Chapter 45: At The End Of The End (4)

Hieronymus, the interpretation of Trinity’s doctrine, a monster and saint created by modifying it, was the basis and masterpiece that Maestro was confident in against us, and it began to move.

“Uooooooo!!!!”

“Shut up…!!”

Hieronymus raised the staff in his right hand, and numerous spheres made of mystery floated in the air.

I don’t know what will happen if I leave it alone, but I have some expectations, so I take out Evolis and fire it.

-Rattle!!!-

Evolis’ barrage shatters the spheres. Neither its body nor the spheres of mystery were very effective with normal bullets, so I was forced to consume my mystery, but I’m not alone now.

“Senpai!”

“Yes!”

As all the spheres of mystery floating in the air are pierced by the barrage and explode, disappearing into the air, as if waiting for this moment, spheres of mystery emanate from the fingertips of Senpai.

-Boom!-

The sphere quickly hits Hieronymus, and a smokescreen is formed due to the explosion. Nevertheless, Senpai and I are sure that this level of attack will not bring it down, so we concentrate our firepower.

-Drrrrrrrrr, Tadadadadang!-

Senpai’s Lanchester and my Evolis spit fire. My Evolis continues to be supplied with ammunition from the weapon case, so the firing hasn’t ended,

but Mika-senpai’s weapon is a Lanchester submachine gun, a weapon that quickly reaches its ammunition limit.

“Sora-chan! I’ll leave it to you for a moment!”

“Yes!”

Senpai takes cover behind nearby debris and begins to reload. Meanwhile, I continue to concentrate my firepower. The end of Evolis’ barrel glows red.

Even if there is no limit to the ammunition supply, the barrel quickly reaches its limit.

“Switching!”

“Okay!”

“I’ll protect this place!”

A barrage of bullets filled with Senpai’s mystery, who finished reloading, is unleashed.

Even it can’t ignore the bullets filled with Senpai’s mystery, so there must be a gap. I put down Evolis to cool the red-hot barrel for a moment…

Uooooooo!!!!”

An alarm bell rings. Something dangerous is coming. I quickly concentrate my mystery on my left wing and bring it to the front.

-Pew!-

“Kuh…”

At the same time as I brought my wing to the front, the smoke cleared and a beam of mystery, a mystery with physical force, struck my wing.

Even though I concentrated my mystery on my wing to strengthen its intensity, the amount of impact felt made me sure that even I, with high defense, wouldn’t be able to hold out for long.

“Sora-chan?!”

“I’m still okay…?!”

In the midst of the scattered smoke, Hieronymus raised the staff in his left hand, which he had stretched out towards me, and slammed it down on the ground. I didn’t have time to think about what that action meant.

-Kwaaaang!-

The result of that action quickly appeared, and an explosion occurred from the floor where I was standing, just a very small moment after it slammed the ground.

“Ugh….”

I reflexively concentrate my mystery on my legs and jump, but I still took damage because the gap was so short.

I’m thrown back by the impact of the explosion, and my wings are singed, causing pain. Is it fortunate? Since it wasn’t a direct hit, it didn’t lead to a fatal injury, but I lost the weapon case.

I expected this to some extent from previous experience, so I quickly remove the existing belt and attach a 150-round magazine that I had prepared in advance.

I hold Evolis, whose barrel hasn’t completely cooled down yet, with one hand and fire Daedalus with my left hand.

Mika-senpai seemed a little flustered when she saw me being thrown back by the explosion, but she quickly turned her body towards Hieronymus and ran.

Mika-senpai’s leap, stepping on the ceiling, which had become even higher due to the collapsed floor, and leaping once more to strike down. In line with this, I also grip Daedalus tightly.

“Haaaap!”

“Fall to the ground!”

Mika-senpai’s fist filled with mystery and my shot from Daedalus pierce Hieronymus’ head and solar plexus, respectively. Hieronymus also staggers and begins to fall backwards, unable to withstand the impact.

However, it did not fall. Hieronymus uses the staff in his right hand as a support and stands up again. At the same time, numerous mysteries are concentrated.

But… the mystery is concentrated not on the main body, but on its half, something different from before is coming. Something ominous, different from before, is coming.

“…Senpai…”

“Hmm…”

Its sacred robe gradually turns pure white. At the same time, mysteries and… something different from mysteries begin to gather on both of its staffs.

Both Mika-senpai and I fired our guns, prepared to pour out all the remaining ammunition. But it just didn’t respond to our attacks, as if to say that this level was worth taking.

Even while its sacred robe became tattered, the golden mystery behind it was shattered, and part of its form collapsed, it finally raised its staffs.

“…That… is…”

“Uooooooo!!!!”

It happened in an instant.

The huge light that started from it instantly engulfed the choir room and swallowed me and Mika-senpai. It is an ordeal, a call of 불가타(TL Note: It means Bulgata, no accurate translation in english but roughly related to being religious), and a pure white sanctification.

-Kuaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang!-

Mystery, fear, and pure white sacred fire overflowed.

I think about it now. Where did things go wrong?

Was it from the time I was full of superiority and told the Teacher everything, but failed to confirm the kill?

Was it the moment I failed to dispose of Yumetsubasa Sora, Sorasaki Hina, for sure?

Was it when Kirifuji Nagisa’s attack failed? Was it when Misono Mika betrayed?

Was it from the time I was blocked by that Yumetsubasa Sora that day?

Was it from the time I entrusted the confirmation kill of Yurizono Seia to Azusa?

Was it from the time I began to see hope in Azusa’s eyes, but couldn’t bear to trample on it?

Was it from the time I sent Shirasu Azusa to Trinity?

Was it from the time I could no longer bear to stop Misaki’s self-harm…?

Was it from the time Hiyori began to give up on everything…?

Was it from the time Azusa didn’t stop struggling…?

No… it was from that day… from the moment I saw a fragment of the truth from the old scriptures, but looked away and accepted it as unavoidable.

No, it’s not even that. It was from 10 years ago, when that woman ended everything.

And now, at this moment, everything that went wrong is returning to its proper place.

“You….”

[…]

Madam, no, Beatrice’s monstrously obese body returns to the body of a petite woman.

The teacher stands in front of Beatrice, passing us.

It was a feat, using our squad, who were unable to properly demonstrate their skills due to injuries, to bring down Beatrice, who was rampaging as a monster,

with only three people, without any special power or support, using only strategy and tactics.

It was an act that could literally be called a feat.

“Why…? Why! While having that level of power, that ability! While being able to reach a higher level than anyone else! While being able to trample everything and stand at the top!

Why! Just because of some students, what is the role of a teacher! Are you abandoning the duty of an adult?!”

[Shut up.]

Denied.

“?!”

[You have insulted the teacher, the students, and us.]

All the hatred we have done and suffered is denied.

[You have insulted teaching, and you have insulted learning.]

Ah… I see… what we received was not learning.

[The duty of an adult is not that kind of garbage.]

I see… we never received any care from adults, or anything from adults in the first place.

[You wouldn’t understand even if I told you, you trash.]

Everything is denied. The hatred instilled in us, the hatred that is not ours, the forced anger, and… the one that took everything from us is being denied.

[So I, as an adult, can never forgive you.]

“This… idealist!!!”

[…..]

For a moment, the moment Beatrice tried to rush at the teacher, Beatrice literally evaporated. Disappeared. Without leaving a trace.

[…It’s finally over, Saori.]

“Ah… yes… Teacher… Madam… Beatrice… what happened to her?”

[Don’t worry, she’ll disappear on her own.]

“I see… I understand…”

[How is Atsuko?]

“She’s still unconscious… but her life is not in danger… She’ll regain consciousness soon…”

[I’m glad…]

In the end, the teacher saved everyone. Just as he saved Trinity, Gehenna, and the world from us, he even saved us from Beatrice.

But… now it’s time to pay the price. There’s no way there’s such an easy choice without any price.

“Teacher… it’s okay… You saved the princess… Now you can do whatever you want…

I am the root of all evil…. The Eden Treaty incident, Seia’s attack, Nagisa’s attack, Misaki, Hiyori, Atsuko…. And….

Azusa…. It all happened because of me.

The Student Council, Trinity…. Or the Correctional Bureau, it doesn’t matter. Send me to the place you think is most appropriate.”

I’m sorry for the children… but the world is like this…

“What…?!”

“Le, Leader?!”

I see, I didn’t tell those children, no, I didn’t tell them, I shouldn’t have told them.

“D, don’t be ridiculous. Leader…. Only you are making such a fuss…!”

“No… I… have lived for a long time without taking responsibility for what I should have taken responsibility for…

It’s enough. Now is the time to do it.”

I apologize to these children thousands, tens of thousands of times, but it wouldn’t be enough… but it has to be this way.

[I see… you have something to take responsibility for, Saori.]

[…I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you everything right now. I’m sorry, but Saori, you alone are not enough.]

“What…?! Teacher…! Please, just me…”

Is that so… are all adults like that…? Do they pretend to do everything, but in the end, they stab you in the back?

[You must have been trying to protect the people around you for a long time.]

[You’ve been taking care of, protecting, enduring, and taking responsibility for others all by yourself.]

What do you want to say, there’s nothing left for me… please…

[That’s why you received the wrong teaching in the wrong environment and made the wrong choices.]

[You are bad children who have done wrong.]

I see… I will bear all the sins of others… Such a convenient choice does not exist for me, in this world.

[But… ha, I got one-upped, ahem… Don’t you already know from Sora?]

[You were only given two wrong choices, a wrong choice and a wrong choice.]

[Then, wouldn’t it be too harsh for you to suffer because of that wrong choice you made?]

“Wait, what are you trying to say? Teacher?”

Doubts, full of doubts. The teacher just told me and everyone to take responsibility. But the teacher is now saying that the responsibility is not mine.

[If the children suffered, it’s not the child’s fault.]

[The responsibility for creating a world where children suffer should be borne by me, the adult.]

“What…?”

He said we were responsible, but at the same time, he said we weren’t. I don’t understand what he’s saying.

[Hmm… Ah, I’m sorry, but let’s continue this story later. So… yes, the first thing I’m asking you to do, Saori… is to take everyone in the squad to this address, fill your stomachs, wash, and recover your bodies.

That’s the first and last order I’m giving you.]

The teacher showed us great mercy. And the teacher handed me something like a card.

“Schale… temporary… pass…?”

“Leader, this is…”

Schale temporary pass, but… how…? We can’t even go outside right now…

[Ah, don’t worry about that, I’ve already finished talking about it in advance, so just take that and go in.]

“Teacher…”

[I’ll explain everything to you later… please.]

I see, this adult doesn’t seem to want to let us go easily. In another sense.

So the adult turned his back on us and started running towards the way we came in.

We… yes… we were able to step into the blue world again, no, for the first time, starting from this day.

The intense heat, the light that filled everything, subsides, and my vision returns.

Every part of my body, from head to toe, is hot. It hurts. But… that just now was definitely not at a level that would end with this…

How…?

The answer unfolded before my eyes.

“…Ah… haha… hmm… this time… hmm… I didn’t make a mistake… hmm…”

“Sen…pai…?”

Mika-senpai… was standing in front of me. The blood-soaked Senpai is standing in front of me.

“You… blocked that…? Alone… to handle it… why…?”

“Ahaha… hmm… that… Sora-chan knows better, doesn’t she…? But… hmm… I’m sorry… the result… doesn’t seem to be very good…”

Senpai collapses forward, on top of me. Beyond Senpai, Hieronymus, with its sacred robe pierced and torn, with its half-collapsed body, was trying to stand up again, supporting itself with the staffs in both hands.

Ah… it’s over… it’s so futile… at least being with Senpai is… a comfort… I adjust my posture, Senpai’s posture.

Did I receive it before? I lay Senpai’s head on my lap as a pillow. And…. I tell her.

“Senpai… please close your eyes…”

“Ahaha… Sora-chan… I have that much sense, too…? Before that… hmm… Sora-chan… what do you think of me…?”

“Are you asking me that here…?”

“Hmm… I really want to hear it…”

“I see… yes… a precious… person… Even though we couldn’t get that deeply involved because it was a short relationship… Even so… a person who got involved with me…

A shining person who protects precious things and cares for precious things… and… a person who cherished me…. Yes… I see…”

“Is that all…? Hmm…? A little more… that… that…”

.Haha…. Is that what you want? It’s a little… embarrassing… but… yes…”

“I dare say, I love you dearly.”

With those words, I closed my eyes.

Teacher, I’m sorry. Senpai and I were ultimately problem children… yes… we couldn’t hold on in the end… Let alone hold on… yes… I’m sorry…

“Hmm, that’s enough…”

I thought I heard those words. No, I definitely heard them. But I couldn’t hear those words properly. And that’s because…

“…?!”

Something touched my lips. It was like a small… indescribable… something infinitely soft, something infinitely warm touched.

It was so soft that it seemed like it would break if I touched it even slightly wrong, so I couldn’t do anything recklessly, and it made my body stiffen.

Something, something I can’t understand, no, it’s definitely Mika-senpai. Mika-senpai wraps around the inside of my mouth.

A few seconds, not a very long time, no, if I have to say it, a very short time, not even enough time to make the batter for a roll cake, let alone count the ingredients, that time felt infinitely long to me.

That really short time, cut in half, and that split, really short time, that short moment, was engraved in me…

It becomes an incomparable memory for me.

It makes me.

Ah, I see, you were my wings.

My wings that melted and burned in the too-hot sunlight, fell into the sea, and could no longer fly, my wings that I could no longer use, were not small, but new wings.

Why did I only realize it now…

It’s too wasteful to dismiss this feeling as mere respect…

The lips that were pressed together move apart. The time that felt long becomes a fleeting moment again.

That moment that was definitely long… and so long… that it seemed eternal, that moment that was clearly engraved in me, begins to feel short.

I open my closed eyes. In front of my eyes, the most beautiful person, my wings, moves away from my face.

“…Sora-chan…? Sora-chan… can’t stop here, right…?”

“…Yes…”

“Go… hmm… I’ll be waiting properly… my knight.”

Senpai’s halo loses its light. I pick up Senpai, who I’m holding, and lay her down leaning against the wall, a little away from the place where I will fight it.

There’s no need to worry about anything. She just fell asleep because she was a little tired.

So…

Good night, my princess.

I squeeze out the remaining mysteries, and they travel through every part of my body.

A feeling of omnipotence blooms from the fingertips, toes, and every part of the body. Senpai opened the way for my mystery to pass through. That’s why my mystery, Senpai’s mystery,

-Bang, bang, bang, bang-

“Uooo…?!”

“Shut up, you’re so noisy. Are you going to take responsibility if Senpai wakes up because of you? Ah, before that, there’s a lot to take responsibility for, right?”

It raises its staff again and floats spheres. So… like this… right?

“Disappear quietly!”

Light emanates from my fingertips. That light finally takes the form of a feather, but a sharp form, and is shot out.

The spheres of mystery scatter and lose their shape. At the same time, the feathers are also completely offset and do not reach it.

“Aaaaa!!!”

“Fall to the ground!”

-Pew, Taaang!-

A beam with physical force and a bullet filled with my mystery collide. Each other’s mysteries collide, offset each other, and disappear into ashes.

It raises its staff and slams it down on the ground. I concentrate my mystery on my legs and run with enhanced leg strength at a speed I’ve never experienced before.

-Kwaaaang!-

The ground explodes and the earth cracks. But it can’t do any damage to me. It just explodes the place I’ve already passed, and it can’t do any damage to me.

“Stop it now! Fall! You ghost of the past!!!”

I leap intensely with legs full of mystery. I leap in a trajectory I saw sometime. I scatter feathers made of light. I step on the ceiling, which has become even higher due to the collapse of the ground, and leap.

With the power of my leg strength and the force of gravity added, I strike down on its head, Hieronymus’ head. Then, numerous feathers of light pierce its body.

“Uoo… o… ah….”

Its golden mystery is dropped to the ground. The two staffs lose their shape and crumble, and the sacred robe, its flesh, melts and evaporates.

That was the end. Trinity’s doctrine lost its shape and crumbled with it.

I’m also a mess. I feel like I’m going to pass out any moment. Even if my mind is about to be cut off, the obligation, no, it’s not an obligation, but…

Still, I want to do this.

It’s just… it’s hard when you have a cold…

I stagger and lean against the wall, sitting next to Senpai, who is also leaning against the wall. I spread my other wing as wide as possible to cover both of us.

“This should be… warm enough…”

And so, my consciousness also faded here.