Mine, who was locked in a bitter struggle, looked surprised when she noticed our arrival.
"Sensei? And members of the Justice Task Force and the Sisterhood too? How did you all..."
"I know you probably have a lot of questions."
I said,
"But for now, let's deal with these things first."
"No. The top priority right now is getting someone to escort you out of here, Sensei!"
Mine's tone was stern, tinged with urgency and confusion.
"These things are 'immortal.'"
Immortal...?
At that description, I was first startled, but then I noticed something strange.
A bullet struck one of the ghost-like nuns shrouded in black mist, yet it failed to shake her in the slightest. Instead, it sank into her body like a stone disappearing into the sea.
Even the bizarrely gifted students of Kivotos could not normally do something like that.
"Wh-What exactly are those things...!?"
Hasumi, who had briefly fought against the ghostly nuns, naturally noticed it too.
"That level of power... and the feeling that attacking them is like hitting air... Are those really 'people'...? Or could they be... Hinata?"
When she instinctively turned her head, she saw Hinata wearing an expression of uncertainty and alarm.
"I've seen those clothes in books before..."
The black-haired nun murmured,
"That's the uniform of the Saint Justina Council."
The Justina Council of Saints, in other words, the predecessor of today's Sisterhood.
"The guardians of doctrine who disappeared centuries ago... why are they here...!?"
"The earth did quake, the rocks split apart, the tombs were opened, and many bodies of the sleeping saints arose."
I could not help asking:
"Could it be... they also came from the catacombs underground?"
"We still don't know. But more importantly..."
Hinata bit her lip and did not continue, but I roughly understood what she wanted to say.
Indeed, more important than their origins was figuring out how we were supposed to escape from these mysterious entities that appeared to be the Saint Justina Council from centuries ago.
At that moment, while still splitting part of my focus to maintain my authorities, I suddenly caught the sound of hurried footsteps.
Turning around, I saw Tsurugi rushing toward us with a grim expression. She gave me a tense nod before staring at the Justina Saints as though facing a mortal enemy.
The only reason Tsurugi, who had been responsible for holding the enemy back, would abandon that vital task and regroup with us was because there was no longer any point continuing.
Without us noticing, the encirclement by Arius had already been completed.
Then I heard a detached voice.
"...Finally caught up."
Misaki muttered to herself as she led the pursuing forces.
I suddenly wanted to laugh.
What exactly had made me think that the glance Misaki gave earlier might have hidden some intention to help me?
Even if there really had been intent behind it, it was probably the complete opposite of what I had hoped for.
This was my fault.
In this world, the thing one should never place hope in was the kindness of an enemy.
Yes, I had helped her before. But how could her true allegiance possibly change so easily just because of a small favor from me?
At that moment, Misaki spoke again.
"The fully manifested 'copies' of the Saint Justina Council are far more numerous and powerful than I imagined. It seems that after the new Eden Treaty was signed, Atsuko's transaction with that puppet also went very smoothly."
...Now I was starting to wonder if I had reached my conclusions too quickly.
In truth, she had spoken softly enough that it was probably only meant for herself. Maybe I was overthinking things again.
Still, the information hidden in those words was worth pondering.
Copies... puppet...
With those two keywords, I could only think of one existence.
The Gematria.
In other words, Beatrice was not the only one involved in the conspiracy surrounding the Eden Treaty.
And judging by what Misaki said, these Saint Justina Council entities before us were somehow created by "Atsuko" using the Eden Treaty and the Maestro's technology?
Keeping that thought in mind, I silently memorized the information.
Then several girls gathered around me protectively.
After asking Serina to perform simple treatment on my wounds, I hurried to do whatever little I could.
If our enemies were only Arius students, then with me acting as commander and support, perhaps "quality" still had a chance to defeat "quantity."
But the enemies we faced now were not just Arius.
There was also the Saint Justina Council controlled by Arius.
Just as Mine said, these things were practically immortal.
Even Tsurugi could barely inflict effective damage. At best, she could temporarily incapacitate them, only for them to recover moments later.
At the same time, the Saint Justina Council copies possessed a degree of tactical instinct, and the attacks they launched were anything but weak.
The Arius students did not even need to fight personally. They simply watched as the Saint Justina Council charged at us wave after wave, steadily exhausting the already limited stamina of the students on our side.
Before long, the hastily assembled defensive line was already on the verge of collapse.
Unable to follow my original plan of stalling until reinforcements arrived, I could not help but laugh bitterly.
Who could have imagined that in the mere hour or so since I contacted students from the other academies aboard the airship, the situation would deteriorate this badly?
Another wave of fearless Saint Justina Council soldiers surged toward us like a tide.
And this time, repelling them was already extremely difficult. The defensive line trembled on the verge of breaking.
At this rate, after only two or three more assaults, no more than a few minutes from now, we would be completely overwhelmed and scattered apart.
And without students protecting me, without the Shittim Chest, with only the cards beside me...
How long could I possibly last?
...Perhaps this really was the end.
If only I had prepared more thoroughly beforehand, thought everything through more carefully, then maybe...
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!
A sudden burst of extremely dense machine gun fire blasted the Saint Justina Council back, instantly sweeping away the pessimistic thoughts that exhaustion had planted in my mind.
"Over here!"
Looking toward the white-haired girl wielding an enormous machine gun, despite her small frame somehow giving off an overwhelming sense of security, I instinctively shouted:
"Hina...?"
"Sensei, there's no time left!"
From more than ten meters away, Gehenna's Prefect Team leader stretched out a hand toward me and called anxiously:
"Please come over here immediately!"
I subconsciously took half a step toward her, only to suddenly stop myself.
Because I noticed something.
In Hina's words, there was only a place for me.
Then I turned my head and looked toward the girls who had fought beside me this whole time.