A faint smile formed on Izumi's lips as he listened to Saten Ruiko's trembling voice.
"These people… are already weakened by me."
His tone was calm—too calm.
"Their true power? They could toy with the world itself. A single breath would be enough to destroy it… and then reset everything."
He paused, letting the weight of his words sink in.
"For all you know… you may have already been killed by them countless times."
"And then the world was simply restarted."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Even the ever-cheerful Saten Ruiko froze in place, her face pale.
No one could tell whether what Izumi said was real… but no one dared to dismiss it either.
Because of his eyes.
There was no trace of deception in them.
At that moment, Uiharu Kazari spoke up while frantically operating her terminal.
"Then… Izumi-sensei… why aren't you joining the fight?"
She glanced at the battlefield footage on her screen.
"Is it really okay for you to just… watch?"
She already understood.
The war.
The chaos.
The cause behind everything.
And the answer… pointed straight at him.
Izumi chuckled softly.
"So you figured it out."
His gaze briefly shifted to her monitor before returning to the sky.
"It's fine."
"Aleister Crowley can handle it."
"And besides…"
A faint grin spread across his face.
"Soon enough, this entire world will change."
His senses reached far beyond the visible.
The World Fusion was nearly complete.
Inside his own domain, reality itself was evolving—expanding, ascending.
Just a little more…
Just one final push…
Meanwhile, the others were still stuck on something else entirely.
They slowly turned their heads toward the silver-haired "girl" fighting in space.
Shirai Kuroko's finger trembled as she pointed.
"Th-that's… Aleister?!"
"The Chairman… is a girl?!"
Her worldview shattered instantly.
Izumi nodded casually.
"Yep. One of his possibilities."
"Just think of him as a crossdressing old man."
Far away, in the battlefield—
Aleister's expression twitched ever so slightly.
A sneeze almost escaped.
But he held it in.
Dignity must be maintained.
Hours passed.
The battle continued.
The sky flickered with explosions like fireworks.
Until suddenly—
Kuroko snapped back to reality.
"Wait!!"
"Where's Onee-sama?!"
"Why isn't she here?!"
Izumi glanced at her.
"She's handling something."
"Almost done—"
He paused.
Then smirked.
"No… she's already back."
The next moment—
The doors opened.
Misaka Mikoto stepped in.
Behind her stood Mugino Shizuri and the rest of ITEM.
But Misaka said nothing.
Her head lowered.
Her silence… spoke volumes.
Meanwhile, Frenda flopped down dramatically.
"Ugh, I'm exhausted!"
She stretched her legs toward Izumi.
"Hey~ give me a massage, will you?"
Smack.
A clean hit landed on her rear.
"One step too far."
Izumi shot her a look.
"You're getting bolder."
Frenda pouted, rubbing her backside.
He used to like it though…
But she wisely shut up.
Izumi's gaze shifted back to Misaka.
She didn't react.
Even with Kuroko clinging to her, she remained still.
Good.
This experience…
Would change her.
Then—
Izumi checked the final progress.
99%
A low chuckle escaped his lips.
"Perfect."
"Time for the final step."
He stood up.
Everyone turned toward him—
And in the next instant—
He disappeared.
"Eh?!"
"IZUMI-SENSEI WENT INTO THE SCREEN?!"
"Idiot! He joined the battlefield!!"
All eyes locked onto the projection.
Above the Planet — Final Battlefield
Izumi appeared.
Just like that.
No warning.
No fluctuation.
Just… existence.
The Magic Gods froze.
Their expressions twisted in pure terror.
Him.
That monster… is here again.
Izumi glanced at them indifferently.
"My work here is almost done."
"So—"
A faint smile.
"You can die now."
He raised his hand.
And clenched it.
Space collapsed.
Reality folded inward.
The Magic Gods roared, struggling—
Resisting—
But it meant nothing.
Without their authority…
Without their phase…
They were nothing.
Like insects caught in a hand—
They were crushed.
Erased.
Gone.
In an instant—
Several Magic Gods vanished completely.
Silence fell.
Only two remained:
QueenNephthys
Izumi glanced at them briefly—
Then turned toward Aleister.
"These two… I'll leave them to you."
A faint grin.
"Finish what you started."
"Otherwise…"
"You won't get another chance."
And just like that—
The stage was his no longer.
But the end?
It had already been decided.