Saori refused to believe it.
She refused to believe that returning to Arius would leave them unharmed, refused to believe that surrendering to Trinity and Gehenna would let them escape Beatrice's retaliation, refused to believe that I could protect them.
I accepted this reality with regret. Of course, maybe I could comfort myself from another angle, telling myself that perhaps they just did not want to drag me into this?
But no matter what, they had rejected my goodwill and decided to continue resisting in their own way.
Because of that, the measures I would take would not change either.
"Keep them here."
I spoke coldly.
"Yes."
Azusa answered, then aggressively shouted, "Saori! The gift Sensei gave me! Give it back!"
Perhaps annoyed from hearing it over and over, Saori frowned and dodged a sniper shot from Mashiro to the side.
"If it's so precious to you, then don't just throw it around carelessly! If I picked it up, then it's mine! If you want it back, come and take it yourself! You know the rules, don't you!?"
"Okay."
Azusa nodded seriously. "Then I'll take it back myself right now."
Saori turned her head again and quickly said, "Princess, go first. I'll hold them off... hm?"
At that moment, the ground began to shake, like the pounding of violent drums.
This sudden change interrupted the battle that was about to begin.
"Hm? Don't tell me..."
Saori was startled. "Azusa! Did you set up this many bombs here beforehand!? You're going to detonate them while Sensei is here!?"
I was completely baffled, unable to understand how Saori had suddenly come up with such a ridiculous idea.
Atsuko also muttered to herself:
"...This movement, is it an earthquake... or has that ritual been completed...?"
She seemed to know some inside information. At the same time, though, I noticed something even more concerning.
[[Blue Archive] Theme 24 - Endless Carnival 'Binah Raid Battle[1]]
As the tremors gradually intensified, a mysterious symphony began echoing through the air. It sounded somewhat similar to the one from the Nameless Gods, yet also different.
This was... a premonition of a powerful enemy ahead.
So this authority could apparently be used like this too.
Wrapped in a warmth that enveloped both body and mind, I thought this while raising my guard to the utmost.
Very soon, within the ancient ruins beneath the old cathedral, the roaring sound seemed to climb toward some ultimate peak. Then, between us and Saori and Atsuko, the ground erupted with a deafening explosion.
A mechanical giant serpent smashed through the floor with its steel body. Just its head alone towered over ten meters high, and a single section of its body was already close to piercing the ceiling as it raised its head toward the sky and roared.
Then the serpent lowered its head and bellowed:
"EN-E-MIES OF CHR-IST!!!"
That appearance had once left an incredibly deep impression on me.
The Third Prophet of the Decagrammaton, Binah, which lurked deep within the deserts of Abydos.
So different Prophets each had their own exclusive BGM too?
After seeing it, I actually felt somewhat reassured.
First, Binah had once been easily suppressed by Mika. And as everyone knew, Mika and Saori were about evenly matched.
With the combat strength currently in our hands, even under the heavy pressure from the Sanctum Council, we could still repel Binah, or even multiple Prophets comparable to it.
Second, regardless of exactly how it had transferred itself from Abydos to Trinity's autonomous district, there was no way it could have accomplished that within the short period after the Eden Treaty was signed.
In other words, the Sanctum Council being influenced by the Nameless Gods really had nothing to do with me.
"That's right! That's right! This absolutely has to be Gematria's conspiracy!"
Arona shouted indignantly. She was probably trying to clear herself from responsibility for proposing the idea earlier, which I found a little amusing. No one would blame her for something like this in the first place.
In any case, the important thing now was holding out until reinforcements arrived... and also making sure Saori and Atsuko did not escape during the chaos.
However, when I used my authority, amid the noise, I heard this conversation from the other side of the enormous snake body blocking us apart.
"Saori-chan, what should we do?"
Atsuko asked.
"What do you mean what should we do? Since we already decided to run away, then obviously..."
"Don't you think this could also be a good opportunity to mend things with Sensei?"
How optimistic.
Did they really think things could be that simple?
I sneered inwardly, yet could not help listening more carefully. Even I did not know whether I was expecting something.
"...Princess, there is no room left for reconciliation anymore."
There seemed to be a trace of bitterness in Saori's words.
After all, she had once again made a choice that turned away from me.
Without even trying, she had already decided it was impossible. Truly hopeless.
At this point, Binah had already begun attacking. Under Azusa's protection, I retreated behind safe cover while simultaneously contacting students through communications to call for reinforcements.
"Sigh... I guess you're right."
Atsuko's tone carried a little regret.
"We'll never meet someone who treats us this well ever again, will we? But this is also the retribution we deserve, our predetermined fate..."
Exactly.
Idiots who submit to fate and only think about running when death is already at their doorstep deserved to spend the rest of their lives carrying that regret.
"So, Princess."
Saori said, "Go outside first and find Misaki and Hiyori. I'll join up with all of you very soon."
"Oh my, so Saori-chan can be this sly too. Why not call them down here instead?"
"Princess!? What are you sayi..."
"It's okay. Everyone will definitely..."
...Tch.
Before hearing the rest, I stopped using my authority. For some reason, my mood suddenly became irritated.
It had to be because the deafening roar kept going nonstop, making my ears ache.
Naturally, that was also why I stopped using the authority.
Now that I thought about it, Binah's head had already broken through to the surface, and the rest of its body did not even have enough room to move freely within this cramped space relative to its size, so why was there still this much noise...?
Suddenly, I realized a horrifying possibility.
Boom!
The next moment, another explosive crash similar to the one caused when Binah's head violently burst through the floor erupted only a dozen meters away from me.
Flying stones shot toward me like bullets, only to be diverted aside through Arona's efforts.
But immediately after that came a serpent tail as massive as a city wall, sweeping toward me.
Before I even had time to react, I suddenly felt my body become lighter, and the scenery before my eyes abruptly rose upward.
My next thought, however, was that I had not been hit by Binah at all, but had instead been saved by someone rushing in.
The one who carried me in a princess carry before leaping high into the air to evade Binah's sweeping tail was not any of the students I had expected.
She had disguised herself and concealed part of her appearance, but after a closer look, I recognized who she was and became even more shocked.
"Toki!?"
The blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl with the cool expression lowered her head to glance at me.
A completely unexpected ally had suddenly appeared.
[1] https://youtu.be/nGMOyS2QCzw?si=XsBIynhJcqmonHdL