29-154

EP.154 Akane – I Am You, You Are Me 

Inside the elevator sinking into the abyss. 

“Hikari’s fine. You know it too, right? Just how strong she is.” 

Breaking the silence that had been so hard to crack, Mizuki awkwardly tried to reassure Akane. 

“……” 

Akane bit her lip instead of answering. 

Even if she understood Mizuki’s words logically, she couldn’t shake from her heart the strange changes in her comrade. 

“Just focus on rescuing Haruto. Forget about anything else.” 

“I know.” 

Ding- 

A mechanical chime signaled their arrival, and the old elevator doors creaked open to either side. 

Stepping forward, Akane gripped her sword hilt in preparation for whatever enemy might appear. 

“Urgh.” 

But instead of enemies, what poured in through the crack was cool, clammy air that sank deep into her chest. 

The heavy heat from outside vanished as if it had never been, 

replaced by the stench of rotting blood and oil, mixed with the acrid chemical smell that reminded her of Arachne’s laboratory, stabbing sharply at her nose. 

“What the hell is this disgusting smell…!” 

Covering her nose with her hand, Akane looked around in contempt. 

What entered her view was a cold metal corridor stretching endlessly ahead. 

A few emergency lights on the ceiling flickered uncertainly, while tangled wiring and rusted machine parts cast ghostly, swaying shadows against the walls. 

“So this is the rat’s nest they even have rotten air.” 

“It’s strangely quiet. Are there… no enemies?” 

Kai, a step behind them, muttered near Akane’s ear. 

And just like he said, the Abyss was as still as a ghost ship where all life had fled. 

Not a single low-ranked patrol soldier in sight. 

“That makes it all the more dangerous. There might be traps.” 

Mizuki’s calm voice carried ahead as she took the lead. 

She stepped neatly around a rusty puddle of something on the floor, walking deep into the corridor without breaking stride. 

“If Hikari’s right, the inner elevator should be at the end of this hall. Kai, stay behind Akane and don’t get separated.” 

At her words, Akane and Kai traded a brief glance before following slowly behind. 

They walked for who knows how long, the only sounds their tense footsteps echoing off the cold steel walls with an eerie chime. 

Occasionally a spark popped from above, or some distant machinery hummed, otherwise silence. 

Finally, at the hallway’s end, they found their target  

A massive steel door with faint, smeared bloodstains that led to the next floor. 

“Found it…!” 

“On the way here, we didn’t see so much as an ant don’t let your guard down.” 

Letting out a sigh of relief, Akane was in contrast to Mizuki, who swept her sharp gaze around without relaxing. 

As Mizuki reached to press the call panel, the red [Down] lamp lit. 

Vrrmmm . 

From far off came the dull thrum of machinery as the elevator began to move. 

A short, blood-curdling wait followed. 

Akane fidgeted with her sword hilt impatiently, 

while Mizuki fixed her gaze on the darkness behind them. 

The sound of the elevator grew clearer and just then, 

From the pitch-black gloom they’d come through, a honey-sweet and sultry voice stirred the still air. 

“Oh? Where are the cute little kittens rushing off to?” 

Turning toward it, Akane reflexively swallowed at the sight: 

A woman standing against the light, wearing a latex office-look whose design left nothing of her skin to the imagination. 

There was only one person it could be the Dark Redemption’s chief aide, Morgana. 

With the tip of her slender leather whip, she traced her own red lips. 

“Morgana…!” 

“Looks like you’ve come to rescue your prince, but what a pity this road is only one-way… Oh?” 

Her eyes, which had been on Akane bared-teeth, slid past her to the man hiding behind their guest, Kai. 

The smile playing on her lips deepened. 

“My, and who’s this proper-looking gentleman? Don’t tell me you found a new boyfriend in a crisis like this? Ah, sorry. This is just about the worst date spot.” 

“Tch.” 

At her teasing taunt, Akane’s face flushed red with anger. 

What now? 

It was just the two of them. 

Their opponent Morgana, and the score of heavily armed soldiers arrayed behind her like a folding screen. 

Meanwhile, they themselves weren’t at full strength. 

They’d have to make an opening, send at least one person forward…. 

“ Step aside, Akane.” 

Cutting into her tangled thoughts, an icy voice stabbed at her ears. 

Mizuki stood before her without her noticing, eyes locked on Morgana. 

“I’ll handle her. You take Kai and go on ahead.” 

“What?” 

“Don’t be stupid. You’re not even in perfect condition how do you plan to take that many on alone !?” 

“...Haa.” 

Her sigh cut off Akane’s protest  

And then, Bwam! 

From Mizuki’s entire frame swirled a different aura than Hikari’s a frigid, arctic blue magic surging like a storm. 

When the light faded, a dark blue bodysuit wrapped her frame as if shaped from her own icy nature. 

It boldly framed her small bust and slender waist with cool sensuality; 

silver accessories shone with the edge of sharp frost. 

“Mizuki, you too?!” 

“No reason for you to worry. Stop wasting breath and go get Haruto.” 

She had plenty she wanted to say, but now wasn’t the time to indulge herself in sentiment. 

“…Fine. But when we’ve got Haruto, we’re coming straight back for you, so don’t go losing pathetically, you attention-seeker.” 

“Hmph, worry about yourself, muscle-head.” 

As Mizuki snorted in reply, the elevator doors slid open at just the right moment. 

With a sharp, urging look from Mizuki, Akane gritted her teeth and hauled Kai inside. 

Morgana looked on, just like an audience member savoring a well-staged play. 

Her red lips curled into a pugnacious smile as she flicked her whip toward Mizuki. 

“Oh? You’re really going to fight me alone? I don’t make a habit of bullying the weak, you know.” 

“Good. Now I can pay back what I owe from the city the other day, sadist woman…!” 

At Mizuki’s words, an ice arrow formed in midair and Morgana’s eyes glinted with play. 

With a mechanical clunk, the heavy doors began to shut. 

Through the narrowing gap, Akane saw the frost-shard arrow rising from Mizuki’s hands and Morgana’s black whip cutting the air like a snake. 

Brilliant blue light flashed, an ear-splitting crack rang  

And then the elevator doors closed mercilessly. 

Scrreeech… Clunk! 

Old metal shrieked as the steel box began to sink slowly again. 

Dim emergency lights cast frail shadows on their faces, the air thick with the tang of rust and the oppressive drone filling their ears. 

“Hoo.” 

Unable to bear the smothering silence, Akane clenched and unclenched her fists. 

Worry for the comrades they’d left behind and the urgent need to save Haruto tangled in her chest. 

“Hey…” 

It was Kai who broke the quiet. 

“What.” 

Akane snapped sharply. She wasn’t in the mood for casual talk. 

“Mizuki and Hikari will they be okay?” 

“…Of course they will.” 

She answered curtly, as much to herself as to him. 

“No matter if they’re not at full strength, do they look like the type to be taken down easily?” 

Even as she said it, her palms were damp. 

The time fighting together proved their strength. 

But… 

In her mind’s eye rose the image of them, changed and stamped with something ominous  

An alien magic twisted and lewd, far from the sacred light they had always borne. 

Could they really still be okay like that? 

Thump- 

“Mm.” 

With each jolt of the elevator, Kai edged close like a frightened puppy. 

“What are you doing, quit it! Get off me!” 

“S-sorry… seeing you fight in person made me a little nervous…” 

She moved to shove him off, but he stuck even closer, babbling an excuse. 

“That’s what you get for being stubborn enough to come along…” 

Her tongue clicked in annoyance, but Kai just pressed on. 

“Still, I’ve always wanted to try it fighting on the side of the heroes of justice. It’s a boyhood dream.” 

“Hah. Childish.” 

Akane scoffed. 

“I bet Haruto’s felt the same. Just being protected all the time by you all must’ve bothered him, same as it does me.” 

At that, her shoulders twitched. 

Haruto… did he think that way too? 

Ding ! 

With a loud chime, the elevator stopped. 

The light for the 3rd floor came on, and the doors slid open. 

Beyond lay a long corridor but not a normal one. 

Floor, walls, and even ceiling were entirely mirrored, a dizzying maze of reflections. 

Inside stretched countless Akane’s and Kai’s, grotesquely multiplied into infinity. 

“What is this place…?” 

Akane muttered in confusion, hand going to her sword hilt. 

Swallowing, she stepped into the mirrored labyrinth. 

With each step, hundreds, thousands of her duplicates moved in perfect time in the surrounding glass. 

Even the sound of footsteps seemed warped, echoing from every direction until it was impossible to tell where reality ended and illusions began. 

“This place is creepy as hell…” 

Putting on a show of bravado, Kai clung more tightly to her back. 

“Damn it, always with the creepy crap…” 

Akane cursed under her breath, gripping her sword tight. 

The glare of so many mirror-reflections jittered on her strung nerves. 

And she had to protect this guy in the middle of it? What a pain. 

What were Hikari and Mizuki thinking… 

“…Hey, you.” 

“Yeah?” 

Out of nowhere, Akane asked something entirely out of step with their tension. 

“You and those two what’s going on? Are you dating them?” 

“Oh, you already knew?” 

Rather than startled, Kai seemed to have been waiting for the question. 

“With vibes like that between us, it’d be weirder if you didn’t notice.” 

Her brusque reply came after a pause, then she pressed: 

“…Why are you dating them?” 

If he spat out a half-assed answer here, her sword might find a different target when they got out. 

“Well…” 

His vague answer frayed her patience. 

No way was she leaving precious comrades to some good-for-nothing like him ! 

“You all were always these strong, admirable people to me.” 

The earnest tone in his next words cut her killing intent short. 

“But when I saw those two in the redevelopment zone… I realized for the first time. They’re actually very fragile, wounded people. And I thought… I want to be by their side, to protect them.” 

She found herself with no comeback, despite herself. 

Surprising she’d thought he was just a skirt-chasing punk. 

Turns out, he had a serious side too. 

But that thought didn’t last  

“And most of all… they’re both incredible beauties. You’d have to try not to like girls like that.” 

A vein popped in her forehead. 

“…You’re the worst. Trash. Die.” 

“Haha, thanks for the compliment. So what about you, Akane what is it about Haruto that you like so much?” 

Her face flushed crimson at his needling. 

“Wh-what the hell! I’ve never said I like that guy !” 

“Aw, come on. No point denying it now…” 

The awkward tension that had begun melting froze over again  

“…Haruto always treated me without prejudice…” 

“!” 

From all around, her voice echoed in her own tone, but cold and unfamiliar, as if processed through a machine. 

“Wh-who’s there! Come out, now!” 

Spinning around, she saw only herself and Kai’s reflection in the mirrors. 

“Does a brash girl like me… not suit him? Sometimes, I wanna hear someone call me cute too…” 

The blow struck straight through her heart’s weakest point. Color drained from her face. 

Something she’d never admitted to anyone not even herself. 

“Shut up! Stop it!” 

But the mocking voice echoed on, taunting her from every surface. 

“Don’t you think those two have changed? But you can’t tell the truth Haruto would only get hurt…” 

A chill rose right behind her. 

“!” 

Instinctively, she wheeled and slashed with her sword. 

Shhhk ! 

“Geh?!” 

The strike, swift enough to cut down anything, halted with its edge at the target’s nose. 

“Who am I?” 

At the sword tip was her own reflection grinning grotesquely back at her. 

“Can’t you tell?” 

The surface of the mirror rippled like water, and the ‘Akane’ within stepped easily into this side of the world. 

Like crossing a thin membrane one step, then another. 

The same face. 

The same body. 

The same clothes. 

Only one difference  

A mocking smile she’d never worn in her life. 

“I am…” 

The figure came right up to her, freezing her in place, and whispered in her ear with frosty breath: 

“…you.” 

“Mmph. Hfff.” 

Haruto tried to grow accustomed to the tight bonds pinning his whole body and the rough cloth gag filling his mouth. 

He’d been conscious for some time. 

The room he was in had a decadent atmosphere, dim light spilling across the floor. 

He sat bound hand and foot to a luxurious velvet chair. 

Earlier, a man dressed like a bartender had entered. 

Introducing himself as ‘Thanatos,’ he’d looked Haruto over like a fine wine, remarking, 

“A fine piece of ‘material.’ The despair you’re about to spill will be a most exquisite thing to savor.” 

And left with that unpleasant line. 

‘Am I going to die here? Without even getting to tell Akane… that I like her?’ 

His thoughts flashed to Hikari and Mizuki’s treatment of Kai. 

Seeing that had sparked something in him for the first time  

The fear that the relationships he thought would always remain, with friends always by his side, 

and the cherished everyday life he treasured, might be completely ruined. 

So he’d decided  

Not to hesitate anymore, to tell Akane how he felt. 

But… 

Now, he might never be able to. 

The grip of despair and resignation was tightening around him when  

Creaaak- 

The door on one side of the room opened, and two figures stepped in. 

“That damned sadist woman… she called it an act and still attacked for real.” 

“Heheh, I enjoyed it. It was a great chance to test the new power granted to me by Onyx-sama. That tin can was sturdier than expected, made the fight fun.” 

That was… 

“Hikari…! Mizuki…!” 

Thank god. 

They were okay. 

Even muffled by the gag, his voice was full of relief and joy. 

“Hm?” 

“Oh, you’re awake, Haruto-kun?” 

Hikari’s voice was as gentle as ever but there was something doll-like about it, stripped of emotion. 

“How pathetic.” 

Mizuki fired off the words, dripping with open contempt. 

“What… what happened to you two… Where’s Akane? Is she safe?” 

Struggling desperately, he tried to ask. In response, Hikari finally stepped forward, laying a soft hand against his cheek. 

“Don’t worry. Akane’s fine.” 

She whispered kindly. 

“She’ll be here soon to rescue you.” 

“Really?” 

The hope lighting in his eyes was crushed under Mizuki’s cold, mocking laugh. 

“Of course. And we’ll all get to watch a very fun show.” 

“…Show?” 

He repeated, but there was no answer. 

Instead, what he saw was no longer the friends he knew  

but two faces smiling with a cruelty that was foreign to him. 

Haruto couldn’t begin to guess at the meaning of that strange glint of expectation gleaming in their eyes. 

What was going on? 

Why weren’t they helping him? 

Where was Akane? 

An unknown fear began to squeeze his heart.