delay had allowed for emergency preservation. They had even succeeded in repurposing the Mask’s technology.

All of these miracles had piled up—
And because of them—

"To think you survived… what a delightful surprise."

Kirihana Suou was alive. Barely. Her condition was so fragile, she could have died from a single breath of wind.

"Madam, the ritual preparations are complete."

"I’m on my way."

Even so, she could be kept alive until the mystic extraction was finished. After all, she still bore a Halo—she was a student of ████. That alone made her valuable.

"Let us begin."

A fox had tried to sneak in but had already been captured. The teachers and others were being kept occupied. Everything was proceeding smoothly—without a single problem.

"This ritual is the key to my Ascension! To transcend the mortal and reach the sublime! To attain the realm that adults alone should reach! To lead this world—Kivotos, this grand laboratory—toward salvation!"

"…You should be honored, Kirihana Suou. Your small sacrifice will save this world… and lead me to the Sublime!"

Suou’s only clothing was the black inner suit she usually wore—similar to Atsuko’s. There was nothing left to protect her. Her weapons had been discarded, her gear stripped away and stored elsewhere. Nothing remained to obstruct the ritual.

"Now then... let the ritual begin!"

The light shining through the stained glass before her suddenly grew brighter. And what Beatrice saw then—

"Gh...!"

—was a black radiance, fractured and seething, like an eclipse… or perhaps like the iris of a human eye. It shimmered with grotesque, prismatic colors—an ominous, jet-black light.

---

My name’s Kirihana Suou. Just your average... well, kinda average...? Okay, if you round things up, I looked like a perfectly normal second-year high school student. Or at least I did—until I died just a moment ago.

It was a pretty dramatic death. Honestly, not bad, if I say so myself. It was dark, cold, suffocating... it hurt—really hurt. But now? Not so much.

I’ve got regrets—things I wanted to do, things I wanted to say. But still, I died. Or I should have. And yet somehow... my consciousness is still here.

"Man, talk about being hard to kill... Where even is this place?"

Pitch black. I can’t see a thing. Can’t hear a thing. Can’t feel a thing. And yet... I kind of know.

"Ahh... I get it. This must be that thing—what do they call it? The afterlife."

It’s pitch dark, so... yeah, probably Hell. Great. I even sent everyone a voice message saying I’d be waiting for them on the other side.

"So... what now?"

I could just sit here and wait, but maybe I’ll take a look around a bit, see wha—?

"—!"

That... that can’t be.

"No way. No way in hell. What kind of convenient hallucination am I having...?"

That hair color—I knew it. The mix of deep yellow and blue. I used to joke they looked like a traffic light. They smacked me for that one.

"Cyan!! Anna!!"

It’s a hallucination. I know it is. And yet—before I even realize it, my body’s already moving.

"Ugh...!"

With this smaller, weaker body, I throw my arms around them with everything I’ve got.

"I’m sorry...!! I’m so sorry!! I couldn’t protect you... I couldn’t save you!! It’s my fault you died!! I’m sorry for everything!!"

All that comes out of my mouth are apologies.

"It was me! I got careless! My planning was sloppy! Because of that, you two... you two died! It’s all my fault! I was stupid, clueless, weak—everything was my fault!!"

Neither of them say a word. Are they angry? Disappointed?

"B-but hey...! I didn’t just sit around after that, you know!? I worked hard—really hard!! I don’t know if you can see it, but listen! I might actually be able to save everyone this time...!!"

When I look up, Cyan and Anna seem to be talking about something. I can’t hear them, but Anna points at me and turns toward Cyan, pressing a hand to her forehead, looking totally exasperated. What’s that about? Why am I suddenly getting pissed off...?

"H-hey, come on, you two! It’s been ten years since we last met, can’t you at least—gah!?"

I try to complain, but Anna flicks my forehead—hard. And right after that, Cyan clocks me with a punch that sends me flying.
Even though I’m supposed to be dead, my body hurts like hell.

"Ow—! Wait, hold on—! Cyan! Anna!!"

My body’s thrown backward, further and further away.
I finally saw them again, and now this—
No, this can’t be happening...!

---

"A punch to the gut!? Seriously—wait, huh!?"

"Please... don’t start shouting out of nowhere."

...The scenery shifted again. Honestly, my head’s about to explode. But the fox ears in front of me—I know those anywhere.

"Yo, Kirihana Suou. Been a while, hasn’t it?"

"Seia...?"

"Indeed. And tell me—would you like some milk in your tea?"

I glance down. On the round table between us, there’s a teapot and an assortment of neatly arranged sweets. For some reason, the sight reminds me of what used to sit in front of Nagisa.

...So what I just saw earlier—was that all an illusion? Or maybe...

"Who can say? Just as paradise can’t be proven to exist, neither can the afterlife. And the same goes in reverse. Not even I can know for certain."

"You... saw it?"

"More accurately, I’d say I learned of it through you. But tell me—why did you stop speaking the way you used to? Your natural tone, that was the real you, wasn’t it? I rather liked it, actually."

"Yeah, yeah... you caught me."

Seia’s foresight—and her ability to glimpse the living world through dreams. With that kind of power, it’s no wonder she saw right through me.

"If you were having a pleasant dream... then let me apologize for interrupting it. But still—I wanted to speak with you one last time."

"Talk...?"

Seia, who usually stays a detached observer, wants to talk with me?

"Yes. Talk. Our duel was postponed, after all... so let’s talk instead. A hollow, meaningless conversation—just you and me, nothing more."

I glance down at the cup of tea she’s offering. The reflection on its surface wavers faintly, showing a face I’ve finally gotten used to seeing again.

"If it’s okay for me to drink, then I’ll have some."

"By all means."

I let out a small breath, relax my shoulders a little, and meet Seia’s eyes.