"Excuse me?" I turned around to confront the person who made that rude comment.
"What? Did I stutter? Has a doll like you finally regained emotions? Or is that just an act?"
The ragged man didn't back down, berating me at every opportunity.
Perhaps it was because I had used too much Ichor, but my body felt unnaturally warm.
—Snap!
My judgment, clouded by the heat, made me more aggressive than usual, and I approached the man quickly.
Some tried to intervene, but no one dared to touch me, seeing me as a highly dangerous individual.
I didn't know what Project ANGEL's hidden agendas were or what lay behind the Xero Squad.
But a bunch of young adults, fighting on the frontline to protect humanity, sacrificing their lives in their stead...
It makes me feel sick.
"W-Wait!"
The green-haired girl tried to stop me from what I was about to do, but I was too stubborn to listen.
—Grab!
I grabbed his collar and pulled him closer.
"Ugah!" He struggled, trying to break free.
"Y-You! Get your hands off me, you—"
"How about you get your mind out of the gutter, loser old man?" I locked eyes with him, tightening my grip on his collar.
"What do I look like to you? Do I look like a cold-blooded killer? Why did you think I rushed in to save someone like you?"
"Y-You...!"
"I don't care what happened between Project ANGEL and you people, but know this: despite everything, I came here to save you."
I softened my tone to emphasize my point.
Everyone fell silent, even the man in my grip, who gritted his teeth, aware that we were their only hope.
From my determination to their despair, it was clear they were desperate for salvation in this cruel world.
The one who gave them hope was a frail girl who seemed barely old enough to be an adult.
That's me.
...
...
...
Seeing that continuing to argue would be a waste of time, I released my grip on his collar and turned away.
I needed to assist Anellia as quickly as possible and wait for reinforcements to arrive.
"All of you, stay put, unless you want to die," I said bluntly, placing my hand on the Ichor barrier to leave.
I didn't expect anyone to respond, nor would I care if they exploded at me like rabid mutts.
But before I left, someone grabbed my shoulders—something I had anticipated, given the situation from the beginning.
"...Stay safe." The green-haired girl said.
"..."
She looked at me as if she understood what needed to be done, accustomed to handling such situations.
I already knew she was no ordinary girl, judging by the concealed cloth hidden behind her back.
Happy that someone wished me luck, I smiled brightly in response.
"Hah, that's the kind of response I want to hear~." I said, my expression contrasting sharply with the one I had shown to the others earlier.
Whether they were right or wrong, everyone shared the same burden.
This hatred in my heart for the Historia family will never fade, and I don't think I'll ever truly forgive Erina.
I still feel conflicted around her, forcing herself on me.
But for now, in times of greater need, everyone deserves a shoulder to lean on.
And that includes me.
"I'll be there, Anellia." I channelled my hand on the Ichor.
—Voom…
I began to phase through the wall, a skill I had gained enough control over.
Since it's naturally a part of me, I can manipulate it like liquid.
I stepped outside the Ichor, bracing myself for what was to come, as if passing through a fog gate…
Only to be ensnared by darkness.
========
—SHING!!!
Lux swung her scythe just in time to prevent something from decapitating me, barely saving my life.
A massive tentacle had tried to sweep us to the right, enough to plunge us into the corrosive tar.
"...Huh?" I slowly turned my head, feeling blood trickle down my cheeks.
…I almost died… there.
—BANG BANG BANG!!!
Gunshots erupted from Anellia's drones as she attempted to shoot down the entities rapidly approaching us.
Black shadows emerged from all sides, coming after us without end.
Thanks to everyone's abilities, we could eliminate them all in an instant, no matter how many came at us.
"Tch! Aria, are those meat sacks safe!?" Lux called the survivors 'meat sacks,' her white gown standing out in the eerie darkness.
"Y-Yes! They're safe, but what's going on?" I squinted, trying to see through the shadows.
The facility had been dim when we entered, with flickering lights overhead. Now that the main light was gone, Anellia's drone illuminated the entire area.
—Vwang...!
Whenever Anellia's lasers cut through the dark, they briefly lit up the surroundings, but the light was quickly swallowed by the darkness, fading away almost instantly.
"The light... can we spread it to fend off the monsters?" I suggested.
"Good guess, but we've tried that already."
Lux shot back, clearly frustrated as she searched for a way out of this dire situation.
"...The Eldia kept going after the lights whenever they appeared... so I feel useless..." Nox suddenly crept up behind me.
"W-Whoa! Where did you come from?!" I exclaimed, genuinely startled by how he crawled on the floor, his face pressed down from his chain-like wings.
"I've been here the whole time, Vice-Leader..." he said gloomily, exuding a negative aura.
"Vice-Leader, welcome back." Anellia returned to our location and regrouped with the rest of us.
"Good job," she nodded, clearly impressed by what I had done.
I wasn't entirely sure how the situation had escalated, but if the civilians were exposed to whatever was going on, it would undoubtedly lead to deaths—a sea of blood.
There were supposed to be 15 angels dispatched to the Domain, but only two had arrived.
Those two were Lux and Nox, completing the squad except for one person missing.
"How about Eskeith?" I asked, wondering where she had gone.
"Ugh, that crazy woman is outside, but we can't access the outside due to an interference," Lux reported.
"So is it just you two who arrived?"
"That is correct, but don't forget this, Aria."
She looked at me with a demanding gaze, not as if I were a Vice-Leader, but as an outsider.
"I won't acknowledge you as a Vice-Leader yet, greenhorn."
Seemingly unfazed by her poorly timed declaration (since I'm used to people like her), I assessed our situation and considered how we would escape this place.
I'm sure they could escape without any issues, but since we had to evacuate the civilians to a safer location, we needed to think critically.
—CRUNCH!
Somehow, Lux managed to see through the darkness as she swung her massive weapon of destruction at the tentacles, treating them like a paper toy.
Meanwhile, Nox lay on the floor, controlling his own tentacles to eliminate the remaining remnants that seemed to be illuminated by the light.
Whenever these remnants came into contact with his wings, they were destroyed.
Based on their abilities, they were primarily suited for combat and utility, with Anellia being the only one capable of generating light.
"Anellia, is there any way you can emit blinding levels of light?"
"Affirmative, but failure will result in my energy output decreasing to 5%," she replied.
With that in mind, I stood in the center, trying to think of a way to escape this predicament while the others fought. It felt as though the responsibility to find a solution rested on my shoulders.
If only sunlight would pour down from the ceiling again, it would solve our natural light issue.
"Nox, Lux, how long do you think we can hold on here?" I inquired.
"That isn't even a question," Lux smirked, intrigued that I was trying to come up with a solution as she gripped her scythe with both hands.
—Click... Clack!
Her weapon transformed seamlessly, shifting from a sinister scythe with six edges to a mighty axe, beautiful in its own way.
...W-Whoa, that's cool.
"Hihi, I can fight forever~" She hummed, excited by the unnerving situation.
"Sigh... I'll try my best, dammit." Nox reluctantly stood up, his wings supporting his movements like a puppet.
On one hand, they were all psychopaths, but that was what made them the infamous Xero Squad.
They were monsters themselves.
Without needing to say a word, Anellia nodded, thinking the same.
"Buy me five minutes; that's all I need," I requested, raising my arms to make it quick.
"Copy that."
"Do as you please."
"Sure thing..."
—Voom...!
Ichor began to gravitate toward my fingertips, eager to test out something that could work.
No, it will definitely work.
I delved into my own world, creating a new type of bullet I never thought would be useful until now.
Fire began to swell at my fingertips, generating inside the bullet and condensing over and over again until it exploded once released into the air.
The Ichor functions as an ideal material that conducts and stores energy, or mana, harmonizing perfectly with it.
Mana was infused into the bullet, significantly enhancing its power.
With Anellia's adjustment of the Libera by 20%, this would create a fireworks display unlike anything anyone could have imagined.
—CLASH!!!
Meanwhile, Lux's axe sliced through all the shadows around me, protecting the Ichor bubble that contained 500 people and me from danger.
Those who encountered her axe were cut through effortlessly, as if they were made of butter.
It was a graceful dance, with her swinging the weapon as if to music, a content smile on her face.
"Hahahaha!!!" she giggled, transforming her axe into a tri-folded cleaver and striking the tentacle that reemerged.
—SWISH!!!
The tentacle was shredded into pieces; from its tentacle to its entrails, it was blown away by the sheer wind pressure. Lux's power grew stronger with each fight.
"Come on... show me more~!" Her white veil, stained with black tar, made her appear more like a demon than a saint.
"How can you fight like that, Lux..." he said, looking at her with disgust as her uniform became soiled with tar.
Nox, wearing a green scarf that covered his face from his nose down, moved like a mirage.
He wielded two dual blades with grace, swiftly dispatching the horde and using his wings to execute erratic movements.
It was as if he had grown more in control of himself with his treatment, treating his body like a puppet to push beyond the limits of human joints.
"Bothersome..." he sighed, displaying no signs of nervousness.
—Shikk...!
All the shades collapsed onto the floor or started to fight each other when his chain-like wings collided with them, creating an unusual anomaly that showcased his ability.
—ZING ZING ZING!!!
Then, with Anellia standing by my side, she remained still, using her drones to shoot the shades that Nox and Lux missed, killing them swiftly.
I don't know exactly what these "shades" are, but they could be classified as Eldians—specifically, the Rotten.
They are by no means easy opponents; in fact, they are stronger than a standard Rotten, strong enough to destroy steel with just their teeth.
"They're all amazing..." I thought while forming a bullet.
Everyone had their own unique fighting styles and weapons designed for combating monsters.
From overwhelming firepower to swift tactics for locating their core in an instant, each of them brought something special to the table.
My Ichor was sufficient for me, but I needed more—more firepower to reach their level.
Anellia had her drones, Lux wielded a constantly transforming weapon, and Nox demonstrated incredible efficiency.
Scarlet employed her
I need it all.
—Ving!
I opened my eyes and scanned my surroundings, eager to learn more about how their weapons functioned.
I may be a talentless hack, relying on other people's successes, but that's fine with me.
—Kachick!
With a single round, I reloaded Libera and stood up, now that I was finished.
"Everyone... brace yourselves," I declared, aiming at the ceiling.
Under my command, they nodded and gave me the green light, ready to pull the trigger.
—Voom...
To prevent recoil and scorching my hand, I created a support to keep my hands in place.
I had never used a bullet that exceeded the
But this one had an output of 150%, combining two Magic Arts to create a devastating area-of-effect.
I decided to call it the
—Click!
—FWOOOOSH!!!
Making the right choice to protect my arm, a catastrophic flare of fire burst from Libera, displaying more firepower than
"KIEEEK!!!" The shades all collapsed under the sun, and the giant tentacle that had been relentlessly regenerating and attacking us fled through a descending door.
I aimed for the ceiling because the darkness that dominated the entire facility couldn't withstand the fire, nearly breaking apart.
To ensure they wouldn't come back, I looked over at Xero Squad and pointed, signalling them to destroy the ceiling.
"Destroy the roof!" I shouted.
"Not too shabby, Aria!" Lux seized the opportunity and ran up to me, ready to take it down herself.
Anellia prepared her drones just in case, but since Lux was first, she stepped back.
—JUMP!
Lux, who had entered the realm of superhumans, leaped to the ceiling and transformed her weapon back into an axe designed for blunt damage, unlike her scythe, which was meant to shred an Eldia to find their cores.
Infusing her axe with energy, it began to glow red, crackling with electricity as she prepared for an all-out attack.
"HAAAH!!!" Lux screamed, swinging her massive axe into the roof and completely breaking through it.
—RUMBLE!!!
She demolished the faculty's roof altogether, greeted by a stream of light.
I knew it was supposed to be an issue resolved through critical thinking.
However, to confront the absurdity that defies logic, I decided to double down and embrace it myself.
Solving everything with brute force.
"How's that?" I asked, looking at Lux as she freed us with a single strike.
"Hah, not bad," she replied, clearly having fun for once.
Sorry to interrupt... but Aria—no, it's Vice-Leader now…" Nox averted his gaze from me, unsure where to look.
"What? Is there something wrong?"
"N-No... it's not that, it's just…"
As I tried to discern what was wrong, I glanced at the two others, who had different reactions.
"Vice-Leader, your clothes melted."
"You're naked, dumbass."
"...Ah."
I had no idea how they got worse, especially since I hadn't felt any tar seeping through my skin.
The only time I had been grazed was when Lux sliced through the shade as it lunged for my head…
"…Hmm." I thought to myself, wondering how I should react.
Should I scream in embarrassment, cover myself, and slap… uh, I don't know, Nox in the face?
I haven't been a girl for too long, so I'm not so sure.
...
...
...
"It's fine, not a big deal anyway—"
"Vice-Leader, I beg of you, please wear some clothes."
Nox immediately rejected that idea and shook his head, as if he now saw me as a bona fide member of Xero Squad.
"Not like Eskieth and the other squads are watching, but if that's what you want, sure," I said to Nox, who was clearly flustered by my attitude.
「Oh? But I was watching the whole time, though.」Eskieth replied, speaking to me with comms.
「I'm going to kill myself now.」