The conviction of mortals.
Even if it is invisible and intangible, and even seems fragile and laughable many times.
But at specific moments...
...it can become more indestructible than the hardest steel in this world.
So then.
What about this Seitenshi?
Heimer was lost in thought.
As the leader of a nation.
In the past dozen or so years, she had always been a beautiful puppet stripped of power by that old fox Tendou Kikunojo.
In many people's eyes, she was merely a symbol, a mascot placed in a shrine for people to worship, but who possessed no actual power and didn't even have the freedom to leave the Holy Residence.
However.
Even in such a mire, even facing hypocritical compliments and cold calculations every day.
She still naively wanted to look up toward the light.
She wanted to build a utopia called the coexistence of humans and Cursed Children upon those long-rotted ruins.
This obsession...
...had already surpassed the scope of ordinary people.
To some extent, would this obsession, pure to the point of being foolish, also greatly influence the direction of her Falna's manifestation?
After all, Haruhime was able to awaken the Uchide no Kozuchi that could break Level barriers because of her pure wish to become a hero's support.
Then...
...this Seitenshi, who possessed a bodhisattva's heart and a grand wish to save the world, but lacked only thunderous methods...
...perhaps she really could give birth to something very interesting, something that might even surprise him?
...
However.
Having a wish without resolution is, after all, nothing more than a moon reflected in the water.
Just as you cannot use a poem with ornate words and perfect rhymes to fill the stomach of a starving ghost.
No matter how grand the vision, if one cannot keep their feet on the ground, it will forever remain a castle in the air.
Just as Heimer's thoughts gradually returned to reality.
There was still some time before dawn.
The night outside the window was still thick.
"Lord God."
At this time.
The Seitenshi suddenly spoke.
"If... this is the final moment."
"If tomorrow at dawn, this city is truly to welcome destruction and rebirth."
"I want to... strip away my identity as the Seitenshi."
"I want to see for myself, this city that I love and have always tried to protect..."
"At this moment when the long night is about to end but hasn't quite yet."
"Beneath the appearance of prosperity."
"Just what is left?"
Is it the stench of rot? Or a lingering glimmer of light?
The Seitenshi wanted to know the answer.
Even if that answer might tear the last bit of fantasy in her heart to shreds.
"Very well."
Heimer nodded slightly, his expression calm.
He didn't make things difficult for her.
Since she wanted to see, he would let the Seitenshi see her fill.
A god's mercy is sometimes allowing a mortal to look directly into the abyss.
Immediately after.
Heimer turned his head and looked at Tendou Kisara, who was holding her sword and radiating a murderous aura.
"Miss Tendo."
"Is there anywhere you want to go?"
"Or rather, do you want to come and wander around with us?"
"No."
Tendou Kisara shook her head.
Her gaze fell upon Tendou Kikunojo, who was slumped on the ground, clutching his neck with both hands, still gasping for his last breath.
"Lord God."
"I think... I'll go home."
"After all, as a daughter of the Tendou Family who has been away for so long, it's time to go back and... say a proper hello to those uncles and elders."
"And."
"I also promised my grandfather."
"To let him see with his own eyes."
"To see how the Tendou Family he is so proud of will turn into the dust of history on this beautiful night."
Tendou Kikunojo was unable to speak at this point.
He could only stare with bloodshot eyes, his throat making a wheezing sound like a bellows; it was unclear what emotions he was feeling.
Seeing this, Heimer was not surprised.
"Go then."
Snap.
With a crisp snap of his fingers.
Ripples appeared in space.
The figures of Tendou Kisara carrying Tendou Kikunojo instantly disappeared from the meeting room.
A second later.
When her vision cleared again, Tendou Kisara was already standing in front of that familiar gate.
—The Tendou Family estate.
Looking at that huge nameplate with the characters for 'Tendou' written on it, looking at this mansion that once represented warmth in her childhood memories but later became the source of her nightmares.
Tendou Kisara took a deep breath.
The turbid air that had been suppressed in her chest for ten years was completely released at this moment.
"I'm back."
She murmured softly.
The demonic blade yuki kage in her hand hummed hungrily under the moonlight.
...
On the other side.
The dizziness brought by the spatial shift lasted only for an instant.
When the Seitenshi opened her eyes again.
What reached her ears was no longer the suffocating silence of the Holy Residence, but a noisy sound full of the breath of life.
The sound of car horns, the chatter of pedestrians, the pop music playing from distant shops...
All of this intertwined to form a picture called 'life.'
This is...
...one of the most bustling commercial streets in the Tokyo Area.
Although it was already late at night, for this city that never sleeps, the nightlife seemed to have just begun.
Neon lights flickered, illuminating the streets as if it were broad daylight.
Passersby hurried along; some laughed in small groups in front of Izakayas, while others were couples snuggling intimately together.
No one noticed that under the streetlamp at the corner, two figures had appeared out of thin air.
Heimer and the Seitenshi.
"Lord... Lord God..."
The Seitenshi gripped the hem of her skirt somewhat helplessly, her body instinctively shrinking behind Heimer.
This was the first time she stood so exposed in a crowd without bodyguards, attendants, or an armored motorcade.
Even...
...this should be considered a different kind of "being abducted," right?
And.
The gazes from the surroundings made her feel a surge of inexplicable nervousness.
After all, no matter the world, a combination of a handsome man and a beautiful woman is always exceptionally eye-catching.
Heimer's perfection, which didn't seem mortal, went without saying, and the Seitenshi herself was a beautiful girl with a face that could topple nations. Coupled with her clearly extraordinary haute couture gown, it was hard not to draw attention.
"Who is that girl? She's so beautiful..."
"Is she a newly debuted idol from some agency?"
"That guy is so handsome! Is he a model?"
Whispers reached their ears.
The Seitenshi's heart raced, and she instinctively wanted to cover her face.
If people recognized her as the ruler of this area, it would likely cause a massive commotion.
"No need to be nervous."
Heimer's voice rang out at the right moment, carrying a reassuring calmness.
He didn't reach out to support the Seitenshi; he simply stood there with a casual posture, yet he seemed to hold up an independent space.
"In the eyes of mortals, you cannot be seen clearly."
"I have applied a Perception Obfuscation with my divine power."
"Although they can see you and marvel at your beauty, their brains cannot link your face with the identity of the Seitenshi."
"Once they turn away, they will immediately forget your appearance."
"So."
"Tonight, you are just an ordinary girl."
Hearing this, the Seitenshi was stunned for a moment.
An ordinary girl?
"Let's go."
Heimer didn't give her much time for sentiment; he started walking toward the depths of the street.
The Seitenshi quickly lifted her skirt to keep up.
Like a fledgling leaving the nest for the first time, she followed closely half a step behind Heimer, timidly and curiously observing this city she had governed for years but never truly experienced.
On both sides of the street, the shops were a dazzling array.
The windows of luxury stores displayed expensive jewelry, tempting aromas wafted from restaurants, and large screens played cheerful variety shows.
Everything looked so prosperous and peaceful.
If one only looked at the surface.
This was indeed a beautiful world worth protecting.
Hope flashed in the Seitenshi's eyes.
Perhaps...
...things aren't as bad as the Lord God said?
However.
Just then.
A sound of singing reached the Seitenshi's ears.
It was a melody hummed purely with a voice.
Heimer stopped in his tracks.
The Seitenshi stopped as well, looking in the direction of Heimer's gaze with some confusion.
She saw.
In a dark corner not far ahead.
In front of the shuttered door of a closed shop.
A small figure stood there.
It was a little girl.
She looked to be only seven or eight years old, with a thin frame, wearing a dirty, patched-up single layer of clothing that was clearly ill-fitting.
In the late autumn night wind, she was shivering slightly.
Most striking was her hair.
It was grayish-white.
And...
A thick, yellowed bandage was wrapped around her eyes.
The bandage covered both her eyes, revealing only the small face beneath, which had turned blue from the cold.
The ethereal singing was coming from her mouth.
In front of her,
...there was also a worn-out iron bowl.
The bowl was empty.
Beside it stood a crude sign made of cardboard, with several lines of text written in crooked handwriting:
[I am a Cursed Child from the Outer District]
...
A Cursed Child?
Seeing the words on the sign, the Seitenshi's heart suddenly wrenched.
Although she had been promoting the New Gastrea Law to try and improve the situation of these children,
...this was also the first time she had seen a living Cursed Child wandering the streets from such a close distance.
And...
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