Seia lunged forward, her blade cutting through the air as she clashed with Shiroko Terror. The dark counterpart fired her rifle, but Seia twisted her body unnaturally, dodging with ease.

"Ooh, nice shot!" Seia giggled, her eyes alight with something between excitement and madness. "C’mon, you sure you don’t wanna give up yet?"

Shiroko Terror remained silent, her cold gaze unwavering.

Nyx, watching from the side, struggled to stay conscious. Her body had reached its limit, her strength completely drained. As darkness crept into her vision, the last thing she saw was Seia laughing as she dodged another attack.

Then, she passed out.

Seia continued to fight, her movements erratic yet calculated. She darted around Shiroko Terror’s bullets, striking when she saw openings. But her unpredictable nature couldn’t last forever—Shiroko Terror finally found an opening, delivering a crushing strike that sent Seia tumbling across the battlefield.

As she tried to stand, her legs gave out beneath her.

For the first time, Seia gritted her teeth in frustration.

Then, a voice rang out.

"Shiroko!"

Sensei, battered and bleeding, forced himself to his feet.

Meanwhile, aboard Utnapishtim's Ship, Rio and Himari fought desperately for control. With every second, the Ark’s systems spiraled further into chaos. Toki, who had been pushing herself beyond her limits, collapsed.

Just as her consciousness faded, a figure stepped forward, catching her before she could hit the ground.

A savior had arrived.

But there was no time to rest. The Ark’s self-destruct sequence had restarted.

As alarms blared, students across the battlefield gathered. Sensei was running out of time.

And then—Shiroko Terror stood before him, one last time.

A final battle had begun.

In the chaos of the escape, Sensei fought not to destroy, but to save. He reached for Shiroko Terror, breaking through her cold, dead silence.

And at the last moment—he succeeded.

As the Ark sank, Arona worked desperately to save him from within. But the situation was dire.

With time running out, Sensei made a final request:

"Save the other Arona."

Arona transferred the consciousness of her counterpart into the classroom. As she awoke, the other Arona extended her hand.

"It’s time for us to bring a miracle."

Three days later…

Nyx’s eyes fluttered open, the sterile white ceiling of the hospital coming into view. Her body ached, making it impossible to move.

The first thing she thought of was—

"Seia…"

She tried to sit up, but pain shot through her body, forcing her to stay still.

Sensei, sitting beside her, noticed she was awake.

"You're up," he said. "Are you okay?"

Nyx’s voice was hoarse. "Did we… win?"

Sensei nodded. "Yes. Both Shirokos are safe. Seia’s fine. And… the other Shiroko is from another timeline."

Nyx let out a shaky breath of relief. "Good…"

But her expression darkened.

"I… I wasn’t of much use."

Sensei shook his head. "You don’t have to be sorry." His voice was steady, reassuring. "You fought as hard as you could."

Nyx didn’t respond. She only looked down.

As Sensei left the room, she stared at the ceiling, an unfamiliar weight settling in her chest.

She had survived.

But why did she feel so helpless?