Everything was proceeding on schedule.
Ōshima — that island was the birthplace of the Ouma siblings, and the very place where the Origin Stone had fallen. The site where everything had begun.
Now, go to that place. Retrieve the Origin Stone. Kill Shuichiro Keido and Da'ath's Guardian, Yu. Sever this chain of evil once and for all. That was Inori Yuzuriha's objective.
I can do it. I already possess King Crimson in its complete form — Epitaph and Time Erasure both. I am unstoppable.
She walked out of the school grounds with confident strides, intending to wait for Matsuri to finish her duty shift so they could head home together — but at that moment, a voice in her mind threw cold water on her thoughts.
—How pitiful.
—What do you mean?
Inori shot back at Mana Ouma, irritated.
—I've noticed something, little Inori. Whenever you flash that saccharine smile at someone, that person is in for a very bad time. But when you're angry… you're strangely adorable. Yes — just like that time you were furious at me for hijacking your body. That's the real you. Hehe~
This was bad. If she let this continue, Mana might start gaining the upper hand. The nerve — actually flirting with her? At this rate she'd eventually be hearing my darling little Inori from Mana's mouth. Absolutely not. Play was play, but the hierarchy had to remain clear.
—Too bad. You'll never see that version of me again.
Inori said it plainly, without any self-consciousness.
—Mm-hm~
Mana let out a knowing little laugh. She was, without question, the person who understood Inori best. There was nothing left in this world that could stop her now — nothing except what might be called a "divine will."
—Little Inori, don't let your guard down.
—The Apocalypse Virus is nowhere near as simple as you imagine. There is definitely a powerful figure hidden behind it who hasn't revealed himself yet. You have to defeat him before you can claim everything you want.
—I know.
Inori steadied her expression.
With her current abilities, she might not be sufficient to handle Da'ath's Guardian — the blond boy with the heavy brows, the one called "Yu." He wielded Void power and possessed an infinite lifespan; he could even open a spatial rift to the boundary world of the Apocalypse Virus. He was an immortal entity that had witnessed the destruction and rebirth of the world — he had long since ceased to qualify as human by any ordinary measure.
But that was exactly what made it interesting. This was a trial — the trial that would allow her to defeat fate completely. Inori had no intention of running from it. If anything, she was growing impatient to face him.
Because a final battle fought against someone of equal strength, with mutual annihilation as the aim — nothing could be more perfect, more glorious than that.
…
…
On the last night before departure, Inori finally thought of Shu.
Right — she had a transaction coming up with Haruka Ouma once this "trip" was over, so she figured it was only proper to brief him on everything beforehand. She'd have him join the trip as well.
She hadn't seen him since losing her composure in front of him that day. Shu, for his part, had no means to leave Funeral Parlor's base, so he'd had no choice but to bury whatever confession he'd been building toward and throw himself into training instead, finding his footing within the organization as best he could.
She returned to Funeral Parlor's base to find a group of members working in orderly fashion to sort through a newly delivered shipment of supplies. And there, holding an electronic projection notepad and carefully tallying every line item of inventory in and out, was Shu Ouma.
"Take this to Tsugumi… this one goes to Ayase's mobile unit — be careful with it, that component is fragile."
"Understood, Ouma!"
He guided the soldiers carrying the large crates with patient, considerate reminders — a composure utterly impossible to reconcile with the boy who had trembled at the sound of gunfire not long ago.
—Ha. Not bad, Shu.
—He always had a good head on his shoulders. When we were small, neither Triton nor I could ever beat him at board games and cards~
Even Mana couldn't help but let a note of warmth slip into her voice at the sight of her brother's growth.
"People rise to what's asked of them."
Inori felt nothing in particular — it simply seemed right.
The Shu Ouma of this timeline had it far rougher than his counterpart in the original. Not only was the girl he loved impossibly out of reach, he couldn't even go home; he'd been forced to endure grueling training in a quarantine zone riddled with the virus, swallowing every hardship without complaint. But once he truly accepted Funeral Parlor as his place, he'd gradually found what he was good at. He didn't thrive on the front lines with a gun — his strengths were in logistics, and he was making himself genuinely useful. Self-awareness mattered. Shu had found the way to exist that suited him.
—If you'd done this from the start, nobody would have turned on you.
"Inori, you're here."
A familiar voice came from behind. Gai.
The operation to retrieve the Origin Stone had been issued under Diavolo's authority, so Gai wasn't surprised to see her. There was, however, something strange. He couldn't quite bring himself to look at her. When he spoke, his eyes kept drifting away.
Probably guilt, she supposed — he almost certainly felt guilty after she had spent these past weeks receiving yet more "care" from Diavolo, compounded by his inability to do anything about it. But it could also be something she wasn't yet aware of.
"Tomorrow's operation is critical… the Void-holder with the 'camera' — you've already made contact, right?"
"Yes."
Inori nodded.
"I'll draw him out. Don't worry — he's my fan. It'll be easy."
She laid out Gai's own plan in the same straightforward way he would have described it — and was completely unprepared for him to flinch as though she'd struck a nerve.
"No… Inori, I don't want to — to use you like that."
He bit his lip, clearly struggling.
This wasn't like Gai at all. A man like him wouldn't waver just because of a few callous words from Diavolo. But Inori filed the anomaly away rather than pushing further — she didn't know what was causing it yet.
"Hm? Why?"
Inori tilted her head, giving him a puzzled, guileless smile.
"Your job is to fight using Voids. That's all that matters."
"I'll handle him."
"You're acting strange, Gai. I'm not some fragile little girl, and all I'm doing is getting him alone — nothing else. It'll be fine."
She blinked up at him with an expression of pure confusion, while inwardly she was already frowning, turning the problem over in her mind. Why is he doing this? Gai wasn't Shu — he wouldn't act out of something as simplistic as jealousy. So what was his reason? Surely it wasn't actually guilt over the "abuse" Diavolo had allegedly inflicted on her?
"My apologies. I haven't been sleeping well."
Gai caught himself — he'd let his protectiveness run away from him — and walked it back.
"By the way, Gai — I want to bring Shu along."
Inori set the issue aside for later; she'd piece together the available clues once she was back and could think it through. For now she had more pressing things to say.
"Is that Diavolo's instruction?"
Gai's first instinct was that the man had forced Inori into something again.
"Mm… He says he wants to meet Shu Ouma."
When she invoked Diavolo, Inori made a point of hugging her own arms, letting a faint trace of fear cross her face.
"What? You mean Diavolo will be on Ōshima in person?"
Gai's brow furrowed sharply.
"It seems that way."
Inori performed her best impression of someone mildly confused.
"But Gai — please don't get any ideas. I know you dislike him. He is, however, the most important person to me, and I want the two of you to get along. If — if you try anything, I will protect Diavolo!"
"Why?! After everything he's done to you — "
Gai stopped himself before he could finish, clenching his fist, jaw tight.
"Nothing in this world comes without a price. He gave me everything I have. I can't betray him over something small."
"And disobeying his orders means accepting punishment — that was our arrangement from the beginning. I failed to complete my assignment of keeping watch within Funeral Parlor. He punished me for it. I have no complaints."
Inside Inori's body, a red Stand was quietly wiping a cold sweat from its brow. It had been running itself ragged doing all the behind-the-scenes work and playing the villain for her, suffering her casual insults about its appearance on top of it — and she had the audacity to say that? Did she not have a conscience?
"…I understand, Inori."
Gai's expression was layered with emotions — resignation, pain, barely contained fury, and something uncomfortably close to heartbreak — but in the end, he chose to yield.