Sensing something, "Luo Mio" turned to look in the other direction.
Feeling the location where the mana lock was about to break drawing near, Saikyo Neine said anxiously, "Nothing better have happened to you, Little Mio!"
Before long, another wave of mana entered Saikyo Neine's senses.
"Kuroko!"
"Neine!"
Shinguji Kuroko, who had also rushed over from Hagun Academy, sensed Saikyo Neine as well.
"Now isn't the time to talk. We need to get to Miohua's place quickly!"
"Mm!"
Not long after, the two sensed an aura from deep within the forest ahead.
"Little Mio!"
Saikyo Neine's expression turned ugly as she sensed that aura.
"That's right! This aura is very similar to that person's aura from eleven years ago!"
"Could it be?!"
Thinking of something, Saikyo Neine instantly pushed her ability to its limit and rushed over at top speed.
In a clearing not far away, the ground had been overturned, branches severed, and two blurry figures stood there.
As Saikyo Neine approached and saw one familiar figure, she said, "Little... Mio..."
Halfway through speaking, the anxious expression on Saikyo Neine's face changed to one of horror and disbelief when she saw Luo Mio.
Shinguji Kuroko, who arrived afterward, also looked extremely grim upon seeing Luo Mio.
Luo Mio stood where he was, his eyes one blue and one gold. Not far away, Wallenstein was held suspended in midair by some unknown transparent energy. His eyes had completely rolled back, and he seemed utterly unconscious. Saliva and blood mixed together flowed from his half-open mouth onto his clothes. The faint groans escaping his mouth proved that he was still alive.
As "Luo Mio" looked at the two women, just as He was about to speak, a strange abnormality spread through His body, making Him stop. He raised His other hand and looked at His palm.
Then He lifted His head and looked at them.
Golden energy gradually twisted before Him, forming words.
"From the two of you, I can sense Void's aura. You were the ones who stopped Void's manifestation eleven years ago, weren't you?"
The golden words continued to writhe.
"But what puzzles me is that neither of you carries Void's core aura."
"Luo Mio" stared directly at Saikyo Neine and Shinguji Kuroko.
"Is that so? You truly know nothing."
Luo Mio withdrew His gaze, then turned it back toward the shore.
Just then.
"Crimson Wind!"
Saikyo Neine charged at Luo Mio with an iron fan in hand.
"Neine!"
Shinguji Kuroko watched Saikyo Neine rush forward, but failed to stop her.
"Propater, Ennoia."
She gripped the black-and-white twin guns in her hands and aimed them at Luo Mio.
Luo Mio looked at the charging Saikyo Neine.
Golden energy formed a mana barrier, blocking Saikyo Neine's attack and the gravity she unleashed!
Watching Saikyo Neine prepare to attack again, along with Shinguji Kuroko in the distance raising her black-and-white twin guns, ready to fire at any moment, He sighed.
Golden energy once again formed words.
"Stop. I do not wish to fight the three of you."
Saikyo Neine and Shinguji Kuroko looked at the golden words in surprise.
Three?!
"Oh my, I never expected you to notice this old man." From the shadows of the forest on the other side, an elderly man stepped out.
This man was Nangou Torajiro, the teacher of Saikyo Neine and Toudo Touka!
"Old man!"
"Teacher Nango?!"
Nangou greeted the two women with a kindly smile, then looked at Luo Mio. Although a gentle smile remained on his face, the sweat on his forehead and his tightly clenched, withered hands revealed the tension in his heart.
Luo Mio looked at His palm.
And also...
A faint crimson phosphorescent phantom emerged above Luo Mio's hand.
Consciousness... Teacher...
Then Luo Mio raised His head, his gaze seeming to pass through the forest toward some point in the ocean.
"Stop."
"It is not yet time for 'me' to manifest."
The depths of the Pacific Ocean!
A pitch-black, endless ocean abyss like the depths of hell, where only a scant few creatures survived.
Even powerful Blazers from the Three Great Powers did not dare enter this silent abyss alone.
And deeper within this silent abyss!
A Golden Crystal missing half of itself stood quietly in the deepest part of the ocean abyss.
Yet the turbulent energy around it, spreading upward with time, declared the crystal's actions.
Just then, the Golden Crystal sensed something, and the spreading energy gradually began to retreat into the depths of the abyss.
Elsewhere in the Pacific Ocean, constantly erupting energy waves announced the battle taking place there.
A white giant dragon beat its wings through the ocean as though it were flying through the sky.
"ROAR!!!"
The dragon's roar sent sound waves surging toward three figures elsewhere.
The powerful incoming sound waves and the seawater spreading outward carried terrifying pressure, forcing the three figures into defensive stances instantly.
If any Blazer had witnessed this scene, they would have been shocked.
The three figures before it were two of the Rebel Army's Twelve Apostles and the Alliance's "Superman"!
Just as they warily awaited the dragon's next move.
The dragon raised its head and looked toward the sea surface.
Then it turned and roared at the three figures.
As if telling them that they had narrowly escaped death.
It then turned around and swam toward the ocean abyss.
The research teams within the base facilities also sensed the movements of both the crystal and the dragon.
"Report! The crystal's upward-spreading energy is gradually decreasing. It has now dropped to the ten-thousand-meter mark!"
"Report! At the same time, Numbered Organism No. 2 has retreated into the ocean abyss!"
The old team leader looked at the reports and data on the screen, muttering, "What exactly happened?"
After conveying His will, Luo Mio looked at Saikyo Neine and Shinguji Kuroko.
Golden words appeared.
"Then now, I shall return 'him' to you. After all, it is not yet time for me to manifest."
"Of course, I respect 'his' will. He shall embrace death."
Then "Luo Mio" looked at Wallenstein, who was still held in His grasp, his mind already scattered and his body trembling constantly.
With a low groan, Wallenstein's trembling body stopped. His entire body slumped like cotton, then the energy dispersed. Wallenstein crashed down from midair onto the ground, and his ceased breathing declared his death!
Shinguji Kuroko looked at Wallenstein's corpse, then turned her gaze back toward Luo Mio.
"Luo Mio" looked at Saikyo Neine, Shinguji Kuroko, and Nangou Torajiro before Him.
He blinked.
From the moment of His manifestation until His impending departure, it was the only gentle smile He revealed.
When He opened His eyes again, the imposing golden eye and the void-like pupil had vanished, replaced by blank, hollow azure eyes without consciousness.
"Little Mio!"
Saikyo Neine hurried forward and caught Luo Mio before he fell to the ground.
She checked his body.
At the side, Nangou Torajiro released his clenched hands, let out a breath, and slowly walked over.
Shinguji Kuroko put away her black-and-white twin guns and looked at the two beside Luo Mio.
Then her gaze shifted to Wallenstein's corpse.
"A long-planned scheme..."
Thus, Sir Wallenstein, the One-armed Swordsman and one of the Twelve Apostles who had orchestrated terrorist attacks across the nation and unleashed a tsunami, died!
Chapter 18: Conversation
Within boundless darkness, silence and gloom seemed eternal.
And in that dim, soundless darkness, Luo Mio walked through the space with empty eyes.
"Mio!"
A clear voice rang out.
Luo Mio raised his vacant eyes.
"Teach... er..."
Fiery red phosphorescence illuminated the entire space. Endless darkness was shattered by red light, while red-and-white feathers fell like rain.
Luo Mio stared blankly at the scene before him.
An arm rested on his shoulder.
Luo Mio looked back.
Her ageless face bore crimson eyes that seemed to have weathered a thousand years of time. Her waist-length white hair was adorned with hints of scarlet, and a red-and-gold hair ornament rested above one side of her ear. Like Luo Mio, her hair was tied into a braid. Her slender, straight, fair legs made her seem like a fairy descended into the world.
Aside from her somewhat regrettable chest.
Smack!
A red afterimage flashed past.
Luo Mio's head was struck heavily.
With that blow, Luo Mio's consciousness seemed to snap back into place.
Luo Mio shook his head, shaking away the heavy drowsiness in his mind. His azure eyes regained their usual color.
Luo Mio looked around at his surroundings.
"This is..."
"Inside your Consciousness Space," a clear, pleasant voice said from beside Luo Mio.
Before you continue