High Cathedral of the Union.
The venue of the First General Council, which can be seen as the beginning of Trinity General Academy, was also supposed to host the signing ceremony of the Eden Treaty, the core of the Blue Archive main storyline, Part 3.
In other words, this place was like the starting line for the Eden Treaty arc. Is this what they call a “frame narrative”?
As a historic landmark that ranks among the finest in Trinity, the cathedral’s exterior could only be described as magnificent, inspiring awe just by being seen. Normally, I would have taken in my surroundings as if I were on a sightseeing trip, but right now, nothing around me caught my eye.
I tried to contact the Squad while heading to the cathedral, but I received no reply. It was hard to say whether it was a problem with the Arius Autonomous District or if something had happened to the Squad members.
I did receive word from Seiya that reinforcements would be sent quickly, but since they urged me to move immediately, I figured I’d have to go in without waiting for support. Thus, I directly entered the Catacombs.
The sisters managing the cathedral didn’t even think to stop me. Was it because my face had become well-known as the host of T-party, or simply because my expression was that intimidating? Honestly, it didn’t really matter.
What mattered more was, why the High Cathedral of the Union?
It was obvious that the Catacombs near the cathedral led to the Arius Autonomous District at this point. So, Seiya had likely stopped me from entering the Catacombs without thought and gave me some rough direction.
However, finding the path leading to the Arius Autonomous District within the Catacombs remained an unsolved problem. The only way was for me to wander the Catacombs myself to find the right path.
Fortunately, the Catacombs connected to the High Cathedral of the Union were somewhat maintained. Yet, from a certain point on, I had to rely on the Halo above my head and the last remnants of sanity I didn’t forget to bring along as my light source.
To be honest, I was half out of my mind. To find the desired path in a structure that changes frequently and could be dozens of kilometers, or perhaps even more, in scale? It was nearly impossible without relying on miracles.
But in another way, I was not of sound mind at all.
If a tragedy befell the Arius Squad, it would all be my fault.
Because I tried to change the future and, hoping for a better tomorrow, I twisted the path that those kids were supposed to take on my own volition. If someone were to die because of that, how could I face those kids?
If I promised to give hope and happiness but couldn’t even keep that, what would be the difference from a devil?
So I ran headlong without a second thought. Even without knowing how the situation would unfold.
Honestly, I was ready to face Beatrice directly if it came to that. The moment Beatrice realized that the Squad had betrayed her, she would have no reason to delay the ritual of offering Atsuko as a sacrifice.
The Squad was merely a tool through which Beatrice would seize the Eden Treaty and use Maestro’s mimesis to replicate Justina Temple Association and Saint Barbara, making them her own.
Yet, the core card of that plan had betrayed her. This meant she would have to revise her plans entirely or start from scratch.
In other words, Beatrice was probably already preparing the ritual at this moment, or it wouldn’t be strange if she had finished it.
Despite having only met once and only a few days had passed, the Arius Squad had already become invaluable to me. Maybe it was because I had known their stories from before…
———!
“…What is this?”
The faint sound that reached me from afar was too vague to comprehend, yet there was no doubt: it was the sound of a gunshot.
It was the Squad. This could only be the Squad.
As soon as that thought formed, I momentarily forgot to watch my footing and dashed forward, kicking the ground. They’ve made it out safely. Thank goodness. With that thought, I fueled my momentum, not pausing even for a second.
At the fork in the road, I didn’t hesitate. After all, there was no way to pinpoint the right path here; I had to trust my instincts.
Luckily, the gunshots grew clearer and louder, indicating I was heading in the right direction.
Finally, I caught sight of a light and the sounds of voices came into earshot. When I reached a distance where I could make out figures, my remaining sanity snapped.
“…Who are you?!”
One of the Arius thugs, cornering the Squad and aiming a gun, shouted upon hearing my footsteps. Not surprising. I never intended to hide my presence anyway.
Tu-dada-dada-dada—
For the first time, I unleashed my entire magazine in a continuous spray. Even so, my submachine gun hardly budged as if using a no-recoil core from a game. Precision? Ha! Not even worth mentioning.
“…Mika?”
“M-Mika-chan! How did you know to come?! I-I imagined you showing up like a prince in a dire moment, but I never thought you’d really come…!”
On the cold ground lay Azusa. Further back, Misaki was unconscious, and beside her, Hiyori, trembling while clutching her gun, had her eyes shining.
“…Sorry for being late, everyone. Azusa-chan, are you okay?”
Atsuko dropped her gun and hurried to Azusa’s side. I couldn’t see her expression due to her gas mask, but I could feel she was relieved to see me.
And Saori… where is she?
“Um, Saori-chan is…?”
“T-That’s… um… puweeeeeen!!!”
With Hiyori bursting into tears and Azusa bowing her head, I realized the situation was more serious than I’d thought. What convinced me of that was Atsuko’s next words.
“Mika-oneechan, Sat-chan… ugh, Sat-chan hasn’t come back since she went to meet Madame… Everyone charged at us by Madame’s orders, so we barely managed to escape their encirclement. And we can’t save Sat-chan on our own… So we were hoping to ask you for help, but everyone’s in such bad shape…”
“…”
“Oneechan, please… Please save Sat-chan…”
Seeing Atsuko pleading with teary eyes made me sigh softly. I closed my eyes after seeing Azusa picking up her dropped firearm.
“Ugh, who the hell are these guys interfering with us… Wait, that seal on your clothes, could it be… How did the Trinity folks end up here?!”
Hearing one of the supposed Arius pursuers’ words caused my grip to tighten. I opened my eyes again and examined the Squad.
“Hehe… I’m feeling really cranky right now, so I’ll ask just one favor. Can you shut your mouths? You’re noisy.”
“Do you not see the difference in numbers? We are among the elite of Arius—”
Kwaaaang—!!
“Okay then☆ Is there anyone else with something to say?”
The Arius thug who got hit directly by what felt more like a meteor than a shooting star fainted in shock, leaving the others around, equally bewildered by the scene, speechless.
Satisfied by the sudden quietness, I leaned down and removed Atsuko’s gas mask. Her face was smeared with tears.
“Atsuko-chan, calm down. I’m here now, right? Everything will be fine. So don’t worry too much, okay?”
Everything will be fine.
It has to be.
The words were meant to comfort Atsuko, but they were also a mantra I needed to chant to convince myself. That everything would work out. That I could make it happen. That was the belief I desperately wanted to hold onto.
“First, let’s start by explaining why you all are in this state, Atsuko-chan. Please.”
As I asked, I kept a close eye on the movements of the Arius pursuers lurking behind me. Someone bound to make a reckless move, but given the circumstances, I wanted to assess the situation first. They wouldn’t last a few minutes if I decided to get serious.
Through Atsuko, I learned that the Squad had traveled around the outskirts of Trinity for the past four days, trying to deceive Beatrice while getting minimal rest, only to return. Saori had separated from the Squad to report to Beatrice.
However, the awaited Saori hadn’t returned in time, and what showed up first were the Arius students who received orders to capture them.
Once Azusa realized Saori’s betrayal had been discovered, she immediately insisted on rescuing her, but Misaki reasoned that with their current strength, seeking my help was their best bet, leading them to push through the Arius Autonomous District in a desperate escape.
In that process, they had faced countless Arius students, draining their supplies and stamina completely, but the Squad had succeeded in entering the Catacombs. Still, they ended up cornered like this due to hitting their limit. Their overly realistic attempts to deceive Beatrice had backfired.
“If you were going to use such a plan, you should’ve at least made sure to rest properly… No, there’s no point in saying that now.”
What was past was past. It was time to focus on the immediate situation.
“As long as nothing goes wrong, reinforcements should arrive. So, Atsuko, you all keep heading up to the surface and leave Saori-chan to me. Also, I think one of you should guide the reinforcements. Can that work?”
“…I’ll do it.”
“Hold on, who gave you the right to—!”
Kwaaaang—!!
“Hey, you weren’t planning to let us go gently from the start, were you? Seriously, did you think you could harm our kids and walk away unscathed?!”
As another one fell to an unknown attack, the stunned Arius pursuers began to realize the situation was not in their favor and started preparing for battle. Whether they did or not, seeing Azusa’s condition, which looked far from normal, made my worry surge.
“Azusa-chan, can you handle this?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
“…Hold on. Can you really find your way back on your own, Mika-oneechan? If needed, I can go with you.”
Atsuko’s words made me chuckle. What was she thinking, trying to go back to the Arius Autonomous District?
“No, I’m good. There are plenty of people over there to show the way, right? So, don’t worry about me and hurry up.”
Pointing at the Arius pursuers made Atsuko nod in understanding.
Surprisingly, it was Atsuko who picked up the unconscious Misaki. Based on their similar builds, I thought they would have gone on together, but I remembered Hiyori had the gun bag. Even in this chaos, she had diligently packed it.
“Our kids… Hwaaa… this is painful in a different way…”
“Hiyori-chan, pull yourself together and help Azusa.”
“Y-Yes! I-I’m sorry, Princess!”
Atsuko, carrying Misaki, passed by and nodded firmly at me. No more words were needed. It was a vow that I would save Saori.
Ping—
As I watched the Squad leave, an unsettling sound rang out sharply. Had I still been living a normal life on Earth, I wouldn’t have guessed what that sound was, but now I recognized it all too well.
But still, I had no intention of physically taking on something like a grenade, you know?
The moment I saw something spherical flying in my direction, I immediately hurled myself toward the Arius pursuers without hesitation. I swung the butt of my gun at the heads of the two nearest thugs.
Bang—!!
A few seconds later, when the grenade detonated, two of the pursuers were already incapacitated by my “gun.”
Now, where’s that arrogant punk who kicked Azusa earlier? Oh, there he is.
I’ll have that guy guide me. And for you, get ready to suffer the same fate Azusa did soon.
