"Is this the city auditorium?"
"Yeah. I know this place," Masaomi replied. "The Church uses it every month for flea markets and bazaars. It also has a hidden basement level used as a combat training ground for Exorcists—a space unknown to the public. It should be large enough for a proper battle."
"If Touji Shidou's goal is to cut Masaomi down, that basement is the most likely stage," Lovestar added.
We stood before the building, each lost in our own thoughts. I had successfully rewritten the barrier's magic circle to perform a reverse-trace, and Cleria's magical signature was pulsing clearly from within. Somewhere near her, Shidou was waiting—waiting to face the man who would come to rescue her.
"Cleria is safe, isn't she?" I asked, my voice tight.
"She's fine. She is a vital bargaining chip for the negotiations with Diehauser Belial," Masaomi said. "Shidou understands that much."
"Because of the deal with the Bael Faction... but why would Shidou believe the words of a Devil and go so far as to kidnap her?"
Masaomi looked conflicted—he understood the logic, but his heart refused to accept it. Shidou had no way of verifying the chaos in the Underworld for himself. I wondered if he had even considered the possibility that the Bael Faction was lying. Then again, the Devils had little reason to lie to the Church about a global strike.
"He likely faced pressure from the Church's high command," Lovestar noted from my shoulder. "And I don't think he trusts the Devils at all. He's acting under a purely rational, Church-centric logic. That's why I can say with certainty that Cleria hasn't been harmed."
"Wait, you mean he didn't take her because he believed them?"
"His goal isn't 'Purge Cleria Belial.' It's 'Purge Masaomi Yaegaki.' If he can eliminate Masaomi—the primary cause of the Church's scandal—there's no need to kill Cleria. She is the Emperor's cousin; she's a political bomb the Church high command would rather not detonate. Their priority isn't revenge against a Devil; it's saving face by discarding the 'traitor' within their own ranks to settle the matter quietly."
Lovestar's blunt assessment of the situation made me wince. Seeing Masaomi simply shrug in response, accepting the cold reality of being a "discarded pawn," left me with an ache in my chest. Discarding the one to save the nine might be a valid organizational strategy, but the feelings of the one being discarded were another matter entirely.
"If the Devils' story is true, they simply hold Cleria and then hand her over to her own kind," Lovestar continued. "If it's a lie, they use her as bait to lure Masaomi in. Once the purge is complete, they can return her to Kuoh unharmed. Since she did engage in a forbidden romance, the Devils can't exactly condemn the Church for using her as leverage."
"So... if I am purged, the Church will lower its sword and let Cleria live," Masaomi summarized.
"Regarding the Church's side, yes. However... and this may be difficult to hear, Masaomi... your actions have brought 'joint responsibility' down upon Shidou and his unit. The Church will punish them for failing to supervise you. There is a high probability that your successful 'execution' is a prerequisite for lessening their sentences."
"So if I survive, their positions only get worse..."
Masaomi rubbed his chin, lost in thought. The Church's high command wanted their own man to perform the execution to preserve the appearance of internal discipline. By forcing Shidou—Masaomi's own mentor—to do the deed, they were offering him a path to "atone" for his subordinate's sins.
Shidou had a family. He had loyal subordinates. He surely cared for Masaomi, but he couldn't just abandon everyone else to the Church's wrath. Driven to the edge, he had chosen the only path left: settling the score with his own hands, however brutal the method.
Masaomi looked pale, his brow furrowed. The realization that his very existence was a burden to the people he respected was clearly weighing on him. But we couldn't stop now. For all my sympathy for Shidou, I didn't want Masaomi to die.
"Masaomi," I said hesitantly. "You aren't thinking... that dying might be the best way to save Shidou and Cleria, are you?"
"I... can't say the thought didn't cross my mind. But if I did that, Cleria would cry. Luciana would be furious—I promised I'd bring Cleria back with me. And Diehauser would probably kill me himself if I stayed dead."
"And I'll be pissed too," I added. "I'll work with Milky Yellow and drag you back from the Underworld just to turn you into a Magical Girl."
"Please, anything but that. I was wrong to be weak! Shidou, I'm sorry, but I absolutely cannot afford to die now!"
Masaomi's rejection was dead-serious, his face twitching with genuine fear. Wow, the threat of becoming a magical girl is a more powerful motivator than a death wish. Truly, a symbol of hope. Though, honestly, I wouldn't have minded him taking over as 'Red.' If there were more male magical girls, maybe my own shame would be diluted.
I never want to transform again, but as long as I'm with Miltan and Lavinia, I'm terrified it's going to become a habit. The fact that the "Magical Girl" system actually makes me a high-level sorcerer on par with Lavinia is the most terrifying part.
"Kanata, you really do have your own pace, don't you?" Lovestar whispered.
"Huh?"
"No, I mean it was an effective way to encourage him. If Masaomi goes in with a weak heart, he has no chance against Shidou. I wanted to avoid a situation where he learned the truth mid-fight and hesitated. Telling him now was a gamble, but I'm glad I left it to you."
Lovestar's comment made me sweat. You really should tell me these things before I do them! I have a habit of blurting out whatever I'm thinking, and Mephisto's habit of letting me walk into psychological minefields is bad for my heart.
Regardless, Masaomi had cast aside his self-sacrificial impulses. He gave me a thin smile, then narrowed his eyes as he stared at the auditorium. His black eyes were clear, focused only on the path ahead. His resolve was complete.
***
"Now then, before we go in, let's organize our information," Lovestar said.
"Is there enough time?" I asked.
"Once the negotiations begin in the Underworld, this orb from Ajuka will glow. That's our signal to breach."
Lovestar reached into his cheek pouch and pulled out a small green marble. He's really leaning into the mascot role, I thought.
"Our objective is not to defeat Touji Shidou, but to rescue Cleria Belial," Lovestar began. "Our only 'defeat' is if either she or Masaomi are purged. Understood?"
"Yes," Masaomi replied. "And what about Kanata and you?"
"Our role is to secure Cleria's safety. Masaomi, you will provide the one-on-one duel Shidou expects. While he is focused on you, we will slip in and rescue her. If we secure her and the situation allows, we may simply focus on a tactical retreat."
It was a sound plan. With my Sacred Gear, I could search the building without Shidou noticing. And frankly, I wasn't sure how much help I'd be in a high-speed Exorcist duel. Even Mephisto was currently in a hamster body. Exorcists specialized in high-speed combat using a variety of weapons and rituals. I doubted I could even track their movements with my eyes.
Professor Azazel had warned me six months ago that I struggled against overwhelming power or speed-focused opponents. My power was a status-altering support type. I was poorly suited for enemies who could ignore my tricks or those I simply couldn't hit.
"I agree," Masaomi said. "Knowing you two are heading for Cleria will let me focus entirely on the fight."
"Shidou will be using his Holy Sword's ability," I noted. "Can we counter it?"
"It's a replica of Excalibur Nightmare," Lovestar explained. "The original can manifest phantasms of legendary beasts or drive all five senses into total madness. A replica is limited to projecting things from the user's memory."
"From his memory?"
"During combat, his blade might appear to blur into several, or he might create illusory doubles of himself. The real problem is that every time you clash with the blade, it releases a fine dust of light particles. The more that dust accumulates, the more accurate the illusions become. If the particles touch you, they attempt to pull your consciousness into a 'dream,' shattering your concentration. A long battle is a death sentence for us."
"That sounds incredibly dangerous!" I shouted.
Hearing it again, that Holy Sword was a nightmare to deal with. Combined with Shidou's elite skill, the support effects were devastatingly efficient.
"Its weakness is that it can't handle long-range attacks or complex spells," Lovestar said. "The particles require close proximity to be effective, and since it requires successive strikes to build up, it lacks immediate lethality. There are ways to win, but Masaomi, you'll have to settle this quickly."
"I can handle basic illusions," Masaomi said. "But based on my training with him, I'll start struggling after a hundred exchanges. By three hundred, my senses will be completely compromised."
Masaomi and Shidou were likely equals in raw technique. And since Masaomi had been trained by Shidou, their styles were nearly identical. Masaomi wasn't a heavy hitter like Xenovia; he was a speed-and-precision type like Irina, relying on high-volume strikes.
Shidou had more experience and the Holy Sword, but he was also suffering from "health issues" that might dull his edge. He knew his own condition and would likely anticipate Masaomi's attempt at a quick finish. I suspect he'd try to stall and let the Holy Sword's effect do the work.
That made Lovestar and me the ultimate wildcards. If Masaomi were alone, he couldn't save Cleria without beating Shidou. But with us there, "time elapsed" became a victory condition. Masaomi didn't have to win; he just had to hold Shidou's attention while we got her out.
Still, my inability to land a hit with my Sacred Gear was a problem. Exorcists had superhuman evasion and danger-sense. If Shidou realized I was a threat, he'd take me out instantly. Once someone identifies me, my invisibility loses its effectiveness. Against a pure speed-type, I had zero chance of escaping.
"Lovestar, what exactly can you do in that body?" I asked.
"Basic magic," the hamster replied. "Invisibility, communication, and I can weave outfits out of mana. Small-scale stuff. I do have the 'Ham-un-te,' an ultimate technique that causes a massive explosion at the cost of my own life, but let's keep that as a last resort."
"…Director. Have you been playing the RPGs I lent to Lavinia?"
"We are currently clearing the 'Interstice World' together. The lore is deep, the story is excellent, and the magic system is quite unique."
Crap! I had accidentally introduced a ten-thousand-year-old Great Devil to a national-favorite Dragon-slaying RPG through Lavinia! And he was already incorporating it into his combat terminology!? Well, it is a masterpiece. I'll have to talk shop with him later. Masaomi, meanwhile, just stood there looking utterly bewildered by our conversation.
"Don't worry too much," Lovestar added. "If things go south, we have a group of enthusiastic magical girls and a super robot waiting in the wings."
"I... I will do my best to handle it myself!" Masaomi blurted out. "I refuse to let any more holes be poked in Shidou's stomach!"
Clearly, the trauma of the "Milky☆Catastrophe" was universal.
***
"Illusions, huh..." I muttered. "With my Sacred Gear, I can erase my own status ailments. Even if he tried to put me in a dream, my partner would just reset me."
"Kanata, your Sacred Gear is the natural predator of any status-effect type," Lovestar noted. "The terrifying thing about your power is that it keeps all phenomena at 'Zero.' Illusionists and status-altering Gear users would hate facing you. But don't get cocky; your energy is finite."
"I know. I'm limited by my mana and stamina."
Keeping phenomena at zero. If that's the case, I'm also the natural enemy of "Enhancer" types who buff their stats. If I can hit an empowered enemy with my spear, I can reset their buffs to zero. In RPG terms, I was a walking, talking "Dispel" or "Frigid Wave."
But the bottleneck was always hitting the target. If I could apply the effect without stabbing... but I wasn't at that level yet. If only I could give Masaomi the ability to clear the illusions himself during the fight...
"Wait a second."
I felt Lovestar flinch on my shoulder.
"What is it, Kanata?"
"Hold on. I need to talk to my partner."
I looked down at the crimson spear and focused. Hey, partner. What's the range on your effect? And if I funnel my aura into it, can I trigger a specific effect remotely? If I use that Senjutsu trick, can I maintain a connection through my aura? Is it possible to 'register' an effect and use a strike as a trigger to distribute my power to someone else?
My partner sent back a wave of exasperated thoughts—the mental equivalent of a parent sighing at a child's reckless idea—before finally signaling, "Fine, fine... let's try it." My spear was as reliable as ever. I funneled aura into Ruin Lorn Scarlet, following the crimson light in my mind.
"Wait, Kanata! Talk to me before you do something crazy—"
"…Oops. Too late. I already did it."
"Good heavens, this boy and his spear..."
I got the same reaction from my guardian that I did from my Gear. Lovestar slumped over on my shoulder, exhausted. It wasn't that big a deal, was it?
"Is that... a small spear?" Masaomi asked.
"Yeah. I used Analyze to break down a part of the Gear's structure. I funneled my aura into this dart-sized spear, and then used Rewrite to lock a specific ability into it. As long as we're within the same building, 'striking' something with this will trigger the effect even without me giving a command."
Basically, I was letting Masaomi use my power. The mini-spear held a pre-set "Erasure" command and used the aura I provided as fuel.
"For example, I've programmed this one with 'Erase Combat Damage.' If you get hurt, you just 'stab' yourself with this dart, and it will trigger a full recovery. It's a one-time-use item, and it only works if you're relatively close to me."
Once the effect triggered, the aura would be spent and the connection to the main Gear would sever. It was a tactical consumable. I couldn't do complex commands like Remove or Rewrite yet, but simple resets were possible.
"Lord Mephisto... looking at this, aren't there some incredibly dangerous applications for this?" Masaomi asked.
"Yes... quite a few," Lovestar sighed. "An ability that was limited to Kanata is now available to anyone. Enemies Kanata could never hit can now be targeted by elite fighters using his power. The tactical possibilities just expanded exponentially..."
Wait, why do they both sound so tired? Did I mess up again? I thought letting Masaomi clear his own status ailments was a great idea.
"Regardless, this is the ultimate trump card for you, Masaomi," Lovestar said. "You can catch Shidou off guard. Use it wisely."
"I will. Thank you, Kanata."
"Be careful out there," I said, handing the small spear to Masaomi. He tucked it into a hidden pocket in his sleeve—Church uniforms were full of tactical gimmicks like that. I was a little jealous of the "hidden weapon" vibe.
"Oh, perfect timing," Lovestar noted.
The green marble began to pulse with a steady, emerald light.
"That's the signal," I whispered.
The air grew heavy with tension. I gripped my spear, Lovestar groomed his fur one last time, and Masaomi rested his hand on the hilt of his sword. There was anxiety and worry, but no trembling. We believed in the happy ending.
To overturn a tragic story of forbidden love in Kuoh Town, we took our first step forward.
***
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