Episode 7: The Fire Ritual

Even now, I still thought about it sometimes.

"Onee-sama. I think... I might have fallen in love with someone for the first time."

When my sister said that to me — was I able to smile?

"Aimée-senpai. I'm planning to marry Léa."

When he said that to me — was I able to smile?

"Congratulations. What an adorable little niece."

In that white hospital room, looking at the happy couple smiling together — I...

(I fell in love with him first.)

When a boy named Kotoyorozu Kotoha, who had defected from Azure Academy, came to live at our estate, I fell in love with him immediately. Ridiculously easily. Hopelessly fast.

"The Lumière family has been so kind to someone like me... I'm really grateful. I mean it. Someday... I just hope I can repay this kindness..."

He was always sincere, and always desperate. Desperate to protect his place there. Desperate to stay in that ordinary life. It was almost painful to watch.

(If only I could protect him from every frightening thing that came his way.)

Before I knew it, that was what I thought every time I saw him.

"Thank goodness. I'm so glad you're not hurt, Aimée-senpai."

One day, when he took a blow to the head protecting me and smiled through the blood streaming down his face, I knew I was done for. He wasn't kind because he wanted to be. He had to be kind. He loved people so much he couldn't help it, longing for everything that it meant to be human. Deep down, he hated himself like he was some kind of inhuman monster.

(A light like the dark depths of water. That was the shape of his heart.)

That was the him I knew. That was why I loved him.

(And that's exactly why I wasn't right for him. I knew that better than anyone.)

Someone who would wrap around his darkness and gently shelter it wouldn't work. Because that would just mean falling into the darkness together. It had to be a girl whose overwhelming radiance could clear away that shadow.

Someone like my sister — Léa Cœur de Lumière.

(I knew from the start. She was better suited for him than I was.)

Léa got along with him better than I did. Léa shared more of his interests than I did. I knew the look in his eyes when he looked at Léa was different from when he looked at me.

And I loved Léa more than I loved myself.

"Hah — hah — ! ...Aimée-neesan! No! You have to come with us too...!"

So on that final day —

"Go, Kotoha! I'm entrusting you with my precious sister and niece."

Assassins sent by Azure Academy were pursuing our ship. There was a little time before the ship left the harbor. Someone had to hold back the horde of demons bearing down on us.

"Covenant of Orléans!"

My miracle-selecting Slash was perfect for buying time. It specialized in attacking over a wide area, and above all, it was stubborn. I bought ten minutes. It was a pittance of time, but enough for my precious people to survive.

"...Ah... ā... haha... cough... cough..."

Holes riddled my body. Blood poured out. I couldn't move a single finger. It seemed some of my organs had spilled outside my body. Only my silver cutlass remained, still gleaming with noble beauty where it stood embedded in the ground.

(This was... for the best.)

I had protected the one I loved. I had protected my beloved family. I had fulfilled my duty. My noble duty.

(This was... for the best... wasn't it?)

I never said what I truly wanted to say. Not until the very end.

(Is this... my end?)

"I love you." That was all I wanted to say. That would have been enough.

Just the fact that I loved him. I only needed him to know that, and it would have been fine.

Foolish, pretentious me — I played the gallant prince until the very end.

(This isn't... fair.)

No. I didn't want this. I loved him too. I fell in love first. I wanted to be the one by his side at the end. No. No! NO!

"This... isn't...! I don't want thiiiiiiiis...!"

I grasped the silver cutlass.

[Covenant of Orléans — Unrequited Love (Encore)] — Slash / Endpoint

A Slash that "delivers the heart." Transfers Aimée Cœur de Lumière's memories, emotions, and experiences to the Aimée Cœur de Lumière of the dimension where "Masked Kotoha" exists.

I knew Kotoha was trying to escape to a parallel dimension.

So I transferred my memories to the Aimée Cœur de Lumière in the dimension he would arrive in.

(Please. The me in another dimension. This time... please protect him.)

Because he would undoubtedly walk the most painful path of anyone.

(Next time... protect him... I'm counting on you...)

Tell him I love him. Protect the one I loved. Not as a "cool prince." Just as a "pathetic maiden with unrequited love."

"Onee-sama! Listen, I made friends with the most interesting boy! His name is Kotton, and —"

So when my sister mentioned that name to me in this dimension, my heart nearly leaped out of my chest.

(The memories I've had since birth... they're real.)

The memories entrusted to me by the me from another dimension — those memories had become my own as I grew up. I had known for a long time that a boy named Kotoyorozu Kotoha from the masked dimension was somewhere out there in the dimension I lived in, fighting. Only I knew.

(This time, I have to tell him. That I love him.)

I searched desperately for Kotoyorozu Kotoha. Not the one who had enrolled at Azure Academy. The one who had lived with me at our estate, who had fought alongside me. My Kotoyorozu Kotoha.

"Apparently a visitor from another dimension appeared at the Tokyo Defense Battle, controlling the spirits of Chaos students —"

When I heard that rumor, I was certain. That was him. The Kotoyorozu Kotoha I loved. It had to be his Gunscar, "Bard and Poetry." I used every resource I had to find him.

"...It's been a while, Kotoha."

Can you even imagine how happy I was when I found him, battered and broken, in that back alley? Can you understand how vindicated I felt when I looked into those eyes like the dark depths of water?

"Why. Do you know me... Aimée-neesan."

He whispered in a hoarse voice, and I embraced him. His body, covered in blood that might not even be his. I held him tight, so tight I would never let go.

"...Because I love you. Because I decided to keep loving you, no matter how far apart we were. ...Kotoha. ...Kotoha... I love you... I've always, always... loved you..."

My fate was decided. From the moment I was born. To fight alongside him, for this very day.

The Fire Ritual began.

(Where did Kotton run off to, I wonder...?)

Indigo crept into the beautiful scarlet sky. Night was coming soon. The time of darkness. The people of the Land of Bonfires, who had been wearing colorful clothes, covered their heads with black hoods and lit bonfires in front of their homes.

"It looks like the ritual chamber has opened. Let's head there."

Aimée, Danae-senpai, Koito-san, and I — the four of us passed through the enormous door leading to the ritual chamber. We descended the stairs stretching into the depths beneath the palace, together with crowds of black-hooded figures.

(What a solemn atmosphere.)

Only the flickering flames illuminated the black darkness with their crimson glow.

(How far do these stairs go?)

After descending the narrow stairs for about twenty minutes, we arrived at a cavern space roughly the size of a large arena. Hundreds of wooden chairs had been arranged for the participants, laid out almost like a school graduation ceremony. There was only one thing that immediately drew the eye.

(What an enormous hole!)

About eighty percent of the ritual chamber's floor was occupied by a massive pit. It was probably around two hundred meters in diameter. Enormous chains were scattered haphazardly around the pit's edge.

"The Static Man is sealed in the depths of that hole."

Koito-san murmured. Around the hole, eight people in vivid robes sat before small altars, projecting strings of letters into the air. Those were probably the witches of the Land of Bonfires.

"...A witch... isn't there one missing...?"

Danae-senpai murmured as we searched for our assigned seats.

(Sheep. Wolf. Dragon. Butterfly. Snail. Lion. Crow. Whale. Tiger. — those were the designs on the altars.)

The empty altar was the "Sheep." The Sheep Witch probably wasn't present. Was that going to be alright? Could it be someone's plot to sabotage the Fire Ritual?

"Léa. May I have a moment?"

Aimée murmured in the solemn silence. I turned to look at her, wondering what this was about.

"...Whatever happens from here on out, your sister loves you."

"Oh? Haha, what brought this on?"

It was something I already knew perfectly well, so I wondered why she was bringing it up now. But hearing her say it made me happy. I gave a small smile and gently took her hand. That was when it happened.

"This is bad, this is bad! Good gracious, what a dreadful delay. The King will be furious with me!"

A loud noise echoed, and when I looked up, a large pink sheep was floating in the air. Its fluffy, enormous body drifted gently toward the altar.

"I told you, Master! I said we needed to leave or we'd be late!"

"Wait, is that Kotoha's voice?"

As Koito-san said, Kotton and Nana-chan were riding on the back of the flying sheep. The person in the vivid robe with them was probably the Sheep Witch.

"Kotto — n!"

I waved, and they noticed us. Kotton and Nana-chan started arguing about something.

(Hm?)

Kotton was holding Nana-chan's hand. No, that wasn't all. He scooped her up into his arms — a princess carry! — and leaped from the back of the giant sheep.

"What!?"

While we watched in shock, Kotton and the others simply fell toward the ground. Dangerous. Just when I thought they would crash — their bodies floated gently down.

"Sorry, sorry, we're late."

Kotton, somehow covered in dirt and wounds, landed softly on the ground with a troubled smile. Only Nana-chan looked uncomfortable, gripping his clothes tightly and clinging to him.

"What was that!? Was that bonfire magic? But how —"

"...Well, a lot happened?"

"Kotoha-san! Just put me down already, please!"

Her face bright red — probably embarrassed by all the eyes on them — Nana-chan was adorable. But that aside.

"!"

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! The ground shook. A rumbling sound like something welling up from the depths echoed — and then a massive pillar of fire erupted from inside the hole. Strangely, it gave off no heat.

(Are those — fingers?)

Beyond the pillar of fire, I glimpsed two enormous fingers. About thirty meters tall. Like withered ancient trees, their surfaces were rough and they looked ready to collapse at any moment. Massive chains were wrapped around them.

"So that's the Static Man's body. ...We're running out of time!"

Kotton murmured and looked at Nana-chan, who gave a small nod.

"Koito-san! That angle on the ceiling! The skull-masked me is hiding there!"

"Wha!? What did you say!"

"— Please blow him away."

Koito-san gathered a burst of cherry-pink miracle in her palm in an instant. I was astonished. I had never seen such a pure mass of energy. The cherry-pink girl shouted with a laugh.

"I'll pay you back for last time. Shatter — !"

Koito-san was about to release the cherry-pink miracle. But at the same moment, a flash of silver cut across my vision.

"STOOOOOOOP — !!"

"...Wha..."

I saw something unbelievable.

"I see. So you were the traitor after all. Just as I thought."

My older sister.

"That can't... be..."

"...I won't allow it, Koito Hikari. I won't let anyone get in his way."

Aimée had driven her silver cutlass deep into the back of Koito-san's hand.

(That can't be.)

She was my sister. The person who loved me more than anyone.

(That can't be.)

My beloved Aimée. You, of all people, my enemy.

"Raaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!!"

Léa stood dumbfounded. Danae-senpai was stunned speechless. Koito-senpai gripped the cutlass stabbed through the back of her hand and held on tight, refusing to let Aimée-senpai escape.

Only one girl had leapt out without a moment's hesitation, moving at a speed that seemed predetermined.

"— Nana!"

The moment I shouted, Nana swung the bat in her hands.

"Kanna-style battojutsu — Single Line!"

Nana's bat slammed into Aimée-senpai's body with full force. In that instant, Aimée-senpai's face twisted in agony, and she could no longer stand, collapsing to her knees.

[Slash: "Major Nuisance"] — A Slash that "manipulates weight." A metal bat that alters the weight of any object it touches. Each touch can multiply the target's mass by three, or reduce it to one-third.

"Guuhh...!"

As Aimée-senpai's body was made "heavy," Nana moved in to put handcuffs on her.

"Aimée-senpai...! Why...? Someone of your caliber...!"

"...Heh. Nana-kun. Impressive as always. So it was you investigating from the shadows."

While everyone around stood frozen, Koito-senpai, Nana, and I surrounded her.

"Wait... Huh? Kotton...? Nana-chan... Onee-sama? W-what is... this...? What's... what on earth is happening... —"

Léa's face went pale as she looked back and forth between our faces in confusion.

"Léa. He was in contact with Masked Kotoha. Helping him infiltrate Chaos, helping the Maestro escape — all of it, every last bit of it, was Aimée-senpai."

Even after Nana told her, Léa couldn't believe it. She just kept staring at Aimée-senpai.

"Léa. I'm sorry."

Aimée-senpai smiled faintly — the gentle expression of an older sister soothing her younger sibling.

"I am an enemy. Your enemy. The enemy of all of you. Of humanity and the world. But... but you know..."

"— I still don't believe I'm on the wrong side."

Her cutlass gleamed silver. (This is bad.) By the time I tried to move, it was already too late.

"Kill miracles. Covenant of Orléans!"

A tremendous flash of light and thunder engulfed my vision. Impossible. Did she even know how many meters underground we were? There was no way for lightning to strike this far down. But the probability wasn't zero — which was what made it a miracle.

"Ha! Don't underestimate me!"

But the one person who treated miracles as nothing was our very own Koito-senpai. She had reflexively thrown up a cherry-pink barrier around us, shielding us from the lightning strike.

"...I'm not underestimating you. I know your strength better than anyone."

A low voice resonated. Vivid skull colors emerged from between the flashes of lightning.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Aimée-nee-san."

Through my vision, still dazzled from the thunder, a single man covered in wounds stood there. A ghastly figure in a skull mask, gripping a massive, rugged handgun — he held Aimée-senpai in his arms like a princess.

"Masked... Kotoha...!"

Behind the skull-masked man, a clean, clear presence filled the air. Gunscar, which resurrects the dead. Bard and Poetry. Centered around that man, dozens of ghostly warriors raised their weapons with tear-stricken faces.

"...Heh. Kotoha. I wasn't waiting at all. I believed you would come for me."

"Thank you... Nee-san..."

For the first time, I saw the other me.

(Ah... what a...)

I saw that man's heart. The heart of a grown-up me. The heart of me from another dimension.

(What a... sorry state...)

Above all else — he was barely able to stand. Through the endless days of battle, both his body and mind were already shattered. He was like a walking corpse.

"Hold it! You — I'm gonna make you pay for what you did in Tokyo!"

"Yeah. Same here, Koito Hikari. You killed my comrades. I haven't forgotten that. But —"

The ghostly warriors all attacked the witches and their guards at once.

"— I don't have the luxury of playing with you anymore."

And so the melee began. The witches started suppressing the intruders using the power of the Bonfire, while the ghosts skillfully wielded their Slashes to carve out a path. Running down that path were Masked Kotoha, Aimée-senpai, and the Maestro — who had appeared at some point — the three of them.

"Wait...!"

Koito-senpai instantly took flight to pursue them. But what suddenly pierced her chest was a long wooden spike. The Slash "Hoia Baciu," wielded by the ghost of Magina-senpai.

"This again!?"

Her "movement" sealed, Koito-senpai fell to the ground like a stiffened goat.

"Senpai!"

I caught her as she fell and set her down gently.

"T-thanks..."

"We have to hurry and chase those three!"

"Okay! Then I'll just blast all these ghosts with a beam...!"

Koito-senpai gathered cherry-pink miracles in her palm.

"No! Are you stupid!? What if you hit the seal on The Static Man!?"

The one who admonished her was Nana, desperately fighting the ghosts with her metal bat. She had a point, so Koito-senpai wilted.

"Hmm. It seems this is a job for us."

A voice echoed, and a giant sheep appeared. It sent the ghosts flying with a tremendous charge.

"Master!"

"Leave this to us. We must see the ritual through to completion. May we entrust the pursuit of those villains to thee?"

The Sheep Witch's giant sheep let out a tremendous roar. Its fluffy wool shed and floated through the air, transforming into sharp spears that rained down on the surrounding ghosts.

"Oi, ye lot. Before whose presence dost thou make such a ruckus? Knowing we are witches, thou still causest this havoc?"

Nine witches rose from the altar, each raising their staffs. Sheep. Wolf. Dragon. Butterfly. Snail. Lion. Crow. Whale. Tiger. They began battling the ghostly warriors with miracles of every color.

"...Thank you, Master!"

When I shouted, she laughed and wove a bridge from magical sheep's thread for us to follow.

"Go, Kotoha! Show them the fruits of thy training!"

We broke into a run. As we dashed across the fluffy bridge, Koito-senpai muttered.

"Kotoha. ...You've got a weird tendency to be liked by strange people, don't you?"

"Please don't call my master strange."

"So the master-disciple bond has already taken root, huh? You always get attached to people way too fast, you know that?"

Masked Kotoha and the others stood before a giant "finger" that had appeared deep in the hole. The ghost Léa's chainsaw cut open that "finger," and they slipped inside.

"Those guys went inside The Static Man...? What on earth for?"

"I don't know, but we have no choice but to follow. ...Léa! You good!?"

Nana shouted while running. Léa was still shaken, her eyes blank and wild. Her hands were trembling, her breathing ragged. She probably couldn't even gather her thoughts yet — still reeling from her beloved sister's betrayal.

"Léa...! Léa, look at me, Léa!!"

"Kot... ton...?"

"Léa. Now is the time to give it everything you've got! Not the time to space out and waste time! You get that, right? If it's you — if you stay like this, you'll regret it for the rest of your life!!"

Léa looked at me with eyes on the verge of tears. Her gaze was stained with fear and confusion. She squeezed her eyes shut. I grabbed her hand and held her so she could run even with her eyes closed.

— Léa opened her eyes. Her gaze was filled with resolve.

"...Thank you, Kotton. You're right. You're absolutely right!"

A large chainsaw appeared in her hands.

"Maiden of Gévaudan!!"

Léa sliced through the giant "finger." A single line ran through it, opening into an entrance leading inside.

"All right, let's go. Into the monster's body! Steel yourselves, everyone!"

Koito-senpai took the lead, and our battle began.