To Terukami Mizuhi, this territorial war had been nothing short of anticlimactic.

The irregularity that was the angels, the Kisou Academy Disciplinary Committee—when all was said and done, it ended surprisingly easily.

And so, Mizuhi listened to the territorial war’s ending buzzer with a somewhat dissatisfied look.

The core of the dungeon deployed by Kisou Academy was already in Mizuhi’s hands.

With barely a battle worthy of being called offense or defense, Mizuhi had already seized the core.

“…So this is the end? I heard there might be a chance to fight an S-rank…”

She incinerated countless angels, took on nearly the entire Disciplinary Committee by herself, and remained undefeated.

A complete solo suppression.

This was precisely what defined an S-rank.

Though technically, there were two companions who followed her, so it wasn’t a complete solo mission.

“Ah—! It’s over! Did we win?!”

“Huff… huff… wheeze…”

Hikari bounced around energetically without a hint of fatigue, while Toa leaned on her heavy cannon, pale-faced, trying to catch her breath.

These two were also important members of the dungeon assault team in the territorial war.

“D-Don’t just start running like that…”

“You’re really hopeless. You disappeared several times during the fight too… Maybe you should work on your stamina?”

“Why are you expecting a sniper to have the same physical capabilities as a frontliner…?”

Grabbing Toa’s trembling shoulders, Mizuhi smiled brightly and said very seriously, “Let’s go for a run together sometime.”

“Hi—hieeeee!”

“Ah, I want to run too! …So, where are we doing the thing where the winning team splashes alcohol?!”

“We’re minors, so that’s not happening.”

“No way!?”

Toa and Hikari both slumped down, albeit for different reasons.

Seeing that, Mizuhi felt just a bit concerned about the future of Fectom Academy.

At any rate, the territorial war was over.

■

The Silver Twilight headquarters had been devastated beyond recognition.

Everywhere was frozen and destroyed, rubble scattered all around.

At the center of this scene, like the aftermath of a massive storm, the Professor sipped tea with a smile that suggested he was enjoying it all.

“Mmm, delicious. Doctor, these tea leaves are quite the find.”

“Is that so… No, I’ll pass.”

Without even looking at the Professor, the Doctor replied curtly.

Perhaps used to the response, the Professor let it go and took another sip.

“Was it really okay to hand one of the angels over to the board?”

The Doctor asked without pausing his work.

“It’s fine. Being able to mass-produce angels is interesting, sure, but they’re just grunts. Nowhere near S-rank. They couldn’t even take out an A-rank or an injured Sorciera.”

The Professor had watched the territorial war.

Not because he expected to gain something from it.

This battle had unfolded entirely within the Professor’s expectations.

“Joe was soundly defeated, and Mikage Academy claimed victory. They even took down the angel without issue. …Yeah, people in this world are impressively strong.”

As if he’d just watched a show, the Professor made his assessment.

To him, this was only the prelude.

His real objective lay elsewhere.

He gazed at the giant alabaster serpent coiled before him and finished his tea.

“And now we’ve captured the real target, the Cherubim Angel Seraphim. Even Sorciera didn’t realize we used the Archangel as bait.”

Sorciera’s actions had been predictable.

Fighting alone in the name of justice, she would certainly come to hunt the Archangel.

He had banked on it—she couldn’t ignore it.

“Using even the Six Calamities in the plan… Nameless really is something else. I envy the creativity of the young.”

“I was against it. We let the Archangel fall into Sorciera’s hands. And that angel is rooted in death. If we dissect the principle behind it, we might actually overcome death itself.”

The Doctor pouted as he spoke, clearly still unconvinced.

“Ha ha ha ha. But thanks to that, we’ve got the Cherubim Angel. Outsmarting The Chairman was a pain, but it worked out. Now we just need to awaken Trim…”

Saying so, the Professor turned his gaze to the Doctor.

The Doctor knelt before the throne, operating numerous consoles.

Wires extended from the throne in every direction, at the center of which lay a frozen girl.

“We killed Hyououdou Rei. That should’ve undone her power, but for some reason, she’s still frozen.”

“I see.”

Scratching his head, the Doctor sighed, and the Professor voiced his understanding.

Then, the Professor stood and walked.

Ahead was the body of Hyououdou Rei, pinned to the wall.

Her clothes were in tatters, blood oozing from countless wounds, flesh torn.

Her pained appearance made the intensity of the battle clear.

“Hmm…”

The Professor stared at Rei.

Then, without hesitation, he plunged his hand into her chest.

“—Gah!?”

“Ah, so you were alive after all. Tough as expected of an S-rank.”

With a gentle smile, he yanked out her heart.

Before Rei could react, he summoned a magic circle into his palm.

“Die with dignity.”

A focused blast, imbued with a level of magic power unthinkable for an impromptu spell, was unleashed.

It engulfed Rei’s unguarded body instantly.

“That should do it. She’s dead now, so her ability should be undone.”

Glancing at Rei’s smoldering, misshapen corpse, the Doctor winced.

After fiddling with the console a few times, he muttered awkwardly.

“Cleared. …Sorry. I didn’t think she’d still be alive after all that.”

“It’s fine. Geniuses overlook things sometimes. I even thought I was joking, but S-ranks really are terrifying.”

Saying this, the Professor picked up Rei’s corpse and summoned a teleportation circle.

“What are you going to do with that?”

“Clean-up. If Trim is waking up, I don’t want any mess lying around. The angel’s nest isn’t closed yet, so I’ll toss it in there.”

“Mimicking Nameless again… I’d prefer to make use of the body. Maybe clone an S-rank while we’re at it.”

Looking at the Doctor, who was clearly asking for the corpse, the Professor smiled helplessly.

“Ha ha ha ha. Direct that curiosity toward Trim. We don’t have time for distractions like S-rank clones.”

With that, he threw Rei’s corpse into the teleportation circle.

Then he pulled out a handkerchief and carefully wiped his hands.

“Besides, cloning S-ranks is already being done by that scholar. Let her handle it.”

“That failed excuse for a Doctor… I don’t like her. She has no class.”

Snorting, the Doctor resumed his work in silence.

Seeing this, the Professor, having nothing better to do, sat back down and poured more tea.

“Nameless is probably at their victory party by now… Guess this old man will have a lonely little tea party.”

“If you’ve got time for that, help clean up this place. It’s a wreck.”

“After I finish this cup.”

With elegant movements, the Professor sipped his tea.

It looked like it would take him quite a while to finish.

The corpse of Hyououdou Rei, thrown by the Professor, fell into the red world.

No one caught her—she just dropped, landing with a dull thud.

In that instant, her body shattered completely.

A single girl met perfect death.

An irreversible, complete death.

And that was precisely the activation condition of the holy relic.

A jewel flew out of the expansion domain, landing at the center of what had once been Rei.

The jewel began to shine more and more—.