"Mngh…" Masachika grunted as he slowly regained his consciousness.
He slowly opens his eyes and sees only darkness.
"I think I landed on something soft…" He thought to himself.
He lifts his head off, and it turns out that Chisaki's breasts have cushioned his head from hitting the wall.
"You are finally awake, Monsieur Masachika." Chelsea said to him. "Had a nice nap?"
"Don't worry, they are just knocked out since their Photon weapons malfunctioned."
"I also have already healed everyone, including you with Resta (Healing technic)."
"Hwello… Thwank yiouw… (Hello… Thank you…)" Masachika responded, his speech still distorted by his impaired nerves.
Masachika then sees that Chelsea is busy fixing the vehicle and searching for something.
"Damn it! Where the hell is she!?" Chelsea shouted loudly.
"Alya…? Walya… is not here?" Masachika asked.
"Yeah… I have been searching for Mademoiselle Alisa." She replied.
"Why do you think I haven't woken anyone? I don't want any of you to disturb my search effort."
"She should be around here… But where could she be?"
"We… mwuust gwo aout and lhook for her! (We… must go out and look for her!)" Masachika said while grabbing the door's handle.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Chelsea said to him, warning him about going outside..
"There's a rain of pure molten sulfur outside."
"The air is filled with toxic gas, and the entire place has turned into hazardous, scorching ruins."
"It smells like there are millions of rotten eggs outside, really."
"There's no place to really walk on, either."
"The fact we are in this vehicle is what saved you all."
"You should thank the dealer for making this thing super tough." She said while knocking on the walls.
Chelsea then displays the condition outside the Landhawk through a display monitor.
Masachika looks at the display with utter shock and disbelief.
The entire place is done for. There are no intact buildings left.
New Yoshiwara is no longer recognizable… and is no more.
The flames are mostly dark blue, as sulfur burns a dark blue flame instead of red.
The surrounding air is polluted with Sulfur Trioxide and Sulfur Dioxide.
"… Whe… did dis?" Masachika asked her.
"Yeah, you guys did well." Chelsea replied. "Nagisa told you guys to destroy this place, right?"
"Well, you all did it. You saved New Yoshiwara."
"Just think what would have happened if Alya wasn't angry."
"Sho maeny death… ruwins… (So many death… ruins…)" Masachika said in horror, blaming himself for his plan.
"Well, it's not your fault." Chelsea responded.
"I know that they all acted on your plan… And I am sure they understood you never intended such massive destruction and casualties."
"… But the one who made Mademoiselle Alya go overboard with the explosion is her."
Chelsea then points her index finger at Yuki.
"She got overwhelmed by her grief and decided that vengeance for your sake is more important than anything else."
"And that made her convince Alya to avenge you at all costs."
"She really didn't even think about going back."
"She said 'I am already nothing without him' too when she summoned not one, but THREE SUV WEAPONS!!"
"It's crazy romantic and tragic! I can't even make something up that can top this!"
"You sure are a playboy, Monsieur! Just like my husband!"
"You should have seen how many women threw themselves at him."
"Well, maybe it's for the best."
"This place is due for a harsh judgment anyway."
"Anyway, I will designate Mademoiselle Alisa' status as Missing in Action and drive you all out of here-"
But before she can finish her sentence, Masachika quickly shouted "NO! I AWM NODH LOUSINNG ALUYA AGHAIN!! (NO! I AM NOT LOSING ALYA AGAIN!)"
Chelsea retorted, "She's already offline, Mr. Masachika. The fact this vehicle couldn't detect her… And even if we found her, she might be…"
However, she couldn't bring herself to tell him the bad news.
"… I know what you feel, but-"
Before "Ouwan chancee… Give mi just owan! (One chance… give me just one!)" Masachika begged.
"… Alright." Chelsea replied. "I don't want to give up yet too, anyway…"
"Just… know that A3's main force will be here soon. Air force, Navy, Army, you name it."
Chelsea then brings out all data she had about Alya's possible location.
"I have already consulted with Mr. Dealer about her location."
"We even used images of New Yoshiwara from the spaceship to determine her location."
"She should have been blasted around here… but the Landhawk's sensors picked up nothing."
"Yet somehow she is nowhere to be found here."
"I have already checked this place thoroughly 6 times."
Masachika then ponders to himself…
The Oracle fleet's cutting-edge technology couldn't detect her or her remains here.
Which means, she has moved from where she landed after being blown away by the explosion.
"…Walya… moved…" Masachika said.
"Walya ish okay!"
Chelsea responds, "That's impossible. She had like, three SUV weapons overburdening her."
"And that reactor's explosion, along with the hostile environment out there… I don't think she could survive them all."
"Even if she moved, then where could she be now?"
"Why hasn't she contacted us?"
"Wherever it is, we can't possibly know since the entire New Yoshiwara is way too ruined and chaotic to see her."
Masachika scratches his head, knowing that Chelsea made some good points.
Masachika then tries putting himself in Alya's position…
And when he is looking at the map, he noticed a familiar spot.
"The church… hwere…"
"She shaid… she whanted to geit marrhied there… lwong ago… (She said… she wanted to get married there… long ago…)"
"She… mhaybe… ish there…"
Chelsea replies, "Now that's what I'm talking about! I can see why my little Nagisa chose you!"
Meanwhile… at the same time…
Near Sumida River…
Alya drags her broken body to a nearby ruined small church building.
Many of her functions are broken, and she is naked as her clothes are all burned up.
"I did it… Masachika… I did it…" Alya said to herself while smiling.
"Hahahahaha!! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"
"I… finally killed that evil bastard!"
"I avenged you and our baby!!"
"I... I should have killed him long ago!!"
"I'm really sorry…" Alya said, apologizing to Masachika.
She blames herself even though it was impossible for her to know she should have killed him long ago.
"But now… I have made things right!!"
Alya quickly tries to stand up as she arrives at the church.
"We… can finally…"
"Get married…"
"… in this place we talked about before…"
"And finally… be happy together…"
"I will… fulfill our wish!"
"At all costs!"
Alya wastes no time in getting everything ready for her made-up wedding, even if she is all by herself.
She takes several medium-sized rocks and places them on whatever chair is still intact in the church.
She then wrote a few names onto the rocks she placed on the church's long chairs to be attendees to her 'wedding'.
"Masha, Yuki, Ayano, Sayaka, Nonoa, Chisaki…"
"… No. She shouldn't be here." Alya said to herself while crossing Chisaki's name out and toppling the rock her name was written on.
After that, she takes a tall rock, drags it near the altar, and draws a rough image of Masachika wearing a groom's suit on it.
"You are as handsome as I remember… Masachika…" She said to Rock-Masachika while caressing 'his face'.
She then takes a random white dress she picked up along the way and wears it along with a white tablecloth as a face veil.
Lastly, she takes a medium-sized rock and places it beside them, while drawing Pastor John wearing a pastoral robe on it.
Aida then warns Alya, "This action is in vain. It's not a real wedding. Host should go and look for-"
"… Shut up, Aida. Or I will rip you out of my brain even if it kills me." Alya replied, cutting her mid-sentence.
"Let me have this…"
"And then, you can do whatever you want…"
"I have nothing more in this forsaken wasteland anyway…"
"… I am concerned for you, Ms. Alisa." Aida replied.
But Alya doesn't care about Aida anymore.
All she cares about is trying to fulfill her wish right now.
Alya then faces Rock-Masachika and starts pouring her heart out, imagining that this is their real wedding.
"We have gone through a lot, Masachika… We suffered a lot…"
"I'm tired… I'm tired of having my wishes and dreams denied so many times…"
"I'm burned out, Masachika…"
"I… I'd trade anything for you to caress my head like you always did again…"
"You told me I always do my best when I am trying to do what is right…"
"That moment, I knew you really paid attention to me."
"I'm glad… I'm so lucky I got to meet you, and get chosen…"
"I thought you might never look my way since Yuki has always been with you, and you had a close bond with my sister during your childhood…"
"But instead, you chose me."
"Even though I always embarrass myself in Russian…"
"When I was so tired working in solitude… being unchosen…"
"You are always so considerate of me."
"You saved me… from myself…"
"Falling in love with you is just the expected and natural outcome."
Alya then folds the tablecloth on her face backwards, acting as if Masachika is revealing his bride's face.
She smiles before saying in her delusion, "Ah… Masachika…"
"I love you…"
"I have been waiting for this for such a long time…"
"This is the best day of my life…"
She then mimics Pastor John's voice, saying "Masachika Kuze, do you take Alisa Mikhailovna Kujou to be your lawfully wedded wife? Do you promise to love and cherish her, in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, for richer for poorer, for better for worse, and forsaking all others, keep yourself only unto her, for so long as you both shall live?", mimicking a traditional wedding vow.
After that, she mimics Masachika's voice, saying "I do. Till death do us apart."
She then mimics Pastor John's voice again, saying "Alisa Mikhailovna Kujou, do you take Masachika Kuze to be your lawfully wedded husband? Do you promise to love and cherish him, in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, for richer for poorer, for better for worse, and forsaking all others, keep yourself only unto him, for so long as you both shall live?"
But before she can say 'I do', A lump of molten sulfur fell from the ceiling.
"NO!!!!" Alya screamed as she pushed Rock-Masachika away, making the lump fell on her instead.
The molten sulfur charred her appearance and dress.
However, she smiles seeing that she has 'saved' Rock-Masachika in time.
"… Yes, I saved you this time, Masachika! I have-"
Before she can finish her sentence, another lump of molten sulfur fell on Rock-Masachika.
The rooftop breaks apart, and more molten sulfur fell on the 'attendees' and Rock-John.
"NOOOOO!!! NONONONONONONONO!!!! NOOO!!!!"
"YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME!!! NOT AFTER EVERYTHING!!!!!"
"I CAN'T EVEN HAVE THIS!? WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS!!? AM I NOT ALLOWED TO BE HAPPY!??"
"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"
Alya continues to scream as loudly as she can, while crying her heart out.
Alya lay on the floor, admitting defeat to life, losing all of her motivation to live.
Aida asks Alya, "Shall we take our leave now, dear Host?"
Alya responds weakly to her, saying "… Do me a favor, Aida…"
"Leave me alone… and just cut my life support already." Alya replied.
Aida then shuts down, and her entire body from the neck down becomes disabled.
"… Damn it! Kill me!! KILL ME YOU STUPID AI!!!" she screamed.
Alya curls up on the floor in fetal position, hugging her own legs while sobbing.
"Masachika… Masachika…"
"… Where are you?"
"I miss you…"
"I need you…"
"Help me… Save me…"
Alya looks around for him but can't find him anywhere.
She instead looks up to the pulpit, now praying to God after exhausted everything she has.
"God… please let me have my happiness… let me have my wish…"
"You said… 'Ask, and you shall be given'."
"Papa… He… told me about you."
"I shouldn't have made light of what he told me about You."
"I'm sorry if I ever cursed you… ignored you… and do the opposite of your wish…"
"I get it… This is my judgment… I deserve it…"
"I know I harmed and killed a lot of people…"
"Please show me some mercy… show me some love…"
"… Please."
Meanwhile…
Outside the church…
"The sensors picked up someone in the church! It must be Mademoiselle Alisa!!" Chelsea shouted happily. "Who else could move in this hellish landscape!?"
Masachika smiles happily as well, rejoicing that Alya is most likely still alive.
"Maybe she is too damaged to move or receive our signal now."
"We should recover her ASAP."
"Wait here! I will pick her up."
"I'm a CAST, so sulfur does not affect me-"
Suddenly, before Chelsea can finish her sentence, the display shows hostiles being detected.
Several Navy Destroyers, tanks, and fighter jets quickly surround New Yoshiwara.
"Oh, you have to be kidding me!!" Chelsea shouted angrily.
She quickly pops a Sol Atomizer to wake everyone else up.
"Mngh…" Yuki grunted. "Where am I?"
Chelsea quickly claps her hands and starts acting like a military officer she is, her expression turning from a gentle one into a serious one.
"Alright, listen up soldiers!"
"Grab your weapons, we have an army to fight outside!" Chelsea said while pointing to the display monitor showing their enemies on the move.
"And you, glasses girl… Sayaka Taniyama, yes?"
"Shoot some windshots with your rifle at the church nearby and near this vehicle."
"Make sure to also connect your rifle to the Landhawk's vent system so you would shoot breathable air,"
"There's a molten sulfur rain here and the air is only slightly more toxic than what A3 is."
"Make sure the toxic gas does not become a hazard to anyone around here!"
Sayaka nods and says, "I understand, leave it to me." While biting into a Photon reserve vial and fixing the cable Chelsea gave her into her rifle.
"The rest of you, disable enemy's weapons and make sure they cannot follow us!"
"Including you, half-naked lady. Wear this dress and fight with us." Chelsea said to Chisaki while giving her some spare dress and the gauntlets back.
"This dress is a bit big on the chest…" Chisaki commented while putting it on.
"Heh, I win." Chelsea thought to herself.
"Mr. Masachika, get into the church and check on Ms. Alisa."
"Return here with her ASAP, you hear me?"
"… I andersthand. (I understand.)" Masachika replied.
"Mr. John, please stay in the vehicle and shoot them using the guns on Landhawk."
"Ms. Roberta, if you want to fight, pick the sword up."
"… Okay." Roberta responded.
"Get ready, you all!"
"Our mission is to rescue Ms. Alisa and then escape from here ASAP!"
"Everyone other than Masachika will be a decoy and give suppressive fire to their main force."
"No lethal force allowed. We have killed enough people today."
"We will move out in a few more minutes, so get to it!!"
Without hesitation, John drives the Landhawk near the approaching A3's forces.
He disengages the stealth and begins shooting at them with its guns.
"Enemy ambush! Take cover!!" One of the soldiers shouted to warn his fellow allies while taking cover behind a tank through his gas mask.
As soon as they open the vehicle's door, Sayaka immediately shoots several windshots to the church and around the Landhawk.
The stench of millions of rotten eggs fills the air, and the heat is scorching them.
However, they ignore the unpleasant condition, focusing on retrieving Alya instead.
"Go, Masachika! Get her back!" Everyone else said to Masachika.
He nods and quickly rushes into the building to search for Alya.
"Alright, everyone! Give them an unforgettable fight!" Chelsea shouted while shooting at the Destroyer ships and tanks.
Masachika quickly dashes into the church while carrying some recovery items.
"WALYA!!! WHELL ALL YOU!? (ALYA!!! WHERE ARE YOU!?)" He shouted inside the church, calling her name.
He quickly found Alya laying down and covered in molten sulfur on the ground.
He screamed loudly "WALYA!! WALYA!! ANSWHER ME WALYA!! (ALYA!! ALYA!! ANSWER ME ALYA!!)"
Alya immediately opens her eyes and raises herself up, trying to locate where the voice comes from.
"… Masachika?" Alya replied weakly as she laid her eyes on the coughing Masachika.
Masachika coughs violently while covering his nose and mouth as he approaches Alya.
He quickly dives and tries to remove the molten sulfur from her.
He thought of using his sword to whittle the sulfur away, but he is afraid of harming Alya on accident.
He decides to use his bare hands instead, hurrying to save her.
He flinches due to how it irritates and burns his hands at first, but he quickly resumes his selfless act of rescue, afraid of losing Alya again.
"Walya… Hang on…"
"I will… get yew aout!! (I will… get you out!!)"
Alya tries to prevent his hands from helping her, afraid he will get hurt from helping her.
She tells him, "Stop… Stop it! Your hands-"
"SHUT UP!! I DON'T CARE!!!" Masachika screamed, cutting her in.
After getting her out, he quickly feeds her a Trimate potion and then carries her bridal style.
"Let me go…" Alya begged Masachika.
"My external temperature… is more than 300 degrees Celsius now…(572 degrees Fahrenheit)"
"I'm just a dead weight… My body is disabled from the neck down…"
"Just go-"
"Shut up!! Never aghain! NEVER!!" Masachika replied, not caring about the injuries he sustained.
"Aida! Turn my body on again! Please!!" Alya begged Aida.
But Aida is turned off. It is only on standby, and all it does now is passively help Alya to speak and express herself now.
Masachika, on the other hand, starts to lose his consciousness, grunting in pain and keeps praying that he can get Alya out of there.
"Let me take her out of here… I want to save her… Give me strength, God…" He prayed over and over again in his mind.
He does not even think about using Trimate on himself now, only about getting Alya out of there ASAP.
His fear of losing Alya trumps over his fear of death.
"Yew mast live… Walya!! (You must live… Alya!!)" Masachika said with difficulty.
"Yes… Yes!! But I want you to be there too!!" Alya shouted while sobbing.
The toxic gas and scorching heat are finally getting into him.
But he refuses to give up.
He gathers all his strength and willpower to take her out of there, ignoring the pain and the risk of dying.
"Mnngrh… Mngh… Ugh…" Masachika grunted every time he took a step out of the church.
His throat is severely sore, and his lungs are giving up, full of mucus, almost like drowning on dry land.
His eyes are getting watery and blurry from the irritation.
His skin is burning red from many third-degree burn and sulfur pollution, stinging him with immense pain just by having it in contact with the air.
And yet he still perseveres… determined to bring Alya back at all cost.
"Masachika… I'm sorry… I shouldn't have given up!!" Alya apologized to him, full of regret.
If only she hadn't told Aida to shut down, he might not need to suffer like this.
After 5 minutes of excruciating pain, Masachika finally made it out of the church.
Sayaka immediately spots Masachika carrying Alya out of the building.
"What took you so long!? We-"
But what she sees horrified her.
He came out carrying Alya while sustaining burn marks and mucus coming out of his mouth, nose, and eyes.
"MASACHIKA!!!"
"SOMEONE HELP HIM!!!"
Sayaka quickly aims her windshots to make a way for someone to help him.
"NO!!" Yuki screamed.
She quickly runs toward him and feeds him recovery items.
The Sol Atomizer recovered him from the poisoning, and the Trimate healed his injuries.
"Tank you… Yuki…" Masachika said to her while moving as fast as he can back to the Landhawk.
"Move it!" Yuki said while carrying both of them into the Landhawk.
"Target extracted! Move out, everyone!" Chelsea shouted.
Before the Landhawk's door is closed, someone in a gas mask throws multiple sharp icicles at the vehicle.
Yuki quickly moves and deflects them all before closing the door shut.
John quickly re-engages the stealth mode and drives away.
Inside the vehicle, Chelsea quickly turns the air cleaner and proceeds to rinse both Alya and Masachika with some water.
"I can't believe it's easier to fight the military than that masked man…" Nonoa commented.
Out of nowhere, Sayaka slaps Masachika hard in the face.
"That's for worrying me to death!!"
She then kisses him on the lips.
"And that's for returning alive to me…"
"Sourry…" Masachika apologized.
Yuki, Chisaki, Sayaka, Ayano, and Nonoa hug him and Alya tightly.
"Welcome back…" Those five said to him simultaneously.
"I'm back." Alya and Masachika said in turn.
However, Alya is staring daggers at Chisaki, still holding a grudge at her.
"Great job, you all!" Chelsea shouted while raising her arms in celebration. "Magnificent work! I'll have much to tell when I return to the fleet!!"
The dealer then calls them from the onboard display monitor.
"Well done! The task is complete, and instead of losing a member, we gained two more!!" The dealer
"Wait a minute! I never said I'll join you guys!!" Chisaki exclaimed.
"Shut up, you are part of us now, senpai!" Yuki said cheerfully.
Alya then says, "We can talk about this later. But now…"
"Can you turn Aida on again for me, Mr. Dealer?"
The dealer replies, "Oh, sure. Your signal receptors are back online since you have been healed too. Please wait…"
While they are waiting, Yuki confronts Masachika about her actions that endangered Alya in New Yoshiwara.
"Big bro… About Alya…"
Masachika quickly interrupts her and replies, "I know. I forgive you."
"I already told you, I won't ever hate you."
"That's right. The fact Masachika is still alive is a surprising miracle." Alya added. "You made the right choice on the given circumstances."
"And, we managed to kill the masked man because of that."
"I also forgive you, Yuki."
Yuki smiles and looks down as she says, "Thank you, you both."
"There. Aida is online again." The Dealer told Alya.
Alya quickly moves up and sits beside Chisaki.
"Thank you, Mr. Dealer."
"And, I want to apologize to you, Aida."
"I understand. You were grieving so much you made that-"
Alya cuts her off, interrupting her as she tries not to let them know what she did in the church.
"… Let's not talk about that anymore."
"Affirmative." Aida replied.
"Why is Alya talking to herself?" Chisaki asked.
"In short… This and that happened… Aida is an AI… She's missing half her brain… Aida helps bridge the gap…" Sayaka explained.
"I see… I understand now." Chisaki said.
Suddenly, without any warning, Alya points her rifle at Chisaki's face.
"WAIT ALYA!! WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU!?" Chisaki asked. "I'm not your enemy anymore!!"
"Are you?" Alya retorted.
Alya then displays a recording she took when she was stabbing the masked man with his mask melted away.
Chisaki's eyes widened as she griped her fist tightly, not willing to believe what she just saw on the display.
"…Touya?"
"The masked man was… Touya?"
"MAJOR GENERAL KENZAKI TOUYA!!?" John shouted in shock after seeing his face. "HOW!!?"
"Kenzaki-senpai…"
Nonoa then intervenes, saying "This is… probably one of his clones from ONA project? Maybe they tried to clone him too."
Alya retorts, "There's no such record. I did not find anything about Kenzaki Touya's or any male's genetic data, log, or history there when I hacked their main terminal."
"And… it's not just a makeover, too."
Alya then pushes the end of her rifle to Chisaki's temple.
"Now… tell me."
"Are you a friend, or a foe?"