“…Hm-hmm. That should take care of the smaller details.” Mukuro sighed as she looked out at the space that was filled with a lot more debris than before.
Fragments of the humanoid machines drifted around her, all the remains of those who had turned their hostility on Mukuro and were consequently destroyed.
She reached out a hand to a hunk of metal drifting nearby and scrutinized it.
“A curiously large number of visitors today. Well…”
She casually tossed the doll head away and turned her gaze toward the distance.
“Are they not all simply filled with hubris, then, Shido?”
There was a boy, eyes burning with determination, and a girl standing in front of that boy like a shield.
“Have you come to discard the life that was so recently saved?” she asked, holding up Michael. “Surely you are aware there will be no more convenient happenstances.”
Shido looked to her, eyes brimming with resolve, even as beads of sweat pooled on his forehead. “Like I could run away to save my own skin. I told you; I came to open your heart.”
“And Muku told you. I do not wish to be involved with your hypocrisy,” Mukuro said, rolling her eyes, and spread an arm. “What will you do now? The dolls you attempted to make use of are rubbish now. Such cunning tricks will be ineffective.”
“We’ll see about that. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” Shido grinned and brandished the fake Michael high in the air.
The fragments of the dolls hanging in the area responded, shooting toward Mukuro like tiny asteroids.
That wasn’t all.
“Tohka!” Shido called.
“Mm!” the girl responded, and the pair slipped amongst the countless missiles and headed for Mukuro.
Was his strategy to create an opening with the debris and the girl’s attack?
“No…,” Mukuro said, narrowing her eyes, refuting the idea.
“Haaah!” Interrupting Mukuro’s thoughts, the girl swung her sword with a shriek.
Mukuro could tell this blow wasn’t seriously intended to cut through her. The swordsmanship lacked any trace of bloodlust. That much was expected—given how Shido kept going on about being Mukuro’s salvation, she highly doubted his companion would truly intend to slice her in half.
Evading such an attack was a simple matter. Mukuro tightened her grip on Michael.
“…”
Mukuro dodged the blow by a hair, shrinking back just as she was on the verge of catching the blade.
“What?!” The girl fell forward, clearly not expecting Mukuro to dodge the instant before making contact.
Mukuro moved to push the girl further off balance, nearly stepping on her shoulder, and twisted herself around again.
In the next instant, a door opened up in the space behind her, and the tip of Michael flew out from within it.
“Wha—?!”
She heard a bewildered voice from ahead—from where Shido stood. She looked that way to find his face colored with surprise. And just as she’d expected, the tip of Michael in his hands was swallowed up by the door gouged out of empty space.
“I knew it,” Mukuro huffed.
He would distract her with the countless missiles and the girl’s attack, open a door with Michael, and place himself in the space behind Mukuro. This was the obvious and logical means of moving forward if the reproduced Michael possessed the same power as the real Michael. It would, in fact, have been an extremely effective method of attack, taking deft advantage of the Angel’s talents.
Only, however, if the person he was using it on was not the true owner of that Angel who knew its abilities inside and out.
“You were so close,” Mukuro said, and thrust her Michael into the door Shido had opened. “Now, then… This is the end.”
The tip of the key passed through the space twisted by the Angel’s power and closed in on Shido in the distance.
This was the battle’s end. However tenacious Shido may have been, he wouldn’t be able to move if his body were locked.
Just as Michael was about to stab Shido, though, she heard a wild cry.
“Whoo-hoo!”
Shido abruptly shrank and transformed into a small girl with messy hair and a somewhat grumpy look on her face. Clutching her head to escape Mukuro’s attack, she shrieked, “N-now, Shido!”
“Hm-hmm?” Mukuro’s eyes grew wide at this unexpected turn of events. She felt a presence behind her.
“…?”
She turned her gaze rearward and found Shido, Angel in hand.
“Absurd,” she said. “What exactly are you…?”
“Just a passing high school student.” Shido thrust Michael forward. The tip of the key slid into Mukuro’s chest like a knife through warm butter.
When? Why? Where did he come from? These questions swirled around in her mind.
This thinking only lasted a few seconds.
“Lataib!” With this word, Shido twisted his weapon.
“Ah.” Instantly, Mukuro felt something akin to a ray of light shining into the heart that had long been locked up.