Epilogue B: The Festival Ends

A girl walked down a corridor that was somehow mechanical in nature. Behind thick concrete walls, humanoid creatures sat in isolation cells, each one drained of life. The chambers for containing humanoid entities.

"Ah, there she is."

Inside one of the chambers sat a girl — tall, with tattered scarlet wings.

"Yoohoo, Caitlin-chan."

"...What are you doing here? President Amelia."

Inside a cell made of special anti-Anti-Reality concrete, Caitlin stared at Amelia.

"I came to say 'told you so.'"

Caitlin laughed at Amelia's same-as-always joke.

"Caitlin-chan. Best case scenario, you're looking at 400 years of imprisonment. There's no proper way to handle someone with a Half-Wing as powerful as yours. You'll be forced to eke out a bare existence in this tiny cage. Even when your natural lifespan runs out, they'll transplant you into a mechanical body — and they won't care one bit if your self-identity collapses. You'll be locked away for every last one of those 400 years."

"Yes. I wouldn't have it any other way. ...What about Alex and the others?"

"According to your communication records, they were just following orders under the brainwashing techniques of Los Devotos del Silencio Eterno. Or something like that? They'll have to go through a rehabilitation program and be monitored, but no charges. They're actually being treated as victims of your rampage."

"...Thank goodness."

"It's not 'thank goodness.' Your sentence just got longer because of it."

Amelia understood Caitlin's nature as a person. And she understood her team, too. Because Amelia existed infinitely, omnipresent throughout the city. She knew its people better than anyone.

"Are you really okay with this?"

Caitlin smiled. Like a sportswoman accepting a loss.

"...No. I wanted to win. ...God, I wanted to win so badly."

The regret was real. That fight had been both her desire and her duty. She had an obligation as a member of the human race to challenge Koito, and as Caitlin Ann Austin, she had wanted to beat her.

"I have regrets. But strangely enough, I am satisfied. Because I gave it absolutely everything I had."

Whether that was her true feelings or just bravado, Amelia couldn't tell.

Instead, the student council president of Corporations settled herself down on the cold prison corridor floor.

"--Huh. Then you're exactly the same as me."

"...What?"

Caitlin blinked in confusion at Amelia's words. What could they possibly have in common? What could the girl praised as the most brilliant student council president have in common with a loser like her?

"Do you know what happened with the Academy GDP this year?"

"...It trended upward from previous years, with the highest growth rate this century, right?"

"And the reason?"

"It's thanks to your Half-Wing, I'm-Watching-You (Y-O-U), President Amelia. Not only did the labor force more than triple, but most companies were able to cut labor costs by 30%."

Amelia McBeal — she existed infinitely throughout the city, and she personally handled a vast amount of physical labor all by herself. She loved this city, so she did it for free, of course. The city's cleaning, the management of its stations, all of it.

"Did you know? Because of that, the unemployment rate has increased more than tenfold. The wealth gap has grown to unbelievable levels. Because I'm basically monopolizing most of the jobs."

"I'm aware of those criticisms. But still..."

She had simply been desperate to make this city better. And it was true that she had, in fact, made it better. ...But her ability was far too powerful. Overwhelmingly so.

"--I'm resigning. As student council president."

"...What?"

"Someone needs to take responsibility for what happened with you, too."

Caitlin stared at Amelia with eyes wide as a little girl's. Amelia loved this about her. She couldn't wrap her head around political matters. No matter how much she grew, there was an innocence she never lost.

"Sometimes I think... I shouldn't have ever had this wish."

"President..."

"At this rate, this city will change into something unrecognizable. It'll become my city. Some smart people have been trying to come up with countermeasures, but it seems like it's impossible."

There wasn't a single shred of malice in Amelia's heart.

But it was also true that people were suffering because of her.

--It was also true that she would destroy this city.

"So, I... no. We?"

Behind her, there was a heavy thud. It was the sound of a massive transparent coffin being set on the ground.

"We've decided to leave this city."

Behind her stood more Amelia McBeals than anyone could count. They were carrying a large transparent coffin connected to heavy machinery. It was filled with preservation fluid to prevent cellular decay. And cradled within that fluid was the corpse of Amelia McBeal.

"That's... if you leave now..."

"Yeah. Things will probably get ugly. So I'm leaving quietly, without telling anyone."

"...Then why are you telling me?"

Amelia McBeal smiled.

"--I want to build a school."

What dwelled in those eyes was an overwhelming madness. Amelia McBeal — her Yearning was abnormal. It was anything but sane. She was a miraculous creature born from the human race.

"A final stronghold for people who have nowhere left to go and nothing left to lose. A castle floating in the desert night, where anyone can reach for hope."

"...What for?"

"Because it's something only I can do."

Her terrifyingly quiet resolve made Caitlin laugh in spite of herself.

(So you, too, are setting out. Down that steep road through mountains of corpses and rivers of blood.)

It would surely be a hopeless battle. And still, she would reach for hope.

"Caitlin-chan. I need a right hand I can trust."

"..."

"Will you come with me? It might be even worse than staying here."

Caitlin was at a loss for words. She was a loser, a traitor, someone who had dragged so many people into her mess and still couldn't accomplish anything in the end. She didn't think she had the right to walk behind this beautiful girl.

"...Presi... dent... I..."

Amelia smiled. It was a monstrous, human smile.

"Caitlin-chan.

We keep reaching for hope.

No matter how many times we lose. No matter how much we cry.

That's what it means to stay human."

What a terrifying thing to say, the scarlet-haired girl felt.

Nothing but an endless punishment.

"So let's go. I won't let you run away."

Human beings must never lose their love and courage.

Was that truly hope? Shouldn't it be called despair instead?

And yet, even so, the girls --

"...Yes. I'll go with you. Wherever you go."

Through tears, she nodded. Pretending to smile. And started walking.