For the angel, it was an unforeseen event.

The Six Calamities, and the final disaster that follows.

They are trials given to humanity, something to be overcome through suffering, conflict, and hardship as a species.

But what of the current situation?

The First Angel and Second Angel had both been killed by separate visitors.

Unthinkably, humanity had already developed countermeasures to Ruin.

They had made the supernatural power of dungeons their own.

Thus, three individuals stood against the Third Angel.

To oppose the electronic turtle capable of killing the entire planet, humanity dispatched only that.

“This is… slightly unexpected.”

One of the buildings in the Central City.

At the top floor, the man muttered.

No—he had once been a man, but now was merely a vessel for the angel.

A large visor was affixed to his face, with numerous cables extending from it to the giant monitor behind him.

The angel’s true body swam leisurely inside that monitor.

“Are humans so vastly different in strength? I had believed that numbers were their advantage.”

The angel murmured this.

The next moment, the man’s body shook, and his mouth opened violently.

“Hey, what the hell is going on?! You said even S-Ranks could be easily killed, that’s why I agreed to the contract… but right now, I can’t even imagine winning!”

The man regretted his decision.

A few days ago, the thing that suddenly appeared before him was a monstrous being calling itself an angel.

Believing the promise that helping it would grant him a king’s throne, he handed over both his organization and his body to the angel—but the current situation was abysmal.

The damage far exceeded expectations. He couldn’t even move the board of directors, and just three S-Ranks had brought his side to the brink of annihilation.

“…Gamma was killed by the Starreader’s Staff over thirty minutes ago. Beta is currently fighting two other S-Ranks, but the odds of victory are slim. That leaves only Alpha—my vessel—you.”

“I’m gonna die at this rate too! Damn it! I’ll be dead before I even get the chance to drive Academy City mad!”

The man’s visor displayed numerous data streams provided by the angel’s authority.

But all of them pointed to his defeat.

“Damn it! What the hell is this?! With Hyououdou Rei’s ability, weren’t we supposed to neutralize all the other explorers?!”

The man slammed his fist into the monitor.

The angel swam about on the screen as if it didn’t care in the slightest.

“Hey! Give me more power! This isn’t some S-Rank cosplay! Give me real strength! Angels are supposed to be incredible, right?!”

“Naturally. But the Starreader’s Staff takes priority now. That being is not meant to intervene in humanity’s pruning. Thus, I have an obligation to use my existence, if necessary, to destroy it.”

“…Hey, what the hell? You sound like you’re about to kill yourself!”

“Partially correct. We are the Six Calamities that appear. I alone do not need to lead humanity to Ruin. Thus, it is my mission to destroy the Starreader’s Staff.”

“You gotta be kidding me! I don’t give a damn about Ruin or missions! That’s got nothing to do with me!”

A hand moved to the man’s mouth.

After a brief moment of contemplation, he sighed.

“The Starreader’s Staff gained power through a contract with a human. It easily killed the Second Angel. I thought I too could reach that level by contracting with a human… but it seems I was mistaken.”

“Shut the hell up! You just need to get stronger yourself!”

“This contract was meant to be between equals. Therefore, this incompetence is your fault, not mine.”

“What the hell!? If you’re an angel, you should’ve predicted this much, idiot! We’re only up against three damn S-Ranks!”

The man, half-crazed, kept pounding the monitor.

But his mouth moved with eerie calm.

“That classification is incorrect. Those three labeled S-Rank are each beings that have reached their level through unique approaches. Therefore, a single countermeasure can only kill one.”

Perhaps due to his anger being completely ignored, the man gave up and sighed.

Then he slumped into a chair, rubbed his fists, and threw his legs up onto the desk.

“At least let me survive… My organization is wiped out, and the units I lent Dive Gear to are all dead. Let me have one damn thing go my way.”

“If the Starreader’s Staff and its contractor can be eliminated, I will release you.”

“You keep spouting words I don’t even know…”

The flood of information in his mind made no sense to him.

But with his body hijacked, he had no options left.

“The setup on the contractor is complete. When the Second Angel was killed, the contractor was bathed in angelic blood. It now acts as a poison, likely spreading through their body.”

“…Hey, why the hell didn’t you tell me something that important?”

“I had already engraved that data into your brain. Refusing to comprehend it and instead lamenting your situation is one of the most foolish human behaviors.”

“You son of a…!”

The man clenched his fist, but slowly lowered it.

Indeed, there were memories in his head he couldn’t recall acquiring.

The plan to kill the Starreader’s Staff’s contractor with angelic poison had been etched into his brain in great detail.

“So I just wait for them to die from the poison?”

“Yes.”

“Then why the hell are we being pushed so far right now? Wouldn’t it be better to just hide and wait for the contractor to die?”

“That would not ensure the kill. The Starreader’s Staff seems to function independently using magic power from its contractor. Thus, a method to strike the core was needed.”

“Tell me that kind of thing beforehand…”

“I did engrave it in your brain.”

“I told you to quit doing that!”

The angel didn’t understand why the man was angry.

But it knew how to handle it.

This man was weak against overwhelming power.

Therefore, the angel retrieved something from its expanded domain.

“What is this?”

“A weapon designed to counter explorers, based on data from the infected. It can use all infected abilities.”

The man picked up the unusually ornate device—not your typical Dive Gear.

At that moment, more information was imprinted on his brain.

Just by touching it, he understood how to use it—and grinned.

“…Heh. Oh yeah. Now this is what I’m talking about!”

“I told you. One countermeasure per S-Rank. The number of abilities equals the number of effective tools.”

Explorers were arguably humanity’s greatest weapons.

No two were the same—and some, depending on how they were used, could even wipe out humanity.

“Humanity shall perish by its own strength.”

If all those were gathered into one, it would be the ultimate culmination of this world’s weapons.

“So I just use this to kill that Starreader’s Staff, huh…!”

“The Dive Gear given to Gamma and Beta were prototypes—disposable units for data collection. This is the completed model. Now begins the final test of this Dive Gear.”

Just as the angel said that, the room’s door was blown open by an explosion.

“If you’re my contractor, then overcome this trial. I’ve given you knowledge and weaponry.”

“…A test with two S-Ranks, huh.”

Through the rising black smoke, two girls emerged.

“So you’re the mastermind. Choose—die or surrender.”

“Ah, look, Mizuhi-chan! That’s the angel inside the monitor! It smells really nice. Let’s make stew out of it!”

“Don’t.”

Amidst the ridiculous conversation, Mizuhi tossed a man she had been carrying with one arm.

That was the one called Beta—granted Rei’s power.

“You wanna end up like this guy?”

“…Don’t wanna, so I guess I’ve got no choice but to fight!”

“I see. Then from here on, it’s a battle to the death.”

“This guy looks tasty too—”

Shadows squirmed. Flames danced.

The room’s temperature rapidly dropped, and the mixed glow of several abilities lit up the space.

Thus began the third clash between angel and humanity.

■

Meanwhile, at Fectom Academy—

Narou Kei, whose body was being eroded by the poison—

“Look over here~!”

“Peace!”

The sound of a shutter echoed through the room, capturing their innocent smiles and peace signs.

“Kyaaah! So cute!!”

“Hey, hey, Nameless, let’s put her in this maid outfit next!”

“The kigurumi pajamas first!” (Translator Note: animal onesies)

With eyes gleaming at the many outfits Nameless brought, Rinka and Clam were openly drooling with desire.

Kei sparkled as she looked at the cute clothes.

“Wow! So many cute outfits! Um, um, next I wanna wear this one!”

“””Okay! Then let’s put that on next!”””

Laughing and squealing, the four of them looked like they were having the time of their lives.

The Third Angel’s greatest miscalculation—

Was that the poison had been nullified by a ridiculous spell that turned her into a little girl.

And—

That the Starreader’s Staff had already become a monster far beyond what the angel had anticipated.