After finishing his conversation with Osian, Bell apologized repeatedly and then took care of the deeply sleeping Cinderella.
"Maia. Let's head back now."
"I've been waiting for those words. Plimene, let's go too."
"Ah, I am..."
Plimene hesitated as she looked back at Basilio. Maia wasn't unaware of her tender feelings. But now wasn't the time to worry about such things.
"Plimene. Have you forgotten? We have a mountain of cleanup to do."
The situation that occurred in District 17 this time was serious to an unprecedented degree even within Tirna.
Heretics who believed in outer gods had been operating secretly within the city, and they had even established themselves in District 17, one of the city's financial hubs.
When the Eternal Church's identity was exposed, rather than fleeing or hiding, they openly escalated the incident. The moment Trinity Building, which had been eroded over many years, revealed its true nature, District 17 was stained with blood and despair.
Plimene couldn't help but agree with Maia's words. If this operation had failed, District 17 would have disappeared. In that sense, they had avoided the worst.
But what they had chosen was merely the lesser evil. And it was a lesser evil they had barely grasped after much effort. With this scale of events, news would have spread outside District 17. This wasn't something that could be handled by manipulating information with half-hearted terrorism.
They could adequately block the waves and typhoons coming from outside. But even for Tirna, the storm brewing from within was not easy to handle.
The aftermath would last for a very long time. So they had to work hard to prepare even now to get through it as smoothly as possible.
Plimene couldn't be absent from that place. She was the commander of this operation and the main protagonist who successfully completed the subjugation of the Eternal Church.
"......"
Plimene felt quite sad about that fact. She hadn't done much herself. There were other heroes who truly deserved praise. But reality was harsh. A rough picture of how the situation would unfold was drawn in her mind.
"......I understand."
All she could do was settle as naturally as possible into the approaching flow. A mere individual is not permitted to stand against the mighty current.
Plimene, who was leaving, looked back at Basilio one last time. There was no farewell greeting. If she did that, she felt she might never see him again.
'See you again.'
She conveyed those words with her lips and left the place.
What remained were Osian, Martinez, and Basilio.
"I should be going now too."
Martinez, who had stayed until the end, spoke.
"If I don't return quickly, my siblings will worry. I snuck out without telling them."
"Right. You worked hard today. Thanks to you coming to help, we were able to get through safely."
"I didn't do anything. Here too, I only received help from you, brother."
Martinez had come to kill heretics, but instead experienced life-threatening crises several times here. Especially when Red Eternity appeared directly, he had to prepare for death. The only reason he was alive was thanks to Osian.
The memory still surfaced. The memory of confronting that immense power, even though it was said to be just an avatar.
'Death comes so suddenly.'
At the same time, he keenly felt that he too had been such sudden death to someone. He wouldn't feel guilt now or sympathize with the dead. He simply realized that he was still weak.
Being able to gather courage and fight in that situation was partly thanks to the path of faith he had walked. But the biggest reason was having someone to fight alongside.
'It would have been impossible alone.'
Martinez still felt inadequate. He was weak. The world was vast, and he was infinitely small. But it was okay. Since he knew there was a path to walk, he could continue walking.
"If anything happens, please contact me."
With those words, Martinez wrapped divine power around his body and jumped out of the building. One might wonder if it was okay to jump from such a place, but Osian wasn't particularly worried.
This was a guy who would be fine even if hit by a train - there was no way he'd die from free-falling from a mere skyscraper. He probably wouldn't even sprain his ankle.
"Hmm. It's finally over."
In the awkward atmosphere, Basilio spoke first.
"Yeah. It was a very long night."
The two men gazed at the rising sun. The light illuminated the half-destroyed District 17. The entire District 17 hadn't been blown away by this incident. If one were to measure the damage range, it would be about 3 blocks around Trinity Building.
Even though District 17 was a small district, the damage range was about 10% of the entire district.
But the aftermath would be enormous enough to shake all of Tirna.
Osian and Basilio, as individually operating fixers, had gotten involved in this terrible chaotic whirlpool. Though their reasons were extremely personal, thinking about it again, it truly couldn't be anything but insane.
A nightmarish night. A day of blood and flesh. Many people died. And even more monsters died.
In that whirlpool of chaos and death, two men survived. Because they lived, they could see the sun rising the next day.
Some would look at that sun and think of the ominous future to come. All the more so since it was after the storm had passed.
They would tremble with anxiety. Because life is a series of uncertainties, and most of it is filled with misfortune and pain.
But Osian was different. He simply, purely felt the beauty of the rising sun.
No matter how painful and agonizing the people living under the world illuminated by that light might be, the sun always shines its light unchangingly. Brilliance doesn't disappear even as time passes.
The same goes for the stars and moon rising in the night sky.
'But people can't feel beauty in such shining things.'
In the old days, they would have looked up with longing eyes. I too want to shine like that. I want to occupy a place in those lofty heavens.
As time passed, such people decreased. Only their lineage was barely maintained. The reason wasn't difficult. Because the light emitted by celestial bodies doesn't reach the earth completely.
'The towering city is full of darkly cast shadows everywhere.'
In the shadows, people die without seeing light. And even now, buildings rise throughout the city, casting huge shadows. Under the cast shadows, there were always people suffering.
When pain, despair, and anguish accumulate in the shadows like that, monsters are born within them. Terrible monsters that no one expected.
He seemed to understand the reason Cthulatlap mentioned for the weakening of the stellar veil. The brilliant development of civilization blocked the light of the sky. And as the light of the sky disappeared and the light of the earth strengthened, the monsters from outside would also covet this world even more.
'I'm going to be very busy from now on.'
There's no time to celebrate victory. Even this fleeting moment of seeing dawn would be a luxury. Still, they survived. That alone was worth being proud of. The future's matters could be left to their future selves.
So the first thing to do in this situation was simple.
"Let's go eat breakfast."
Were Osian's words quite unexpected? He could feel Basilio staring at him with quite surprised eyes from behind his mask. But soon he burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! Right. After working so hard, we should eat a hearty and delicious breakfast!"
Basilio laughed heartily while patting Osian's back with his hand. Since he was wearing armor, a strange hollow sound echoed.
Osian and Basilio came out of the Trinity Building that was split in half. Not in a metaphorical sense, but Trinity Building was literally split in half because of the sword Osian had swung.
It just hadn't toppled over sideways after being split. When they emerged, the guards and soldiers who were organizing the situation outside reacted sensitively. They wondered if these might be remaining remnants, but realizing that wasn't the case, they didn't show any reaction.
Seeing that they weren't bothering them, it seemed someone had given advance notice. Probably Plimene or Maia.
"Well now. Even though we're heroes who resolved this situation, the reaction is so lukewarm."
"Rather, it's fortunate we're not receiving attention."
"I know that too. I was just saying."
More than anyone, it was Basilio himself for whom others' attention was dangerous.
Moreover, Tirna's soldiers and guards didn't have the capacity to pay attention to the two fixers. No matter how skilled they were, seeing the devastation that had occurred, they had to pour all their energy into organizing it.
Osian raised his head.
Beyond the building, he could see a large airship crossing District 17, cutting through the morning sunlight.
It was like seeing a giant whale.
'That's...'
It wasn't an ordinary airship. It was several times larger than other airships. The dignity and intimidation it emanated were extraordinary. The underside of the airship showed an enormous number of gun barrels protruding. If those barrels weren't just for show, it was impossible to even guess how much firepower was stored inside.
There was no way such an airship would be just one.
'Baptism of fire.'
If several such ships rose and poured merciless bombardment on the ground, could any city in the world withstand it?
"Something dangerous has been deployed."
Basilio muttered the same thing since he saw the same sight.
"Probably, if the disposal of the monsters had been delayed even a little, Tirna would have mobilized all of those, accepting losses."
"You seem to know that airship."
"Have you forgotten? I'm from the era when District 47 was in chaos. Ah, am I not a person now?"
"If you believe you're a person, then you're a person."
Though it was a casually thrown remark, it gave Basilio great comfort.
"Thank you. Whatever the case, the fact that thing was deployed means the city government was scared shitless by this incident. Well, even if it's the city government, it doesn't move like one organism, so there must have been tremendous debate behind the scenes."
"What matters is that approval was ultimately given."
It's the common political talk you see everywhere. Something unrelated to them, or rather, something they know is related but can't change, so they deliberately ignore it. Right. Like an elephant in the room.
"Let's go back quickly. There's nothing good about staying in a place like this for long. It would be better to go and eat breakfast celebrating our victory."
If only to gain strength for what's to come. Basilio swallowed his following words.
Osian is strong. And he was also the main protagonist of this incident. Sooner or later, part of the truth would be revealed. From that moment, incidents would inevitably occur centered around Osian.
Or perhaps they were already occurring. And that wasn't something that could be passed off as someone else's story.
Basilio himself had also become inseparably connected to Osian.
'Hmm. Thinking about it this way gives me chills.'
[The District 17 Terrorism Incident]
All media outlets issued this morning featured this incident prominently on their front pages.
Even media outlets that usually focused on other gossip all shared the same opinion, which showed how much the incident in District 17 was a hot potato that shook all of Tirna.
'It can't be helped.'
Plimene looked at the pile of newspapers stacked high. These were the combined newspapers that came out this morning. Naturally, they were all from different media outlets.
'With all that chaos, information couldn't be controlled. Meanwhile, persistent journalists had already smelled a scoop and even took secret photographs.'
Though they couldn't photograph the entire Trinity Building, just photographing the surrounding scenery was enough. Just seeing the eerie tentacles swaying bizarrely in the black and white photographs was enough to stimulate people's curiosity and fear.
The reason they probably couldn't take proper photographs was likely because all the journalists who attempted such reckless acts either went mad or died.
Looking back, she thought it was miraculous that they had survived that hell.
'And now, I've been called to this place.'
Plimene stared straight ahead. In front of her was a dignified old man wearing rimless glasses, reading the incident report.
Even sitting quietly, he was an old man from whom a strong spirit could be felt. Despite being aged, he seemed to have become even more solid through the years. Though their age difference probably wasn't that great, she couldn't help but admire him.
"I read it well. Official Plimene. You've worked hard."
"I only did what had to be done."
Plimene spoke humbly. In fact, she had acted with that kind of thinking, whether it was humility or not.
The other party praised her contributions, but Plimene didn't fully believe it. She had no choice. This was Tirna. For high-ranking officials and politicians, smiling on the outside while sharpening knives to stab opponents inside was daily routine.
Even now, while elevating her like this, there was probably a conspiracy to determine who would be responsible for this incident lurking beneath.
"Right. 'I did what had to be done.' Truly a correct answer. A perfectly exemplary response."
At those words, the old man, a high-ranking official, let out a hearty laugh. His eyes sharpened.
The atmosphere changed. Even Plimene, who thought she had grown accustomed to such situations, felt her breath automatically stop from the pressure.
"Speak. The truth you witnessed directly at the scene."