Soo, there we are...
First of all, happy new year to all of you ^_^
I feel like I keep apologizing each chapter for the delay, but this one has been a hard one.
First, there was the intense Christmas period, and after that, a pile of troubles (including me being sick, going to the hospital, and then having troubles to write this chapter because a lot of things happen).
So, again, really sorry for the delay, I can only assure you I am doing my best.
I really hope you will like the chapter, really hard choices to make here when I wrote the plot!
On Kotori's orders, all the Spirits searching Tenguu City for Shidou had been teleported back aboard Fraxinus.
All of them, including Kotori were now staring at Fraxinus' multiple surveillance screens showing the chaos reigning over Tenguu City.
Because of the spacequake alarm, people were running in the streets for the closest shelters.
DEM's entire fleet, thirty ships strong, was deploying in the sky, surrounding Shidou's position. Thousands of Bandersnatch units could be seen, slowly deployed.
And… the worst, in all of this, was probably Shidou.
Due to DEM's scheme, Shidou had Inversed, becoming unrecognizable. A fantastic yet frightening aura of negative reyrioku was surrounding him.
Shidou himself was nothing more now than a shadow, a dark silhouette, filled with only wrath, despair and grief.
The Spirits, and everyone aboard Fraxinus, were stunned.
Shidou, whom they knew and had deep affection for, was a kind, gentle person. He would always help the others and wryly smile at the daily problems.
Shidou was easily flustered, not particularly "manly", but he had a strong will.
Yes, Shidou was just that kind of person and every Spirit had been touched by his kindness.
So, to think the always kind Shidou had become the thing they were monitoring…
"Shidou…"
"Shidou-san…"
"Darling…"
"Nushi-sama…"
Kotori was doing her best to find a way out of this mess. With that situation, what course of action would lead them to a happy ending?...
"Commander! Ellen Mathers seems to temporarily withdraw! Her Realizer is no longer blocking ours!" Mikimoto shouted. "Wait… it seems… Nia is still alive!"
"!"
Kotori held her breathe when she heard that information.
Maybe…
Shidou's source of despair was the apparent death of Nia.
If they could save Nia and somehow show Shidou that she was still alive… one way or another… If they could bring Nia to kiss Shidou, as Shidou had kissed the Inversed Tohka…
If… if… that's a lot of if but we don't have a choice here... Kotori thought bitterly.
"Bring back Nia at once! Transfer her to the medical Realizer as soon as possible! We need her!"
"Yes!"
On the screen displaying Nia's body lying on the ground, a light appeared, signal of the Fraxinus teleportation device activating.
"Shiizaki, Minowa! Bring her to the infirmary, and take care of her! I want her on her feet the sooner the better!"
The two female crewmembers left the bridge in a hurry.
Kotori did not send Reine as she did not entirely trust her, however, nobody questioned her decision.
"And now, what are we to do…" Kotori muttered for herself.
"Commander! The Bandersnatch units are attacking Shidou!"
"DEM!..." Kotori growled.
Once again, they all fell silent, observing the video screen. Hundreds, thousands of robots were falling down like a pouring rain, all of them aiming at Shidou.
The latter, who was until now immobile, raised his head slowly.
The scene was surreal and looked like a movie.
Mecha units rushing a boy emanating an aura, in a deserted square.
However, as the first Bandersnatch was about to raise its claw to torn Shidou apart.
Without even lifting a finger nor blinking.
A torrent, a shockwave of reiryoku was unleashed, as a dark sphere around Shidou, annihilating hundreds of Bandersnatch units at once, devastating the adjacent streets, digging a giant hole in the middle of the town.
It was just like a spacequake.
However, it didn't stop there.
More and more Bandersnatch came to Shidou who destroyed them the same way, blasting reiryoku charges and shaking the earth.
Meanwhile, DEM's fleet was slowly taking position, surely to provide a heavy artillery support.
But before they could open fire.
"Ki, hi hi hi."
"Do you really think we will let you do so?"
"Come."
A multitude of Kurumi's clones, the Worst Spirit, suddenly surrounded DEM airships and immediately started to attack them.
Obviously, Kurumi had decided to fully take part in the battle.
The Wizards and Bandersnatch escorting the airships riposted, supported by the automatic cannons, and soon, the sky looked like a giant fireworks party.
As the majority of the Bandersnatch units were engaged against Shidou, Kurumi held the numerical advantage, even if DEM's firepower was making things even.
In Fraxinus main control room, the tide of the events decided Kotori.
"Everyone… even everything seems against us…"
Kotori spoke with a low voice to the Spirits who looked at her with perplexed faces.
"For my baka Onii-chan's sake…will you lend me your strength?"
"OUUUU!" the Spirits roared.
"Yes, I agree with your decision, Commander Itsuka."
A familiar voice resonated in the control room, and soon, the image of Elliot Woodman appeared on one of the screens.
"Pardon our lateness. Thanks to everyone, we managed to achieve the preparations in time."
On the other screens, four warships in finger four formation appeared in the sky and broke DEM's encirclement. It was Ratatoskr's fleet.
"We will provide as much support as we can" Woodman said. "However, you alone possess the key to put an end to all of this. We will give you time to elaborate a plan. Good luck, everyone."
The transmission ended and was soon replaced by distant explosions sounds.
Elliot Woodman, as always in his wheelchair, was standing in a similar control room as Fraxinus.
Since he was aboard Ulmus, Fraxinus' sister ship, it was not surprising.
He along with the rest of Ratatoskr's personnel had mobilized all their strength and fleet to come and help Shidou and the others when word came that DEM had attacked earlier than expected.
However, Itsuka Shidou Inversing was not part of his predictions. Still, it did not mean that they would give up.
That was simply not Ratatoskr's style.
Elliot Woodman didn't want anyone to die, be it friends or enemies. Of course he knew that in a war, casualties were inevitable but he preferred to avoid killing as much as possible.
And yet sacrificing his own life for the others did not bother him at all.
With his right hand, he pulled off a sort of golden dog tag out of his collar.
It was the device containing Wodan, Ratatoskr's ultimate CR-Unit.
A golden armor that could only be activated and used by a pure Wizard like Woodman. So powerful that it allowed him, through the Realizer, to return his body back to his prime, making him the strongest Wizard of the world.
However, the downside of this trump card was that using it would consume Woodman's lifespan at an alarming rate.
He had used it once against Westcott when the latter had raided their secret base. Using it again would be the end of him.
"Elliot. Our breakthrough confused DEM's warships but not for long" Karen Mathers said.
She was standing at his side and was looking at him playing with his dog tag with a calm yet slightly worried face.
Woodman raised his eyes, looking at the battlefield calmly.
Karen's statement was also a question concerning their next move.
"It's no use, Karen. He will surely come, whatever we do. He's just like that."
Woodman reported his attention on the monitors.
Down there, Shidou was still fighting the endless waves of Bandersnatch units.
That fact alone was intriguing. One could have thought that DEM's strategy was to slowly wear out Shidou but considering the almost endless source of reiryoku he now possessed, it seemed pointless.
The four warships brought by Woodman were valiantly fighting DEM's fleet, benefitting the effect of surprise, but they were outnumbered.
Even if the Worst Spirit, Tokisaki Kurumi, was also fighting DEM, Elliot noticed that she was now too busy fighting Ellen and Artemisia, whom had been sent against her.
In that configuration, victory was unattainable through military power only. At best, they would buy time.
It was part of Woodman intentions however to attract and distract DEM, while Kotori and the others would come up with a plan to save Shidou.
All of sudden, multiple alarms resounded on Ulmus' bridge.
An explosion occurred, spreading fire and smoke in the entire room.
Neither Elliot nor Karen did bulge however.
"All personnel evacuate the bridge now. Don't leave anyone behind" Elliot calmly ordered, as technicians and crewmembers obeyed in a hurry.
From the cloud of dust emerged one familiar, smirking silhouette.
"Hello, Elliot, Karen. How have you been since last time?" Isaac Westcott said with a broad smile.
"Hello, Ike. As always, you do have a taste for theatrical introductions. Next time, may I ask you to use the teleporter or the door like everyone? Our technicians are tired of repairing walls because of your rude manners."
"Yaaah, sorry about that" Westcott jested. "I just cannot contain my joy in these situations."
"Heavens above, you never change. So, why did you come here? You claimed last time that you did not want to kill us and you know we will not go back to DEM."
Woodman's tone was calm but his gaze was sharp. The only sound that could be heard aside from their talk was Ulmus's alarms signaling a breach in the airship's wall along with the distant gunshots and explosions.
"Well, since everything is going according to my plan, I thought I could just kill some time and hold you off" Westcott admitted.
"Hold me off" Woodman repeated, cocking an eyebrow. "You seem to think that I am the greatest obstacle to your scheme."
"Consider this as a gage of my esteem for you."
"I am flattered. But you are wrong, Ike. However, since it is also in my interest to have you here… Shall we begin?"
In response, Westcott smirked and summoned his Demon King, Beelzebub.
Woodman also smiled, his golden dog tag still in hand.
He hardly get up, and a bright light illuminated the bridge accompanied by a powerful reiryoku impulse.
In place of the quite aged man who had difficulties even to stand up was now a sneering young man with blond hair, clad in a golden armor.
"Here I come, Ike!"
The saddest thing was, when Nia told Shidou that it was fine, she truly meant it.
She was badly hurt, but Shidou's efforts to cover up the wound saved her. Nia was simply trying to tell him that she would be ok.
But because this effort caused her to collapse, Shidou believed that she died in his arms.
As Nia was under treatment in the medical Realizer, she was having a dream.
No, a rather than a dream, it was a memory.
A memory of her and Shidou playing together on a console.
It had to be the night of the Komiket.
Nia had the feeling that this moment was very, very important to her.
And yet, she could not remember the words they exchanged then.
However, it seemed that there was, at that time…
A promise.
On Fraxinus' orders, Ratatoskr's ground defenses had been activated. Multiples cannons and sentry guns had emerged from roofs and multiples buildings and were firing at will.
Their massive barrage was restraining the movements of several DEM's airships as well as destroying entire bunches of Bandersnatch.
Kurumi's clones as well as Ratatoskr fleet and ground support were containing DEM's airships as well as Ellen Mathers and Artemisia Ashcroft.
Westcott and Woodman were fighting aboard Ulmus and Karen Mathers location was unknown.
Shidou was at hand with the endless Bandersnatch waves.
The battle was for now stalling but it was obvious that DEM, possessing a formidable numerical advantage, would win if the fight were to last.
Even Kurumi would not hold forever against the strongest wizards of the world, and, being dominated five to one, Ratatoskr was in the same situation.
However, the preoccupation of the Spirits was above all Shidou. The thing they once knew and still loved.
His appearance alone was frightening. One could not look at him without feeling the abyss of his despair and anger.
It truly was like Pandora's jar.
Tohka was observing Shidou through a video screen and could not look elsewhere.
Both her stomach and heart were hurting because a disturbing thought had emerged in her head.
Tohka had only recently discovered herself that was she was feeling for Shidou was "love"…
So… If Shidou loved Nia… did it mean that… Shidou did not love Tohka?
That she would have to live without Shidou?
That thought alone terrified Tohka.
And if she could not be with Shidou anymore… was it worth to keep going?...
Of course, Tohka was not the only one having these thoughts.
Mukuro, Kaguya and Yuzuru were also in the same state. They loved Shidou, they truly loved him.
So, if he was taken away… even if he was still alive, he would not be with them anymore.
It did not mean that they would give up on saving him, but… it hurt them.
Natsumi and Yoshino were too pure for that, and on the other hand, Miku and Origami didn't care in the slightest: being Shidou's mistresses was fine to them.
Their mood and fighting spirit were slowly dropping, much to Kotori's alarm.
However, at this moment, the doors of Fraxinus' control room opened. Shiizaki and Minowa had returned, leaded by a familiar silhouette.
Spiky ash hair, sharp icy blue eyes, red square framed glasses.
Wearing a Ratatoskr' military uniform that suited her perfectly, Nia was standing ahead of the others, her hands on the hips in a proud manner.
"Tremble, mortals, and despair! Doom has come to this world!"* she claimed.
The room already quiet was now as silent as a cathedral.
Everyone was gazing at Nia with astonishment and incomprehension.
"…"
"How cool…" Kaguya mumbled, taking out of her pocket a small diary to note Nia's words.
Confronted to her audience reactions, Nia frowned.
"…well, maybe it was not the most suited line here…" she admitted. "But I thought it fit the context well!"
Indeed, with all the screens displaying combat and destruction scene, it seemed that doom had came to this world.
Kotori was the first to react.
"I take it you are perfectly healed… you really scared us, you know?"
"Sorry about that" Nia apologized, scratching her head. "I was dead, but now I feel better. Hey, if I'm dead and alive at the same time, does it make me an undead?"
"Tis not the time to banter" Mukuro said. "Nushi-sama is endangered. Muku shall save Nushi-sama, with or without thou."
"We shall all save Boy. Boy saved me, back then… again. I would be dead by now, had he not closed the wound."
Nia noticed the worried faces of the other Spirits and shook her head.
"Look… I played enough games to know what you are thinking right now. If the main character does not love you, is it worth saving him, will he leave you after, or something like that."
The girls shuddered at Nia's cunning.
"Are you all idiots?"
Nia's insult took them aback.
"In a game, the heroine dating the main character is never definitive. It can always change, depending on your choices and your actions. The points you can earn, the flags you can trigger. So… why don't you come and try to steal Boy from me?!"
Her words resonated on Fraxinus' bridge.
"If you want Boy… if you want Shidou, come and take him! But first, we need to save him! To write a true ending, we need a main character, a hero!"
"Ouuh!"
The Spirits answered Nia's passionate speech with a unanimous roar of approbation.
Nia, satisfied, let out a sigh of satisfaction.
"Hmpf. When the hero is incapacitated, it's up to his harem to save the day…"
Kotori slowly clapped her hand to bring back silence.
"So, do you have a plan, Nia?"
"Kind of. I talked about it with Shiizaki when I was dressing up. Boy is in an Inverse Form, right? So we just need to correct that."
"And how are we supposed to?"
"By reaching his heart. Maybe through a kiss, who knows?" Nia shrugged. "Boy never had a plan concerning us. He always did what his heart told him to."
Nia's eyes were glistening.
"Boy always believed that, even in the abyss of despair, we would answer his feelings. That's why… I, too, believe that he is still there… and we will save him."
"Kyaaa, how about everyone giving Darling a kiss at the same time, so I can enjoy it too?!"
"Miku, if you keep this up, you will die from nose bleeding…"
Kotori was concerned. She was used to elaborate complex strategies, with multiple layers. Nia's suggestion was…
"Allow me to reformulate. You are saying that we should just go with guts, and everything will be ok?"
Nia shook her head.
"No. I'd say that we should throw a first attack against Boy then think about what to do, galvanized by the action!"
"That's the same thing!"
"So, are we to improvise? This is fine by me!" Kaguya agreed.
"Amazement. Kaguya is just so simple, I am envious."
"Was that an insult?!"
"This is not a bad idea."
When Origami spoke, everyone stopped taking. Perhaps it was because she too had military training, so hearing her approving of Nia's idea was unexpected.
"We need to make a move now, while DEM's forces are still busy. Retreating to elaborate a plan would not do any good. So… perhaps, we should aim for the heart of the matter, literally: Shidou. If I can awake him one way or another, it'll be my win."
Tohka blinked on the last words.
"Tobichii Origami… did you just say my win?"
"This is a misconception."
"No, I clearly head it too" Natsumi confirmed.
"This is a misconception too."
"If you say so… well, if it's what you all agree on… Let's do things this way. Let us save Shidou with our own hands!" Kotori said with vigor.
"Yeah!"
"But first, we need to carve a path through these Bandersnatch…"
Indeed, the battle was still raging, and the legions of Bandersnatch continuingly assaulting Shidou seemed infinite.
With Fraxinus armament, they could for sure pierce their lines, but then what? Leading a rescue mission would be difficult if the Bandersnatch were not disabled.
"Kotori."
A soft voice called Kotori and for a unknown reason, a chill ran down her spine.
She slowly turned her head towards…
"Reine?"
"I am sorry. It seems…our paths will part earlier than expected."
"What are you…"
"Because, if I let save you Shin now, he will not be mine. He will disappear."
"Reine!"
"This is goodbye, Kotori."
With a sad smile, Reine disappeared silently, leaving everyone on Fraxinus bridge aghast.
A few seconds later, another event occurred on the monitors.
Tokisaki Kurumi, the real one (even if, given her abilities, this expression was not very clear) was fighting with a group of her clones but monitoring the battle against Artemisia Ashcroft and Ellen Mathers at the same time, from the roof of a building in Tenguu City, right under the fighting.
Both DEM and Ratatoskr's decisions had surprised her during the last twenty-four hours.
She had decided to follow the wind and fight to see how Ratatoskr would react after Shidou's Inversion.
Of course, Kurumi, as prudent as ever, had saved enough time to use the Twelfth Bullet: Yud Bet.
It would allow her to travel through time and change the course of the events if things were to become fubar.
Kurumi wanted to devour Shidou's reiryoku and yet, she felt guilty for what had happened.
It was because of the wrong information she had communicated to Ratatoskr that Shidou was now…
No. Shidou-san is not lost yet. I am certain they will find a way to save him. So… let me repay my debt Kurumi thought.
Maybe she would, after all of this, challenge Shidou in order to let her consume her reiryoku? Perhaps it was better to find a compromise?...
However, Kurumi would never know.
Because, at this instant, she felt a tremendous pain in her chest.
What?...
Kurumi lowered her eyes, and much to her horror, saw a white arm coming out from her chest. More importantly, the arm was holding something very familiar.
Kurumi's Sephira Crystal, Zafkiel.
"Ah…Ahh!..."
Kurumi couldn't help but let out a moan of agony, someone was literally coming out of her, tearing apart her body and flesh.
She didn't even need to try to use her powers. She knew, that, deprived of her Crystal, she could not anymore.
"Why…am I…"
Kurumi's vision blurred and she powerlessly collapsed on the ground. Her eyes, however, caught the image of the silhouette of the person who had just killed her in the strangest way.
Ratatoskr's Analyzer Officer, Murasame Reine, was standing in front of her.
It was only at this moment that she understood.
Before the decisive fight, Kurumi had discovered that Reine was the Spirit called Phantom. She had locked her up in her City of Devouring Time in order to devour all of her time and had thought at this moment she had won.
But it seemed that again, she was a part of Reine's scheme.
Reine had let Kurumi lock her up inside only to kill her at the opportune moment.
"Thank you, Tokisaki Kurumi. You have been a wonderful friend."
Reine's voice echoed in her head.
Kurumi always knew that she would naturally get her fair retribution given the number of lives she had harvested.
But for it to happen know, without having been able to help nor to accomplish her goal.
At the same moment, another Reine appeared in front of her. She and her other self fused, giving birth to a young, dazzlingly beautiful girl wearing an Astral Dress with flower ornaments.
This girl was Mio Takamiya, the First Spirit, Deus.
Kurumi wanted to say final words, to curse her, to promise her that she would not get away with this.
But she could only watch her…
The worst was that Mio was displaying a sorry face, as if she truly regretted her actions. She was paying homage to Kurumi by witnessing her last moments on earth, bearing the entire responsibility for killing her.
Shidou-san… I am sorry…
With her last thoughts directed towards Shidou, Tokisaki Kurumi finally closed her eyes and accepted death.
Ellen Mathers and Artemisia Ashcroft, who were fighting Kurumi's clones, suddenly stopped in the air.
All of the clones had suddenly screamed in pain and disappeared, much to their surprise.
"What is going on…" Ellen muttered, her sword still raised.
Artemisia was watching their surroundings with a dubious face.
They decided together to regroup with Westcott, who was apparently fighting someone in Ratatoskr's ship, Ulmus.
The rest of their respective fleets were also engaged in a battle.
Ellen and Artemisia were only a few dozen meters from Ulmus when out of nowhere, someone appeared in front of them, startling them.
Ellen's heart skipped a beat.
"You!"
That was right. The First Spirit as she remembered her, the day they created her, was standing in front of Ellen Mathers.
Her name was…
"Mio Takamiya. So, it is you" Artemisia said with a hint of curiosity in her voice.
Mio nodded and gave Artemisia a sad smile.
"Ah. It seems you are a victim of DEM too. I am, truly sorry about that."
"What are you talking about?"
But Mio ignored her and looked at Ellen.
Her eyes were filled with a cold anger.
"You contributed to create me. Without you, in a certain sense, I would not have met Shin. But… you stole Shin from me. You made me discover love and loss."
"…"
"Do you know how it feels to lose the person you love the most in the world? Do you know what it feels to know that you will not die and be alone forever? Do you know…"
Mio was speaking very fast and calmed down.
"You know to a certain degree, do you not… after all, you have been chased for being what you are. But there is still some people you care about. So, Ellen Mathers."
When Mio pronounced her name, Ellen couldn't help but shiver. She was the Strongest Wizard, and yet…
"I know you are not the one who killed Shin, that day. But you would've done it the same way. Which is why, I will take away from you your most precious treasure."
Mio looked right above them, where the four Ratatoskr ships were fighting DEM main force. Aboard Ulmus, rays of lights and magical explosions could be seen, proof of Westcott and Woodman's fierce fight.
Ellen understood Mio's words too late.
Before she could react.
"Ain Soph Aur."
Mio raised her hand, creating a sphere floating in
the air, its shape gradually changing.
A huge flower with numerous overlapping petals and the figure of a young girl praying at its center.
"Bloom."
The flower emitted thousands of particles of light that scattered, flew and "hit" Ratatoskr and DEM warships alike.
For an instant, time seemed to freeze.
Neither Ellen nor Artemisia could predict what would happen but they felt at this moment a primitive fear.
The instinct lying in every living being, telling him to run away from a mortal danger.
Because, what was right in front of them was death reduced to its purest, simplest expression.
Having been "killed", the airships, deprived of their power, slowly began to fall on Tenguu City. It was as if they had just stopped functioning.
And, among them was Ulmus, the ship where Westcott and Woodman were still fighting; judging from the explosions and sounds, even the fall of the ship didn't prevent them from exchanging blows.
But Ellen did not take the time to think about it properly. The only thing her brain understood was that Ike was in danger.
"IIIIIKE!"
Ellen concentrated all of her power in order to prepare to deploy her Territory as wide as she could. She would stop Ulmus in the air as soon as it would enter her Territory to rescue Ike.
"Ain Soph."
Out of nowhere, a huge tower decorated with flowers and branches pierced the sky and reshaped the surrounding landscape.
The world became monochrome, like in an old movie in black and white.
"Wh–"
"You should know it. Ain Soph is the Angel you studied to develop your own Realizers. Within the space controlled by Ain Soph, I can change the reality as I wish to and edict laws. Since you already deployed your Territory around you to fly and move, I cannot stop you entirely but…"
Mio had a smile.
"The law I just enounced was: no one will be able to extend their Territory. In other words, you will just observe your precious one crashing down because of your powerlessness."
Ellen bit her lip and hesitated.
Artemisia did not and tried to attack Mio without a word, like a silent assassin.
She was second when it came to strength and said to be equal to Ellen Mathers.
Wielding her Arondight, she tried to cut Mio's head with a single blow.
However.
"Ain Soph: Henet."
With a small flower in the palm of her hand, Mio simply invoked her Angel.
An energy beam came out of the flower and hit Artemisia's chest.
Of course, Artemisia had tried to deflect it but trying to block a light that brought death with a sword was meaningless.
Artemisia shuddered. The light of her armor, Lancelot, faded and without a single word, she collapsed like a puppet with her strings cut off.
Ellen could only watch with horror the corpse of her ally falling in the distance. Artemisia was dead, and, falling from this height, her corpse would be reduced to nothing but a bloody pulp.
"Ah…Ah…."
"I had nothing against her" Mio simply said, looking sorry.
Ellen wanted to move, but, coming from Ain Soph tree, several bindings restrained her. She could not do anything.
Finally, the airships hit by Ain Soph Aur passed in front of them, attracted by the gravity to their terrible fate, falling freely.
Screams could be heard, proof that, aboard the ships, people were still alive.
A few seconds later, DEM and Ratatoskr's fleets crashed upon Tenguu City, resulting in tremendous explosions and shockwaves that made the entire city tremble, devastating buildings and neighborhoods in the blink of an eye.
"Ike… Ike…"
Ellen muttered the name.
"Even if he survived this, I will personally make sure that Isaac Westcott will never hurt anyone anymore. Ellen Mathers."
When Mio called her, Ellen raised her eyes only to see the cold face of the First Spirit.
"You will die, knowing that you could not do anything to save him. With that, all your years of labor will be reduced to nothingness. You could not avenge your village. You could not protect your sister, your loved one, and even your friends. In other words… your life had no meaning."
"!"
Ellen did not find anything to reply. It was like… she was experiencing bottomless despair.
"I hope you feel, only a fragment of my own despair when you took Shin away from me."
"I… I…"
"Goodbye, Ellen. Ain Soph Aur."
A bright light blinded Ellen.
With her last emotion being total and complete despair, Ellen Mathers died from the hand of the very one she had contributed to create.
Mio looked at the ruins below her, with rests of airships scattered on the ground.
Indeed, most of the crewmembers were dead.
Ellen Mathers was dead.
Artemisia Ashcroft was dead.
Many people were dead and she had destructed a good part of Tenguu City.
She killed all of these DEM persons not only by vengeance but also because they were no use to her anymore.
She had let them live so Shin could grow up and become stronger, while carefully monitoring their actions. But because of them, a complication had emerged. Shin wasn't supposed to Inverse.
Well, it was still under control.
After all, if it could allow her to reunite with Shin, Mio would do anything.
Shidou was down there, immobile. Because of Mio's destructive assault on DEM's fleet, the Bandersnatch units had been deactivated.
The few Wizards still able to move had rushed on the crash site to look out for survivors.
Mio closed her eyes and teleported right in front of Shidou.
Thanks to her Astral Dress, Shidou's extremely harmful reiryoku was not hurting her.
She had a poor smile when she saw his state.
"It's okay. It will soon be over, Shin."
She slowly approached him.
"Let us be together…forever."
* A single reference this time. It is the line Archimonde says in Warcraft III when he is invoked by Kel'Thuzad near Dalaran, haha.
Well. A lot of deaths suddenly...
Sorry for the ones loving Kurumi haha. It's just, she did not have a place here. But maybe she will come back? Who knows? Me.
Kurumi is similar to Mio in a certain way, she knows her deeds but decides to take full responsability.
I didn't plan this chapter to be this long and to cover that much events of my plot, but I thought it was a compensation for this month without even one chapter.
I hope as always that you liked it. It is possible that the next chapter will be the last of this short story, but I cannot make you any promise.
Please bear with me a little longer. Take care of you all!