Before sunrise, rain began to fall once more beneath the gloomy sky.
Upon the ruins of the Old Cathedral, a reunion destined to happen finally arrived.
"Azusa..."
Staring fixedly at the white-haired girl in the distance, Saori's body trembled slightly from the fury filling her chest as she growled in a low voice:
"You actually dared... dared to do that to the Princess...!"
That bomb, made with strange technology and originally intended for the operation against Seia, had failed to destroy Saori's halo.
Though heavily wounded, Saori survived.
The reason was not because the bomb lacked enough power to kill her.
It was Atsuko.
At the critical moment, she had thrown herself in front of Saori.
If not for Atsuko, who possessed the "Royal Bloodline," being protected with fail-safes as both a necessary condition of this plan and for another important reason...
Then even if she had successfully protected her companion, that princess who was always so gentle to everyone, including a certain traitor, might already have...
The moment she recalled Atsuko's heavily wounded, unconscious state, Saori's fear and rage only intensified.
"Azusa... I absolutely won't forgive you...!"
"...Didn't you do the same thing to Sensei?"
Azusa replied softly.
"The one who has the right to say they can't forgive the other should be me."
Those words left Saori stunned for a moment before her emotions exploded into a furious shout.
"Don't joke around! What is Sensei to you anyway!? Just three months... you've only known him for three months, Shirasu Azusa! Is that really enough to outweigh more than ten years of supporting each other!?"
By the end, Saori's naturally low voice was nearly cracking.
Azusa fell silent.
Atsuko, Misaki, Hiyori... and Saori.
Even if nearly all her memories tied to Arius were covered in an inescapable layer of darkness...
That did not mean she truly wanted to throw everything away.
But...
"...You're doing something wrong."
Azusa took a deep breath, her gaze hardening once more.
"So I'll stop you, Saori, even if it means dying together with you."
"You think you can!?"
Saori roared:
"Our anger, hatred, resentment! Do you think you can bear all of it!?"
Azusa shouted back at the same volume:
"Saori! I'll ask you one more time! Who exactly does that hatred belong to!?"
"Right now!"
Saori stared at the traitor who had nearly killed her precious princess and loudly declared:
"It belongs to me!"
Perhaps once both sides had harmed someone precious to the other, there was only one way left to settle things.
Misaki and Hiyori silently stood behind her. Then black-clothed nuns emerged like specters.
"...If that's how it is, then I'll dirty my hands."
Azusa exhaled heavily, tightening her grip on her gun as she muttered softly:
"Even if I can never return to that world again."
"Come on then, Azusa!"
"Saori!"
Like a lone boat facing a tidal wave, Azusa resolutely charged toward enemies far stronger than herself, on a battlefield completely unfavorable to her.
The booby traps she had painstakingly gathered over a long period had already been almost entirely used up in the abandoned building earlier. Even if some remained, there was no time to set them up among these ruins.
Nor did she have any halo bombs left.
In other words, the only weapons Azusa had now were the firearm in her hands, her brilliant tactical mind, her exceptional combat skills... and her unwavering resolve.
Would that be enough to make up for the gap between her and her enemies?
The answer was no.
Leaving aside the disadvantage in numbers, just considering Saori alone:
When it came to firearms, Saori was more skilled.
When it came to tactics, Saori had been Azusa's teacher, a true expert in guerrilla warfare with virtually no equal.
As for physical ability, Saori had originally been far superior as well. But because she had been caught in the halo bomb's blast, her injuries were more severe than Azusa's, reducing the gap to only a slight advantage.
But even then, even in a one-on-one fight, Azusa's hope of victory was barely existent.
And regarding willpower, could Azusa truly surpass Saori? Did Saori not possess the resolve to kill Azusa in battle?
...In truth, she did not.
Just as Atsuko had said, Saori truly had been holding back against Azusa this whole time.
She had only ever said she would bring Azusa back for re-education. She had never said she would kill her, and even now, that remained true.
Only in this regard did Azusa hold victory over Saori.
However, before an overwhelming difference in raw strength, what meaning did the resolve to perish together even have?
Halos.
Those innate traits possessed by the students of Kivotos raised the difficulty of killing someone to the point where even one or two bullets to vital areas would not suffice.
Even if she exhausted every ounce of strength she had.
Even if she carried the resolve to stain her hands with blood.
Just as Saori had questioned:
Azusa could not do it.
The Justina Council, which had not directly entered the battle, obeyed Arius Squad's commands and, together with Misaki and Hiyori, sealed off Azusa's routes of escape.
As a result, Azusa lost her greatest advantage, her mobility, and was forced into a direct confrontation with Saori.
How could a bird with broken wings and a dulled beak kill a venomous snake lying in wait?
After several gunshots rang out, there came a heavy thud.
Azusa dropped to her knees with a pained expression. She had not even lasted a few minutes, nor managed to worsen Saori's injuries in the slightest.
And yet, even in this hopeless situation where no path to victory could be seen, she still struggled to stand again.
"...Why, Azusa?"
Watching the stubborn figure of the white-haired girl while aiming her gun at her, Saori could not help but ask:
"Why struggle this far? What's the point of this? What are you trying to prove?"
Saori shook her head.
"Think back. Everything was always..."
Words repeated thousands upon thousands of times were interrupted.
"...Even if it's meaningless."
Azusa barely managed to stand upright, her face filled with defiance.
"I'll still struggle no matter what."
"What's the point of that!?"
As though something within Azusa's eyes had pierced her heart once again, Saori roared and fired several more shots.
Already swaying unsteadily, Azusa let out a suppressed cry of pain through clenched teeth. Under the impact, she inevitably fell backward, like a white bird falling from the sky and staining itself with dust.
But this time, she did not fall onto the cold ground.
Instead, she fell into a warm embrace she knew all too well.
She looked dazedly over her shoulder.
"Sen... Sei...? And..."
"Azusa-chan..."
Hifumi gave a small nod.
"You've worked hard, Azusa."
I spoke to the girl in my arms while my gaze, stripped of all warmth, turned toward the Arius Squad in the distance.
"From here on, I won't let you be alone anymore."