Gazing at the tender, alluring little face of the girl before her.
Gazing at that pair of clear eyes, crimson and bewitching.
Saint Michael smiled bitterly in her heart.
"What a sweet-tongued witch she is——"
"That fabled witch said to have crawled up from the starving dead of hell is, I suppose, no more than this."
"And yet——"
The Saintess's body was practically slumped, soft and limp, into Su Yuzu's embrace.
"If she weren't this kind of witch, then perhaps she could never have knocked open the walls around Lyudmila's heart."
"Which... "
"isn't so bad either."
"You truly are a sin-laden creature." Saying this... the Saintess lightly clung to Su Yuzu's shoulders, struggling to prop her own body up just a little.
"Though I don't know exactly what your purpose was in wanting to see me..."
The pure and holy maiden looked into the crimson eyes of the girl before her, eyes that seemed to ripple like autumn waters, "but..."
"this should be the thing you wanted, isn't it."
Saint Michael reached out a hand, like a girl acting coquettish wanting to cover Su Yuzu's eyes.
The girl's slender, jade-white fingertips covered one of Su Yuzu's eyes.
Holy Light, brilliant almost like the sun, lit up the stairwell, and even Su Yuzu, who likewise possessed the "Holy Light" skill, could not be entirely exempt from it.
She saw, within the sunlight, the angel lower her lovely head, as if to kiss her lips.
Su Yuzu closed her eyes.
There was light flowing from between their lips down into her throat, power being poured into her body.
Even at a time like this... did the Saintess still want to seize the initiative.
[Ding——]
Su Yuzu heard the familiar chime of the mechanical woman's prompt sound beside her ear.
[Congratulations on completing the mission - Lost Angel.]
[You have successfully uncovered the truth behind Saint Michael, and learned the information concerning Saint Michael and Lyudmila.]
[A new Event has been unlocked.]
[Congratulations, you have obtained the reward: Saint's Blessing.]
[Congratulations on exceeding the mission objectives.]
[Mission reward: "Saint's Blessing" is being distributed.]
[Mission reward: "Word of Command (Light)" is being distributed.]
[...]
She knew perfectly well that at this moment, all she had to do was comply.
As long as she let Saint Michael have her way just a little, she could obtain the "Saint's Blessing" from Saint Michael's mouth, along with... that power of the "Word of Command" belonging to the so-called Fourteenth-generation Saintess.
But——
How could Su Yuzu possibly be the type to tolerate placing herself beneath another.
If they were already intimately familiar with each other, that would be fine.
But this was only their first meeting... even if it was Saint Michael, Su Yuzu would not allow herself to fall into a passive position.
Had it been Soga Yura, it might have been a different story.
But Soga Yura... never mind, with Soga Yura's pitifully narrow stamina bar, Su Yuzu honestly didn't even want to get into it.
Most crucially of all... Su Yuzu listened to the heartbeat of the maiden before her, gazed at the Holy Light brimming throughout the stairwell, and she had a feeling——
If she complied like this... Saint Michael might just vanish then and there.
From that point on, there would be no more Saint Michael in the world, no more Lyudmila Michael.
All that would remain... would be Lyudmila alone.
Su Yuzu would absolutely never allow such a thing to happen.
After all... the Saintess before her was the very deity within Lyudmila's heart.
To Lyudmila, she must be an extremely, extremely, extremely important existence.
If she were to make her vanish so abruptly because of herself, then she would end up feeling troubled on Lyudmila's behalf.
And besides——
The corners of the girl's lips curled up with malice.
Every time she thought about how, when she was developing Lyudmila, bullying Lyudmila, there was another, even more noble and pure Saintess watching, and even feeling it all as her own——
Su Yuzu found it utterly delightful.
Just imagine, while she was bullying Lyudmila, murmuring beside the girl's ear, "Hey~"
"Lady Michael, you're watching, aren't you..."
Su Yuzu felt as though her whole body was about to grow excited.
How could she possibly let Saint Michael vanish.
But... as the Fifth Sequence, having grown even more powerful after her death, a Saint Michael who turned serious was something Su Yuzu could absolutely not hold back.
However——
Su Yuzu had an ultimate move.
"How could I ever let you exit the stage just like this."
With practiced ease, Su Yuzu swiped open the [Operator Development] panel.
She looked at the Q-version chibi pinned against the wall of the stairwell passage, golden wings spreading out from the waist of Lyudmila's Q-version chibi, completely wrapping both Su Yuzu's Q-version chibi and Lyudmila herself beneath those wings.
[Operator: Lyudmila Michael (Radiance Descends)]
[☆☆☆☆☆☆]
[Level.19 - Sun Esper (Level.61 - Sun Esper)]
[Talent: Light Descends Here]
[Talent: Revelation]
[Inherent Ability: Holy Light]
[Inherent Ability: Word of Command · Light]
[Favorability: 75 (Dependency) (Favorability 84 (Attachment))]
[...]
The abilities of Lyudmila's that had previously been blacked out now fully revealed themselves as well.
And Michael's descent... was also described as Lyudmila's first Talent, [Light Descends Here].
Thinking about it carefully, it really was quite fitting—and quite mocking.
So it turned out... that from that very moment, the truth had already been this close to her.
But none of this was what Su Yuzu needed to concern herself with right now.
The warm, light-natured power was still being poured ceaselessly from Lyudmila's body into her own.
The radiant power shrouding the skies above the entire city was, accordingly, shifting its fulcrum.
Saint Michael firmly pressed down on Su Yuzu's shoulders, suppressing any possibility of Su Yuzu resisting.
And yet——
Su Yuzu merely lightly tapped Lyudmila Michael's Q-version chibi.
Lyudmila Michael's Q-version chibi firmly hugged Su Yuzu's finger, the expression on its face turning into a (//////) sort of look, the golden light-natured feathered wings at its waist spreading open accordingly and flapping about.
[Feed]
[Develop]
[Interact]
[Events]
[...]
Taking a deep breath, Su Yuzu tapped directly on [Develop], swiftly checked off that rose-gold "Intermediate Combat Records," and tapped confirm.
"Ngh!!!" Su Yuzu suddenly heard the Saintess's anguished cry.
The girl's legs seemed about to wrap around Su Yuzu entirely.
[Ding——]
[Development of Lyudmila Michael successful.]
[Lyudmila Michael's combat experience increased.]
[Level.19 - Sun Esper experience: 99% → 100% (ready to break through).]
[Attachment: Lyudmila Michael Favorability -1.]
[Development: Lyudmila Michael Favorability +3.]
[Favorability increase reward obtained: Angel's Blessed Wings.]
[Compensation for materials expended in Development obtained.]
["Intermediate Combat Records" ×2.]
[...]
[Mission reward - "Saint's Blessing" distributed successfully.]
[Mission reward - "Word of Command (Light)" distribution failed. Do you wish to choose to redistribute.]
Without the slightest hesitation tapping "No," Su Yuzu looked at the Saintess before her, dazed in expression, as though she had just awakened from a dream.
"Tucking your tail and running away really doesn't suit the image of a Saintess..."
"Lady Michael."
____
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