I stayed right beside Hina, witnessing her break through one encirclement of the Justina Council after another.
The surrounding scenery gradually shifted from the ancient cathedral, now reduced to nothing but shattered ruins, into devastated streets.
These must have been the traces left behind by battles between Trinity and Gehenna students stationed nearby under martial law, and the Arius students fighting against the Justina Council.
Although only a little over ten minutes had passed, because we were almost constantly either being intercepted into combat or sprinting through ruins, my subjective sense of time felt distorted. It was as if the accelerated passage of life after activating my divine name had also warped my perception of time itself, making it stretch out thousands of times longer than normal.
During all this, Hina truly did everything she could to protect me, but still, a number of tricky bullets slipped through her defensive net and struck me with pinpoint accuracy, to the point that Hina nearly lost focus in battle.
Fortunately, she noticed that my halo was still intact and my complexion had not changed, and I was indeed still able to endure it.
Or rather, I had already begun to grow numb to the pain.
I felt as if I had turned into a puppet, my mind completely muddled, my actions sustained only by some kind of belief.
If I could really reach a safe place, I had no doubt I would collapse unconscious on the spot. But if that condition could actually be achieved, I would, in a sense, be immensely grateful.
Though it might also become something I would deeply regret.
In any case, these were not problems I had the luxury to dwell on right now.
"Haa... haa..."
After breaking through another dozen members of the Justina Council, Hina slowed her pace slightly and took several deep breaths.
Her breathing was so heavy that it seemed to aggravate one of her wounds, and she could not help but furrow her brow.
Even so, after glancing at me, the first thing she said was to confirm that I was unharmed.
Then she tried to reassure me.
"Sensei, please endure a little longer. After we break through here, it will be..."
Before she could finish, footsteps sounded from the side.
It was a green-haired girl leading more than ten members of the Justina Council, her expression gloomy.
"H-Hina... we meet again...! Ah, and Sensei too. Sensei is injured as well, I am truly sorry..."
As she said this, Hiyori's face showed a hint of reluctance.
"Hehe, b-but, I guess this can't be helped. Why resist? It only makes things more painful..."
"Tch. Persistent."
The Gehenna Prefect Team leader's violet eyes flashed coldly as she spoke in a frigid tone, then, as she had done countless times before, she aimed at the enemy and pulled the trigger of her machine gun.
But after dozens of consecutive battles, and already being injured from the start, even Hina's bullets had begun to lose their edge.
And most crucially, following Hiyori, reinforcements from Arius continued to arrive one after another.
First was Misaki. Then came a purple-haired girl I had never seen before, wearing a somewhat unusual variation of a standard gas mask, likely the "Princess," Atsuko, whom I had only heard of by name.
And then...
As expected, Saori also appeared on the battlefield.
Under the combined assault of these four individuals, whose strength far exceeded ordinary Arius students, and the encirclement of the Justina Council, it finally happened, like the last straw that broke the camel's back.
A single seemingly ordinary bullet made Hina let out a muffled groan and stagger backward.
I reached out to catch her, but overestimated my own condition and was pulled down to the ground along with her.
"So the Gehenna Prefect Team leader has finally fallen."
Misaki paused, then added,
"Along with Schale's Sensei."
"S-so it finally happened... it must hurt, right? To have endured this far while so badly injured..."
Hiyori said carefully, though it was unclear whether she was speaking to Hina or someone else.
The purple-haired girl said nothing, simply watching us in silence.
Finally, Saori spoke in a calm voice.
"The main figures of Trinity and Gehenna who attended this treaty signing have all been eliminated."
In my arms, Hina glared furiously at the Arius Squad, still struggling to stand and continue fighting.
But from her difficult movements and the pain she could no longer fully conceal in front of me, I knew she had reached her limit and could no longer continue.
So this really was the end of the road.
For some reason, I instead felt a kind of relieved calmness.
Saori's voice remained as deep and steady as ever.
"Only you remain now, Sensei."
"...Yes."
I answered calmly.
"Only me, Saori."
I still remembered clearly the first time we met, when Saori was sent to me by Beatrice as a "gift."
At that time, the girl had knelt on one knee, kissed the back of my hand, and sworn her loyalty in flattering words. How ironic that this was the situation now.
I had always known that Saori coming to me, obeying my orders, was part of Beatrice's mission, and that she could betray me at any time.
But before that, I had also always believed that the goodwill I showed her could win her over before Beatrice and I ever fully turned against each other, that she would instead betray her true master and stage a beautiful rebellion.
Looking at it now... heh.
I had been far too arrogant.
I could not help but let out a faintly mocking smile, my gaze sweeping over the three of them except for the purple-haired girl, recalling what I had done for them.
Giving Saori the high-end cosmetics she often saw in magazines. Casually asking Hiyori to bring fever medicine to Misaki when she was sick. Also giving Hiyori snacks and magazines she liked. Later even sponsoring the ice cream money for all members except Saori for a month...
Thinking carefully, I realized it had all been nothing more than trivial kindness anyone could offer.
How could something like that possibly make girls raised in such a distorted environment as Arius feel any real goodwill toward me?
Simply offering a few reminders had already been more than enough.
...So in the end, the one most at fault was, after all, me, who had simply not done enough.
Even so, someone as useless as me still had things I could do, and things I had to do.
I forced myself to suppress my negative emotions and asked the Arius special squad:
"What exactly have you done?"
"We... on behalf of Trinity, have signed the treaty at the ancient cathedral of Communio."
Saori explained calmly:
"The Arius Special Squad, in the name of Paradise, will form a new armed force to protect the treaty..."
Her ice-blue eyes narrowed, shaped like those of a snake.
"The Eden Treaty Organization, ETO."