Tatari was completely destroyed.
After Arcueid forcibly severed his contract with Altrouge, causing him to revert from a phenomenon back into a single individual, he offered almost no resistance when Naoki's attack obliterated him.
No—perhaps it wasn't entirely accurate to say he offered no resistance. He must have resisted.
To avoid the inevitable apocalyptic fate, and to seek hope for preserving this planet's existence from countless ruined futures, he would never have abandoned his pursuit of the Sixth Magic—the pursuit of miraculous acts.
After Naoki attacked, he surely tried every possible method to resist or even escape. Yet, despite all his efforts, he could not escape. From the outside, he was utterly defeated in a single strike by Naoki.
Though it was merely a pure mana slash, its power was sufficient to rival an Anti-Army-class Noble Phantasm. It was not something a Dead Apostle could withstand directly with his physical body.
Therefore—
"That's roughly the report. There are a few minor details, but essentially, that was the final outcome."
Inside a room in the Clock Tower, Lord El-Melloi II presented a written report to the old man before him.
"Is that all, sir?"
"Yes, that's all."
Seated in his chair, reading a book in his hands, Zelretch showed no change in expression. Seeing this, Lord El-Melloi II could only sigh in resignation: "I understand. I'll record it exactly as it is... Then, about Ayaka. Is it really alright to leave her there?"
"It's fine. You don't need to worry about that. In fact, it's better that she stays there."
Better there?
El-Melloi II reflected on the events of two years ago and Ayaka's behavior over the past two years, then nodded in agreement.
Indeed, compared to staying here, going there should better align with Ayaka's wishes.
At the very least, Naoki was there.
He just didn't know how his students would react once this news spread. El-Melloi II, who knew his students' personalities well, already felt a stomachache coming on.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
At the same time, in Naoki's world.
Since Tatari had been thoroughly destroyed, as soon as Sion learned of his death, having completed her mission, she immediately bought a plane ticket to return to the Atlas Institute.
Naoki, Touko, Ciel, and Ayaka came to see her off.
"Thank you all for taking care of me these past two days. I'm truly grateful."
Pushing her suitcase, Sion, standing at the station entrance, thanked the four people before her.
"I was supposed to defeat Tatari myself, but everything ended up in Naoki's hands. Now I feel a bit embarrassed... How should I report this to the Headmaster?"
"Just say I did it, how about that?" Naoki said with a laugh. "Zepia should be able to accept that. And judging from our understanding, he already intended to ask me to help you. Just report the truth."
"I'm still a little nervous. This was my first mission outside, and I didn't do anything... But since Naoki says so, I feel more at ease. If the Headmaster gets angry, I'll use you as my shield."
Hearing Sion's words, Naoki couldn't help but laugh.
"Whatever you want."
"Alright~~~ Ah, I need to board soon. This is goodbye for now."
"I remember—you take a train to Tokyo, transfer to another train to the airport, then fly to Egypt, right? That's really troublesome."
"What can I do?" Sion said, putting on her backpack. She pushed her suitcase and waved at the four of them. "Then, I'll go ahead. See you again if we have the chance, Naoki, Ciel, Ayaka, and Senior Touko."
With that, Sion quickly entered the station, disappearing into the crowd.
Watching her from behind until she was out of sight, Touko extinguished the cigarette butt in her hand: "Such an energetic young girl."
"Touko-san, saying that makes you sound old."
"I'm still young."
After responding to Ayaka, Touko also patted Naoki on the back: "Then, I should be going too."
"Eh?"
This sudden statement left the three of them speechless.
Touko was leaving too?
"Why so suddenly?"
"What? I think this is the perfect farewell." Touko laughed. "Did you really think I came here just to see the little girl off? I've already bought my own ticket—I'll be boarding the next train."
"I originally came back to Misaki City because of Tatari. Now that you've dealt with him, I have no reason to stay, right?"
Touko's casual words surprised Naoki and the others slightly, but considering her personality, it wasn't too shocking. After all, the two Aozaki sisters were alike—people who could never stay in one place for long. They always vanished without a trace.
Now, at least she had announced her departure—that was already extraordinary.
Pulling his phone from his pocket, Naoki shook it: "I get it. But before you go, at least give me your phone number. So it won't be like two years ago, when I wanted to find you but couldn't contact you at all."
"Finding me wouldn't help you anyway... Well, alright. That way, I can occasionally crash at your place for meals."
After entering her number into Naoki's phone, Touko ruffled his hair vigorously: "Then I'm off. Just like Sion, see you again if we meet. Ciel, Ayaka, Naoki."
Watching Touko's figure fade into the crowd once more, Naoki rubbed his hair: "Seriously... why did she suddenly ruffle my hair? Does she still see me as a kid?"
"In some ways, yes." Ciel laughed. "Now Sion and Touko are gone. What will you do next, Naoki? I'm under your command now, so I'd like to ask about our next objective."
"Our next objective, huh..."
Naoki scratched his head.
"That's right. Let's return to the Clock Tower first. My leave of absence there is almost over, so I need to go back to work. Then there's Ayaka's situation. If the Old Man of Jewels can't return her to her world, I'll need to find her a place to live."
And then there was Arcueid too.
She was just sleeping soundly now. Last night, maintaining the Red Moon from a thousand years in the future had required rare, intense effort from her. So as soon as they returned, she collapsed into sleep and hadn't woken up yet.
In previous times, Arcueid always appeared, saw the problem resolved, then immediately returned to the Millennium Castle. This time, Naoki wanted to ask if she wanted to stay.
After all, letting her return to the Millennium Castle alone wasn't ideal.
"Alright. For now, let's go back and wake up the big lazybones, Arcueid."