With that, Momiji had safely transported them all from the Catastrophe to the mainland.
"Finally!" She exclaimed as she saw Hyoubu lying on the sidewalk.
"We've arrived, everyone; prepare for landing!"
After notifying the ones she was carrying, she quickly made her way toward Hyoubu and carefully put them down safely.
Magi carefully unwrapped his wings as he took a look around to make sure everything was safe.
"Great job, Momiji. Yo, you contact the others so they can get here ASAP and take the Major to the hospital. Momiji, you contact Babel, explain our situation, and request admission to one of their hospitals."
"Understood!"
Momiji and Yo exclaimed in unison as both of them took their phones out of their pockets and started dialing the numbers of the members stationed in Japan.
Meanwhile, Magi carefully put Hyoubu next to Senzo and the others to keep them as close together as possible.
"Just hold on a little longer; proper help is on its way," he muttered, gritting his teeth.
After a moment of waiting where he could feel his heartbeat all the way in his throat, he saw Momiji and Yo had finally finished their phone calls.
"And?"
He put his hands together in a pleading gesture, hoping there would be good news.
"Good news! They will be here very soon; luckily we are rather close to their main base of operations!"
Momiji stated, tears started forming at the edges of her eyes and she almost lost her footing as well, but she stayed standing.
It wasn't over after all; she could collapse once everyone was inside a hospital.
"That's good. How about you, Yo? Will Babel allow them to be admitted?"
"Yes, even though it sounded like the others were against it, Minamoto and Fujiko overruled them luckily, so once the others arrive, we can rush straight there."
Magi heaved a sigh of relief, even though he felt his legs almost give out once again, but this time he remained upright.
"Great. Okay, prepare to get the injured into the cars as fast as possible, and Yo, please find the fastest route to the hospital."
"Understood!"
The three of them were busying themselves trying to make sure everything was in order so they could leave immediately after the others arrived.
Andy could only grit his teeth, wondering how he could betray them for the military.
What was I thinking? I'm clearly aware of the treacherous behavior of those higher-ups, and I still let them find a ship full of children?
At some point in time he had woken up, but seeing how everyone was doing their utmost to get him and the others to safety had moved him so much that he didn't dare let them know he had woken up.
Never again will I let something like this happen! I will beg them for mercy once this all is over, and hopefully they can find it in their hearts to forgive me... But honestly I wouldn't blame them if they just decided to kill me on the spot.
While he was drowning in guilt and self-pity, he was also trying to steel his resolve to do anything in his power to make sure something like this would never happen ever again.
Why did I even trust them to keep their word? Just because they're in the government or military? So what, aren't those the people most prone to becoming corrupt and power-hungry...?
Then a sudden realization began to dawn on him: I've been so fucking stupid. But that stops now!
***
After what felt like an eternity for Magi, Yo, and Momiji, they finally saw multiple large vehicles approach at breakneck speeds.
"There they are, Magi. Let's prepare to take them to the hospital quickly."
"Yes!"
The normally stoic Magi now had a smile on his face; he could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel after all.
The cars screeched to a halt right next to them, and the doors flew open with multiple people jumping out of them.
"We heard the news. Where are they?"
An older man asked, his eyes wide as he was frantically looking around, and that's when he saw him.
"!?!?"
The Major he had looked up to after he had saved him, but now he looked like a corpse.
"What the hell happened!?" he suddenly demanded as his whole body shook with rage.
"Now's not the time for this, Mag! We need to get them to the hospital ASAP!" Magi said sternly.
"Ah, of course, I'm sorry."
"Don't worry about it, and instead help us load them up so we can leave."
"Yes, sir!"
After that, the trio and the others who had arrived by car quickly loaded the four into the cars, and just like that, all the doors slammed shut and the tires screeched as they put their feet on the gas pedals.
"Yo, you guide them!"
"Understood, Magi."
***
While Magi and the others were racing toward the hospital, Senzo was currently in a predicament; at some point in time, he opened his eyes and found himself in a pitch-black void of absolute nothingness.
"Where am I?" he muttered while looking around trying to find anything.
But he found nothing; no matter how far he walked in a singular direction, all he saw was black, black, and more black.
And what was even stranger was that he couldn't hear nor smell anything.
"..."
"I'm pretty sure I was on a ship just a moment ago, no? After wiping those fuckers from the map, then I..." But after that he couldn't remember anything; there was a massive blank in his memory.
"Did I die? No, right?"
But he couldn't be certain; after all, he was now in a black void. Couldn't that be death?
"..."
"Ahhhh, fuck me!"
He shouted as he grasped his head between his hands and tried to calm himself down, but the moment he thought that he might be dead, he just couldn't control his emotions anymore as they all flooded out at once.
The anger of dying such a useless death, the sorrow of not being able to see his family ever again, and the regret of not being able to protect his parents and younger sister from the dungeons.
All kinds of emotions overwhelmed him, but then something weird happened: a single ray of light suddenly formed far above him.
"Huh?"