Chapter 92

The underworld sentries had found the island Yahiro and Iroha lived on because Ellie had gone there first. And Suria, without realizing Ellie’s plot, got Shigure to inherit the Ouroboros’s power. As a result, Ellie was about to obtain a dreadful weapon: the materialized world dragon. “The red dragon…of Revelation… You would try to summon such a thing, Elimiel?!” “With the power of the Ouroboros who created a new world, it should be possible to cross the wall between dimensions and attack Heaven. There is no way for Heaven to escape unscathed from the collision.” Ellie spread her silver wings. She flew up into the sky to the draconized Shigure’s side. “Fallen angel Elimiel!” “You mean to destroy Heaven?!” Her brethren flew to stop her, but it was reckless. The crimson dragon stood in the two underworld sentries’ way. “Elimiel… You took control of the Lazarus Eater…?!” “Yes. To begin with, the nameless angel used for Shigure Shindou’s body was my familiar.” Ellie’s chuckle did not reach them, for the crimson dragon’s scorching ray burned them to ash. “It’s the underworld sentries’ job to destroy the underworld, right? I am only loyally following my duty. It just so happens that Heaven will fall in the process, too.” The silver-winged angel flew right next to the giant dragon. It was the majestic sight of the apocalypse. “Now then, it is time for revenge. Let’s have the Heavenly ones who have forsaken us pay for their sins,” Ellie sang, as if in a choir. Iroha and everyone else could only look up in astonishment. 4 “Hey! You girls, what’re we supposed to do now?!” Sumika shouted at the twins. The crimson dragon under Ellie’s control was already over twenty meters long and still growing. The Ouroboros, who should not exist outside the Afterlife, was taking form in the physical world. “Iroha, can you stop the dragon factor supply to Shigure Shindou?” Rosé asked with her usual flat tone. Iroha shook her head weakly. “I’ve never done so consciously. Besides, it’s not just my wish Yahiro’s granting…” “Right, that’s how he obtained the world dragon’s power irregularly…” Rosé let out a heavy sigh. A regular Ouroboros granted only the dragon medium’s wish. Yet Iroha had let go of this right and asked everyone in the world to maintain it—it was the whole world’s will that supported Yahiro as the Ouroboros. Shigure Shindou must have inherited that eccentric dynamic. Even if Iroha cut off her supply of dragon factor, the Ouroboros would not disappear. Just as the Ouroboros protected this world, this world supported the Ouroboros’s existence. “But we can’t stand here and do nothing, can we?” “No. If Ellie invades Heaven like she wants to, this world will be left behind without its Ouroboros and die. The best way to prevent it would be for Yahiro to get his power back, but…” Rosé cut herself off as she looked down at Yahiro in Iroha’s arms. The situation was worse than it had been when they fought Sui Narusawa. They had so little power and so little time. Not even the Japanese government would be able to do anything in time if they found out about what was happening. “Listen, Suria Almiron. How about we join forces for a little?” “Huh?” She blinked in confusion, moving her vacant gaze from the dragon down to Giuli. “You don’t want the Ouroboros to attack Heaven, do you? Won’t you help us do something about the Lazarus Eater?” Giuli wore a bold smile. Suria gave her a look of suspicion. She was the ringleader of the underworld sentries who had tried to destroy this world. It was unbelievable that they would want to join forces with her. Yet, even knowing what she had done, Giuli had suggested it. She had gauged the pros, and they outweighed the cons. “…What would you have me do?” “We’ll get the Ouroboros’s attention while you take Ellie down. I don’t feel good about asking you to kill one of yours, either, but we can’t really fight an angel in the sky.” “Elimiel is not an angel. She’s not one of mine. She’s my enemy,” Suria corrected her. Giuli smiled like she had predicted that reaction. “So I take it you agree to my request?” “Take it how you will. I’ll bring Elimiel down,” Suria asserted before looking up at Ellie on the dragon’s back. She could not face her head-on now that Ellie had the Ouroboros in her control. She would suffer the same fate as her colleagues. She was to look for a brief opening while Galerie Berith fought the Ouroboros. It was her only chance. And the humans’ only choice, as they lacked the means to defeat the world dragon. “You heard it, Zen Sagara. Sumika. We’re counting on you,” Giuli said. “I know. It’s the Lazarus’s job to fight dragons,” Zen responded solemnly. “Yup. We’ve got no choice.” Sumika nodded while holding her belly. Killing a dragon was the Lazarus’s job, the Dragon Slayer’s job. And now that Yahiro was down, Zen was the only Lazarus in the world. He could not run away, and he knew it. It was his burden to bear. “Ayaho, you protect Iroha and Yahiro. But don’t be reckless. You may be a Relict Deserver, but don’t think you can actually fight the Ouroboros,” Rosé said. “Y-yes…,” Ayaho agreed wryly. Yahiro was dying and couldn’t be moved. Naturally, Iroha had no intention of leaving him. Only Ayaho and her Relict Regalia could protect them. The responsibility weighed on her. Iroha looked up at her, then hung her head dejectedly. “I’m sorry, Ayaho… It’s my fault… I’m sorry…” “Iroha…” Alarmed, Ayaho kneeled next to her. Iroha looked as if she were Ayaho’s age. The sight of her once-reliable sister, now so weak, shocked her. It wasn’t Iroha’s fault that Shigure had stolen Yahiro’s blessing and become the Ouroboros, and yet she felt responsible for it. Her decisions, as the world dragon’s medium, affected the fate of the world. She had fulfilled this duty with Yahiro this whole time. Ayaho hugged her tight. “You did nothing wrong. If you’re to blame yourself, even I… I helped Shigure and got him here…” Iroha had come to Japan to rescue Ayaho. And Ayaho’s supply of the dragon factor helped Shigure become the Ouroboros. Ayaho was unable to handle the guilt, and tears rolled down her cheeks. “Ayaho…” Iroha began crying, too. The sisters wailed in each other’s embrace while Yahiro remained unconscious, as though he were dead. 5 Scorching flames dyed the sky over the ruins in red. The city was deserted. The high-rise buildings collapsed. The streets cracked and caved. The rain was red with rust. It was the image of the summer when the country of Japan had perished. A terribly familiar sight. “You’re…still alive, my dear brother. Although it doesn’t seem like you’ll survive this time.” A girl with pure-white hair stared at Yahiro amid the fog and red rain. A strange sensation struck him at the sight of her red eyes. He felt as sad and calm as when looking at a faded photograph. He couldn’t believe that the day would come when he would feel that way while looking at her. “Sui.” He called her name with a wry smile. Her beautiful face twisted into a frown. An expression most characteristic of her. “Why are you smiling? You’re creeping me out.” “I didn’t think I would see you again.” “Not like you wanted to see me.” “That’s not true. You’re my sister.” The girl shrugged in reaction to his sincerity. The frown on her face was gone. “A silly thing to say while the world is ending.” “Yeah.” Yahiro nodded in response to her dismissive comment. He knew he was dying. He’d lost the power of the Lazarus and was gravely injured. Even if he recovered consciousness, he would be unable to move and could only wait for death. Still, he thought, I have to go back. Because she’s crying. Yahiro hadn’t changed a bit. He was helpless without the power of the Lazarus. He was the same powerless boy who had watched Japan collapse that summer. And yet he had vowed to protect Sui. Because the only thing that could save him from the despair of that city in ruins without exit was her smile. “Where are you going?” Sui asked as he turned his back on her. “I can’t let him go on like this,” he said without hesitation. Even if he was a powerless boy, he had to go back. Her smile wouldn’t return unless he defeated that red dragon. “I don’t think you can do anything now.” “Even so, I have to try. I sacrificed you to protect that world.” That world was no Eden. It was a cruel world full of war and conflict. And yet many people had been sacrificed to release it from its doom. Sui among them. She shook her head in disbelief. “I don’t believe myself a sacrifice. You saved me.” “Sui?” Yahiro watched with confusion as she pouted like a kid. “Did you realize, Brother? Our feelings remain here even now, because she wished for the world to continue.” She snorted. “Tell her that I hate her, and that if she keeps being this pathetic, I’ll return to take my brother back.” The small, white-haired girl embraced him. In that moment, Yahiro felt very clearly the warmth of a girl who should no longer be there. Then… “Su…i…!” “Huh?!” The first thing Yahiro saw as he opened his eyes were Iroha’s breasts filling his whole field of view. Iroha’s and Ayaho’s eyes were red and swollen. They looked dumbstruck by his sudden awakening. Iroha stared at him with her jaw dropped for a while before frowning. She violently pinched his cheek and raised him up on her lap. “What does that mean?! You’re calling Sui’s name in your sleep?! You’re cheating on me?!” “Iroha, don’t do that right now…!” Ayaho shook her hands, asking her to stop. Yahiro had been dying until just now. She shouldn’t be picking on him for talking in his sleep. But then her jaw dropped again as he stood up like nothing had happened. “Yahiro, your wounds…!”