After defeating Ellen, Melusine didn't kill her. Instead, she brought both her and Honjou Nia back to the Spirit Apartment.
Nia was placed gently in Melusine's own room. As for Ellen, she was handed over to Kotori Itsuka—or more precisely, to Ratatoskr.
Melusine, familiar with the plot, remembered that DEM and Ratatoskr were long-standing enemies. This rivalry dated back to the founding of the two organizations by none other than Westcott and Woodman.
Westcott, Woodman, Ellen, and Karen—these four were the last remaining Original Magicians in the world. They were also the ones responsible for summoning the Original Spirit, Mio Takamiya, and for triggering the Eurasian Spacequake—a catastrophe from which all tragedy stemmed.
Woodman, however, had fallen for the Original Spirit the very moment he laid eyes on her. From that point, ideological rifts grew between him and Westcott. Unwilling to sacrifice the spirit for human ambition, Woodman left DEM and founded Ratatoskr. Karen, Ellen's younger sister, chose to follow him.
Incidentally, both sisters seemed to harbor feelings for Woodman.
Karen had joined Ratatoskr purely for his sake. Later, when Origami asked why she'd left DEM, Karen brazenly confessed that she wanted to bear Woodman's child, even going as far as saying she wished to abandon everything and live a quiet, ordinary life with him somewhere far away.
As for Ellen… during her final confrontation with Woodman, she accused him bitterly—asking why he hadn't taken her with him when he left. It seemed like a grudge born of unrequited love.
So really… Woodman was living the dream, adored by a pair of stunning sisters—and yet he remained obsessed with the Original Spirit. When he learned she had fallen in love with Shido Itsuka, he even offered his blessings from the heart, eventually sacrificing his own life for her sake. Melusine still couldn't decide if that made him deeply devoted… or just plain foolish.
The reason she handed Ellen over to Ratatoskr was so she could be passed along to Woodman. No doubt those old acquaintances had plenty to talk about.
Of course, Melusine wasn't naïve enough to hand over a former enemy who had tried to kill her without taking precautions. Not that it mattered if Ellen escaped and attacked again—Melusine had full confidence she could defeat her a second time just as easily as the first.
Still, to be thorough… she made sure to leave a little parting gift.
To put it plainly: Melusine crippled Ellen's powers.
Wasn't Ellen always calling herself the strongest? Well, now she was just an ordinary human… or less than one, really. Without her CR-Unit, Ellen was a complete klutz—on the same level as Misaki Tobimura. She once tripped walking on flat ground, and had to rest twice just climbing from the second to fourth floor. Mana Takamiya used to call her the "Bean Sprout Division Chief."
So yeah—Ellen was now worse than average. The sheer humiliation of that fall from grace might hurt more than death itself. She might even try to kill herself once she realized it.
Not that Melusine felt the least bit guilty about it.
Yes, Ellen had been manipulated and misled by Westcott. But she was still complicit in more than one tragedy—including the Eurasian Spacequake. And Westcott was the real cancer.
"Now that I've snapped Ellen's blade and pulled Auntie Nia from the jaws of hell... Westcott, what do you still have left to play?"
Lounging on the sofa, one leg crossed over the other, Melusine murmured to herself:
"You'd better have an Ultraman or Kamen Rider hidden up your sleeve, Westcott. Otherwise... your funeral bell's about to toll."
Come to think of it—wasn't Ellen's personal CR-Unit called Pendragon? Her lightsword was Caledfwlch (the Welsh name for Excalibur), and her lance cannon was Rhongomiant.
All Arthurian.
And the CR-Unit DEM gave Origami after she joined them? Mordred.
Hmm… I wonder what Artoria and Mordred would say if they saw those toys being tossed around.
Anyway—Ellen's situation was dealt with. Nia, however, was more complicated.
Once the truth about her came out, Kotori and the others nearly had a collective heart attack.
"You seriously stormed a DEM research base all by yourself?! Are you some kind of brain-dead berserker?!"
Kotori stared in disbelief at the expressionless Melusine. "Tell me—are you the Berserker, or are Kaguya and Yuzuru the real Berserkers?!"
Naturally, that comment drew protests from the Yamai sisters.
"Oi! What's that supposed to mean, Kotori? Are you calling us mindless muscleheads who charge in without a thought?"
"Correction: the reckless one is Kaguya. Yuzuru is innocent. Kotori, I request a formal retraction of your offensive remark."
"Traitor! You backstabbed your own sister, Yuzuru!"
"Oh! I remember now!" Tohka's eyes lit up. "DEM—that's the group who ambushed me and Shido on Arubi Island!"
"Um…" Yoshino's eyes brimmed with concern. "P-Please don't do anything so dangerous again, Miss Lancelot. At the very least… warn us next time?"
"Yoh-hoo, Miss Lancelot's actions made Yoshino very sad."
Yoshinon spoke with an exaggerated pout. "Going off on your own and pulling a stunt like that… you really don't think of us as friends, huh?"
"It simply didn't seem worth notifying you over something so minor."
Melusine shook her head calmly. "Besides, I only received the distress call while flying above the Pacific. I was worried a delay might cost me the chance to intervene."
Given her explanation, the others couldn't press further. After all, not only had she made it out unharmed—she'd also brought back two very valuable… souvenirs.
Kotori, however, was starting to get a headache. It was one thing to destroy a DEM research base and rescue a captive spirit—that lined up perfectly with Ratatoskr's mission to save spirits. If she'd known one was being held by DEM, she'd have done the same.
But bringing back DEM's strongest magician like some stray cat?
The moment Kotori found out that the world's strongest magician was sprawled unconscious on her floor like a sack of potatoes… well, it's a miracle she didn't have a stroke.
Kotori still had no clue how to deal with Ellen, so she planned to contact Woodman later and ask him to decide.
For now, the more pressing concern was the spirit Melusine had rescued.
"…By the way, what were you even doing flying over the Pacific?"
Kotori rubbed her temples, composing herself, then turned to Melusine with a hint of suspicion. "Don't tell me you knew DEM was holding a spirit out there?"
Melusine gave her a long, unreadable look.
She didn't believe Kotori could be unaware of her frequent flights over the ocean. But Kotori had never questioned it before.
"I was just… stretching my wings."
Melusine replied flatly. "I'm a dragon fae. As much as I dream of standing firm on solid ground, the earth-bound life doesn't let me spread my wings properly. I need the sky to feel free."
Before Kotori could say anything, Kaguya suddenly jumped in.
"Mm-hmm! That's my dragon knight for you. I totally get what you mean. Flying through the wind, no restraints… it's the best feeling ever!"
She ran up to Melusine, stars in her eyes.
"So? Want to go flying together sometime?"
"I don't mind."
Melusine turned slightly, meeting Kaguya's eager gaze without a hint of emotion. "But I fly fast. You might not be able to keep up."
As soon as she said it, not only did Kaguya stiffen—Yuzuru, who had been lurking silently in the background, raised an eyebrow too.
"Oh? I definitely heard that."
"Interesting. Someone dares to challenge us in speed? How arrogant."
It was plain to see—the Yamai twins were fired up.
"What's with Kaguya and Yuzuru?" Tohka tilted her head, still out of the loop.
"Pfft… this is youth in action."
Yoshinon giggled behind her puppet hand. "Of course—it's not a real shounen story without pride and rivalries."
"What's that? Some kind of food?" Tohka blinked. Then her mouth began to water. "Wait… so only the winner gets to eat? Are they challenging Lancelot for the meal prize?!"
"Would you all quit randomly getting hyped?!"
Kotori chomped her lollipop in irritation. "Even if you're all close, it's not like stand-ins are suddenly gonna appear between you and start brawling! We have serious things to discuss, Kaguya. Yuzuru."
A cold splash of reality, and the twin spirits promptly cooled off.
Not entirely, though. It was obvious they'd come back to challenge Melusine later.
Then Kotori asked Melusine about the distress signal and the spirit's identity.
For the first question, Melusine gave a vague description of what she'd felt at the time. As for the second…
Of course she knew Nia's identity.
But she flat-out denied it, insisting, "We've never met before. It was our first encounter."
She wasn't about to hand over too much information—not when the most broken cheat-code in the world was standing right in Kotori's chain of command.
Melusine had the sneaking suspicion that Kotori wanted the truth so she could start drafting a capture plan.
Once it was clear Melusine wouldn't say more, Kotori decided to take Nia to Fraxinus for treatment.
Melusine didn't object. Resisting treatment would just make her look suspicious.
But…
"Once she's recovered, I'd like her to return to the apartment. I'll handle her care myself. Or… well, Shido and I could do it—though probably just me."
At first, she'd mentioned Shido too—since only the two of them had the skills to care for someone properly—but then she remembered that whole "men and women shouldn't be too close" thing and decided to take it all on herself.
Naturally, Kotori asked her why.
Melusine's response?
"Fraxinus and the facility that imprisoned her share a similar high-tech aesthetic. I worry the sight might bring back painful memories."
"Hah?! You're comparing my Fraxinus to DEM's torture chambers?! That's slander!"
Kotori took great offense at the implication that her beloved ship looked like a prison.
But no matter how much she fumed, Melusine's expression didn't change.
It was like punching a pillow.
Melusine blinked slowly, waited for Kotori to cool down (or rather, boil over silently since she couldn't win the argument), and said:
"I just think the apartment is more… homey. For someone who's been hurt, a warm atmosphere might help them recover."
Kotori took several deep breaths. Eventually, she forced herself to nod.
Of course, part of that was thanks to Shido. When he tried to calm her down and got smacked for his trouble, she was finally able to blow off steam.
"…Fine. Once treatment is complete, we'll bring her back. You'll be in charge of her care."
Though she remained annoyed by Melusine's arrogance, Kotori did trust her caregiving skills. After all, Melusine often volunteered at hospitals to help patients with mobility issues.
Kotori was in a rush to get Nia to Fraxinus—speed was critical for treatment. And while she was there, she also intended to investigate Nia's identity.
Even if they couldn't determine the spirit's personality and formulate a sealing plan… at the very least, they needed her codename.