"Wh-what is that monster...?!"
One by one, the Arius students who entered the Sanctum Sanctorum laid eyes on the creature. Their student president and ruler, Madame, was nowhere to be seen. In her place, an intruder from Trinity was fighting a grotesque monster. Even I would have been dumbfounded by the situation.
Normally, a thought like, 'Seriously? Reinforcements are arriving now?' would have slowed my thinking, but right now, my mind was racing.
Just as I was wracking my brain for a way to save Saori, the answer fell right into my lap. It was practically served to me on a silver platter; I'd be a fool not to take it.
"That monster is the true form of the Madame who has been using you. The student president who deceived, oppressed, and exploited you was nothing more than a foul devil, even worse than those from Gehenna."
"What... did you say...?"
"So we've been puppets for a monster—no, a devil—this whole time? N-no! That can't be true!"
"But those eyes... they're definitely Madame's..."
Sensing the tide turning from the murmurs of the students, Beatrice, who had faltered for a moment, finally let out a roar.
[What are you all doing?! Subdue that intruder at once! Any who disobey will be severely punished!]
Beatrice's voice, coming from the monstrous form, sent a ripple of unease through the students. If I hadn't acted first, they might have succumbed to their fear and turned their guns on me.
But I was the one in control now.
"That monster taught you to kill, and brainwashed you with the ridiculous idea that all is vanity!!!"
I could feel the Arius students' eyes focusing on me. The pieces of the puzzle that would lead to my victory were falling into place.
"...She ruled through violence, punishing any student who didn't follow her will. She blamed all your misfortune and suffering on Gehenna and Trinity, branding hatred onto you, but do you really believe that monster isn't a part of that hatred herself? Yes, it's finally time for you to see everything for what it is. You can't hide the sky with the palm of your hand, can you?"
I kept my gun aimed at Beatrice with one hand, pulling the trigger as I turned to look behind me. By now, the number of Arius students in the Sanctum had grown from a handful to nearly twenty.
The students' faces filled with fear as they saw Beatrice shrouded in a blood-red aura, deflecting my bullets. It was as if they were witnessing a monster that controlled blood itself.
"Do you understand now? You've been thoroughly used by that monster. In truth, you weren't even tools; you were destined to be sacrificed for her wicked ambitions. Just like the leader of your Arius Squad, Saori Joumae, who is tied to that altar right now."
A cold silence fell over the Sanctum. Even Beatrice was momentarily at a loss for words. I swapped out my empty magazine, and the hollow clatter as it hit the floor broke the silence.
"Some of the misfortune and pain you've suffered was caused by Trinity's past actions. As one of the three student presidents of Trinity, I, Mika Misono, acknowledge that as a fact. But!"
I now turned my back completely on Beatrice to face the students. Enraged by this, Beatrice launched an orb of red energy not just at me, but at the Arius students as well. However, a shooting star that bloomed from my fingertips in an instant pierced right through it.
The students, who hadn't expected Beatrice to attack them as well, snapped to their senses and stared at me in shock. The person who had just broken through their lines was now protecting them. They were understandably bewildered.
"The responsibility for the arduous life you live now lies entirely with your student president, Beatrice."
[What ridiculous nonsense are you spouting!]
"Because the one who repeatedly rejected the hand of reconciliation that Trinity has been extending to Arius for years was none other than Beatrice herself."
"...Madame did?"
"But Madame told us that Trinity had forgotten we even existed..."
Lies and deceit, born from negative emotions. That was your preferred method as an adult, wasn't it, Beatrice?
Then I'll fight fire with fire, using the adult tools of propaganda and fabrication. It wouldn't be easy to dilute the Arius students' hatred in an instant—it was nigh impossible—so they'd have to forgive me for cheating a little.
[Ha? What in the world—]
"I would like to take this opportunity to formally apologize to you all. If necessary, I am prepared to get on my knees and beg for your forgiveness. All I want is for us, who were once comrades, to be able to walk side-by-side again. But to do that, we must first drive out that monster who has deceived you with lies and subjugated you with violence."
Some of you have surely committed unforgivable sins, but I'm sure most of you haven't gone too far yet. Just like the girls in the Squad.
I will take you in. I will help you find happiness. So please, I beg you, just this once, lend me your strength.
"This is your chance to finally be happy. So please, believe me just this once, as I dare to promise you that happiness. Give me the chance to extend my hand to you. I promise I won't let you down. So please, just for now, I need you to lend me your strength to defeat that monster."
[What utter nonsense...!!! Happiness? You speak of happiness? How dare you utter such a foul and disgusting word in my Basilica...! Such words are not even worth listening to! All that befits my students is to hone their hatred in endless misery and achieve their revenge!]
Ignoring the noise in the background, I continued to appeal to the Arius students. I was doing this to save Saori, but even if that weren't the case, I had no intention of abandoning them.
"Children of Arius, the time has come to take up your arms and reclaim the lives you were meant to live. This is the first step toward seizing the happiness you have so desperately longed for in the depths of your hearts. So join me. Yes, let us declare an end to the monster who called herself an adult and exploited you."
The sound of guns being reloaded and aimed echoed through the Sanctum.
The muzzles of the Arius students' guns were pointed not at me, but at Beatrice.
[...I see. So this is how you turned the Squad against me. I'll admit it. You have earned the right to be called an adult. So let us determine which of us is the better adult, right here and now. The traitors will pay the price after that.]
And so, the second round began. The only difference from before was that my side's firepower was on a completely different level.
I did my best to intercept Beatrice's attacks aimed at the Arius students. A few got through, causing some casualties, but the new students who joined the fray also chose to attack the monster before them rather than turn their guns on me. As a result, our numbers, far from dwindling, continued to grow.
Beatrice, having awakened to her Horror, was not invincible. On top of my own gunshots, which had already been dealing significant damage, the combined fire of dozens of students began to steadily wear her down. I could feel the end approaching.
The tide had turned in my favor the moment the Arius students appeared. Beatrice seemed to sense this as well.
[Th-this...!! Why! Why does nothing work on you! This is absurd. Unreasonable. This shouldn't be happening! I, who was supposed to build my sublimity and soon blossom into the god of a new world, defeated like this...!]
I, too, was exhausted. It was a miracle that my body, which had run nonstop from Trinity and fought continuously along the way, was still holding up. But even that was reaching its limit.
However, in the end, it was Beatrice who broke first.
[No! My, my manifestation...!!! This can't be!!!]
Losing her monstrous form, Beatrice fell to her knees and collapsed. The students, realizing the fight was over, ceased their fire. At the same moment, I walked up to Beatrice, my gun still aimed at her.
"...Beatrice, your defeat was sealed the moment you saw your students as nothing more than disposable tools. If you hadn't, I might have been the one to lose. A real shame."
I deliberately praised Beatrice at the very end. It was a way to soothe her wounded pride, just enough to prevent her from doing something crazy like summoning the Color.
I really didn't like it, though.
"...Don't be ridiculous. My methods were wrong? No, my methods were not wrong!"
But Beatrice hadn't given up yet.
She pulled an unidentifiable parchment from her bosom and grinned wickedly. No, correct that. She pulled it from within her body. It was a bizarre, incomprehensible sight.
"I may have failed today, but if you disappear, the story can still change. Everything will return to how it was supposed to be, and I will be given a new chance. If only you would disappear!!!"
Riiiiip—
Beatrice tore the parchment to shreds and held out her hand to me with a bloodcurdling smile. A pile of paper scraps rested on her palm.
A sense of ominous dread made me take a step back. At the same time, Beatrice's lips moved, whispering something. Then, she blew the scraps of paper toward me.
If they had been normal scraps of paper, they would have fluttered to the ground. But these were far from ordinary. The scraps gathered in mid-air, forming the shape of a skull, and slowly drifted toward me. And then my body, which had been backing away, suddenly froze, unable to move.
In that instant, I knew. This was…
"A Text..."
"As expected, you are unusually knowledgeable. To understand Decalcomanie's Text just by seeing it. You're no ordinary student."
Beatrice's last resort, a Text she was confident enough to use in this situation. I already had an idea of what it was.
"It is a Text that embodies the concept of destroying Mystics. In other words, a Text that can destroy your halo. Thanks to you telling them your name, I am now able to use this Text directly."
'Mika Misono's Mystic will be destroyed here.'
"Decalcomanie would be furious if he knew I was using it this way... but what do I care? Once I destroy your halo and use its remnants to restart the ritual, I will blossom into an existence that none can touch."
It was checkmate.
Golconde would never have used his Text in this way. Beatrice herself would have originally used that Text to create the bomb that destroys halos. But while the effectiveness of that bomb was never proven, I knew instinctively that this Text was different.
In this place, my Mystic, my halo, would be destroyed. And I would die. It was an absolute.
I see. If I had known this would be my end, I would have…
"Mika-oneechan...!"
At that moment, I heard a voice, and the sound of something flying through the air. The object collided with the skull-shaped Text, and an intense spark erupted. At the same time, the formless power that had bound my body vanished.
Only then could I see what the object was. It was Atsuko's gas mask. The gas mask created by Beatrice using the technology of the Nameless Priests, provided by Black Suit. The very same gas mask that had saved Atsuko's life in the original story. Here, it was used by Atsuko to save my life.
"What...?!" Beatrice uttered in a daze, seeing her last resort nullified by the very thing she had created.
The realization that I had just escaped death made my legs give out from under me. I collapsed onto the floor, a single question piercing through my mind.
How on earth did Atsuko know she could save my life with that gas mask?
"Hah, haah... Thank goodness, onee-chan..."
Atsuko rushed to my side. Azusa was supposed to be the one guiding the reinforcements, but for some reason, the entire Squad, including a conscious Misaki, was with her.
"Atsuko-chan, how are you here...?"
"Well... that person, Seia, said that no matter what, I had to reach you, onee-chan. That it was the only way to prevent a tragedy. So I came back, too. The other two just followed me when I said I was going."
...I see. So, in the end, it was thanks to Seia that I made it this far.
"Thank you, Atsuko-chan. You saved me. Yes, thank you so much..."
Honestly, I was scared. When I first transmigrated into this body, I'd wondered if I could return to my original body by killing myself. But now, facing death, I realized with absolute certainty that this world had become more precious to me than anything. Overwhelmed by that realization, I pulled Atsuko into a tight hug.
Amidst it all, I heard Beatrice's unpleasant voice.
"...Kekeke, truly. I never imagined I would meet such an unpleasant end. Very well... I shall retreat for today and await the next opportunity. I will not forget this, Misono—"
Beatrice's words about a 'next opportunity' snapped me back to reality. I couldn't let her get away. I was about to force myself to stand when...
"Kihihihihihihit—!!!"
"W-wait. Who are you— Gwaaaaaargh?!"
"Gyaaaaaaaah—!!!"
With a monstrous scream, the Angel of Destruction burst onto the scene and began to literally beat Beatrice to a pulp.
Dammit... I knew I could count on you, Tsurugi Punch...!!!
It took quite some time to sort everything out. After mediating between the Arius students and the Justice Task Force that had come to support me, I was able to hear from Atsuko how they had arrived so quickly.
Amazingly, it had taken Seia less than an hour to assemble the reinforcements. According to Sakurako, it was only possible because Seia had scared them, saying my survival rate would drop by ten percent for every minute they were late. And considering the timing of Atsuko's appearance, Seia hadn't been wrong at all. Her contribution to this victory was immense. Of course, this was only possible because they had gathered only the elite leaders of each faction and any other members who could be immediately dispatched, which meant the support force was small.
The reinforcements, consisting of Tsurugi, Mine, Sakurako, and about 40 others, had met the Squad right after entering the catacombs and were able to head straight for the Arius district. After entering the district, thanks to me having cleared out the Arius forces beforehand, they were able to advance to the Basilica without a single fight.
"Oh, and that person, Nagisa, asked me to tell you she fainted from the shock," Atsuko added.
"Whoa."
I should have just died. No, wait, if Nagisa heard I almost died, would she strangle me with her own hands?
While the other girls were taking care of Saori, Atsuko remained by my side. She was probably feeling responsible for the fact that I had nearly died acting on their behalf.
"Atsuko-chan, shouldn't you go see Saori-chan? I still have things to do."
"...Okay. Thank you for saving Sat-chan... and for staying alive, Mika-oneechan."
I watched Atsuko walk toward Saori, then turned my attention to Beatrice, who was still being trampled by Tsurugi. This was beyond a 'crumpled can'; it was a pathetic sight.
What should I do now?
For the sake of Kivotos's safety, killing her here and now was the right thing to do, but could I really commit murder? And would the other students understand?
It was a difficult question. No matter how much Beatrice had turned into a monster and committed devilish acts, as long as she had a human form, I would hesitate.
As I stood there, gun in hand, pondering, I heard a strange sound. The sound of two pairs of heels, and something creaking.
"My, my, Beatrice. To think that this is the result of committing an act that a member of Gematria should never commit. It is deeply regrettable."
"I'm glad this happened before I lent you my power. To decide which is the better adult? I might accept that from the girl, but for you to call yourself an adult is something I cannot forgive."
"I will admit that the Text Madame might have completed would have been literary, in its own way. But the process is disappointing. I never imagined you would abuse my Text in such a manner. Had I known, I never would have accepted your deal in the first place."
"Indeed!!"
All of Gematria, except for Beatrice, had appeared before us.
...No, not us.
Amazingly, everyone in this place, except for the four members of Gematria and myself, was frozen in place, as if time had stopped.
Yes, that's right. All of Gematria had appeared before me.