Defeated by Miranda, his heart torn out, Ethan teetered on the edge of death. In the mental realm, he encountered the original Eveline, and together with the phantom Eveline, he accepted his fate and was reborn. Now, riding in the back of Duke's wagon, Ethan and the two Evelines headed toward the final battleground.
"So… the original Eveline's tagging along too, huh?"
[What, got a problem with that?]
『I thought we'd merge for a power-up, but this one's got something to say.』
[I realized I can't just vanish without giving that old hag a piece of my mind.]
"『I get it.』"
[…You two are so in sync it's gross.]
『What'd you say?!』
[I could just absorb you, y'know!]
Ethan sighed, watching the two Evelines bicker in midair above the wagon's cargo bed, tugging at each other's hair and pinching arms. Their squabble made it impossible to tell them apart, which only deepened his exasperation.
[Ow, ow, ow, ow! You fake!]
『I've got more combat experience than you, so I'm the real deal!』
"Hey, whatever, but can you guys make it easier to tell you apart? Which one's my daughter… wait, both are, right? Uh, which one's the fake?"
『Calling me a fake is harsh!』
"Then what do I call you?!"
[Hah, serves you right!]
The original Eveline, teary from a pinched arm, glared at the phantom Eveline, whose cheeks were red from being yanked. After a moment's thought, the phantom Eveline transformed into a 14-year-old version of herself, smirking down at the stunned original.
『Check it out! Grown-up me! Bet you can't do that stuck in the mold!』
[Ugh… no matter how hard I try, I can only turn into an old hag… I lose…]
"Don't even joke about turning into an old lady. That's low-key traumatic."
『Oh, her last words really hit you hard, huh?』
[Looks like it. Feels kinda good.]
Ethan's trauma stemmed from Eveline's final words at the Baker house: "Why does everyone hate me?" The two Evelines, picking up on it, clasped hands and giggled with wicked glee, earning an eye-roll from Ethan.
"Are you two friends or enemies? Make up your minds."
『Friends? With this shrimp? No way!』
[Be friends with this old hag? I'd rather die!]
『Who're you calling old?! I was only with Ethan for three years! We're technically the same age if you count from death!』
[Anyone who saw the stork bring Rose is an old hag!]
『Wait, what? Are you serious?』
[Huh? What's with that grossed-out face? Did I say something weird? Hey, Papa, did I say something weird?!]
『You're way more childish than I thought. Total turn-off.』
Ethan sighed again, watching the original Eveline, teary-eyed, grab the grown-up Eveline's collar and shake her. His head ached. Doubling Eveline was doubling the chaos—naturally.
"Hey, Duke, we there yet?"
"Oh, my. I find this quite charming. 'Fight nicely,' as they say."
"…You can see them?"
"Who, me? Whatever do you mean? Oh, look, we've arrived, Mr. Winters."
Bidding farewell to the evasive Duke, Ethan grabbed his gear, shouldered Heisenberg's hammer, and headed to the ceremonial grounds with both Evelines. The grown-up Eveline turned his right arm into a blade, while the original morphed his left into black tendrils, which writhed on their own, mowing down Moroaica without giving him a chance to swing.
[When it comes to mold, I'm the best.]
『Ugh, I lost…!』
"Stop messing with my body without asking…"
『Oops, my bad. I'll try to chill… right, me?』
[Yeah, me. Facing Miranda, we should probably take charge, don't you think?]
"…Do whatever. I don't care what happens to me—I'm getting Rose back."
『[That's my Papa!]』
"You two are definitely buddies."
Ethan and the Evelines burst into the plaza, parting the mold wall with his restored hands.
"Oh… my sweet Eva… my darling daughter. Come to me."
"Wait, Miranda!"
『Give Rose back!』
[And die alone!]
There stood Miranda, enraptured, hands outstretched toward a chalice steeped in black ooze. Ethan gripped the Molded hammer in his right hand, ready to charge, but froze when Miranda lifted Rose from the chalice. The original Eveline, acting on her own, turned Ethan's left arm into tendrils and snatched Rose back.
"You dare steal my Eva after we finally reunited…? Have I lost my mind? A half-dead man standing with two failures?"
[You were crazy from the start, hag!]
『Less brains than the giant hag? Nice one, me!』
"I've got Rose back!"
"Give her to me! That's my Eva!"
Miranda's head was pierced by a rifle shot but regenerated instantly. She hurled a fireball from her right hand toward the shot's origin, sprouted branch-like wings, and lunged at Ethan, clinging to his Rose-holding left arm.
"Was that Chris?!"
"Get your hands off my child, Ethan Winters!"
"You let go! What if Rose falls?!"
『Hands off Rose, you toxic parent!』
[Get shot in the head and stay dead, toxic parent!]
"Who are you calling a toxic parent?! I love my daughter more than anyone! I've devoted my life to this moment… and you'd steal it from me?"
"Original Eveline! Get Rose to Chris!"
[Got it!]
『I'll cover you! Go, Ethan!』
"『We are family!』"
[I'm family too!]
Combining their power, Ethan and the grown-up Eveline transformed into a Molded Gigant—no healing items needed. Two extra arms sprouted from his shoulders, passing Rose to the bullet's source. With four arms, they pummeled Miranda, sending her flying.
『Call it… Molded Trinity!』
[Lame.]
『It's not lame! It's a cool name from the Time King!』
"Gah! I won't let anyone take her… my great wish is at hand! Rose is mine!]
"『[Don't mess with us! You're not touching Rose!]』"
Miranda countered, her arms and fingers elongating, transforming into a witch-like figure from Village of Shadows, clad in revealing black. Her claws and wings slashed, but Molded Trinity fought back, pounding relentlessly. Despite the size difference, Miranda's sharp claw uppercut sent Trinity flying.
"Your power's grown since last time. The extra failure's influence? But you can't surpass the original mold's might! That's the truth!"
[Fake! You take the right! Attack! I'll clear the way!]
『On it! Don't screw up, Original!』
"Let's go!"
Realizing a divided heart would lose, Molded Trinity synchronized. The right arms gripped Heisenberg's hammer and formed a blade, while the left became octopus-like tendrils and a chain-scythe. Charging, they parried Miranda's claws and wings with tendrils and scythe, hammering and stabbing with the blade.
"What's this movement?! You're all acting independently…?! What did you do, Winters?!"
"Sorry, I'm just charging. My daughters are the ones going all out."
[I've got something to say, you old hag!]
『Original's got a bone to pick from her time in the mold, so listen up, Dash Hag!』
Amid the onslaught, Original Eveline pursued her goal, revealing a truth that shocked Ethan and Miranda alike.
[Listen up, hag! I'm Eva…!]
"What…?!"
[More precisely, Eva's reincarnation! I remembered after dying once! No matter how you use Rose, it's pointless—Eva's soul is right here!]
"…Huh?"
『Wait, for real?』
Stunned but unrelenting, Ethan and Grown-up Eveline kept attacking. Miranda's momentum faltered. No wonder—she'd discarded Eveline as a failure, never imagining she was Eva's reincarnation, a truth she couldn't accept.
"Impossible… you're nothing like Eva! That's why you're a failure…"
[Reincarnation means I'm a different person, duh! But you called me a failure and threw me away! All you're doing is trying to recreate the old Eva—a replacement doll! Don't steal Ethan's precious Rose for that, you idiot!]
"You can't be Eva!]
[Enough already… Mom!]
That word was the final blow. Black tears streamed down Miranda's face as she froze. Ethan's right-arm blade pierced her chest. Reverting to human form, blade intact, Ethan watched the Evelines separate from his body. Miranda, calcifying, gazed up at them, her cracking hand reaching out.
"Oh… my wish was already… I'm sorry, Eva…"
With those final words, Miranda shattered, her fragments glinting in the dawn.
Later, the two Evelines combined their power to sustain Ethan's body, reuniting him with Mia and Rose. Chris and the Hound Wolf squad destroyed the mold core, and they all boarded a helicopter bound for Europe, resting.
"…Hey, Original—no, Eva. Was that okay?"
『I don't remember, but… she was my mom, right?』
[She did all that just to bring me back. Unforgivable. Maybe I should merge with Fake and vanish…]
Ethan and Grown-up Eveline exchanged glances, smirking mischievously.
『No way. I'm not cool with that.』
[Huh, but…]
"You're not a fake—you're like a sister, Eveline. Live with us. You died young and got trapped in that place, right? So live it up now."
Tearing up, Eveline nodded. In Europe, the BSAA would soon face hell.
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