Prologue: At the End of a Dream

Fulfill this Yearning.

No matter what difficulties lie in wait.

No matter how much despair crushes you.

No matter if someday the world itself comes to an end.

Like that ■■■■.

The leader of Los Devotos del Silencio Eterno—the Maestro—was dying.

It happened in a cathedral hidden in District 13, built from tens of thousands of bones.

"Wahaha! Next, what will you show me? Fighting you is way too much fun!"

The one laughing was a tall girl. Her long black hair streamed in the wind as she wore a hero's grin. She swung her massive tachi with casual ease and launched herself off the ground.

"...Your body will turn to stone!"

The blood-soaked Maestro shouted. The girl's body petrified. But even turned to stone, she laughed.

"I've already seen that. The same technique won't work on me twice."

Danae Whitmore, captain of the Écraseurs—her eyes gleamed like naked blades.

"My body—is more flexible than anyone's."

The stone coating her shattered in an instant. She closed the distance like wind and swung her tachi in a flowing motion. The Maestro had read every part of that sequence in advance.

"...I'm faster than sound!"

His words became reality, and the Maestro easily exceeded the speed of sound. Facing the demon dodging at overwhelming speed, Danae Whitmore laughed all the same.

"Ahahaha! I like that! But—I'm faster."

The girl vanished from in front of the Maestro.

"Kanna-style battojutsu—Dragon Crusher."

The man's body split open diagonally.

"Gah...! Hah... hoo... hoo..."

Despair twisted the mortally wounded Maestro's expression. But he too was a demon—a monster beyond human. Countless hands emerged from the cross-section of his flesh, desperately trying to hold his two halves together.

"Maestro of Los Devotos del Silencio Eterno. You were magnificent. It's been a long time since I had such an enjoyable fight. Truly. You gave me a pleasant time."

"...You..."

"Hm?"

"Do you fight because it's fun? Do you defeat others because crushing the weak is enjoyable? Is that your justice?"

Danae blinked in surprise at the question, then—

"You're surprisingly serious, huh. ...Heh, feeling the pressure?"

"...OOOOOH!!"

A massive arm grew from the cross-section of the Maestro's body. Like the arm of a giant, it bore down to crush the black-haired girl. Or so it should have.

"...Light. Is this the weight of your resolve?"

Her tachi bisected the Maestro's half-healed body from shoulder to flank. Blood—black, red, and green mixed—danced like a waterfall. The stone floor was stained with the demon's blood.

"Incredible healing ability. But you can't heal from my attacks."

Frothing blood, the Maestro collapsed to the floor. Only his long fingers twitched in spasms.

"Captain Danae! We've finished securing this area too~!"

A girl carrying a metal bat came running over to Danae. Despite her cute appearance, her entire body was dyed bright red with blood splatter.

"Oh, good. Nana-chan. I was worried. Are you hurt?"

"N-no ma'am! ...Our captain really is so cool~~!"

The elite force that was Chaos Institute's pride—the Écraseurs. Their suppression capabilities were renowned as the best in the academy. Léa Cœur de Lumière, the girl who had been accompanying them, was breathless at their strength.

"Over here, we repelled 27 extradimensional life forms... the ones they called angels. Zero casualties. Right now we're chasing the believers who fled."

"That's way too good. Let me pat your head."

"...She'd be perfect if not for this gross nurturing side~"

Today, Los Devotos del Silencio Eterno was destroyed. The cult that had raised havoc against Chaos Institute, centered in Spain, was crushed by these girls.

"...Guh... hff..."

"Oh? Still breathing? Impressive!"

The Maestro's lungs moved, coughing up blood. His Anti-Reality-imbued body desperately tried to heal itself. But wounds dealt by Danae could not be healed even by that divine-class magic.

"Well then, time for the finishing blo—"

"Wait, please!"

The one who stopped her was the silver-haired girl—Léa.

"Now that he's been completely neutralized, we have an obligation to restrain him and hand him over to the judiciary!"

"...You're serious, huh. But is that okay? This guy killed your comrades. You were chasing him to get revenge, weren't you?"

Danae's raptor-like eyes stared steadily into Léa's silver-gleaming eyes. Léa did not flinch at all against the pressure of Danae, who held RANK 7 even within the Apocalypse Stagnation Committee.

"He is indeed my enemy. I hate him and resent him. —But that's a separate matter!"

Léa didn't need a moment's hesitation. What was right was right. What was wrong was wrong. That was the foundation of humanity, and Léa believed it with everything she had.

"Heh... as always, you sisters are frighteningly righteous."

Danae laughed in admiration. Kanna Nana, Danae's subordinate, glanced at her watch and spoke.

"U-um, Captain Danae. Aren't we running low on time? If we don't hurry—"

"Hm? That's true. Everyone, restrain him."

The elite of the Écraseurs moved to capture the Maestro. That was when it happened.

"Bard and Poetry—Spread the wings."

Standing in front of Danae Whitmore—was another Danae Whitmore. But she had no legs, no warmth, was faintly translucent, and wore an expression like she was about to cry.

"Is this... a fake... no, ghost versions of us!?"

A translucent Kanna Nana stood before the real Kanna Nana. In front of each member of the Écraseurs stood apparitions shaped like themselves, weapons at the ready, weeping.

"—I won't let you have the Maestro."

A man wearing a colorful skull mask appeared as if to protect the Maestro. In his hand, he gripped a rugged pistol, cold and beautiful like a guillotine.

"Kotoha-san... I believed you would come to save me."

"Shut up."

The masked man lifted the Maestro and stood. The members of the Écraseurs kicked off the ground without hesitation to eliminate the masked man—but were blocked by their own ghosts.

(What the hell are these things...? They're strong! Uh, isn't this bad?)

Kanna Nana was locked in a clash with her ghostly self. The apparitions fought desperately, blindly—they were no joke.

"Wait!"

Only one girl wasn't fighting her own ghost. The silver-haired, noble maiden—Léa.

"You... what did you just say? ...'Kotoha'...?"

The masked man's voice. His mannerisms. His presence. Léa noticed they were eerily similar to her close friend.

"...Kotton?"

"...Tch."

The masked man clenched his jaw hard. Blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

"Kotton? It really is you, isn't it! Why—"

"Let's go."

The wall behind the masked man split open in a straight line. The one who had done it was the ghost Léa. Her chainsaw—the ability of the Maiden of Gévaudan.

"I won't let you leave!"

Léa broke into a sprint to pursue the departing men.

"Wait!!"

The one who stopped her—was the captain of the Écraseurs. Danae Whitmore.

"Let them go."

Léa's eyes went wide.

"Why!? Danae-senpai!"

"...We should avoid engaging enemies with unknown abilities. My Slash is nearing its time limit too."

Léa stared at Danae. Danae was a warrior through and through. She wasn't good at politics or hiding things. After years in a unit specializing in dealing with people, Léa could easily tell. She was hiding something.

"Los Devotos del Silencio Eterno was destroyed today. Mission complete."

Before anyone noticed, the ghosts had vanished. All that remained was the massive indigo cathedral and the corpses of numerous angels. The members of the Écraseurs began preparing for rapid withdrawal.

(Was that really... Kotton? But could something like that... even be possible?)

Léa couldn't shake the sense of wrongness—or the fear. But she wasn't the only one.

Danae Whitmore's trusted right hand—Kanna Nana—also felt a strong sense of distrust.

(What was that just now? I've never seen the captain act like that...)

Something was off about Chaos Institute lately. There was a strange presence, like some formless monster swimming beneath the surface. Nana was sociable and well-connected. That was precisely why she had been the first to sense whatever was stirring within this academy.

(...Whatever. Might as well ask that guy to back me up.)

—In a cathedral filled with angel corpses, numerous conspiracies began to stir.