Not only was C.C. injured, but Suzaku had been hurt as well. Kallen Kouzuki, the only one left standing, shielded Lelouch with her body. He had taken off the mask he wore, while the pink-haired girl named Euphemia stood awkwardly to one side.
Facing them... well, the curly-haired emperor looked somewhat familiar, and so did the shota. As for the woman with long black hair, Jiu Ming gave her a slight sidelong glance—not because of her looks. He had seen plenty of beauties.
What puzzled him was that he had never seen her before... Hmm, seeing these people, Jiu Ming began linking them to the images he had once seen. It seemed that everyone who had appeared in those images was somehow connected to this place.
"How is this possible... How could you break free from the Thought Elevator so quickly?!"
When the curly-haired emperor saw Jiu Ming emerge, his expression darkened.
"Thought Elevator?" Jiu Ming walked over to C.C.'s side. An apologetic look flashed across his face as he looked at her. "So that place is called that. Well, I merely figured something out, so I came out. But you people—what are you trying to do?"
"...Create a world without lies." After a moment of silence, the curly-haired emperor spoke in a low voice. "Only the final step remains. Are you going to stop me?"
"The final step?" Jiu Ming tilted his head and gently pulled away C.C.'s hand covering the wound on her shoulder. His expression froze in slight surprise for an instant. The wound in her shoulder was healing at an unreasonable speed, and a somewhat misshapen bullet was slowly squeezed out from it.
"All that remains now is C.C.'s Code."
"You want to kill her?" Jiu Ming's voice sank. Under his gaze, C.C.'s eyelids lowered slightly,