Tsukimori Ryogo and Aoyagi Risa had spent the longest time together. They were superiors and subordinates, but also close partners.
But—
When faced with the fleeing Tsukimori Ryogo, Aoyagi Risa did not hesitate in the slightest.
The Dominator was aimed at Tsukimori Ryogo.
"...Why did you think you could escape? The Sibyl System's malfunction was only temporary, wasn't it?"
"...Why indeed?" It was not as though Tsukimori Ryogo had never considered it, but none of those excuses seemed convincing. At that moment, he let out a faint sigh. It seemed he had failed completely, and there would be no more chances. "I must have mistaken it for some kind of opportunity."
"There was never any opportunity." Aoyagi Risa said. She seemed even more rational, yet all her edges had been completely worn away.
Her heart was already dead.
She no longer held any hope.
Could anyone in this world escape the Sibyl System's surveillance and control? No. This was simply how the world was. Everyone had to accept their fate.
"It wasn't that being your partner was unpleasant..." Tsukimori Ryogo even smiled. The smile on that young, somewhat childish face was incomparably complex.
There was a trace of tenderness.
And despair.
Confusion.
And the faintest hint of happiness.
Who could say for certain? Perhaps this was the ending Tsukimori Ryogo wanted, the ending he truly desired: facing death. "It was a fulfilling life, but in the end, it was only the fulfillment one felt inside a prison."
"Me too. I enjoyed it as well."
Aoyagi Risa pulled the trigger without hesitation. The Dominator's elimination mode could not be reversed, while Tsukimori Ryogo seemed already able to face everything calmly. If he had to die, then being killed by Aoyagi Risa did not seem so bad.
At that moment—
His body