Sky Striker Princess, but the swan song of Valkyrie.

Wearing the bronze serpent armor, Chris muttered to herself as she listlessly sat back down in her still-warm seat.

"Ah, yeah, once this guy gets caught, everyone else will come back."

Thinking this, Yukine Chris glanced at Tachibana Hibiki, who was still trying to struggle but whose grip tightened the more she struggled. Realizing that she was definitely not going to break free, her attention became slightly distracted.

"Really, I don't need to worry at all. Everything is getting better, isn't it? Next, I'll do my own thing, fulfill my ideals, and then focus on investigating what exactly happened to Zero. Hmm."

For some reason, despite not being able to vent her emotions on Fusion Case 1 as she had hoped, Xueyin Chris still felt that her mood had improved.

After her mood improved, Chris found the previously unpleasant, empty basement to be more pleasing to the eye.

The smooth, steel-cast walls are pleasing to the eye, the snacks brought by the snacks on the table look delicious, and the indoor lighting is just right to maintain visibility.

"Guahoo, Future!"

The occasional roars of wild beasts added a touch of nature to this somewhat cold underground prison.

"...

"roar!!"

“!!?”

Wait, where did this wild animal come from in the basement?!

Hearing the sounds coming from her ear, the relaxed Xueyin Chris suddenly realized that something seemed wrong. Apart from her, the only other living thing in this basement was that Fusion Case 1.

Where did that eerie beastly sound come from?

Souyao

"Roar... Ooh----- Eee ...

Before Xueyin Chris could react, a violent whooshing sound, accompanied by an undeniable energy fluctuation, accompanied by a pitch-black human body rushing towards her at an incredible speed.

"What the hell are you?!"

Shocked and enraged, Yukine Chris unleashed the power of her complete relic, the Bronze Serpent Armor, and engaged in a fierce battle with Tachibana Hibiki, who was radiating a wild and destructive impulse.

P.S. I had a slight writer's block before.

P.S. Good evening.

Chapter 90 - Chapter 7 Changes

While the girl wielding snake armor battled the berserk girl, in another place, equally inaccessible to ordinary people, beneath the ground, in a space also blessed by damp air and biting cold, an event caused by a completely accidental encounter briefly troubled Zero.

"Hmph... I say, do you have some misunderstanding about your current situation, Hinata?"

Feeling the intense tightness coming from her hands, Lingyi sighed and turned her gaze to the girl who was holding her hand.

"So, are you really Zero?"

Kohinata Mirai asked again, but although it was a question, her tone was extremely certain.

Even though the environment was dim and she couldn't see clearly, the familiar voice, the long platinum blonde hair reaching her waist, and the black and red blade in her hand gradually overlapped with the figure in her memory to whom she always felt guilty.

"...Ah, yes, that's me. So what are you planning to do now, Hinata? How are you going to treat me, a terrorist who commands monsters like noise and threatens your friends with your life?"

Sensing the certainty in the other person's words, Rei readily admitted her identity, and then, in an emphasized tone, asked Kohinata Mirai, who was holding her hand, "What is your identity?"

"..."

Kohinata Mirai remained silent for a moment.

Under Lingyi's emphasis, the image of what the girl in front of her had just done flashed through her mind. From her perspective, although she didn't know the specific reasons, it was clear from the surface that it was an evil act.

[Zero, have you really become a bad person? A bad person like those others... because of me?]

After understanding it, such sorrowful thoughts, mixed with unspeakable memories, appeared in the mind of this intelligent young woman.

As this mixture of emotions and memories swelled in his heart, Kohinata Mirai's expression grew increasingly sorrowful.

"Hmm, it seems you've figured it out. The person you remember who would waste energy doing meaningless things no longer exists. Now, all that's here are villains who will commit evil deeds without a second thought for their own desires."

Looking at Kohinata Mirai, who was silent and had a sad expression, Zero felt that she understood the current situation to some extent and realized that the only right solution was to submit to her and beg for mercy. She then pressed on and stated the facts.

"Now that you know this, let me go, otherwise I can't guarantee your safety."

Finally, feeling that she had done enough, Lingyi said this in a cold, emotionless tone, and prepared to withdraw her hand to do her own work.

"...No, I don't want to."

However, Kohinata Mirai did not do as Rei said after hearing her words.

"If you're going to do something awful, I absolutely cannot let you go."

She simply raised her head, speaking as she gazed at the familiar yet unfamiliar girl before her with her already moist, blue-green eyes.

"....…ha?"

Feeling the even stronger, tighter grip on her hand than before, as if it were trying to hold her tightly, Lingyi felt her head start to ache again.

"Hey, you don't think I won't kill you, do you, Hinata?"

With a calm and indifferent tone, Lingyi emphasized this again, raising the black and red blade in her other hand as a threat, and while threatening, she used a little force to try to pull her hand out again.

"That doesn't matter."

Then, amidst Kohinata Mirai's words, Rei failed again because her fingers were tightly bound by the other person's hands, making it impossible for her to pull them out without injuring the other person.

[The old Rei hated these kinds of terrible things so much, but because of me, she suffered so much pain and left me.]

Kohinata Mirai recalled her first encounter with the other person and their final parting.

So it must be because of me that Lingyi has become the unfamiliar person she is now, and now, it is also because of me that my friend has to sacrifice herself.

Then, this idea occupied Kohinata Mirai's mind for a short time.

I don't understand. These are all very important things, so why do I always cause these precious things to be lost one after another... No matter what, I don't want to lose anything else, even if the price is my life.

Sadness welled up in Kohinata Mirai's heart as she looked at the girl in front of her with gentle but firm eyes.

"It's all because of me that Rei did such a thing. So, even if I die, I don't want to lose Hibiki, and I don't want Rei to continue making mistakes."

Kohinata Mirai said this: "Rather than being soft, it is strong."

At this moment, guilt and sadness, determination and fearlessness—countless complex and rich emotions flowed through the black-haired girl's heart.

Under such emotional turmoil, Kohinata Mirai's feather-light body now felt like a heavy chain, dragging Rei's steps.

[This is terrible, how am I supposed to get out of here?]

Seeing Kohinata Mirai's fearless attitude, Zero felt a little annoyed.

She said she hated people who were fearless and unafraid of death because it meant that conventional threats were ineffective.

Should we threaten her life to make her let go, like getting noise near her?

Lingyi thought that, after all, most people who are fearless in the face of death are not without fear of it.

No, that won't do. What if she really doesn't give in at all? I can't possibly kill her over something like that; that would be incredibly disgusting.

However, Lingyi soon abandoned this highly uncertain method.

Ah, how come I never realized Hinata was such a troublesome guy before...?

Looking at the determined girl in front of her, Lingyi felt helpless but showed no emotion on her face.

[Phew, anyway, let's try to get by with acting for now.]

In the end, Lingyi chose the safest method: to escape in a reasonable manner while keeping herself from revealing any flaws.

Thinking of this, Lingyi stared at the girl in front of her for a moment, her face showing disgust.

"You are disgusting. Even if I kill a brainless creature like you who doesn't even care about his own life, it will only leave my Flash Blade stained with something that is hard to clean."

With a tone filled with intense disgust, Lingyi said this, and at the same time put down the flashing sword in her hand.

"Oh, Lingyi, what's this?"

Looking at Rei, who was showing her an expression she had never seen before, Kohinata Mirai's thoughts briefly came to a standstill.

[Image: Me performing Su Nuo ritual?]

P.S. Good evening.

Chapter Ninety-Eight: Seeing Through?

Kohinata Mirai was confused.

She originally thought that no matter how Lingyi reacted, she would be mentally prepared, and she wouldn't be surprised even if it really meant taking her life.

But now, for some reason, the other party's reaction made her feel a very strong sense of unease.

"Life should be lived well in order to prolong itself. A creature that does not cherish its own life is an impurity that violates normal rules and order, and you are such a repulsive impurity."

"It's disgusting, it makes me feel terrible. Wasting time on worthless junk is like wasting my life."

"Ah, what a joke. Even just looking at it makes me feel like my existence is being devalued. How could something like that appear before me and pollute my existence?"

"You must disappear from my sight, and when we get back, I'll have to eradicate this hand three times!"

A slightly exaggerated way of speaking, a disdain for oneself conveyed in one's words, and an arrogant air of superiority—this is all that Rei is currently showing to Hinata Mirai.

[This is so jarring, so incredibly jarring! It's like one of those incomprehensible anime plays that Yumi and the others used to perform in their club.]

As for what Zero did, Kohinata Mirai's assessment was that she successfully diverted her attention from her unspeakable sadness.

"Armed request, Black Widow, take anchor. Feel honored, you inferior creature. For a boring impurity like you, I must expend my precious weapons. You should know that the weapons used to touch you are not even worth recycling."

Then, maintaining an incongruously arrogant and disgusted attitude, Rei said this while opening something like a portal emitting white light that Kohinata had seen before, right beside her.

[What on earth is going on? Arrogance is something that just doesn't suit you, Rei. This feeling is as incongruous as Hibiki only eating a small bowl of rice per meal.]

Looking at the exaggerated performance of the platinum-blonde girl in front of him, Kohinata Mirai, well, although still harboring doubts, had her attention completely diverted by the girl's words and actions.

"Ha, you inferior creature, you should reflect on your behavior here. If you can come up with some commendable insights from your reflection, then it won't be a waste of my precious weapon."

As Lingyi spoke, a jet-black metal grappling hook shot out from the battle sword machine beside her, firmly gripping Kohinata Mirai's body.

"Sigh... um, um."

Then, amidst Kohinata Mirai's confusion, she felt a slight electric shock, which caused her body to spasm briefly.

"Just stay here. Later we'll have to throw trash like you into the recycling center. Letting you stay here is just polluting the environment."

After a brief spasm, thanks to her slightly stronger protection against electric current, Rei finally managed to pull her hand away from Kohinata Mirai and restrict the movements of the girl who had caused her so much trouble.

After Rei took such action, Kohinata Mirai's doubts deepened. She vaguely sensed that there seemed to be something wrong with her previous thinking.

Before she could figure out where she went wrong, Lingyi had already quickly walked away in a certain direction, as if she were getting rid of trash.

[Phew, that should make sense, right? Maintaining my image while smoothing over the awkward situation from earlier, that should work... right?]

Having escaped Kohinata Mirai's gaze, Rei thought to herself, her expression returning to its usual calm and indifference.

[Hmm, no, thinking about it carefully, my performance just now seemed a bit over the top, and I even seemed to have revealed a little bit of my true emotions... Oh well, let's just say that my personality has changed a bit after not seeing each other for several years, that should make sense.]

Without stopping, Lingyi steadily walked towards her destination, thinking to herself.

She has never been particularly good at acting.

She can perfectly imitate someone when the need is clear, but when the need is an abstract feeling, she always has a hard time controlling the degree because of the lack of corresponding reference. Sometimes she will even inadvertently deviate from the movies or anime she has watched in the past.

Ah, never mind, as long as this is plausible, that's fine. More important than that is recycling the waste generated from this operation.

Lingyi shook her head, thinking to herself.

Before the results are in, no amount of reflection can reveal the problems with things that have already been done. It is more important to do the actual work well than to do such meaningless things.

As Lingyi finished her contemplation, she arrived at her recycling work site, a pile of miscellaneous items that had been neatly stacked in advance.

"First, collect the daily necessities from the past few days. Then, use the Staff of Solomon to collect the noise on the ground and underground. Hmm, let's begin."

With this in mind, Lingyi opened the portal of the battle knife machine and began to methodically put the items from the pile of junk into the portal one by one, while setting the Staff of Solomon aside for later use.

On the other side, Kohinata Mirai, who was anchored and tied to the cold muddy ground, watched Zero's figure disappear into the darkness, but her heart was filled with questions and thoughts.

Has Lingyi really turned into a bad person?

Originally, Kohinata Mirai shouldn't have had such a question.

When Zero fought Tachibana Hibiki, her cold and ruthless attitude, as well as her act of threatening Tachibana Hibiki with her own life, was undoubtedly an evil deed.

However, the Lingyi I know is not the kind of person who would willingly commit evil. On the contrary, she often feels a strong aversion and disgust towards ordinary evil deeds.

Kohinata Mirai tries to recall a powerful girl she knew in the past, a girl whose actions could be described as a partner of justice.