The Deceiving Fierce Beast Loomed Above the Heavens

Midnight, with the end drawing near.

After the torrential rain, the sky unexpectedly cleared.

The blood-red clouds had vanished at some point, and the bright full moon hung obliquely in one corner of the sky.

The moonlight was too bright, making it an unsuitable time to watch the meteor shower.

Su Youzi and Kujo Iruka arrived near Tokyo Skytree.

Auroria, looking dispirited and listless as though she were about to cry after being "rejected" by Youzi, followed closely behind the girls.

Under the clear, waterlike moonlight, the Great Shrine Maiden of the Soga clan was waiting for them before Tokyo Skytree.

The girl sitting on the bench did not look fierce in the slightest, like the villain who was about to destroy the world should have looked. Nor did she display the guilt and self-reproach of a savior who should have saved the world but was forced to destroy it.

On the contrary—

The girl gazing up at the starry night looked so unconcerned and natural that it seemed as though the life and death of the entire world had nothing to do with her.

She even made Kujo Iruka wonder whether the person who had pinned Su Youzi down that day, teased her, and kicked her so hard that she had mentally broken down could really be the girl standing before her.

Soga no Mikoto sat there.

This time, the girl's long hair was not tied up high. Instead, it fell loosely around her shoulders.

She had also changed out of the risqué sleeveless kimono into a very modern T-shirt, hot pants, and jacket.

The only thing that remained unchanged was that the girl still wore nothing on her feet.

Her tender, fair feet rested on their heels against the ground, gently swinging back and forth.

Sitting quietly there,