"How could this..."
Misaki muttered, "There was still time..."
Hiyori said anxiously, "Th-the sun hasn't even risen yet..."
The reason was obvious.
Beatrice had always been a villain whose mouth was full of lies.
"What are you misunderstanding?"
Sure enough, she spread open her mouth, strands of flesh pulling at the corners, revealing a mouthful of ghastly white teeth.
"Did you really think I would wait until sunrise? No, the game is already over. The halo of the royal bloodline will soon be destroyed. And after that, through that mysterious fragment, I shall become a higher existence!"
The remaining time had become even more critical.
"Beatrice."
Holstering my newly restored sidearm, I spoke softly, while something cold and crystal clear took shape within my heart.
"Your rule, built upon conspiracy and lies, a rule whose very existence represents an error, I will destroy it in the most thorough way possible."
In other words, I would eliminate the very root of it all in the most literal, physical sense.
As if she had understood my intent, Beatrice let out a cold laugh.
"You still love making empty threats and speaking such outrageous nonsense. I've grown tired of it already. Then, let the curtain fall."
As her words faded, a large number of Justina Council soldiers, accompanied by a handful of Arius students, charged down the only remaining path toward us, glaring with hostile intent.
Among them, the one at the front stood out immediately.
She was noticeably larger than the ordinary Justina Council soldiers. Instead of their usual attire, she wore a one-piece skintight combat suit. She wielded a heavy machine gun in one hand and a grenade launcher in the other.
Most importantly, every inch of her radiated an overwhelming aura so extraordinary that even I could tell at a glance just how terrifying she was.
This was probably Beatrice's secret weapon.
"Go, Saint Barbara of Justina."
Beatrice said,
"Silence that arrogant, insolent Sensei, and those foolish, ignorant fools."
The special Justina Council soldier known as Saint Barbara emitted a sharp mechanical hum, as though acknowledging the command.
Then, Barbara led the Justina Council soldiers in an assault against us.
As though victory was already certain, or as though she had more important matters demanding her attention, Beatrice's projection vanished.
At this point, the situation could not have been clearer.
Break through the encirclement, reach Beatrice before the ritual was completed, and defeat her.
With the proof of the bond between Saori and me...
Although, personally, I still felt it was a little less than reliable, I decided to trust the card's judgment this once.
More than that, I chose to trust the version of myself who had decided to give Saori another chance.
But firm resolve did not mean everything would go according to plan.
Perhaps because both the problem before us and its solution were so simple, it only made the challenge that much harder.
Saint Barbara, wielding two heavy gatling guns, possessed firepower every bit as outrageous as her appearance suggested. She was practically an army all by herself.
Just grazing one of her shells caused the Shittim Chest's power to drop by several percent. Even Mika had to avoid confronting Barbara head-on.
At the same time, Barbara possessed astonishing mobility.
Combined with the support of the other Justina Council soldiers, although we successfully broke through their encirclement, we simply could not shake them off. All we could do was fight while retreating.
As for our pace...
If this continued, reaching the Sanctum before the final deadline and destroying the ritual would be nearly impossible.
Outwardly, I remained calm.
Inside, however, the weight pressing on my heart only grew heavier, and the urgency more intense.
Faced with an enemy that had been ordered to pursue us relentlessly, an enemy with virtually no weaknesses besides lacking intelligence, how were we supposed to escape this deadlock?
"...I'll draw that one away."
Suddenly, after temporarily forcing Barbara back and catching her breath, Mika volunteered.
Then she turned to the visibly surprised Saori.
"Saori... I think I understand a little now, why you wanted to save that girl. Because I'm the same... So... while I keep those guys occupied, go rescue Atsuko. Make sure you protect Sensei."
After a brief silence, I asked only one question.
"Will you be alright?"
Having our strongest fighter, Mika, lure away the relentlessly pursuing Justina Council soldiers was undoubtedly the safest and best option available.
But...
What about Mika herself?
How was she supposed to face so many powerful enemies all alone?
"Don't worry! I've told you so many times already, haven't I? I'm actually pretty strong."
Wearing her usual sweet smile, Mika patted her chest and gave me a playful wink.
"Besides, this is such a great chance to make Sensei see me in a whole new light. It'd be such a waste to miss it, wouldn't it?"
...Sigh.
There was another reason to forgive Mika.
I sighed quietly to myself.
Before I could even say the words "be extra careful," filled with helpless concern...
Amid the chaos of the battlefield, I suddenly heard a peculiar sound.
It seemed... strangely familiar.
Bzzzz...
It sounded almost like...
Some kind of weapon charging up, its energy about to reach full capacity.
The instant that thought crossed my mind, a deafening explosion erupted.
A sphere of condensed radiance, one I found strangely familiar, slammed directly into the recovering Barbara before detonating.
Its tremendous power rivaled even Mika's magic bullet, forcing Barbara to halt once more, even driving her backward.
Could it be...
Holding onto a mixture of surprise and hope, I turned toward the source of the beam cannon.
My pupils immediately contracted.
Every trace of joy was swallowed by shock.
Standing there was a slender, delicate-looking girl.
Someone who absolutely should not have appeared here at this moment.
Bearing the appearance of one of the people closest to me, yet wearing an expression of icy indifference almost every moment of every day.
She looked at me with those pinkish-purple eyes.
In a cold voice, she murmured, almost as if making an observation.
"So I've finally found you."
"Tendou Arisu?"
Saori froze for a moment before unexpected delight appeared on her face.
"You came at just the right time!"
No.
The mistake had already been made from the very beginning.
The one who had come...
...was Kei.
At that instant, my hands and feet turned cold.
Why was she here?
What was she trying to do?
And what had happened to Arisu?
While I remained utterly confused and on my highest guard, Kei merely cast Saori a cold glance and ignored her completely.
Then, the rogue AI who had once declared she would kill me simply raised the Sword of Light high.
She aimed it in my direction.
Then threw it.
I instinctively caught the ship cannon. It felt weightless in my hands, yet the tremendous force behind the throw nearly knocked me backward. Fortunately, Saori grabbed me just in time to keep me from falling.
"Arisu is waiting."
Still dazed, I heard Kei say,
"She is waiting for the Promised King to return safely. Why have you put yourself in such danger again? Don't you know that Arisu will worry about you?"