The helicopter slowly began to descend.
However, Selina's smile shifted into a worried expression as she raised her voice toward the helicopter.
—"Hey... Kira! Please, go look for our companions!"
From inside, a shadow emerged and swiftly moved toward a nearby rooftop.
—"I can roughly imagine what they look like based on the report's description..." she murmured as she descended.
She moved through the shadows.
She wore tight black pants, a long-sleeved white button-up shirt, and white hair that reached the base of her neck, covering part of her forehead. She wore completely fitted black gloves.
She moved like an animal searching for its prey in the night.
When she saw the ruined building, she approached.
—"I detect two weak ether signatures..." she murmured to herself. Her voice was serious, deep, yet carried a feminine tone.
Upon entering, she moved even faster, passing over all the rubble.
—"This place... is about to collapse."
When she finally spotted Shiro and Kaede in the distance, she simply shouted while rushing forward.
—"Hey you, the one in the suit! Get out of here!"
Kaede raised her gaze.
—"But, Shiro...?"
—"I said get out!"
The tone was authoritative, and she felt a bit intimidated.
She decided to move away from Shiro and climbed out through the broken window, running toward the helicopter's signals.
Somewhat confused, Shiro looked up.
Red eyes.
White skin.
A fringe concealing...
Two small horns...?
She picked Shiro up in her arms.
—"You're coming with me..."
Holding Shiro, Kira accelerated and shot out of the ruined building, which collapsed completely the instant they escaped.
"I can't go on... my whole body hurts," Shiro thought as his gaze wandered across Kira's figure.
Together, they managed to get as far away as possible.
Kira occasionally glanced at Shiro's face, paying slightly more attention to him than to her surroundings.
At the end of the street, Kira could finally see the helicopter resting on the ground.
Inside were Calius, Selina, and Kaede.
Another female figure waited anxiously for Kira to arrive.
Before they could get close, a brilliant purple lightning bolt descended from the sky.
Kira didn't hesitate.
She instantly propelled herself to the side, calmly dodging it.
Looking toward its source...
She saw Amaya.
And the three shadows:
Haru, Gorath, and Ignis.
Kira slowly backed away, still carrying Shiro in her arms.
Since the two were of similar height, it wasn't a problem.
—"You don't want to fight me. I'm in perfect condition. You just came out of combat and you're exhausted... am I wrong?"
Kira continued retreating.
The tension of the moment could be felt all the way to the helicopter.
At last, the other woman stepped out as well.
From a distance, her pointed ears could be seen.
Aside from that, a seemingly simple card summoned an enormous tornado between Kira and Amaya.
The tornado rapidly expanded, threatening Amaya.
And with that, Kira ran toward the helicopter.
As soon as she arrived, the hatch shut instantly when the unknown elf entered as well.
With the helicopter now full, it quickly ascended and disappeared into the sky.
Amaya was about to summon another lightning strike to destroy the helicopter.
But after thinking about it, she let them go.
—"It was a fight we wouldn't have won if it continued... they had the numerical advantage," she murmured to herself.
Amaya shifted her gaze toward Ryouji's three shadows.
—"He's still fighting that Hinokami... I need to stop him."
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Noise.
Heavy breathing.
Clashes.
The fire continued to spread.
Akira dodged Ryouji's dagger attacks while retreating as best he could.
Until finally, Ryouji dropped to one knee, panting.
A blood-covered Akira did not advance.
Instead, he also knelt down.
Both fighters stood at their limits, facing one another.
Behind Ryouji, Amaya placed her hands on his shoulders.
—"You were still alive... and as always, you risked your life against the strongest opponent..."
She gently caressed the cheek of the exhausted fighter.
—"I recommend that you surrender."
Across from them, Kurai Mei Hinokami stood behind her brother.
The sky shone overhead like a looming threat.
—"If you do not surrender, I will be forced to—"
—"We have the power to revive the catastrophe from a decade ago. Is that... is that what you want?" Amaya said, her voice trembling slightly from exhaustion.
Kurai Mei Hinokami widened her eyes.
She analyzed the situation carefully.
She knew that was not something to gamble with.
The glow in the sky faded.
Mei placed a hand on her brother's shoulder, and with a movement of her card, they changed positions to somewhere nearby but outside Ryouji and Amaya's field of vision.
Like a limited form of teleportation.
At last, Ryouji was able to breathe deeply.
He raised his head to look at Amaya.
—"Sorry... I came back for nothing. What we were ordered to retrieve escaped..."
His words were interrupted by...
A kiss.
A lingering one.
His body simply could not move.
In a strange way, it relaxed him.
When their lips finally separated, Amaya was crying.
—"Shut up... you complete idiot..."
Through her tears, she tightened her embrace around Ryouji.
—"You're so stupid... you keep risking your life like an idiot who doesn't understand what life is... I promised I'd bring us back to the other world, not that you'd die here..."
—"Amaya... I already told you, didn't I? There's a very good chance that you... actually belong to this world."
Amaya's emotions overflowed.
—"So what?! If that's true, I'd rather leave with you than stay in a world this unpleasant!"
[...]
—"You know what? Let's go, Amaya. That old man... I remember him now."
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
At the outskirts of Solarin, Mei tried to stop Akira's bleeding.
—"Seriously... I've already called for reinforcements. This whole situation is complicated. Departments 1 and 9 will probably end up being punished for this..."
Akira coughed lightly.
Mei glanced at him from the corner of her eye and sighed.
—"You made the right choice, Akira... bu—"
—"Sorry... I couldn't win."
[...]
Mei focused her attention on him and laughed softly.
—"Seriously... at the very least, I'll praise how all of us fought when we get back..."
Far beyond Solarin, the night remained unchanged.
Outside the immense city, thousands of survivors waited for aid.
[...]
Meanwhile, the helicopter continued to move away from Solarin, heading directly toward the distant Sea of Souls.
Selina slept casually on Calius's shoulder, something that, in Kaede's eyes, was completely unlike her.
Kaede was drowsy.
Eventually, she closed her eyes as well, finally enjoying a well-deserved rest.
The elf stared out the helicopter window with visible concern.
And Kira still held Shiro, seated beside her.
She observed him carefully.
—"Your name is Shiro Mimosa..." Kira murmured thoughtfully.