The Borderwatchers' main base rose from the frozen mountains.
Steel and stone fused with the jagged cliffs.
Warm light glimmered through the stormy snow, flickering across silent sentinels watching the frontier below.
A magic circle bloomed on the platform.
Light shot upward, then vanished into nothingness.
When it faded, Momo, Beatrice, and Tsukasa stood in its place.
A gust of icy wind whipped through them.
"What the… hell."
Tsukasa's voice was sharp, eyes wide.
Beatrice leapt forward, spinning with effortless elegance.
"Welcome to the Borderwatchers' main base!" she said, arms spread wide, bright and playful.
"Oh…" Tsukasa murmured, taken aback.
Momo stepped forward.
"Home sweet home, I guess."
She descended the platform stairs, her movements confident.
Tsukasa followed quietly, watching her.
Tsukasa tilted her head up, gazing at the snow-heavy sky.
Her nose pink. Cold smoke drifting from her lips.
(This… is really in the middle of the snow.)
The path ahead was smooth, clean, lined with houses of steel and stone.
Warm light glowed softly through thin blue windows.
Tsukasa's eyes widened.
Five soldiers marched past in tight formation.
White-gray camo. Insulated jackets and pants. Tactical vests and gloves. Helmets with goggles, faces obscured.
Each held a Como rifle—perfectly suited for the snow.
"Who are they…?" she whispered.
"Just rookies. Training."
Momo's tone was sharp, almost bored, but informative.
The soldiers passed, bowing heads in respect.
"Good evening, fellow allies."
Hands saluted Beatrice and Momo.
Beatrice waved back, her smile wide, teasing.
"Good job, rookies!"
Momo saluted in return, posture perfectly straight.
"That's really informal of you, Beatrice," Momo murmured, whispering after they passed.
"Whaat~?" Beatrice tilted her head, amused.
Tsukasa glanced at Momo.
"What was that… raising your hand to your forehead?"
Momo turned, serious.
"It's called a salute."
"Salute…" Tsukasa echoed, uncertain.
"It's not just a gesture," Momo said, tone firm.
"It's discipline. Respect."
Beatrice's eyes widened, playful energy flickering.
"Discipline and respect… really? I didn't know."
Momo's gaze darkened.
"What?! How did you not know that?"
From the distance, a figure approached.
Liora moved down the street, silent, precise.
Only faint whispers of conversation reached their ears.
"You hold your heads quite high," Liora said, cold, commanding.
Beatrice and Momo froze.
Tsukasa turned to look, confusion flashing in her eyes.
Before she could see more, Beatrice pressed her head down.
The trio knelt, foreheads to the frozen ground.
Beatrice's hand rested on Tsukasa's head.
A wave of presence rippled through them—powerful, heavy, crushing.
Tsukasa's eyes widened in terror.
(Who is this woman…?
What is this presence?
It could break my bones.)
Momo's forehead pressed further to the snow.
"What do we honor—the pleasure of being in your presence, Lady Liora?"
Her voice formal, deeply respectful.
Silence stretched.
Tension thickened.
Liora's gaze swept them, sharp and calculating.
Tsukasa tried to look up, but Beatrice held her head down.
Suppressed, her eyes widened in shock.
"Beatrice whose the human girl you have your hands on?" Ask Liora
"She's Tsukasa," Beatrice said, voice formal, trembling slightly at the edges.
"She wants to join the ranks of the maids."
"I see...fellow me then human girl." Said Liora as she walked passed them
Beatrice removed her hands from
Tsukasa's head.
"Go. Without questions."
Tsukasa obeyed, following Liora.
She glanced once at Beatrice and Momo—still kneeling, still silent.
In a flash of light, Liora and Tsukasa vanished.
The two left behind finally rose.
"I was so scared when Lady Liora appeared out of nowhere," Beatrice admitted, her playful tone fading.
Momo only nodded, silent.
"I feel so bad for Tsukasa," Beatrice added.
Momo sighed, relief in her breath, then turned.
"Let's get some ramen."
"Yeaaah!" Beatrice cheered, breaking into a run to catch up.
The forest breathed in quiet rhythm.
Wind whispered through the trees where sand split woodland from sea.
At that boundary—
Fuji fell from the sky.
His body struck the shore like thunder.
Sand and dust erupted outward, scattering across the wind‑swept beach.
---
Present time.
High above the federation, Haruto hovered over a city alive with sound—voices overlapping, streets flowing with life.
Below, Tsubaki and his group stood outside a clothing shop.
Behind the wide glass window, a male and female mannequin stood dressed in modern Earth attire.
They stared—silent.
Captivated by the unfamiliar designs.
By the quality.
By the craftsmanship.
"So that's your brother."
Haruto's voice was calm, distant, as he looked down upon the city beneath him.
"Yes… my lord."
Tsukasa stood beside him.
Hands folded neatly in front of her.
Eyes closed.
Her expression serene.
But her heart burned.
Haruto turned his head slightly.
He saw through the calm with ease.
(She's desperate to meet him. But he belongs to another nation. No ties. No clearance. He could be a spy.)
"Tsukasa."
She turned toward him at once.
"You may go see your brother," Haruto said.
"But make yourself visible only to him."
Her eyes widened—just slightly.
"Are you certain, my lord?"
She needed to be sure she hadn't misheard.
"Family does not require my permission to exist."
Haruto faced forward again.
(I will still keep my eyes on him.)
"As you wish," Tsukasa said softly, lowering her gaze.
"You will go as yourself," Haruto continued.
"Not as my subordinate.
Not as my envoy.
And not as my representative."
Tsukasa looked up.
A small, genuine smile touched her lips.
"Thank you, my lord."
"You owe me nothing for choosing your family."
The words struck her harder than any command.
For a moment, she didn't know how to respond.
"Go," Haruto said quietly.
"Don't waste the time you still have."
Tsukasa vanished in a blur of light—
"Instant Teleportation".
---
The moment she was gone, Haruto's expression darkened.
The world around him fell away.
He stood in a boundless void—
No ground.
No horizon.
Only darkness lit by distant, star‑like flickers.
Elyssia stood there as well.
Her eyes opened slowly, as if waking from sleep.
"What are you doing?" Haruto asked.
To her, he appeared as a figure of pure white—
Faceless.
Slender.
Almost androgynous.
She understood immediately where she was.
"Huh? Just like that? Not even a hi or hello?"
She placed a hand on her hip, annoyed.
Silence answered her.
A tense gaze—unseen, yet unmistakable.
"…Are you asking why I came to your country?" Elyssia asked.
"Correct."
(Is he mad?)
"I am not."
She stepped back in shock.
"Huh!? Wait—can you actually read my mind or something!?" she blurted out.
"There are many things I can do beyond that," Haruto replied, lifting his arm slightly.
"…Creepy," she muttered.
"Then answer this—what is this place you keep dragging me into?"
"Your inner world."
Elyssia smiled faintly.
"If that's true…"
She raised her arms.
Black, star‑flecked ropes surged forward, wrapping around Haruto's limbs and neck.
He tilted his head, unbothered.
"You know a hybrid could never defeat their god."
"That's not what I want," Elyssia snapped.
Her bangs shadowed her eyes.
"I want answers."
Her fists clenched.
"…Are you going to ask why I didn't save your parents?" Haruto said.
Her eyes burned.
"Why!"
Her voice cracked.
"Why save me? I should have died with them!"
She covered her face, anger dissolving into grief.
"What should I have done differently…?" she whispered.
"There are things in life that stay with you," Haruto said.
"No matter how much time passes."
She froze.
"Moments you replay endlessly. Wondering if one choice could have changed everything."
"I've asked myself the same questions—about those I couldn't save."
Her hands slowly fell from her face.
"But some paths are written long before we ever walk them. Regret cannot rewrite what has already happened."
Her gaze softened—painful, silent understanding forming.
"Still," Haruto continued,
"the heart clings to memory—not to suffer, but to keep their voices alive a little longer."
The ropes loosened.
"Carrying the past is not weakness. It means it mattered."
"All we can do now… is move forward with what they left behind."
Elyssia collapsed to her knees—though there was no ground to catch her.
Tears fell endlessly.
"I wanted to be with them…"
"This world is so broken."
(The… world?)
Haruto knelt before her—something he rarely did.
"Give me your pain," he said, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"You are not alone."
Warmth spread through her chest.
He absorbed it all—
Grief.
Despair.
Trauma.
And remained unbroken.
She leaned into him, clinging like a child seeking comfort.
(I'm sorry you had to witness their deaths.)
He stood, guiding her up gently.
"I must go."
"…Already?"
Her hands pressed to her chest.
He turned his head slightly.
"Yes. It seems the world needs purification."
He dissolved into white smoke—
Then nothing.
---
Haruto opened his eyes above the city once more.
"You seem happy," he said.
Tsukasa stood beside him, smiling softly.
"I am."
"Good."
---
Days later.
Haruto sat in his office, buried beneath paperwork.
Liora stood beside him, hands folded.
"…I hate paperwork," he muttered, flipping through a thick stack.
"If Vhalzareth were here, he'd gladly handle this."
"You are lazy," Liora said flatly.
He stamped a page—
A small golden spider formed from ink at its edge.
"Necessary, yet unnecessary," he replied, processing documents at impossible speed.
"…Where did you send Vhalzareth?" she asked.
Haruto paused.
"I sent him to investigate the Valecyne Empire."
Her eyes widened slightly.
"Why him? That's Miyuki's role."
"The environment is unsafe," Haruto said coldly.
"My subordinates' safety comes first."
"Agreed. That empire is corruption incarnate—slavery, murder, abduction."
"And yet," she continued,
"they are the strongest of the seven regions."
Liora stepped behind him, draping her arms over his shoulders.
"What are you doing?" Haruto asked calmly.
"Tell me," she whispered.
"Are you planning war over one of your kin?"
(That empire exists only to consume lives.)
"They enslave.
They murder.
They harmed one of my own."
He paused.
"There is nothing left to preserve."
"This is not war."
His voice hardened.
"This is removal."
Liora smiled—sharp, satisfied.
"I'll prepare the forces," she said softly.
"All you need to do… is give the order, my Emperor."
---
That night.
A carriage departed the city gates.
Inside, Akari and Yoruko slept against each other.
Tsubaki rested opposite them.
Elyssia remained awake—
Staring out at the half‑lit sky, clouds stained red and orange.
"We're not perfect," she whispered.
"So we can't save ourselves."
Her reflection stared back at her in the glass.
"…Only God can."