Unrestrained Despair

[Quartus motus: Dies Irae]

In comparison to the somber third movement of his masterpiece, the fourth and last movement of the piece that now plays was filled with the deafening music of the instruments and choir alike.

*BOM-! BOM-! BOM-! BOM-!*

"♫ Dies Irae---! Dies illa---!!! ♪"

*BOM-! BOM-! BOM-! BOM-!*

"♫ Dies Irae---! Dies illa---!!! ♪"

The cacophony of the bass drums, the sharp strumming of the string instruments, the roaring throng of the wind instruments and the powerful mass of voices of the choir all combined to create a music befitting the name of the final movement.

[Day of Wrath]

A requiem for the end of the world… a song meant to both celebrate and fear the coming day of judgement where mankind must come before The Divine to receive judgement.

"♪- Solvet saeclum in favilla-!!! ♫" (When the world shall dissolve in ashes…)

"♫- Teste David cum Sybilla-!!! ♪" (…as David and Sybilla foretold!)

At the conductor's platform, the clean and orderly-looking maestro is nowhere in sight… instead, he now stands as his body begins to crack and out of it flowed out the black soot-like liquid that composes their new bodies.

"That's right… Shout it from the housetops! Declare it among the mountaintops!"

At his word, the music became louder as if it began to resound all over the world. With his hand, although already broken and leaking his lifeblood, he still held his baton firmly, knowing that the performance must continue until its rightful end.

"At the end of the world, all shall come to finality! All who deserve judgement for their evil will receive their punishment! All of this… to one final act!"

As he shouted, the fire that burned below the stage grew hotter and more tormenting for all the wicked within it.

"One final battle! For the fate of the world! For the fate of all eternity!"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Across the world, the horrors that happened eons ago was once again brought into existence by the very same beings that committed it back then.

Following the outbreak of Malignances that poured out after the start of the Apokalypse, the already broken world and its people plunged deeper and deeper into despair and hedonistic acts. With no hope in sight and no future to live for, many chose to fulfill whatever their heart desired, may it be selfish pleasures or destructive actions.

Such things are exactly what the Miyazono patriarch and his debased Spirit wanted.

"Such impurity… such utterly disgusting and deplorable desires…!"

At the dark cracks of the earth where the light of Caelestia's might and authority has begun to lose power, the Tainted and Chaotic Spirits alike fostered the growth of the power that will be used to crown their master into the god of this world.

The plan that they wanted, a world united by happiness and satisfaction through unending hedonistic joys, are beginning to take shape as one by one, the pillars of order gathered by Spirit Law, began to crumble and make way for them.

"All of this power… now in our hold!!! Finally, we can overthrow the Divine Principles!"

"We will be the ones in power!!!"

"""WE WILL BE AS GODS!!!"""

As that shout resounded, the focal point who would receive all of it trembled at the unimaginable amount of power that he received.

"Ggggkkk---!!!"

["Do not fall for the pain, my Vessel! You must endure! For what you desire above all else!"]

Inside his head, Babel shouted, forcing him to hold on and continue enduring the pain of receiving all of humanity's sin and evil.

"Argh-! GAAAAHHHH-!!!"

"---A chance!"

As Ryuuichi began to slowly succumb to pain, Judy found it as an opening and began to send a barrage of attacks.

["No, you will not!!!"]

However, Babel took control of his body and blocked everything.

"Gkh-! Damn you, Babel---!"

Although her initial attacks were neutralized, Judy didn't let up her offense, pressing more as she knew that this is her one last chance before nothing she can muster can work anymore.

"AAAAAAAHHHHH---!!!"

"Persistent scum of Nihil!!! How dare you challenge the new true god of this world---!?!?!?"

"YOU ARE NO GOD!"

"GYAGH---!"

"YOU DO NOT DESERVE TO BE ONE!"

"DAMN YOU…!"

"SO LONG AS I AM HERE, YOU WILL NEVER BECOME ONE!!!"

At that moment, when Ryuuichi has received almost all of the power that he was being sent, Judy finally loosed the limitations she imposed on herself and casted an ability that she was not supposed to wield.

"W-What on---!?"

Against all that he knows about her, Judy Ann pulled off something that Babel has no knowledge nor any counteractions for.

Ars Caelestia and the domain she summoned was supposed to be limited to the Celestial Spirits and their Ordained Vessels such as Ephraim, Kirin and Nichirin. And yet, here she is, trapping the two of them inside this space and away from the last pieces of power that would initiate the deification of Ryuuichi and Babel.

"How… HOW---!?"

"A favor… haah… haah-! From someone who is prepared to do everything to finally bring you down!!!"

As evidenced by her crumbling body and the tar-like fluid that oozed from her mouth, Judy paid dearly for it… and yet, that alone is not what bothered Babel...

It was who she was referring to have lent her this power.

"Is it Justice…? Faith? No, it can be Law too! But this power---"

The transgression that Babel bore against mankind was incredibly steep. Innumerable numbers of people died under its trickery and the world that at least knew and properly differentiated good from evil became able to justify their wrongdoings as well as lie to their selves that what they are doing are not evil at all as it should be expected that they cannot pursue perfection.

However, the one who bore more hatred than anyone else towards the Chaotic Spirit was someone who was permanently changed by its act of killing one particular Spirit.

"No amount of hindering me will stop the inevitable! You are doing nothing but delaying my rightful ascent to my destined place above all of mankind!"

"Ascension?! You have no place in this world, Babel!"

"GUAH---!"

Though it should've been Law, his inability to feel any emotion and most of all, his status as the Progenitor Spirit, hindered him to undergo such a change. Instead, it was that Spirit's sibling by both birth and concept who bore that burden.

"I will end you here, Babel… And once I am done with you, I will end that foolish Spirit too!"

"I-It can't be…! This is impossible! By a puny Seer of Nihil of all beings---!?"

As Judy lunged towards Babel, the chaotic spirit felt fear as it began to dismiss its thoughts of underestimating its enemy.

"Knowledge… KNOWLEDGE! HOW DARE YOU---!!!"

Against the unspoken rule of the Celestial Spirits, Spirit Knowledge lent his authority and power to Judy as part of his plan against Babel's ambitions.

Inside the borrowed domain of Knowledge, the last direct attempt of the Seers to defeat Babel was about the begin.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

In Sunogahara-cho, the main headquarters of the S.S.S was abuzz with activity initiated by the capture of Ephraim's family members.

"…I know that they resisted, and if her words are true, this is the only way for us to have a chance against the Miyazonos."

"…"

"But please, Yurippe… Have mercy on them. Treat them properly and fairly."

"…I know that, Hinata. I will make sure that save for taking them away, Rai-kun can blame us for nothing if ever he directs his might against us."

Inside a locked room, the sister and mother of Ephraim was held in custody whilst the three Miyazaki siblings were kept in the bunker's laboratory, undergoing assessment for what Himari said they contained in their bodies.

"O-Onee-chan… Uuu…"

"Don't be scared, Yukari… everything will be alright."

Cowering in a corner while a dozen of Astra energy sensors was directed towards them, the eldest of the three, Mio, calmed his sisters as she directed a furious gaze towards the people that they used to treat as neighbors and friends.

"I'm sorry for this, little Mio… But we are---"

"SCREW OFF---!!!"

"Aah-!"

After one of the technicians who used to be close to their family spoke to her, she spat out those words like a spray of poison. This caused her and the other scientists to back away before Yukari pulled her elder sister back.

"O-O-ONEE-CHAN!!!"

"Khh-! You opportunistic pests! After everything that Rai-san did for you…! After he did everything that he can to keep you and Sunogahara-cho safe…!"

Of them three, it was Mio who endured and remembered all the harsh treatment and betrayal that they faced. In her eyes, she and her family are once again being made to suffer… and by people they used to trust as well.

"Ephraim lied to us! If he knew a way to defeat the Miyazonos, he should've given you up so we can end all of this-"

"Did you really believe her lies!!? Defeating the Miyazonos? Freeing us from their control? DID YOU REALLY THINK THAT SHE WOULD DO THAT TO HER OWN SIDE OF THIS WAR!?"

Mio shouted at the top of her lungs, wanting to hammer in her point about why they chose to believe Himari more than the person who was protected and helped them again and again before.

"Tch-! Damn brat! Just shut up over there and tell us already where it is!"

"T-that's right! What is the secret that your creator embedded into you? Is it a secret weapon or a way to sabotage the enemy?"

"As I said before, we don't know, and we don't have any of that in us! We are children of our parents and always has been!"

"Bah! What did I expect… doesn't even know whatever the hell they got from him."

As the examination continued, the three children continued to huddle together. They saw a familiar face amongst the scientists and technicians, one who bore a conflicted expression on her face. Unable to stay silent about her thoughts anymore, she spoke to Mio but was immediately cut off.

"Mio-chan… I---"

"STAY AWAY FROM US-!!!"

"Kh-!"

"You traitor! Of all the people we know, you were supposed to understand our pain and loss the most, and yet… and yet…!"

"M-Mio, I am just trying to do what's the best for-"

"YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT US! STOP PRETENDING THAT YOU CARE ABOUT US!"

Hearing all of that come from the young girl broke Mana's heart and will. Although she kept a straight face as she left the laboratory, those words spoken by Mio crushed what little is left of her faith in this situation they are in.

"O-Onee-chan…"

"…Don't worry, you two. We'll be alright. While Rai-san is not here yet, I will protect us."

Although she said as such, Mio knew that she cannot do anything if these people did decide to hurt them. And with that, both she and Yukari, earnestly prayed for one person to finally come and save them.

"Rai-san…"

"Rai-nii…!"

["Please save us!"]

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

At the battle between the Tetian brothers, one being of supernatural origin and power stood in awe at the two who has exceeded all of his knowledge and expectations continued a clash that he has not witnessed before.

"T-This is---! Impossible!!!"

Knowledge, after having his plans and predictions all broken by those who either knew it in totality, such as Ephraim and Law, or like him who has predicted it, such as the Seers of Death or the Miyazonos and the Tainted, can barely believe the might that he is witnessing in front of his eyes.

"All of you…! How, how could all of this happen!?"

"Knowledge, you fool!"

"!!!"

As soon as he heard that voice, Knowledge turned his head and immediately had his line of sight filled by the approaching barrel of a huge revolver gun. Holding it was no other than Furuta Renjiro.

""

"You---!"

*BYAK!!!*

That gunshot resounded and immediately afterwards, a bullet left the barrel and struck Knowledge's forehead.

*PYUNG-!*

However, it simply ricocheted instead of planting itself deep into the Spirit's head. After all, Knowledge is still a Celestial Spirit unable to be killed by anyone below him.

"Argh-! YOU PEST!!!"

However, that didn't mean that he didn't sustain any damage as the bullet may have bounced off but the force it carried still struck his physical form and paralyzed him on the ground.

"Gh-! Move, you damn useless---"

"Oh boy… I'm going to f*cking enjoy this! HYAH-!"

Seeing him unable to move his body despite his mind being seemingly not affected, Renjiro holstered his gun and coated his fists with metal before throwing punches on Knowledge's face and body.

"BAK-!"

"Clench your teeth, a**hole! I'm going to beat the s*it out of you!"

"GYAK-!"

Taking out all of his frustration to this being who has deceived him again and again, Renjiro took a whole minute of beating him non-stop before he left Knowledge and tended to the dead Kaede.

"You idiot… doing all of this stupidity over something like love."

Renjiro took Kaede's lifeless body by his arm and from his pocket, took out her Augmenter Weapon, a fan named Momotaro (Vanquisher of Demons).

"…Through the little peach boy's bravery and his fellows' heroism, peace will return in the lands that was once terrorized by evil."

He read the inscription on the fan and as soon as it was finished, the weapon burned up with a green flame that Renjiro took and planted on Kaede's pierced heart.

Moments later, her beating heart resounded and slowly, color returned to her pale face, showing that she is alive once again.

"Now that you've been given a second chance, don't waste it anymore. Give up on those lunatics and just wait until we've settled everything."

After recovering from the beating that he faced, Knowledge sat up and saw with his own eyes a portal leading to the real world being opened and Renjiro carrying Kaede who was literally revived from the dead. These things are not within his knowledge or prediction.

"H-Hold on… h-h-how… how did you manage to---!?"

"You didn't know any of that, Knowledge?"

"H-Huh… what are you-!?"

At that moment, a chill ran up through Knowledge's spine… a feeling that he isn't supposed to know finally entered him. And one that he was never supposed to neither know nor experience…

"W-What is the meaning of this? Renjiro, you pest! What did you-!"

…and the name of that feeling is [Fear].

"You see… when I made a deal with you, I noticed something about this little thing that you Spirits, especially those who ascended to Caelestia, bear within you and is supposed to be your authority over this reality."

"Y-You… Don't tell me that you-"

"That's right… I've figured out your Truth Formula."

Those few words gained his shock as he knew that it should be impossible for a mortal to know it without being a Vessel… which is why he was utterly shocked when he felt a faint connection between him and Renjiro.

"H-How… HOW---!?"

"You thought you were controlling me, but I did it far better than you thought I could, Knowledge. You thought that you can manipulate everything according to your will, but all of us knew that we could do the same… Which is why you cannot stop us anymore."

Knowledge, by his own actions and belief that he is untouchable, made the mistake of believing that he alone can dictate what the future will hold.

"Another thing, you may not have given it to me formally, but by the rules set by Law, I am your Vessel, and I am entitled to use your power and authority."

"RENJIRO---!!!"

As he stood up to chase him, Renjiro simply stepped inside the portal to the real world and closed it before Knowledge can stand up and reach him and Kaede.

"You pests… Mortal pests!!!"

Inside Knowledge's mind and heart, a feeling he has once felt but was sealed from ever emerging slowly began to seep out and consume him.

"If nothing will follow my will after all…"

A feeling of regret and desire for vengeance filled Knowledge's mind, things that were sealed by Faith eons before.

"…then nothing deserves to remain!"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

At the Kabuki-cho estate of the Sumeragi group, the outer courtyard has been overrun by the enemy already.

"D-Damn it! They're just appearing out of nowhere!"

"Everyone! Push them back to the gates and seal it completely!"

What remained of the Sumeragi forces can barely hold off the horde of Miyazono Seed Psykers who took the appearance of their comrades, both causing confusion and mistrust as no one knew who a trusted ally from a disguised enemy is.

However, hope soon loomed over the horizon as they heard the voice of a Hogosha guardian coming from the opening of the inner courtyard's gates and all who was using their comrades' appearances were struck by arrows made of water.

"You louts! Pull yourself together and form up ranks!"

"That voice---!"

"Haha! It's not just her! Reinforcements are here! Everyone is here!"

With her arrival that rid them of the imposters, the survivors cheered for her as well as the massive force that survived the ordeal in New Tokyo and the ones who were gathered all across the minor outposts across Japan that managed to rally to the aid of the main estate.

"Consolidate your ranks and prepare for battle! We're driving them off our turf!"

Leading them was Imamura Akari, the only remaining Hogosha Guardian not preoccupied by a battle. Carrying her renown Augmenter weapon on her lead hand and the Sumeragi syndicate's war banner on the other hand, she has taken command of this battle.

"Get in line, you bunch of sniveling brats!"

"It's time to hit 'em where it hurts!"

"Come on, you sons of b*tches! Do you wanna live forever?!"

Cheers and voices of encouragement soon filled the lines as they waited for Akari's command.

"Imamura Akari-sama! What is your command!?"

"Hold your ground! Our enemies are about to enter! Prepare your psychic abilities and GIVE THEM HELL!!!"

Akari's command was correct, for outside the gate was an enormous number of Seed Psychics led by no other than the second child of the Miyazono trio.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"You…"

"Hehe… hah… I will not let any of you pass. Not a single one more… I pledge that upon my soul."

Outside, Miyazono Aishi stood face to face with the dying Hogosha guardian who protects the gates of the estate.

"Hogosha guardian Moriyama… you've done enough already."

"…"

"Yield and let us pass… there's nothing more that you can do to stop us."

After Aishi said that, the hundreds of Seed Psychics that surrounded Kamaji all raised their arms and weapons towards him. Some of them had the same faces, showing their origins as mass-produced Replicants, while others had cybernetic enhancements all around their bodies, a clear sign that they are Players that had their freewill and humanity eaten by the Game's system.

Faced with their numbers and relatively unscathed and unexhausted forms, Kamaji understood that he cannot survive nor manage to effectively stop them from breaching the estate… unless of course, if he is ready to do everything that it takes.

Suddenly, he heard a buzzing sound within his head and afterwards, a voice that he instantly recognized to be from the twin gatekeepers of the inner courtyard, Aika and Mira.

{"Moriyama Kamaji-dono… it is time. By the permission of Oyabun-sama, you no longer have to obey your restraints."}

"Haah… Understood."

Heaving out a breath, one that carried the last figment of his doubt about his self, Kamaji took off his gloves and undid his necktie.

"…What are you doing?"

"Removing these… I'm not supposed to do this since it was forbidden by Oyabun-sama, but now that she permitted it, I no longer have to wear them."

"What does that even---"

Aishi mumbled, puzzled about what Kamaji was talking about before her enhanced senses answered her by themselves.

"Amano Hogosha Guardian, Morimiya Kamaji… Performing his last service to the Sumeragi-gumi!!!"

"!!!"

In not even a fraction of a second, Kamaji disappeared from everyone's sights and all-around Aishi, the earth erupted into an explosion describable only by one word… Cataclysmic.

"WHERE IS HE?!"

"WHERE ARE ALL THIS EXPLOSIONS COMING FROM!?"

"M-MEDIC! SOMEONE GET A HEALER AND REVIVE MY PARTY HERE!"

The lines of the Miyazono faction were in total disarray, as explosions from who knows where took them by complete surprise and took their lives by entire dozens. In the middle of all of this was Aishi who cannot believe what she is witnessing.

"T-This is…!"

"Lady Aishi! You can't stay here! We are retre---"

"We're not retreating! We are nearly victorious! Are you telling me to run away and delay father's orders to pacify these pests!"

"I know that, my lady! But we cannot let you be- BUAH-!"

"EEEEEKKK-!!!"

In the middle of arguing with her, the leader of her security detail was hit and crushed beneath a huge boulder. His bloodied body caused Aishi to shudder in fear for a moment before she forced herself to be calm.

"We can't risk it, Lady Aishi! If you don't want to retreat, we should at least reposition ourselves to a safe distance where we can-"

*BYOOOOOGGGGHHHH-!!!*

As if in response to one of her bodyguard's suggestion, the rear of their forces became the next target of the eruption and this told Aishi one thing.

"W-WHAT THE---!?"

"Kih! It must be him! He's telling us that there isn't any safe place here."

"F-find him! All of you! FIND HIM!!!"

While entire swathes of her underlings are being slaughtered by the eruptions, Aishi analyzed their situation and what Kamaji did earlier.

"Was it some kind of Augmenter tool…? How about a secret evolution of his Psychic power?"

All of these ideas ran on her mind, all of them leading to a contradiction of the rules that Psychic power runs on as well as the extent that Augmenter tools can affect them.

"If it's not a tool nor a trait of his power… then can it be---"

At that instance, when half of her forces were wiped out, Kamaji reappeared. He shot out from the ground and flew through the air for a moment alongside hundreds of boulders before falling down like meteorites to further cut the number of Miyazono forces down.

"L-Lady Aishi! We can't stay here after all! Retreat! Everyone who's still alive, RETREAT NOW!"

As the Miyazono forces sounded the retreat, Aishi realized what it was that she was missing about Kamaji's sudden surge in power.

"You… could it be that like the Gardeners, you are also---"

"Haha… no point in hiding it now, huh?"

"-!!!"

As the cloud of dust from his barrage of meteors dissipated with the wind, Aishi saw the change that happened to Kamaji's body…

"That's right… Much like those lunatics who serve your that you call Gardeners, and those innocent souls who faced tragic ends that call themselves the Seers, the Sumeragi clan also have their own group of people who turned their backs on their humanity to serve a greater purpose."

From head to toe, his body was covered with dark basalt that shone with flowing golden veins and dripped with searing hot magma. Save for his face, Kamaji's appearance was no longer that of a human.

"Disciple of Celestial Spirit Faith, carrier of her will and vanquisher of all apostates of the truth. I am Moriyama Kamaji, Adherent of the earthly realm!"

"Lady Aishi---!!!"

With blinding speed, Kamaji charged towards Aishi and if not for the quick reaction of her bodyguard, it would be her that would receive his fist and immediately be liquified by the surge of magma that shot out afterwards.

"J-JANUS!"

"YOU MONSTER!!!"

Seeing their comrade's life taken so brutally, her other bodyguards charged towards Kamaji, much to the chagrin of Aishi who understood the sheer difference between their powers.

"You idiots! Don't---"

"HAAAAAHHHH-!!!"

*GWAGH-! FWOOOOO---!*

Without even showing a sign of remorse, Kamaji raised his hand to order the ground beneath the two who was charging towards him to open up and from there, let out a jet of magma that immediately and brutally robbed them of their lives.

"…Now then, you abomination who is an affront to the sanctity of life."

With the death of her last two remaining bodyguards and the inability of the other Psychics serving her to even pose a threat to Kamaji, Aishi ended her state of forced calmness as Kamaji faced her and she prepared herself to face off against him.

"In the end, I guess ending all of you really has to come down to me."

"…"

As Aishi resonated with the fragment of Spirit Freedom's power in her body, her eyes changed into a pinkish hue and her latent Astra energy capacity poured out of the confines of her body and into the surroundings.

"If you really want to stand in our way, I will humor your stupidity, Adherent of Faith."

"Come, child of The Fool…"

Kamaji exuded his powers as well and let his Astra energy pour out, not only matching but exceeding Aishi's capacity.

"I'll make you the first one that he will senselessly sacrifice for the sake of his ambitions."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

With speed that no normal human can exert nor tolerate, two figures passed through New Tokyo and into Sunogahara-cho. One was a young man holding a crimson-colored spear on his hand and the other was a woman holding a sheathed katana by her side.

"You didn't need to join me, Sensei! You could've headed to Kabuki-cho and helped them out!"

"There's no need for that. You also heard it in your head, right? The voice of Oyabun-sama… or should I say-"

"Right… Spirit Faith."

As one of the Amano Hogosha, or to be more precise, among those that knew of the Sumeragi Nichirin's true identity of being the physical form of Spirit Faith, Nichirin heard the order that she gave to the three gatekeepers of the estate in Kabuki-cho.

"The Sumeragi syndicate is going out on their own terms, and they'll likely cripple the Miyazonos before they disappear…"

"What's with you, Sensei? You're talking like you didn't dedicate yourself to the service of the Sumeragi group all your life."

After he asked her that question, Kirin remained silent for a while before replying to him.

"While there's the side of this where Justice and Faith had an agreement of staying close while awaiting Law's reappearance, where they agreed go on their own way during this war which I am honoring now, there's also the personal side of it that I'm doing for my own sake."

"And that is?"

"Like you, I want the best outcome for this world and our families by the end of this war… I want to save it for the sake of the kids and our siblings."

"…I'm sorry for saying this, but I told you already earlier that Kai was-"

"I know… I already knew it was inevitable when you told me before that bringing him out of cytostasis will only make him the prime target for that sick brat of Ryuuichi, and I already accepted that I cannot save him from that fate."

"…"

"But in a way, I believe that if Kai, the one that you met and fought beside ever since you entered this war, was here, he'd never think twice of doing the same thing if it meant the demise of the Miyazonos."

For a while as they moved through the city, jumping from one rooftop to another, Both of them remained silent until Ephraim asked her again.

"I'm not going to pretend that I can understand it fully given that I've only had Mio and her siblings as adoptive children, but is it really that easy for you to justify Kai's death as a service to our cause that he has to fulfill?"

"…Of course not. He's my only child with the only man I've ever loved, after all. I cannot describe how much it stings me to lose him this way."

"That…"

"However, as Oyabun-sama told me before when we found out about his condition, I will one day have to accept that his inevitable death was a mercy and not a tragedy… that in my desire to not part with him, I've only given him a fate much worse than what he would suffer if I bid him farewell back there and then."

"Do you regret it then?"

"…Not at all. As I said before, he might've been nothing more than a Replicant of my son to those around us, but all this time, I have always treated him as my own flesh and blood, and he gave me all these years to come to terms with the fact that I lost my husband, and I will inevitably lose my son too."

"…"

"In a way, that made my decision to let the Sumeragi group, the place where I should belong and should die alongside with, go out of its own terms as dictated by Faith, and for me to break off and forge my own path not only as the Vessel of Justice but as who I am as a person."

Hearing all of that put Ephraim at ease. Somehow, he felt like a burden was lifted from his shoulders and he showed a smile until he sensed a presence on top of the next building where they are about to land on.

"Sensei!"

"Already ahead of you!"

Kirin kicked the air beneath her and with a swift motion, drew her sword as she landed first on the roof deck of the building and pointed her weapon at the throat of the mysterious person.

"Who are you supposed to be- Wait… You---!"

"Amazing… I knew you have sharp senses, but I didn't know that it was so much that you can sense someone so far from you."

"What is this one talking about, Rai-kun?"

"Sensei… hold her there for me."

"S-Sure."

Seeing Rai's expression of a mixed anger and cautiousness, Kirin kept her blade near the unnamed person's throat as Ephraim walked to the stairs leading to the roof and opened it. From there, two children appeared and ran towards Rai's arms.

"R-Rai-san!"

"RAI-NII!!!"

"Mio! Yukari!"

"KH-! Rai-san… Rai-san!"

"Bweeeeehhh! I was scared…! Yukari is so scared!"

"Sh-shh… I'm here, I'm here. Everything is gonna be alright, dear."

While the two children were crying on his arms, three other figures came out of the stairwell and Kirin recognized them as Ephraim's mother and sister, carrying the infant Rea while the other was Mana, carrying an unconscious woman around her age on her back.

"I assume you've confirmed that they are safe?"

Although he heard her, Ephraim turned his attention to his family and demanded an answer from them. To keep it a secret, he talked to them in their native language.

"…Hannah, mother. Explain this."

"K-Kuya… It's a long story, but the point is that the S.S.S arrested us and took the kids to analyze them in their laboratory. B-But before I say the rest of the story, I want you to promise me first that you won't get angry or hurt Ms. Fujikawa."

"Why would I be angry to her?"

"Because---"

Before Hannah can say it, Mana interceded and came clean about her involvement in the entire thing.

"I was ordered by Yurippe to take away the kids… and because they opposed it, I also had to detain Hannah-san and granny Catherine."

"You did what-"

"Anak!"

Just as Ephraim was about to charge towards her with a curled fist, Catherine raised her hand to stop him in his tracks and force him to calm down.

"I and young Risa never raised you to threaten or use force against women. I know you have your own ways, but I want you to hear her out first."

"…Well then, explain yourself, Mana."

"R-right… I don't know why but suddenly, Yurippe and the others began to blindly follow the words of Himari. She brought us to the family grave of the Miyazaki family and… she showed the names that you hid there."

Hearing that, Ephraim understood that one of his many secrets were finally revealed and that he can no longer hide the fact that Mio, Yukari and Rea, are not the real ones that died years ago. They are Replicants made by their father who was the sole survivor of the family.

"I let them have Mio and the others and I even had to take Hannah-san and granny under custody after they justifiably resisted… that was, until I heard that crazy girl suggest that thing to Yurippe and the others."

"And that is?"

"She said that since the non-invasive analysis methods aren't showing anything, it was time to dissect them to forcefully find it… before I can even hear them argue about it, I ran to the holding cell, freed your sister and mother, and then broke the kids out of the laboratory."

"I see… you did the right thing to correct your mistake, but don't expect to be buddy-buddy with me for a while."

"I get that, and I know I deserve it, but before we go, I want you to know why I'm carrying her and who that woman is that helped us get out of Sunogahara-cho."

Ephraim looked at the unconscious girl on Mana's back and recognized her to be Amakano Sayaka, a longtime acquaintance that he hasn't seen for a long time.

"I see that you have Sayaka… and as for this woman…"

Ephraim walked towards the hooded person and pulled back her hood to reveal her identity that he was already aware of.

"It's been a long while since we last met face to face, isn't it, Azusagawa Maya-san?"

"Heh… Yeah, ever since that day when you won custody of that idiot's sisters and niece. It's good to see that you've got to this point already, Ephraim."

"…Say it straight, what are you here for and why did you help them leave that place?"

As the war for the fate of the world comes to a climax, a wild card enters the fray with a resounding declaration.

"We're getting to the end of this entire thing, Rai-kun. If you want your family to survive through it, you're going to need our help."

"Our?"

"Yes... I haven't been alone, planning the Miyazonos' demise all this time, you know."