Episode 144: Conclusion
For Teruue Mizuki, this Territorial War turned out to be rather anticlimactic.
The irregular factor of the Angels and the Discipline Committee of Kisou Academy ultimately amounted to nothing more than a trivial affair in hindsight.
Thus, she listened to the buzzer signaling the end of the Territorial War with an air of dissatisfaction.
The core of the Dungeon deployed by Kisou Academy was already in Mizuki’s possession.
Without any significant exchange of attacks or defenses, Mizuki had already secured control of the core.
“…Is this it? I had heard there was a possibility of battling an S Rank.”
Having incinerated numerous Angels and single-handedly dealt with most of the Discipline Committee members while remaining undefeated,
Mizuki had achieved complete domination alone. This was precisely what defined her as S Rank.
Though technically, it wasn’t entirely solo since two companions had followed her closely.
“Aah! It’s over! Did we win?”
“Zzzh… zzh… cough…”
Hikari, who jumped around tirelessly, contrasted sharply with Toa, who leaned on her heavy artillery, her face pale as she struggled to catch her breath.
Both were crucial students in the Dungeon-clearing team during the Territorial War.
“Kyuu… Don’t run off so suddenly…”
“This is truly ridiculous. I lost sight of you several times even during battle… You should probably work on building your stamina.”
“Why are you demanding the same physical prowess from a sniper as from frontline fighters…?”
Grabbing Toa’s trembling shoulders, Mizuki said with utmost seriousness and a kind smile, “Next time, let’s run together.”
“H-H-Heeeeee!”
“Aah, I want to run with you too! …By the way, where will we celebrate the winning team with drinks?”
“We’re minors; there’s no such thing for us.”
“But that’s unfair!”
Toa and Hikari both hung their heads, albeit for different reasons.
Seeing this, Mizuki felt a slight worry about Factom General Academy’s future.
In any case, it marked the end of the Territorial War.
■
The main base of Silver Twilight lay in utter devastation.
Everywhere was frozen and destroyed, with rubble scattered all around.
It looked like the aftermath of a massive storm.
Amidst this gruesome scene, the Professor sipped his tea with a grin as if he was enjoying every moment.
“Hmm, delicious. Doctor, this tea leaf is quite a hit.”
“Yes… Ah, but I’ll pass.”
The Doctor replied without looking at the Professor.
Accustomed to his reactions, the Professor shrugged and took another sip of tea.
“Anyway, things went well. We ended up handing one Angel over to the Board of Directors.”
Continuing his work without pause, the Doctor questioned him.
“It doesn’t matter. While creating a large number of Angels is interesting, they’re merely foot soldiers compared to an S Rank. They couldn’t even take down an A Rank or an injured Solciera.”
The Professor had been observing the Territorial War.
Not necessarily expecting to gain anything specific,
This battle had concluded exactly as the Professor had anticipated.
“Joe was utterly defeated, and the Territorial War resulted in Mikage Academy’s victory. The Angels were overcome effortlessly. …Hmm, the humans of this world are indeed strong and remarkable.”
As if watching a show, the Professor made this evaluation.
To him, this was merely the prelude.
His true objective lay elsewhere.
The Professor finished his tea while gazing at the colossal white marble snake lying before him.
“Not only did we capture the Seraphim, but even Solciera didn’t see through our use of the Wise Angel as bait.”
The movements of Solciera were predictable.
She would undoubtedly hunt the Wise Angel under the banner of justice, fighting alone. She had no choice but to do so, and the Professor had foreseen it.
“Using even the Six Angels of Destruction in your plans, Nameless is impressive. The creativity of the younger generation is enviable.”
“I was against it. We’ve lost the Wise Angel to Solciera, after all. Moreover, its essence lies in death. If we dissected it, we might have possibly overcome death entirely.”
The Doctor pouted as he said this.
Apparently, he still hadn’t fully accepted it.
“Ho ho ho ho, well, thanks to that, we managed to capture the Seraphim. It was tough outsmarting the Director, but it worked out. Now, all that remains is to awaken Trim…”
The Professor turned his gaze towards the Doctor while operating multiple consoles arranged like a throne room.
Countless wires extended from the throne, and at its center, a frozen girl slept.
“I killed Ice Phoenix Rei. Her abilities were supposed to be nullified, but for some reason, she remains frozen.”
“Ah, I see.”
Watching the Doctor scratch his head, the Professor nodded understandingly.
Then, he stood up and started walking.
Before him was the figure of Ice Phoenix Rei, pinned against the wall.
Her clothes were tattered, blood flowed from various parts of her body, and her flesh was torn.
Her pitiful state told the tale of the fierce battle that had taken place here.
“Hmm”
The Professor stared at Rei.
Then, nodding, he plunged his hand directly into her heart without hesitation.
“—Agh?!?”
“Ah, looks like she’s still alive. Quite resilient, worthy of an S Rank.”
With a gentle smile, the Professor tore out her heart and immediately formed a magic circle in his palm.
“Die honorably.”
An unexpectedly potent magical energy-infused converging artillery attack was unleashed.
It quickly swallowed up the defenseless Rei.
“Well, how about that? With her dead, her abilities should also have been nullified.”
Glancing briefly at Rei’s charred and grotesquely shrunken corpse, the Doctor frowned.
After touching the console a few times, he somewhat sheepishly said,
“It’s cleared. Sorry, I didn’t expect her to still be alive after all that.”
“It’s fine. Even geniuses make mistakes sometimes. As for me, I intended it as a joke anyway. My, S Ranks truly are terrifying.”
Saying this, the Professor picked up Rei’s corpse and activated a transfer magic circle.
“What do you plan to do with that?”
“Cleanup. If Trim is about to awaken, I don’t want to leave behind any unpleasantness. Since the dwelling place of Angels hasn’t closed yet, I thought I’d discard her here.”
“Copying Nameless… I want to effectively utilize even the corpse. While we’re at it, I’d like to try making an S Rank Clone.”
Seeing the Doctor subtly asking for the corpse, the Professor chuckled helplessly.
“Ho ho ho ho, direct that curiosity towards Trim. Right now, I can’t afford distractions like experimenting with S Rank Clones.”
Saying this, the Professor threw Rei’s corpse into the transfer magic circle.
Then, he pulled out a handkerchief and carefully wiped his hands.
“Besides, experiments on S Rank Clones have already been conducted by scholars. Let’s leave it to them.”
“That washed-up doctor… I don’t like him. He lacks refinement.”
The Doctor snorted and silently continued his work.
Seeing this, the Professor grew bored and returned to his seat to prepare tea again.
“Since Nameless is celebrating their victory today… I’ll have a lonely tea party instead.”
“If you have the time, you could help clean up this place. The area is completely trashed.”
“Once I finish this cup.”
With elegant motions, the Professor drank his tea.
It seemed it would take quite a while for him to finish this cup.
The corpse of Ice Phoenix Rei, thrown away by the Professor, fell through a red world.
She fell endlessly, uncaught by anyone, and finally hit the ground with a dull thud.
At that moment, her body shattered into pieces.
A single girl met her complete demise.
An irreversible, perfect death.
And that was precisely the activation condition for the Sacred Relic.
A gemstone that had spontaneously emerged from the expansion domain fell into the center of what used to be Rei.
Gradually, the gem began to shine brighter…
ni hyōi tensei shita ore wa TS o akiramenai, かませ役
