Unraveled Visages

"…And because of that, you have changed everything into an uncertain future."

"…"

"You did this, Ephraim… Instead of doing what was already decided by fate, you brought us into this unsure situation."

"I did what I know was right."

"Yeah… and that right thing is making all of those people lose their lives in agonizing pain and endless despair."

During the night, when almost all people in the manor house has slept, Ephraim and Professor Higuchi talked about a wide range of subjects, eventually leading to Ephraim confiding the fact that he broke off the fate of the world from what he foresaw is the future in the vision that he experienced a year ago.

"As you surely already know, there are three visions for the world's fate that has been attempted. First, there is Justice's plan that entails having all the power and authority of Law, Faith, Knowledge and herself to combine and crack the Roots of Reality so that it would hinder Babel's advance towards the Original World. Something that in chess, would be called as a "destructive checkmate"."

"That name fits… it's good though that she has shelved it for now after understanding my plan."

"Then, there's the vision of the Spirit of Death, Nihil. After bringing Apokalypse into fruition in order to sow despair, hatred, hopelessness and fear, it ordered its Seers to see to it that before the World Seed falls to the hand of anyone, the entirety of the world must be turned into a wasteland where no life exists and nothingness reigns above all else… in the same respect, a "stalemate"."

"…If what Law spoke about is true, only the Innkeeper, Child of Light and Maestro remains active. The Innkeeper is fighting Ryuuichi tooth and nail, Maestro is somewhere in the world and leading his Departed Orchestra for the performance that would herald the end of the world, and the Child of Light is… somewhere doing something."

"You're right about that… the other two have their own deals, but the Child of Light being missing for some reason doesn't sit well with me."

Of the three visions about the world's fate, it was the third that they want to avoid the most… and yet, given the current circumstances, it might as well be the most likely to happen.

"If Miyazono Ryuuichi defeats the Innkeeper, gains control over the massive majority of the world's faith and assumes the World Seed, nothing can stop him from being what he has always wanted to be… a god."

"The Innkeeper would buy us some time, but she will ultimately lose… her fate isn't to defeat Ryuuichi… not even close."

"Does that mean then that you're giving up? I won't be surprised if you do. After all, your people do not belong here… in the grand scale of things, losing here doesn't mean much to your ultimate goal. To you and your kin, there is always a next time and new chance."

After the old man said that, Ephraim pondered for a moment about the revelation that his mother told them earlier back then.

"We Chronians, Descendants of Cecilia Chronia and her kin under the lineage of Seliah Cecilia Chronia, do not belong to this world… We are outsiders, or in the proper way of saying it… [Invalids]"

He already knew about all of this after reading historical records in Knowledge's Hall of Words and the shared memories that he had with Law. He knew the truth about the Chronians and what they were here for and why they decided to stay even if Babel already possessed the World Seed once and are more likely to win in this reality than the other realities that exist out there.

He knew that if he wanted to, he could abandon this losing battle and try again at another world where Babel is yet to manifest in… and yet…

"There's a reason why Lady Cecilia decided to stay here even though everyone else already saw it as a losing battle. While it's true that it might be a fool's errand, there is something in this world that we cannot have in any other reality."

"And… that is?"

Ephraim knew that the tribulations ahead of this decision would cost him dearly and it may even end in a way that he doesn't exactly like. Yet he knew that there is surely a way for this to end that would at least guarantee that everything they did so far wouldn't be for nothing.

"You're right about my people having enough power to handle this incursion of Babel all by ourselves… and yet, that wouldn't solve the problem that led to Babel being drawn towards here at all."

"Are you saying that it's not you Chronians that we need?"

"Right… In the first place, the reason why Babel was drawn towards this world is the fact that mankind cannot resist the allure of chaos. When things are in order, mankind wants to spread disorder, and once they have to reap its consequences, they begin to regret ever breaking the order that kept all of this undesirable end results. What this world and your people need isn't a hero or a savior but the desire to face what comes out of your decisions."

"That's easier said than done. You yourself know that if faced with the decision between bliss and pain, many would desire bliss even if it meant ignorance and disability."

"I know… and because of that, I have to make them understand its futility before they make that decision."

Ephraim faced the bedridden old man and told him what will happen from here on out.

"Tomorrow, all of this would end, and everything would be as the Miyazonos desire it. The people of Sunogahara-cho would abandon the S.S.S, the Sumeragi syndicate would mount their last offensive and the Seers of Death would fail… this is what I can see from our current circumstances."

"I see… it really is that bad already."

"Still, there is hope. If in the battle between the Tetian brothers, William would be eliminated, it would significantly weaken the Miyazono group's capability to resist the final attack of the Sumeragi group. For the Seers of Death, even if the Innkeeper loses and Ryuuichi returns to absorbing the Astra energy produced by his believers' vices, it would be greatly hindered by the Maestro's orchestra that is counteracting the transmission of said Astra energy towards him. As for the S.S.S, I believe they will be able to weather this and strike back when the time is right."

"How about you then? What do you plan to do while all of this is happening?"

"Are you talking to me or Law?"

"Both, I guess."

"Well… the truth is, I can't tell you what Law would do. After all, he's not here."

"Oh… wait, what?" the old man spoke up with a confused tone.

"You heard me. Law and I have split apart for a while now. Given the fact that of all the Spirit Vessels that exist, I'm the one who has the greatest connection and compatibility with his Spirit, Law can split off to handle his own business while I still have all the power and authority that he has."

"T-Then does that mean-"

"Yeah… whatever Law is doing right now, it's likely to contribute greatly to our overall victory."

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

True to Ephraim's words, Law was doing something that would greatly contribute to the positive outcome of this prelude to the battle for the World Seed.

"My friend… why does it have to end like this…?"

Traversing multiple portals that utilized Subspaces in order to shorten real world distances, Law was tracking down someone who is responsible for the abnormalities that is beginning to appear around the world.

From people forgetting their entire identities and certain rules of reality not only being bent but sometimes even entirely undone, it caused the already chaotic and ruined world to be drawn further downward to disorder.

All of this happened due to the prelude of what is called the "Battle for the World Seed". At this conjunction of the world's many possible outcomes, one of the required factors is the fall of at least one of the remaining pillars of order that is keeping the world functional.

"This pulse of energy… He must be near!"

And this fate was given to the one that Law didn't want to confront the most… for reasons that he cannot openly speak.

"Hehehe… Gyehehehehehehehe---!"

"How pitiful…"

"…You."

"This explains things… Why for some reason, Courage has been revived in a Vessel and why a Seer of Death has accessed the Celestial Arts."

In the wasteland of ruin and death that is New Tokyo, Law came face to face with Knowledge who has largely been devoured by Taintedness. Snickering and laughing maniacally, only a part of Knowledge's left face remained under his control… and even then, that part is slowly being taken over as well.

"Before you truly lose control, Knowledge… I want you to answer a few questions."

"Ask… away…"

"…Why? Why did you let yourself be eaten by Taintedness? Of all Spirits, your Principles are the most straightforward and achievable. All that you paid for it was the total lack of emotion."

"You… already know the answer… Law…"

Knowledge spoke between maniacal snickering. Each of these legible answers being spoken with labored and painful breaths.

"Like me… you are born with no emotions… The entire reason… why you bonded with Love… is because you wanted to understand… and serve mankind better… by being able to empathize… and understand their emotions…"

"Then did you feel the same and ended up like this?"

"No… Instead of a desire to feel emotion… in order to gain more things to protect… mine was born when I lost it all… during the time when it should've been you who had the right to feel this… it was me who took it as for the first time… I mourned the death of someone dear to me."

"Love…"

"My Taintedness… has been halved by Faith. Her half, she endured for many millennia… and mine, she sealed it away… giving me time to think this through… and find a way to resolve this before Babel appears again… but I've failed… I've planned for things behind everyone's back… thinking that it would be enough to outsmart Babel's cohorts and make them end this for us… a trap that I laid down by baiting their senseless desire… but in the end, it was me who was caught… and entangled in it."

Slowly, the remaining essence of Knowledge's existence was devoured by his Taintedness and what remained of his sense of self faded moment by moment.

"Tell me, Law… despite all this stupidity that I've done… did I serve my purpose for this world's ultimate fate?"

"…"

"Was I a good Celestial Spirit?"

With a heart that is now freed from the heavy burden of what was asked from him, Law gave his answer.

"Yes… I can't ask for anyone better to hold onto that authority for so long."

"Ahh… is that so… Well then… let's do this before I really lose it all."

"…As Law, Spirit of Law and Order, I announce the commencement of a Celestial Spirit's disposal on the grounds of failing to uphold his Principles and thus, being Tainted. May with this act, everything be set in order and things return to how they should be."

At that very moment when Law removed Knowledge's title and authority as a Celestial Spirit, Knowledge finally gave in to the Taintedness and lost his sense of self.

"Farewell, old friend… maybe this time, you can find the answer to your ultimate question yourself."

"ROOOOAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH---!!!"

*BYIIIIII-!!!*

As Knowledge's Tainted form charged towards him, Law attacked him which took the form of a blinding burst of light that pulsed for several seconds before it subsided to show Knowledge's body turned into a statue made of ash that quickly dissipated into the wind.

"That makes two… and it really has to be your sibling Spirit, wasn't it… Love?"

After Law closed the eyes of the crumbling statue before it shortly disappeared completely, he opened his hand to reveal a glowing orb that contained the Authority that he gave to Knowledge after he ascended as a Celestial Spirit. With a swift and strong grip, he shattered it to absorb back its content… as well as a sliver of information that Knowledge left before he gave into the corruption that ate him.

"…I see. That explains things… why that woman has acted so strangely… and why that mystery went unresolved for so long."

Law wanted to return back to Ephraim to tell him about this, but he knew that there is a far more important thing that has to be resolved first.

"I've assumed Knowledge's Authority but all of his Principles are now up in the air for interpretation. With this, things are bound to become more chaotic… which will heavily favor the Miyazonos and Babel."

With that, Law opened a fissure in subspace to travel enormous distances once again in search of the things that he has to gather in order to give him and Ephraim a fighting chance in the upcoming battle.

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

Inside the mind of Lucas, the fight between him and William has been robbed of all of his ill feelings towards his brother and enemy.

I am doing this for the sake of fairness and those who fell victim to your wrongdoings. This is for the sake of bringing you your long overdue defeat.

"How… how… HOW?!?!?!"

"HYAAAAH!!!"

Each of William's strikes were returned by Lucas in an unnervingly equal proportion both in power and volume. Whether it be in strength or speed, the previously lopsided results became a dangerously equal fight.

"Curse you, Courage…! You should've stayed dead… YOU SHOULD'VE STAYED DEAD!"

"Don't be such a stick in the mud, Luxuria… After you so proudly declared that you're among the ones to stab me to death, I believe I have the exclusive right to make you understand how easy you had it back then when you took my life."

"GHH---!"

Inside William's head, the sense of absolute power that he has been so proud of began to slowly shatter into pieces.

"You damned Tainted Spirit! Why are you running? WHY ARE YOU RUNNING?!!"

["You demented asshole! If I didn't keep our distance with Courage, we'd die in a flash!"]

"Just give me all of your power then! I'll crush him in no time!"

["You demanding that convinces me more to not do it!"]

Currently, it was Luxuria the Tainted Spirit who was in control between it and William and it was being extremely cautious with the distance between them and Courage.

"Well, well… looks like someone at least did remember a part of what happened back then. Keeping your distance? You really learned about that limitation of mine, didn't you?"

"YOU BET! Do you know how many of those tactless Spirits charged at you and ended up dead because of it?! If only they knew that you have total control of the space within your arm's reach, they'd be still alive."

"Hmph… Impressive. Just what I would expect from you…"

With an amused tone, Courage spoke and even commended Luxuria's memory of their past encounter.

"Flattering me now? Don't be so-"

"Too bad for you though, unlike back then, I'm not battered and drained from my previous carnages."

"What?"

"You see… The reason why you punks had a chance with me back then was only because I already bled and was forced to absorb the enormous amounts of malignant Astra energy due to my participation in the destruction of the Six Sinful States… but right now? Right now, I'm fresh from the grill and ready to scrap. And unfortunately for you, you're first on my list to destroy."

Right at that moment, Courage sheathed Lucas' sword and cracked his knuckles audibly. This caused Luxuria's fear to further grow until his control over his Vessel's body wavered, something that William quickly grasped to regain his control over his body.

"Hahaha! Finally, I'm out of that coward's control! Now then, let's---"

*BYAG!*

Before he can end his words, William was sent flying by a punch that had a tremendous force behind it.

"WHAT THE---!?"

"Are you deaf or something? I already warned you that I'm going to beat the shit out of you!"

"WHY YOU!!! HAH-!!!"

"Too slow!"

Without missing a beat, Courage struck William with an endless barrage of blows that caved in every body part that it hit.

"KHH---!!!"

"Come on! Don't bend on your Principles now! You're going to be the very best and strongest, right!?"

"GWAAAAAHHH---!!!"

"You're going to be the pinnacle of mankind's pursuit of power, right!?"

"GYAH! HRAAAAAAAAHHH---!"

"Or are you a fraud who gives up when the going gets tough?! Come on, human! COME ON!!!"

At that moment while he is being one-sidedly beaten up, inside William's mind was another fight that ended with his triumph.

"Gak-! Kah!"

"It's pointless to resist, Luxuria… Give it to me."

"You… foolish mortal… YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT WHAT YOU'RE DOING!"

Between pained gasps, the mortally wounded Luxuria has been overpowered by the Vessel that he inhabits and said Vessel is now demanding complete authority over of its powers. Hearing this, Luxuria tried to resist once again but was met with a greater deal of pain from William.

"You shut your mouth, you useless mutt! To think he has humiliated me this much and yet you didn't even try to fight back in my stead!"

"GHHH-!!! No… NOOO-!"

With one hand holding Luxuria by the throat, William used his free hand to stab into the center of Luxuria's chest and drew out an orb from within it that swirled with a malevolent shade of ash gray and pale green.

"Finally… power… ABSOLUTE POWER AND AUTHORITY! Above everyone else… ABOVE ALL THINGS! Aaaaaaaaahhh! AHAHA-AHAHAHAH!!!"

As soon as he absorbed the contents of the orb by crushing it, an enormous amount of power unfathomable to be in the hands of a mere mortal, surged through his veins and every fiber of his being.

All of a sudden, his body grew in size and began to glow as the amount of Astra energy it contains began to leak out and surrounded him with an aura that made him look like he is exuding out light like a halo.

"You absolute fool…"

"HUH?!"

"You… don't know… YOU REALLY KNOW NOTHING DO YOU?!!"

As Luxuria shouted that inside the mindspace of William, the tables have turned against Lucas and Courage out in the real world. The boost in power caused by William's triumph against Luxuria allowed him to return their duel into equal footing which was immediately apparent after he landed a few counterpunches towards Courage who realized what just happened.

"Hahaha---! AHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

"Khh… Impressive! And here I was, thinking that this would turn boring as soon as your Tainted Spirit ran away with his tail between his legs again!"

"You got that right! I ain't like that coward who won't give its all in a fight! I'm William Tetian!"

At that moment, the savage brawl between the overpowered William and Spirit Courage inhabiting Lucas resounded all across the battlefield.

"Ghh! KUH---!"

"YAAAA! DAMN YOU-!!!"

At first, it was clear that both sides were on equal footing as every blow doled out by one was quickly given back by the other. But as the fighting continued to rage on, small mistakes made by Courage began to pile up and soon, William gained the upper hand which he made his opponent aware of through a punch filled with Astra energy in critical mass that exploded out violently.

"GWAGH-!"

"HAHA! Took you by surprise, didn't I?! I'm not like I was before! I can break you!"

"KWAGH-!!!"

"I CAN KILL YOU!!!"

William kept on raining strikes towards Courage, drowning out the counterattacks doled by his opponent until it became a one-sided slaughter. With great momentum, he rained not only physical strikes but also Psychic light attacks that further brought him closer to victory.

"HAHAHA!!! YAHAHAHAHAHA---!!!"

Seeing him triumph against his opponent who has been thrashing him to and fro earlier, William can't help but laugh maniacally as his claim to being the strongest was being proven right there and then.

"Haah… Haaah- I won't let you---!"

"JUST DIE ALREADY!!!"

After hitting him with hundreds, maybe even thousands of attacks, William sensed that his opponent is on the verge of defeat and even death and finally formed an attack that would end it all.

"<Ars Goetia><Photokinesis >!"

"-!!!"

"<Unfathomable Void!>"

With the strongest attack in his Tainted Spirit's arsenal, William locked Courage in a Subspace filled with all kinds of terrors that filled the human heart.

From incomprehensible monstrosities to the most innate fears that plague the human heart, Courage and his Vessel was locked inside of it for an almost infinitesimal amount of time but was just a single moment outside of the Subspace.

"Haha… Ahahaha… GAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!"

Seeing his enemy fall down to the ground motionless and lifeless, William gloated with laughter for his victory over one of the strongest Celestial Spirits to ever exist.

With their battle over, the Subspace that was formed to contain them was broken, leaving the only remaining Subspace in New Tokyo being the one set by the Seers of Death which still remain in the city as the three remaining Seers still exists.

Regardless, the breaking of the Subspace that contained them meant one thing alone to William. He has successfully killed Lucas along with Courage who chose him as its Vessel.

He has already proved his strength that now transcends the boundaries of mortal men… but his victory over Courage meant that another summit of power is now within his reach.

"With your authority and power as a Celestial Spirit, I can grow stronger… I can do much more!"

He shouted as he picked up Lucas' motionless body with one hand and formed several claws made of searing light around his free hand, intending to use it to dig out Courage's spirit that is now trapped in Lucas' body.

"I'VE DEFEATED YOU! AND I WILL USE YOU TO BECOME EVEN STRONGER!!!"

"Heh… I knew you would say that."

"!!!"

Much to his surprise, he heard Lucas' voice and in the next split second, he found his vision being inverted until his head hit the ground. It was only at that moment when he realized that his head has been decapitated from his body.

"WHAT THE---!?"

"It was quite the brave gamble, but as the Spirit of Courage, I'm not one to back out from something that needs some balls to pull off… after all, your brother over here planned it all, knowing your ego inside out."

"!!!"

When that was mentioned, William realized what it was that he failed to consider or even just listen to when he wrestled against Luxuria for both his power and authority.

"When fighting a Celestial Spirit who inhabits the very core Principles that keep Reality going, never ever partake or obey that principle if you want to have a fair fight."

"YOU---!"

"That's right… When you recognized me as someone stronger than you and mustered all of your power to win against me, you obeyed my Principle and gave me all the power and authority over you… to put it shortly-"

Courage touched William's body and turned it into a statue of dust that quickly dissipated with a gust of wind.

"DAMN YOU… DAMN YOOOOOUUUUU!!!"

"You're supposed to be killed by the Vessel of Justice, but with you having the full power and authority of your Tainted Spirit, you've become far too dangerous to just let go."

"!!!"

As Courage approached him, William harnessed every bit of strength and Astra energy that he has to force his body to regenerate but all of it was clearly in vain.

"Rejoice, mortal. This is where you will meet your end."

Courage drew out his sword and held it with a reverse grip towards the ground, pointing it right on the forehead of William, intending to instantly kill him the moment he plunges it.

"My, my, aren't you in such a hopeless situation, dear "Strongest of them all"."

But all of a sudden, a voice echoed around them, and a tall shadow grew from behind Courage. One that made him to turn around to face the one who has just entered the battle.

"…Hmph. I knew something was up the moment this mook didn't instantly die."

"Hohoho! So, you already sensed that something was up the moment you appeared and performed all of those theatrics until you were sure that I would show up, huh?"

"Yeah. Although if I'm gonna be honest, I expected more from someone who has sat on the fence for that long."

"Y-You--!"

After he forced all of his face muscles to turn towards the direction of the familiar voice. The person he saw was a man around the age of early 20s, sporting gray-colored hair cut short. His eyes are slightly shut, giving him a fox-like look.

After William finally recognized who it was, he immediately flew into a rage about that person staying on the sidelines ever since his fight with Courage began.

"AKIRA!!! YOU ABSOLUTE DIMWIT! How dare you stay back there while I've fought tooth and nail against this monster! Just wait till Himari-sama hears this! I will- URK---!!!"

"Gardener William. I'll delightfully remind you that I am holding your very life in my hands right now and my whims are subject to change for everything that you do. So please…"

While William was blaring out his shouts, the man named Akira moved his fingers and William's neck began to bleed slightly while his face contorted in pain. The bleeding and coughing of blood from William's head only worsened as Akira threatened him.

"Ghh! Guhak!"

"…do not piss me off and force me to fail the master's orders."

"A-Alright…"

Hearing William's resigned reply, Akira returned his attention to Courage who seem to have gathered enough information about what was happening to make an educated guess about him.

"From every angle that you look at it, you're a whole, functional human being who I don't have to be wary of… however, something about you bothers me."

"Oho? And what could it be, honored Celestial Spirit?"

"Your body. It looks like what it should look like, yet I can sense that it wasn't molded by the Divine Principle of Life nor the biological laws that nature follows. It is sculpted to perfection, trimming off all weakness and excess whilst maximizing all positive qualities."

Courage assessed the peculiar person in front of him and little by little, he understood what it was that was bothering him.

"…Your heart. It doesn't have a sense of spirit. It beats to let you live instead of beating because you are alive."

"Ohoho… you're getting there, dear Spirit Courage. Come on, do you best now."

"Your mind. It doesn't have a soul. You may have all of the processes that permit thought and a sense of self, yet you are soulless. You follow a program, learn from it and nothing more… to put it bluntly…"

Courage's last comment hit the nail on its head.

"You are an abomination of mankind's arrogance… a defiance of the natural order. You are an Invalid."

"Bingo… Haah, I guess you can leave it to those who have witnessed the arrival of such creatures all those eons ago to know exactly what I am."

This man, or more precisely, artificial human named Kitagawa Akira, recognized the moniker spoken by Courage and casually spoke about "such creatures" who had the same nickname from a very long time ago.

"Heh… what arrogance. I guess you can leave it to a freak of mankind's folly to think that it can stand at the same plane of greatness as those brave and selfless souls."

"Hm-hm! Don't say it like that, dear Spirit… because it seriously pisses me off."

After saying that, Akira opened his eyes ever so slightly and gazed towards Courage with an intimidating glare. Suddenly, a hole appeared and sucked in William's head and began to draw in Lucas' sword as well.

"You cur. Did you really think that I would let you live after you not only ceased my claim to a total victory, but also stained the honorable name of they who took on the burden of being the "Divine Challenger"?"

However, Courage quickly swung the tip of the sword towards the hole, cleaving it into two before taking a ready stance to fight his new opponent.

"My orders were to simply take back Gardener Tetian if he ever gets near the state of death… but I guess I can go off the script for now so I can have my fill of showing you the difference in our power."

"Oh yeah? Careful now with the threats, sly one. I might go overboard and end up robbing you of your life here and now."

As Courage and this new enemy faced off, the consequences of their last sanctuary's fall struck what little remained of those who are die-hard loyal to the S.S.S.

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

"Takeyama… send it."

"…Yes, Yurippe."

In Sunogahara-cho, the chaos that ensued after everything that they have worked for was destroyed and the countless lives that were lost from the attack of the Malignances, grew out until it reached a point where discontent against the S.S.S formed and exploded into full-blown riots.

 It has only been two days since the attack ended, making all of the people's losses very bitter and painful. In such times, no one would blame anyone for being disheartened and thinking of taking the easy way out of all of this grief… and yet, the people of Sunogahara-cho manifested and released all of their hatred against a particular family that was rumored to be in the center of it all.

"Yuri, there's surely a better way to do this…"

"…"

"DAMN IT, YURI!!! Are you going to let them use him and his family again as the scapegoat for all of this?!"

"And what other option do we have?! Are you telling me that they're more important than our goal?!!"

The Director of the S.S.S, Nakamura Yuri, was confronted by his vice-director, Hinata, about all of this. Hinata was against Yuri's decision of publicizing the information they have about Ephraim but faced with the need of the people to find someone to blame for all of their losses, Yuri made this decision that basically pointed all of the blame towards Ephraim and his family.

"He betrayed us for f***'s sake! Forget about everything else he did before! He withheld information that would've ended all of this in our favor! Are you telling me to trust someone like that?!"

Yuri admitted that she didn't want to do this, but she rationalized this decision by saying that this was a rightful recourse when it was Ephraim who wronged them first.

"I see… I guess being forced in the weakest position in all of this really broke you, Yuri."

"…My decision is final, Hinata. Leave now."

Given the long time and experiences that they shared, Hinata's next words shocked Yuri to her core.

"If that is so, then I'll make a final decision right here and now too… I'm resigning from my position as vice-director and for fairness' sake for doing this all of a sudden, I'll cede all of my rights to the severance and retirement pay too."

"N-No… Hinata, don't tell me that you-!"

"Throughout all of the years that we fought, bled and toiled together, I wore many personas and changed my form as you also did, Yuri…"

"Hinata…"

As Hinata placed his handgun and agency badge on Yuri's office table, he spat one line that struck Yuri very painfully.

"However, willingly sacrificing a friend isn't one of them… I can see that we aren't alike in that, and I will willingly die without doing that."

As Hinata left her office, Yuri's face began to twist into one of tearful regret and ever since that day when she lost countless friends and her faction's chance to stand at the same level as the others, tears trailed down her face and pattered on her table. At that moment, her telephone rang, and it automatically turned to speaker mode to reveal that the person on the other line was Takeyama.

{"…The information leak was successful, Yurippe. They're accusing the Chronia family of doing all of this. However, some are using this to push the narrative that we are part of that too… some people are already calling for the dissolution of the S.S.S-led leadership in Sunogahara-cho."}

"…"

{"I'll do my fill of censoring them as soon as they appear on any message boards, but please do the appropriate moves needed to calm the people down. We can't afford to lose Sunogahara-cho now."}

As the fall of the S.S.S in their last sanctuary began, the missing Seer of Death finally found the place that she was looking for.

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

"Haah… haah… Surely, surely it is here!"

Akisato Mirai, the Seer of Death dubbed as "Child of Light", came out of a portal rift that led to a dark cavern. Here, she summoned three orbs of light that illuminated her surroundings bright enough to make the enormous object in front of her visible.

"The Challengers' contingency plan… the only way to have a second chance if all else fails!"

She approached the object and placed her hand on its freezing cold and dusty exterior.

"I know I am not supposed to be your master, but please! I promise to bring you to him so long as you shrink and come with me! Please! All of humanity needs to have you as its assurance for a second chance!"

The large object began to hum lowly like a machine, and she shouted out its name.

"Come to life! Vessel of the Outsiders!"

As the vessel roared to life, it threw another variable in the already complicated and uncertain fate of this world.

Yet more than that, it preluded the start of this final battle to decide it once and for all.