Chapter 35: War Of Change

Thap.

A heavy sound echoed across the stage, shattering the suffocating silence as Sawa’s leg gave out, her body collapsing onto the wooden floor.

Tohka didn’t have the luxury to turn and check the source of the sound. A bead of sweat trailed down her cheek, but she kept her sword raised, its edge unwaveringly pointed at the enemy.

Hovering in the air, slowly descending, the mage in the platinum CR unit—Ellen Mathers—was the complete opposite. A confident smirk tugged at her lips as she casually closed the distance between herself and Sawa.

Then—tap.

A soft sound marked Ellen’s landing, her feet touching the stage floor with effortless grace.

Tohka instinctively took a cautious step back.

"I was quite surprised when I heard about your escape with the help of Nightmare… Honestly, I was ready to go after you right then and there."

Ellen let out a small sigh, tilting her head slightly.

"But unfortunately, Ike saw something else in the situation and refused to let me intervene. Turns out, as always, his decision was wise after all."

Tap.

Ellen took a slow step forward.

Sawa flinched.

Her fingers trembled as they pressed against the wooden stage, barely supporting her weight as she dragged herself back, inch by inch. Her breath came in sharp, uneven gasps.

"A free spirit wandering around isn’t something we normally tolerate… but you—you were a special case."

Tap.

Another step.

Sawa’s shoulders jolted. Her legs scraped against the floor as she struggled to put even the smallest distance between them. Yet no matter how desperately she moved, Ellen’s presence loomed over her—inevitable.

"I don’t know your reasons, but you actually tried to mingle with humans. Got yourself a job, even went as far as creating a fake identity. What exactly were you planning with all that?"

Tohka took a quiet step to the side, shifting slightly out of Ellen’s path. Her grip tightened around her sword, eyes sharp, watching, waiting—for even the slightest shift in the air.

At that moment, she caught sight of Sawa at the edge of her vision.

"..."

The state she was in—the way her nails dug into the wooden boards right through the thick custom texture, the slight tremor in her legs as she tried, and failed, to stand—

Ellen let out a small, amused breath, as if she found the whole situation almost adorable.

"You know, I almost feel bad for you."

She took another step.

Sawa’s breath hitched.

"To think you actually believed we hadn’t considered the possibility of your escape..." Ellen chuckled softly, shaking her head. "How foolish."

She tilted her head slightly, eyes gleaming.

"It doesn’t matter where you run. It doesn’t matter how long you think you can hide. When the time comes—when we decide your little moment of freedom is over—then it’s over."

She smiled.

"And there is nothing you can do about it."

"YOU!"

"Hm?"

A sudden outburst broke the tension.

Ellen blinked, finally turning her gaze away from Sawa. Her expression remained unreadable as she tilted her head, almost as if confused as to why <Princess> had called out to her.

"You came here looking for me, right? Then what are you waiting for?!"

Tohka stood firm, sword raised, her stance unwavering. Her violet eyes burned with defiance as she glared at the woman before her.

For a brief moment, there was silence.

Then—Ellen smiled.

That same unreadable, confident smile.

"Yeah, you’re right. I only have business here with you today, Tohka Yatogami."

Ellen raised—pointed her saber toward Tohka, then gave Sawa a brief sidelong glance.

"Fortunately for you, your time in freedom isn’t over just yet. Enjoy it while you can—because once Ike gives the order..."

Her smirk widened.

"I’ll come for you. Even if I have to chase you to the ends of the world."

"!!"

And with that—Ellen lunged forward, and the battle began.

Silence.

No, not silence. A ringing. A deafening, all-consuming ringing.

It swallowed everything.

Her breath hitched—no, that wasn’t right. She was gasping, but there was no air. Her lungs burned, her skin was slick with sweat, her body trembled—except it didn’t.

She felt nothing.

No heat. No weight. No body.

Just that sound. That endless, piercing sound.

She knew this.

She had been here before.

Sawa tried to move. Darkness stretched around her, thick and endless, but her limbs didn’t respond. It was as if she didn’t have them at all.

Ah… right.

She was back.

A nightmare, she had thought. But no—this was real.

And strangely, she felt relief.

Relief, because the fear she had carried—the one she buried deep, the one she refused to name—was finally justified.

Because the fragile thing she clung to—that foolish, wavering hope—

Was gone.

Enduring the pain forever… that would have been easier. Far more merciful than living in fear of when it would strike again.

A second chance… a third… no matter how many she got, no matter what was offered—

It wouldn’t change anything.

This was her fate—

"HEY!"

"HA!!!"

A voice cut through the void.

The darkness shattered, replaced by a blinding light.

!!

Sawa gasped. Her chest tightened as the deafening ringing in her ears finally faded, breaking into scattered sounds—voices, movement, conversation.

Air.

It rushed into her lungs, too much, too fast—

"Haa—Haha…"

She looked around, her mind blank. For a moment, she forgot where she was, why she was here.

Then she saw her.

A girl standing before her, hands on her waist, letting out an annoyed huff.

And just like that—everything came rushing back.

"What was that, huh?"

"E-Eh?"

Sawa barely had time to gather her thoughts before the girl—Miku—leaned in, locking eyes with her. As if Sawa hadn’t just tried to cut her head off moments ago.

But Miku didn’t seem bothered by that. No, she was irritated by something else entirely.

"Don’t ‘Eh’ me. You can’t act all high and mighty and then end up like a scared kitten—especially after seeing her."

She scoffed, tilting her head away with an exaggerated huff.

"The strongest," Miku muttered mockingly. "That clown actually called herself that... wish it, bitch."

She scoffed, then started mumbling more to herself than to Sawa—not that Sawa was listening anymore.

Her focus was elsewhere.

She blinked as the haze in her mind cleared. Only now did she truly see it.

The emptiness around them.

The audience—gone.

The once-lively stage—silent.

And Tohka—nowhere to be seen.

Her breath hitched.

"W-Where is..."

She already knew the answer before she even finished the question. The memories were piecing themselves back together, but—

"Captured, obviously."

Miku’s voice was casual, like she was discussing the weather.

"For some reason, Tohka-san didn’t seem to be at full power. Looked kinda out of it, honestly."

She turned back to Sawa, giving her a long, appraising look.

"You would’ve done a way better job yourself… I really don’t get it."

She sighed, crossing her arms and glancing up toward the giant hole in the theater ceiling.

"I would’ve accepted losing to you if you’d just stayed all cool and mysterious, but…" She shot Sawa a sidelong glance. "Now that I look at you, all defeated and pathetic—ugh what that would make me!!"

She started pacing, still grumbling, as if arguing with herself more than anyone else.

But Sawa had long stopped paying attention.

Her mind was elsewhere—on the battlefield, on the wreckage left behind.

On the aftermath of everything.

Her fingers curled slightly against the ruined stage.

Tohka was gone… Someone else was about to experience what she had.

Another victim—

She swallowed. The dryness in her throat made it hard to breathe.

"Where did they take her?"

Miku paused mid-step, blinking.

"Hah? How should I know?" She scoffed, casually flipping her hair over. "It’s not like they sent me a damn letter."

Sawa’s lips parted, but no words came.

She tried again.

"But… you must have some idea. You were there too, you saw—"

"So you did."

"!!"

"Tch. You think I was paying attention?" She crossed her arms, rolling her eyes. "I was a bit occupied, you know? You did just try to kill me… literally."

Miku tilted her head slightly, eyeing Sawa with mild curiosity. "I guess there’s a similar reason why you were in that state back then."

Sawa exhaled sharply. She hadn’t even realized she’d been holding her breath.

That wasn’t the answer she wanted.

She tried to remember—tried to piece together what had happened, where Tohka had been, how things had ended.

But the memories were fractured, slipping through her fingers like sand.

And she had let them take her.

Her fault.

Her nails dug into her palms.

Miku sighed, breaking the silence. "What’s with you? You’re acting all weird."

Sawa didn’t respond...

Miku clicked her tongue, muttering as she kicked a stray piece of debris.

"Seriously, though. You should’ve been the one fighting her."

Sawa barely registered the words.

Until—

"You would’ve won easily. Even I could’ve handled her. You’re stronger than that."

Stronger…

Something cracked inside her.

Sawa’s eyes immediately snapped toward Miku, wide as if in shock.

Miku kept talking, unaware.

"With all the power you have, I’d laugh if someone tried to threaten me the way that woman did. They should be the ones scared of me. Ran after me to the ends of the world? Hmph. Don’t make me laugh. You’d be the one trapped with me, not the other way around."

Sawa’s breath caught.

In some way… Miku was right.

I… I am different now. I—I'm strong.

Not mentally—not in the ways that mattered.

But I had power now. Power I never had before.

Kurumi had helped me master it. She insisted on it.

I—I was—

Different.

"Ugh... I still have to find that man… there's still unfinished business with him."

An image surfaced in Miku’s mind. A back turned toward her—protecting her.

Her lips parted slightly, but she quickly shook the thought away, snapping her head up.

"Anyway, we should—"

Miku was mid-sentence when she turned back toward Sawa—only to be caught off guard.

"Eh—?"

Open hands reached for her. Before she could react, a firm embrace locked her in place.

"W-Wait, what—?!"

Miku stiffened, utterly confused, not able to break free.

"What’s with th—S-Sawa-chan?"

But Sawa didn’t answer.

Her face was hidden away behind the oversized bear costume head, silent.

How? How was I so unaware?

Was it the trauma? The years of torture? Had they clouded my vision so completely, leaving me unable to see beyond mere survival?

She didn’t know.

But she admitted it now—she had ignored the simple answer all along.

Fighting back.

A solution that had always been there, whispered by the logical part of herself.

Yet she had refused to listen.

She had convinced herself that hiding was better. That as long as she kept running, she was free.

But that was a lie.

It was never about anyone else.

It was her fault, made by her own hands.

In her past life, she had been foolish.

Not because she was kind—no, but because she had only followed the empty ideal of what a good person should be. Someone who always said yes. Someone who endured.

She was never truly kind.

And now, in this life, she had been given a second chance and the strength to make something of it.

She had everything she needed.

And she had wasted it.

...

But that ended here...

This time, it’s up to me.

To turn everything around.

Even if fear took the best of me… I have to take the best of it, too.

I have to fix myself.

Sawa exhaled, steadying herself.

Then, softly—

"Thank you."

And just like that, she let go.

She turned, walking away before leaping into the air through the hole in the wall—vanishing into the horizon.

Miku stood there, frozen.

Still stunned.

…

She didn’t snap out of it—

Until a sudden nosebleed broke the silence.

"Eh?"

"Unh… Aah… Koff-koff!"

Shido staggered forward, nearly tripping over a loose can on the floor. His chest ached, his body sore from the impact of being thrown—no, saved—by Tohka.

Even with the healing ability from Camael, recovering from the pain took longer than he expected.

Damn… she really threw me far.

A dying fluorescent light flickered weakly overhead, casting uneven shadows across the narrow aisles of the convenience store. He took a deep breath, searching for a spot to rest.

Outside, shadows shifted.

Dozens of them.

Shido peered through the dust-covered window. A sea of vacant eyes. Lifeless expressions. Bodies pressed against the glass, fingers dragging across the surface in eerie unison.

The brainwashed—Miku’s puppets.

They were everywhere.

His only saving grace was getting inside before they could overwhelm him. He had blocked all entry points with a stockroom rack, wedging it against the door. It wouldn’t hold forever, but for now, it was his best chance until he could think of something.

The store wasn’t big, but the shelves lined with car parts—engine oil, wipers, filters—made it feel strangely open, too spacious for comfort.

And outside…

The way they gathered.

The way their empty gazes fixated on the store.

It felt like something out of a post-apocalyptic nightmare.

Shido swallowed hard, gripping the edge of a nearby counter.

How did it come to this?

A few hours ago, the festival lights had glowed warmly around him. The sound of laughter, the lively energy of the crowd—it felt so distant now.

And now…

Tohka was gone.

His stomach twisted.

She had been right there.

She had saved him—thrown him to safety without hesitation.

And he—

He couldn’t do anything for her.

His fingers curled into fists.

"Tohka…"

She was strong.

But even so—

What was that sound?!

Shido flinched.

A sharp crack split through the tense air.

His breath hitched as he turned toward the door. It wasn’t just rattling anymore—it was being forced inward. The metal hinges groaned, the frame buckling under the pressure. This wasn’t a simple attempt to break in—the door was about to come off entirely.

A bead of sweat trailed down his jaw.

This is bad…

His fingers clenched as he braced himself. Whatever number of them came through that door, he had to be ready—had to do something. But just as he steadied his breath, another sound erupted.

!!

A deep, deafening jolt.

The entire building shook.

Shido barely had time to react before the floor trembled violently beneath him. His legs gave out, sending him crashing onto his back with a painful thud.

“Agh—W-What the hell—?!”

He scrambled up as quickly as he had fallen, heart hammering in his chest. The shaking had stopped—

But something was wrong.

He ran toward the window, pressing his palm against the cool glass.

—!!

His breath caught.

The cityscape outside—buildings, streetlights, everything—was moving.

No. That wasn’t right.

The ground itself wasn’t shifting. The buildings weren’t tilting or crumbling. Instead, they were stretching—elongating as if being pulled downward…

Then, it hit him just as his eyes shifted downward.

The outside world wasn’t the one that was moving.

They were.

The entire building was floating into the sky.

“What the…”

His mind reeled as he tried to grasp what was happening. But one thing was certain—he was no longer within reach of Miku’s slaves. A small relief, though it came with another concern.

What if this thing suddenly fell?

Seconds passed, but the building remained steady. It wasn’t just drifting aimlessly—it was moving.

Heading toward a specific destination.

His eyes followed its path until they locked onto a distant structure—a multi-story building, abandoned and still under construction. It loomed against the skyline like a hollow shell.

Not long after, a soft thud reverberated through the floor.

They had arrived.

The floating convenient store had been placed gently onto the rooftop of the distant structure—a massive, open space, almost half the size of a football field.

Shido didn’t have time to figure out how or why. The urgency of the moment was overwhelming. He turned, his eyes darting to the door, but the barriers that had once blocked it now seemed irrelevant. There was no time to remove them.

Without hesitation, Shido turned and slammed his elbow into the window. Glass shattered, shards scattering as he climbed through, stepping onto the unfamiliar rooftop.

"Okay… slowly… ouch! Come on…"

Shido gritted his teeth as he stepped out onto the rooftop, scratching the back of his head as his gaze swept across the open space—

...

Before coming to a sudden stop as they land on something....The last thing he expected....

At the center of the rooftop stood a massive structure above him.

A plant.

“Oh, shit…”

His eyes slowly traveled upward.

It wasn't just a small one—but a giant multi-tendril structure, its thick, writhing vines stretching far below the skyscraper. He followed their path with his gaze, tracing their descent past the rooftop, past the floors beneath, down to the empty space where the store was supposed to be.

At least miles of coiling tendrils, twisting and extending into the distance—like a living bridge between where he stood and where he had been moments ago.

“…Eh?”

As if responding to his confusion, the tendrils stirred.

Then, slowly, they waved at him.

Not in aggression. Not in warning. Just a slow, casual motion—like a friendly greeting.

Shido hesitated. His brain screamed at him that this wasn’t normal, but… after everything that had happened today, maybe this was normal now.

Cautiously, he lifted a hand and waved back.

That’s new…

Before he could process any of it, one of the tendrils twitched, then lifted—pointing behind him before retreating.

Shido stiffened.

Slowly, he turned.

At the rooftop entrance, a figure stood motionless.

A person.

Dressed in a bear costume.

Two eyes stared through the costume’s head, locked onto him with clear intent.