Chapter 116: She is similar

“Cough…”

Saori coughed, lowering her gaze. Plop.

On the back of her dust-covered hand, a small grey flower bloomed.

The sound of coughing gradually softened, turning into a sob.

Saori clenched her fists tightly.

She didn’t dare to look at Rin.

She scrambled to her feet and turned to leave.

“Stay where you are.”

The spear scraped against the ground, kicking up sparks with a long, clear ring.

It rested against Saori’s neck, halting her steps.

“Are you going to leave just like this? Leaving Rin all alone?”

“…”

Saori slowly turned around, her cheeks stained with tears.

Her gaze fell on Rin in the distance.

At that moment, Rin seemed to have noticed something was wrong between Ephnel and Saori.

She was shouting something, forcefully pushing past the soldiers blocking her way and running towards them.

But the effects of the sedative hadn’t completely worn off.

She swayed unsteadily, and after just two steps, she fell heavily to the ground.

“Rin!”

Saori’s feet shifted, but she stopped herself once again.

She bit her lower lip hard, as teardrops rolled down her cheeks one by one.

“Aren’t you going to see her?”

Ephnel’s voice was soft as she asked.

Saori shook her head in silence.

“I know you’re afraid Rin will hate you, afraid to face her. But… between you and Rin, one of you has to take the first step. At this point, are you really going to keep running away and leave Rin to close the distance between you all by herself?”

Saori gazed at Rin, who was being helped up by the soldiers and was still shouting in their direction.

Her shoulders trembled, and she fell silent.

“Running away won’t solve anything… Saori.”

A pair of small, warm hands gently cupped her cheeks.

Saori lifted her gaze to see Ephnel raising a hand to wipe away her tears.

“Release your synchronization, then go see Rin. Don’t disappoint her again.”

Ephnel’s voice was gentle.

Saori pressed her lips together, tears covering her face.

With a flash of golden light, the dirty school uniform appeared on her body once more.

She slowly raised her hands, taking off the bracelet and the ring.

These were her Beacon, and the Apostle’s Beacon.

With downcast eyes, she cupped the pendant on her chest with both hands and removed it as well.

That was Shiina Rin’s Beacon.

“Senior… what will… happen to me?”

“You will be stripped of your status as an Agent, taken into custody, and await interrogation.”

Ephnel watched her, then averted her gaze.

“Until your connection with the Beacon is completely severed and you lose all your memories… After that, you will live on as an ordinary person.”

“And… what about Rin?”

“In ten days, support from the Federation will arrive. I will bring up that matter with Rin again. Whether to retire or continue fighting as an Agent… I can’t control her choice, but if it’s you… you could probably change her mind.”

Uzuki Saori lowered her lashes and handed the three Beacons in her hands to Ephnel.

“Senior… thank you…”

But Ephnel only took the bracelet and the ring, leaving the pendant, still warm from her body, in Saori’s palm.

“You are the most important person to Rin. Rin’s Beacon should be returned to her by you, personally.”

“…Uzuki Saori, you are under arrest for the aforementioned crimes. Your position as an Agent is hereby revoked. From this moment on, everything you do will be…”

Uzuki Saori’s slender cheek was pressed firmly against the car window.

Her hands were forcefully pulled behind her back and put in handcuffs.

Several soldiers pointed their guns at her nervously.

“Miss Uzuki, please come with me.”

A man appeared before her.

It was the very soldier captain whom Uzuki Saori had knocked unconscious.

He looked at Uzuki Saori with a complicated expression.

Unlike the other tense and grim-faced soldiers, he did not treat the girl, who was now a “criminal,” roughly.

Uzuki Saori lowered her eyes and followed the soldier captain towards a nearby vehicle.

Just then, a commotion erupted behind them.

“Let me go, I need to get through…”

“Miss Shiina! Please wait, she’s dangerous…”

“Let go of me!”

Shiina Rin’s figure appeared from behind the soldiers.

“Saori!!”

Shiina Rin broke free from the soldiers’ hold and threw herself into Uzuki Saori’s arms.

“Rin…”

“Saori… I was so worried about you…”

“I’m sorry… I…”

“I know everything… Don’t say any more. As long as you’re okay, that’s all that matters…”

Shiina Rin hugged Saori tightly, as if no one else was there.

Saori could only bury her face in Rin’s shoulder, her soft sobs filling the space illuminated by the floodlights.

“Miss Shiina…”

“It’s alright.”

The soldier beside them was about to step forward to protect Shiina Rin, but was stopped by Ephnel’s outstretched arm.

“Miss Ephnel?”

“Let them be alone for a moment. Just a moment. Let’s just be observers.”

“But…”

“It’s fine. I’m here.”

“Y-Yes, ma’am!”

The soldier gave Ephnel a nervous salute, immediately took a step back, and stood guard nearby.

“This is Ephnel, can you hear me?”

Quietly watching the two girls, Ephnel made a call.

If the intelligence she had received was correct, then with “Lily” removed from the equation, the Apostles’ plan should fail immediately.

That left two problems.

The enemy hidden within the “defensive line,” and the “Angel” waiting menacingly outside of it.

Garrison Command Headquarters—

“I had my suspicions… but I didn’t think you’d actually come, you know?”

Ephnel sighed as she looked at the petite figure before her—Masaki Hinaki, leaning back in a large office chair with her legs crossed, casually toying with a dagger in her hand.

Masaki Hinaki seemed completely unconcerned about whether her short skirt might reveal anything to Ephnel.

From Ephnel’s angle, above Masaki Hinaki’s black over-the-knee socks and beneath her skirt, the jet-black pistol and daggers were clearly visible.

Although her appearance was that of a high school girl wearing a military-style jacket, which might mislead someone about her actual age…

In reality, Ephnel knew that this current getup was Masaki Hinaki’s version of being “fully armed.”

—Not a single weapon was visible on the surface. As an “assassin,” Masaki Hinaki could easily manage this level of concealment.

“Yup,” Masaki Hinaki said with a smile, sitting up a little straighter. “Otherwise, who do you think interrogated that guy who spilled the intel?”

“What about headquarters? You brought so many people out here. Are you just going to ignore whatever happens back there?”

“Don’t worry. As it stands, besides you and Fushihara Ayaka, hardly anyone knows I’m here. If anyone tries to make a rash move at a time like this, they’ll be arrested immediately. I’ve at least made that much preparation.”

Masaki Hinaki spoke with complete confidence, appearing to be fully prepared indeed.

“Honestly… both you and Ayaka. You’re commanders, yet you insist on running out here yourselves. What were you thinking?”