Next, moving on to more personal matters…
Ayato was unconscious when Saya pulled him from the Eclipse stage, carrying him on her back. He wasn’t particularly large physically, but if she hadn’t been a Genestella, it would have been difficult indeed.
However, shortly after leaving the arena, Saya found Kirin, who had also lost consciousness. One can only imagine the extraordinary hardship she must have endured carrying two people both larger than herself with her small frame, sometimes being forced to drag them along the ground. It was unlikely that a Genestella without her experience wielding powerful oversized Luxes would have managed.
But for Saya, the most difficult part was what came next.
“…I don’t know the way.”
Yes. Saya Sasamiya had always had a poor sense of direction, and with the underground block’s labyrinthine layout, it was virtually impossible for her to escape alone. Since normal means of communication didn’t reach this far underground, Ayato might well have breathed his last as she wandered aimlessly about.
But someone unexpected came to her assistance—Eishirou Yabuki.
Eishirou was supposed to be out tracking down Dirk Eberwein, and while he claimed to have come within spitting distance of him, apparently his quarry took off in an airship before he could catch him. After that, he received fresh instructions from Claudia to assist Ayato and their group. Dirk’s escape could have proven fatal to their efforts, but thankfully, Julis managed to save the day by bringing Orphelia around at the conclusion of their match.
However, by that time, Saya had already left the Eclipse arena and was wandering the passages of the underground block. Under normal circumstances, Eishirou wouldn’t have had an easy time finding her.
When she asked him as much, he averted his gaze. “Well…you know that hacking tool I gave you…? I made a few modifications to it…”
In short, it seemed that he had left in some embedded code that could be used to detect the device’s location. The fact that it could transmit even from within the nearly impenetrable underground block meant it probably contained special advanced technology. And it wasn’t only Saya whom he was keeping tabs on—apparently, Ayato, Julis, Kirin, and Claudia were all being monitored through different means. No wonder Eishirou had always seemed to know where they were.
Naturally, Saya was furious. But since it was also the only reason they had been saved, she bit her tongue and kept her complaints to a minimum for the time being.
“I’ve really grown up. Well done, me,” she said with a satisfied nod.
Incidentally, she sent Eishirou flying with a well-aimed full burst the very next day.
The hospital was overflowing with people injured in the terrorist attacks, but Ayato, who was mortally wounded, was given the highest priority for treatment—and miraculously, he narrowly survived. Kirin, not as badly injured as Ayato, was given first aid and likewise seen to by a healer.
Around the same time, Sylvia and Minato were also brought into the hospital. While seriously injured, their wounds weren’t life-threatening, and so they received only normal treatment.
Sylvia had fallen into a temporary coma after being possessed by the Varda-Vaos, and a full day passed before she awoke. Ursula, whose body had been hijacked by the Orga Lux for some time, was in an even deeper coma—it took her a full five days to open her eyes, and Sylvia waited attentively by her bedside the whole time. When she finally awoke, Sylvia literally leaped for joy, tears rolling down her cheeks. Ursula, however, seemed to have little memory of her time under the influence of the Varda-Vaos and was visibly confused.
However—
“Oh, but I think I heard your song in my dreams,” she said, causing Sylvia to break into a fresh round of tears.
✦ ✦ ✦
And so today, one week after the incident—that is, one week after the championship match of the Lindvolus—the previously postponed award ceremony was finally due to be held.