Hina’s all-or-nothing gambit. Each step she took wielded a deadly force, transcending mere bullets to explode with the power of bombs, the aftermath of [End: Isbosheth] was nothing short of catastrophic.
One wall of the High Cathedral had completely crumbled, leaving it wide open to the outside world.
Mika Terror, caught directly in such a ferocious attack, was far from unscathed. Her clothes and hair were a complete mess, tarnishing her usual beauty, leaving her in a somewhat alluring yet pitiable state.
However, regardless of that, she still stood on her own two feet.
A trickle of blood flowed down Mika Terror’s forehead. As it slid over her eyes, she grimaced and wiped the blood away with her hand.
Hina faced Mika with a cold glare. It seemed she had dealt a meaningful blow, but it was clear that the same method wouldn’t work twice.
From here on out, they would have to resolve this with her full skill.
The only silver lining was that the wall breaking had created an opportunity to escape. After all, confined to the indoors, the two of them had the worst synergy imaginable.
“Hahaha… I made a mistake. Yeah. You’re just too annoyingly smart for me to deal with.”
While thinking this, Hina glanced at the large hole in the wall and jumped when she caught the diamond-like glare of Mika Terror’s eyes on her.
“No need to rush. You could just take your time, but seeing your face again after so long, I couldn’t help myself. In that sense, is it alright if I take this a bit more seriously from now on? Yeah?”
Mika Terror, sneering wickedly, raised her hand and casually tidied her hair. As her once-tied hair flowed down, her outfit magically restored to its original form.
If it weren’t for the injuries covering her arms and face, and her disheveled hair, Hina might have thought her attack had completely failed.
Seizing the opportunity while Mika Terror was distracted, Hina swiftly reloaded.
Utilizing only her hands and feet, she performed her signature reload, a series of movements so familiar to her. Having observed this for a moment, she focused her energy into her toes.
“Yep, no need to say anything.”
Mika Terror, saying this, charged at Hina. At the same time, Hina spread her wings and leaped into the air.
She didn’t head straight for the hole in the wall. Of course, since that was the direction from which Isbosheth had attacked, Mika Terror herself was stationed there.
So Hina decided to take a detour. After all, a foe who had been significantly damaged wouldn’t dare to follow her into that space again—
Woooom…
“…?!”
Hina’s eyes widened. She never imagined that the same tactic would be attempted twice in a row.
Quickly turning around, she swung her machine gun upwards. Responding just like before was impractical, and it was clear that ordinary shooting wouldn’t stop an opponent with Mika’s physique.
So, Hina’s only option was to time her attack and push her opponent back…
“Hahaha!”
“Ugh…!”
Mika, popping out from beyond space, burst into laughter. She effortlessly snatched Hina’s machine gun with her bare hands and brushed it aside, rendering Hina’s defense useless.
In the next moment, Mika Terror’s foot struck Hina’s side. It was completely anticipated.
Hina, directly kicked, was sent flying like a shell. Ironically, the trajectory led to the wide open space she had desired, outside the High Cathedral.
As she hit the ground, rolling at least three times, Hina grimaced. A stinging pain flared up throughout her body.
Through all of that, she still clutched her gun tightly, displaying remarkable mental fortitude.
As she pressed her hands against the ground and half-raised her body, Mika Terror crouched down before her. The moment Hina saw the smirk on her lips, she gritted her teeth.
It was reminiscent of a cat toying with its prey, a sight that was more than enough to provoke feelings of humiliation.
“Wow—oh. That dumbfounded face is really hilarious★ You thought I was scared just because I took that hit? Huh?”
Chuckling, Mika Terror reached out. The touch that grazed Hina’s chin felt oddly gentle. As if she were petting her, Hina glared at her, brimming with determination.
“If that’s what you thought, then I sincerely regret it. You see, I know quite a lot about Sorasaki Hina. Yeah, I know so much it’s a problem… it’s like having bugs crawling all over me.”
“You, know me… that makes me feel… a bit uncomfortable…”
Hearing the discomfort in Hina’s voice, Mika Terror suddenly grasped her jaw with a fierce grip, her gaze growing icy as she glared down at Hina, exuding an aura of sheer coldness.
“Hahaha. I’m glad we’re on the same page. Anyway… after expending that much energy, trying it two times in a row would be tough, right? Back in the day, if I gave you a bit of distance, you would become a nuisance to deal with…”
As Mika Terror spoke with derision, she hesitated for a moment, lost in thoughts of the past.
Back in the day, when she repeatedly clashed with the renowned Student Council President of Gehenna. If Hina gained distance and started gliding, she would invariably end up on the defensive.
Breaking through that firepower to reach Hina was no easy task. And as they fought more and more, they became increasingly aware of each other’s thoughts, making it hard to draw out a satisfying victory even when they got close.
However, now that she was steeped in color to her very core, the Ark of Atrahasis loomed above, concealed in the heavens, bringing forth ruin. The power afforded by that spatial transition allowed her to bypass that difficult process entirely.
Moreover, the Student Council President standing before her was not the same opponent she had clashed with countless times before. Her battle experience was lacking, and in terms of raw strength, she felt inferior.
The experience of battling alongside weaklings could never compare to grappling with peers of equal strength. And once that experience surpassed tens, maybe even hundreds of encounters, it would naturally lead to visible differences.
Mika Terror despised Gehenna and the Student Council President who had always stood in her way. She harbored feelings that bordered on pure hatred.
Yet, at the same time, she also held a mutual respect for her rival. She was the lifelong nemesis that she would one day surpass, and they both acknowledged this connection of souls.
But that Sorasaki Hina was no more. Within the ruined world, she had met her end while defending Gehenna till the very last, until the light of the halo extinguished.
Despite having lost all affection, she held inside her a solitary recognition of her rival. What would it feel like to trample on that Student Council President unilaterally?
The answer to that question lay before her.
“…How dull.”
Mika Terror realized. She indeed—
“Don’t joke around.”
“…!”
Her violet eyes scattered vibrant sparks. Startled as though she had been burned, Mika Terror inadvertently released Hina’s face from her grip.
A storm surged around Hina. Feeling an instinctual threat from the swirling violet mysteries that seemed to pierce the heavens, Mika Terror attempted to back away.
But Hina grabbed her collar, causing that attempt to fail.
“Judging by your actions, you’re perfectly capable of helping us…”
All of the mysteries rose and took refuge in Hina’s gun. As Mika Terror belatedly tried to remove the grip around her collar—
“Ugh…”
Hina’s hand did not let go. Even as Mika Terror strained with all her might to crush Hina’s arm, an indescribable pain crashed over Hina like a tide.
Yet her grip remained steadfast. With a desperate resolve not to let go, Mika Terror’s expression hardened.
In this distance, without even being allowed proper defenses, if she were to accept an even more threatening attack than before—
“That face, acting all lost like a wandering child… I can’t bear to watch it any longer…!”
Piiing—
“What face? You mean I’m acting like a wandering child? Huh? That’s strange. This isn’t that idiot’s face; it’s mine…! What right do you have to speak so grandly to me, you creep who clings to others while they sleep? Seriously, I can’t deal with horned freaks like you!”
For Mika Terror, that one second felt as lengthy as a millennium. One second… No, there wasn’t even a second before that gun would blaze.
‘Besides, I wouldn’t die just from taking that hit… Is this also part of some twisted fate?’
While she thought this, Mika Terror’s eyes locked with Hina’s.
“Ah.”
A small sound escaped her lips.
Only now did Mika Terror realize. She didn’t particularly care about trampling on the Student Council President…
She had merely sought to create a space where they could fight, to reconnect with the world she once lived in.
In an instant, she witnessed a being distinct from the teacher she had cherished, and the hammer struck upon the wedge entrenched deep in her heart.
Tududududududu—!!!
Having granted a second [End: Isbosheth] in the shadowy realm, Mika Terror soon understood that the pain in her spirit was far greater than any physical agony. Perhaps it was thousands of times worse.
*
“…”
The severely damaged Mika Terror looked down at the unconscious Hina.
For some unknown reason, even though it was Hina who had collapsed, the appearance of a loser was hers alone.
Reflecting on the original reason she had come here, she recalled the students struggling against Jeronimus in the depths of the underground. Temporarily glancing towards the High Cathedral, she shook her head.
The assembly of individuals there was anything but ordinary. Therefore, she didn’t have to enter the fray. Her audacity in having taken Hina out of the fight was starkly shameless, but she wasn’t in the mood to ponder such things.
Space rippled before Mika Terror’s eyes. With a sense of resignation, she threw herself beyond it.
‘…Just once would be enough. I want to see you, Teacher.’
Overwhelmed by a profoundly lonely feeling, Mika Terror knelt atop the clock tower of Trinity.
If this Kivotos were to meet its end, would she have the chance to meet her teacher once again?
‘…No way that’s happening.’
Should this Kivotos crumble, she would merely flow into another Kivotos as part of the color.
Just as the guide of color who had drawn her into this world had done.
