Above the ocean, Hyoubu was going straight toward the Catastrophe; after all, he couldn't have those bastards do anything to his crew while all the capable fighters were away.
"At least Yugiri doesn't know about any of this..."
While flying toward the Catastrophe at high speed, he suddenly saw a girl in front of him.
"I won't let you go back to that ship, Kyousuke."
But Hyoubu was completely unbothered by her words and was more interested in why she was here.
"Queen...! What are you doing here in the middle of the night?" he asked, looking around for the other two, but they were nowhere to be seen.
"And you say you won't let me go back to my ship?"
He was casually floating in the air with his hands in his pockets, staring straight at Kaoru with a mildly annoyed expression.
"Hah..."
Kaoru sighed; it looked like she'd have to tell the exact same story twice.
"The Catastrophe will sink; I've seen it in Babel's precognitive section. That's why please stop this and let Minamoto and the others do their jobs and protect you," She stated, with an unwavering look in her eyes.
"Protect... Just who are you speaking of with that 'protection,' Queen?"
"And a lot of my comrades are still on that ship. Are you saying I should desert them?"
Hyoubu now had a sharp look in his eyes; he needed to get to the Catastrophe ASAP, and even though she was the future queen right now, she was only wasting his time.
"That... Minamoto will definitely..."
"Definitely what?" Hyoubu countered.
"I'm sure that everyone in Babel will do something about them; please believe in them, Kyousuke!" the words tumbled out of Kaoru's mouth as teardrops started forming at the edge of her eyes.
"Fu... You believe in them, huh..."
But before he could finish his sentence, Hyoubu felt a sharp pain shoot through his abdomen.
"Guh!"
He exclaimed while he grasped his shirt, trying not to show Kaoru any of his suffering.
"Sorry, Kyousuke. But I'll stop you even if I have to use force!" she screamed while surrounding Hyoubu with psychic power to try and detain him.
While he was still tightly grasping his shirt, Hyoubu glared at her with a troubled expression.
"Kuh! How ironic, Kaoru, to espers you are our future queen, but no matter how much time has passed, you're just like a child: "Minamoto! Minamoto!"
At this point he was done, as faint memories flashed before his eyes of himself as a young boy standing in front of an adult officer who was affectionately patting his head.
"Why do normals continue to easily and parasitically disrupt the hearts of espers!"
After he said that, Kaoru felt her powers get pushed back by Hyoubu's, and as she tried to detain him once more, she suddenly saw Hyoubu grasp at the badge at his collar.
"Unlimited release!!" Hyoubu shouted, not caring about anything else anymore; he blew Kaoru's powers to smithereens and flung her away like it was nothing.
"Kuh! What power!" Kaoru said, raising her arms defensively as she tried to stop Hyoubu's overwhelming power, but it was no use.
Hyoubu raised his hand and grasped her tightly, and even though Kaoru was doing everything she could try to resist him, it was no use; without her teammates here or Minamoto, she was no match against Hyoubu at full power.
"I only want to protect everyone, but why don't you understand, Kyousukeeeee!"
"Hmph!"
***
While their confrontation was ongoing, Andy had quietly left all the other Pandra members and taken a bike that Sakaki had prepared ahead of time and was now speeding down the road while on the phone with the Usei troops.
"This is Andy Hinomiya; everything is going according to plan."
"After I enter Ihachigo's chamber, I'll contact you again. Please have all personnel on standby!"
"Understood," was all the person on the other side of the line said, but that was enough for Andy.
Taking a steep turn into the wilderness, he made his way toward the abandoned warehouse where the teleportation gate was that led back to the Catastrophe.
All his nerves stood on high alert; after all, if Hyoubu saw him, he would for sure get killed, but he had to have at least that much conviction to be able to complete his mission.
The sharp turn led him into the woods. After what felt like an eternity, he finally saw the warehouse with the doors still wide open, and the moment he entered, he jumped off his vehicle and threw his helmet on the ground as well.
"This is Hinomiya. I'll soon arrive at the Catastrophe as planned. Babel is currently stalling Hyoubu, and the children are doing the same for Senzo, but please have all personnel ready!!"
"Understood. Upon completing the recovery of Ihachigo, we will immediately neutralize the Catastrophe."
"..."
While Andy knew the plan, it was still not something he would have liked to happen, but he couldn't do anything about it anymore; this had to happen.
"The plan is in its final stage. We pray for its success."
Rushing through the teleportation device, Andy was now finally back on the Catastrophe, and he quickly made his way toward his destination while still being careful not to be discovered by anyone.
***
"Because that ship is going to sink, Minamoto is trying to stop you for your own sake!!"
Kaoru screamed; she was doing everything she could to try to stop Hyoubu, but the difference in power was just too much.
"Your power's impressive, Queen," Hyoubu casually said.
While Kaoru looked like she was overexerting herself just to match Hyoubu, he looked like he was taking it easy on her.
Bang! A massive explosion suddenly occurred between the two as their powers collided for the umpteenth time.
"Why don't you understand!? If only you would understand!!" Kaoru shouted.
"Sadly I'm a little busy tonight, so I'm sorry, but you'll have to let me fight without holding back!"
After Hyoubu declared that, he suddenly completely overwhelmed Kaoru's powers as he launched her straight into the wall of a massive skyscraper.
"!!"
Before Kaoru could brace herself or prepare for the crash, she crashed into the wall with full force.
"Ugh... Kugh."
As she was trying to regain her bearings to reengage Hyoubu, she gritted her teeth, but before she could do anything, Hyoubu had pointed his index finger straight at her.
And without giving her any time to do anything, he dragged her across the whole wall.
"Aaaaggghhhh!"
Kaoru screamed her lungs out, and at the end of the wall, Hyoubu finally let go of her and, with a melancholic expression, stared at the injured girl.
"Ugh, Ky-Kyosuke..."
Those were her final words before she lost consciousness.
"Hah."
With a sigh, Hyoubu teleported himself and Kaoru on top of the massive skyscraper and carefully placed Kaoru down there.
"Sweet dreams. It's time for kids to go to bed." He said while undoing his unlimited transformation.
But the moment he did, he could hardly stay standing. So much pain coursed through his whole body as he grasped his shirt once again.
"Time, please wait... just a little longer!"