Time rewinds to about two minutes ago.
Inside the cave, when Rei arrived, the first thing she saw was Black Saber being thrown with tremendous force by Hinako, his entire body slammed against the wall.
It was a fatal wound.
Rei could tell. She suspected that Saber had been defeated by Hinako's suicide attack. After all, there were now several large holes in Hinako's body—Rei could even see through to the other side.
"Your fighting style is truly reckless, Miss Hinako."
Picking up clothing that, for some reason, remained intact on the ground, Rei handed it to Hinako. "Even if you can't die, won't this method leave hidden problems in your body?"
"Then I'll just blow up this body and rebuild a new one."
Hinako said casually. After taking her clothes and putting them back on, she glanced at the thrown Black Saber. "Now this Singularity should be over. I've destroyed his entire heart, chest, and spiritual core. What should we do next?"
"That depends on what the Master desires. I came early only to handle Fujimaru's condition."
Rei knelt beside Fujimaru, who lay unconscious on the ground. "The level of curse on her is already very deep… Miss Hinako, the Master must have told you not to use that technique in front of others, right?"
"I only thought to finish it in one strike. And with Mash here, who would've thought she'd still be affected?"
"I'm very sorry, I couldn't protect Senpai…" Mash lowered her head in guilt. Being useless in the previous battle and failing to protect Fujimaru, who she was supposed to guard, it was natural for her to feel guilty now.
"Mash, you don't need to feel guilty." Rei gently stroked her head. "If anyone's to blame, it's Miss Hinako. Using a suicide technique without regard for others—what will you do later if you get married, a woman so reckless?"
"Ugh—! O-of course it's fine! The Master would… ugh…"
The Master would surely accept her as she was—Hinako wanted to say that, but as soon as she thought that her recklessness might drag the Master into unnecessary trouble, she felt deeply uncomfortable.
"I… I understand! I'll change and be more restrained from now on! I'll also sincerely apologize to the newcomer when she wakes up!"
"You must apologize sincerely—also, Mash, step aside a bit. I'll remove Fujimaru's curse now."
"Yes!"
Mash quickly moved to the side, afraid her presence might interfere with Rei's healing.
Placing both hands over Ritsuka's head, Rei's palms glowed with a soft blue light. Specks of light, like raindrops, fell onto Ritsuka. As the light rain descended, the red mist of blood surrounding Ritsuka rapidly faded, and the expression of pain on her face greatly diminished.
"Is this thanks to a water spirit?" Hinako watched the scene. "With this, not only is she healed, she probably won't ever get sick or cursed again in the future? Is this also the Master's wish?"
"No, I just thought it would be better. After all, Fujimaru is one of our two Masters. If something happened to her, we might face unforeseen problems and difficulties in the future—this could be considered a preventive measure."
"A very wasteful use of help."
Hinako scoffed.
The healing didn't last long—only about ten seconds. Rei withdrew her hands, and immediately, Ritsuka, who had been unconscious, slowly opened her eyes as if waking from a dream.
"Ugh… I'm…"
"Senpai!"
Seeing Ritsuka awake, Mash immediately rushed forward and hugged her tightly. "Thank goodness, Senpai, you're awake!"
"Eh eh eh? Mash? Why did you suddenly hug me?" Ritsuka was slightly confused. "Akuta-Senpai, Sajyou-san, what happened to me earlier? I just felt my head burning hot, and after that…"
"Nothing serious. You were just slightly affected by Miss Akuta's attack. I've already healed you."
Affected?
Ritsuka recalled the earlier situation, then quickly looked at Hinako. "Ah, right! Akuta-Senpai, are you alright?! I remember you immediately committed suicide! Wait… why is Akuta-Senpai still here? If Akuta-Senpai committed suicide, does that mean Akuta-Senpai is now a ghost?!"
"You're the ghost! I'm not dead! Just suicide—how could that possibly kill me?" Hinako glared angrily at her. "I won't explain the details now. Just know that I'm immortal."
"Besides, the newcomer is fine now—Rei, when will your Master arrive?"
"I think he'll be here soon—"
*BZZTTTT!*
A sudden vibration interrupted Rei's words. Accompanying the tremor, an even more terrifying wave of mana pressure—far heavier than when Black Saber appeared—suddenly descended into the cave!
Hinako and Mash's faces instantly froze. Ritsuka was even worse. The pressure from Black Saber had only slowed their movements, but this new, crushing pressure completely froze all three in place.
Like being bound by thousand-pound chains, even Hinako—having lived long and seen countless strange things—now trembled under the immense pressure.
Rei was the only one unaffected, but even so, her heart was filled with shock.
[Be careful, my other self. This mana level… it's the same as Him we once tried to resurrect.]
Manaka warned in her mind. But even without saying it, Rei already knew this truth.
She looked up toward the massive platform. At some point, where it had been empty before, a figure now stood.
"You are…"
Struggling with all her strength to lift her head under the crushing mana pressure, Mash strained to look at the figure.
"Who… who are you?"
"Our enemy."
The one who answered wasn't the figure itself, but Rei standing beside her.
"Although this is too soon… Mash, Fujimaru, and Miss Akuta, remember this. The one appearing before us now is the enemy we must defeat in the future—the mastermind behind this incident."
Staring at the figure, Rei spoke his name—
"King of Magecraft, Solomon."