Chapter 24: Awakening

In Shiomi Yukina’s memories, there were few images of her parents.

Since she was very young, she had lived in this house.

In the few precious memories she treasured, her brother’s figure was always by her side.

Her brother had always been a very gentle and reliable person, until that day… everything changed.

Indeed, perhaps due to growing older, a distance had formed between them as siblings, and they had drifted apart.

This might have been unavoidable, but no matter what, he was her brother, her only brother.

Yukina could never completely let go of her affection for Yanase Naoto.

Yukina trembled as she picked up her phone.

She frantically swiped her fingers across the screen, which was cracked into several pieces.

The screen was somewhat broken, but it was still usable.

‘To think my phone would almost break at a time like this. I’m always so clumsy. No wonder my brother used to laugh at me.’

But…

Just holding back tears had already taken all her strength.

How could she possibly remain calm?

That wasn’t something an ordinary person could do right away…

Suddenly, she understood just how far apart she and Ephnel were.

If it were Ephnel… she would be able to march straight forward, even when facing a desperate enemy.

‘She’s truly from a different world than my cowardly, timid self.’

And as for herself… whenever she was alone, she was terrified.

As if she were about to be swallowed up, cold and quiet, so nervous her stomach hurt, almost wanting to throw up.

At that time, her brother was by her side.

But her brother wasn’t here now.

Who would come now…

“Hurry… hurry up…”

When the tears overflowed, she couldn’t see anything clearly.

Strands of hair stuck to her cheeks, and her fingers trembled uncontrollably.

She misdialed the number several times before finally getting it right.

‘Pick up!’

‘Just this once, please…’

But after a series of busy tones, no one answered.

Like a dead, gray, blackened world of ice and snow…

Her heart felt like it was being squeezed tightly, and she had trouble breathing.

‘Why is it… in this world, everyone’s life ends equally. Every morning, I’m grateful… that I’m the one who survived. But this luck, which comes by chance, is something that wouldn’t be strange to lose at any moment.’

“Onii-chan…”

“The entrance is about to close. Repeat, the entrance is about to close. All staff, please return to your posts. Please…”

Suddenly, the sound of the broadcast flooded Yukina’s ears.

She looked up.

At the blurry edge of her vision, figures were moving about.

The flashing lights were a bit blinding.

A mechanical vibration came from under her feet.

The entrance was closing.

‘Are there no other people on the ground nearby? Or is it that this place can no longer accommodate more evacuees? Is it for the sake of the people already here?’

‘If so, doesn’t that mean my brother…’

Biting her lower lip, Yukina forcefully wiped the corners of her eyes.

With a strength that came from nowhere, she squeezed through the crowd and ran towards the entrance.

“Hello, miss. Is there anything we can help you with?”

It was a soldier from the Special Disaster Emergency Response Division.

He stopped Yukina.

“I-I’m sorry… I-I want to go out… Please let me out!”

“Out?”

The soldiers looked at each other, then at her again, carefully.

“I’m very sorry, miss, but we cannot irresponsibly let you leave before the danger alert is lifted.”

“But! My brother…”

“Please trust in our work. Our soldiers will protect everyone’s safety. Miss, for your own safety, please do not act irrationally. If you have been separated from your family, please wait patiently for the final confirmation of the roster.”

With a blank expression, he coldly refused her.

“Just let me out by myself! I promise I won’t lead those things here, please…”

“Please cooperate with our work.”

The huge, heavy hydraulic valve was pushing the door closed inch by inch.

It was about to close completely.

Yukina stared in despair at the narrowing gap.

Every second in this world, countless people died.

She was so scared that her brother would be one of them.

The people outside, carrying guns, cautiously retreated inside the door.

“What’s the situation outside?”

“No abnormalities.”

“I’ll report to the higher-ups. Thank you for your hard work…”

The soldiers were no longer paying any attention to Yukina.

‘Is it really…’

“That’s why I said, if you always follow the rules, you’ll never be able to move forward.”

Abruptly, a woman’s voice came from right behind her.

Yukina’s shoulders jumped in fright.

She turned around and met the gaze of a girl whose half-face was hidden under a hood.

She couldn’t see the girl’s face clearly, but… she seemed to be looking at her with great interest.

And, she looked somewhat familiar.

“Excuse me, who are you…”

Before Yukina could react, the girl extended a hand to her.

“You’re Shiomi Yukina, right? Judging by your reaction, I didn’t misidentify you. I’ll skip the pleasantries and get straight to the point—I can get you out of here. Do you want to come? If you do…”

The hooded girl gently pressed her fingertip to her lips, revealing half of her rosy lips.

“Then follow me without attracting any attention.”

As if afraid of losing her, Yukina followed closely behind the hooded girl.

The hooded girl seemed to be very familiar with this place.

They weaved through the crowd and soon arrived at a partitioned room.

“This is it.”

The girl stopped, her gaze shifting as if searching for something.

Yukina looked around.

This was clearly a very obvious partitioned room, yet strangely, there was no one here.

Was there really no one, or…

“Excuse me… what should I call you?”

“A name? Ah… that… you don’t need to know.”

The girl didn’t turn her head.

“Can we really get out from here?”

“Yes.”

“Why… are you helping me…”

“Well, let’s just say I admire you.”

“Eh?…”

“Please keep quiet. If we attract any troublesome people, we won’t be able to leave.”

The girl glanced back, and Yukina immediately shut her mouth.

Just then, the hooded girl walked straight to the wall.

There was a connection port embedded in the wall, which was almost invisible if you didn’t look closely.

The hooded girl took out a control panel, plugged a cable into the port, and quickly tapped a few times on the panel.

With a jolt from under their feet, the wall suddenly moved to the sides, revealing a dark space.

It was a dark passage, with only a faint, dim light.

A cold breeze rushed out, and Yukina shivered.

“When the shelter was built, besides the main entrance, an additional emergency passage to the surface was left. Of course, this passage isn’t easy to find, and ordinary people can’t open it.”

The hooded girl explained on her own.

“If you go straight from here, you can reach the surface. Let me see… this passage should connect directly to the inside of the central stadium. What do you think? The stadium is a pretty good place to be in an emergency, right?”

“The stadium…”

Yukina’s eyes flickered, and she glanced at the girl again.

The girl suddenly smiled.

“I’ll stay behind to close this door. If you’re going, you should hurry. Oh, right, here you go.”

It was a card.

“The door over there can be opened with this.”

“Th-Thank you… Although I still don’t know your name, if there’s a chance, please let me repay you properly…”

Yukina bowed in thanks.

The other person didn’t react, just watched her quietly.

“If fate allows, we’ll meet again.”

“Well then, thank you again!”

Yukina pressed her lips together, bowed to her once more in thanks, and then stepped into the dark passage.

A chill washed over her.

“Oh, right.”

The sound of mechanical friction came from behind, along with the girl’s voice.

“That butterfly hair clip, please… use it well. Try to trust your instincts… If it’s you, then…”

“Huh?”

Yukina turned her head back.

The huge iron door had already closed completely, taking the light with it.

‘What was the last thing she said?’

‘A butterfly hair clip?’

‘Butterfly…’

Yukina subconsciously touched her pocket.

She only had one butterfly hair clip on her…

This hair clip, just by touching it, would cause a fervent impulse to well up from the bottom of her heart.

So, on a whim, Yukina hadn’t thrown it away.

As if it had some magical power, she wanted to keep it.

‘The butterfly hair clip that person mentioned… could it… be this one?’

‘This hair clip, engraved with “Fifina”… was it intentionally placed in my pocket? Then who is that girl…’

Normally, Yukina would have had many more doubts, but now she could only push all of that to the back of her mind.

Yukina pressed her lips together and took a deep breath to steel herself.

She hesitated for a moment, took the hair clip in her hand, turned on her phone’s flashlight, and, hugging her arms, turned and walked into the cold darkness.

The chill in the air had lessened slightly.

The faint light behind her grew more and more distant.

Yukina, using her phone’s light, walked straight along the passage.

She came to a huge iron door, as tall as two people.

On the wall next to it was a protruding control slot, which looked like an authentication terminal.

Yukina took out the card the girl had given her and gently swiped it across the authenticator.

The iron door suddenly let out a piercing noise and then slowly opened.

Before her was a flight of stairs.

As she climbed the stairs, her vision suddenly opened up.

This was… the inside of the stadium, near the outer part of the central hall.

And also, the very center of the Erosion disaster.

Yukina’s heart was in her throat.

A huge black shadow descended from the sky.

A piercing shriek, wrapped in intense heat, swept over her head.

The fierce gust of wind knocked Yukina to the ground.

Fortunately, the Erosion organism’s target was not Yukina.

Yukina lay on the ground, her shoulders trembling slightly.

She watched the huge black shadow move away, and, enduring the pain of her scrapes, she picked up the butterfly hair clip she had dropped and got up from the ground.

For some reason, holding this hair clip seemed to give her courage.

She looked up.

At the edge of the sky, a huge floating island blotted out the sun.

Countless hawk-like black shadows.

It was a suffocating scene, like the bottom of the sea.

In the middle of her vision, there were three people fighting against this absolutely overwhelming force—Agents.

With a single glance, Yukina saw among the three, a beautiful, petite figure leaping and flying through the air as if dancing.

Magical Girl Ephnel.

Ephnel didn’t seem to notice Yukina.

All her energy was focused on those Erosion organisms.

She leaped and soared, like a brilliant meteor.

Everywhere she went, her starlight pierced through, turning everything into scattered stardust.

In the distance, there were two other people, using their own weapons, stubbornly resisting the attack of the black shadows.

They were protecting the crowd at the end of the venue that hadn’t had time to evacuate, fighting against this sky full of Erosion.

‘Is this what an Agent’s job is…’

‘Because it’s a battle where your life is on the line, it’s impossible not to be afraid. If it were me, I probably couldn’t do it…’

“Miss Ephnel…”

Yukina recalled Miss Yonomikenami’s words.

If it was “for something important,” then she was the same.

Until now, if there was anything that could give her courage… her brother was definitely indispensable.

Although after that, the distance between her and her brother had become vast, to Yukina, her brother was her one and only, a family member she could never let go of.

Now it was her turn to reach out to her brother.

A huge black shadow flew overhead.

Yukina gritted her teeth and held her breath.

She got her bearings and, hugging the wall, carefully moved forward.

From here, she could reach the east side of the stadium, which was connected to the staff passage.

The upper level there was where the staff rested and worked.

Although she didn’t know why her brother had entered the staff passage, and she was curious, thanks to that, it gave her a possible location for her brother.

She went up the stairs, searching room by room, while also dialing her brother’s phone.

A faint, familiar ringtone came from somewhere.

“Onii-chan!?”

Yukina clutched her chest nervously and quickly went up to the third floor.

The faint ringtone suddenly became clear.

She ran wildly in the direction of the sound.

Soon, following the sound, she arrived outside a room.

The room had a sign that read “Performance Preparation Room.”

Without thinking, she went to push the door.

The door was unlocked and opened with a single push.

But what met her eyes was not the figure she had been longing for, but—a monster that looked like it had crawled out of a swamp, almost filling the entire room.

An “Erosion organism.”

Yukina froze.

Yukina’s face was deathly pale.

She opened her mouth, squeezing her chest hard, but she couldn’t breathe.

Erosion organism—

The terrifying word flashed in her mind, and countless terrifying memories instantly filled her chest.

Yukina stood in front of the room, her entire body frozen at that moment.

In the air, the phone’s ringtone circled, more piercing than ever before.

It also roused the dark monster wandering in the room.

It moved towards the sound of the ringtone, then turned its head stiffly, like a piece of rotten wood being crushed.

Then, its lifeless, terrifying eyes mechanically turned towards Yukina.

An instinctual palpitation made Yukina’s breath almost stop at that moment.

But instead of running, her first thought was of her brother.

‘My brother’s phone is here, in this room with an Erosion organism…’

‘My brother was here just over ten minutes ago, but now…’

Yukina pressed her heart hard, wanting to turn and run, but just as she moved her stiff feet, she fell backwards and knelt on the ground.

Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.

The swamp monster slowly turned around.

Yukina gasped for air, constantly murmuring the name of the reliable figure who had once brought her warmth.

“Onii-chan…”

She cried, calling out his name, wailing at the top of her lungs.

“Onii-chan…”

‘How long has it been since I’ve cried like that… The last time was on Ephnel’s shoulder.’

The swamp monster dragged a filthy trail.

‘Onii-chan…’

Yukina gasped for air, her face flushed.

When she noticed, the hair clip in her hand had already become abnormally hot, almost burning through her palm.

The blood in her body felt like it was being drained, or as if it was being burned away.

‘So hot.’

An inexplicable impulse gradually filled her.

The intense heat from her palm dried her tears.

The raging, gushing pain and the bulging, impactful sensation almost burst her heart.

At that moment, her consciousness was fading.

Unconsciously, Yukina slowly raised her gaze.

Her pupils had turned blood red.

A scorching light ignited in her palm, instantly enveloping her entire body.

A dazzling silver light filled her vision in an instant, and a violent sound of tearing air descended at that moment.

“Aaaaaaaaargh—!!”

The dazzling silver pillar of light descended in an instant, without any warning.

Outside the venue, everyone saw the dazzling silver pillar of light that almost completely pierced the sky.

The silver pillar of light almost ran through the sky, piercing the clouds, like the Milky Way spilling down from the heavens, brilliant and dazzling.

“Awakened sync?”

Ephnel recalled her spear, piercing the “crow’s” head with a single blow.

Amidst the scattering stardust, Ephnel flipped over to avoid an oncoming attack and retreated to the steel frame.

She panted slightly, her long spear held tightly in her hand, staring at the location where the silver pillar of light had appeared.

That pillar of light, Ephnel was all too familiar with it.

It was the anomaly that occurred when an Agent first synced and entered their “Exile Form.”

But… why here…?

And who could it be?

If the fall of a meteor was the silencing of a wish, then an Agent was born from the wishes of countless people.

“Ephnel!”

However, just then, Yonomikenami’s anxious voice suddenly came through the earpiece.

“Ephnel! Headquarters has completed the analysis of the energy reaction type and signal wavelength… The corresponding ‘Beacon’…”

“Is the one that was stolen…”

“‘Fifina.'”