"Section Chief!"
Upon seeing Hoshimi Miyabi, Yanagi Tsukishiro had finally found her pillar of support, and let out a sigh of relief at once.
And the others, seeing Hoshimi Miyabi cut Dagalle down with a single stroke, were likewise astonished at such powerful strength.
Seeing that everyone was unharmed, Hoshimi Miyabi promptly turned her gaze toward the two non-human creatures still huddled together on the ground.
Yes—two of them, non-human creatures.
Geno had been in his Ethereal form all along, and as for Twiggy, with the passing of time the Ether crystals had by now spread to cover her entire body, and she had begun to transform in the direction of an Ethereal.
From this, Hoshimi Miyabi made her judgment quite simply.
The person before her was about to transform into an Ethereal; for that reason, ending her life right here was perhaps the best choice.
"Do you need me to send her on her way? Don't worry—my blade is swift."
As she spoke, Hoshimi Miyabi laid her hand on the hilt of her tachi, ready to dispatch Twiggy with a single clean, decisive stroke, so as to leave behind no pain whatsoever.
"Wait! Section Chief!"
Seeing this, Yanagi Tsukishiro hurriedly tried to stop her.
Saying something like that right now—wasn't that just provoking Geno?!
And reality unfolded exactly as Yanagi Tsukishiro had expected: upon hearing Hoshimi Miyabi's words, Geno instinctively rose to his feet, his eyes bloodshot as he glared furiously at the fox before him.
Geno was already delirious under the ravages of the Filth at this moment, yet upon hearing Hoshimi Miyabi's words he rose to his feet on instinct.
Then Geno's figure flickered, and the next moment he abruptly appeared right in front of Hoshimi Miyabi.
This was Thanatos's teleportation; though he had no reason left, Geno had still pulled it off on instinct alone.
The sudden attack made Hoshimi Miyabi freeze for a moment, but she still produced the optimal counter, drawing on the martial skill of one seasoned by a hundred battles.
A flash of the blade—and the demon blade Tailless was instantly drawn from its sheath.
A keen, cold light covered the length of the blade, and in an instant it cut Geno down to the ground.
Several wounds opened at once; Geno's Ether body tried to heal itself, but was suppressed by the dense frost-flames upon the wounds and could not mend.
After confirming that Geno truly could not move, Hoshimi Miyabi turned her gaze once more toward Twiggy, who was still undergoing her transformation into an Ethereal.
But just as she attempted to step forward, an odd sensation came from her ankle.
"I beg... you, let... her go..."
Tears—blood-red tears—came pouring from Geno's eye sockets.
By now he was utterly spent, his lamp run dry of oil; he had used up the Night Demon's power, and his own Ether was exhausted as well. Had it not been for the Filth within his body forcibly keeping him barely alive, he would long since have perished, body and soul undone, and returned to the Ether Sea.
Yet it was precisely because of this that the power of the Filth, in order to heal Geno, had greatly reduced the mental interference it imposed upon him, and so Geno regained his reason.
"Don't—don't kill her, I'm begging you..."
The feeble weakness and the sobbing voice squeezed out from his throat would leave no one in any doubt as to the pain and despair of the man before them.
Hoshimi Miyabi, too, was moved; the scene before her brought back memories of her own past self.
Facing her own mother dying before her very eyes—dying by her own hand—she had been powerless, able to do nothing at all.
But that had been Hoshimi Miyabi as the eldest young lady of the Hoshimi family—not Hoshimi Miyabi as a Void Hunter.
Faced with a powerful Ethereal about to be born, strangling it in the cradle before it fully formed was the best way to handle it.
And unlike Geno, who was now clutching at her ankle, no one could guarantee that Twiggy would definitely be able to retain her rationality.
"My apologies." Squelch!
The severed arm flew off through the air. Having cut away the arm with which Geno had held her back, Hoshimi Miyabi hardened her heart all the same and continued walking toward Twiggy.
But before long, her path was blocked by someone once again. "What's the meaning of this?"
The newcomers were none other than Twiggy's kindred—Anby and Number 11.
"I know that I'm no longer fit to be a soldier as I am now, but I cannot just stand by and watch Twiggy die."
Number 11 spread her arms wide, barring the way before Hoshimi Miyabi. This was the first time in her life that she had gone against the soldier's principles she had always held to, the first time she had put her own feelings first.
"Twiggy is my family—to make me watch her die just like that, I can't do it!"
But compared with Number 11, Anby's answer caught Hoshimi Miyabi somewhat by surprise.
"Twiggy can still be saved. She won't turn into an Ethereal."
Anby said these words with utter certainty, and not only Hoshimi Miyabi—but Geno, lying on the ground, and Number 11, who likewise stood blocking the way before Twiggy, were all stunned.
"What? Twiggy can still be saved?!?"
Number 11 was utterly dumbfounded. She'd stood here at the risk of being struck off the Defense Force's rolls and put on a wanted list—and now you're telling me Twiggy is fine?
Give me back my feelings!!!
"Twiggy... can still be saved?"
If you asked who was the most astonished person present, it would have to be Geno.
Hadn't he risked his very life precisely to win Twiggy a chance at survival?
Now, told that Twiggy was all right, no one could possibly be more excited than he was.
At this thought, Geno—from goodness knows where he drew the strength—forced himself to wriggle and crawl over along the ground.
Seeing this, Hoshimi Miyabi silently wiped away the fierce frost upon Geno's body.
Rising to his feet again, Geno's severed arm slowly healed, and at the same time he gathered the fallen Twiggy into his arms.
Looking at Twiggy, who remained in her corroded state without the slightest response, Geno tried to absorb the Ether from her body.
The result left him somewhat disappointed, though: Twiggy's core had already formed by now, and Ether had become something essential to her—just like Grace before...
Wait? Grace?
As if struck by a thought, Geno fastened his own anti-corrosion bracelet onto Twiggy's wrist.
Then he watched as Twiggy's already-formed Ether core gradually became wrapped in a thin layer of Ether crystals, before once again merging back into Twiggy's body.
The cracks across her body were once more filled in with flesh and blood, and the black Ether crystals that had spilled out were reabsorbed back into her body as well.
Before long, Twiggy's chest rose and fell once again.
"Thank goodness—thank goodness, truly."
Geno wept for joy; seeing Twiggy restored to her former self, the tears on his face came surging forth once more.
It was just that those tears, streaked through with the color of blood, were honestly rather frightening to behold.
Though Hoshimi Miyabi's face showed little expression at this astonishing, world-shaking scene, the subtle changes between her brows made it perfectly clear that she, too, was deeply moved by it.
'If only... this technique had existed back then...'
Shaking her head, Hoshimi Miyabi cast aside her jumbled thoughts, and then spoke up with a suggestion.
"In that case, I have no reason to make another move. For now, let's leave this place first."
Although the two sides had been locked in a standoff just moments ago, now that the point of conflict had vanished, the manner Hoshimi Miyabi displayed seemed to suggest she didn't really mind at all.
However, judging from her ceaselessly twitching ears, she did not seem to be quite as calm as she appeared on the surface.
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