Mika Terror. The reason she appeared at the High Cathedral of the Union was quite simple.
She felt something within the cathedral that contained her very essence. And it was not just one, but two.
The manifestation of Shinpi.
The Shinpi that was secured by Color was released back into the world, and the two artificial angels of the cathedral were its products.
Then came one significant variable: the artificial angels here in Kivotos contained Misono Mika’s essence, which had also been reversed by Color.
This brought extreme discomfort to Mika Terror. Even though it was merely a small fragment, she was angry at Mika for carelessly handing over her essence to Gematria.
Essentially, she had no reason to cooperate with Color or to oppose it. Naturally, this was common sense.
Since she didn’t want to be a milestone for Color, Mika Terror was somewhat pleased to be in her current state, which kept her away from Color’s recognition.
Being robbed of her body was one thing, but she had no desire to witness the world ending once more.
Of course, there were moments that she couldn’t help but feel a surge of emotion.
When Mika first encountered Hanuma Makoto.
When she visited Beatrice of the Arius Autonomous District.
When she was confessed her love by Kurodate Haruna.
When she developed a romantic relationship with Sorasaki Hina.
Whenever a moment would arise involving the hated Gehenna or her enemy Beatrice, her thoughts and feelings were to some extent influenced by Mika.
Although Mika’s innate goodness seemed to shield her hatred towards Gehenna from manifesting, she wasn’t free from the influence when facing Beatrice.
However, Mika Terror continued to hide her true state until the very end. Being unable to speak of the past, she sank deep into her consciousness, advising not to seek her out.
As time passed, she opened her eyes.
The artificial body created by Gematria was reconstructed by Color, transforming into Mika Terror’s original form. Amusingly, she was even able to summon the gun she had once used.
If the Teacher here was someone she loved, Mika Terror would have been torn between two choices.
To kidnap her teacher and spend time alone in some remote place until the world ends.
To help her teacher and march against the determined conclusion, defying Color together.
But Mika Terror never found herself pondering between those choices. The Teacher in this place wasn’t the woman she loved.
From that moment on, Kivotos lost all meaning for Mika Terror.
The only person she could consider a friend, Kirihouji Nagisa, had already denied her.
Even if this place was a parallel world, she understood that there were no differences between the original Mika and herself. The moment Nagisa declared that she preferred the current fake Mika over the original, Mika Terror locked her heart away.
Thus, Mika Terror thought she would not invest any interest in this collapsing Kivotos.
The false sanctuary created in the High Cathedral of Trinity. Until the two beings imbued with her essence appeared as the guardians of that sanctuary, it was certainly so.
Ugh…
It was unpleasant to have given my essence to that mannequin called Maestro, but to think it would lead to such a result!
Mika Terror wanted to relieve this unpleasant feeling, but she had no intention of unleashing it on unrelated students or citizens. Thus, her target naturally became the guardians of the sanctuary.
It was ambiguous to view it as betrayal. Mika Terror was never on the side of Color, nor did she plan to side with this Kivotos.
And so, Mika Terror, who was determined to maintain a neutral stance until the moment of destruction, stepped into the High Cathedral of the Union.
Then, she unilaterally tore apart Ambrosius.
No matter how much of a failure he was, Mika Terror was overwhelmingly dominant against Ambrosius.
The gap between them was so vast that those waiting outside the cathedral didn’t even notice the outbreak of the battle.
With Ambrosius beneath her feet, Mika Terror aimed her gun, intending to erase Jeronimus just like that.
That was, until she faced the students who had just entered through the cathedral doors.
“Mika-chan…?”
Another existence of Mika had been directly mentioned, so at least most people present were aware of that fact.
However, knowing it and actually facing it were two slightly different things, thus the students facing Mika Terror were thrown into confusion.
She was a beloved existence, not completely without rumors, but so dazzling that even the emotion of jealousy seemed to be extinguished.
Yet, the Mika Terror before them was not that being.
A blind rage against the students of Gehenna. Casually calling the Justice Realization Department a bunch of dogs, and mockingly referring to the Sisterhood’s students as nuns.
In the frantic situation of Color’s incursion, she even initiated a fight against them.
“You’re… different from Mika.”
“Huh? Hahahaha! So, you thought I would be the same? If you ever thought that, I’m sorry. Really, I’m genuinely sorry, Student Council President. Unlike that girl, I’m someone who’s frightened of Gehenna.”
“True, the old Mika-chan was like that…”
Sakurako reminisced about the past, and Hasumi nodded in agreement.
“…That makes sense. There was a reason back then for Mika to represent the Pater Faction… though looking at the current Mika and Pater, that past image doesn’t come to mind at all.”
“Yeah, because she’s not me to begin with. I couldn’t care less what a witch nobody wants has to say…”
Mika Terror muttered self-deprecatingly and took a step forward. Click, the sound of her heels striking the floor made the surrounding atmosphere grow tense.
“Well, shall we limit the chit-chat here? I’m not at all interested in an ice breaking with these disgusting horned boys.”
“…Do we really have to fight?”
“Whoa—Oh? I never imagined those words would come out of the Student Council President’s mouth…”
Tilting her head, Mika Terror soon curled her lips into a smirk.
“But tell me, why do you think you have a choice here? Sure, it really doesn’t matter much, but if you’re even thinking about making a minimal struggle…”
With a clear sneer, she put pressure on her ankles.
“Why not just pick up that gun? Sorasaki Hina…!”
“Everyone, fall back and form ranks.”
Familiar with Mika’s brutal strength, Hina ordered the student council members to step back. In tandem, the Justice Realization Department followed suit and formed a formation that wasn’t overly crowded.
‘From now on, we can’t let… Mika get away.’
As Hina pondered what to call her opponent, she shook her head. From this moment forward, it didn’t matter what they called her, just the fact that she was their enemy.
In this situation, Hina and Kenzaki Tsurugi held crucial roles. Among those, Tsurugi’s was particularly important.
Under no circumstances could Mika reach the back line. Otherwise, it would be like unleashing a lion among a herd of herbivores.
Boom!
Mika Terror dove at Hina, throwing a punch. Hina had no choice but to meet it with her gun.
“What the…?”
Hina’s intent was to deflect the punch by hitting its side with the gun. To absorb Mika’s power head-on would require thrusting her gun forward, but she doubted her gun could withstand such force.
However, as if Mika Terror had anticipated this move, she opened her fist and seized Hina’s gun. Just as Hina realized the danger, Mika swung her arm.
Aiming for the gun lifted high in the air, Hina was slammed down hard onto the floor. As Mika Terror prepared to stomp on Hina—
Thud!
A loud gunshot echoed as Tsurugi’s shotgun erupted with fire. Although it was a surprise attack, she didn’t let out a monstrous cry, but Mika Terror was fully aware that she was in a battle against multiple opponents.
Ping——Tatatatata!!!
To the familiar sound that could appear in a dream, an unmerciful storm of bullets rained down on Mika Terror. With a frown on her face, she chose not to evade the attack and instead conjured a dark sphere above her hand, hurling it at Hina.
Then, she launched herself towards Tsurugi’s muzzle that was aiming directly at her.
Tsurugi hadn’t expected her to close the distance so rapidly, eyes widening for a second, but she pulled the trigger without hesitation.
Just in front of her eyes, the space suddenly distorted, and Hasumi’s voice rang out.
“Tsurugi, behind you!”
Gah! “Kuhh…!”
Thanks to Hasumi’s warning, Tsurugi managed to react to the sudden situation. However, she wasn’t without injury.
Mika Terror’s submachine gun appeared from beyond space without hesitation and emptied its magazine, with more than half of it striking Tsurugi directly.
Mika Terror’s gaze shifted briefly to Hasumi. To be honest, she would have preferred to handle the foot soldiers before facing Tsurugi and Hina…
“Yeah, that would be better★”
With a twisted smile on her face, Mika Terror’s space twisted again.
Eeeeeek!!!
As Tsurugi let out a shriek and turned her gun that way, Mika Terror was already beyond the spatial boundary. Afraid that a bullet might reach her, Tsurugi pulled the trigger late, but as if she had anticipated that, the space returned to normal.
Everyone’s gaze darted around in a flurry. They couldn’t predict where Mika Terror would launch her attack from, escalating their tension to its peak.
However, the location where Mika Terror appeared was completely unexpected.
Kuaaaang!!!
Like a superhero landing, Mika Terror’s fist crashed into the ground from the air. Fragments of stone shattered and flew outwards, knocking down the student council members nearby.
While the spectators panicked, Mika Terror unleashed a barrage of bullets that swept through the nearby student council members.
Hasumi, blankly staring at the scene unfolding before her, bit her lip.
If she were planning to conserve her power for the ensuing all-out battle, sending out her troops was the correct move.
As for those unqualified troops facing Mika Terror, they were nothing more than scarecrows.
