Tsuna had emerged victorious against Alfia.
"It's over."
Tsuna returned to Finn and the others, but having been overwhelmed by the apocalyptic devastation of the [XX-Burner], no one could find the words to respond.
"So? What did you find out, Tsuna?" Reborn asked, breaking the silence.
"Exactly what we thought. She was using Rakia as her base. And apparently, she's hiding nearby because she wanted to watch Alfia fight. If we split up and search the area immediately, we might be able to catch her."
Having relayed the intel, Tsuna prepared to mobilize the troops to hunt Celua down.
"There is no need for that."
Suddenly, an unfamiliar voice echoed across the battlefield. A pitch-black flame ignited in thin air. Stepping out of the dark fire was a tall man wrapped in bandages, wearing a black trench coat and a silk hat that obscured his eyes. Floating beside him was a baby, also wrapped in bandages, wearing a matching hat and a clear pacifier around his neck.
"Bermuda, Jaeger…!?"
Tsuna recognized the two figures; they were from his own world.
The infant was Bermuda von Veckenshtein—the founder of the Vindice, the absolute keepers of law and order in the Mafia underworld, and historically the strongest Arcobaleno to ever exist.
The tall man was Jaeger—a former Arcobaleno and the strongest warrior of the Vindice, second only to Bermuda in combat power.
W-What are these two!?
They're on a completely different dimension…!?
With a single glance, Riveria and Gareth realized that these two entities were far more dangerous than Alfia.
The threat of Alfia had just passed, only to be immediately replaced by two monsters whose sheer presence eclipsed hers. The adventurers instinctively raised their weapons, shifting into combat stances, though it was glaringly obvious that their chances of winning were zero.
A chill…!?
Even Ottar, a man who lived solely to fight the strong, felt no desire to cross blades with these two. The primal terror radiating from them sent a shiver down his spine.
No, what's truly terrifying isn't their presence! It's the fact that these anomalies are clearly acquainted with Sawada Tsunayoshi and his master…!?
While the sheer, overwhelming dread these two entities exuded was staggering, what truly shocked Ottar was the realization that Tsuna and Reborn were directly connected to such incomprehensible monsters.
A-Are they even human…!?
They make that Demi-Spirit look cute…!?
I'm scared…!?
Tiona, Tione, and Ais were more terrified of the two figures standing before them than they had been of the monstrous Demi-Spirit on the 59th Floor.
"Why are you guys in this world…!?" Tsuna asked, bewildered.
"I called them here," Reborn answered smoothly.
"Eh…!?"
"Even if we got a lead on Celua, if we didn't move immediately, she'd just slip away again. These guys possess the perfect ability for hunting down rats."
"Ah, right…"
Tsuna understood Reborn's reasoning and nodded in agreement.
"Calm down, all of you. They aren't our allies, but they aren't our enemies either," Reborn called out to the tense adventurers.
Calm down!? Are you out of your damn mind!?
How the hell can you two stay so calm with monsters like these standing right in front of you!?
Despite Reborn's reassurance, Allen and Bete couldn't fathom how Tsuna and Reborn could casually converse with such terrifying entities as if it were an everyday occurrence.
"Normally, the plan was for us to gather the intel, pinpoint Celua's location, and then have you guys move in to arrest her," Reborn addressed Bermuda. "But judging by your arrival, I take it you've already caught her?"
"As sharp as ever, Reborn-kun. You saved me a lot of trouble."
"Just who exactly are you people…!?" Finn asked, mustering every ounce of his courage.
"The Vindice. The keepers of the law in our world," Reborn answered for him. "Anyone who breaks their laws is hunted down and imprisoned by them."
"Greetings, adventurers of Orario. My name is Bermuda von Veckenshtein. It is natural for you to be on guard given our sudden arrival, but rest assured, we have no intention of fighting you. We have come solely to apprehend Celua, the mastermind behind this incident, and to explain the truth behind Alfia-kun's resurrection."
"Celua…?"
"Celua Lastor, was it…?"
Having never heard the name, Alfrigg tilted his head in confusion. Hedin had been briefed by Finn, but knowing his Familia wouldn't listen even if he explained, he had simply kept the information to himself.
"Indeed. Jaeger-kun."
Bermuda gestured toward his subordinate. Jaeger thrust his right arm deep into the black flames. A moment later, he pulled out an unconscious woman with short white hair, heavily bound in thick iron chains.
"She possesses the skill [Remake Gene], an ability that allows her to recreate an individual from a single piece of their biological material. She used this power to resurrect Alfia-kun."
"Recreating the dead… Such a miracle couldn't be performed without a heavy price," Finn stated sharply.
"You are correct. Her skill only reconstructs the physical vessel. To animate it, she required a massive power source. Thus, Celua established a base in Rakia. While their soldiers were distracted invading Orario, she activated a machine that forcibly ripped the life energy from roughly three hundred thousand Rakian citizens, funneling that energy into Alfia-kun to fuel her resurrection."
"What!?"
"It seems the situation escalated into an absolute nightmare…"
Only Tsuna and Reborn fully grasped that the "life energy" Bermuda mentioned was actually Dying Will Flames, leaving them horrified by the scale of the atrocity.
"Rakia is currently in a state of mass panic. With three hundred thousand citizens suddenly collapsing, the authorities are entirely consumed with managing the crisis; hunting down the mastermind is the last thing on their minds. Fortunately, because Celua didn't want Rakia to collapse—as that would cut off the resources she needed for her research—she held back just enough to ensure no one died."
"A small mercy in the midst of a disaster," Reborn sighed.
Knowing that while the nation was in chaos, there were zero casualties, Reborn felt a slight wave of relief that a total national collapse had been avoided.
"And that is the truth behind Alfia-kun's resurrection. We will leave the rest of the cleanup to you. However, we will be taking custody of Celua."
"What are you saying!? If things had gone wrong, Orario could have been annihilated!! Furthermore, it is your responsibility that Celua escaped your world in the first place!! And now you intend to just take all the credit and leave!?" Riveria snapped, her temper finally boiling over.
"You make a fair point."
"!?"
The instant after Riveria spoke, Bermuda materialized directly in front of her face. His movement was so fast that an afterimage of him still lingered where he had just been standing.
Bermuda was one of the Arcobaleno who had been discarded by Checkerface. Driven by an unfathomable, bottomless hatred for his creator, he had birthed the eighth attribute: the Flame of Night. By funneling these flames into his pacifier, he had managed to prolong his life.
The defining characteristic of the Flame of Night was spatial manipulation and hyper-acceleration. By opening portals of dark fire, the user could warp to any location.
Huh…!?
Hogni's brain nearly short-circuited as he failed to process how Bermuda had crossed the distance instantly.
Too fast…!?
Even Ottar's highly trained eyes couldn't track a single frame of Bermuda's movement.
This man… is in a completely different league than Sawada Tsunayoshi…!?
Finn instantly realized that Bermuda possessed speed that made even Tsuna look slow in comparison. Unlike Tsuna, who relied on extreme kinetic propulsion, Bermuda bypassed the physical space entirely, warping directly from point A to point B. He was ignoring the laws of physics.
A-An absolute monster…!!
Having just swallowed the bitter pill of losing to Tsuna in speed, Allen was forced to confront the existence of an entity whose speed eclipsed even the boy who had humiliated him. Allen's pride was thoroughly shattered.
"However, the fact that Alfia-kun was resurrected is also partially your responsibility," Bermuda stated calmly.
Bermuda shifted his gaze back to Jaeger. Jaeger reached into the black flames once more, this time tossing the lifeless corpse of Zealo onto the ground.
"His name was Zealo Rind. He was Celua's collaborator, and a surviving remnant of the Evilus that turned Orario into a living hell seven years ago."
""""""!?""""""
Hearing the word "Evilus," everyone present was immediately gripped by a mix of shock and dread.
"I'm not following… What does Zealo have to do with Alfia's resurrection?" Reborn asked.
"Zealo was a fanatical worshipper of Alfia-kun. So obsessed, in fact, that he collected strands of her hair. Seven years ago, he fled Orario. One year ago, he crossed paths with Celua, provided her with Alfia-kun's hair, and initiated the resurrection. Furthermore, when Celua learned that the Apate Familia—an Evilus faction—had successfully used the power of Spirits to forcefully [Rank Up] their dependents, she hunted down a piece of a Great Spirit's corpse. Using her skill, she recreated the Great Spirit, bonded its blessing to Alfia-kun, and artificially boosted her power far beyond her prime."
Bermuda flawlessly laid out the connection between the Evilus, Zealo, and Alfia's monstrous power-up.
For the veterans who had survived the Dark Age, the horrors of the Apate Familia weaponizing Spirits to create artificial Level 5s were burned into their memories. Hearing the explanation, they immediately recognized the terrifying validity of Bermuda's words.
"And to the members of the Freya Familia. Five years ago, you allowed Zealo—who had undergone a Conversion to join the Resheph Familia—to slip through your fingers."
"The Resheph Familia…"
"The Resheph Familia?"
Hearing the name, Hedin scowled deeply, while Tsuna tilted his head in confusion at the unfamiliar faction.
"They were a criminal Familia operating outside the city. From their patron God down to their lowest grunt, they were irredeemable scum. Five years ago, they invaded the Kingdom of Shalsard and orchestrated a mass slaughter of the civilian population. Disgusted by their very existence, Lady Freya ordered us to exterminate them. And we annihilated them."
"However, you allowed their patron God, Resheph, to escape. And you were unaware that Zealo was hiding among their ranks," Bermuda continued. "Zealo possessed no talent for combat, so he didn't participate in the invasion of Shalsard. But had you thoroughly hunted down Resheph and eradicated every last remnant of his Familia, Zealo and Celua would never have met, and Celua would never have received a Falna from the Resheph Familia. Discovering Celua's skill, Zealo and Resheph orchestrated this grand revenge plot against Orario to wash away the humiliation you inflicted upon them."
"It is true… We are responsible for this oversight…"
"We were too careless…"
Fixated entirely on exterminating the enemy's main fighting force, they had overlooked the existence of a weak, seemingly irrelevant anomaly like Zealo. Finn and Hedin were forced to accept that their failure to tie up loose ends had directly birthed this catastrophe.
"I am glad you understand. We will be taking custody of Celua. We have no use for Zealo's corpse, so you can dispose of him however you see fit."
Taking their silence as an agreement to hand over jurisdiction, Bermuda used his flames to instantly warp back to Jaeger's side.
"Furthermore, I strongly suggest we treat this entire incident as if it never happened. It will be far more convenient for you as well."
"…Agreed."
To those who survived the Dark Age, Alfia was a legendary sinner. If the public learned she had resurrected and nearly annihilated Orario, the resulting mass panic would be catastrophic. Recognizing that burying the truth was the most pragmatic solution, Finn accepted Bermuda's proposal without hesitation.
"Still, if you guys already captured Celua, you could have at least helped out with Alfia," Reborn complained.
"We were busy destroying Celua's base of operations in Rakia. Besides, I thought it best to respect your educational policy of forcing Tsunayoshi-kun to grow through hardship. Though, if you had truly been backed into a corner, I would have intervened."
"You're full of shit."
"It is the honest truth."
"Bermuda. Our business here is concluded. We are leaving."
"Yes, let's go, Jaeger-kun."
Having relayed everything necessary, Jaeger prompted Bermuda to leave and stepped back into the black flames. Bermuda followed, and as the dark fire vanished, the two Vindice disappeared completely from the world.
"Well, that wraps everything up. We can finally head home."
"What do you mean, 'wraps everything up'!? What the hell were those guys!? No matter how you look at it, they weren't normal!!" Tione screamed, unable to accept Reborn casually brushing off the encounter with two absolute Eldritch horrors.
"Yeah. They were seriously bad news," Tiona agreed, shivering.
"Are they… human…?" Ais asked, staring at the empty space where they had vanished.
"Technically, yes."
Since explaining the concept of humans surviving for centuries via pacifiers would only cause more confusion, Reborn offered a vague, non-committal answer.
"That woman, Celua… what's going to happen to her…?" Tione asked nervously.
"She will be judged for her crimes and punished. And let me tell you, it won't be a light sentence. The adventurer world you guys live in might be harsh, but the world we live in isn't exactly forgiving either."
Hearing Reborn's ominous warning about "the world we live in," a heavy silence fell over the group. Though a million questions burned in their minds, no one dared to ask.
----
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