To humanity, it was nothing short of a catastrophe.

A battle upon which the survival of mankind hinged.

However, intervention was strictly forbidden.

It was like a page straight out of myth.

“The decision to kill you has already been rendered by the will of the heavens. The verdict is death.”

“Haha, never mind that—why don’t we just have a little chat?＾＾”

The angel and Zero faced off.

Multiple powers intertwined as the angel commanded a living storm, cloaked in the four elements.

In contrast, Zero stirred up a violet wind of magic, turning the rubble around them into a colossal tornado.

“There’s no room for games with you. I’ll be going all out from the start.”

“I’m giving it my all too＾＾”

Both raised their arms simultaneously—power clashed against power.

Mizuhi could barely stay on her feet as magical wind howled around her.

“……T-This is the power of Sorciera.”

“Too dangerous~ better hide now~”

A voice came from below.

Looking down, Mizuhi saw Tatari poking her face out from her shadow.

“Fighting something like that? You’d need at least four people. So! Let’s gather intel from the safety zone~”

A hand stretched from the shadow, grabbing Mizuhi’s ankle.

“Huh?”

It looked like something out of a horror film—Mizuhi cried out in confusion just as she was pulled into her own shadow.

The shadow moved independently, vanishing into the rubble.

Moments later, a silver blast streaked past where Mizuhi had just been, with the angel narrowly dodging it.

“Tch, interference after all…! Humanity’s mimicked something troublesome!”

“I’m flattered! …Ah, it’s dangerous over there, so do be careful.”

“Ah!”

A magic circle unfolded in front of the dodging angel.

It was a convergence spell trap that Zero had set up amidst the bombardment.

“This place is overflowing with magic. I’d be a fool not to use it.”

Zero’s visible supply of magic was dwindling.

But the excess magic from the battle between two S-Ranks and the angel was more than enough to compensate.

“If you’re that lively, we won’t be able to talk properly. Allow me to rough you up a bit.”

“Don’t act high and mighty…! Don’t think you can keep looking down on me!”

The angel charged straight into the convergence spell’s magic circle.

Wings flared with acceleration, iron-hardening, and lightning powers—destroying the circle before it could activate.

Then, rising at a sharp angle, the angel launched a surprise attack from directly below Zero.

“Whoa there.”

A defensive array wrapped in interference caught the angel.

But within seconds, it cracked and shattered.

“You think that would stop me!?”

Wings shimmered—an ability activated.

The angel, once beneath Zero, now appeared behind them in the blink of an eye.

Using the act of breaking the barrier as a feint—then teleporting for a rear assault.

“Quite the dirty tactic…!”

Zero reacted by swinging their scythe backward.

But the blade froze midair, sealed in ice that had formed out of nothing.

“Tch.”

“The tables have turned. You’re just a cheap knockoff of an angel. No way you can win…!”

The wings shone once more.

Magic circles surrounded Zero—abilities activated in unison.

Gravity crushed Zero, wind flayed their skin.

Flames scorched, lightning paralyzed to the core, and ice froze their limbs—

It was a barrage of hundreds—an execution chamber crafted from the Starreader’s Staff by the angel.

“W-What is this…!?”

“Even your interference can’t handle this many abilities at once. That’s your weakness. Kneel before my superior intellect.”

The wings glowed even brighter.

The cage of powers intensified its assault.

“Guh—!”

Zero’s face twisted in pain—then they were engulfed by a violent explosion.

The magic, reaching critical mass, detonated as if to finish the job.

It was a magical blast on par with a convergence bombardment.

And the angel’s strongest destructive move currently available.

“…That makes one down.”

Surviving that attack was a 0% probability.

The angel concluded as such.

“This time for sure, I’ll prune humanity.”

Wings spread wide, turning to seek the two S-Ranks.

That was when—

“――So this is where devotion leads.”

“!?”

The angel spun around in alarm.

At the same moment, thorny vines shot out from the black smoke.

“What is this…!?”

The angel instinctively sensed that they must not be touched.

Teleportation was immediately used to gain distance.

No trace of composure remained on their face.

“What is that!? It’s not in my data!”

The vines grazed where the angel had just stood and receded into the smoke.

Then, Zero emerged from the haze.

Now clad in a crimson dress.

“I call it Erosion Form.”

Zero said, playing with a vine in hand.

Vines sprouted from skirt hems, cuffs, collar, even magic circles.

A queen of thorns—that was what they now resembled.

“…Still had a trump card, huh.”

“Hahaha, surprised by something like this? Not very impressive, angel. But don’t worry—this time, I won’t be distracted. I’ll face you properly.”

“Distracted…!?”

The angel’s eyes widened.

If Zero’s words were true, then they’d only been half-serious up to now.

“Ridiculous—what nonsense are you babbling about? ‘Holding hands and going for a walk… how cute＾＾’—what!? What are you even talking about!?”

Those eyes were certainly looking at the angel.

But clearly, they were seeing something else.

“It was so adorable I ended up screaming. Ah, what an embarrassing scene I showed you. From here on, I’ll go home and enjoy it slowly—with my partner, complete with commentary. Hahahaha, magnificent! I am fulfilled!”

“You’re breaking protocol…!?”

“This overflowing devotion, this love. My circuits are burning, calculations are failing—this is… yes, this is what we call going ‘beyond the limit’.”

The vines trembled, stretching as if reflecting Zero’s emotions.

The angel responded with fire and lightning.

But the attacks dispersed harmlessly upon contact.

The vines continued to spread as if nothing had happened.

“Angel, to me, this isn’t a final battle.”

At the heart of the thorn-covered world, Zero smiled brightly.

“――It’s evangelism.”

“…………Huh?”

For a moment, the angel was stunned.

But upon sensing the vines creeping closer, they acted without hesitation.

“Must be ability nullification! Then if I strike the real body without touching the vines—”

“You think that’s possible? Against me now?”

“!?”

The angel had indeed used teleportation.

And yet—why did Zero’s voice come from right behind?

“Tch.”

“Too slow.”

By the time they tried to strike, it was already too late.

Vines wrapped around arms and legs, pinning the angel midair.

As if a condemned criminal awaiting execution.

“You’re clever. That’s why I knew if you teleported, you’d pick the optimal destination. That made it easy to predict.”

“D-Damn you… I’ll kill you! I swear!”

Even while bound, the angel’s wings glowed.

But before the ability could activate, vines coiled around the wings and snapped them.

“Gaah!?”

Wings broken, powers sealed—there was nothing the angel could do.

All they could manage was to glare through the visor.

“Now then, time for evangelism.”

“Evangelism…!?”

“Exactly. If you were a beautiful girl, my partner would get mad. But you’re evil, a man, and humanity’s enemy—perfect. No better outlet for my feelings＾＾”

Zero beamed.

Then vines enclosed them both.

A spherical space formed by the thorny vines.

“Now then.”

Inside the prison of thorns, Zero approached the angel.

Slowly reaching out to grasp their visor.

“W-What are you doing…!”

“According to Chitchi-Rokumu＠Currently Not Accepting Requests, a person pushed beyond their limit naturally turns to evangelism.”

“What are you even talking about!?”

Ignoring the angel’s scream, Zero continued.

“Therefore, I shall now bestow grace upon you. Burn into your circuits the most sacred and beautiful being in this world.”

“I don’t understand a word—gah!?”

The angel’s cognition faltered.

It felt as if their brain had shorted—vision flickering wildly.

And then—

“W-What is this!? The data—it’s overflowing with incomprehensible data, a-aahhhhh!”

What poured into the angel’s mind was the concept some call “beautiful girl.”

In other words, a direct emotional assault from Zero’s overwhelming feelings.

“Feel it with your heart. That is a beautiful girl. You allied with humans to gain strength, yes? The answer is right here.”

Zero let go.

The angel writhed under the onslaught of incomprehensible data.

Watching them, Zero sat on a chair of thorns.

“Quite the shock, isn’t it? That’s the wall between you and me.”

“W-What nonsense are you… guh, ugh!”

The angel’s norms, their knowledge—were being eroded.

It was a torment they had never known—yet also, a kind of pleasure.

(This is dangerous…! If left unchecked, this being will wreck everything! I must stop them, or—)

『What’s so dangerous~?』

“……Huh?”

Through the visor’s projection appeared a small girl.

She toddled up to the angel.

That wasn’t the only change.

Before they knew it, the angel stood atop a hill.

The distant ocean glistened under the sun.

Under a blue sky, the breeze caressed the grass gently.

Only the angel and the girl existed in this world.

『Why do you look so sad? Are you okay?』

“……A, ah”

She was a well-featured girl with silver-blue hair.

Perhaps a child version of Zero.

The angel realized this was an attack by Zero.

But—

(……What’s dangerous about this?)

The angel had no idea how to counter such an assault.

『Hey, hey』

The young girl beamed and held out her tiny hand.

Then said—

『Let’s play! Play with me! You’ll be it first, Angel-san!』

“A-Ah”

The girl in the white dress ran off, wind in her hair.

Watching her, the angel smiled—then naturally gave chase.

“Hey now, I’m gonna catch you!”

『Kyaa! Ahaha!』

The angel could’ve caught her anytime—but let her slip away again and again.

Because it made them happy.

How much time passed?

The angel, stretching their cognition to the limit, experienced a moment that felt eternal.

They played with the girl.

They shared meals.

They slept side by side.

The girl was always at their side.

And it filled the angel’s heart.

Already, memories of her were carved into their mind.

“This feeling… this is—”

“――Yes. That is the radiance of a beautiful girl.”

Turning around, Zero stood atop the hill.

Beside them, the girl clung happily to their leg.

The angel saw it—and truly felt envy.

Even if this world was a fabrication, even if everything was fake—by now, the angel had come to adore the girl.

“Don’t you want to know—what lies beyond this feeling?”

“……T-There’s more?”

Zero nodded quietly.

Seeing that, the angel understood—and smiled peacefully.

“Ah—this is my defeat.”

The third battle with the angel.

It came to a gentle end—bathed in the smile of a beautiful girl.