I held my breath and emptied my mind, letting my body follow instinct. As I continuously pulled the trigger, I made tiny adjustments to the pistol's aim based on where I predicted she would be, firing until the magazine was empty.
My nerves were stretched to their limit. Time itself seemed to slow to a crawl in my eyes. I could almost make out the wake trailing behind each spinning bullet as it flew from the barrel.
I had waited far too long for this exact moment, the instant when Beatrice lost her sanity and began transforming, unable to take any defensive measures.
I couldn't deny that there was an element of gambling involved. What if this Authority wasn't very effective against Beatrice? What if she had actually retained the last shred of her reason and prepared for it in advance?
Even if I failed, there would still be another chance.
Even knowing that, I couldn't suppress my anxiety. After what felt like an endlessly prolonged instant, the bullets disappeared one after another into the black mist produced by Beatrice's transformation.
Did I miss?
Several seconds passed without the result I had hoped for, and that was the first thought that came to mind.
Then, in the next moment, I noticed something strange.
Several seconds had already gone by, yet the pitch-black mist still completely enveloped Beatrice's figure.
I couldn't tell whether that was good or bad. All I could do was wait...
No, wait. If I still wasn't sure, shouldn't I just keep attacking instead of standing around?
Realizing my mistake, born from inexperience, I hurried to reload.
But just as I was about to move, I realized there was no longer any need.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!"
Beatrice suddenly let out a delayed, bloodcurdling scream.
It startled me so badly that my hand twitched. When I looked up again, the black mist was rapidly dispersing. Beatrice, who had failed to transform into a monster, had collapsed onto the ground and was struggling to get back up.
The effect is way too obvious!
A surge of joy welled up inside me.
So it hadn't failed at all. It had been a tremendous success. It was just that the bullets needed a little more time to fly.
"How... how is this poss... Blegh!"
Beatrice spoke in disbelief before suddenly coughing up a mouthful of crimson blood.
I couldn't help sneering.
"Heh. So even the blood of a freak like you is red."
Beatrice glared at me with more than a dozen hateful eyes, wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand.
"Don't celebrate too soon! You only caught me off guard with a despicable sneak attack. What's so impressive about that!? Did you really think someone like me could be defeated so easily!? No, this is far from over!"
Hearing that, I raised my guard slightly. I worried that perhaps she really hadn't been affected that much, though it seemed more likely that she was simply putting on a brave face.
Either way, bullets were the best response.
"Everyone, we're almost there!"
As I fired, I shouted encouragement to the others.
"Yeah!"
Saori answered passionately.
"Let's make Madam experience the void she taught us herself!"
Unfortunately, Beatrice still had a fair number of guards around her, and they intercepted my shots.
Even so, victory was now close at hand.
As long as nothing unexpected happened...
"Why!? Why!?"
Only a handful of replicas remained by her side, and Beatrice herself still lay helplessly on the ground.
At last, she began to acknowledge her impending defeat, yet she found reality impossible to accept as she hysterically demanded,
"What do I possibly lack compared to you!? While you indulged yourself in pleasure, I painstakingly educated the Arius students, diligently studied those dull ritual texts, and exhausted myself making my domain ever more secure... For over a decade, I have devoted every waking moment to preparing for this day!"
She actually managed to make her utterly revolting deeds sound so righteous...
For the first time, I realized Beatrice had quite a talent for comedy.
Rather than being a conspirator, she would clearly be better suited to finding work in a circus.
I couldn't even be bothered to answer her. I continued directing Arius Squad, concentrating on dealing with the few remaining replicas on the battlefield.
"Why did you have to interfere with me!? Why won't you understand me!? Why isn't it you who's kneeling on the ground now, regretting your arrogance and stupidity!? I had already found a method that would definitely kill you! I only needed a little more time..."
At that point, Beatrice suddenly froze, as though regaining a sliver of sanity.
"That's right... Saori... Saori! You're a bearer of the royal bloodline too!"
I glanced at Saori in surprise. She looked completely unfazed.
So she and Atsuko really were blood relatives.
Then I remembered Misaki mentioning that Saori had grown up with her and Hiyori in the slums ever since childhood.
Their blood relationship was probably quite distant by now.
At that moment, Beatrice burst into delighted laughter.
"As long as I offer you as a sacrifice as well, it will surely accelerate the completion of the ritual... And it was you who ruined my perfect plan to this extent! Saori! I will make you pay... No, I will grant you the honor of becoming my nourishment!"
"Then come!"
Saori's eyes blazed with resolve. She took a deep breath and roared,
"If you think you can, then try it! Vanity, vanity, all is vanity!"
Coming from the current Saori, those words carried a completely different feeling than they once had.
Beatrice noticed it as well.
She froze for a moment before flying into a furious rage.
"You actually dare... use the words I taught you against me!?"
"Doesn't that just prove you're a good teacher?"
I couldn't resist adding the sarcastic remark.
Sure enough, those words caused Beatrice to lose her sanity all over again.
It did nothing to improve her situation.
It only hastened her destruction.
In the blink of an eye, only two or three members of the Justina mobs remained desperately holding the line.
"Give up."
Seeing that victory was all but certain, I casually said,
"I might even be merciful enough to grant you a dignified death."
Perhaps because her rage had already reached its absolute limit, Beatrice didn't react with the furious outburst I had expected.
"I still have one last trump card... That's right... I still have one final sacrifice..."
Her eyes filled with hatred so intense that it completely consumed even herself.
"I'll offer... myself... as the sacrifice."
...Has she gone completely insane!?
Realizing something was terribly wrong, I immediately raised my pistol, trying to stop her final act of madness before it could bring about whatever disastrous consequence awaited.
But the mobs continued carrying out their orders with unwavering loyalty.
"O [Chroma]!"
Beatrice was able to shout unhindered,
"Hear my ambition!"