Time for a little interlude. Let’s do a bit of time travelling. Which means let’s head back in time to before Gen Zero entered the battlefield.

(Backstage of the S.T.F.)

Rukimi and Ayuri arrived a few minutes late—hardly enough to matter by most standards, but still more than enough to qualify as fashionably late. The scene they were met with was, by Gen Zero standards, completely normal.

(Ryo, hiding behind a Karo barrier, holding a flamethrower.)
“It seems you two are 3 minutes and 46 seconds late.”
“Mind giving a thorough explanation as to why that is?”

(Ayuri grinned.)
He. He.

“If you want an explanation…”
“Then you gotta face us directly~”
“Can’t really answer you when you’re in that state, can we?”

(Ryo stepped out from behind the barrier.)
“Now, please elaborate on why you two are late.”

(Rukimi shot him a glare.)
“How about you elaborate on why there’s a tracker placed on my hoodie?”
“That also captures audio…”

“There is a 56.4% animosity level in your words.”
“With 43.6% ice-cold calmness.”
“It would seem I have less than 1% chance of survival.”

Rukimi only moved his hand slightly, yet that alone was enough to send the temperature in the room plummeting. In Ryo’s terms, it amounted to an exact 13.8℃ drop in temperature levels.

“Should’ve thought of that before placing it on me…”

Cough.
“Wait, please withhold your Fate.”
“I have clear, undeniable proof that it wasn’t my decision.”
“Sure, I may have constructed the device…”
“But only because Ayuri requested it.”

(Ryo gave Ayuri a quick glance.)

(Ayuri smirked in return.)

“It seems she’s already told you.”
“So, in a logical sense, 75% of the blame should go to her.”

(Rukimi took a step forward.)

(Ryo raised the flamethrower and glanced at the others.)
“My Fate tells me that any explanation I give will end with me freezing.”
“I require assistance.”

(Keigo smiled and gave Ryo a thumbs up.)
“Flamethrower!”

(Haru looked unimpressed.)
Hmph.
“You brought this on yourself…”

(Ichika gave a deadpan stare.)

That alone should have been a warning sign.

Poor Ryo—the supposed leader of Gen Zero—nine times out of ten, ends up getting dragged into total chaos.

Probably because, well… he does it to himself.

“Rukimi, my clones have observed that Ryo has also done other things behind your back.”
“Just a week ago, he hacked into your devices.”
“Discovered some things…”

(Ryo, in disbelief.)
“Well…”
“You see, it was for resea—”

Ice began to spread over Ryo in the middle of his sentence, climbing across him so quickly that the rest of his words were cut off before they could fully leave his mouth.

“Help.”

(Ichika appeared behind him.)
He. He.
“Good luck…”

(Ryo’s brain short-circuited.)

The others watched the scene unfold like a TV drama with hypothetical snacks.

(Ayuri casually, winked.)

“Tell me the details later, Ghosty.”

(Ichika, a tiny smirk.)
“With pleasure…”

(Keigo tilted his head like a confused puppy.)
“That explains the flamethrower request.”
“It had such a cool design too…”
“Right, Haru?”

(Haru rolled her eyes.)
“Yes, very cool, Keigo.”

“Yay!”
“Haru thinks it’s cool!”
“Thank you, my Gravity Queen!”

Fwooom!

A sudden surge of gravity crashed down on Keigo, slamming him straight into the floor.

“Worth it…”

“Stupid…”

Pause.

“Well, now you know what led to Ryo being oddly frozen.”
“If only he knew how to mind his own business.”
“As the saying goes—curiosity killed the cat.”
“And Ichika sure knows how to add oil to the fire.”
“Ironic, considering Rukimi uses ice.”

Unpause.