The dust slowly began to settle over the ruined battlefield. By the time the view finally cleared, the two figures who had been standing there were already gone, and Gideon and his twin had disappeared along with them.
"Cough! Cough!"
Lethe walked through the lingering dust while repeatedly waving one hand in front of her face. Her clothes were covered in dirt, her white hair was a mess, and the irritation on her face only grew with every step until she finally reached the spot where Knox and Cyrene had been standing.
Then she stopped.
Moses, who had been following a few steps behind her, immediately noticed something strange. A faint aura began to rise from Lethe's body, growing stronger and stronger until even the surrounding air seemed to tremble.
"...Those bastards!!!!"
Moses blinked in confusion. Curious about what had suddenly angered her so much, he walked over and followed Lethe's furious gaze toward the ground.
There were two strange drawings carved into the stone.
The first was a crude chibi drawing of Cyrene's head. Her pink hair was still surprisingly recognizable despite the simple lines, while one eye was closed in a playful wink and her tiny tongue stuck out from the corner of her mouth.
Looking at it, Moses could practically hear the voice.
Ehe~ ♪
Beside it was another drawing.
"...?" Moses narrowed his eyes, unable to make sense of it.
He wasn't even sure what kind of creature it was supposed to be. The small white thing had a round body, tiny limbs sticking out awkwardly from its sides, and a strange object floating above its head. Its eyes were wide and unfocused, while its mouth hung open with such a stupid expression that simply looking at it somehow became irritating.
Unlike Cyrene's drawing, there was no imaginary sound accompanying it.
It didn't need one.
The face alone was enough.
Placed side by side, the playful Ehe~ ♪ and the idiotic white creature somehow created an extraordinary provocation that directly attacked Lethe's nerves.
Her aura flared even higher.
If Knox were still here, he might have quietly wondered when Lethe had learned how to turn Super Saiyan.
"Pfft!"
Suddenly, a familiar voice suddenly came from beside her.
"Hahahahaha! What are these drawings?! They're so obscure! Hahaha!"
The moment her laughter reached Lethe's ears, the raging aura surrounding her quietly faded away.
She slowly turned her head toward the source of the laughter and found a familiar girl crouching nearby, holding her stomach while laughing at the two drawings.
The forgotten frozen princess had finally returned.
"Hamiel?" Lethe stared at her. "Since when were you here? No, I mean... since when did you already... melt?"
"..."
Hamiel's laughter stopped. Her cheerful face gradually became dejected.
"...Actually, I already melted before that pink-haired lady even appeared, you know..."
A hint of embarrassment crossed Lethe's face as she looked away.
"Aha-ha-ha..."
Her awkward laughter only seemed to drive another invisible arrow into Hamiel's heart.
Fortunately, Hamiel was Hamiel. Her gloomy expression disappeared almost immediately, and she quickly returned to her usual cheerful self as though the emotional damage had never happened.
"Oh, right! Lethe, I actually have a question for you." Hamiel leaned closer with innocent curiosity. "To be honest, I've wanted to ask you this ever since we fought Knox Aznable before, but that devil froze me!"
"Hmm? A question?" Lethe tilted her head. "What question?"
"Aren't you a fan of that famous author, Knox Aznable?"
The moment those words left her mouth, Lethe froze.
Hamiel, however, didn't seem to notice anything. "I even remember seeing your eyes all red and swollen before."
She placed one finger against her chin as she tried to recall the exact moment. "And you kept muttering something like..."
Hamiel straightened her posture and put on the most serious expression she could manage.
"'...Elysia... everyone... No matter what it takes... Humanity shall defeat the Honkai!'"
"..."
"That's from one of the novels Knox Aznable wrote, right?" Hamiel continued innocently. "I also remember you wanted to buy one of his novels. What was it again? Ah! The limited ultimate edition with his signature!"
Lethe remained completely still.
At first, her expression was blank.
Then something clicked inside her head.
Knox Aznable.
The person she had just fought.
The annoying man who questioned everything she believed about necromancers.
The same man who had given her bread and desserts only a short while ago.
He was also...
That Knox Aznable.
The author.
The author whose novel had made her cry until her eyes were swollen.
The author whose limited ultimate edition she had desperately wanted to buy.
The author who...
Killed her beloved characters.
One after another.
"..."
Lethe's face slowly turned red, then redder still until her entire face resembled a ripe tomato. No one could tell whether it was embarrassment, anger, or some unfortunate combination of both.
Hamiel, who had been watching her all this time, blinked innocently. Tilting her head, she called out in confusion.
"Lethe?"
That simple call finally snapped whatever thread of restraint Lethe still had left.
She suddenly threw her head back.
"KNOX AZNABLE!!!"
Her scream echoed throughout the Neutral Zone with enough force to make several wounded knights flinch.
"RETURN HERE!!!"
Lethe clenched both fists and screamed with every bit of strength left in her body.
"WHY ARE YOU KILLING EVERY FLAME-CHASER?!!!"
***
Meanwhile, in a hidden Dark Alliance hideout...
"Achoo!"
Knox suddenly sneezed.
"Hmm?" Cyrene, who was walking beside him, immediately turned her head. "Are you alright, Knox? Did you catch a cold?"
"Hmm..." Knox rubbed his nose and frowned slightly. "I don't think it's possible for me to catch a cold. Maybe someone's talking behind my back."
"Oh my~" Cyrene's pink eyes immediately lit up with interest. "Then it must be a very beautiful girl yearning for you~ ♪"
Knox glanced at her.
"Why did you immediately assume it's a girl?"
"Hehe~ A pink fairy's intuition."
"...How reliable."
"Very ♪"
Well, her guess could be considered correct.
Lethe was indeed a very beautiful girl.
As for the yearning part...
Cursing Knox's name at the top of her lungs and desperately asking him to return could technically be called yearning, right?
"Anyway, the mission is done. The twins have already been packed up and handed over to the Dark Alliance people just now, so..."
Knox stretched his arms above his head, looking far more relaxed now that everything was finally over.
"Let's go back!"
"Hehe~ I agree." Cyrene nodded happily. "The atmosphere in the Neutral Zone is far too heavy for a cute and fragile girl like me~ Staying any longer might hurt my delicate little heart ♪"
Knox glanced at her.
"...You just rained arrows on an entire group of people."
"Oh my~ Are those two things related?"
"Apparently not."
"Exactly~"
Cyrene smiled brightly, clearly pleased that they had reached an understanding. Then, before Knox could say anything else, a soft pink light suddenly wrapped around her body.
Her figure flashed once and rapidly shrank into a small sphere of pink light. The glowing orb floated around Knox in a playful circle before lightly landing on his clothes, where the light gradually faded and left behind the familiar pink badge.
Knox looked down at the pink badge resting on his clothes. A small smile appeared on his face as he reached over and gently tapped it with one finger.
"Thank you for today, partner~"
"Hehe~ You as well, partner ♪"
Knox chuckled softly and continued on his way.
After a short while, he arrived at the teleportation magic circle prepared for his return. Several Kizen staff members were already waiting nearby, and one of them immediately stepped forward when he saw Knox approaching.
"Student Knox Aznable, thank you for your hard work. Are you ready to return to Kizen now?"
"Thanks for your hard work as well." Knox stepped toward the magic circle and gave the staff member a small nod. "I'm ready."
The staff quickly activated the teleportation magic circle, and the runes beneath Knox's feet began glowing one after another. Mana spread along the engraved lines before a bright light rose around his body.
As the light grew brighter, Knox gradually disappeared from sight.
————————————
Character Voicelines · Lethe & Hamiel: About Cyrene
Hamiel: Now that I think about it, Lethe, doesn't Cyrene look like Elysia?
Lethe: ∘ ∘ ∘ ( °ヮ° ) ?
Lethe: ( ﾟдﾟ)!!!