LIGHTNOVELONLINE “What, what in the world is that monster…?!”
One by one, the Arius Students stepped into the sanctum, their eyes wide in disbelief as they beheld the monster. Their self-proclaimed ruler and student council president, the Madam, was nowhere to be found, and here was an intruder from Trinity facing off against a bizarre creature. Even I would have been left dazed in such a situation.
If it had been any other time, I would have thought, ‘Wait, backup is arriving here too?’ and taken my time to process everything, but right now, my mind was racing like it was on fire.
In my frantic search to find a way to save Saori, a solution popped into my mind—a perfect answer, almost served on a platter. If I couldn’t grasp this opportunity, I would deserve to lose.
“That monster is the true form of the Madam who has been manipulating you. The student council president who deceived you, mocked you, oppressed you, and used you for her selfish desires was, in fact, an ugly devil—worse than those from Gehenna.”
“Wha… what?!”
“So we’ve been playing under such a monster, no—devil this whole time? No, that can’t be true!”
“But those eyes… they’re definitely the Madam’s…”
As I watched the Arius students stir, Beatrice seemed to catch on to the bizarre shift in the situation. After a brief pause, she shouted out.
[What are you all doing?! Seize that intruder at once! Anyone who disobeys will be dealt with harshly!]
The students trembled at Beatrice’s voice echoing from the monster’s form. If I hadn’t made the first move, they might have pointed their weapons at me in fear.
But right now, I held the reins of this situation.
“That monster has taught you murder, implanted absurd ideas that everything is futile!!!”
I could feel the gaze of the Arius students shift towards me. The puzzle pieces leading to my victory were finally falling into place.
“…It governed those who didn’t obey it with violence. It blamed all misfortune and suffering on Gehenna and Trinity, seeding hatred within you, yet do you really believe that monster is part of that hatred? Yes, it’s finally time for you to face reality. You can’t cover the sky with your palm.”
With one hand aiming my gun at Beatrice, I turned to glance behind me. By this time, nearly twenty Arius students had stepped inside the sanctum.
Fear dawned on the faces of the students as they witnessed Beatrice blocking my bullets, wrapped in a crimson aura. It was as if they were watching a monster that wielded blood.
“Do you get it now? You were thoroughly used by that monster all this time. In truth, you were destined to perish for that monster’s vile ambitions without even becoming a tool. Just like your Arius Squad leader, Jomae Saori, who is now hanging on that altar.”
A chilling silence enveloped the sanctum. Even Beatrice was temporarily at a loss for words. As I reloaded my empty magazine and let it drop, a hollow sound broke the profound silence.
“Some of the misfortune and pain you’ve experienced stem from acts committed by Trinity in the past. So yes, it is indeed true that Trinity holds responsibility, and as one of the three current student council presidents, I, Misono Mika, acknowledge it as a clear fact. But!”
I turned my back entirely on Beatrice, facing the students head-on. Seemingly enraged by that fact, Beatrice launched a glimmer of crimson energy not just at me but at the Arius students as well, only for my shooting star to pierce right through it.
The students, caught off guard by Beatrice’s unexpected attack, looked to me with awe, realizing I was now protecting them instead of tearing through their ranks.
“The responsibility for the burdens of your arduous lives rests entirely on your student council president, Beatrice.”
[…What nonsense are you spewing?!]
“After all, the one who repeatedly rejected the hand of reconciliation that Trinity offered for years was none other than that Beatrice.”
“…Madam?”
“But, Madam said that Trinity has forgotten about our existence…”
It was a web of lies and deceptions grounded in negative emotions. That was certainly the method Beatrice, your preferred adult-style, employed.
Then I would respond with my own adult tactics of incitement and fabrication. It may be an impossible feat to dilute the hatred of the Arius students in one fell swoop, so I would humbly ask for leniency in bending the rules just this once.
[Huh? What the—]
“I’d like to take this opportunity to formally apologize to you. If necessary, I am prepared to kneel and beg for your forgiveness. I simply wish for us, who were once compatriots, to walk side by side again. But for that to happen, we must first drive out that monster, which has deceived and subdued you with violence.”
Certainly, some of you have committed unforgivable sins, but I trust there are many among you who are not too late to change. Like the kids from the Squad.
“I will take you in. I will help you grasp your happiness. So I earnestly request that you lend me your strength just this once.”
“This is your chance to finally attain happiness. So please, have faith in my promise of happiness. I offer you my hand. Yes, I will never let you down. So, just for now, help me defeat that monster.”
[What complete nonsense…!!! Happiness? Happiness?! How dare you speak such filthy and disgusting words in my basilica…! Such words hold no value! My students thrive only on honing their hatred in endless misery to achieve revenge!]
Ignoring the background noise, I continued to plead with the Arius students. I was doing this to save Saori, but even if it weren’t for that, I had no intention of turning my back on the Arius students.
“Arius kids, it’s time to take up arms to reclaim the lives you should have lived. It’s the first step toward the happiness you have longed for deep within your hearts. So let’s walk together. Yes, let’s put an end to the monster that has disguised itself as an adult and exploited you.”
The sound of guns loading and cocking echoed throughout the sanctum.
The guns of the Arius students were now aimed at Beatrice, not at me.
[…I see. So this is how the Squad has turned their backs on me. I will acknowledge this. You truly deserve to be called an adult. So let’s settle once and for all which of us is the better adult, shall we? The traitors will receive their due punishment afterward.]
Finally, the second round was about to begin. The difference this time was that my firepower was on an entirely different level.
Beatrice’s attacks aimed at the Arius students were intercepted by me as best as I could. Though I suffered some injuries from a few stray hits, the newly arrived Arius students chose to attack the monster before them rather than aim their weapons at me. In the end, rather than seeing our numbers diminish, they continued to grow.
Beatrice, awakened by fear, was not invulnerable. The barrage of fire from double-digit students combined with my own shooting inflicted heavy damage steadily stacking up against her. I could sense the end drawing near.
Victory had been on my side since the moment the Arius students arrived. It seemed Beatrice sensed that fact as well.
[Why, why is it…!! Why isn’t anything working against you?! This is absurd! It can’t be happening! I, who was supposed to be the god of the new world in the near future, built on greatness, am losing like this…!]
I too was run down. It was surprising that my body continued to hold out despite my ceaseless running and battles from Trinity to here.
But even that was approaching its limits.
However, the one to reach their limits first turned out to be Beatrice.
[No! My… my manifestation…!!! This can’t be happening!!!]
As Beatrice lost her monstrous form and returned to her original state, she fell to her knees. As the students realized the end of the situation and ceased their fire, I stepped forward, gun still aimed at Beatrice.
“…Beatrice, your downfall is seeing the students only as tools you might discard at any moment. If that hadn’t been the case, I would have been the one to fall. How unfortunate for you.”
At the very end, I decided to let Beatrice’s ego have a breath of air, refusing to let that pitiful wretch’s pride dwindle further.
I truly didn’t want to do this.
“…Don’t make me laugh. You think my methods are wrong? No, my methods were not wrong!”
But Beatrice didn’t seem ready to give up just yet.
Pulling out some incomprehensible parchment from her bosom, she revealed it with a wicked smile. No, let me correct that. She pulled it out from within her body. It was a bizarre, almost incomprehensible spectacle.
“While I may have failed today, if you were only gone, the story could still change. Everything would return to the direction it was meant to flow, and I would be given a new opportunity. If only you were gone!!!”
Shhiiiiiiing—
Tearing the parchment apart, Beatrice extended her hand towards me with a sinister grin. Countless paper fragments stacked upon her palm.
Feeling an ominous presence, I took a step back, and as Beatrice whispered something, she blew the paper scraps towards me.
If they were ordinary shreds of paper, they would have dropped to the ground immediately, but these looked anything but ordinary. The gathered paper scraps formed the shape of a skull as they gradually flew toward me. My retreating body suddenly froze, unable to move.
In that moment, I realized what this was…
“Text…”
“Indeed, you’re disturbingly knowledgeable. To understand the text of the decalcomania just by looking at it, someone like you can’t possibly be just an ordinary student.”
The text Beatrice confidently revealed in this situation was something I had already anticipated.
“That is a text possessing the concept of destroying mysteries. In other words, it could potentially destroy your halo. Thanks to you revealing your name before those people, I can now use this text directly.”
‘The mystery of Misono Mika will be destroyed here.’
“The decalcomania is something that could make that guy go absolutely wild if he finds out. But, does that matter to me? Regardless, I can rise to a being that no one can touch just by destroying your halo and using the remnants to resume the ceremony.”
I was backed into a corner.
If Golkont had been involved, he wouldn’t have used his text this way. Beatrice herself would have blown up my halo using that text.
While I had never verified the power of the bomb meant to destroy halos, my instincts grasped that this text was different.
Here, in this moment, my mystery, my halo will be destroyed. And I would meet my death. That is an absolute proposition.
So, this was how my end would be? If I had known, I should have…
“Mika-onee…!”
In that instant, I heard a voice and felt something flying toward me. As the object collided with the skull shape, a fierce spark erupted. At the same time, I felt the invisible force binding me release its grip.
The object was none other than the gas mask Atsuko had.
It was the unmarked priest technology provided by the Black Suit that Beatrice had made—a gas mask that saved Atsuko’s life in the original story.
Here, it was wielded by Atsuko, saving mine.
“What the…?!”
Beatrice, stunned to see her own creation countered by its creator’s last line of defense, gasped in disbelief.
Realizing I had just dodged death, my legs turned to jelly, and my mind was pierced by a single question.
How had Atsuko known to use that gas mask to save my life?
“Ha, Hua… I’m glad, Onee!”
Atsuko approached me. It seemed like she was troubled by the fact that I might have died trying to save them, and I realized Sasuga was supposed to guide the others back.
“Atsuko-chan, how did you…”
“It’s just… Seiya said I must reach you no matter what happens, that it’s the only way to prevent a tragedy. So I came back with everyone. The other two just blindly followed when I went!”
…I see. This situation was ultimately thanks to Seiya.
“Thank you, Atsuko-chan. You saved me. Yes, I’m really grateful…”
To be honest, I was scared. When I had just possessed this body, I wondered if I could return to my original form by ending my life. It was only now, facing death, that I fully realized how invaluable this world had become to me. Feeling that truth, I tightly embraced Atsuko, who had come to my side.
Amidst all this, a voice filled with irritation cut through the air.
“…Hehe, I never imagined I would face such an unpleasant conclusion. What a pity… I suppose I’ll withdraw for today and leave the next time to fate. I’ll be sure to remember this, Misono—”
Her words about leaving this moment in memory jolted me awake, and as I was about to try and stop her from getting away…
“Kihihihihihihit—!!!”
“Wait, what are you—GRAAAAAH?!”
“GYAAAAAAAH—!!!”
With a shriek, a destructive angel burst in, quite literally turning Beatrice into mush.
Damn it… I had faith in Tsurugi’s punch…!!!
*
It took some time to sort out the aftermath. After mediating the confrontation between the Arius students and the members of the Justice Realization Department that had come to support me, I finally got around to asking Atsuko how she managed to muster that kind of support so quickly.
Surprisingly, it took Seiya less than an hour to organize the reinforcements. According to Sakura, Seiya had scared them by saying that with each passing minute, my survival rate decreased by ten percent. Judging by the timing of Atsuko’s appearance, there was nothing wrong with Seiya’s words, and it turned out she had made a considerable effort.
Of course, this was only possible because they had included the leaders of each faction with immediate deployment capability, meaning the support forces were fairly small in scale.
The reinforcements, which included Tsurugi, Mine, Sakura, and about forty others, met the Squad right after stepping into the Catacombs and managed to head directly to the Arius Autonomous District. After entering the District, I had already set up a buffer by sorting out the Arius military, so there hadn’t been a single engagement on the path leading to the Basilica.
“Oh, by the way, Nagisa asked me to inform you that she collapsed from shock.”
“What—oh.”
I could’ve just died. Wait, if she hears I almost died, wouldn’t Nagisa strangle me herself?
While the other members of the Squad were tending to Saori, Atsuko remained by my side. Perhaps she was still worried that I had risked my life for them.
“Atsuko-chan, are you sure you don’t want to go see Saori-chan? I still have things to take care of.”
“…Yeah, I understand. Thank you for saving Sat-chan… and for living, Mika-onee.”
After taking a last look at Atsuko’s back as she headed for Saori, I turned my gaze back to Beatrice, still being stomped on by Tsurugi. This was a sight unworthy of even being called a crumpled can.
What should I do now?
For the sake of Kivotos, it might be better to kill her here, but could I truly commit murder? And would the other students understand my actions?
It was a complicated matter. No matter how much Beatrice had transformed into a monster and committed devilish acts, hesitation was inevitable as long as she bore a human form.
As I stood there contemplating with my weapon raised, an out-of-place sound reached my ears. The sound of two pairs of shoes, accompanied by the creaking of something.
“Oh dear, Beatrice. The outcome of your actions as a member of Gematria being reduced to such a pitiful state is most regrettable.”
“I’m rather relieved that this incident occurred before I had lent you my strength. You wish to establish superiority over me regarding who is the better adult? Perhaps that girl, but I refuse to accept you calling yourself an adult.”
“I will admit that the text the Madam may have completed was somewhat literary. However, I can’t help but be disappointed with the process. I never anticipated you would misuse my text in such a way. Had I known, I would have declined the transaction the Madam proposed from the beginning.”
“Indeed!!”
The remaining members of Gematria, aside from Beatrice, all revealed themselves before us.
…No, it wasn’t just us.
Astonishingly, aside from the four Gematria members present and myself, everyone else around seemed as though time had frozen, remaining utterly still.
Yes, just so. All of Gematria had finally revealed itself before me.