Although Oenone had ordered Ethel not to train, he still found himself heading toward the training room.
Watching shouldn't count as training... right?
When he arrived, he realized he wasn't the only one sitting out.
Yinbing was leaning against a piece of training equipment with her chin resting in her hand, pouting as she stared blankly into space.
"She came in like that," one of the passing squad members explained to Ethel. "No idea what she heard during the meeting."
Ethel walked over and leaned against the equipment beside her.
"You're not training?"
"I've been ordered to take a break."
"Then why are you here?"
"Couldn't find anywhere else to go?"
"I didn't know where else to go."
"So... I came here."
"You..."
The two of them quietly sorted through their thoughts together.
Neither realized they were troubled by the very same issue.
"I heard what happened."
"About Captain Tia."
"...How does the First Squad usually fight?"
"Basically, she handles almost everything herself."
"The rest of us mostly scout the enemy and provide long-range support."
"I knew it."
Even though it confirmed what she had already suspected, Yinbing felt no satisfaction.
She and Tia were both members of the Combat Division.
In fact, Yinbing had far more seniority.
She had already been a Vice Captain when Tia first joined.
Yet years later...
she had become one of the people Tia protected.
The realization left her with mixed emotions.
Yinbing had joined the Combat Division for one reason—
to protect the city.
To contribute what she could.
It was the reason most people joined.
Yet somehow...
they had all been restrained under the excuse of being protected.
She understood Tia's intentions were good.
But that didn't make them any easier to accept.
"Did anything change after you joined?"
"A little."
"Captain Tia extended the amount of time everyone else was allowed to probe the enemy."
"I heard that before I arrived, she'd take over herself if nothing happened within three minutes."
"...That's a huge change."
Yinbing let out a quiet sigh.
"The upcoming battles will mostly be handled by us and the Second Squad."
"They'll be taking the larger share."
"But not nearly as much as the First Squad used to."
"That'll continue until Tia comes back."
"After that..."
"...we'll be relying on you even more, Ethel."
She patted him on the back before returning to training.
Ethel watched the others.
Many of them had never even stepped onto a real battlefield.
He would be responsible for directing them from the rear.
And there was every possibility...
...that another situation like Michael's and Tier's would happen again.
The pressure settled heavily onto his shoulders.
Naturally, the woman's voice inside his head seized the opportunity.
It continued whispering relentlessly into his mind.
Forced to endure the incessant voice while worrying about the increasing number of future subjugations, Ethel felt himself being crushed beneath the weight of both.
He knew there were moments when he entered an awful state of mind—
like during his sparring match with Yinbing.
Somewhere deep inside, he felt it hadn't happened only once.
But he couldn't remember.
He needed help too.
Yet with Sunblaze City already in turmoil and everyone burdened by their own anxieties...
perhaps the last thing he should do was become another problem.
"...Please."
"Just shut up..."
he muttered painfully.
He never noticed that, from not far away—
Yinbing had never once taken her eyes off him.
49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvWHEA6YvDs
Oenone lay on the sofa, staring blankly at the ceiling, her thoughts still occupied by Tia.
After conducting a more thorough examination, they had uncovered a serious problem.
Tia's body had already been pushed beyond its limits. Even Eborou's Reversal treatment could no longer restore it completely.
The damage caused by repeatedly overtaxing her body, combined with the crushing psychological blow, had caused Tia to fall unconscious once more.
Reality had become a living hell for her.
Only in dreams could she find a brief moment of escape.
A week had passed since she was injured.
During that time, Sunblaze City had endured four more demon subjugations.
Although the Second Squad had handled two of them, the remaining battles still fell upon the Third Squad.
Being thrown onto the battlefield without preparation was deadly.
Unlike before, this time they had neither Tia's protection nor Ethel's previous brilliance. He was clearly not in the right state of mind.
The result was devastating.
The number of casualties had multiplied several times over compared to the previous year, further fueling panic throughout the city.
If things continued like this, no one knew how much worse the situation would become.
Even so, Oenone's greatest concern remained Tia.
All of those other problems would resolve themselves once Tia recovered.
The only question was...
...whether the Tia who woke up would still be herself.
How could she break the demon haunting Tia's heart?
That question occupied every corner of Oenone's mind.
A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts.
It was nearly midnight.
Who would come looking for her at this hour?
"Ethel?"
To Oenone, he was another troublesome child.
His mysterious concept, along with the hidden side buried within him, worried her just as much.
The knocking came again.
Only then did she rise and open the door.
"Yinbing?"
"Want a drink?"
She raised the bottle in her hand.
Of course, she hadn't come merely to drink.
Oenone knew that perfectly well.
Still, she had no reason to refuse and invited Yinbing inside.
"Cheers."
Their glasses clinked together before both emptied them in a single gulp.
Sitting across from one another, they silently drained three glasses.
A faint blush appeared on both of their faces.
"So."
Oenone finally broke the silence.
"What's your real reason for coming?"
Since she'd already been seen through, Yinbing skipped the small talk.
"What are we going to do about Captain Tia?"
After hearing about Leon's final battle during the meeting, she finally understood what had driven Tia to become who she was today.
At this point, the only people who might be able to change her were Cypher and Oenone.
"We're not doing anything for now."
"Someone suggested a new breakthrough."
"I'm still figuring out how to make it work."
"We'll wait until she wakes up."
"Oh?"
"A completely new approach?"
"Yeah."
"I'm surprised."
"I didn't think anyone understood Tia better than you."
"Who was it?"
"Posius."
Hearing the name of the man who had died years ago, Yinbing paused for a moment.
From a certain perspective...
...Oenone hadn't lied.
Everything she had learned truly had come from Posius.
"That name brings back memories."
"That idiot..."
"He was always charging into the front lines."
"And now Tia has learned exactly the same habit from him."
"Even after dying, he's still making us worry."
Despite her complaints, Oenone's face was filled with nostalgia.
Five years had passed since his death.
Yet for many people...
...he remained someone irreplaceable.
"I wish he were still here."
"Then we'd have two unbelievably powerful Perfected Ones."
Perhaps...
...in some parallel world...
...Tia had become the Second Squad Captain of Sunblaze City.
"Let's just think of this as giving her a long vacation."
"Bring her back safely."
"I'll do my best."
Oenone stretched out across the floor.
Ever since Tia's injury, she'd been running herself ragged.
This was one of the few moments she'd had to catch her breath.
Turning her head, she noticed Yinbing still looked as though she wanted to say something.
"Yinbing."
"What else is on your mind?"
"There's someone else I'm worried about."
"Ethel?"
"Yeah."
"That kid's another problem child."
"You think so too?"
"One troublesome person after another."
"Do you remember our sparring match?"
"The one where he suddenly released killing intent?"
"Exactly."
"That night, I heard him talking in his sleep."
"He kept apologizing to someone."
"And between every apology..."
"...he kept asking, 'Why?'"
"I've seen it too."
"I accidentally witnessed the side of him that's completely different."
"It's nothing like his usual self."
"Since then, I've been paying close attention."
"Whenever he's close to losing control..."
"...his entire presence changes."
"Lately, whenever I talk to him..."
"...he looks like he's listening to me."
"And he answers normally."
"But I always feel like..."
"...he's listening to another voice at the same time."
"I have no idea what it is."
"You think it's his concept?"
"He told you?"
"I only learned about it recently."
"A concept that can actually speak..."
"I've never heard of anything like that."
"I don't think it's the concept."
"When he's actively using it, he's completely fine."
"It's after training..."
"...after he deactivates it..."
"...that those strange moments start appearing."
"So it isn't the concept..."
Oenone had originally assumed it was.
A voice speaking inside someone's mind certainly matched the description.
Perhaps the concept had temporarily seized control of his body, causing him to utter those malicious words.
But if that were true, as Yinbing pointed out, then the danger should have been greatest while he was actively using his concept.
Instead...
...the opposite was happening.
The only explanation she could think of...
...was that something else existed inside Ethel's mind.
"Oh, come on..."
"I refuse to believe every other city has this many people haunted by inner demons."
"Is Sunblaze City cursed or something?"
"There are already two among the Perfected Ones alone."
"And they're supposed to be our strongest fighters."
"Yeah."
"Tia's in terrible shape."
"And Soth only looks fine on the surface."
"Soth?"
"Yeah."
"Who did you think the other two were?"
Yinbing pointed directly at Oenone.
Oenone froze for a moment before correcting herself.
"Every Perfected One in Sunblaze City has issues."
She didn't deny the accusation.
After so many years leading squads...
...she had accumulated more painful memories than she cared to count.
"And two of them were already broken before they even joined."
"Really?"
"Yep."
So Soth had always carried his own burdens as well.
Yinbing had never known that.
"Ohhh, this is such a pain~~"
"Yinbing, why don't you just cut open their hearts and remove all the broken parts for me?"
Yinbing stared expressionlessly at her captain—
a woman well past thirty—
rolling drunkenly across the floor.
Still...
...that was one of the reasons she'd come tonight.
She and Tia had never been particularly close.
Although they'd worked together for six years, being in different squads meant they rarely interacted.
The other person was different.
"I'll handle Ethel."
"You handle Captain Tia."
"If we leave them alone..."
"...I feel like something terrible will eventually happen."
Oenone slowly sat upright.
Honestly...
...it was a good suggestion.
She had to prioritize Tia for now.
Ethel's situation would have to wait.
At the same time, she worried he might collapse at any moment.
Although she'd wanted to deal with him herself...
...perhaps Yinbing was the better choice.
"I'm counting on you, Yinbing."
Yinbing nodded.
Now that she'd accomplished what she'd come for, it was time to leave.
She packed up her things—
only to feel someone grab her hand.
"Where are you going?"
"Back to sleep."
"Heeey~~"
"Weren't you going to drink with me until sunrise?"
"I never said that! Let go!"
The harder Yinbing struggled...
...the tighter Oenone held on.
She even reinforced her grip with Force, refusing to let go.
Suddenly Yinbing lost her balance and fell forward.
Looking down—
she found Oenone hugging her entire leg.
"Yinbing~~~"
"Wait... no!"
Oenone began climbing upward along her leg.
At that point...
...escape was impossible.
"Nooooo!!"
The following morning, every squad member instinctively stayed away from Yinbing.
The resentment radiating from her was simply too overwhelming.
That same night...
while Oenone was analyzing battle strategies in her room, her communicator rang.
"Hello?"
"Captain Oenone."
"This is bad."
"Captain Tia has disappeared."
Two minutes later, Oenone arrived at the infirmary.
Only an empty hospital bed remained.
Tia was nowhere to be found.
A patient who had only just awakened from a week-long coma...
...had vanished without a trace.
"...Where did she go?"
ns216.73.216.38da2
and then Add to home screen.