"...?"
However, there were no unusual marks on it whatsoever. It looked like an ordinary stone.
Crack!
With just a little force, she crushed it.
"I see..."
It was a fake.
The reason for doing this was to make Funeral Parlor identify the wrong target from the very beginning, causing them to walk straight into the trap of their own accord. In other words, had Funeral Parlor's plan been anticipated long ago?
No, it would be more accurate to say that this entire anti-Funeral Parlor operation had been arranged in advance. A trap within a trap, perhaps? From the moment the stone was stolen, failure had been inevitable. Or perhaps Funeral Parlor had been doomed the instant they conceived the idea of stealing it.
Still... she did not particularly care. After all, she had not been the one who devised the plan.
"...The stone is fake."
She opened the communication channel and spoke to the person on the other end.
[...Is that so? Just as I thought... Everything was arranged to lure us in.]
Gai was no fool. He had already sensed that this might be the outcome.
"Where are you?"
[We've already reached the floor below. Put the stone aside for now. The most urgent task is stopping the genetic resonance.]
"How do we stop it?"
She asked.
[With my song.]
Inori answered her.
"...A song?"
She froze for a moment. What kind of logic was that?
[Yes. The stone's genetic waveform is affected by sound waves. The melody of this song was composed specifically for this mission, and Dr. Ouma is here to assist us.]
Gai answered.
"Understood. Is Inori all right?"
[Yes, I'm fine now, although my head still hurts a little.]
But they could no longer afford to worry about that. If the genetic resonance continued, every resident in Tokyo would suffer.
"I see... Be careful—!"
Hum...
The next instant, she sensed killing intent behind her. She immediately transformed into lightning and dodged the missiles fired at her. However, after missing her, the missiles continued straight toward the colonel and the blond woman standing directly behind her!
"Wha—!"
"Aah!!"
Boom!!!
Splat!!
The man and woman were instantly struck by the missiles and blown into pieces. A bloody mist filled with limbs and internal organs spread through the air. The explosion also blasted a hole through the command room.
Tap, tap...
The Shogun landed from the air and stared at the scene before her in bewilderment.
[What happened, Mio?!]
On the other end of the communication channel, Inori heard the explosion and asked anxiously.
"...We have uninvited guests."
She glanced through the window she had shattered earlier. Several armed helicopters were already approaching through the sky. They belonged to GHQ.
[Gai...]
[Mio, buy us some time.]
Static—
The communication was cut off.
"Heh... You damned woman. I've finally found you."
Daryl Yan's smug voice came from inside the mecha.
"...Do I know you?"
She asked.
"Heh... You're friends with that little bitch, aren't you? The whore who pulled something out of my body!"
Click...
His machine lowered itself into a charging stance.
"So... you can die in her place!!!"
Bang! The mecha's thrusters erupted with fire as it lunged forward, slashing its blade straight toward her face!
However, she merely sighed, raised one hand, and caught the weapon. She held it so firmly that he could not lift his arm at all.
"Wha—!! Huh?!"
He was clearly stunned.
"Heh. Boring."
She sneered and crushed the enormous blade in her grip until cracks spread across it. Then, without even raising her hand, the demonic arm behind her moved in her place and severed it!
"Aaaagh!"
He screamed.
Bang!
She appeared directly before him and drove her knee into the mecha's face, caving it inward. The hulking machine was sent flying and crashed straight into one of the approaching armed helicopters.
Boom!
The helicopters' formation was instantly thrown into disarray, forcing them to scatter.
She walked to the edge of the tower and raised Musou Isshin. A ring of thunder resembling an electromagnetic pulse spread from the blade.
Crackle!
Every approaching aircraft lost control. Black smoke poured from their bodies as they plummeted erratically toward the ground.
Boom! ×N
Several dull explosions followed one after another, making even the ground beneath her feet tremble.
Whoosh...
"All flash and no substance."
She stared coldly at the scattered crash sites below and uttered a mocking remark. After smoothing back the strands of hair blown loose beside her ear, she was just about to turn around when she heard a singing voice that was both familiar and unfamiliar.
It was "familiar" because the singer was someone she knew, yet "unfamiliar" because the song itself was different.
The voice was like sweet rain descending from the heavens, spreading throughout Tokyo, a city swallowed by despair and darkness, and bringing with it a trace of light and hope.
The color of the sky was gradually purified. Rings of light appeared in its place, and snow began falling throughout the area beneath them. The crystals clinging to people's bodies also slowly receded.
The city, which had once been filled with screams, instantly fell silent... Everyone smiled with renewed hope.
"It worked!"
Haruka Ouma watched as the sound-wave resonance perfectly matched the stone's genetic waveform and breathed a sigh of relief. Since the stone responded to sound waves, all they needed to do was use that property against it.
"Ah... What a difficult journey."
Gai brushed away the crystals that had already receded from his body, then sat on the floor and gazed at the snowy scenery outside, which resembled the eve of Christmas.
Night had fallen...
"Hold my hand tightly!"
"Say that the two of us will keep walking together!"
Standing at the highest point and singing at the top of her lungs, Inori failed to notice the figure gradually appearing behind her.
"What a beautiful voice. But... being so mischievous in a situation like this isn't very nice, you know?"
Just as she opened her mouth to sing the next line, an unfamiliar voice sounded beside her ear.
"—!"
She instinctively activated her Power of the King and turned, intending to thrust her hand into the other person's chest. However—
Grab!
Her wrist was seized in an unyielding grip, and the silver glow along the back of her hand gradually faded.
"...Who are you?"
She glanced at her aching wrist, then asked coldly.
"Who am I, you ask? I'm merely a grave keeper!"
Bang!
"Ugh—!"
A heavy punch struck Inori in the abdomen. She instantly lost consciousness and was caught in Da'ath's arms.
"As the cornerstone of Eve, you must obediently await the 'wedding.'"
As the song came to an abrupt halt, the stone's influence surged back once more. This time, it was even more severe than before. Several shock waves powerful enough to shake the heavens erupted from Tokyo Tower, while deep, ghostly light accompanied by black mist began converging on the stone at the center.
[Inori! What happened? Answer me!]
When Gai heard the song stop through his communicator, a sense of foreboding seized him. He immediately ran out of the room, intending to reach the outside. However, someone else was faster!
Hum!
A flash of violet light appeared before him and drew its blade in the same instant.
Slash!
Da'ath's left arm vanished just like that.
"!"
His pupils contracted. Then he looked at the woman before him and smiled in realization.
"So that's how it is... You're the one—"
"Put her down, or your head will be the next thing to fall."
The Shogun ignored whatever he had intended to say and issued a cold command.
"Is that so...? How forceful. Not very gentlemanly at all. Unfortunately... Eve is indispensable to this wedding, so I'm afraid I must refuse."
Hum...
In the next instant, Da'ath swiftly slipped into the void and disappeared from the area as though passing through a spatial gate, taking Inori with him.
"A wedding? Mana? Damn it!"
Gai spoke a name she did not recognize, then slammed his fist against the floor.
"...Tell me this was also within your expectations."
She looked at him and teased.
"I'm not that much of a mastermind..."
Gai gave a bitter smile and shrugged.
"Then that means I'll have to improvise every step from here on."
She strode past him, staring at the empty air ahead as she tightened her grip on Musou Isshin.
"Yeah... But how are you going to—"
Hum!
Without another word, she slashed through the air before her.
Crack!
The rift Da'ath had closed was forcibly torn open again by her own hand.
"—!"
Gai stared in astonishment.
"I told you when I first joined Funeral Parlor that I did so for Inori's sake. And now... their actions are testing my patience."
Without her, she was certain Funeral Parlor would never have made it this far. It was time to finish the job. This was also the perfect opportunity to wipe them all out in one sweep.
Whoosh!
She transformed into a bolt of lightning and shot into the rift, entering the so-called "wedding" venue prepared for Eve.