Chapter 26: Answer

Yukina was immersed in a memory of pure nothingness.

Countless fragments flashed before her eyes: white, cold walls; her brother’s reassuring smile; a bone-chilling metal lock; the soft palm of someone’s hand… What did that even feel like?

Silver light devoured and dissolved the pitch-black mire inch by inch… turning it into starlight.

Her body couldn’t move.

Enveloped by scorching heat and sharp pain, the resentment and despair filling her chest began to ferment.

It was as if something had been stuffed into her heart, an unknown palpitation throbbing in her chest.

Yukina didn’t know how long she had wandered in this haze.

When she came to her senses, she was standing dumbfounded before the empty preparation room.

The silver light and the pitch-black Erosion Organism seemed like illusory bubbles, leaving no trace behind.

The scene from just moments ago slowly returned to her consciousness.

A cold, heavy sensation touched her palm, and her wrist felt as if it were shackled by something.

Her hair, as if scattered by the wind, draped over her back, reaching down to her waist.

Her vision had never been so clear.

The lingering scent of mango and lime in the air, the delicate sound of the breeze streaming past her ears.

The world, in this moment, seemed to become bright and transparent.

Even without deliberately trying, she could perceive every sound and movement around her without missing a single detail.

Yukina had never experienced anything like this before, it was as if…

…she had become someone other than herself.

Yukina lowered her head in a daze, staring at the longbow clutched tightly in her hand.

Her feet shuffled backward unconsciously.

‘What in the world is…’

“How long are you going to stand there like an idiot?”

“Huh?”

A delicate and gentle voice abruptly broke the silence.

Yukina turned her head and met the eyes of the girl who had appeared in her line of sight.

The girl held a silver spear, standing just outside the door.

Her hair ribbon fluttered in the breeze.

She exuded a heart-trembling beauty and nobility that was utterly out of place in this broken landscape.

Yukina could even clearly see the star-shaped earring on her left ear.

“Zoning out on the battlefield can really get you killed, you know. Even if it’s your first Sync, it’s about time you snapped out of ‘that place,’ right?”

Strands of the girl’s hair were lifted by a gentle breeze, and through the gaps, her crimson eyes watched Yukina coldly.

If the girl herself was like the brilliant sun after a rain, warm and inviting, then her gaze was like the moonlight on a winter’s night, chilling one to the bone.

“Ephnel… Miss…?”

Yukina was a bit stunned.

In an instant, she remembered everything—the reason she came here, and everything that had just happened…

She had come here to find her brother, but… that phone, lonely and calling for its owner; the chaotic mess on the ground; that pitch-black, mire-like Erosion Organism…

Onii-chan… was already dead.

He would never appear before her again.

An emptiness filled her heart.

The bow slipped from her hand.

Her vision blurred.

Warm tears slid from the corners of her eyes.

Yukina knelt numbly on the ground as scene after scene from her memories flooded her mind, transforming into sorrowful heartbeats pounding against her chest.

She mechanically picked up the phone that had fallen to the ground and tried to dial again, only to find it was completely broken and could no longer be used.

This was the phone her brother had bought for her.

It was her birthday present that year.

Her vision was blurred by tears, their salty taste spreading across her lips.

‘If only it were my heart that broke, not the phone.’

“Onii… chan…”

Yukina bit her lip hard.

A sob escaped her throat.

She could no longer hold back her cries as they burst forth like a collapsing dam.

In the silent air, the sound of her crying was especially jarring.

And on the other side—

“…”

Ephnel silently stared at the crying girl on her knees, her brows furrowed slightly.

‘What is going on…?’

Yonomikenami had the same question.

When Ephnel arrived, she didn’t find the ambush or other enemies she had anticipated.

The only living being here was the girl kneeling on the ground before her.

In the girl’s hand was an ice-blue bow—Fifina’s exclusive Order Weapon.

There was no doubt that the imposter who had triggered the storm of Order was this crying girl.

Of course, to make a rash judgment in this situation without further observation would undoubtedly make one a rather unqualified Agent.

But for that very reason, Ephnel neither attacked immediately nor let down her guard.

Ephnel had heard the girl’s “Miss Ephnel” loud and clear.

The other party obviously knew who she was.

As an idol Agent, being recognized was nothing unusual, yet there was still a strong sense of incongruity somewhere.

Ephnel raised her spear.

The crunch of shattered glass sounded under her feet as she walked closer to the girl.

The girl remained kneeling, crying with her face in her hands, seemingly oblivious to Ephnel’s approach.

“Ephnel, please be careful…”

Yonomikenami’s worried voice came through the earpiece.

Ephnel said nothing.

She lifted her spear with one hand, its silver glint piercing the air in an instant.

The tip passed precisely between the girl’s elbows and pressed against her throat.

The crying stopped abruptly.

Ephnel narrowed her eyes.

The tip of her spear lifted the girl’s chin, revealing a face stained with tears.

Beneath her tear-soaked, aqua-blue hair, the girl stared blankly at Ephnel.

The astonishment in her eyes was unconcealed.

Ephnel met the girl’s gaze coldly.

“To actually show an opening like this, without even trying to struggle… Did you come here specifically to die? Do you have any idea your life is hanging by a thread?”

“Eph… Miss Ephnel… What are you saying…”

The girl’s voice trembled.

Ephnel couldn’t tell if it was from crying or from fear.

Or something else.

“Hand it over.”

“Wh-what thing…”

The girl looked up, trembling, her eyes dim as she shook her head in panic.

“I-I don’t know what you’re talk—”

Ephnel’s gaze turned cold in an instant.

Ssh—

The frigid spear tip thrust forward an inch, leaving a small crimson dot on the girl’s neck.

It was neither deep nor shallow, just enough to break the skin, but the bone-chilling cold from the tip had already bored deep into the girl’s heart.

Plip—

A drop of blood trickled down her snow-white neck, blossoming into a vivid red flower on the collar of her clothes.

“Hand it over, or I’ll kill you.”

Yukina stared up blankly, looking in despair at the girl she so admired.

The stinging pain and cold on her neck felt like they were seeping through her blood, piercing her heart.

The pain in her chest was so intense it felt like it would split open.

She could barely breathe.

What was happening right now? She couldn’t understand it at all…

Today, she had already lost her brother.

Was she going to lose Ephnel too?

The faint scent of mango still lingered in the air.

‘Why did it have to be like this…’

Her father, her mother… they all left her behind, even though she hadn’t done anything wrong.

Now, her brother was gone, and even Ephnel had completely cast her aside.

She hadn’t even had a chance to properly apologize, and she had always tried so hard.

She had finally seen a glimmer of hope, only to have it crushed to pieces.

The person she looked up to, the person she adored—they were all gone.

She still knew nothing, had tried nothing, had done nothing wrong, and had left nothing behind, yet everything had turned its back on her.

Clack—

The phone slipped from her palm and fell to the ground.

Yukina’s sobs turned into silent, gasping cries.

Her tears continued to well up under Ephnel’s cold gaze, her shoulders trembling again and again.

Ephnel noticed the light blue phone.

It looked very familiar.

“Pick up the phone. Give it to me.”

Yukina bit her lip hard and did as she was told, handing the phone to Ephnel.

Ephnel took the phone in her hand.

Although the screen was shattered, the warmth of the girl’s palm still lingered on it.

It was covered with a thin layer of dust and signs of use.

Dangling from the bottom was a “Magical Girl Ephnel” phone strap, and to the right of the charging port was a distinct scratch from being dropped once.

This… was clearly Yukina’s phone.

‘But why is my sister’s phone here? In the preparation room?’

A strong, inexplicable palpitation seized Ephnel.

She clutched the phone tightly, her cold gaze snapping towards the girl.

“This phone, where did you get it?”

Yukina, her eyes blurry with tears, looked up when she heard Ephnel’s question.

Ephnel’s cold stare almost pierced right through her.

In Ephnel’s eyes, she saw agitation, unease, and also fear.

“I asked you, where did you get this phone!”

Yukina shuddered, terrified by Ephnel’s interrogation and the spear that was almost piercing her throat.

How she wished Ephnel could lean down and give her a hug, just like when they first met.

Everything was gone…

Her brother, and Ephnel too.

Now she didn’t even have a shoulder to lean on.

Yukina couldn’t for the life of her understand why the gentle Ephnel’s attitude towards her had done a complete one-eighty, nor could she understand why Ephnel was asking these questions.

Faced with Ephnel’s interrogation, she could only choose to answer.

“My onii-chan… bought it for me…”

That wasn’t what Ephnel was asking, but… upon hearing Yukina’s answer, it no longer made a difference—the girl was Yukina.

That was the answer Ephnel had arrived at.

The two looked at each other, both silent.

But Yukina saw it in Ephnel’s eyes—the layers of coldness peeled away completely, leaving behind only an endless tide of sorrow and resolve, as well as gentleness and affection.

The killing intent enveloping Yukina suddenly receded like the tide, bringing forth a fresh wave of her tears.

She choked back sobs, trying to wipe her eyes, but the more she wiped, the more they flowed.

The only sound in the air was her crying.

The two remained silent like this for a long time before Ephnel suddenly retracted her spear.

“You…”

As if with great difficulty, she finally managed to force out the word.

“Are… you Yukina?”

Yukina looked at Ephnel and slowly nodded.

Then, to her astonishment, the Ephnel before her suddenly bent down.

And gave her a long-awaited hug.

“I’m sorry…”

Yukina’s eyes were wide with shock, at a complete loss.

…