"Right—Atsuko-chan!" Mash exclaimed.
Having hurled Beatrice into oblivion, Mash hurried to the altar where Atsuko was crucified.
"Atsuko-chan!" Saori cried.
"P-Princess!" Hiyori gasped.
"Atsuko…!" Misaki whispered.
"Princess!" Azusa shouted.
"Princess… Princess!" Mika called.
Following Mash to the cross, the Squad and Azusa looked up at Atsuko, calling her name. But she remained limp, unresponsive.
"This thing's in the way!" Mash growled.
He snapped the cross at its base, toppling it to the floor. Carefully, he tore away the crimson thorns binding Atsuko, freeing her completely. Cradling her gently to avoid further injury, Mash laid her down.
"She's not breathing… and no consciousness… Atsuko!" Saori shouted.
"There's a gash on her arm—bleeding badly!" Misaki added.
"Hang on… here, use this!" Mika said, tearing strips from her sleeves and hem, handing them over.
"Sorry!" Azusa replied, pressing the cloth to the wound alongside Misaki.
"Wake up… please open your eyes—Atsuko!" Mash urged.
"…"
"Atsuko-chan… no, Atsuko-chan, don't go… You have to be happy now, for real this time… Atsuko-chan!" Hiyori pleaded.
Long bound to the altar and exploited by Beatrice, Atsuko lay unconscious, breathless. Mash called to her desperately—but he couldn't do it alone.
"Princess, no, you can't…! You ate those cream puffs all by yourself and didn't even share the taste with us—you can't just leave like that! It's not fair!" Mobuko sobbed.
"You said a happy ending would come someday, right? Come on, wake up—don't die before me!" Misaki cried.
"The Cream Puff Club's waiting for you! We all said we'd make more together… so, so wake up!" Mobue urged.
"A bad end after all this? No way—and if you make Mash-kun cry, I won't forgive you!" Mika added.
"Atsuko—please! Sensei freed us. From now on, we live more human lives… more, more… So… wake up!" Saori begged.
The voices of her family, the angel Mika who came to help, and Mash—the knight-like friend who gave them light—called her back.
"Ngh…"
Perhaps their voices reached her, or their bonds pulled her through—Atsuko's eyes fluttered open. Her unfocused gaze scanned the room, and in a daze, she murmured.
"…Huh, everyone?"
"Atsuko!" Mash said.
"Princess…!" Saori breathed.
"Princess! You're awake?!" Hiyori exclaimed.
"Thank goodness…" Misaki sighed.
"You scared us…" Azusa whispered.
Her family and the one seeking reconciliation peered down at her. Slowly sitting up, Atsuko blinked, a soft smile forming.
"Yeah… Saori, Hiyori, Misaki—everyone, good morning."
"Good… morning?" Saori echoed.
"She's the same as ever," Misaki sighed fondly.
"Atsuko!" Saori cried, hugging her tightly, her face a mix of relief and tears.
Atsuko, initially puzzled by Saori's uncharacteristic embrace, noticed her own wounds and the surroundings, piecing together the situation.
"…Right. Madam…"
"Atsuko, thank you for surviving… really, thank you," Saori whispered.
"…Yeah."
Saori's desperate words drew a nod from Atsuko, small but filled with emotion, her eyes closed in quiet acceptance.
"Saori, don't cry. I'm okay… Sensei helped get you here, huh?"
"Yeah…! Not just Sensei—lots of other students lent a hand!"
"…I see."
"Glad you're safe, Atsuko-chan," Mash said.
"Ah… Sensei—"
"Yeah, phew, all good," he replied.
"…Huh?" Atsuko blinked, turning to the voice she knew—but the figure was different, tanned and spiked-haired.
"What's wrong? Still out of it?" Mash asked.
"Sensei… did you get a tan?"
"Sniff… Princess, that's Sensei's serious mode," Mika explained.
"Serious mode…? Wait, he wasn't serious before?"
"I was serious sometimes? Just holding back my power."
"…A dream?"
"It's real, Princess. He just punched Madam 65,000 times and yeeted her to the clouds."
"…Joke?"
"Dead serious."
"…Maybe I'll sleep more."
"I get it, but no sleeping."
"Even Trinity's princess… so much info," Azusa muttered.
Atsuko, confused but smiling faintly, stared at Mash's battered, bloodied form—the result of desperate battle. Holding back tears, she whispered.
"You really came like a prince saving his princess."
"Huh… maybe."
"Princess, huh? Hey, Mash-kun, that 'princess' line earlier… got me curious," Mika teased.
"Didn't like it?"
"Not dislike, but… we're not glamorous like you, Mika. Far from princess material," Saori said self-deprecatingly.
Mika from Trinity and the Arius girls saw beauty differently—but Mash, pure and straightforward, replied honestly.
"Every girl's a princess, right?"
"…"
"Did I say something wrong?"
"Is he for real?" Saori asked.
"Totally real," Mika confirmed.
"What's this called… a charmer?" Hiyori wondered.
"That sounds bad," Mash protested.
The youthful students blushed at Mash's words, a shy smile breaking through their negativity. This was right—exactly right.
"Alright, Atsuko-chan's safe," Mash said. "Now for the rest."
"Yeah," Saori agreed. "Sensei kept our promise, saving the Princess. I'm grateful—so now it's my turn."
"Sacchan?" Hiyori asked.
"As Arius, as the Squad, I'll atone for our sins. I'm the root of it all. Send me wherever—Federal Student Council, Trinity, Corrections Bureau, whatever Sensei thinks best. I'll accept any punishment."
"What…?!" Misaki gasped.
"Leader?!" Hiyori cried.
Saori's sudden declaration about their promise shook the Squad. Shocked and confused, she stood firm, her eyes unwavering.
"But one request: punish only me. Eden Treaty, Seia attack, Nagisa attack… Misaki, Hiyori, Atsuko—I dragged them in. If they're spared, add it to my sins. Please… judge only me. I know it's presumptuous, but…"
"Saori-san, wait!" Azusa protested.
"Don't joke, Leader—one person alone…!" Misaki shouted.
"No, it's fine… this is right. I've shirked responsibility too long. Now's the time. This mess made me realize how sinful I am—yet Mika and others helped. I can't face them, or Sensei, without atoning. We must pay for our sins."
Her resolve was ironclad. Through this, she'd learned the world's vastness and that hope wasn't lost.
So, she'd bear all sins, saving her family—this was Saori's will, her first selfishness.
"Sensei… please. 'Request denied,'" Mash said.
"Denied," he repeated.
"Sensei, this is closure… so—"
"Why decide and shoulder it alone? You were just told that's no good."
Mash reattached his wristbands, reverting to normal, locking eyes with Saori in "teacher mode."
"Punishment for sins is right. We must take responsibility."
"Exactly—so—"
"So work at Shalem. Not alone—together."
"…Huh?"
"At Shalem, make up for the trouble by helping everyone. It's under the Federal Student Council, tons of work, for all kinds of people. Rehabilitation while we grind—let's do it."
"Wait! You were serious?!"
"Of course. Federal Council, Trinity Tea Party, Gehenna Pandemonium—all approved."
"?!"
"So work with me at Shalem, atone together."
Arius's sins were grave—unforgivable terrorism that could've caused deaths. But it could've—no one died.
"No actual deaths, Trinity and Gehenna barely hurt, I'm fine… attempted terrorism?"
"But you'd share our sins…"
"Teacher's responsibility for students' actions, right? Fits."
"You're a kid like us!"
"But positionally a teacher—fair to atone together."
Mash's casual words carried immense weight: Atonement together, with my help. Beatrice was the root; Arius were forced child soldiers, victims too.
"Makoto-san and Nagisa-san said, 'Minimal damage, we're over it. Sensei suffered most—up to him.'"
"Trinity's mostly Sanctus faction fussing; my Paters are coming around," Azusa added.
"Gehenna reported no real damage," Mika said.
"Federal Council figured 'Easier and safer leaving it to Sensei.' Rin looked furious, though—sorry."
"…"
The Squad was speechless. One child's influence reshaped everything. Their judgment lay with Mash—his atonement: Work at Shalem.
"Any punishment, right? So accept it: Sweat at Shalem for others, eat good food, bathe, sleep soundly… Learn normal life, compare to your past, find a new path. My 'homework' to you."
"Not really punishment… but anyway? Everyone says, 'Repay the Sensei you hurt by helping him.' So live—be happy."
"Can I hope for a future now…?"
"Of course. So everyone—"
Battered and torn, Mash smiled—his rare, genuine grin.
"Let's work hard at Shalem—as members."
"…Thank you, Sensei—no, Mash!"
"I'll be your tool anytime."
"I… just want good food…"
"Sensei's truly light… guiding us always."
Mash welcomed his new comrades wholeheartedly.
A mere child, yet Kivotos's strongest in influence, body, and spirit. And one who shares sins, atones, and deserves happiness alongside his students.
"Likewise… looking forward to it."
Thus, Arius—no, former Arius students—joined Shalem by their own will.
At last, freed from Beatrice's chains.
-------------------------------
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