"That… that's Sensei's true power," Saori whispered.
"Wait," Mika said, paling. "I could've fought him like that if things went wrong?!"
"We were fighting a Sensei who wasn't even close to full strength?" Misaki stammered.
"You two got lucky," Hiyori said. "No way we could've handled that."
"Seriously…" Azusa murmured.
"Thank goodness we didn't have to fight him…" Hiyori added.
Saori and Mika saw hope in Mash's unleashed power, but the thought that those fists could've turned on them sent chills down their spines.
"Haa… ngh… guh…" Beatrice groaned, writhing in agony, blood streaming from her head.
"Does it hurt? Is it painful?" Mash asked. "That's what Arius has been through because of you."
(Okay, maybe not that level of pain… Saori thought.)
(We got beaten and shot, but not that bad… Misaki mused.)
(I think the suffering's on a different scale… Hiyori reflected.)
Beatrice writhed, her body a wreck. The Squad, despite her past cruelties, felt a pang of pity. Mash reshaped his sledgehammer back into a staff, ready to pocket it—when…
"You… foolish man!" Beatrice roared, staggering to her feet.
"Whoa, she's up," Mash said.
"This… measly wound!" she snarled. "I'll heal it with Fantasim!"
"Sensei, watch out! She's healing again!" Saori shouted.
"Too late!" Beatrice bellowed. "Fantasim!"
She summoned her Summons staff, raising it skyward—but her healing was sluggish, far slower than before.
"What… why is it so slow?!" she gasped.
"You're out of stamina," Mash said. "No energy left to keep up, right?"
"What?!" she snapped.
"My grandpa once said, 'Magic needs willpower and stamina,'" Mash explained. "No matter how much magic you've got, without the strength to wield it, it's useless."
Beatrice froze.
"It's like… what's the phrase? A treasure gone to waste?" Mash added. "Not sure if your power's even a treasure, though."
Beatrice had the magic to reshape Kivotos and the mystic energy to wield it—but her stamina was merely human. Mash's relentless blows had drained her, leaving her unable to fully heal.
"You're done, Beatrice," Mash said.
"Decades… I spent decades on this plan!" she screamed. "I strengthened my body, taught brats I despised, raised those wretched children—all for this! Me, a sublime, perfect being, a flawless adult… lose to a lowlife like you?! Never!"
Her roar shook the Basilica. Whipping her body with magic, she stabbed her staff into her chest, merging with it. Her mystic energy warped her form, but her faltering control—or perhaps her madness—turned her into a grotesque monster. Her white dress tore apart, her muscles bloated unnaturally, her eyes glowed like a beast's. Her body bristled with thorn-like spikes, her face bloomed with twisted feathers, and serpentine veins pulsed across her skin. Slamming her fists together, she bellowed at Mash.
"I'll crush you with this body!"
"Nice muscles," Mash said. "But maybe a bit too bulky? Bigger isn't always better with muscles."
"Shut up!" she roared.
Beatrice swung her massive, hardened arms. But against Mash's speed, her brute-force attacks were futile. He dodged effortlessly, reading her moves with ease.
"Let me tell you something, Mash Burnedead!" she snarled.
"Now what? You've got more?" Mash asked.
"Your origins!" she declared.
"?!" the Squad gasped.
"Sensei's… origins?" Azusa whispered. "How does she know that?"
"Sensei, don't listen!" Saori shouted. "Don't hear her out!"
"Silence, children!" Beatrice snapped.
She aimed to break Mash's spirit by revealing his birth, his true father, and his purpose. The Squad, already aware, panicked—Saori screamed to stop him from hearing. But Beatrice hurled debris, drowning her out. Mika shielded the Squad, but the magic-charged rubble struck, breaking Mika's right wing and Saori's left arm. They collapsed in pain.
"Gah…!" Mika groaned.
"Mika… Sensei…!" Saori gasped.
"Saori, Mika…!" Azusa cried.
"Listen well, Mash Burnedead!" Beatrice sneered. "The one who gave me magic, knowledge, and power… was Innocent Zero!"
"Innocent… Zero?" Mash echoed.
"Stop it!" Saori screamed.
"He's your true father, bound to you by blood!" Beatrice cackled.
The Squad paled. Mika, hearing this for the first time, froze in shock. Azusa was speechless.
"Do you understand, Mash Burnedead?" Beatrice taunted. "The chaos of Arius and the Eden Treaty—you blamed me for it all! But it began with my meeting him. Every event tied to the Eden Treaty was your father's will! You were born an enemy to the students you swore to protect!"
"Sensei's… father?" Hiyori whispered.
"And your true purpose?" Beatrice continued. "You were created for Innocent Zero's forbidden magic—to craft an immortal heart using the hearts of six blood-related humans. You're nothing but a vessel to cultivate that heart! Once it's harvested, your body and Royal Blood will be tools for my plan! You were born for his dream, to fulfill my ambitions—not a teacher, not even human, just a thing!"
"You're saying… Mash-kun was born just to be a sacrifice for that heart?" Mika stammered.
"Exactly!" Beatrice roared. "A part for his evolution, a tool for my victory! You're no teacher, no human—just a means to an end!"
Her armored arms morphed into blades, slashing at Mash. The strikes sparked red and sent shockwaves, but Mash dodged effortlessly.
"How's that, Mash Burnedead?!" she screamed. "Despair at your life! Born for this, yet stuck with foolish students, unable to fulfill your purpose or your role as a teacher, a walking contradiction—enemy to those you protect! You have no place in the magic world or Kivotos! Offer your body and life to us sublime adults!"
She swung her blades down, aiming to crush him mentally and physically. Knowing his origins, his father's identity, and his purpose, Mash—
"Shut up!" WHAM!
"Gah?!" Beatrice gasped, her blade snapping.
THUD!
"NGH?!" she grunted as Mash kicked her into a wall.
The Squad stared, dumbfounded.
"Huh, my life's heavier than I thought," Mash said, unfazed. "Pretty surprising."
(He's… fine?! After hearing that?! Is he even sane?! Beatrice thought.)
"But it doesn't matter if my life's heavy or worthless," Mash continued. "I've got people who accept me. And more importantly—"
Despite learning his origins, his father's identity, and his purpose, Mash—loved by his grandfather, saved and supported by his students—remained unshaken, simply filing the facts away.
He spun his arm, pointing forward and beckoning her with a taunt.
"My life's a million times more meaningful than yours or that Innocent Pero guy's," he said. "I'm invincible. Bring it on."
His declaration rang out. Mash had the strength to carve his own fate. Accepted by his family and students, he was unstoppable.
"He's… so strong," Saori whispered.
"Too strong," Misaki said, almost jealous.
"Mash-kun… you're incredible," Mika said, tearing up.
The Squad was captivated. Born as an enemy yet embracing his role as their teacher, Mash shrugged off a truth that would've broken them. They knew no one could beat him.
"Hah… hahaha!" Beatrice laughed hysterically. "Fine! I'll end you, your family, your friends—everything!"
Realizing she couldn't win—or driven mad by damage and magic overload—she raised her arms, conjuring a massive orb of mystic energy to obliterate the Basilica and Mash.
"I've already met that being!" she screamed. "Far stronger, far more terrifying than me—even he feared to name it!"
"Stronger than you?" Saori gasped.
"What can you do against it?!" Beatrice taunted. "A muscle-bound nobody—what can you do?!"
"Muscles are all I need," Mash said. "They solve everything."
"That being knows of Kivotos!" she roared. "It'll come here soon! You think you can win? Save the world?!"
"I'll win," Mash said. "I'll protect this crystal-clear world—Blue Archive—with my fists."
He tensed his legs, cracking the ground, veins bulging as he channeled power into his arms.
"Unlimited Biceps Magic: Squad Squared Punch!"
"Squared?!" Beatrice gasped.
"Two!" BOOM, BOOM!
(What… are these punches?!)
"Four!" BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!
"Guh! Gah?! NGH?!" Beatrice grunted.
"That move…" Saori whispered.
"No way…" Misaki gasped.
"It can't be!" Azusa said.
The punches doubled with each strike—two, then four. Squared Punch—they realized what it meant.
"Sixteen!" THUD, THUD, THUD…!
"GUAAAAH?!" Beatrice screamed.
"The punches… square with each hit?!" Mika exclaimed.
At sixteen punches, a terrifying thought hit Beatrice.
(No… sixteen squared is…!)
Mash took a deep breath, unleashing his full force—
WHIRL, WHIRL, WHIRL…!
Two hundred fifty-six punches slammed into her, too fast for her to scream. She flew into the wall.
"GAH?!" she gasped.
"Throwing a tantrum and dragging others down is for students," Mash said. "Reflect on that."
"I… endured it!" Beatrice panted, teeth and ribs shattered, yet grinning maniacally. "I withstood your fists! I win! I'm the sublime adult to rule Kivotos!"
She was wrong. Mash never said he was done.
"Sixty-five thousand five hundred thirty-six," he said.
"What?" Beatrice blinked.
"Sixty-five thousand five hundred thirty-six," he repeated.
"Wha—wait—"
"One last thing," Mash said.
He targeted every part of Beatrice—body, mind, physical, metaphysical—everything.
"You hurt my princesses—my precious students."
"?!" the Squad gasped.
"W-Wow…" Mika blushed.
WHIRL, WHIRL, WHIRL…!
Sixty-five thousand five hundred thirty-six punches rained down. The speed transcended biology, invisible to the eye. Only the impact craters, crushed wounds, and searing pain marked Beatrice. It was a spectacle beyond a thunderstorm, surpassing a meteor shower.
"GUAAAAAAAH?!" she screamed.
Her bloated muscles tore, her body lifted, defenseless against the infinite fists. The staff inside her snapped with her bones, nerves shredded, pain drowning out even her life's memories. Finally—
THUD!
The final punch sent Beatrice crashing through the Basilica's stained glass, rocketing 10,000 meters into the stratosphere.
"MASH BURNEDEAD!" she wailed.
And with that, she vanished from Arius—defeated.
"Haa…" Saori gasped.
"It's… over," Misaki sobbed. "Finally…"
"Sniff…" Hiyori cried.
"He won… Mash won!" Azusa cheered.
"Haha…" Mika laughed, tears streaming. "Mash-kun, you're unfair… making me cry like this…"
The hell of Arius, the torment of the Eden Treaty—ended in that moment.
"I'm starving," Mash said.
-------------------------------
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