(I have to hurry… I have to get there!)
"Azusa-chan! It's dangerous!" a voice called.
"Stop, Azusa!" another shouted.
"Azusa-chan!"
Shirasu Azusa ran, her feet pounding the ground. A barrage of missiles had streaked toward Trinity's ancient cathedral—only to be obliterated in an instant. That much was fine. The problem was who they were aimed at, where they came from, and who fired them. But the answer was obvious.
(It's my family… Arius!)
Why did they hate so fiercely to launch such an attack? Rage and unease welled up, sweat dripping down her face. The voices of her pursuing comrades faded. Right now, her only concern was her friend—Sensei.
(Please, Sensei… Mash, please be okay!)
"Azusa-chan…! Huff… huff…" a teammate panted.
"What kind of stamina does she have?!" another gasped.
"No, Azusa-chan! It's too dangerous to go alone—stop!"
She wanted to believe it wasn't true, but her opponents were likely those four—her family. Azusa ran on, lost in her desperation, pulling further from the choux cream party and her comrades.
"—Mash!"
Calling him not as Sensei but as her friend, Azusa kept running.
(I failed. I failed. I let her escape… No, it's not over. I can still fix this. Catch her, talk to her… I have to, or else—)
"Sensei, stop! Please stop!" Tsurugi shouted.
(The Justina Apostles can be defeated, but the others… they won't stop until they kill me. If that's the case, I'll use my body to—)
"Sen…! MASH!" Grab!
"…?! Tsurugi-san?" Mash gasped.
"Stop… No, stay," Tsurugi commanded.
"Tsurugi-san, let go. I have to hurry, or they'll get away—"
"Before you chase them, calm down," Tsurugi said firmly. "Your fists—they're clenched so hard you're bleeding."
"…You're right…" Mash exhaled, finally noticing.
Mash, chasing Misaki, was stopped by Tsurugi, who'd caught up and grabbed his hand. Hearing his name—not "Sensei" but "Mash," a name rarely used since arriving in Kivotos—snapped him back to reality. He stopped, his fists bloodied from nails digging into his palms, oblivious to the pain in his frantic state.
"…You're not yourself, Sensei," Tsurugi said. "This isn't just 'off.'"
"…"
"I can see the panic in you—something I never saw before. And the way you fought back there? That wasn't fighting. It was like you were consumed by emotion and violence. Like me, but… different. Either way, it's not good."
"I'm sorry," Mash said. "I got caught up in my head… That's not okay for a Sensei, letting emotions take over and fighting blindly."
"Sensei, you—"
"My head's clearer now," Mash interrupted. "Let's go before it's too late."
"…Understood. I've got your back," Tsurugi replied.
Swallowing her complex feelings, Tsurugi spun her shotguns' cylinders and followed Mash. He took a moment to steady his thoughts, realizing he'd been too frantic. Calm down. Seriously. As they ran, a familiar figure came into view.
"There you are, Sensei!" Hina called.
"Hina-san! You're unharmed—thank goodness," Mash said, relieved.
"Sorazaki Hina?" Tsurugi asked. "Why are you here?"
"The enemy leader I was fighting escaped, so I chased her here," Hina explained. "Got held up, though."
"With Hina-san here, we're unstoppable," Mash said.
"Where's the enemy now?" Tsurugi asked.
"Likely that way," Hina pointed. "They're planning something—stay sharp."
"Got it," Mash said.
"Let's move," Tsurugi added.
The trio sprinted after the Arius students. Along the way, Mash chugged a protein shake, prompting Hina to question why he'd punched a ghost. Despite the banter, their destination was clear, and they soon caught up to their target.
"You came… Mas—wait, what are you eating?" Saori demanded.
"Choux cream," Mash replied casually.
The Arius Squad, backed by about twenty Justina Apostles, stood before them. For some reason, Mash and his team started munching on choux creams like they were at a picnic.
"…Do you even grasp the situation?" Saori asked, incredulous.
"Doesn't mean I'm not hungry," Mash said.
"Even so, there's a time and place—hey, Gehenna's Disciplinary Committee Chair, what's that drink?" Saori snapped, noticing Hina.
"Gehenna Cafeteria's special energy drink," Hina replied.
"Looks tasty," Mash commented.
"Hey!" Saori barked.
"Want some?" Hina offered.
"Hey!" Saori repeated.
"I'll take it," Mash said.
"Can I have some too?" Tsurugi asked.
"…Hey!" Saori shouted again.
"—Sweet… and delicious. Fuuka-chan's the best. Gotta get more later," Hina mused.
"HEY!" Saori roared.
"?" the trio responded in unison.
"What is with you people?! Where's your sense of urgency?!" Saori yelled, furious at their casual snacking. Her squad members muttered, "Where'd all that tension go…?"
"…Hah… what am I doing?" Saori muttered, dazed.
"You were playing the straight man," Misaki said.
"Me? Doing something so pointless?" Saori asked.
"Yup," Misaki confirmed.
"…This is your doing, Mash Burnedead," Saori accused.
"Pretty sure it's not," Mash replied.
"I almost fell for your tricks… Thanks, Misaki," Saori said.
"I had nothing to do with it…" Misaki sighed.
Mash, listening to their exchange, felt a pang of déjà vu. This kind of thing always happens in serious moments, doesn't it? Then his eyes landed on one girl.
"You're… from that time," Mash said.
"…"
"It's a shame you're an enemy now, but I'm glad to see you. I thought we'd never—"
"Don't speak to Hime so casually, Atsuko," Saori snapped, her voice dripping with venom as she forced Atsuko back.
Mash's shoulders slumped, but he was quietly thrilled to finally learn her name.
"Atsuko… Atsuko-chan, huh? Got it," he said.
"Stay back, Atsuko," Saori ordered. "Mash Burnedead, you're as infuriating as ever."
"Why do you hate Sensei so much?" Hina demanded.
"Because of this man, Hime saw the light," Saori spat. "Because of him, Hime—and Arius—suffered."
"I don't follow," Hina said. "What did Sensei do to you? He's trying to be your ally—"
"That's exactly what's infuriating!" Saori roared.
Her bellow, low and guttural, stunned the Arius Squad and Mash alike, silencing them. Her face flushed with rage, Saori loaded a magazine of specialized anti-Mash bullets into her Arius assault rifle and aimed at him. Her anger uncontained, she continued to shout.
"You showed Hime the light! Do you know how much she suffered because of it?! Your reckless hope, your thoughtless ideals—how much pain they caused her!"
"Uh… so I made Atsuko-chan suffer?" Mash ventured.
"Exactly!" Saori screamed. "We're creatures of the dark. Yet you showed her hope, something we can never have, something we can't even see! You made her suffer for it!"
"…"
"Hope… light… they're illusions that only breed pain! They cast shadows that torment us. And yet you—ignorant, carefree—you dare?!"
Arius could only survive in darkness, forbidden from dreaming of hope. They'd buried those desires to avoid the pain of yearning, loss, envy, and constraint. The only doctrine for survival in Arius Branch School was to abandon thought and surrender everything.
"Enough!" Hina snapped. "Sensei's been working to save you all today. He risked his life for the student you call Hime, out of pure goodwill. That's all!"
"Nobody asked for it. Nobody wanted it," Misaki said, echoing Saori's earlier words.
"We don't need that kind of help," another Arius student added. "Why do you keep forcing it on us?"
"Shalle's Sensei… no, Mash Burnedead," Saori said. "Your ideals aren't just a nuisance—they're a plague."
"You… how dare you say that to Sensei?!" Hina growled.
"Now do you get it, Mash Burnedead?" Saori said. "Don't try to save us. Don't force your goodwill on us. Do nothing. For Arius, for Madam's ideals—die here!"
Her face, half-hidden by a mask, burned red with murderous intent. But Mash—
"No way," he said.
"…What did you just say?" Saori demanded.
"No way. Absolutely not. Super no way," Mash said, his face twisting into a scowl unlike any the students had seen. "Hearing you out just makes me more determined."
The Arius Squad, Tsurugi, and Hina were speechless. Despite the verbal barrage, Mash's resolve didn't waver—it grew stronger, his motivation surging.
"I just want everyone in Arius to be happy, to smile, to thrive," Mash said. "That's all I'm fighting for."
"That's a nuisance!" Saori snapped.
"Even if it's a nuisance, I'm doing it," Mash replied.
"Why?" Saori demanded.
"Because giving up just because it's a nuisance means I can't save what could be saved," Mash said. "You said light brings suffering, right? Well—"
Stepping forward, Mash declared with unwavering confidence, "I'll turn that light into happiness—with a punch!"
"!"
"I'll smash whatever's causing your pain," he vowed.
"That's impossible," Saori scoffed. "You're up against adults. No one can—"
"I can," Mash interrupted. "Adults or not, I've beaten them before."
"…This is pointless," Saori said.
Touching the coffin behind her, Saori activated it. A magical sigil appeared on its lid, and she tapped the glowing symbols in sequence. As the process completed, a miasmic gas poured out like smoke. The coffin creaked open, releasing its contents before collapsing, spent. Hina and Tsurugi gasped at what emerged.
"What… is that?!" Hina exclaimed.
"It's not an Apostle…!" Tsurugi warned. "Sensei, be careful—it's far stronger than the Apostles!"
"What the heck is that?" Mash muttered.
"Your victory? Not a chance in a million," Saori said. "I'll prove it now."
C O M M U N I O S A N C T O R U M
◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢
PANAKEIA
◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢
The entity, dubbed "Panakeia," resembled the Justina Apostles with its pale skin and angelic white wings, its head wrapped in bandages. Like a Nightingale-esque nurse, it stood beside Saori, who lightly touched its arm.
"!"
End it before it begins.
Hina fired at Saori's right arm, aiming to disrupt her contact with Panakeia. The bullets should've slowed her—except they didn't.
BRRRRT!
The rounds tore through Saori's arm, leaving countless perforations. For a Kivotos resident, such penetration was unthinkable, and the lack of bleeding—wounds like holes in a paper bag—left Hina frozen in shock.
"What?!" she gasped.
(Penetration? How…? My shots weren't that powerful—just regular bullets. Why…?!)
In that moment, a sickening sound erupted.
CRUNCH! SPLAT!
"…Huh?" Hina stammered.
"Sorazaki… HINA?!" Tsurugi screamed.
"Hina-san…?" Mash whispered.
Hina's right arm exploded in a spray of blood and gunpowder, mirroring the wounds on Saori's arm. Tsurugi and Mash rushed to her side, inspecting the injury—a gaping wound from machine-gun rounds, impossible for a frail student's arm.
"Hah…?! Urgh…!" Hina groaned, collapsing in pain.
"It's dirty, but bear with it!" Tsurugi said, tearing part of her uniform to bandage Hina's arm.
"Hina-san, stay with us!" Mash urged.
No bullets littered the ground or remained in the wound—just the raw damage on Hina's arm. This was beyond abnormal.
"I was surprised, but… she was right," Saori said coolly.
"What did you do?! Why aren't you hurt?!" Tsurugi demanded.
"All thanks to this… goddess," Saori replied.
"Goddess?" Tsurugi echoed.
"Not just an Apostle—a superior model, or rather, a special one. Her name is Panakeia."
As Panakeia moved, clasping its hands in prayer behind Saori, her wounds had already healed completely, without even a scar.
"This is the secret weapon crafted solely to kill Shalle's Sensei—Mash Burnedead Eradication Weapon: Panakeia. Before her, all is powerless."
"Spouting nonsense… I'll crush it!" Tsurugi roared, lunging at Saori with a flying kick aimed at her face, followed by a full-force punch to her ribs.
"—Gah?!" Tsurugi gasped.
"Hmph," Saori smirked.
"Guh?!" Tsurugi grunted again.
"Tsurugi!" Mash shouted.
The impact struck Tsurugi's face and ribs. As her stance faltered, Saori drove another kick into her shattered ribs, sending her crashing back to Mash's side. Tsurugi, clutching her side, spat blood. Multiple ribs were broken.
"What… what's happening?!" Tsurugi rasped.
"This weapon doesn't act autonomously like the Justina Saints," Saori explained. "It requires an operator to affect a target. I'm that operator. Those who wield it receive a powerful blessing."
"Blessing?" Hina asked, wincing.
"First, complete pain nullification. I feel no pain whatsoever," Saori said.
"That's why you didn't react to the gunfire or blows," Hina realized.
"Second, the ability to reflect all damage I receive back onto the attacker—wounds, impacts, everything," Saori continued.
"But that doesn't add up," Tsurugi said. "You have a halo, so why did Hina's shots cause such wounds, and how did you heal so fast?!"
Kivotos residents, bolstered by their halos, were resilient to bullets. Yet Saori's arm had been riddled with holes—an impossible contradiction.
"The answer's simple," Saori said. "My physical resilience is drastically reduced under the blessing's effect. That's all."
"Reduced enough to be injured by normal bullets… heh," Misaki added weakly.
"Thus, your attacks wound me more deeply than usual," Saori said. "The greater the wound, the more damage I can reflect back, amplified. That's why you're in this state."
(That explains the overwhelming damage… Hina thought.)
"Third, all pain and injuries I sustain are absorbed by Panakeia, and I'm instantly healed," Saori said. "Do you understand what that means?"
Saori was invincible. Even with her body weakened to human-like vulnerability, Panakeia's damage absorption and healing made it irrelevant. In Kivotos, where gunfire was routine, a single shot could be reflected as catastrophic damage, potentially fatal depending on where it hit.
"The damage reflects only to the one who dealt it," Saori added. "No collateral."
"Even so… we can't hurt you like this," Hina said.
"Invincible. Undefeatable," Saori declared. "Your chances were zero from the start."
"…We'll see about that," Mash said.
Stepping away from Hina and Tsurugi, Mash faced Saori alone, swinging a heavy punch at her face. But now, it was merely a glancing blow.
"Hmph—argh!" Mash grunted as the damage reflected back.
"I told you it's useless!" Saori snapped.
"!"
Saori, unhindered by pain, moved freely, slashing at Mash with her anti-Sensei knife. Mash dodged with nimble footwork, but the elite special forces operative's blade, laced with paralyzing poison, began to nick him, accumulating cuts.
"Each cut slowly paralyzes you… until you can't move," Saori said.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
"Still going?!" Saori taunted.
The damage Mash dealt was reflected back, multiplied, overwhelming him with pain far beyond his usual attacks. Saori remained unscathed, the battle hopelessly one-sided.
"Sensei… Sensei!" Hina cried.
"Urgh!" Tsurugi groaned.
Hina and Tsurugi tried to move, but torn muscles and shattered bones screamed in protest, sapping their strength. Hina's arm throbbed with excruciating pain, and Tsurugi could barely breathe.
Despair—it was the only word for this moment.
"…"
"Pathetic, Mash Burnedead," Saori said. "Even if you hold back to reduce reflected damage, your body's still breaking. How many bones have you fractured?"
"…Ribs are a bit rough. Maybe one's gone," Mash admitted.
"Your arms are at their limit, too. Soon you won't move at all," Saori said.
"…Feeling a bit numb, yeah," Mash said.
"Checkmate," Saori declared.
"Not over yet," Mash said. "I'm still standing."
Blood dripped from his head and mouth. His abdomen was battered, ribs cracked, arms faltering—but Mash stood firm, unyielding.
"This is a farce," Saori said. "Pointless struggling."
"Struggling matters," Mash replied. "Keep fighting, and things can change."
"No matter how hard you try, a stronger force will crush you," Saori said. "An ant can't beat an elephant. That's reality."
"Then I'll change reality itself," Mash said.
"Delusional," Saori scoffed. "You think that nonsense will work?"
"You're hurt so badly… it must be painful, unbearable," an Arius student said. "Why do you keep standing?"
"…"
Covered in wounds, nearing death, Mash baffled the Arius Squad. They couldn't fathom the point of this fight.
"Give up, Mash Burnedead," Saori said. "Do you want to die?"
"You're worried about me? That's kinda sweet," Mash said.
"You're still joking in this situation?" Saori asked.
"I'll keep going, no matter what," Mash said. "To save you all."
"Why?" Saori demanded. "Why care so much for strangers? There's no benefit for you!"
Wiping blood from his mouth, Mash spoke with a heavy, pent-up resolve.
"No delicious food, no sunlight, no dreams, no fun… I can't abandon kids living like that," he said. "That'd be the worst thing I could do."
"What's the benefit?" Saori pressed.
"Don't need one," Mash said. "This is what you'd call volunteering—helping someone for free."
"You can't understand our pain, our loneliness," Saori said.
"I'm not you, so I can't fully grasp your pain or anger," Mash admitted. "I'm sure I can't even imagine it. But—"
Cracking his neck, tapping his foot, snapping his fingers, Mash declared, "Loneliness? That I get. I can't help it."
"Foolish talk," Saori said.
"It's true, even if you don't believe it," Mash said.
"If you die, it's all meaningless—"
"No plans to die," Mash said. "And no plans to give up on you, either."
"Mash Burnedead, you're a cancer to us," Saori said. "So I'll end you here."
"That's a problem," Mash said. "If you do that, I can't save you."
"What drives you?!" Saori screamed. "Why fight so hard?!"
"I can't forgive it," Mash said. "I can't forgive the world crushing you unfairly."
His gaze locked onto Saori, muscles tensing. Unfairness was something Mash knew better than anyone.
"Being born into a world that decides your suffering, your pain, your persecution for its own convenience, its own logic—I can't forgive that," he said. "It makes me furious."
"…Sensei…?" Hina whispered.
In his original world, Mash was born an outcast, forbidden from existing, hidden away. Stepping into the open meant being crushed by that unfairness. His grandfather fought to protect him, but the truth remained painful.
"If the world throws unfairness at you, I'll fight it with the unfair strength of my muscles," Mash said. "I decided that long ago. So—"
Veins bulging, Mash charged at Saori, slamming a fist into her face. Despite the reflected damage shattering his cheek, he held his ground.
"I won't let you lose to that unfairness," he said. "I'll make sure you taste an ordinary, happy life—plenty of it."
"—That kind of thing…!" Saori roared.
"Haaa!" Mash bellowed.
He unleashed a flurry of punches at Saori's face, each strike so fast and precise it left afterimages, stunning onlookers.
"Hmph! Hmph! Hmph! Hmph! Hmph!"
(If more damage hits Sensei…! Hina thought.)
(A barrage to outpace her healing? Useless. Such a basic tactic won't— Misaki thought.)
CRACK!
"—?!" everyone gasped.
A crack appeared on Panakeia's face. Realizing it was working, Mash doubled his speed and power, hammering Saori with relentless strikes.
"Hmph! Hmph! Hmph! Hmph! Hmph! Hmph! Hmph! Hmph!"
CRACK! SNAP!
(No… Panakeia's capacity… there's a limit to how much damage it can absorb?! Impossible! It should handle anything… this can't be…! Saori thought, panicking.)
"—Hmph!" Mash roared.
A devastating uppercut struck Saori's jaw, sending her airborne, her mask shattering. Landing, she stared at Panakeia's cracked face, fear and dread creeping in.
"If you're blessed by that goddess," Mash said, pointing his fist confidently, "then I must be charmed by the goddess of muscle."
"…"
The fight wasn't over.
"—!!!"
A deafening roar shook the battlefield, forcing everyone to cover their ears as Panakeia's scream disrupted their senses.
"…What's that?" Hina asked.
"Phase two," Saori said. "When the operator's in danger, it automatically fortifies its defenses."
"No way out now, Mash Burnedead!" an Arius student shouted.
"Panakeia's transforming…" Tsurugi said.
"From goddess to… demon," Hina muttered.
"What incredible muscles…" Mash said.
"That's what you're focused on?!" Hina and Tsurugi yelled.
Panakeia's form shifted, its skin turning blood-red, bandages falling to reveal countless eyes on its face. Its angelic wings shed feathers, morphing into bony, bat-like ones. In its hands, massive syringes appeared.
"—!!!"
"Whoa… careful now!" Mash said, dodging.
Panakeia hurled the syringes skyward, raining them down on Mash. He evaded with backflips and sprints, waiting for the onslaught to pause.
"Sensei… move!" Hina urged.
"Walk, even if it kills you!" Tsurugi added.
"No, you two stay put," Mash said. "No more moving."
"But you'll—!" Hina protested.
"It's fine," Mash said. "I win every pinch. That's who I am."
As the attack subsided, Saori plotted her next move to finish Mash. But she had no time.
"…" Rustle.
(What's that? A weapon? Reports said he can't use guns… Saori thought.)
Mash pulled out an item—a unique weapon crafted by the Engineering and New Materials Development Clubs just for him: Proteus.
"…An iron staff?" Saori said.
"What's that supposed to do?" an Arius student asked.
"?"
"Gone mad? That won't change—" Saori began.
The Arius Squad froze as Mash gripped Proteus's tip and pulled. Miraculously, it stretched.
"…Huh?" they gasped in unison.
Mash continued shaping Proteus, its form oddly familiar.
"That… no way, right?!" an Arius student stammered.
"At this moment? No way, absolutely not!" another said.
"???" Cosmic Cat Princess
"That's…" Hina began.
"No… no way…!" Tsurugi gasped.
What Mash created was dubious as a lethal weapon—though as a bludgeon, it sufficed. Unlike knives or guns, it was—
"A tennis racket?!" everyone shouted.
Yes, at this critical moment, Mash had forged a tennis racket from his iron staff. He then hardened a piece of Proteus, wrapping it tightly with bandages torn from Panakeia's head to create a makeshift tennis ball. Taking a serving stance, Mash—
"Hmph!" WHACK!
He smashed the ball with a powerful swing, striking Panakeia's face. As it countered, Mash moved like a tennis pro, dodging attacks in a rally-like dance, returning the bouncing ball to land more hits on Panakeia's face.
"Dodging syringes while targeting the crack…" Hina said.
"He's sniping it!" Tsurugi exclaimed.
"W-W-What?!" an Arius student squealed.
"That's… that's…!" another stammered.
"Panakeia's wall rally?!" they all shouted.
The relentless barrage echoed with thunderous booms, Panakeia's face crumbling further. Unpredictable, unavoidable—an attack beyond reason left the Arius Squad frozen.
"Hmph…!" THUD!
The ball soared high. Mash leaped, catching it midair and slamming it down with a jumping smash.
BOOM!
"████████████—!!!"
Panakeia let out an unearthly scream, collapsing in total destruction. Saori, stunned, stared at the wreckage.
(A dream… impossible… no way it ends like this—no, focus, next move… escape with everyone—)
"With Panakeia gone, damage goes through, right?" Mash said. "No more reflecting like before."
(Damn—!)
"Take this!" Mash said, swinging the racket down at Saori's head.
With Panakeia destroyed, Saori's body returned to normal—but that didn't matter.
CRUNCH!
A heavy, bone-shattering sound rang out as Saori collapsed.
"…Was that too much?" Hina and Tsurugi muttered.
For the first time, members of the Disciplinary Committee and Justice Task Force felt sympathy for an enemy.
-------------------------------
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