Chapter 43: Final Act End

"Homura-chan! Now!!"

"All targets—blah blah blah! ‘Morning Star,’ sixth shot!!"

At Sensei’s signal, a move that was supposed to be an absolute kill shot surged forward once again—no, for the fifth time—trailing a blazing arc as it rushed toward the Cleaner standing at the muzzle’s end. But the Cleaner had learned. After being struck by the same attack again and again, she had adapted. In the instant between firing and impact, she executed only the bare minimum evasive movement necessary. The bullets tore into her shifted armor and the mystical barrier coating it, carving deep gouges—but once again, they failed to deliver a fatal blow.

About ten minutes had passed since the last recorded engagement. The location was a corridor in the central section of the flying battleship—more accurately, a hangar. A space that connected directly to the deck, designed to house aircraft before they were launched skyward.

In other words, our destination was right in front of us. Beyond the mass of mechanical soldiers, real open sky—no steel, no walls—was already visible.

We had made it this far without losses, even after adding two informants who had severed their contracts with the former director to our fighting force.

Our stamina was nearly gone, and our remaining ammunition was dangerously low—but the goal was right there. Just a little more. This was the final sprint. Push through, and hope awaited.

But the same was true for our enemy.

Despite suffering damage far beyond what her self-repair functions could handle, the Cleaner refused to stop. The machine soldiers awakened by her call obeyed only their orders, advancing endlessly as long as they weren’t dealt lethal damage—rising again and again like the undead.

Their lifeless eyes flickered with something eerily close to obsession.

"Why is that thing still moving after taking all that!?"

"Tch! Komori, I’m out! Barrel’s fried too! Can you make more!?"

"I—I can’t…! I can make bullets if I have materials, but the gun itself needs space…!"

"Oi, Imo! Hand over your gun!"

"Huff… huff… Komori-tan’s soft skin is pressed against my back—wait, huh!? W-what are you saying!?"

Just like Sensei, who was issuing orders while being carried by a man in black, I too was riding piggyback on Imo while providing cover fire with my handgun. My arms were going numb, but I forced myself to keep going. …This might be the first time I’d ever fired this many shots in my life.

Our condition for victory was reaching the deck and rendezvousing with the rescue helicopter Kanna had called in. Their condition for victory was killing us and harvesting our Mystics.

If we escaped, the battleship would crash. Even if the Cleaner managed to flee and reach the Sanctum Tower, the “Theseus’ Ark” system wouldn’t activate—because the Mystic stored in the Benedictus System, the one belonging to a parallel version of me, had already turned into fear. Without sufficient Mystic energy, activation would be impossible.

The worst-case scenario would be avoided.

…Would it?

A person’s total amount of Mystic energy is generally fixed. Its nature doesn’t change either. So even if there are slight differences between worlds, the “me” in that world and the “me” here should possess roughly the same quantity and quality of Mystic power.

Which meant the other me likely had just as little Mystic power as I did. That was why I could be knocked unconscious by a single bullet—and why that version of me had lost an eye.

So then—no, in the first place, rewriting the world with the Mystic power of a single person should be impossible. Especially with an amount as low as mine.

No matter how much of a genius the other me was, it shouldn’t be possible.

Then…

"…Is it possible to activate it using someone else’s Mystic?"

That was the obvious conclusion.

If that was the case, then the Cleaner’s obsession with my Mystic wasn’t just loyalty to a fallen master. And if I escaped, and the airship went down with no way out left… then, desperate, she might start harvesting Mystic from random students instead—

N-no. Stop. Stop thinking about that. Focus. Surviving comes first.

"Kanna…!"

"What is it!?"

"Is that person… really already on the deck!?"

"Yes! According to the report, they should be there!!"

Amid the thunderous gunfire, we shouted at the top of our lungs. I quickly scanned the surroundings—and spotted it.

"Aru-sama!!"

"W-what!?"

"Over there…! Do you see it!? That pipe!"

"I see it! What about it!?"

"Shoot it! With everything you’ve got!"

Because it connected directly to the deck, the hangar was far more heavily reinforced than the corridors we’d passed through—there was no way something like a Goliath Tackle could break it. But there was one massive pipe left exposed.

I pointed it out to Aru-sama.

…If Kanna was right, and the rescue helicopter was already there—if this wasn’t one of those awful zombie-game scenarios where you had to survive until the helicopter arrived—

"Fine. Leave it to me!!!"

Then flipping the entire board was an option.

"—Huh?"

Explosion.

Aru-sama’s Hardboiled Shot—a sniper round designed to detonate—pierced the pipe, and the resulting explosion triggered a secondary blast far beyond expectations. A blinding flash. A shockwave powerful enough to rupture eardrums.

"W-whaaat!? I-Is this okay!?"

"Ah! Aru-chan did it again!"

"It’s not my fault! Komori told me to!"

"…Boss, blaming your employees for your own decisions isn’t very professional."

"Why you—!?"

What Aru-sama had pierced was the energy pipeline that served as the artery of this ship. According to the parallel-world memories I had read, it was likely filled with vast amounts of petroleum or some other highly flammable fuel—a vital lifeline without which the vessel could not function.

If something like that exploded, the resulting damage would far exceed the blast caused by the flying craft Aru and the others had arrived in. It would strike the already dying battleship with a final, devastating blow—one powerful enough to split the entire vessel in two midair.

Naturally, the moment the explosion occurred, the structure began to collapse—

"Sensei…!"

"—Everyone! Run for the deck, full speed!!"

The floor crumbled, the ceiling peeled away, and falling debris swallowed the machine soldiers that had been swarming forward like zombies.

The machines—now equipped with advanced AI implanted by my counterpart—shifted into evasive maneuvers, prioritizing self-preservation. Their attacks on us thinned out, opening a clear path forward.

"Run, run, run!!"

"Full speed ahead!"

"Hey, Komori!? This is really okay, right!? This is not my fault, right!?"

"…Just go!"

"Hey, wait—!"

We ran. And ran. And ran.

Bathed in blinding sunlight, my feet finally struck solid deck plating with a dull clang.

"Director! Over here!!"

Howling wind tore at us. Flames and smoke poured from the collapsing airship around us. And there—firmly anchored to the deck—was the rescue helicopter. The pilot, clearly incredibly skilled, had somehow stabilized it despite the chaos.

It resembled a CH-53 heavy transport helicopter, though unlike the ones made by certain game companies, this one looked like it actually wouldn’t crash.

"Hurry! Get on, quickly!"

"Sorry! Thank you!"

One by one, everyone boarded while fighting against the wind. I was carried in by Imo and grabbed onto an interior handhold.

As expected of a helicopter said to carry the equivalent of two full platoons.

Just as Kanna was about to board last—

A single gunshot rang out, fired from the hangar entrance, grazing past the helicopter.

『Target escape… prevention… executing…』

Dragging her ruined body across the deck, the Cleaner emerged.

She was barely recognizable—her body shattered, sparking, barely functional. It was unclear how she was even still moving. And yet, she advanced, forcing her failing frame onward in a desperate attempt to complete her mission.

『Orders… absolute… Cleaner… mission success rate… one hundred percent…』

What drove her this far?

Because she was a machine?

Because of her master’s command?

『Master’s… wish… this time… I will… fulfill…』

No.

『I must… meet… Master’s expectations…』

I leapt from the helicopter.

"Komori!?"

"Sorry…!"

"That’s it—we’re at our limit! Taking off!"

My legs moved on their own.

There was no fear. No hesitation.

On the collapsing deck, I ran toward her—and as her body finally began to give way, I caught her, holding her upright as she fell.

"Mas…ter…"

A cold body. A rigid texture. Flickering eyes devoid of emotion.

Everything about her clearly marked her as something inhuman—an object, a machine, a construct that simply followed the programming given to it.

I understood that.

And yet, it didn’t matter.

She had been my partner since the day I first became a “Cleaner.” My other half. A child I had created myself. My friend. My family.

That was why—after losing everything, even after being cast into another world—she still searched for her “Master.”

And that was why only I could answer her.

Even if she aimed a gun at me.
Even if my existence was denied.
Even if I threatened the world itself.
Even if a gun barrel was pointed straight at me right now.

The choice I had to make wasn’t rejection.

It was acceptance.

"...Welcome home, Rina."

That was what I thought as I spoke her name.

"…Ah…"

"…Ahh… Master… you were… here…"

"…Rina… has… come home…"

Rina sank into a deep sleep in my arms.

"...In a way, this really is a fitting end for me."

The burning airship groaned as it continued to collapse. The shaking grew more violent by the second. The rescue helicopter had already taken off—there was no longer any way for me to escape.

Dying here, cleaning up the consequences of my own actions… Even if they were committed in another world, when weighed together with all the sins I’d committed so far, it felt like an appropriate end.

…Sensei once said that he would shoulder his students’ mistakes.
Aru-sama said that if you mess up, then you just have to do something right afterward.
Everyone had forgiven me.

And yet… that only made it harder.

Because the truth was, the crimes I’d committed were mine alone. They weren’t Sensei’s burden to bear. A mistake, once made, can never truly be undone.

I’d always thought that one day, I’d atone properly.
And at the same time, I hated myself for wanting to keep living peacefully with everyone.

So maybe this was the right moment.

Saving the world, and disappearing along with the mistake I created.
A clean, beautiful ending—almost too perfect.

…But I know better.

"Like hell I’d allow an ending like that!!"

If even a small part of me still wanted to stay with all of you—then I knew you’d come for me. Every single time.

"Ah—ha, hahaha…!"

Grabbing onto the rope held by Sensei and the others, Aru-sama reached out her hand.

"You think I’d let the two of you disappear without even submitting your resignation!? I’m the boss here, and I’m not allowing it!"

I reached out for that hand—

──────────────────────

After that, daily life returned to something largely unremarkable.

There was the mysterious massive explosion near Red Winter that caused a huge hot spring to erupt, throwing one of Gehenna’s clubs into a frenzy.
There was the arrest of a wanted criminal who had once sat on the board of Kaiser Corporation.
And in the underworld, rumors spread that an “information broker” had vanished, only for a highly skilled new pair of mercenaries to appear around the same time.

Small things, here and there—but nothing that truly disrupted the flow of everyday life.

Sensei was buried in paperwork.
Kanna chased after cases with a cup of coffee in hand.
Problem Solver 68 struggled with constant financial trouble while continuing to take on jobs as usual.

Just another ordinary day.

"Komori! She went that way!"

"O-kay… I’ve got her tracked. Rina, share the terrain data with everyone."

『Understood, “Master.”』

One machine soldier.
Four girls.
And a shut-in watching it all unfold through a monitor.

Their everyday life continued on, unchanged.

And it surely would continue like this from now on as well.

『Komori Archive』 — fin