As the entire world stood on the verge of change, Ruizi aboard the Void Radiance Ship seemed somewhat restless as well.
"Um... Rei?"
"What is it, Ruizi?"
Seated in a chair and looking out the window, Rei turned her head toward Ruizi.
"Could you tell me why you wanted to go to that... that..."
"Edel Garden?"
"Yes, yes, Edel Garden."
Ruizi stuck out her tongue, then looked at Rei.
"Come to think of it, after all this time, I never asked why you wanted to go there."
"..."
Faced with Ruizi's question, Rei fell silent for a moment before speaking softly.
"Because someone is calling for me."
"Calling for you?"
"That's right. Her name is Shia... she's my most important friend."
Looking out the window, Rei quietly began telling Ruizi that story.
That story from long ago.
At the time, the world had already begun to grow unstable, and humanity needed strength. Holy War Angels were regarded as the power they needed. People captured Holy War Angels everywhere, enslaved them, and forced them to form pacts and fight alongside them. Rei had lived in one such Holy War Angel village.
But Rei's circumstances differed from those of ordinary Holy War Angels. She was one of the Seven Brilliant Treasures, a legendary existence. Because of that, even within the Holy War Angel village, Rei had always suffered exclusion. It was Shia who gradually opened Rei's heart and let her rediscover the joy of being alive.
One day, Shia took the children into the mountains, where they encountered a human hunting party that had come to capture Holy War Angels. Shia, Rei, and the others were nearly captured, but at that moment, another group of humans suddenly appeared. They killed the human hunters trying to take Shia and the others away, rescuing