1

“So, it’s this way, right?” Kazuki wondered aloud while traversing the underground hallway.

In truth, those were simply words he did to distract himself from what had happened. In a way, he had won the battle, but he cannot put himself at ease with how things turned out.

He did not win, technically speaking, and he only managed to break Uehara’s spirit. To leave her alone after that left a nagging feeling in his heart.

But it’s a thought that he confronted by focusing on the other important matter: going ahead and giving everyone the best chance to stop Euphoria.

The sirens had stopped, and he crossed a series of deactivated traps. Some shutter doors were in the halfway point of crashing down. In other areas, there were walls that looked like they slammed into each other with so much force that they broke.

All throughout, the sound of live sparks forced him to stay alert.

Those Nullities had done a lot of damage, but it seemed that the situation had been defused, thanks to the efforts of Amagi and Kimura. The worst of it, at least.

He walked past the paths unhindered for the most part and eventually found himself in an open area. After having climbed up the ladder and taking a functioning elevator, a scenery similar to the Shiroki City Fragment greeted him.

Ruined structures, buildings abandoned in the middle of demolition, and numerous pillars that lined the uneven terrain.

It was as if Euphoria picked this spot knowing full well that it was the place where they could set sight on the most familiar-looking replica of Mu. Keeping in mind the nature of Mu and Nullities, however, perhaps it was the other way around.

The only difference here was the lack of Nullities and the red sky being replaced by a purple hue. It definitely was something more synthetic… an imitation of the harsh conditions of Mu.

What his eyes gravitated to was the huge object in the distance.

“Is that where they went through?”

Kazuki summoned his Armament and began walking towards what looked like a crack in the sky, presumably the one that took them to Babel.

A nagging premonition continued tugging at him while he approached the supposed portal. He felt the itch start at the base of his neck, but it spread all throughout the body. It was a cold, creeping feeling that was unlike anything from any Nullity.

It caused him to stop his walk right as he reached the point where he’s completely flanked by numerous ruined structures. The portal lay ahead, but something told him to wait, and it was a pressure so strong it immobilized him.

“What’s going on?” he wondered loudly, wildly looking around for signs of Nullities.

A feeling of being stalked. Of being watched. Something continually nagging was amplified with the absence of anything in the surroundings.

Then, he turned to see a figure in the distance. Shifting between the half-collapsed pillars and the structures was a form slowly approaching him.

With each step, this figure emanated the creepy feeling, and Kazuki braced himself. The figure seemed to take its leisurely time approaching him, but the amplifying negative energy all but confirmed that thing to be its source.

Then, as the person and the twin swords it held came closer into view, Kazuki’s eyes widened.

“You gotta be kidding me…”

 

2

Silence reigned in the underground cavern.

Uehara, who lay flat on the ground, hung her head to the side. Meanwhile, everyone else was stunned to speak. The mood was a complete departure from the tense battle she had fought with the girl standing a few inches away from her.

Even now, Amagi just looked at her with eyes of undecipherable expressions.

After what seemed like a lifetime, the black-haired girl finally spoke.

“I caused a lot of trouble for you all. I do not think any sort of apologizing will fix that.”

“You certainly did. Quite a mess we got here, don’t you think?”

Amagi and Uehara looked on to see a figure approaching them from the shadows. Light soon illuminated Ms. Sadohara, who stood a few steps away from them. Her voice was bored and nonchalant as usual, but Uehara’s heart can’t stop pounding at those words.

In spite of her droopy eyes and bored posture, Ms. Sadohara looked different for the black-haired girl. It felt as if she was being scolded, in spite of appearances suggesting otherwise.

However, in time, both she and Amagi saw a second person with the counselor.

Sana was slow to show herself, as she closely followed Ms. Sadohara from behind, mostly hiding behind her large coat.

“Sana?!” Amagi barely contained her surprise.

Meanwhile, Uehara shut her eyes, not daring to look at Amagi, Ms. Sadohara, and especially Sana.

“Please, let me be. At the end of it all, I turned out to be a failure. It was shameful, isn’t it? Me, being a disappointment who can’t even stick with my convictions.”

“You know we can’t do that. If we can, we wouldn’t have hung around,” replied Amagi. Even now, she had that trembling, uncertain voice. Uehara was not sure what to make of her, but knowing her classmate’s outlook, she was sure that Amagi still wanted to reach out, after everything.

It was a fact that both comforted her yet multiplied her guilt all the same.

“I thought that was it. I stayed behind and didn’t join the climb to the top of Babel, hoping to confront you all and shut the door on our relationship. All this time, I thought that I had made up my mind. I decided to put my brother first and resolved to be in his embrace again, even if I had to turn my back on you.”

Uehara exhaled, pausing between her weak and hesitant words.

“I thought that if I managed to get you to hate me, if I got beyond the point of redemption, I would be free of the guilt.”

Sana walked towards her without saying a word. She saw the normally shy girl get to a few inches away from her before Sana’s eyes widened in an expression of power none had seen before.

“You’re wrong, Big Sis! You dummy!”

Sana threw a punch at Uehara’s side, catching her off-guard.

“S-sana?!”

Uehara blinked repeatedly, looking at the girl with a dumbfounded and embarrassed expression.

“Why did you ever think that we’ll give up on you, Big Sis?”

Uehara’s mouth opened, but she was unable to say anything in time.

“You never gave up on me even when I hated you back then,” followed Amagi. “I-I’m not sure if things have really cooled off now after the fight we just had, but…”

“That is what Big Bro taught me. That is what I am forever grateful to him for. I never thought that I’ll be able to get into good terms with Mama after everything, and honestly, I am not sure if things are much better now when I meet Mama again, b-but that’s not the point!”

Uehara and Sana locked eyes, the former more than surprised by the sudden assertiveness of the girl. It felt as if the shy and easily flustered girl from before was gone, and in place of her was a resolute and brave girl, hundred percent sure of her convictions.

“T-the point is that we should not give up on each other! L-life may be hard, but we must face our problems head-on… and together! That’s what I learned from Big Bro.”

She pouted and let off a scoff that’s just as uncharacteristic as her entire demeanor these few seconds.

“I heard about everything, and I can’t believe it. Still, that doesn’t mean we have to go on hating each other and saying goodbye like that.”

“You lot…”

“If anyone has to apologize, it’s me.”

Ms. Sadohara interjected, kneeling down beside Uehara and putting her hand on top of hers.

“Really, this entire mess is my fault. The whole Mu business, not being able to stop Guren, and most importantly,” she paused, “Not being able to take responsibility for you, Sayaka. I take full responsibility, and I hope to apologize.”

“Ms. Sadohara…”

“It’s all the fault of my inaction. Had I been more assertive, none of this would have happened. If I had acted on my intuition more and lent a listening ear… It’s my fault as much as anyone’s.”

An emotional Ms. Sadohara gripped Uehara’s hands, letting both of them feel each other’s clammy hands.

Their hands clasped together, and Uehara felt her eyes blurring. Her chest heaved while her trembling hand engulfed Ms. Sadohara’s. She had come to say goodbye in the most decisive way possible. She wanted to give her final farewell at this site, but she now found herself overcome with emotion.

“I’m sorry, Sayaka.”

At those words, another bout of Uehara’s tears fell, and she shook her head repeatedly.

“N-no. I-I-I… you don’t have to, Ms. Sadohara. It’s me who has to apologize to you all! It’s me who… Sorry. Sorry. Sorry, everyone.”

“I’m sure we both know, forgiveness and redemption don’t come easy. That’s why I have decided to dedicate the remainder of my life fixing the mess I made. So let’s go, Sayaka. Let’s go on this road once again. Together.”

“You can do it, Uehara,” encouraged Amagi. “Even Kimura’s hurt by what you did, but I’m sure that when you meet each other again, hmm… she’ll probably say some mean things to you, but as long as you’re trying your best and showing your sincerity, I’m sure that she’ll understand and welcome you back with open arms.”

Silence befell once more, with the only sources of sound in the vicinity being Uehara’s sniffles.

They were all caught in a heavy yet serene scene that seemed to last forever.

All of a sudden, she sprang up just as the wave of energy feedback struck her. She stared at everyone in the area.

“Did you all feel that?”

The worried reactions of all three other people gave her much needed confirmation. Something happened above them, and it was unlike anything they had felt before. In contrast to a Nullity’s aura of depression and cold fear, this one seemed to have a stinging feeling on their skin.

The prickly feeling of the flames of rage… an aura of murder.

Uehara wiped off the last of her tears and looked at Amagi, Ms. Sadohara, and Sana in that order.

“Something’s wrong. Wait, where’s Arata?”

Ms. Sadohara furrowed her eyebrows. “I didn’t catch him on the way here.”

“He said he’ll go on ahead a bit to wait for us and clear his head, but…” Amagi’s voice trailed off.

Before she can complete what she wanted to say, Uehara had already sprung up and gotten off to a head start, going the same direction Kazuki went.

“Uehara!” called Amagi, but Uehara had already gone ahead of them.

 

3

“I-it can’t be…” Kazuki’s voice trailed off as he finally got a better look of the approaching person, the one emanating the incredibly unpleasant aura.

“Ishida?!”

He was no longer wearing the biker jackets or exuding the charming charisma he once had. His face, save the grayish bangs, were almost completely hidden under the parka, and he remained quiet. There was no need for words to convey his intentions, however.

Fury radiated from underneath that hoodie.

When the youth flipped the hoodie and revealed his face, his gaze burned right through Kazuki’s, stunning him through the sheer glare of malice. Reijy Ishida looked like a broken man, his pained expression and agitated movements only reflecting a tortured soul underneath.

Barely able to move in shock, Kazuki only regained his grip of reality when a smaller figure appeared on Reijy’s side. Coming from a mist of energy, the petite winged girl fluttered around before sitting down on his shoulder.

She was almost like a fairy, but Kazuki knew she was bad news. She winked and stuck a tongue out before he realized what was happening.

“Target number one spotted. Way to go, Reijy!”

Akane Fujiwara.

Or what looked like her, but the vibes from this thing was completely off. No way was this the same Akane Fujiwara who used to be his schoolmate. The same Akane Fujiwara who had been wiped off the memory of everyone without spiritual power. The same Akane Fujiwara who he had seen fall in front of his eyes.

Kazuki was sure of it.

No way that the sweet and kind lowerclassman had turned into this jester. He was sure of it, and the added layer of malicious aura coming from the fairy all but confirmed it.

“What happened, Ishida? And those swords… how did you get your Armament?”

“Kazuki… Arata…” growled Reijy. “I have come to kill you!”

He howled before brandishing his twin swords.

“Hahaha! There we go! A-ah!”

The fairy reacted with glee and started moaning. She dug her nails into her skimpy outfit, her tiny body shivering.

“Huh?” wondered Kazuki, who had summoned his own Armament.

“Give it to me, Reijy! More! More!”

All the while, a spiritual link, marked by a hazy aura, connected and enveloped the two.

Without warning, Reijy lunged. In a matter of a second or two, he had closed the gap, and the sound of his twin swords clashing against Kazuki’s shield filled the air.

“Ishida, snap out of it!”

The two of them broke their deadlock and created some distance away from each other.

“Hooohh? Look at that guy talk,” said the fairy Fujiwara in a teasing, almost sarcastic voice. “He told you to snap out of it. As if you’re being brainwashed or something. Are you really like that, Reijy?”

“Kazuki Arata…” Reijy continued growling under his hoarse voice. “If it weren’t for you, Akane wouldn’t have become like this! For ruining everything, I have to execute you.”

“Shut it, Ishida!” retorted Kazuki. “That thing flying around you is not Fujiwara!”

The fairy grew to be around half of Fujiwara’s usual height before moving behind Reijy and wrapping her arm around his neck. She leaned her head against his before poking Reijy’s cheek playfully.

“Hahaha! Look at him talk. Not Fujiwara? You believe that crap, Reijy? Wouldn’t you believe me, the one person who always believed in you?”

“Open your eyes! Will the real Fujiwara talk like that? Have that kind of demeanor? Wear those clothes? That thing couldn’t have been Fujiwara.”

“How dare you talk about Akane like you know everything!” cried Reijy.

Like before, it was followed by the fairy losing herself in an intoxicating tempest of pleasure. She pretended to faint before poofing back into her petite form and cuddling her face on Reijy’s face.

“You’re right, Reijy. What does he know? Look at him talk. Has he ever seen our pain? Our suffering? Has he seen how we clawed out of that abyss to get where we are? All because he can’t protect me and save you against that big, bad monster.”

“Graagghhh!” roared Reijy, who charged Kazuki again.

The sound of clashing steel echoed once more, and Kazuki felt his entire body shook at the sheer force that struck his shield Armament. Like Uehara, Reijy was trying to brute force his way through it.

“You will pay. You will pay. You will pay!”

“Stop it, Ishida! That thing is tricking you! Can’t you see that it’s sapping energy from you?”

Kazuki, with his arms slowly turning numb, struggled to get those words out before nearly slipping. At the last moment, he moved sideways and used Reijy’s forward momentum to cause his opponent to slide downwards. The ground shook momentarily as the two swords crashed to the ground with full force.

Kazuki seized this chance to create more distance from Reijy, his mind hurriedly deciding on the next course of action.

“Ohoho… Sapping energy? Such a rude way to call our special relationship. See, Reijy? All he wanted was to hold you back. He’s just like Guren Izaya and his group. He’s just like your family. All people, pests, who want to take away the source of our power so they can trample you like a bug.”

The fairy then turned to Kazuki.

“Is that what Kazuki Arata has devolved to?” continued mocking the fairy. “Rah-rah speeches in an attempt to tame an enemy he has no chance of beating? Talking his way out of the source of our power? Reeks of desperation!”

She continued laughing. “Reijy’s intoxicating drive for revenge and the sweet, pleasurable sensation of his hatred, that’s all we have left. It’s all we have to keep us strong after what the world has done to us. Those are the fangs we have left to bare at the world, to strike back at the cruelty of our oppressors.”

This is bad.

Kazuki thought to himself that there’s no way to get Reijy away from the influence of that witch. If he wanted to get through to him, he had to find a way to get rid of the fairy.

The battle against Uehara had nothing on this fight he now found himself in, and the fairy was completely right in her assessment. He cannot win this fight, especially not at this shape.

“What are you waiting for, Reijy? Let’s proceed with the execution!” maniacally laughed “Fujiwara.”

Ishida’s twin swords lit up with a sinister aura before he charged forward. With a mighty yell, the deranged executioner swung his twin swords overhead, bearing them down onto Kazuki.

Kazuki gritted his teeth as he was forced on the defensive once more.

 

4

After braving the dangers of Babel, Euphoria finally reached their destination.

When Izaya took his first step into the throne room, he recalled the feelings he had during his first trip. How long had it been since he stepped into this room?

He asked himself questions while pacing forward in complete silence. Only the footsteps of his allies can be heard, all three of them matching his careful and deliberate pace.

Guren…

Kiyone’s voice called out to him again. It called on, trying to say something, but the rest of her sentences were blurred out. Something seemed to have repressed her, resulting in a series of static noise that only Izaya can hear.

“Kiyone, I’m here,” he mouthed softly before looking straight at the gigantic throne ahead. Of course he remembered it all. The layout of the spacious room, the glass panes that lined the sides, and most importantly…

Izaya set his sight upwards, to the large crystalline ball that floated above the throne.

When he laid his eyes on the figure above, his entire body was overcome with an emotion that he had not felt for a long time.

Kiyone… No, the Absolute Order using Kiyone’s body as a host, was curled in a fetal position inside the crystalline ball. The wisplike wings covered her body, and her eyes were shut tight.

It was clear that Kiyone was still being repressed by the Absolute Order, and while that fact angered Izaya, he stood his ground.

“Pretty…” commented a stunned Utara. Izaya looked over to see that she had been completely mesmerized by the vulnerable sleeping beauty. She was consumed in wonder even if it’s only for a moment.

Izaya heard the activation sound of an Armament, and the very next moment, the floating daggers had surrounded Utara.

“Be careful, Ms. Utara,” advised Dr. Kagami. “She may look helpless in a dormant state, but she’s anything but vulnerable. I’m sensing a powerful latent energy from within that ball.”

As if to help him confirm it, the beeping sounds of another Armament came from behind him. It was Dr. Kagami, who had activated his own visor Armament.

“No.” Dr. Kagami shook his head, his voice showing signs of disbelief. “Even in her dormant state?!”

“What is it?” asked Utara.

“This much energy welling up in her… Impossible!”

Before they could act, the crystal ball glowed with radiant energy, resulting in a flash that completely blasted the throne room.

The room was filled with the sound of glass shattering, and when the blinding light dissipated, the crystal ball had disappeared.

The winged figure made her slow descent. Instead of the peacefully sleeping Kiyone that everyone had seen just now, what faced Euphoria was a woman with a determined expression in her face. The Absolute Order in this state carried an aura of an angel, the very kind of being that burned its witness with blinding fire.

Instead of the usual chilling sensation that had become associated with Nullities, Izaya felt different. It was a kind of heated exhilaration that was completely foreign to him.

So this is how it feels when the moment you’ve been preparing for has arrived.

“It’s been three years, false ruler of this world. How have you been?” he asked sarcastically.

“Only a fool would return after almost having his existence erased. To add to that, you brought new human beings with you,” responded the Absolute Order, still using the deep, gurgling voice that Izaya hadn’t heard in three years. “This time, you won’t escape.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I don’t intend to leave.”

Izaya calmly drew his rapier before pointing it at the Absolute Order in a stiff motion filled with his pent-up emotion and rage.

“I intend to finish what I started right here, right now. I will save Kiyone, claim my place as the rightful ruler over the world’s order, and fix the cursed system that plagued humanity for so long. And if I can’t have that… I have no life to live for!”