1

Sayaka Uehara gave a passing glance at the others in the vicinity.

"Hah!" Kimura exclaimed after her song finished. With the end of Prismatic Reverb, the crystalline sphere hovering above them shattered.

The ability had done its job, and both Kazuki and Amagi had their bruises healed. The two resumed their talk with much vigor.

Even she felt a bit more refreshed after hearing Kimura's upbeat song.

We're almost at the top, where the Magna Arbiter's remaining powers are. What happens after this?

Ultimately, while the idol's song, amplified with the Armament, mended wounds and healed scars, they would never be able to remedy the doubt in her mind right now. Just really what happens after they secure the host of the Magna Arbiter?

They would be able to prevent Izaya from opening Babel, and in doing so, they will permanently close the gate to the deepest and most important part of Mu.

They had to do it. It's a way to end the case of Fragments appearing all over cities once and for all. It will put an end to her quest for vengeance, and she will finally be able to get rid of the emotional baggage hounding her.

That was what she would be saying more than a week ago.

Before Ms. Sadohara told them the truth of Mu.

Things had changed since then. If she can find proof of the power of Mu and how it can bring her brother back...

"Uehara? Uehara! You okay?"

Amagi's question snapped her out of her thoughts, and she looked at her classmate with raised eyebrows. She had no idea what they were talking about, but she could tell that they were busy discussing something with Kimura.

"Sorry, I spaced out."

"Hmph! Always stuck in her own world. I gave you three an exclusive sneak preview at my planned return single, too!."

Kimura's tank top was even more drenched when she returned. She had been giving her all throughout the trek inside the Fragment, and if there's something Uehara cannot take away from the idol, it's that she had heart.

"Now that we're all here, it's time to go over our plan for the Nullity. We don't have an idea what the enemy is going to be like, but unless something comes up, the strategy is the same as fighting the Magna Arbiter. Arata and I will take the front while the two of you provide cover fire."

While the three of them listened intently, Uehara continued.

"Our trump card is going to be Arata. I'd want you playing defense beside me most of the time, but in case we need more offense elsewhere, I know I can count on you."

"Wow, that's a lot of pressure." Kazuki scratched his head awkwardly.

"Well, all three of us know who to trust the most. You've been everyone's old reliable for a while now, even Ms. Sadohara. Right, Mr. Errand Boy?"

"Even in a serious moment, you still managed to tease me, huh?"

The other girls chuckled, and for the first time, Uehara was able to let out a genuine laugh inside this Fragment.

"Just lightening up the mood a bit. We're up for a tough battle ahead, and a little mistake can cost us everything. This may not be in the same level as the Render of Bounds or the Magna Arbiter, but it's still all or nothing."

Kazuki raised his hand. "If I may add, I think this Class B has the power to shapeshift."

"Shapeshift?" she asked.

"Oh right! Before we got here, we were attacked by a shadow that turned into Nakagami. Was it the same for you?"

Both Uehara and Kimura shook their heads.

"However... I did notice a shadowy thing trailing us occasionally. It followed us, but it never transformed or anything," said Kimura. "I wonder why?"

"The Magna Arbiter."

Everyone turned their attention to Kazuki.

"I think this more or less confirms the presence of the Magna Arbiter's powers. The ones who tasted the full brunt of its scythe were Ishida and Fujiwara. If the idea that the Magna Arbiter revolves around people's memories, could it be that it inherited the memories of the two?"

"That's surprisingly sharp, Darling," clapped Kimura.

"From those memories, it was able to craft Nakagami just for me. Since the two of you never really got to interact with Ishida and Fujiwara, the Nullity had little in its bank, so to speak, to pull from. Which means..."

He turned to Uehara.

"If it decides to go into running and transforming, it's you who has to deal the finishing blow on the Class B. We will support you, all to open the window for you."

A sound plan.

Taking the responsibility with no hesitation, Uehara agreed.

2

Having gone up the stairs, the team ran into the final room.

A red carpet reception for them, and pillars after pillars stood on the side. While the scene reminded Uehara of Ms. Sadohara's story, it also brought back memories of the Temple of Recollections. Specifically, the top of the temple.

It can't be coincidence that all these high-level Nullities had this layout for their rooms. The only different one was the Render of Bounds.

"On your toes. It's here."

They proceeded slowly under her orders. While the pillars flanked them on both ends, an inviting tunnel stood in the distance. However, they need not go to that passage.

Her senses told her that the Nullity was there. She was unable to pinpoint it, but she was positive that their target was lying in wait in this very throne room.

She looked at the different expressions of her teammates and could easily tell that a cloud hung over all of them. Even the normally noisy Kimura was surprisingly quiet and on the edge.

Still, she had full confidence that they will be able to see it through.

"Where is it?" asked the nervous Kimura.

Uehara put her arm out to stop the group. She scanned the room, and despite not being able to see a Nullity, she felt the hair on her arms raise in response.

"It's here!"

Her words were snappy.

A shadow slid across the ground, flowing in its viscous form and stopping just shortly in front of the group. She aimed her sword forward, anticipating the Nullity.

"It's above us!" shouted Kazuki.

"I'm on it!"

A shrill sound filled the room along with Kimura's scream, and Kazuki wasted no time tackling her away from the spot. Uehara leapt up, aiming to meet the enemy in mid-air. Through the fog, she slightly made out its form before the two blades collided.

When the two fighters landed, she finally saw what the Class B Nullity looked like.

It was no giant creature.

What stood in front of her was an indeterminate being. Humanoid in shape, covered in black and armed with scythe arms. The first thing that crossed her mind upon seeing those arms was Setsura. Instead of taking the form of a beautiful woman, it instead had no facial features, having a blank face with four eyes.

A homunculus?

"It's really the Magna Arbiter," said Kazuki, shield on the ready.

"Haaah!"

Arrows of light pierced the Nullity, battering it all over the body and boring holes onto it.

"You're mine!"

Without a second thought, Uehara followed Amagi's attack and made a beeline towards the enemy. Before it can recover, she swung her sword horizontally, hoping to bisect it.

Mud splashed onto her body, and she clearly felt her sword slice through Nullity flesh.

"It's made of pure liquid?!"

Wide-eyed, she stopped and stared at the Nullity, or what remained of it.

She did little more than blink, but the enemy had disappeared the next instant. What she could see past the fog was a puddle. A shadow that flowed across the floor like water.

"Uehara, behind you!"

Kazuki's cry barely registered before she spun around.

You didn't have to tell me. I got this!

Swinging her sword in an upward arc, she managed to make her blade reach the Nullity again. It cut through the Nullity and finished it off, or it should have.

Her heart skipped a beat, and she felt a spark run across her soles when the sword seemed to phase through the body of the Nullity. It was not as if the Nullity was a ghost that phases through her attacks.

It felt like her attack just went through water that splashed some mud into her.

Less than a second later, the Nullity spluttered back into a puddle that now raced across the floor.

She clicked her tongue. Being unable to cut Nullity flesh had annoyed her greatly.

She also looked at the floor, awaiting the moment the Nullity would appear once more. It will surely jump back out in a fully recovered form, blades ready to strike.

To her surprise, the puddle split into many streams. Splitting apart, the black lines scattered in different directions, causing her to stop in confusion.

They all emitted the same energy, and she had no idea which ones contained the real Nullity. She turned around, trying to lock in on one of them.

"Haaah!" cried Amagi.

Uehara turned to see her brunette friend let her arrows loose. She easily dodged the bolts of light only to see mud fall beside her. The last remnants of the Nullity to go were the scythe-like arms that lasted all but a few seconds before the mud rushed across the floor again.

The Class B had slid out from a pillar and attempted a jumping attack at her.

"It could even use the walls?!"

Looking at the pillars and statues all over the area, she concluded that this was one surprisingly difficult fight. It's not anything stronger than what they're used to dealing with, but actually hitting it and making it stay down for good would be a challenge.

If neither her slashes nor Amagi's arrows could deal any damage, something else might. Thankfully, they had an ace in the hole.

"Arata! The waves from your gauntlet!"

"Got it! Assimilator's Core!"

Kazuki's shield transformed into its gauntlet form. He awkwardly held the weapon while trying to aim at the Nullity, wherever it could be.

Without warning, Kimura screamed, and she was thrown off her feet. The staff that she had used to block with rolled down with several clangs.

It had done its job, shield its master from the incoming impalement, but the girl now found herself defenseless on the ground. Emerging from the spear that shot out the ground, the Nullity now emerged. Twin blade arms now loomed over her.

"Haaah!"

The waves from Kazuki's Armament shot out and hit the Nullity that had emerged from the ground. The waves stunned it, but while its blades were not able to reach Kimura, its fluid body merely rippled in place.

Kazuki yelled, the strength of the sonic waves from his gauntlet increasing. To everyone's horror, the Nullity turned to him. With its body rippling due to the waves, it began a slow march towards him, looking immune to the effects of the attack now.

"Get away from him!"

Amagi's shout followed the stream of arrows being launched, and the moment they pelted the body of the Nullity, it dissolved once again.

Uehara made her move, slicing it apart with her sword, causing it to sink back into the ground following another small jolt that ran through her soles.

Even attacks that disrupt without physical damage won't work, huh?

Following the trail of the shadow, she tried to come up with something. She was at wits' end, and they cannot play defense all day.

However, there was one more thing that they had yet to try.

"Uehara, the shadow!"

She was pleased that Amagi had thought of the same thing. It had been bothering since the battle started. Every time the enemy got hit and dissolved into the muddy liquid on the ground, it released a weak magical reading.

It was feedback that felt a little more than minor sparks, but nonetheless proof that something was going on.

There should be way to sever the Nullity's connection with the ground. If they did so, it would lose its ability to meld.

It's a long shot, but one thing quickly came into her mind.

"Amagi, try firing at the moving shadows! Arata, try stabbing it, too!"

"Really?!" wondered Kazuki. "The ground?"

"I suspect that the humanoid body is an illusion, and the real body is somewhere under our feet. If we can trigger enough magical responses through our Armaments, we might be able to flush it out!"

As if to prove her right, Amagi's chain of arrows littered the path where the shadow passed through. They were fired in a scatter formation, but the few arrows that connected with the shadow emitted sparks.

"The one we're fighting is nothing but a decoy. The true enemy is underneath us!"

Before she can elaborate further, Uehara cut through the charging Nullity's blade arms, this time having come from the left side.

"I'll keep the decoy preoccupied, and you focus on attacking the main body."

She panted in between breaks in the action, fatigue finally kicking in. Meanwhile, Amagi was successful in hitting the shadow once more, triggering the sound of magic reactions. Its movement slowed down compared to before, allowing Kazuki to get in closer.

The sound of his Armament impaling the ground in its sword form set off a series of new hisses.

The shadow resumed moving, but with it moving in much more erratic and less deliberate motions, it gave off the impression that it was now trying to run away.

Having its secrets exposed, it was trying to hightail out of there.

"You're not getting away!"

Magical blasts peppered the shadow, coming from the now-recovered Kimura.

The sound of magical sparks fully filled the room, and the finally-revealed Nullity's screams only added to the satisfaction Uehara felt. From the floor, the form of the Nullity finally showed up.

"That's got to be the real body," she said, preparing to charge.

Its body, almost identical to the decoys and strewn in a contorted pose that will surely break a human's spine, stood in place. The feedback from the attacks had stunned it enough, and all it could do was twitch with letting out hissing sounds.

With sword in hand, the black-haired girl began running towards the Nullity. She knew what she had to do, and her allies' efforts wouldn't be in vain.

"You're done!"

Uehara lifted her sword over her head and launched herself off the ground. One strike will end it all. The Nullity, stripped of its annoying properties and frozen in place, was nothing but a pest that will be dealt with. It had given them trouble with its melding shadows gimmick, and recalling all her frustrations gave Uehara the much needed push to finish it off.

Then, it's all over, and the day will be saved...?

Time slowed to a crawl as her vision altered, an effect of her Armament's Crimson Lust activating.

"Finish it!"

"Uehara!"

Amidst her partners' encouragement, she swung her sword down. Her merciless eyes stared at the holes the Nullity had for eyes, and at that moment, time stood still.

The Nullity's face transformed, and for the first time, a human face started to form from it. The eyes locked onto Uehara, and seeing the facial features for just a split-second rocked her with a shocking realization.

"Huh...?"

All the pent-up anger and rage inside her fizzled, yet she still brought her sword down. When she came to, the Nullity's facial features had all but disappeared, and a large slash mark ran vertically down its body.

She flinched, losing her balance for a few steps in the midst of the maddening silence.

"Watch out!"

A powerful force knocked her off her feet right as she heard the sound of an object slicing through the air. A follow-up whooshing sound sparked a sound as it collided with something hard.

"Get a hold of yourself..." groaned Kazuki while his shield remained at a deadlock with the Class B. His footing was unstable, and Uehara can see the pain he's in trying to hold the shield up.

Still, he persisted, and with a mighty shout, pushed the Nullity away.

With a hissing sound, the Nullity fizzled into black smoke. Uehara was not able to see where the smoke headed when her full attention was on Kazuki.

You saved me again.

Her savior finally dropped to his knees. He took each breath with more difficulty, but the fear in seeing that paled to her disappointment. After all, the cold and unforgiving presence, the telltale signs of a powerful Nullity, had disappeared.

The Class B Nullity, the form taken by the remnants of the Magna Arbiter, had escaped.

3

"Uehara!"

Amagi and Kimura were quick to the response, running to the side of their downed ally.

Kazuki, meanwhile, stood up much more carefully.

His recovery took a while, but he was eventually able to get up by his own strength. All thanks to the fog thinning out.

If anything, he was more surprised with the turn of events. The plan had worked to perfection, and the homunculus was dead to rights. For some reason, her sword had connected, but she had failed to follow through all the way.

As it was right now, their efforts were wasted. His muscles shot off painful jolts with each sudden movement, forbidding him from swinging his Armament up. Even his vision had begun pulsing in fatigue.

"Sorry, I failed to finish it off," apologized Uehara. "I-I thought I had it... Damn!"

She punched the ground in frustration.

Silence followed while everyone looked at each other.

"It went that way!"

Kimura was the one who first spoke as pointed towards the lone passage in the distance.

The black-haired girl shook her head before standing up. "Looking at you, I'd reckon that you don't have the energy to use your Armaments' special abilities now."

Kazuki knew what she meant. He was in quite the terrible shape, but he can only imagine how the other girls were with their wounds.

They could rest up for a while, but it would allow the Class B Nullity to bide its time. Even worse, it might use the previous battle as a learning opportunity to adapt for the next fight.

If they went after it now... He gave a second look at Amagi and Kimura.

Needless to say, they won't be seeing Innocence Arc or Prismatic Reverb any time soon.

Even the two of them took their time answering Uehara's question, but he knew that those two girls also knew no quit. If there was a time to go after the Nullity, it's now. This will be their best chance to finish it off.

"I'll go after it. You three stay here and rest up."

"We can't do that!" protested Amagi.

"You're in no condition to keep fighting. I cannot afford—"

"Would you cut that crap?"

All three girls looked at Kazuki, speechless as he approached the huddle.

"There you go again with that whole 'I'll do it alone' attitude of yours. Didn't we go over it after the incident with Dr. Kagami already? I know, you're blaming yourself, but the whole thing is a team effort. Back then, you saw me as unfit to be an Awakener, but how did that turn out?"

"You..."

Uehara pursed her lips, but nothing came out of it besides a sigh. Her eyes shifted, and she really felt like holding something in. When it all evaporated into nothing, he likewise had a sigh of relief.

"Fine, fine. But if anything happens, you three fall back, got it?"

She started running towards the passage where the Nullity escaped to, and with that, all three of them followed her.

4

Beyond the throne room was a narrow passage. After taking a big slide down, all four of them found themselves a network of tunnels.

Instead of walls that locked them in, he could see many openings to the side of the main path: circular openings that fit up to two people.

It was such a weird place they're in. It's not every day you get to see a sewer network situated anywhere this far from floor level, much less underground. Not that it mattered as much as his primary concern: the openings to the sides.

The Nullity could be lying in wait anywhere, and given how fluid its transformations were, they could be looking at a big disadvantage.

Feels like we're walking into an ambush at this rate.

Kazuki lost track of how many turns they made in this network of tunnels in their mad dash towards the Class B. Thankfully, no traps nor Nullities appeared here. Compared to what they had to go through, taking this path was a cheat code.

Still, the distance began widening between them.

She's just so relentless in going after the Nullity. Best they can do is to try to keep up.

Eventually, she disappeared from sight, last seen taking a left path.

"Uehara!" shouted Kazuki, only to receive no reply. He worriedly glanced at the two girls beside him. Amagi was barely keeping up, but Kimura felt like she could collapse at any time now. They had to try to keep up, regardless.

They were the ones who insisted on coming along.

Suddenly, Kazuki sensed something amiss.

"Everyone, pull back!"

Kazuki pressed his shoes against the floor hard, causing him to slow to a skid and enough to cover the two other girls. The sudden stop caused him to bump the two.

While Amagi stood still, Kimura went crashing on her butt to a chorus of yelps.

Before she could complain, a whooshing sound echoed, and knives littered the floor mere steps away from them.

"Knives?"

"Manager?!"

Just as Kimura called her out, a black shadow came leaping out of a side hole.

Reiya Utara had the same agility and sleekness as when they previous saw her. However, there was a stark difference in atmosphere.

What was once the formal, stiff manager now came adorned with a trench coat. Along with knives that orbited her, she looked like she had two layers of protection befitting the corset that she now wore.

It was something that she would be caught dead wearing back when she was the acting manager, but now, things have changed.

So, the one with the trench coat was her?

"What happened to you, Manager? It's been so long."

"Nice seeing you again, Yuki-tan," the lavender-haired woman replied with a smile. "How's Shiroki City's greatest rising star doing? I heard you went on hiatus, but I'd love to be there for you when you make your return."

"Don't fall for it, Kimura! She's not here to chit-chat."

"Still rude as ever, Kazuki Arata. Maybe you'll need disciplining afterwards."

"After you tried to attack us just now? Screw it, just get outta the way!"

Kazuki brandished his shield, and he heard Amagi draw her bow out.

"Getting a bit too hasty, are we?"

"Of course we are. We are in the midst of something important, and we want to get to our friend ASAP."

"Is it the Nullity you're concerned with? Sayaka Uehara can deal with it herself."

"I appreciate you talking up our friend, but I don't appreciate you standing in our way."

"Lord Izaya told me to keep you all busy

"Izaya?" wonder Kazuki as he heard Amagi gasp.

"What does Izaya have planned for her?" asked Amagi.

"Who knows? It's none of my concern. But if you want to catch up with her, you have to first go through me. So, is it two against one?"

"Three."

Kimura finally stepped forward, staff in hand.

"I don't want to fight, Manager. But lives are at stake, and I cannot afford to let all those fans down."

All she got was a pair of raised eyebrows from the confident Utara.

"Fine by me."

She smirked, and all the knives circling her started weaving in the air.

"Let's dance," she said before hurling a bunch of them towards the group.