Just as Itogami Island was plunged into chaos, the ones responsible for it all appeared atop a building's rooftop.
Standing at the edge of the rooftop, where one more step would mean leaping into the void, Senga Takehito looked up at the sky.
"It should be about time, right, December?"
Senga Takehito asked the girl beside him—December, who had her legs dangling over the rooftop, facing the wind while chewing bubblegum.
"Are we really good to go now?" December blew a bubble and glanced at the sky, speaking in her distinctively carefree tone, "It's not even dark yet. Is it really okay to act now?"
"No problem," Senga Takehito replied flatly. "Though it's still daylight, the Management Cooperative is already overwhelmed. Even if we begin now, they won't be able to respond in time."
"Well, that's true." December nodded indifferently, then turned to the side. "How about you, Carly? All good?"
Upon closer look, aside from December and Senga Takehito, there was also a Beast Man girl named Carly on the rooftop.
Unlike before, Carly was now lying flat on the rooftop floor, with what seemed to be a cello case beside her.
Naturally, it didn't hold a musical instrument, but a military-grade sniper rifle.
It was a Bullpup anti-materiel sniper rifle.
The Beast Man girl named Carly had set up this sniper rifle in front of her, aiming it in a certain direction.
The scene felt almost surreal.
After all, Carly looked like an elementary school girl, and seeing her handle such a massive rifle was highly incongruous.
Moreover, Beast Men, as Demons, were known for their superior physical strength and excelled in close combat—leveraging their natural racial advantages. Seeing one use a sniper rifle created a strong sense of mismatch.
But anyone who underestimated this Beast Man girl would face grave consequences.
After all, two senior officials of the Management Cooperative who were previously sniped and killed on Itogami Island had fallen to Carly's shots.
Though she was a Beast Man, Carly was physically weak due to her age and size, and had been bullied for it.
However, where she lacked in raw strength, she made up for it with overwhelming talent.
Thanks to her extraordinary senses—sight and hearing—far beyond those of ordinary humans or Demons, Carly had developed her innate Beast Man attributes and became a sniper with unerring precision.
As such, even within Tartarus Lapse, Carly was an extremely valuable asset.
Naturally, it was Senga Takehito who developed her potential.
Just as Natsuki had said, Senga Takehito had taught several children how to wield power and invited them into Tartarus Lapse. Everyone there, with the exception of December, had been guided by him, calling him their teacher.
Now, Carly could handle a sniper rifle with ease, holding still as she answered December's question.
"Of course there's no problem," Carly replied without hesitation. "Even if it's easier to hide after dark, the darkness also slightly affects visibility and my vision. This light is actually better."
"Glad to hear it." Senga Takehito looked at Carly with the gaze of someone watching a younger generation grow, smiling with satisfaction as he said, "Let's hope we can eliminate the target with the first shot—otherwise, things might get troublesome."
As he said this, Senga Takehito looked up toward the sky.
There, flocks of birds were flying closely together in formation, almost like they were on patrol.
December also looked at the bird flock with interest.
"Are those all shikigami? I can't tell at all."
She spoke with a sense of wonder.
Senga Takehito was equally impressed.
"It's normal that you can't see it—you're a vampire and excel in commanding Beast Vassals, but such high-fidelity shikigami would fool even seasoned Spirit Mediums, let alone you," he said with admiration. "If I hadn't used Onmyoudou to obscure the area, we'd have already been discovered."
"Is that so?" December smiled lightly. "Able to seize control of your Eight Trigrams Formation, create such a large number of high-grade shikigami, and monitor the entire Itogami Island... No wonder they say the Divine Child of Origin—who revived the God of Fault, and even sealed the Divine Child of Cain—is such a monster."
At these words, Carly couldn't help but speak up.
"To be honest, I still can't believe it—that so-called Divine Child is capable of something like this?" she said with some doubt. "He's the younger brother of the Witch of the Void, and she was sensei's student. How can the brother of sensei's student be stronger than Teacher and even seize control of the Eight Trigrams Formation? It's really hard to believe."
It was a bit childish, but not entirely unreasonable.
Not just Carly—even Loki and Rahn found it hard to believe that Senga Takehito would fall short to the younger brother of his student, despite the rumors saying even the Third Primogenitor had lost to him.
But Senga Takehito warned Carly.
"Don't underestimate the Divine Child," he said seriously. "This world has always had special individuals—you, me, December... we were all born different, with unimaginable power and talent. So for Natsuki's brother to possess abilities beyond our comprehension is not at all surprising."
Senga Takehito would never deny this.
To deny it would be to deny himself—and everyone in Tartarus Lapse.
"If the Divine Child is truly as strong as the rumors say, we stand no chance in a direct confrontation. That's why we must aim to kill him with the first shot and move immediately, or we'll be discovered right away."
Senga Takehito had made many preparations for this.
He had not only prepared Onmyoudou techniques to shield all of Tartarus Lapse, but also set up formations to obstruct Rozen if the sniper attempt failed.
Therefore…
"If the shot fails, Loki, you go in and kill the target on the spot. Rahn will monitor the surroundings and report everything immediately."
Senga Takehito tapped the earpiece of his radio.
"Then I guess that makes me and Takehito the final line—our job is to confront the Divine Child if it comes to that?" December tapped her own earpiece, smiling innocently.
Then, a voice came through the radio.
"I'm ready. If the shot fails, I'll rush in and kill him. I won't keep you waiting."
That was Loki's voice coming through clearly.
"I won't fail. You won't need to act," Carly replied immediately.
Then came Rahn's voice.
"Alright, the target's appeared. Time to move."
At Rahn's words, everyone looked toward a distant street.
There, a boy in a hoodie was running with a tall girl toward the high-class residential area.
Seeing that boy, December smiled.
It was a sad smile.
"The target's definitely appeared," she said.
"Let's kill the other Divine Child."