Chapter 28: Mio!

Back with Shido's group...

The clone blocking their path lowered its head, as if receiving a signal.

[Notice: Mission complete. Target acquired.]

"...Acknowledged."

The clone turned its gaze to Shido.

"Announcement: You may proceed."

It stepped aside, clearing the path. Shido exchanged a wary glance with Yoshino and Natsumi, then cautiously moved past the machine. Once they were sure it wasn't a trap, they broke into a run, heading for the epicenter of the final, massive explosion.

As they disappeared into the trees, a golden portal opened behind the clone, swallowing it whole.

….

On a distant mountaintop, I sat on the edge of a cliff, gazing into the distance. My optical sensors were zoomed in, allowing me to clearly see the aftermath of the battle.

Three portals opened behind me, one after another, and my clones stepped through. The last to arrive was the one that had delayed Shido.

"Notice: Mission flawlessly executed," they reported in unison.

Their purpose served, the three clones stood motionless, then dissolved into golden particles, their data returning to me.

I ran a final check of my internal armory. All ten primary Angels, accounted for. Metatron and its final form, Artelif, were now part of my collection.

My timing had been perfect. Just as I finished the data integration, the temporal effect of the Eleventh Bullet reached its limit.

In the blink of an eye, the world shifted. I was back in the original timeline.

Back in Nia's apartment, standing before the still-entranced Kurumi Tokisaki.

….

I looked at Kurumi, her eyes vacant, her will completely subsumed by mine.

I now possessed the data for all ten Angels. I could leave this world whenever I chose.

[Dimensional Engine at 100%. Ready for activation at any time.]

Not yet. There's still more to collect.

I still had Kurumi right here. An opportunity too good to pass up. Under my command, she demonstrated every single one of Zafkiel's twelve bullets. I recorded, analyzed, and replicated each one, finally completing my own Pseudo-Zafkiel.

Having squeezed every last drop of data from her, I released my control. I gave her a simple command: go home. 

As for her memory of the event, I knew erasing it would be pointless. Kurumi's connection to time made her resistant to such simple manipulations. She would remember.

Her Tenth Bullet allowed her to peer into the past of any target. One shot to her own temple, and she would remember everything that had just happened. Erasing her memory would be a waste of energy.

After sending Kurumi on her way, only one task remained on my list. Once it was done, I would leave this world.

My objective here had only ever been the "Angels" of the Spirits. The "Demon Kings" born from their Inverse forms... I had no interest in them. I was not cruel enough to intentionally push the Spirits to that point of despair just to collect more data. The thought had never even crossed my mind.

So now, before I departed, there was just one last thing to do.

….

Aboard the Fraxinus:-

"Reine," Kannazuki said, his voice laced with concern. "You look even more exhausted than usual these past few days."

He had noticed her deteriorating condition but had been waiting for the right moment to ask. Reine just shook her head.

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Kotori chimed in, equally worried. She understood her own recent stress, but what was troubling Reine? Whenever they asked, she would either change the subject or clam up completely.

"Alright, have it your way," Kotori said with a sigh. "But at least go get some rest. Your health is important. That's an order."

Kotori's insistence finally seemed to get through to her. Reine set down her work and headed for the ship's infirmary.

She opened the door to the small, empty room. Though she didn't want to, she sat down on the edge of one of the beds, respecting Kotori's wishes. But even here, alone, her mood was foul.

Just as she settled down, a second voice echoed in the sterile room.

"Query: Are you Reine Murasame?"

Reine's head whipped around.

A mechanical girl with a halo of light stood in the doorway. The door was now sealed shut.

Understanding dawned on her, and her already pale face darkened. She had secretly pressed the emergency alarm button by the bed, but no siren had sounded. The room's systems were already compromised.

"I am," she replied, her voice steady despite the situation. "What can I do for you, Miss Hunter?"

The machine didn't answer with words. A colossal lance materialized in its hands.

" Endo Armament: Activate "

" Pseudo-Endo: El Kanaph "

Reine threw herself sideways just as the massive lance punched through the bed where she had been sitting. If she hadn't moved, she would have been impaled.

The attacker had come prepared. It knew her true identity.

Understanding the gravity of the situation, Reine dropped her human disguise.

She raised a hand towards me.

"Ain Soph Aur."

In perfect unison, I mirrored her gesture.

" Endo Armament: Activate "

" Pseudo-Endo: Ain Soph Aur "

Two waves of power, one of pure white, one of golden data, washed over the infirmary. The world dissolved, and we were once again standing in the monochrome void of the Adjoining World.

[Converting energy to target [Mio] spiritual power. Replacing armament power source with 50% Mio spiritual power... Conversion complete. All attacks will now be imbued with target [Mio] spiritual power.]

I was ready. This was no mere data collection. This was a challenge.

The woman who had been Reine Murasame now revealed her true form.

Mio. The Spirit of Origin. The beginning and the end of all the tragedies of this world.

She was a work of art, her features exquisitely crafted, all traces of her former exhaustion gone. She wore a flowing white dress, a true goddess descended to a lesser realm. 

Behind her, a halo of light pulsed, studded with ten stars. Nine of them were dim, representing the power she had shared with the other Spirits.

She floated in the silent void, her expression grim, her brow furrowed. Without a word, she raised her hand and summoned her first Angel, the Angel of Death Ain.

A flower with the face of a beautiful girl in its center bloomed before her.

But before she could act, an attack came from behind her. A colossal lance, wreathed in a howling gale, broke the sound barrier as it streaked towards her. Mio dodged it with a simple, elegant sidestep.

She glanced at the source of the attack. It was a clone of me, holding a just-fired El Nahash.

The assault was not over.

From her flanks, two more clones appeared. One wielded Sandalphon, the other El Kanaph. They closed in, trapping her in a pincer of close-range combat.

….

Ten Minutes Later:-

The constant, relentless attacks of my clones forced Mio into a defensive battle. Ribbons of pure light danced around her, lashing out at the two melee combatants.

But their Aeterna Defensio shields held firm. Her attacks, no matter how numerous or precise, could not break through. She was trapped, unable to shake them.

And then, she heard it. A sound that had no place in this empty void.

Music.

" Endo Armament: Activate "

" Pseudo-Endo: Gavelet "

Mio risked a glance away from the two clones pressing her.

….

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