A Sixth Sequence Aberrant.
Already a dangerous existence standing very nearly at the summit of this world.
Even a World Boss as terrifying as Kujou Iruka had been nothing more than a Sixth Sequence Aberrant during her first phase.
Of course—
The Smiling Abyss, who in truth commanded far greater power, could wield strength equivalent to the Sixth Sequence with a good deal more ease than most.
All the more so because she was a "Throne" of the previous era.
Looking at Kirishika before her—
Looking into the distance, at Tsukiyomi Fuya swaying to a halt in midair, her right hand pressed over the streaming wound on her shoulder, crimson blood falling into the sea.
Su Yuzu seemed to understand what the girl in front of her meant.
The only person who could stop the "Seat of Evil" was herself.
Either she drew her sword here and now!—
Ascending to the "Throne", descending upon the earth in the form of the "Seat of Karma".
Except then... she would inevitably expose herself to the eyes of Imperial Capital University, and to the eyes of the Tokyo metropolitan area.
Perhaps... she would end up like Kirishika all those years ago, forced to hide her name, hide her face, and flee far from home.
Or—
Su Yuzu clenched the overflowing holy glow between her fingers.
The "Saint's Blessing", which in the original storyline was meant to be spent resisting that Abyss of Eternal Smiles, would be used here instead.
And besides... even before her sacrifice, Saint Michael had only possessed Fifth Sequence power.
Power that Su Yuzu had already worn down again and again.
Whether the radiant strength Saint Michael left behind could still hold back the incursion of the "Seat of Evil" was anyone's guess.
But Su Yuzu was out of choices.
She watched Tsukiyomi Fuya struggling to hold the line against the raging sea. She had made this mess. She would clean it up herself.
Su Yuzu rose from the bench.
"Yu... Yuzu!?" Soga Yura had already sensed something was wrong.
She moved to follow without thinking, only for Kirishika to catch her sleeve with a gentle tug. "The battlefield ahead... it isn't one that little-little-little Yura can set foot on anymore."
Were Fourth Sequence Espers strong?
Of course they were.
And Soga Yura, a prodigy among prodigies, stood at the very front of the Fourth Sequence.
But... against an enemy of the Sixth Sequence, Soga Yura would find it nearly impossible to make her strength count.
That was the limitation of a mental-type Esper.
A pure close-combat Esper like Ms. Unohana Chiyo, given Technology Division equipment such as the "Behemoth", or better still a Holy Relic to work with, might still play a real role in a high-tier battle.
But... a purely mental-type Esper, once unable to touch the opponent's mental domain, was reduced entirely to a support role.
Soga Yura bit down hard on her lip.
She knew... Sister Kirishika was right.
If what had awakened from the deepest abyss truly was a Sixth Sequence Aberrant Throne, then in all of the Tokyo metropolitan area, perhaps only an equally awakened Yuzu, or... Tennoji Jurei in her death-resolve state, could hold that thing outside the safety line.
Soga Yura hated it.
She was the one... she was supposed to be the one protecting Yuzu.
Not long ago she had even been just a teeny-tiny hundred-million bit pleased with herself for stepping into the Fourth Sequence.
And reality had turned around this fast.
Kirishika sat quietly beside Soga Yura, watching that solitary silhouette walk slowly toward the sea.
This, it seemed, was the fate of every rule-type ability user.
This was perhaps the sorrowful future a "Throne" was destined for.
Across all of history, down the long river of years.
There were always some... whose very birth existed to shoulder some crushing mission.
And afterward, they sank beneath that long river of years.
Carried by time, they became a notch on the great clock of some era.
Watching in silence as civilizations rose and fell.
Round and round... over and over...
Their fate was destined to be that lonely.
And then—
Kirishika stared at Su Yuzu's retreating figure, and froze.
Under her gaze, the girl's fate, which should have been utterly solitary, was suddenly bound by countless threads.
But those threads were not there to shackle her hands and feet. They wove themselves into vast wings, cutting a path through the thorns ahead of her, escorting her forward.
"Wait..."
"Yuzu—"
"Wait!!!"
One of those threads gave off a faint light.
Sakura Mai, whose legs were visibly trembling, had appeared at the roadside at some point without anyone noticing.
She looked an absolute wreck.
Her nightdress was smeared with mud, as though she had fallen into a puddle somewhere on the way here.
Beside Sakura Mai stood the little rabbit, her expression just as grave.
The little rabbit looked toward Soga Yura and Su Yuzu.
She didn't understand what was happening, but both she and Sakura Mai were certain of one thing—
Sister Yuzu.
Yuzu-senpai...
She meant to help Tsukiyomi-senpai and meet the enemy in the sea head-on.
The look the little rabbit gave Su Yuzu said something like, "I really did try my hardest to make Senior Sakura rest, but I'm sorry... I honestly couldn't stop her."
As for Sakura Mai, she was well past caring about any of that.
The girl yanked open the front of her clothes, and her soft pale skin and delicate collarbones seemed to glow under the night sky.
"Yu... Sister Yuzu..." It was mortifying, and yet Sakura Mai forced her chest out anyway. "Please, take my power with you."
As far as Sakura Mai could tell, the will of the Sword of Erasure had simply given up on its own master.
Who in the world delivers themselves to somebody's door like takeout?
But what else was she supposed to do.
The hilt was stuck in her body.
Su Yuzu looked at Sakura Mai, smiled, and reached toward her chest.
Off to the side... Soga Yura's expression grew even uglier.
The Sword of Erasure was drawn out by Su Yuzu.
And Kirishika was beginning to feel that something about this girl's whole aesthetic had gone slightly off the rails.
Granted, Little Yuzu's power really was inferior to the "Seat of Evil", who had by now become the vessel of the Abyss Will.
But... was it really okay to gang up on her like this?
The [Sword of Erasure], left behind after a "Throne" died, was an evil relic that remained once a rule-type ability user had fallen.
The "Godmother's Laurel" was the Holy Relic that Kirishika had left behind in the "Holy Royal Court" after her own death.
And that "Saint's Blessing" was the last power Saint Michael had granted to Su Yuzu.
Counting Little Yuzu herself... ohhh, that's four against one.
Ah, forget it—
Better a fellow Daoist die than this poor Daoist.
Kirishika went back to considering how, after the battle, she might get Soga Yura to fetch her a eurypterid so she could finally find out what the thing tasted like.
The Sword of Erasure in her hand seemed to have never burned so fiercely.
Su Yuzu walked toward the ocean.
The holy white Fire on the girl's body began to blaze up, wild and roaring.
[Ding—]
[Confirm use of the "Saint's Blessing"?]
[--YES--]
Su Yuzu did not hesitate for even an instant more.
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