On the streets surrounding the old cathedral.
The battle between former companions had only just begun, yet the victor was decided before long. The others did not even need to intervene.
Or perhaps it should be said that precisely because they had spent every day together since childhood, already forming bonds closer than family and understanding each other's combat styles completely, the gap in raw ability between them became even more pronounced.
The victor was Saori, the "older sister" and "instructor" who had personally taught the rest of the squad how to fight.
"...Still as naive as ever."
Pointing her gun at Azusa's head after knocking her to the ground, Saori coldly said:
"What kind of lunatic rushes head-on without thinking? Your specialty is guerrilla warfare, finding opportunities to ambush enemies when their guard is down. You know that perfectly well, yet you still thought you could defeat me in a frontal fight!?"
The more she spoke, the harder it became for her to suppress her anger. Her words were filled with frustration and disappointment toward Azusa.
"Gu... uuugh...!"
Azusa glared furiously and only demanded:
"Saori... why are you doing all this...? Why would you do that to Sensei...!?"
Seeing that, Saori took a deep breath. Rather than answering Azusa, she instead asked something seemingly unrelated toward the side.
"...Misaki, how much time is left?"
"About five minutes or so. I think the reserve forces from both schools should arrive around then."
Misaki paused briefly before continuing.
"However, according to reports from the others, aside from Trinity and Gehenna, students from other academies seem to have joined the battlefield as well. We may have even less time than expected."
Saori nodded faintly.
"That's enough. Hold her up."
Then Misaki and Atsuko each grabbed one of Azusa's arms and lifted her from the ground.
Benefiting from being nearly a head taller, Saori still maintained a downward gaze as she looked at Azusa from above.
"You delivering yourself to us saved me quite a bit of time. Your betrayal caused some deviations in the plan... though still within acceptable margins. Originally, the one expected to arrive here was Mika, but that idiot has already become useless."
"In that case, the only remaining risk factor was Nagisa. Fortunately, she attended the signing ceremony without much suspicion. Being able to deal with the Sisterhood at the same time was an unexpected gain."
"...Let me explain exactly what happened."
At that, Saori took a deep breath and solemnly explained everything they had done.
"We seized the Eden Treaty. We intervened in the old cathedral where the treaty was being concluded using cruise missiles, eliminated the obstacles, then altered the contents of the treaty... You look confused."
That reaction was only natural.
In truth, considering Arius's overall educational level was practically kindergarten-tier, aside from Atsuko, the other Squad members had been even more bewildered than Azusa when they first heard the plan.
"Azusa, did you forget?"
Misaki reminded her.
"We possess the qualifications to represent Trinity. This treaty is a reenactment of the First General Council. Back then, each faction possessed its own authority. Then, on the day of the council, all factions united into the new Trinity... except Arius was excluded."
Misaki paused briefly before continuing.
"So we never changed after that. Formally speaking, we still retain the authority. 'When conflict arises between Trinity and Gehenna, the Eden Treaty Organization shall intervene and resolve the dispute'... that is the content of the Eden Treaty. All we did was add the clause 'The Eden Treaty Organization shall be represented by Arius.'"
Beside them, Hiyori cautiously supplemented the explanation.
"I-It really doesn't seem meaningful if it's just that... but the Commandments truly exist, so as long as they can be 'replicated'..."
"The Justina Council of Saints."
Saori said,
"The guardians of the Commandments, Trinity's legendary military organization. More accurately, replicas, but still beings that protect the Commandments. In other words, they are the support force of our ETO. Hostile actions between Trinity and Gehenna violate the sacred Commandments. As the source of conflict, they will be suppressed."
In other words.
Arius first attacked Gehenna as one part of "Trinity."
Then, as the "ETO," by exploiting the hostile acts between the Trinity they previously represented and Gehenna that violated the treaty, they gained the authority to command the Council of Saints.
"...I finally understand."
Hearing this, the sharp-minded Azusa grasped the crux of it.
"This attack wasn't simply a decapitation strike targeting the academies, nor was it merely to create panic. The true objective was to alter the Eden Treaty... and thereby obtain that mysterious army..."
At that moment, unable to bear opposing Azusa, Atsuko attempted through sign language to persuade her to return to Arius.
"Atsuko, I can't. And besides..."
Azusa shook her head so hard she bit deeply into her own lower lip, glaring hatefully at Saori.
"More importantly, why did you do that to Sensei!?"
Faced with that accusation, for the first time during this confrontation, Saori avoided meeting Azusa's eyes.
After a long silence, she finally answered heavily.
"...Believe it or not, that was never my intention. Sensei was someone Madam specifically ordered us to bring back to the autonomous district. But..."
"Um, excuse me."
A polite voice suddenly sounded from nearby.
"I think I just heard you mention Sensei?"
...
Within the dream.
"I see."
I murmured.
"So it really was another conspiracy by Gematria."
During our conversation, I learned that Kuzunoha, like Seia, was a prophet, and that she was someone trustworthy.
Based on Kuzunoha's enthusiastic attitude toward me, that half-finished form of address earlier, and her beautiful face, I reasonably suspected she might also become one of my wives in the future.
In any case, I roughly summarized the events happening outside for them. The knowledgeable pair quickly pieced together the general situation from the information I provided.
Seia sighed emotionally.
"Contracts, Commandments, promises... such things are extremely important concepts in Kivotos, much like the ancient legends. For example, Trinity's scriptures record the primordial 'Divinity' of ancient times, along with the Ten Commandments established with it. Sensei, you yourself already used a similar concept before when saving Takanashi-san, correct?"
When I rejected Hoshino's withdrawal application, the contract between Gematria and Hoshino had become meaningless paper, forcing them to abandon their original scheme.
"This incident follows the same principle. Although the Eden Treaty itself is merely an agreement between academies, the special location and the qualifications of the gathered representatives... when all those elements aligned, a promise of immense significance was born. Though distorted, it is clearly a reenactment of the General Council. Then, the Justina Council of Saints, guardians of that promise, that is, the 'Commandments,' were 'replicated' and manifested through some special method."
Seia paused briefly before summarizing:
"As a result, Arius has obtained an immortal and extraordinarily powerful army. That is the current situation... However, that is not the greatest problem. Though this remains speculation for now, the probability is already high enough that we must respond as though it were fact."
Hearing that, I shuddered and could not help asking:
"After obtaining the power of the Council of Saints, does Gematria have an even deeper scheme?"
Kuzunoha corrected me in her drifting tone.
"Hm. It may not necessarily be the work of the Gematria thou speakest of."
Seia nodded.
"Correct. If Gematria were involved, I likely would no longer be able to speak with Sensei here right now. In other words, it is most likely an unknown third party."
"So what exactly happened?"
"Though we do not know the mechanism..."
Seia's expression became solemn.
"The future I foresee has most likely been distorted by some sort of force."
"Or perhaps mine has."
Kuzunoha added from the side.
Seia immediately shot her a sharp look carrying an obvious questioning meaning.
After hearing that, I waited for a while longer. When no further explanation came, I asked in confusion:
"So... that's it?"
As expected, I received Seia's gaze filled with surprise and incomprehension.