Gatou Touraku stared blankly at the spot where Sorciera had vanished.

“Tch… We couldn’t do anything…!”

Agiri Rinka muttered bitterly, and Touraku nodded in agreement.

(At the end… Kei-nee was trembling.)

Kei had trembled slightly after Zero whispered something to her. Yet, she remained composed, not letting a single emotion show as she walked away—as if it were the only way things could be.

“Kei-nee…!”

The helplessness of only being able to call her name made Touraku hate himself even more.

Just then, the white great sword in his grip transformed back into a girl’s form.

“Touraku, are you okay?”
“I’m fine… We are.”

Yes, Touraku and the others were unharmed. The only one truly wounded here was the girl fighting as Sorciera—Narou Kei.

“She was crying… And she told me not to come closer. That if I did, I’d die.”

Rinka’s words stirred a directionless rage within Touraku. The fact that they had been powerless only fueled his frustration.

“Kei-nee wasn’t herself, either. I’ve never seen her care so much about a human before. She could’ve taken over that body anytime, but she deliberately chose not to.”
“…I see.”

It meant that Kei, who should have been the master, was effectively under Zero’s control.

“Does she always go through that…?”
“…I don’t know.”

It was a scene he didn’t even want to imagine. A girl who fought alone in the shadows to save others—yet no one was there to save her.

Touraku couldn’t accept such a bleak world.

“…Let’s go, Rinka. We got what we came for. There’s nothing left for us here.”
“Touraku?”

Rinka, sensitive to shifts in emotion, immediately noticed the change in him.

Unlike his usual calm self, anger radiated from him.

“I have to get stronger. And I have to save her.”
“…Yeah.”

Though his words were emotional, Rinka agreed wholeheartedly—because she felt the same.

“Lutra, how long could we fight that thing in Star-Slash form?”
“…Not sure. But the chance isn’t zero.”
“I see. Thanks.”

With that, Touraku turned and walked away.

In his mind echoed the words Kei had once thrown at him:

『If I asked you to kill me… would you do it?』

Even if that was her idea of salvation—even if it was her only path to relief—

(I’ll save her… no matter what! With my own hands…!)

He didn’t even notice the blood seeping from his clenched fist.

■

One night, the Professor visited a certain district.

It was a gathering place for misfits—those expelled from Kisou Academy for misconduct or other reasons. The den of outcasts, colloquially known as Arachne.

“It’s been a while, but this place is worse than I remembered.”

The well-dressed, affluent middle-aged man stood out conspicuously here.

Makeshift living spaces piled atop one another, stalls lined with stolen goods. What was once a business district now resembled a haphazard sculpture built by children.

“Gathering the defective in one place… The Chairman really does have a nasty personality.”

This district was an unacknowledged, back-alley sector of the academy city—a dumping ground for those who fell through the cracks or were too inconvenient to keep around.

Some students could graduate without ever learning of its existence.

So what happened when a man who looked exactly like the kind of outsider who didn’t belong here stepped into this underworld?

The answer stood before him.

“—Man, there’s always some peace-drunk idiot, huh?”

A young man appeared in front of the Professor.

Where there had been no signs of life moments ago, a group of boys and girls now surrounded him, their eyes gleaming like hungry beasts eyeing prey.

“Bad news, old man. This ain’t the kinda place you stroll into. Hand over everything you got, and maybe we’ll let you keep your life.”

The blond-haired youth, his eyes hidden under his bangs, threw a knife at the Professor’s feet.

For an explorer, embedding a knife into asphalt was child’s play.

A crude but effective threat.

“Such lively children.”

The Professor picked up the knife, took out a handkerchief, and began wiping it clean.

Casually, he spoke.

“I’d like to meet this area’s leader.”
“…What, this some kinda charity thing? ‘Even you rejects deserve a chance’ or some crap?”
“And if it were?”

The instant he replied, a knife buried itself in the Professor’s shoulder.

Laughter and jeers erupted from the onlookers.

“That’s what happens. Everyone else who came here either got killed or stripped naked and ran off. Old man, the rules out there don’t mean shit here.”
“So it seems.”

Unfazed, the Professor pulled out the knife and started cleaning it, too.

The youth, unimpressed, signaled something behind him.

“Let’s just take him hostage and squeeze some cash outta him.”
“Hah! Sounds good!”

Suddenly, a hulking young man appeared behind the Professor, gripping an illegally modified great sword forged from dive gear.

“Losing a leg or two won’t kill ya. You people have too much to spare anyway.”

The Professor didn’t turn around.

Whether mistaking his calm for fear, the attacker swung the great sword down toward his legs—

Only for a massive black scythe to intercept it mid-air.

“—Sorry, Professor. I’m late.”
“No matter. You have your own youth to enjoy.”

A girl in a black coat emerged from a magic circle beside him.

Effortlessly holding back the great sword, she closed the distance faster than the attacker could react and kicked him away.

The youth crashed through multiple walls before finally stopping embedded in the fourth building. He showed no signs of getting up.

“Don’t overdo it, Nameless.”
“Eh, I’ve got some pent-up frustration. Got dragged into that stupid territory war, everyone’s way too fired up—total pain.”
“You seem to be enjoying yourself, though.”
“Does it really look that way?”

Nameless shrugged, then casually caught a knife thrown from outside her vision.

With a smirk, she retaliated by deploying an artillery array.

“You rejects really have no idea who you’re messing with, huh?”
“Tch, this bitch—”
“Boom.”

A lower-powered blast than what she’d used against Sorciera—but still far beyond what an average explorer could handle.

For these outcasts, it was hopeless.

“…Agh…”
“Oops, overdid it. My bad—didn’t realize you were this weak. Been fighting nothing but monsters lately.”

Nameless approached the scorched youth and enveloped his body in flames, erasing the very concept of his wounds.

The others, who had been preparing to attack, froze at the sight.

Even these outcasts understood now—just how far above them Nameless stood.

“Alright, Professor, go ahead and continue. If anyone else acts up, I’ll crush ’em.”
“Hmm. I’d hoped you youngsters could resolve things peacefully, but I suppose this works too.”

With a gentle smile, the Professor knelt before the blond youth and handed him the now-clean knife.

Then, he asked:

“Tell me… wouldn’t you like to crush Mikage Academy and Kisou Academy?”