1

Kazuki let out a pained gasp, all the wind knocked out of his body with one blow.

His shield barely deflected the barrage of slashes aimed at him. With clang after clang, the two Armaments clashed. Uehara was relentless in her assault, and with gritted teeth, she pressed hard on her opponent who was forced to the defensive.

This had been a pattern ever since their fight began. True to her words, he really had no chance in an outright physical confrontation. To his credit, none of her blows had landed, mostly due to the girl trying to force her way through the shield instead of trying to work around it.

Pain radiated from Kazuki’s back as he was eventually pinned against a wall. Even so, Uehara resumed her attack, continuously striking his shield.

Is she really this dense? There’s no way her Armament can break through mine.

But perhaps it was all just to make a statement. Uehara’s not looking to win the battle. She’s trying to crush her opponent’s spirit, to break the precious Armament that had been the symbol of their bond.

“Snap out of it, Uehara!”

“I told you to leave me alone, Arata!”

Their dueling words were drowned by more clashing of Armaments.

Each strike of the sword hurt Kazuki in more ways than one. It was just like when his shield first clashed with Ms. Sadohara’s illusory swords. Every time Uehara’s sword connected with his shield, he could sense the anguish behind each blow.

The sadness which was also reflected in the troubled eyes of the attacker.

“Why won’t you run away? There’s no stopping Izaya anymore. Please spare yourself!”

“I’m not leaving without you, no matter how stubborn you may be.”

“Who’s the stubborn one, huh?” lashed out Uehara, her sword landing a hit that bounced off Kazuki’s shield violently.

The impact created the distance that Kazuki wanted. Fighting off the sore muscles from Uehara’s continued assault, he hopped back and put his shield forward.

“Assimilator’s Core!”

The shield transformed, and in its place was the Armament in its gauntlet form. Its prongs lit up and emitted energy waves.

Those waves were powerful enough to disorient anyone, and even Uehara was no exception. Skilled as she may be as a fighter, the girl was still sent flying into the wall. Along with her were some cracks on the wall and the ground.

“Haaaah!”

Seeing his chance, he tackled the dazed Uehara, sending both of them right through the wall. They tumbled around the floor, rolling wildly without any sort of control.

Kazuki finally landed on top of Uehara, and his hands pinned hers to the ground.

“Gotcha!” he declared just as the sword flew out of her hands.

“Let go!”

He ignored her angry demands, opting to press both her arms against the floor. With his lower body keeping hers steady on the ground, he finally had a chance for a talk. However, just as he raised his body ever so slightly, a knee hit him square on the abdomen.

“No!”

“Tsk!”

Uehara continued to knee him, yet he wouldn’t let go. Even if the blaring sirens and the occasional crashing sound in the distance tried to dissuade him. Even if the uneven flooring of this sector gave him a hint that this was a bad idea.

He squeezed her arm tightly, yet her attacks were relentless.

Even at this position…

Kazuki found his teeth clenching at the repeated attacks, all while resisting the urge to just blast Uehara with the Armament. At the fifth knee attack, he found it to let go of her arm and position his Armament facing her.

Before he can do anything else, a sixth attack caused him to choke, and a bang was heard as the remaining energy from his Armament’s prongs got released onto the ground.

Uehara managed to kick him off at last, and he landed on his back with force, and a crunching sound.

“Ouch!” he said before realizing that his back did not hurt as much as the crunching sound would suggest.

The two of them, laying parallel on the floor, stared awkwardly at each other, a brief pause in the action due to a shared feeling of danger.

They heard the crunching sound again, and before anyone can react, the floor underneath them gave way, with the two Awakeners falling deeper into the abyss.

 

2

“W-what now?”

Kimura stammered, breaking the silence that caught everyone else. She was the first to speak, a good several seconds after Kazuki and Uehara disappeared beyond the collapsing door.

“Let us go after them,” suggested Amagi.

“But what about Sana?”

Amagi gave a double take, apparently having forgotten about Sana in the heat of the moment. There she was, however, peacefully sleeping in the cradling arms of Ms. Sadohara.

“I’ll take care of her,” said the counselor. “You two take that route. Just keep going straight, and you’ll find yourself on a path towards the control room. I don’t sense any more strong Nullities in the area, so you can easily clear those things away.”

“Are you sure you’ll be fine here, Ms. Sadohara?”

“Who do you think you’re talking to, Amagi?” smirked Ms. Sadohara. “I’ve been through hell and back enough times for you girls to be worrying about me. Go, the sooner you fix things up, the better.”

Kimura grabbed Amagi by the wrist, and the two girls looked at each other.

“She’s right. We better hurry up. The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can go after Darling.”

“I’d prefer if you’d stop calling him that.”

“Hmm?”

Kimura tilted her head, having heard only a bit of Amagi’s murmurs.

“N-nothing!”

Kimura turned to see Amagi raising her downcast gaze with an awkward smile. She shrugged before leading the way to their destination. Together, the two of them headed off to the path.

Ms. Sadohara turned her attention to the blocked way ahead of her.

She looked at it longingly, only wondering what Arata and Uehara could be doing now. All that before a twitching motion caught her attention.

She looked down at the girl she’s supporting just in time to see Sana’s eyes blinking open. She observed the girl’s motions all the way until her petite hands slowly grabbed her coat.

“W-where am I? W-what happened?”

Sana put one of her hands on her chest and tapped it repeatedly.

“It’s a long story. But for now, I’ll be taking care of you.”

“W-who are you?” softly asked Sana.

“I am…” Ms. Sadohara paused. “I am your friend.”

Sana’s proceeding reaction was to only curl her hands inward.

“The last time someone said that, he scared me. He brought me and Big Sis here. He was talking about strange stuff and things about the Magna Arbiter, which is the—”

She caught herself before clasping a hand over her mouth. Ms. Sadohara instead nodded and spoke in a gentle tone.

“It’s fine. I know what you’re talking about, and I know everything about what that person might have said.”

“You do?”

“That, and the nightmares that have been haunting you. Does the name Kazuki Arata ring a bell?”

Sana’s eyes lightened up with the mention of that name, and she immediately let go of her vulnerable position.

“You know Big Bro, too?”

“Yeah, I do. Very much,” chuckled Ms. Sadohara. “Unfortunately, he’s a bit caught up in something right now and isn’t here.”

That kind of explanation wouldn’t be any good for Sana, and Ms. Sadohara can clearly see it with the shift in the girl’s facial expression. The girl’s grip on her coat tightened, and she had a face that wouldn’t take no for an answer.

“P-please tell me everything.”

With no sign of any Nullities nearby, Ms. Sadohara prepared to tell a long story.

 

3

“Haaaa!”

“Raaaagggh!”

Arrows and beams of light shot out, illuminating the hallways and eliminating the small, humanoid Nullities that spawned from the walls.

Kimura and Amagi slowed down after running for so long. Still, the hallway stretched beyond their sight, and the intermittent sirens kept them on the edge. Each shutter door felt like a death trap, but at least they were over more dangerous ones like the shifting floors.

“Gottem!”

Kimura raised her open hands, receiving a much less energetic high-five from her partner. Still, the girls smiled confidently while they took their time letting their emotions settle in. Getting rid of wave after wave of Nullities was never easy, but things quieted down after they finished clearing away this batch.

“You know, teaming with you is way better than teaming with that girl.”

Slowing down to a brisk yet alert walk, the two proceeded for a while before Kimura broke the eerie silence with a passing comment.

“You think so? I think she’s a lot more reliable than I am, though.”

“Oh, come on! Don’t shortchange yourself, Amagi!”

She put her hands on the brunette’s shoulder, an act which drew a surprised squeak from the latter. Kimura refused to let it faze her, however, and she stared into Amagi’s tense eyes.

“Geez, you always have that kind of attitude. Have some confidence, would you?”

“B-but…”

“Sheesh. I know you’re reeling from seeing Uehara again and all that’s happened the past few minutes, but get a grip on reality already.”

“Look at it this way, even if you think you’re half as skilled as she is, me not getting a headache every time I’m with you makes up for it. Come on, at least you’re not a jerk putting up with an ice queen act who keeps telling me to stay out of the way. Treating me like a kid and all that… it’s so annoying!”

Kimura continued her rant with increasingly animated motions.

“Who does she think she is, huh? Then she disappears on us, and the next thing, she dared hurt Darling and turn her back on us! You’re better than her. But how do you expect to win over Darling acting like such a doormat?!”

“K-kimura…”

The brunette blushed, her lips moving but not releasing any sound.

“Oh, and before you say anything, don’t get me wrong. I’m not helping you out of goodwill. I still intend to win over Darling and make him my number one fan when I make my return.”

She smugly pointed at Amagi before striking a pose with her other hand.

“I just hate it when I get to sleepwalk my way to the crown because rival #1 betrayed him and rival #2 just can’t get a grip of reality. You’re a great person, and the only one who can’t see it is you!”

The two girls were left blinking at each other for a few seconds, the moment of silence seemingly taking forever.

“You’re not half bad yourself,” commented Amagi, a reluctant yet likewise smug smile forming on her face. “I can’t believe you’ve gotten so good at this despite being the newest to join us.”

“Heeeh, ever since that jerk left us, you’ve gotten quite the snarky tongue at times, huh? That’s obviously a backhanded compliment.”

“Hmm… maybe.”

“Hmph! As I said, Darling needs to have someone strong to protect him in the future. I can’t allow myself to lag behind the team. For him, and for my fans.”

Kimura maintained the look on her face just before firing another beam from her staff, destroying another Nullity that started spawning from a wall.

Without warning, Amagi drew her bow and sent a barrage of arrows forward, eradicating a whole clump of Nullities that blocked their path.

“Thank you for your kind words, but I remember that I still have to pay you back for the time you were such a pain. You really had your fun when you transferred to the school and had me and Uehara in a compromising situation at the Chronodome, eh?”

Amagi remained smiling, but looking at her disposition while raining chaos upon wave after wave of Nullities sent shivers down Kimura’s spine. Perhaps she did some overcorrecting, and she’ll pay for it, she thought.

The way Amagi’s smile was unflinching crept her out more than the Nullities that continued spawning.

Giving her a nod, Amagi ran the opposite direction, likely to where Kazuki and Uehara’s battle was heating up.

 

4

Izaya took deep breaths when his feet landed on the craggy ground, taking a much needed break after traversing Babel’s dimensions. Behind him were the members of Euphoria, completely fresh and unharmed.

They never needed to lift a finger in the group’s ascent. Their leader alone was enough to deal with the numerous guardians that attempted to hinder their conquest.

“Almost there,” Izaya commented. His eyes were fixed ahead, and even if he never looked back to check on the three other members of Euphoria, he knew that his words reached them.

He slowed down his walk to take a look at the formations that surrounded him. It was familiar territory that he knew he had to see again someday.

The realm looked the same as it did three years ago. Where they were was a world of floating islands, some connected to each other by land bridges, but most of them floating around in an orbit. Some islands were barren, while others had what looked like part of mountain formations. On the other hand, some had dilapidated structures like shrines from a time long past.

It was a hodgepodge realm, a crossing point between past eras of humanity’s history. One that lacked the grandiose and class of the castle of white that they just went passed through. The place was relic from an era lost in time, something which can only be glimpsed through in places like Tenka Peak.

“Lord Izaya!” called out Utara as they approached a broken down shrine. “I sense something ahead!”

Dr. Kagami activated his Armament’s ability, denoted by his visor flashing numerous lights aimed at the black mass ahead. “It’s just a Class C. Shall we let Satoru here take care of it? He’s been feeling antsy this whole time, and it’s about time you let us get into the action. Or perhaps I can try to use Pandora’s Box to manipulate its triggers and get it to clear the path for us.”

Izaya shook his hand at Dr. Kagami’s suggestion. Their strength would not be needed now.

Dark energy then amassed around the shrine and the mass, slowly forming the framework for a gigantic Nullity.

Of course, he knew. It was the same rodeo as the one three years ago. The only new revelation was Dr. Kagami’s appraisal of the Nullity as a Class C, something that he was ignorant of in the past.

 “You again?” asked Izaya to the hound Nullity that appeared. His voice was stoic, almost as if he was bored at the enemy.

Snarling at the intruders while releasing a purple aura, the hound that was twice as tall as anyone began charging. It bounded at them with speed and steps that seemed to shake the ground.

As he fixed his eyes on the enemy, memories came flooding back into Izaya’s mind. He remembered how he was scared out of his wits the first time around. He recalled how this thing managed to shrug off shots from Miyuko’s blaster. He can feel his spine tingle with fear, facing an insurmountable obstacle like this.

To think that it was just a Class C all along…

His heart tightened when he remembered that they had no choice but to run away from this thing… this weak and pathetic thing that’s all bark no bite.

Feeling the rush of energy well up in his rapier, he narrowed his eyes. With the power of two Ascended Ones inside him, he would no longer run away. He would eliminate all obstacles in his way.

He charged at the giant hound alone, focusing all his energy into the rapier, which became charged with a bluish hue of power.

The Nullity roared and leapt towards him, and instead of stopping in his tracks, Izaya sprang off the ground, opting to meet the hound in mid-air.

The two forces collided, and he swung his rapier horizontally, slicing through the Nullity’s side before the two of them landed on the ground.

The Nullity roared in pain, but it turned around, looking to swipe its enemy off the floating landmass, but Izaya anticipated it and blocked the incoming paw with his rapier.

He did not flinch, and even after absorbing the powerful impact of the paw swipe, his feet never moved from the ground. He held his ground masterfully before overpowering the paw with another swing of his rapier, this time slicing the hound’s leg open.

“It’s over for you!”

He shouted as he thrust the rapier forward, planting it right in the middle of the Nullity’s chest area.

Letting out one last cry, the Nullity erupted into particles of energy, sending shockwaves all over the place.

Unfazed and unharmed, Izaya looked at the three members of Euphoria, all who had looks of wonder in their faces.

“Keep heart, everyone. Our salvation is at hand.”

He pointed at a distant island. On top of it was a portal, undoubtedly the one that would take them to the final stretch of Babel. Izaya himself turned to look at it, and when he had his back turned to the rest of Euphoria, he gave it a longing look.

His eyes narrowed, and his grip on the rapier stiffened as he began his walk towards it.