Chapter 84

Uzuki Saori shakily stood up, supporting herself on her arms. A blinding ball of light condensed in her palm, but the next second, a sharp pain shot through her abdomen again, and her body was sent flying backward, rolling on the ground.

"Cough..."

Gasping for breath and coughing, Saori's vision blurred, and her abdomen felt as if it had been emptied out. Despite still having plenty of strength in her body, Uzuki Saori felt a strong sense of powerlessness from the bottom of her heart.

It wasn't because of the pain, but because they had lost the will to continue fighting.

Uzuki Saori knew very well that she had no way to escape from Efnir's grasp, not even as Apostle. Her mission had ended the moment she saw Efnir.

Or rather, it's all his own fault.

If they had killed Nishizaki Yuki back then, perhaps the plan would have succeeded by now.

But could that really work? Seeing Efnir in the helicopter filled me with uncertainty... Was this choice right or wrong?

The words Efnir had spoken kept echoing in her mind, invading her little by little.

There's a voice in my heart.

("You made a mistake.")

It kept swirling in my mind.

"It seems they've found Rin. You've lost completely, Saori. Give up the fight."

Efnir's voice came, and Uzuki Saori, who was lying on the ground, looked up and saw Efnir's profile from the spear that was lightly touching the ground.

Her gaze passed over the damaged outer wall and landed on the corner of the building in the distance, where Uzuki Saori was hiding in the basement. Now, the area was surrounded by soldiers, and under the searchlight of a helicopter, a girl was being helped into view.

"Cold..."

Saori strained to sit up, the evening breeze ruffling her hair, and she softly called the girl's name.

The girl reached out her hand in this direction, her lips moving.

The communication was disrupted by the power of the Apostle, and Uzuki Saori couldn't hear anything, but the pain and disappointment in Rin's dark eyes were clearly reflected in the depths of Saori's pupils.

116. A Similar Woman

"Cough..."

Saori coughed, lowered her gaze, and with a soft "plop," a small gray flower bloomed on the dusty back of her hand.

The coughing gradually subsided, then became choked with emotion.

Saori clenched her fists tightly, not daring to look at Rin. She got up and turned to leave.

"Stop."

The spear streaked across the ground, sending sparks flying and producing a crisp whistling sound, before being pressed against Saori's neck, halting Saori steps.

Are you really going to leave like this? Abandoning Rin all alone?

"..."

Saori slowly turned around, her cheeks streaked with tears. Her gaze fell on Rin in the distance. At that moment, Rin seemed to notice the strange situation between Efnir and Saori, shouted something, forcefully pushed aside the soldiers blocking her way, and ran towards them.

The sedative hadn't completely worn off, and she staggered, only managing two steps before collapsing heavily to the ground.

"Cold!"

Saori's feet twitched slightly, but she stopped again.

She bit her lower lip tightly, and tears slid down her cheeks.

Aren't you going to see her?

"Efnir asked softly."

Saori shook her head in silence.

"I know you're afraid Rin will hate you, afraid to see her. But... you and Rin, one of you has to take that first step. Now that things have come to this, are you going to continue running away, leaving Rin to face the distance between you alone?"

Saori watched as Rin, helped to her feet by soldiers, called out in their direction. Her shoulders trembled slightly, and she fell silent.

"Running away won't solve anything... Saori."

A pair of warm little hands gently covered her cheeks. Saori looked up and saw that Efnir was raising her hand to wipe away her tears.

"Let's discontinue the Synchronization, then go see Rin. Don't disappoint her again."

Efnir's voice was soft.

Saori pursed her lips, tears streaming down her face. In the shimmering golden light, her dirty school uniform reappeared on her body.

She slowly raised her hand and took off the bracelet and ring.

This is her Beacon, and also the Apostle Beacon.

With a calm expression, she held the pendant on her chest in both hands and took it off as well; it was Shiina Rin's Beacon.

"Senior... what will happen to me afterward?"

"You will be stripped of your agent status, detained, and await investigation."

Efnir stared at her, then looked away.

"Until your connection with the Beacon is completely severed and you lose all your memories... after that, you will live as an ordinary person."

"Then... what about Rin?"

"In ten days, reinforcements from the Alliance will arrive. I will bring up that matter with Rin again. Whether she retires or continues to fight as a proxy... I cannot control her choice, but if it were you... you could probably change her mind."

Uzuki Saori lowered her eyelashes and handed the three Beacon in her hand to Efnir.

"Senior... thank you..."

But Efnir only took the bracelet and ring, leaving the pendant, still warm from her body, in Saori's palm.

"You are the most important person to Rin, her Beacon, and you should personally deliver it to her."

"... Uzuki Saori, you have been arrested for the aforementioned crimes. You are hereby stripped of your position as agent, and from this moment forward, everything you do will be..."

Uzuki Saori's delicate face was pressed tightly against the car window, her hands were forcefully handcuffed behind her back.

Several soldiers nervously pointed their guns at her.

"Miss Uzuki, please come with me."

A man appeared before them; he was the soldier captain who had been kicked unconscious by Uzuki Saori. He looked at Uzuki Saori with a complicated expression. Unlike the other soldiers who had tense and solemn faces, he did not treat the girl, who was already a "criminal," roughly.

Uzuki Saori lowered her gaze and followed the captain of the soldiers toward the car to the side.

Just then, a commotion arose behind me.

"Let me go, I want to get there..."

"Miss Shiina! Please wait, she's in danger..."

"Let me go!"

Shiina Rin appeared behind the soldier.

"Saori!!"

Shiina Rin broke free of the soldiers' obstruction and stumbled into Uzuki Saori's arms.

"Cold..."

"Saori... I'm so worried about you..."

"I'm sorry... I..."

"I know everything... Please don't say anymore, as long as you're alright..."

Shiina Rin held Saori tightly, oblivious to everyone else. Saori could only bury her face in Rin's neck and shoulder, her soft sobs filling the room with light.

"Ms. Shiina..."

"It doesn't matter."

The soldier beside her was about to go up to protect Shiina Rin's safety, but was stopped by Efnir who reached out to stop him.

"Miss Efnir?"

"Let them be alone for a while, just a little while. Let's just be bystanders."

"This..."

"It's okay, I'm here."

Yes! Yes!

The soldier saluted nervously at Efnir and immediately stepped back to stand guard.

"This is Efnir, can you hear me?"

Silently watching the two girls, Efnir dialed a communication button.

If the intelligence obtained is accurate, removing the "Lily" link would immediately cause the Apostle's plan to fail.

So now two problems remain.

The enemy lurking within the "Defense Line," and the "Angel" waiting menacingly outside the "Defense Line."

Garrison District Command Center

"Although I had suspected it for a while... I didn't expect you to actually come?"

Efnir sighed as she looked at the petite figure in front of her— Masaki Hina —who was sitting back in a large office chair with her legs crossed, fiddling with a dagger in her hand.

Masaki Hina seemed completely unconcerned about whether her short skirt would expose her to Efnir. From Efnir's angle, the black pistol and dagger above Masaki Hina's black over-the-knee stockings and under her skirt were clearly visible.

Although Masaki Hina looks like a high school student wearing a military uniform, one might mistake her actual age.

But in fact, Efnir knew that her current attire was Masaki Hina's "fully armed" disguise.

--No weapon can be seen from the outside, because Masaki Hina, as an "assassin," can easily achieve this level of disguise.

"Yes," Masaki Hina said with a smile, sitting up a little more upright. "Otherwise, who do you think interrogated the guy who spilled the information?"

"Where's headquarters? You brought so many people out here, are you just going to ignore what's happening at headquarters?"

"Don't worry, right now, apart from you and Fushihara Ayaka, not many people know I'm here. If anyone makes any rash moves at this time, they'll be arrested immediately—I'm prepared for that."

Masaki Hina spoke with confidence, and it seemed she had indeed made ample preparations.

"Honestly... you and Ayaka are both like that. You're clearly commanders, yet you insist on coming out on your own. What were you thinking?"

117. Intelligence

"You know that it's impossible to maintain timely intelligence transmission from the rear, right?" Masaki Hina said dismissively. "Besides, your agents deal with the Corruption, while we and the Special Disaster Division deal with the people. That's normal, isn't it?"

"If something were to happen to you, both organizations would be thrown into chaos..."

Efnir sighed.

"So, what information do you have about 'Angel'?"

Come over here.

Masaki Hina got up and led Efnir to another room.

"Speaking of which, I haven't seen your sister. I was hoping to talk to her myself."

"The extermination of the Erosion Entity is complete, right? This isn't within the agent's responsibilities, so I've sent her back to Fushihara Ayaka to await further orders."

"After today, will you continue to keep her by your side? I mean 'Ephnel'."

Efnir's gaze flickered slightly as Saori and Rin's figures flashed past her.