What if everything in the world unfolded exactly as I thought and planned? Wouldn’t that be great?
If everything progressed so smoothly that I felt it was perfect, with no variables in sight, it would be as though the world circled around me alone…
Sure, there would be some who would label such a world as “flat” or “boring,” but I was more than ready to welcome such a world.
However, life isn’t that simple.
Plans often break midway, and unexpected variables pop up to annoy me. It’s unfair and frustrating when I’m the one dealing with it, but reality is harsh. Complaining wouldn’t change a thing.
…Anyhow.
[Hmm…? T-Teacher? An unknown wave is detected centered around your current location!]
The first to sense the anomaly was none other than Arona, nestled inside that box of Siddim.
While getting bombarded by Arona’s voice during this color Perorozira all-out offensive, a memory flickered in my mind. I recalled that I was once a teacher. And while Arona wasn’t actually in the Siddim box, I did know I had owned a Siddim box at one point. So at least that question was somewhat resolved…
But that didn’t make the fatigue from hearing Arona’s voice—sounding like hallucinations—go away.
“…What?”
Startled by Arona’s sudden words, the teacher naturally blinked, and at the same time, my gaze shifted to him.
Initially, due to the teacher’s sudden statement, everyone in the Meeting Room turned their eyes toward him.
Realizing that everyone’s attention was focused on him, the teacher surprisingly showed no indication that it affected him. He seemed to have sensed the serious tone in Arona’s words, waiting intently for the next bit.
[T-This feels… like there’s noise interfering with space. For some reason, the coordinates of that building seem distorted… Ah, aah?!]
However, neither the teacher nor I, who was casually eavesdropping on Arona’s words, really needed to wait for more.
And it was no wonder…
“That strange light… Could it be color? No, it would be even stranger if it weren’t color.”
“Color… U-Um. What should we do? I’ve heard that if you’re directly exposed to color, your head could turn upside down?!”
“Well, it doesn’t seem to be a direct exposure situation right now, but it might become a problem if this situation goes on for too long… Right, this is indeed a troublesome predicament. If it’s affecting the entire building, we might be like rats in a cage…”
From beyond the glass window of the building, ominous violet light began to swirl, progressively blocking our view.
Before long, a dark veil of violet was formed, and it didn’t take long for us to be unable to see outside from within the building.
Whether it was merely blocking our vision or physically obstructing outgoing and incoming movements was still unknown, and it was pretty close to impossible to figure that out by ourselves.
No one wanted to make contact with that ominous veil, risking losing themselves to color.
Perhaps if Mika had already been heavily influenced by color, she might’ve been fine touching it, but considering what color meant to Mika made it hard to voice such a thought.
Thus, facing a situation far removed from normalcy, I found it difficult to open my mouth.
And whether it was a misfortune or a blessing, it didn’t take long for us to realize who was behind this crisis.
[Sorry, Teacher. It will take quite some time to analyze this situation, even with the computational power of Siddim’s box…?]
Woooom——
Cutting off Arona’s words, the sound of space distorting reverberated within the Meeting Room.
[Teacher, behind…!]
The distortion in space occurred just about a meter away from the teacher.
What was about to happen next was obvious.
Creak——
A woman appeared.
With eyes that spoke of too much witnessed and experienced, revealing a heart that had crumbled completely, her name was…
“Shiroko…”
Upon my call, the gaze of ‘Shiroko’ from another world locked onto me.
“…”
And just as she was about to say something, a hand shot out from my side and pressed against the Meeting Room table.
…It was Mika’s hand.
In that moment, a thought crossed my mind—was this too hasty of an action? But that thought quickly vanished.
‘Shiroko’, stained with color, was undoubtedly our enemy, and I couldn’t forget that fact. The familiar wolf that had pressed against me obsessively was in Abydos, not here.
I couldn’t comprehend why she had appeared here, but looking at the situation outside the building, it certainly didn’t seem like a friendly purpose.
This ‘Shiroko’ that had manifested before us was essentially the same as the ‘Shiroko’ I knew but had transformed through experiences that were distinctly different.
Just by listening to Mika, it was evident that this ‘Shiroko’ was, whether willingly or not, following color.
So it was commendable that Mika, who leapt onto the table without a shred of hesitation, aimed to stomp down on ‘Shiroko’.
Of course, there was a voice whispering in a corner of my mind suggesting I should try to reason with her.
No matter how serious the process might have been, every story in the game Blue Archive ends in a happy ending. Thus, surely there would come a time when even the color ‘Shiroko’, who had suddenly emerged in the finale, would find her smile again.
So as I stood up to respond to this sudden situation, I couldn’t help but harbor hopeful thoughts.
Bang——
“Oof…!”
But just as I thought that, my hopeful vision was dashed when I saw Mika, grimacing and crossing her arms, landing back on the table.
“…”
In ‘Shiroko’s’ hand was a shotgun—a weapon both familiar and unassuming in appearance, clearly Hoshino’s shotgun.
Which means… right, it was most certainly the Eye of Horus.
It wasn’t hard to recall how ‘Shiroko’ came to possess that. It must have been a relic of Hoshino brought from a world where she had perished… that was the only explanation.
Therefore, there was no way to negotiate with ‘Shiroko’.
At least, I was certain that I couldn’t come up with any methods at this moment.
Essentially, the reason I could turn Mika into an ally was that she had a reason to protect this Kivotos; that reason being that, to her, I was an incredibly precious existence.
In contrast, ‘Shiroko’ had absolutely no such reason.
The Abydos Countermeasures Committee she belonged to was no longer a thing in this world, and she led another Abydos Countermeasures Committee to ruin.
To hope that a third committee would mean something significant to her was… well, it might be overly optimistic.
Giving up on attempting to sway ‘Shiroko’, I decided to follow Mika’s judgment. Naturally, our goal was to subdue ‘Shiroko’.
Though the standard of our attacks might differ slightly between Mika’s and mine, one thing remained unchanged: our opponent was someone Mika recognized as a powerhouse, and we had to give it our all.
Just as I was about to leap over the table, following Mika’s lead, ‘Shiroko’s’ gaze landed on me.
And in that moment, I froze in place.
I’m going to die. I’m definitely going to die. I can’t step forward.
All my senses screamed at me, ringing alarm bells.
A memory from long ago—well, not so long ago—crept up in my mind.
That moment when I almost lost my life to Beatrice… the concept that threatened me then.
What ‘Shiroko’ comprised before my eyes was the concept of death, her Shinpi having fully awakened.
“…Get that gaze away from my teacher!”
Mika, with a furrowed brow, pulled the trigger, but ‘Shiroko’ casually averted her gaze from me and opened her shield. At the same time, a single drone buzzed from behind her shield, taking to the air and initiating fire.
“Tsk…!”
As Mika took a step back, a rift opened in space. The next moment, Mika reappeared behind ‘Shiroko’.
With a punch aimed at ‘Shiroko’, she was anticipated all too well, as ‘Shiroko’ swung her shield and redirected her arm’s trajectory.
“YAAH…!”
In that chaos, the drone’s gunfire claimed a harrowing Aco as its victim, forcing her to duck in a hurry, and I instead began scanning my surroundings with my eyes, my body having frozen solid.
Rin quickly retreated, observing the situation with a cold glare, likely seeking support from the Defense Office. It was clear her expression reflected a sense of dread, knowing that was probably futile.
It made perfect sense; even Hina couldn’t hope to contend with Mika. If ‘Shiroko’ acknowledged Mika as a formidable opponent, she would surely need support on the level of a top-tier powerhouse.
Perhaps Naraka.
Meanwhile, I was barely holding it together, having flinched at a mere glance!
“Huuh.”
As I caught my breath, I locked eyes with the teacher, who had fled from the ongoing melee between Mika and ‘Shiroko’. I felt my strength gradually returning.
Could it be that they…?!
Shaking my head in response to the teacher’s questioning look, I made it clear.
At least in all the ways I knew, this ‘Shiroko’ bore no connection to me.
“Haha! You’ve got some skill, huh? Yes, I need this level to even feel motivated!”
“…”
Mika wore an amused expression, but her gaze remained endlessly serious, while ‘Shiroko’ continued to remain silent. For some unknown reason, her deeply sunken eyes didn’t seem focused on Mika.
‘Shiroko’ wielded a black assault rifle, similar in appearance to the one used by our version of ‘Shiroko’, and aimed it at Mika. Noticing that, Mika scoffed and raised her hand to snatch the gun.
“…!”
Kuaaaang!!!
A grenade popped out from ‘Shiroko’s’ concealed hand and exploded right in front of Mika, obscuring her vision.
Once I caught on to the movements that were obstructed by that obscured view, I realized why ‘Shiroko’ had shown up here.
“Teacher, watch out!”
As I yelled that, I dashed towards my teacher. The distortion in space that had emerged right behind him confirmed my suspicions about ‘Shiroko’s’ intentions.
She plans to kidnap or assassinate the teacher!
No one knew better than her the doom that awaits Kivotos if there’s no teacher.
As ‘Shiroko’ advanced toward the teacher, her chilling gaze returned to me.
While the pressure remained, I found that I didn’t freeze this time.
I had to stop ‘Shiroko’ for the people I loved, those who loved me in return. That thought propelled me onward relentlessly.
And then,
Shjaaaaang——!!! Tatatatata——
“Uggh…?!”
As the glass shattered, a torrent of relentless bullets rained down on me.
A helicopter stationed outside unleashed indiscriminate fire upon us. Witnessing such a bizarre sight, I could only swallow a laugh in disbelief.
This world really seems to favor Abydos too much. What a truth, truly.
