TL/N: Copy Changed to mimesis.
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The desolate streets were bathed in the dim yellow glow of the streetlights.
The buildings lining both sides were old and dilapidated. Their walls were cracked and stained, most of the windowpanes were shattered, and even the frames had become warped.
This was the old Arius Satellite School.
I wondered if anyone still lived in a place like this.
They probably did.
Walking cautiously through it in the dead of night, I couldn't help feeling my mood grow heavier with every step.
"How much farther is it to the old school building?"
"We're almost there."
Saori answered.
But if I remembered correctly, she'd confidently claimed back when we set out that the training grounds were only a short distance away.
The Arius students' sense of distance was apparently very different from the rest of Kivotos.
With that thought in mind, I lowered my head and continued walking, mulling over an interesting piece of information I'd just learned, one that was closely tied to the purpose of this journey.
First of all, Beatrice had undoubtedly already learned that we'd arrived in the Arius Satellite School.
That meant approaching the Basilica by the main route would inevitably lead to one fierce battle after another.
Even if we managed to break through in the end, it would waste an enormous amount of time.
Fortunately, Saori had learned of a hidden path from Atsuko.
A secret corridor located beneath the old Arius school building. It had been constructed back when the branch school was first established long ago and led directly to the Basilica. The existence of this passage had been passed down only through the line of Arius Student Council Presidents.
As for the ones who built that corridor...
It had actually been...
The Justina Council of Saints, the very faction that had insisted on expelling Arius after the First General Council.
Despite being remembered throughout history as the faction most opposed to Arius, they had secretly been the ones who took the lead in establishing the school.
The revelation was astonishing.
As for why the Council of Saints had secretly helped Arius back then, perhaps it had been out of pure goodwill, or perhaps they had some other motive.
Whatever the truth was, it had likely been swallowed by the tides of history. None of the girls beside me knew the answer.
Atsuko might know something.
But for now, all I had were endless speculations.
If nothing else, I now had one more reason to save Atsuko.
To satisfy my own curiosity.
"...Something's off."
Saori suddenly frowned and stopped.
"The streets are too quiet. This road was never busy to begin with, but there shouldn't be absolutely no one around."
I asked, half curious, half reminding her,
"At this hour, people normally go out in Arius?"
It was already well past midnight. That might be normal in Kivotos, but given Arius's economic situation...
"To make a living."
Misaki answered calmly.
"In a place like this, the distinction between day and night isn't as obvious as it is outside. For the people living in the slums, going out at this hour is actually more convenient."
"I see..."
I'd been thinking too rigidly.
After looking around for a while, Hiyori cautiously spoke up.
"A-And... I feel like... there are things here that weren't here before..."
Misaki nodded.
"I feel the same... There's a sense of something being wrong. It's been a long time since I came here, but this place feels like an entirely unfamiliar street now."
Azusa, who had also been away from the Arius Satellite School for a long time, looked puzzled.
"You all feel it too? So this happened fairly recently?"
"I-I think so... Though it's hard to explain..."
Hiyori frowned.
"Now that I think about it, strange things started appearing little by little a long time ago... Cruise missiles stationed throughout the district... Strange weapons arriving as supplies... And now that I think about it, that thing called 'mimesis' was strange too. But we accepted its existence without questioning it."
Azusa immediately perked up.
"Saori, I told you that before, but you wouldn't listen."
Saori merely glanced at her without replying, sinking back into thought.
"Wait."
Misaki lowered her voice.
"Someone's coming. Hide."
We immediately slipped into the nearest building and observed from the darkness.
Holding our breath, we waited.
When the newcomers finally came into view, what I saw was completely beyond my expectations.
No...
It was infinitely worse than the worst possibility I'd imagined.
"T-The Council of Saints!? The Justina Council of Saints!?"
Hiyori covered her mouth as she whispered in shock.
They wore black nun's habits. Their skin glowed with a pale, ghostly light.
Judging by their appearance, they hadn't been converted by the Name of the Cross.
Was that supposed to count as good news?
But what in the world...
"...That's impossible."
Even Saori couldn't believe it.
"The Council of Saints was taken away. They shouldn't be usable anymore."
Misaki pondered for a moment.
"...Thinking about it carefully... Originally, the reason we attacked the Eden Treaty venue was to secure the mimesis ability."
Hiyori nodded.
"That's right. That's why Princess-chan followed the wooden puppet beneath the Ancient Sanctuary..."
Misaki continued.
"Then we were supposed to use the replicated Council of Saints forces to occupy the Trinity and Gehenna Academy. That was our original mission. But afterward, we failed."
"That's right."
Saori stared at the Council of Saints.
"The reason we fled was because we failed every objective. We couldn't bring Sensei back to the district. We failed to secure the mimesis ability. We failed to capture the two academies. But now..."
The reality before us revealed a cruel truth.
"That woman... has already obtained the mimesis ability?"
Then...
Didn't that mean the mission had already been accomplished?
Yet they hadn't known until seeing it with their own eyes.
All this time, Arius had still been hunting them down.
"So she deceived us."
Azusa concluded.
"Well, I'm not surprised. From the very beginning, I knew that woman was completely different from Sensei. She was never someone you could trust."
Coming from the first person to betray Arius, those words carried exceptional weight.
The remaining members of Arius Squad exchanged glances before falling into an even deeper silence.
Just then, a faint, piercing wail echoed from somewhere in the distance.
"...That's the cry of Saint Barbara."
Misaki paused.
"The tactical weapon we used during the Eden Treaty... That was copied too."
A tactical weapon?
What tactical weapon?
Why didn't I remember anything about that?
While I was wondering, the girls continued piecing things together.
"...mimesis..."
Misaki spoke with difficulty.
"It only had to succeed once..."
"In other words, our real mission... was only to bring the Princess beneath the Ancient Sanctuary so she could activate the mimesis ability...? Then the mission to occupy Trinity and Gehenna..."
Saori finished the thought.
"...Whether it succeeded or failed didn't matter to that woman?"
Silence once again settled over the group.
The atmosphere became unbearably oppressive.
In other words...
Every mission Arius Squad had been given might have been a complete lie from the very beginning.
The dark blue-haired girl murmured,
"Then all the missions we carried out..."
"What meaning did they have? That's what you're trying to ask, isn't it?"
An elegant, mature woman's voice, laced with ridicule, abruptly cut into our conversation.
The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end.
It was Beatrice's voice.
The next instant, hurried footsteps echoed around us.
Before we could react, countless members of the Council of Saints, accompanied by a handful of Arius students, had already blocked both our escape routes.
Although these members of the Council of Saints had not been converted by the Name of the Cross...
The situation was still utterly disastrous.
Beatrice had successfully gained control over this immortal army.
"...Tch. We walked right into her trap."
"...She expected us to come here all along."
"Ah, naturally."
As those words rang out, Beatrice's image appeared before us.
With an arrogant smile, she declared,
"This is my domain. I know exactly where each of you is, where you're headed, and the route you're taking. I knew from the very beginning that you intended to use the corridor beneath the old school building. Foolish children... Even if you've found Sensei, trying to deceive me is utterly impossible."
Hiyori trembled.
"E-Eek... F-From the very beginning..."
Misaki's voice was low.
"So we've been dancing in the palm of her hand all along..."
"Precisely."
Beatrice smiled.
"Your mission was always only one thing, 'Bring the Imperial Bloodline into the Ancient Sanctuary and allow the Council of Saints to manifest.' Even if unexpected complications arose, as long as the pathway was connected once, I could freely control them thereafter. Though the Artisan seems rather unhappy that his creation was taken away."
After a brief pause, the grotesque creature continued,
"As for occupying Trinity and Gehenna, I couldn't care less. That was merely a means of ensuring that the hatred nurtured within this district would obediently serve me. Personally, I bear no hatred toward those academies."
She let out a smug chuckle.
"Come to think of it, perhaps you did complete the mission I assigned after all. You provided me with the mimesis ability. You brought Sensei and the former traitor back to Arius. The Imperial Bloodline has willingly offered herself as my sacrifice. You've truly been such an obedient child, Saori."
Even though she had already guessed the truth, hearing Beatrice admit it herself made Saori's body tremble.
Lowering her gaze, she whispered,
"...I knew it. From the very beginning... you never intended to keep your promise with me, did you?"
Maybe I'd gone insane.
Because in that moment...
I couldn't stop myself from feeling...
Pity for Saori.
For all of them.
They had simply been born into an environment like this, children who knew nothing, raised against their will as weapons of war, taught that disobedience meant death.
That didn't erase the crimes they had committed with their own hands.
But the source of those sins had never been them.
"Well, enough meaningless chatter..."
Beatrice had already lost interest in mocking Saori.
"What interests me now is... yes."
She snapped her fingers.
The Council of Saints immediately opened fire.
Saori was struck and fell backward, caught by Misaki and Hiyori.
Azusa, furious, tried to rush forward, but I stopped her for the moment.
"It's been a while, Sensei."
"...Heh. Beatrice."
I spoke the name I despised more than anything.
That's right.
The root of everything.
The true culprit behind it all.
The grotesque creature standing before me.
I'd known that from the beginning.
Faced with all this...
How was I supposed to treat Arius Squad?
I had the right to decide whether to forgive them.
Even if I continued to see them as Beatrice's accomplices, even if I continued treating them coldly, no one had the right to condemn me.
No one...
Except myself.
And yet...
I was the one who had been betrayed.
The one who had been hurt.
Emotionally, I wanted them to face the consequences of what they'd done.
But emotionally, I also couldn't stop thinking...
They had already suffered enough.
If I continued blaming them, wouldn't I just be throwing a tantrum under the guise of being the victim?
In the end...
I never should have gotten involved with them in the first place.
It had to be these past six months in Kivotos.
Living alongside the students had changed the way I looked at them.
Otherwise...
I wouldn't have become someone this indecisive.
I no longer knew what the right answer was.
But I knew what I had to do.
As Sensei.
As an adult.
I had to take responsibility for my actions and my choices until the very end.
"The way you're looking at me suggests you've misunderstood something."
Beatrice smiled.
"For the sake of my reputation, allow me to clarify something first. I didn't use any special powers. Brainwashing? Supernatural abilities? Hehehe... Resorting to such underhanded tricks wouldn't be the way an adult behaves."
I looked straight at her.
"So you believe what you've done is what an adult should do?"
Beatrice laughed softly.
"Of course. Aren't you quite familiar with methods like these yourself? Hatred, anger, contempt, disgust... By exploiting emotions like these, along with a few illusions and a little deception, it's remarkably easy to control children."
She spread apart her lips, strands of flesh stretching between them as rows of sharp white teeth came into view.
"At the end of the day, in this hell, adults are meant to dominate children, exploit them, and finally devour them. The only difference is that your method of treating students as the steps of your own ascent appears gentler on the surface."
"But in essence..."
"How, exactly, are you any different from me?"
Thus, Beatrice challenged me.