"Subject-243-has-been-neutralized, how-vexing."
—Creak...!
The Eidolon of Null, otherwise known as Zero, observed those who had destroyed the Pylon from above, slowly phasing out of existence due to this unforeseen variable.
Yet, with defeat came merit—obtaining something more valuable than they had originally anticipated.
This experiment served as a means to research how to manipulate Pylons efficiently, structures that were beyond the reach of mere mortals.
Only a few succeeded in this endeavour, and one of them was Lucy.
"That-human... Aria."
—Clop!
Zero closed their book, memorizing Aria's appearance, abilities, and took a sample of her blood to report back to the main body.
"The-Ichor. What-a-daunting-substance." Zero touched their hand, exposed to that golden light.
It was faint, but some of their biometric functions were malfunctioning, and healing would take time.
Yet they could feel that this material was eerily similar to their borrowed power, possessing enough authority to override it completely.
Even with Zero's interference, Lucy's core, which he deemed 'unbreakable', was destroyed by Aria's Ichor.
"I-must-report-to-the-main-body-about-this-anomaly." He clenched his damaged arm.
Archiving everything to the database, Zero turned around with plans to come back and find the new specimen—Aria.
Whether dead or alive.
Aria had proven herself to be a threat not once, but twice.
A threat to their thousand-year plan.
"We-will-meet-again-very-soon. Aria."
Zero closed their eyes and determined that this expedition proved fruitful...
...
...
...
—CRACK!!!
Only to confront another variable.
「Does thou truly think you can escape with no repercussions?」
"What?"
The tar-like substance that threatened to engulf Zero transformed into white, pale arms, seizing their amalgamated body.
Zero didn't have even a millisecond to process what was happening, as everything happened in a flash.
It was a mere glimmer that he witnessed their true identity, their adversaries that they had believed had long ago fallen.
THEY had been resurrected.
「It is too early for your kind to remember OUR existence.」
—Crumble...!
With her interference, all the data Zero had stored in their database was wiped before it could be sent to the main body, leaving them with nothing.
All they could do was watch in silence as they were being ripped apart, humiliated by the nemesis that had haunted them since the dawn of time.
In the end, they were erased from existence, leaving no trace in this world.
「Begone.」
—Snap!
...
...
...
「...The elusive truth will remain hidden, only to be unveiled beneath the ancient, withered tree.」
The hands that subdued the Eidolon began to fade away as she gazed at the young girl lying on the ground.
She yearned to explain everything, to tell her the truth... yet she could not.
「Let us converge at the end of the world, O' great one.」
—Ving!
With that, she, too, disappeared.
Ceasing to exist until needed.
=======
"Heeey, wake up...!"
"..."
"Ah, are you dead?"
"No, I'm not."
"Ah, the dead speaks."
"This is why."
Afternoon, just minutes after we had destroyed the Pylon.
Even now, I remained still, too exhausted to even open my eyes.
Luckily, I didn't faint like usual, subverting the usual trope of blacking out after doing something big, but I'm fine now, I think.
It was a well-deserved rest. Being shoved into a mission with a stranger, to trying to eliminate a Pylon, to bearing the responsibilities of destroying the core myself...
I may have done too much; I wish I could just black out instead—dammit.
—Pinch, Pinch...
Enjoying how unresponsive I was, Eskieth pinched my cheeks, treating them as if they were playdough.
"Eskieth. I think I dislike you."
"W-What did I do though?!"
I opened my eyes and rolled them, recalling the numerous times I had been put against terrible situations because of her so-called 'reliability' as the leader of this unsustainable squad.
If it weren't for trying to resonate with Lux's sadistic and battle-crazed tendencies, satisfying Anellia's curiosity with Libera, and sucking up to Nox's pessimistic mindset by ordering him around...
...Bah, I don't know anymore.
"L-Listen! Little lab rat, it wasn't my intention; it was the Director—"
"Hmph, don't talk to me," I replied, puffing out my cheeks and rolling over to the other side.
The floor felt uncomfortable, so I created a cushion made of Ichor, which relaxed me instantly.
Ah... the Ichor is so useful. I hope it never decides to act without my consent, haha...
"N-No..."
—Thud!
I couldn't see it, but I heard a loud bang behind me, which I presumed was Eskieth collapsing on her knees.
Good. My opinion of her in my head is in the negatives, so I won't talk to her for a while.
Hmph.
"You exceeded my expectations, Aria."
"Hmm? Oh, it's you, Lux."
I looked up, noticing a familiar silhouette approaching me.
It was Lux, who, from the outside, looked as radiant as ever, bearing six angelic wings.
"Is it just me, or did the number of your wings increase?"
"Hah? Are you blind or something?"
"Never mind then."
I shook my head, unable to make small talk even once.
I vividly remembered seeing only two pairs of angelic wings, but after the fight, she has six wings hovering behind her back.
It was beautiful, so I felt compelled to mention it.
"...Well, I guess it won't hurt to tell you later." Lux looked away, fiddling with her arms.
Her small gesture made me blush, not because of her beauty, but due to the situation.
It felt like I was watching a literal stereotype play out before me, the word "Tsundere" echoing in my mind.
It was... rather fascinating.
"Little lab rat... you're a bit like that too—"
—FWOOOSH!!!
"GYAAAAAH!!!"
Without hesitation, I used my second Libera, which was still loaded with a
Lux punched her with enough force to bore a hole in the wall, so I was sure she'd be fine.
"Nice shot."
"Learned it from you."
"I knew I'd like you since the beginning."
Lux and I nodded in agreement, somehow bonding over the act of blasting Eskieth away.
"Anyways, I'm sure you'll eventually learn what our wings are made of."
"What your wings are made out of?"
"Wasn't that part of the agreement when you spoke with the Director?"
"Yeah, but how did you know?" I wondered, surprised at her knowledge of my private conversation with the Director and her assistant.
"Eskieth told me."
"Ah."
I sighed, adding another reason to my list of why I needed to interrogate Eskieth to get her to spill everything.
"With that in mind, I wanted to ask if you want to touch my wings later."
"What."
She turned around, revealing her bare back, where each of her wings was connected to her spine.
Unintentional as it was, her bare back looked... quite risqué, enough to make me blush.
"I-Is that okay?" My face turned red as I recalled a certain incident from when I first met Eskieth.
But, albeit my reaction, Lux simply looked at me as if I was assuming something.
"W-We can do that... mhmm...!" I looked away, feeling even more embarrassed by how I was acting right now.
"Ah... I see what's happening," Nox interjected out of nowhere, letting his wings control his body like a puppet.
Seeing him butt in was a jumpscare, so I turned my head toward him in a menacing manner, glaring before he could say anything else.
"I'm sorry for existing..." He crawled away like a cockroach, intimidated by my glare.
"Wait, I didn't mean it that way—"
"I know... you don't have to fake it, Vice-Leader..."
"Ah, come on, why won't you listen to me!"
Blaring out in frustration, I stood up from my spot (definitely not to divert the topic) and approached him.
"D-Don't come closer to me—"
"Here, fist bump!"
I extended my arms towards him, expecting a fist bump.
Nox tilted his head, wondering if he had misunderstood my message.
"Mmm, come on, hurry up," I nudged my fist, urging him to respond.
Finally giving in, he extended his fist toward me, and we exchanged a fist bump.
It would have felt more natural if we were both guys sharing some brotherly camaraderie, but as a girl, I had to hold back on the skinship.
Still, he had seen me naked already… well, I don't really care.
"My, oh my, you all get along so well now~!" Eskieth, the fiend I had shot earlier, suddenly appeared behind us and hugged all three of us from behind.
"Mppgh...!" I couldn't breathe, trapped in the middle of Eskieth's embrace.
"What the—get off me, you damn woman!" Lux exclaimed, smacking her on the head repeatedly, but she didn't flinch at all.
"Leader Eskieth...?" Nox asked, resigned to his fate as he accepted the hug.
"What?! Don't leave your lonely Leader alone like that! I want in! I want in! I want in too~!"
Despite Lux's desperate attempts to escape, Eskieth held on tightly, hugging both Nox and Lux as hard as she could.
I was about to make a snarky comment, but then I saw her eyes—genuinely elated that we were all alive today.
"You all did a good job, I mean it." She let go and patted each of us on the head.
It was a happy ending, is what I thought, this whole mess ending on a good note.
There was only one person who held conflicting thoughts: Anellia.
"Anellia, why don't you join us too! Come on, come on~!"
"Ugh, get your breasts off my face!!!"
—SLAM!
"UGHEH!"
For the second time today, Lux punched Eskieth in the face as hard as she could.
Sighing, I took the lead and approached Anellia, wondering what was wrong with her.
"Anellia, is everything alright?"
"..."
"Hmm?"
I tilted my head, noticing she was staring up at the sky as if she had spotted something unusual.
I looked in the same direction she was gazing, but all I saw from the top of the roof was nothing out of the ordinary.
Thinking it was a good time to bring it up, I opened my mouth, wondering what was going on between those two.
"Hey, do you know who the Eidolon of Null is— mpgh?"
Anellia placed her finger on my lips, silencing me.
The others were watching us, curious about what was happening, but Anellia made a smart move by communicating with me telepathically.
「I'll meet you in your room tonight.」She nodded seriously.
Realizing we were going to talk about one of the extreme threats in this world, I nodded in agreement.
"Ugh... you all are so mean to me... at least you still like me, right, An?" Eskieth suddenly appeared behind me.
I jolted like a cat, nearly firing off another bullet out of surprise, but I managed to hold myself back.
"Nn, good job, Leader," Anellia said, joining us.
"I knew it, I can always count on you, this damn organization's mascot..." Eskieth approached Anellia and hugged her, treating her like a doll.
The two of them seemed to enjoy their playful moment, so I watched in silence.
The operation ended successfully, with no less than 20% casualties, thanks to the swift measures of Project ANGEL.
It would have ended horribly if not for Lucy's noble actions.
I shared this with Eskieth, believing every word, and reported it to the Director.
The remaining civilians we saved approached me to apologize for their earlier rudeness.
Although they still held contempt for the other angels, witnessing my act of saving them, despite their feelings, was enough for them to show gratitude.
Metrova City has suffered extensive damage, but everyone is determined to recover.
As long as humanity exists, we will always prevail, no matter the challenges we face.
Hope is a fleeting existence; it is something we must earn.
Tomorrow will be another opportunity to strive for a better future.