1

"I still can't believe it. Who knew that the both of you are real-life anime protagonists?!"

Nursing his arm, Shiki exclaimed excitedly. As he patted Kazuki's back, he looked at the sphere that glowed in rainbow colors above them. He took a deep breath and motioned to let the healing rain sink in. "Plus, we get the sweetest, prettiest bard that I've ever seen to support us! Go, Yuki-tan!"

That was enough to elicit a reaction from the singing girl, who gave a wink in between channeling her Armament's ability.

"I'm so gonna spread the word once we get out!"

"No. Please don't, for sanity's sakes. I've had enough for today."

"Aww, come on! It would be the coolest thing, I tell you. You'll be talk of the town, and you could be Mr. Popular for once. Don't you want something to shove into the face of that Ishida?"

"You're really not the type to think things over, huh?" sighed Amamiya.

"You only realized now?" responded Bloomenfled. "I've given up, honestly speaking."

"I can't believe I'm actually agreeing with you."

"Hey, who's the genius who overheard those bad guys talk about the areas marked with glyphs? If it weren't for me and my pro observation skills, we wouldn't have known the thing about these rooms and how the hands do not appear here." interrupted Shiki.

"A broken clock is correct twice a day, I suppose," coolly remarked Bloomenfled.

"She's right, you know," continued Amamiya. For a moment, there was silence, and the two girls looked at each other with a surprising look of mutual understanding.

"Is that chemistry I'm seeing from those two sworn enemies? New scoops for the blog when we get out of this place!"

Having received her dose of Kimura's healing powers, Misawa bounded back and inserted herself into the center of the conversation.

Meanwhile, Kazuki returned to deep thought. Despite the group successfully retreating to safety, there were still things that kept him uneasy.

No more readings of them. Good.

However, the two members of Euphoria were not the primary concern as of the moment. Up until now, he had not sensed the overpowering presence of a Nullity. With a Fragment of this caliber, the one responsible for this was no typical Nullity. Ishida alone couldn't have done this, could he?

"Hey, do you feel something?" asked Shiki.

"Feel what?" asked Amamiya.

Kazuki went to ask his friend about it, but he didn't need to when the rumbling sound turned into full-blown shaking. Like plates, the ground that they stood on shook as their feet slid out of control.

"Woah!" shouted Misawa as her drill hair bobbed along with the rhythm of the shaking.

"Eeek!" screeched Kimura.

Prismatic Reverb cut off immediately, and as Kazuki turned around, he opened his arms just in time to catch the girl with neon hair. Both of his hands held onto the girl firmly while they all braced for impact. A deep growl like nothing they have heard before echoed throughout the area, bouncing from one wall to another.

Finally, Kazuki felt it. When he became subject to Kimura's panting, he looked down to see her wide eyes and stunned expression.

"Kimura?"

She tightened her hold on him.

"W-what is that?! I feel like I'm being crushed. Is it the monster responsible for this whole mess?"

Kazuki quietly focused on the source of the powerful reading. He located the last remaining presences on the run. It was as if they also felt the earthquake and were reacting to it.

A jolt of surprise struck him when he focused on this surprisingly powerful presence. It shocked him, and upon pinpointing its location, he felt as if his mind was being overrun by a plethora of sensations.

There was no mistaking it. The Nullity that ruled over the place had finally shown itself. However, there was something more notable than the sheer power that it seemed to exude.

It was located somewhere far from where everyone else was. The whole time that he had been using that ability, he knew that none of the people even came close to the location of the Nullity.

It could be hiding in an unexplored section of the temple, but one other possibility remained.

"Could it be that this Fragment still keeps growing?"

He hurriedly set those thoughts aside when he heard the chorus of panicked screams from his schoolmates. He held Kimura's hand while thinking of a path to get close.

"Let's hurry and get out of here!" he commanded before pointing at a direction. "That way!"

It was a command that his schoolmates followed with no hesitation whatsoever.

2

Debris fell off the ceiling along with the swaying of the ground, and it forced a temporary pause for Guren Izaya and his opponent. Both he and Sadohara turned to face the direction where a new, powerful reading had appeared.

"It's finally here."

He slowly backed off before quickening his pace towards said direction.

"You're not going anywhere!"

Hearing Sadohara's voice, he spun around to dodge a thrust headed his way. He swung his rapier in retaliation, but it only whisked through the air.

Hopping back after that close exchange, Izaya scowled.

What a bother.

"I'd expect nothing less from you, Miyuko."

His slow footsteps were all he can hear as he had his eyes glued on the spear.

If there was one regret for him, it was the fact that he did not stay to learn about what that necklace Armament can do. Further adding to his frustration was the fact that it had a weapon-generating ability, and it just had to take the form of a spear.

The red-hued spear gleamed despite the lack of strong lighting. Its ornate design brought unpleasant memories into Izaya's mind.

Why did she have to hold Kiyone's favorite type of weapon in her favorite shade of red and silver. Had this woman intentionally used her necklace to summon that weapon to mock him?

The longer he stared at that abomination, the more he wanted to send his rapier through its wielder's chest.

His eyes pulsed while the hand holding the rapier shook.

What are you up to this time, Miyuko?

"Is that fear I see in your eyes?" mocked her.

"Excellent as ever, Miyuko. So why? Why stay grounded when we can both soar our wings and reach greater heights? With our newfound allies, we can scale that tower like we did before. This time, we will defeat the Absolute Order, save Kiyone, and create a world free of pain and suffering."

The resulting look of disapproval from Sadohara made Izaya's blood boil all the more.

"Why?! Say something, Miyuko!"

"Are you sure that you are fighting for the world? Do you really consider yourself a warrior of justice?"

What a preposterous question.

"Or are you just bitter over losing Kiyone? Hiding behind that pretense of yours."

"Don't you dare disrespect her, Miyuko!"

It all went by like a blur, but the next thing that Izaya saw was his rapier soaring through the air, aiming at the heart of the woman.

Then, she disappeared. Vanished without a trace in a snap.

"How many people have you dragged into this mess in your mad quest to save Kiyone? You have yet to answer that question, Guren."

Seeing the phantom on his side, Izaya furiously swung his rapier in that direction. The rapier connected with the woman's neck, only for her to phase through it and disappear in a puff of smoke.

"How many people have died because you gave individuals such as Dr. Kagami and Touya Satoru their powers? How many people have fallen victim to the Fragments and the horrors that lie within? Do you know the extent of what you have done?"

"Yugiri Senko. Hiroshi Tarou. Sakamaki Kurosawa. Those three college students were the first three victims. Reports of disappearances never televised, only reported as part of urban legends."

He bent his knees and positioned his arms in a way to easily respond to any incoming attack. His opponent was sneaky enough that this could just be a way for her to find an opening for a surprise attack.

"Rinko Kobayashi. Chris Summers. The next two victims were a foreign couple last seen at the red light district of Aria Alley."

In monotone, he continued reciting the names and the circumstances with no breaks at all. "...Sho Kamiya. Slain for the sake of furthering Dr. Shin Kagami's research. That brings the total to 88. Eighty-eight in a span of three years."

"Eighty-eight?!" a surprised Sadohara responded.

Eighty-eight lives. Eighty-eight souls who have been damned. Names forgotten over the years, archived only in the fleeting essence of news, urban legends, and secondhand accounts. He never forgot them all.

Regret lingered in Izaya's heart. Half of those who were lost were ones he had failed to save. Some had even died in front of him, succumbing to the conditions of this world.

Regardless, at the end of it all, he had sworn to bring salvation not just to them but also the entire world.

"It was but a cheap cost. Were it not for the breaching of the two worlds and the interaction of humans and Nullities, I would not have come this far in my goal to overthrow the Absolute Order, nor would I have rallied people brave enough to strike against the cruelty of fate."

"Tsk!"

Seeing a figure in the corner of his eye, Izaya thrust his rapier at the approaching Sadohara. Like before, her figure melded into the shadows in an instant.

"You picked up a lot of tricks, Miyuko. Looks like I was wrong about you turning tail and running after our ordeal with the Absolute Order."

"I figured that you would try something like this, so I came prepared, Guren."

The woman would reappear in a gathering cloud of smoke.

"Guren, everything, even this world, exists in a delicate balance. Haven't you learned anything from the Absolute Order or the true nature of Mu? Consolidating control over everything will only bring the entire world under the whims of one very flawed individual."

"Only those with privilege can say something like that. Only those who have never seen the depths of humanity's depravation will be able to utter those words. You're a prodigy, but I'm disappointed at how little you really know, Miyuko! What about those who were undeservingly victims of the thing called fate? What about those who gave life their all only to keep falling short, as if a god continues to keep playing games with them? I seek to crush that system and lead everyone to a world of happiness!"

Before he can raise his rapier to deflect the incoming strike, blood gushed out of a horizontal wound across his chest. He clutched the wounded area, choking as he made his quick retreat.

She had come like lightning. One moment she was meters away, the next moment, she had teleported in front of him and delivered a devastating slash with the end of her spear.

"Give it up, Guren," Sadohara said as she pointed the spear at him.

"Why can't you understand?" he gasped for air as he gripped his torn clothing. At the end of it all, it was a chuckle that left his lips. "L-let me tell you why you oppose me so."

"Unlike me, you have become complacent, Miyuko. Y-you have allowed fate to ensnare you in its grasp. Me? I refuse to bow to such concept!"

As passion filled his heart, the opposite happened for the streams flowing down his hands. The blood, frozen in place, dried into crusty blots that now decorated his body.

It was a phenomenon that caused Izaya's eyebrows to rise. At the same time, his pulse quickened, and he felt as if his body was in the process of burning up. Everything, from his hands to his feet, cried in pain as they threatened to burn themselves out.

"You cannot defeat me, Guren."

Izaya faced her, now having a sadistic smile on his face.

"It's you who had become weak, Miyuko. You tied yourself to our cursed world and accepted it when you didn't have to."

Without another word, the woman charged her at him with her spear.

Like mist, she vanished before Izaya's rapier could connect.

There!

In the midst of his run, Izaya slashed sideways, catching the bare silhouette of Sadohara before it once again disappeared in smoke.

She's gonna flank me from the left.

True to his thoughts, Sadohara appeared from the left. Just like before, the figure disappeared almost in an instant.

But her real attack will be coming from above.

Pushing his feet off the ground, he jumped back in time to avoid impalement from above. In response, he jumped forward with a thrust of his rapier, only to once again connect with nothing but air.

I knew it wouldn't hit. Where are you, Miyuko?!

"It is finished."

Hearing the voice coming from behind him, Izaya turned right in time to see the tip of the spear before it pierced his abdomen.

Feeling the excruciating pain, Izaya let out a howl while reaching out with his free hand. With open palms, he merely grasped the air, the spear keeping him at bay.

He heard the sound of flesh being torn and blood being drawn with each desperate jerk of his shivering body.

"Don't waste your breath, Guren. I can still spare you if you wish."

Looking Sadohara in the eye, Izaya screamed.

"Those words mean crap to a man with nothing to lose!" he snapped before pulled his other arm back. Despite all the physical pain his body endured, he forced himself and the arm forward. For a brief moment, he saw a change in Sadohara's eyes.

As if a barrier was shattered, the sound of breaking glass followed, and in a flash, the spear that pierced him was no more.

When the spear disappeared, so did Miyuko Sadohara, at least the one inches away from him.

She reappeared several meters away, a distance that Izaya so easily closed.

The sound of blood rang in his ears as his rapier had finally found its mark.

He faced forward to look into his former acquaintance's eyes: beads filled with tears.

"G-g-guren..." Her feeble struggles barely allowed her to mutter a word before a gurgling sound caused her to cough blood.

Out it went from her mouth, staining her white attire, flowing down her half-exposed chest, and finally coating the rapier that had been buried in her sternum.

She tried raising her shaky hands, perhaps in a feeble attempt to pull the weapon out, but both of them just fell limp.

Meanwhile, Izaya smiled.

"I win, Miyuko."