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When Bokue Keikain arrived at the battlefield, the aerial combat had already begun.

From their figures, the combatants were two girls of roughly middle school age.

Without elaborate costumes, they wore only the simplest bandages wrapped like ancient Japanese shrine maidens' chest bindings, covering their vital areas while leaving most of their skin exposed. Pure white angel-like wings spread from their backs—maintaining modesty while maximizing combat mobility.

Silver-white masks concealed their faces, hiding their true features beneath.

Only their hair colors were clearly visible.

One silver-haired, one black-haired.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

With another violent explosion, the black and white figures collided heavily in the night sky before rapidly separating again.

Their wings beat hurricanes into existence, bodies streaking apart like meteors, yet their gazes remained locked on each other. In that visual exchange, they resembled two predators viewing each other as prey, gathering strength for the next assault.

This was a duel that allowed no margin for error. Whoever faltered first would face only death.

But in the next second—

"Yo~ Good evening! Itogami Island's having its annual fireworks festival, and instead of watching from below, you're way up here doing what—VIP seating?"

Violent winds carried the youth's half-joking voice, causing the silver-haired angel girl—who'd been flying at extreme speed—to freeze completely.

She abruptly halted her forward momentum, braking hard hundreds of meters above ground, feet suspended in air as she turned toward the voice's source. Behind her mask, silver-blue eyes reflected the youth's figure.

This was completely unexpected, yet somehow the silver-haired girl's eyes showed no surprise whatsoever.

More accurately, they held no emotional fluctuation at all.

Bokue spread his hands with a smile.

"Just a reminder—this isn't Fuyuki City. Can't have Holy Grail Wars every day. How about calling it quits?"

"SCREEEEE—!!!"

But the only response was an inhuman shriek from beneath the silver-haired girl's mask.

Oh my, seems like communication's impossible.

Hearing rushing wind behind him, Bokue paused slightly, then turned to look back.

The black-haired angel girl—who'd been creating distance moments ago—was now diving toward them at extreme speed, using their conversation as cover. The gap had closed by more than half in less than two seconds. The silver-haired angel's sudden scream had been a warning about the incoming attack.

A hundred meters took less than two seconds. In the time it took Bokue to turn his head, she'd already closed to striking distance.

Her right hand formed a blade, strange power coating it as she raised it high, aiming to strike past Bokue at the silver-haired angel girl opposite.

"Now, now, that won't do."

The youth's gentle voice came at the critical moment.

Just as the black-haired angel girl's hand-blade thrust forward, a warm, powerful male hand gently caught her wrist. The gentle motion felt like restraining a misbehaving younger sister throwing a tantrum.

The seemingly lethal strike was simply pressed down.

Meanwhile, the silver-haired angel girl launched her counterattack. Powerful white energy gathered in her palm, rapidly taking shape. She raised her hand, locking onto the black-haired angel girl with only Bokue between them—clearly intending to finish her opponent in one strike.

Then Bokue casually plucked the energy sphere from her hand.

"This is also a no-go."

He tossed the stolen energy sphere upward a thousand meters, letting it explode and dissipate on its own. Then his hand chopped precisely onto the silver-haired angel girl's head.

Perfect force—stunning without brain damage.

Crack.

A shattering sound rang out. The silver-haired angel girl—who'd been shrieking for a death match moments ago—suddenly fell silent. A crack appeared on her mask.

Then rapidly spread.

Crack crack crack.

As they say, defeat comes like a landslide. The cracked mask seemed to enter self-destruct mode, one becoming three, three becoming nine. Within seconds, the entire mask was covered in fine fractures.

Oh?

Bokue raised an eyebrow at this. While restraining the black-haired angel girl with magnetic field power, he raised his hand and flicked the silver angel girl's cracked mask right between the eyes.

CRASH—

Like autumn wind scattering dead leaves from trees, the already fragile mask completely shattered under this slight vibration. The pieces were swept away by high-altitude air currents, revealing the face beneath.

Pale skin, delicate features, and those distinctive silver-blue eyes—just as when they'd first met.

"As I thought."

Understanding flashed in Bokue's eyes.

Though he didn't understand why, he'd felt a sense of familiarity when watching from afar.

After all, there weren't many people with silver-white hair in this world, especially on this small Itogami Island.

This so-called silver-haired angel girl was confirmed to be the "Middle School Saint" they'd met at the abandoned chapel behind Saikai Academy's high school this morning—Kanon Kanase, who'd been feeding cats with Nagisa and Yukina.

"Big... Brother..."

As the mask shattered, Kanon's power seemed to dissipate with it.

She used her last strength to softly call out "Big Brother," then her eyes closed as she lost consciousness.

❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁

Scene shift—

Bokue had brought the unconscious Kanon and the other black-haired angel girl back to the rooftop plaza where Natsuki and the others waited.

Seeing the youth appear, Natsuki immediately approached, carefully observing the two girls he'd brought back.

"These are... yes, the defeated combatants' corpses we found at previous battle sites looked exactly like this."

"Wait wait wait! Natsuki-sensei, you said defeated combatants' corpses... you mean from the destruction in the city center a few days ago? But this child isn't..."

Asagi showed surprise after just one glance at the unconscious Kanon.

After all, it had been this very morning—not even ten hours ago—that she'd just met her.

At the chapel behind the high school.

Already aware of this, Bokue shrugged.

"Exactly. So what now?"

"Leave the rest to us. You stay here with your little girlfriend and keep watching the fireworks..."

Natsuki summoned her Chain Projection—her authority as the Witch of the Void—firmly restraining both girls.

She turned to open a portal to the Security Force building. Before leaving, she looked back with a warning.

"Don't follow."

"...Why?" Bokue didn't understand. He'd caught them, after all.

"Because I'll probably be pulling another all-nighter." Natsuki huffed.

"Your presence would affect me."

"Huh?"

Bokue raised an eyebrow.

"Just having you around fills the air with a scent that makes women pregnant. I don't want to get pregnant yet."

"Astarte doesn't mi—"

Astarte seemed about to say something, but Natsuki grabbed her small hand and dragged her away.

"Come on, Astarte."

"Mmm..."

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