Panting heavily, Itsuka Shidou sprinted up to Melusine, bracing his hands on his knees as if his legs might give out at any second.
Mr. Yano blinked in surprise at the out-of-breath boy who had come running toward them.
"This young man… is he a friend of yours, Lancelot?"
It was a reasonable assumption—after all, the boy had just called her name.
Before Melusine could respond, Shidou beat her to it. His breathing was ragged, but he pushed the words out with desperation:
"Lan… Lancelot! Do you still… remember who I am?!"
Clenching his fists, Shidou pleaded with a voice full of hope.
When those calm, gilded eyes turned toward him, his heart leapt to his throat.
He had been disappointed too many times already. But maybe because Melusine had always been so steadfast, so composed… in the midst of mounting fear and helplessness, he placed his final shred of hope in her.
Hope and dread churned inside him in a miserable storm, clawing at the bruised remnants of his resolve.
Then, under his trembling gaze, Melusine parted her lips. Her breath came out white in the winter air as she spoke with steady calm.
"You look terrible, Shidou. Do you need a hospital?"
"!!!"
The warmth in her voice swept through him like sunlight melting the frost. The fear coiled in his chest finally loosened its grip.
A smile bloomed across Shidou's face—but before he realized it, his eyes were stinging with the urge to cry.
A hug right now might actually help, Melusine thought… but she didn't like embracing anyone besides her Master. Especially not a man.
So after a brief internal conflict, she reached out and gently patted his head.
"You're scared, aren't you? And confused. And hurt. It's alright now. I'm here."
As her hand rested lightly atop his head, Shidou's eyes widened in surprise. And when she spoke those quiet, comforting words, his face turned red with embarrassment.
"Sorry, Mr. Yano. Something urgent came up—I'll have to take a rain check on that udon."
"Hey, no problem. I'll remember to keep a bowl warm for next time."
Obviously, the conversation to follow wasn't meant for ordinary civilians like Yano-san. So Melusine led Shidou somewhere more private.
"Lancelot, please listen!"
Faced with possibly the only person left in the world who remembered him, Shidou could barely contain the panic in his chest.
"This morning, when I woke up… it was like everyone in the entire city had forgotten I existed. Everything around me looked the same—but Tohka, Kotori, Yoshino, everyone… none of them remembered me!"
"Kotori kicked me out of the house, said I was some random trespasser! At school, Daitouji, Origami—nobody recognized me. Even Tohka, Kaguya, and Yuzuru acted like they'd never met me! I went to see Yoshino and Natsumi—they didn't know me either! I called Miku, and she just screamed, 'Some random guy is calling me!' and hung up!"
"What the hell is happening to me?!"
It was obvious just how much this had shaken him. His voice was ragged, full of desperate confusion, like someone trying to scream through a blocked pipe.
But—
"Even if you ask me," Melusine said calmly, "I can't give you a direct answer."
She tapped her chin thoughtfully.
"That said… I did sense something odd last night. A powerful force swept across this world—erasing every memory of you. It was strong. Even I couldn't completely resist it."
"Wh—?!"
Shidou's breath caught in his throat. "But… you remember me…"
"That's because I backed up my memories in a special way," she explained. "In case someone ever tried tampering with them. When a portion of my memory was wiped, the backup overwrote the change instantly."
"I… I don't really understand, but that sounds ridiculously amazing…"
Lancelot, you really are too perfect. No matter what happens, you always seem prepared…
"…Wait."
Melusine seemed to remember something. She turned to Shidou.
"What about Nia? With her Angel, Rasiel, the book of omniscience… even if her memories were erased, she should be able to find the missing data again."
She had a point. After all, Nia had once restored her memories with Rasiel after Mio erased them the first time she arrived in this world.
Shidou replied, "She should be in the Spirit Apartment… but I can't get in. I called, but she didn't answer."
"…Don't tell me that old lady overslept again. No, wait—I saw her eat breakfast this morning… Did she go back to sleep after that?"
Melusine frowned.
She really hated that Nia kept such a sloppy schedule. She was getting older—didn't she care about her health?
Melusine hated the cold. It couldn't hurt her, of course—her dragon body was far too resilient—but she still loathed how it made her every cell remember the days when she was nothing but a lifeless dragon corpse.
"I guess it's time to dig out the kotatsu," she muttered. "As warm and cozy as it is, it just makes people lazy and sleepy… Wait."
Her brows knit together in realization.
"Don't tell me Nia already brought out her kotatsu? That's why she's sleeping so deep—she didn't even hear the phone?"
"...That sounds exactly like something she'd do," Shidou admitted.
The image of Nia snoozing under a warm kotatsu while he was out here freezing and panicking was almost too much, even for the ever-composed Melusine.
"…Let's go. We'll head to the Spirit Apartment."
She turned briskly and began walking.
"Whatever questions you have, we can get answers from Nia. Even if she and Yoshino don't remember you, I can at least explain things so you'll be allowed inside."
Her voice was as steady as always, but to Shidou, it felt like a lifeline.
Being with Melusine was like having an anchor—like spotting a lighthouse in the middle of a blinding fog. At last, he had somewhere to go.
With that image of a lighthouse fixed in his mind, Shidou smiled and followed closely behind her.
But—
Someone had been watching them from the shadows all along.
And when she saw the gentle expression Shidou wore while following Melusine… she snapped.
A swirling vortex of pitch-black energy tore open behind Melusine, like a rip in space—or the opening of a "door."
From within that darkness, a massive key thrust out—aimed straight for Melusine's exposed back.
But just before it could strike—
A flash of swordlight shot out faster than the eye could follow.
Before Shidou could even react, the ambush had already been countered.
The dark "door" was shattered. A figure was hurled through the air, clearly having tried (and failed) to block the slash with her weapon.
Shidou's eyes widened in recognition.
"Mukuro?!"
Hair like gold-threaded starlight trailed around her neck. She wore the very outfit he'd once picked out for her. There was no mistaking her—Hoshimiya Mukuro, the Sixth Spirit who embodied "Beauty."
After being forced into the open, Mukuro's fierce glare was fixed on Melusine. But the moment she heard Shidou call her name, her face lit up with a sweet, childlike smile.
"Beloved… I missed you ever so much after we parted yesterday, so I came to find you."
In that moment, Shidou understood exactly what had happened to him.
"Mukuro… It was you. You erased everyone's memories, didn't you?"
"Yes~♪ Wasn't I amazing?"
She cradled her Angel, Michael, like a beloved toy. Her chest puffed out with pride—one that would make Kotori die of jealousy—like a child expecting praise for doing something good.
But Shidou couldn't comprehend it.
"Why? Why would you do all this?!"
Mukuro tilted her head, confused. Then she gave him the same pure, sunny smile.
"This way, Beloved and I can be alone. You don't have to worry about anything else. Just love only me, with your whole heart."
"Wh—?!"
There was no malice in her gaze. Only the purest affection and love.
And yet—that pure, overwhelming love made Shidou's blood run cold.
"But that's strange," Mukuro murmured, turning toward Melusine. "I erased all memories of Beloved from this world. So why… do you still remember?"
The moment her eyes met Melusine's, the warm glow vanished—replaced by the icy sharpness of winter.
"If I can't erase your memories… then I'll just erase you."
"Anyone who tries to take Beloved away from me… will not be forgiven!"
"Wait—Mukuro, stop!"
Shidou shouted in horror, but Melusine calmly pulled him behind her.
"Hostile intent confirmed. Battle unavoidable. Engaging reinforcement protocols."
"Shidou, step back, or you'll be caught in the blast."
A wave of radiance surged out.
In an instant, Melusine donned a gleaming set of azure armor—her Fairy Knight Lancelot form. Her aura flared like a sword unsheathed.
Mukuro flinched, eyes narrowing.
She could feel it. The strength radiating from the woman before her was terrifying.
Her grip tightened around Michael, which now morphed into a long, lance-like weapon.
"Wait, please! Why do you two have to fight?!"
Shidou shouted desperately—but even his voice couldn't pierce the wall of wind generated by their spiritual pressure.
Power surged through the city. Sirens began blaring—spacequake alerts. Civilians were ordered to evacuate.
It wouldn't be long before Ratatoskr and AST responded.
Mukuro struck first.
There was no elegance—just raw, destructive force. Her spear carved through the air like a dragon, cutting reality itself.
Melusine narrowed her eyes and raised her left arm.
The instant Mukuro's lance struck her blade-like gauntlet, a massive shockwave exploded outward—like a bomb had gone off at the point of contact.
The weapons clashed. Neither side yielded. Gold eyes locked in a deadly stare.
"Beloved is mine! No one… no one is taking him from me! I won't let them! I'll kill you, and then I'll create a world with just the two of us!"
"You can't," Melusine replied coldly. "You're not strong enough. You have no chance."
Mukuro's obsession had blinded her, clouding her vision with madness.
Melusine, by contrast, was composed—like the still surface of a frozen lake.
A sudden surge of force burst from her blade, blasting through Mukuro's weapon and slamming into her arms. She was sent flying like a cannonball across the sky.
She managed to stabilize midair, but her arms were trembling. She had felt the difference in strength.
Then—
A blue meteor streaked toward her, faster than sound.
Mukuro had power enough to level cities—but she lacked true battle instinct. As the azure blur closed in, she panicked, swinging her lance wildly.
But it hit nothing.
Melusine's emotionless face closed in. Her voice was like a dagger of ice.
"Too slow."
Her fist crashed into Mukuro's chest.
Even the Spirit's astral dress couldn't absorb the blow. It was like being hit by a freight train driven by a dragon. Mukuro was sent hurtling away, shockwaves splitting the street below.
"Aaah…"
She couldn't accept it.
If she lost now—she would lose Shidou. Again.
The pain in her chest felt like her heart was being torn to shreds.
"AAAAAAAAHHHHH!"
With a scream of utter defiance, Mukuro stabbed Michael into her own chest.
A geyser of spiritual energy erupted—like a volcanic explosion—blasting skyward in a pillar of light.
At the same time, the city erupted in chaos. Spacequake alarms screamed.
Civilians fled to shelters, abandoning whatever they were doing.
Origami, on her way home after picking up a package—materials for her latest figure project—paused in the street.
She stared at the blinding light in the distance.
"…A Spirit?"
As a former AST member, this was hardly her first time seeing one.
"But why a spacequake? Is it… a stealth manifestation?"
She watched from afar, confused.
Unbeknownst to her, the light in her pale blue eyes had begun to dim.
Black threads—like shadows come alive—crept up from her feet and slowly began binding her.
On the rooftop of a tall building, a girl stood with arms crossed.
Her long, dark-purple hair danced in the wind. Her gemstone-like crimson eyes gleamed with surreal brilliance as she gazed at the spiritual light in the distance.
Her Astral Dress, as dark as the midnight void, clung to her form like a shadow made real.
Her lips moved, forming a whisper filled with anticipation and dangerous delight.
"…Found you."