Chapter 114: Dead End

Ephnel stabbed her spear downwards, pinning the chain to the ground.

A silver light flashed under her feet as she charged violently towards the direction the chain had been thrown from.

Uzuki Saori’s figure appeared in her vision.

At the same time, the chain on the ground vanished into a silver light, then reappeared in Saori’s hand and swung horizontally towards Ephnel.

Ephnel’s spear materialized in her hand.

While sliding forward on her side, she twisted her body to flick the chain up.

The tip of her spear swept out like a hurricane, then slammed down violently, forcefully breaking through the chain’s attack.

At that moment, Uzuki Saori was only seven steps away from Ephnel.

At this distance, facing Ephnel, Uzuki Saori’s attacks became increasingly weak.

The chain whipped out like a long lash.

This time, it was seized directly by Ephnel’s hand.

Just as Uzuki Saori was about to dematerialize her weapon to recall it, the silver spear tip pierced the air and was already resting against her neck.

“Saori, that’s enough!”

The sharp spear blade glinted with a cold light, the chain pulled taut between them.

Uzuki Saori panted lightly, her gaze traveling up the spear shaft to meet Ephnel’s crimson eyes.

The two of them fell into a brief silence.

The spear tip moved away from her neck.

Saori looked at Ephnel quietly.

“There was no need for you to hold back, senior…”

“Stop being so willful, Saori!”

Ephnel forcefully flung the chain away, the crisp sound echoing in the air.

She said loudly, “Do you have any idea how many people will die if the Boundary Monument is destroyed? There are countless people in this city still trying their best to live, holding onto the hope of survival. They haven’t done anything wrong. Are you going to just stand by and watch them die?”

After a pause, Ephnel softened her voice.

“Or is it that you hate me?”

Saori remained silent, the darkness of the night spreading between them.

After a moment, she finally spoke slowly.

“It has nothing to do with anyone else, and I don’t hate you, senior… This is just my own business…”

“Then stop! Come back to our side!”

Uzuki Saori’s voice was soft as she watched Ephnel.

“Senior… I’m not like you… A happy family, close friends, and the immense power to protect the ones you love… I have none of those things. All I have is this one relationship that can neither move forward nor retreat.”

Saori’s tone became unsteady.

“But even so, I couldn’t even protect the person I cherish most. I became an Agent for her, I trained seriously every single day, and I worked hard for her every moment of every second, but she still got hurt. She almost died.”

“Are you talking about… Rin…?”

“Yes…”

Uzuki Saori did not deny it.

“I love her, the kind of love one has for a lover… I know, senior, we’re the same kind of person, so you must be able to understand these feelings, right?”

Ephnel’s expression flickered slightly.

“Rin wouldn’t want to see you like this.”

“I know…”

Uzuki Saori lowered her lashes. “But if she’s going to die, then none of it has any meaning. If that’s the case, what does it matter if she treats me coldly?”

It was a familiar sentiment.

Ephnel had heard similar words from Yukina’s mouth.

Saori’s feelings for Rin were no different from her own feelings for Yukina.

This, alone, was a truth that could be conveyed without explanation.

Ephnel gripped the spear in her hand tightly.

“Saori, I have one last thing to ask you… Was it you who made Yukina become an Agent?”

“Yes.”

“If you hadn’t done it, would someone else have?”

“Yes.”

“I see…”

Uzuki Saori took a step back.

The silver light on her body faded as she severed her synchronization, then simply raised her hand.

On her finger, a silver ring shone brightly.

In an instant, the wind pressure surged.

A brilliant glimmer of light covered Saori’s entire body.

Countless motes of light began to rise, swirling around her.

Ephnel’s eyes narrowed slightly.

The scene before her was very familiar; it was the exact same feeling as when she had fought the Apostle a few days ago.

“This is… the power of an ‘Apostle’?”

The power of an Apostle filled Uzuki Saori’s entire being.

Her toes lifted lightly off the ground, and she began to float.

Ephnel squinted, and at that moment, the sound from her earpiece became intermittent.

The signal was being jammed.

Without a doubt, the girl before her had, at some point, obtained the power of an Apostle.

The ring on Saori’s finger was identical to the one Ephnel had seen on Sakurai Sachi.

Moreover, Ephnel would never mistake this power—it was similar to the power of the Order, yet fundamentally different.

“Senior, I have to apologize to you.”

At this moment, Uzuki Saori floated quietly, speaking in a soft voice.

“I was jealous of you. Rin, she looked up to you. No matter how I tried to persuade her, she had no intention of giving up her life as an Agent… I thought that if it were you, perhaps she would be willing. I’m sorry for troubling you…”

The light surged, and Ephnel couldn’t see Saori’s expression clearly, only hearing a soft, murmuring voice.

“She’s more stubborn than I imagined… Usually, she has no opinions of her own, always asking me what to eat or where to go… Perhaps, senior, you actually understand Rin better than I do.”

Uzuki Saori’s tone was somewhat desolate.

Ephnel pursed her lips.

“The person Rin values most is you, Saori. That being the case, have you ever considered why she’s unwilling to leave her life as an Agent?”

Saori fell silent, her lips pressed tightly together, then she suddenly gave a soft laugh.

“Then all the more reason I can’t let her continue like this.”

Light flowed in Uzuki Saori’s palm, a glowing orb slowly coalescing.

“Well… none of that matters anymore… it makes no difference… After today, Rin will no longer remember me and will leave me, but as long as she can live happily, my goal will be achieved.”

Ephnel watched the girl before her quietly, her eyes reflecting the golden light.

“Saori… I don’t know what the Apostles told you, but the Rin I know could never be happy without you by her side…”

“That’s not for you to say, senior!”

With a flick of her hand, Uzuki Saori made the orb of light explode between them.

A blinding light swept across the entire floor.

The earpiece and all communication devices lost signal simultaneously.

Behind the smoke and dust, Ephnel’s figure gradually emerged.

She held her spear tightly in front of her, without a single scratch on her body.

“I told you during training, didn’t I? A move I’ve seen once won’t work a second time.”

Uzuki Saori froze for a moment, her brow furrowing even deeper.

‘She… blocked it? She’s not hurt?’

She knew the Apostle Sakurai Sachi had been defeated by Ephnel, but she could tangibly feel the power within her own body.

She had assumed that Sakurai Sachi had lost because she didn’t understand Ephnel.

But looking at it from another angle, how much did she really know about Ephnel’s true capabilities?

“Saori, everything you’re doing is nothing more than self-indulgent sentimentality. It will only serve to strip Rin of the thing she values most.”