"You are no god. You are a patient."
The one who declared this was a girl, dressed in a modified nun's habit designed for mobility. Her long blonde hair was tied into a single braid, her eyes strikingly sharp.
"Treatment will now commence."
The girl—Asia Argento—clasped her hands as if in prayer to God.
"I solemnly swear before all gathered here and before God."
Those who recognized it would identify it as the Nightingale Pledge, a vow rooted in Florence Nightingale's spirit of nursing, outlining the mindset and resolve required of a nurse. Typically recited at capping or graduation ceremonies, it was a sacred oath.
Correct, but it was also the incantation for Asia Argento's Balance Breaker. Her Balance Breaker unleashed its greatest power under specific conditions, but it had a clear flaw: the incantation took time.
"…Stop."
The Beast understood. This incantation would end it.
"I will live my life purely and fulfill my duties faithfully."
No joke. Unacceptable. It hadn't done anything yet. Nothing had started. Nothing had ended.
"Stop it!"
It couldn't end here—not when it hadn't even eradicated the Devils!
"I will abstain from all that is poisonous or harmful."
Crimson-black mud overflowed from the Beast's shadow.
"Crimson-Black Filth—Welsh Chaos Tide!"
The cursed mud surged toward the girl, but—
"Condemning Holy Dragon—Stake Victim Dragoon!"
"Superhuman Malice Wave—Detonation Mighty Comet!"
A dragon formed of holy swords shielded the saint, repelling the mud. As the Beast stood stunned, a missile was launched.
"You're late."
"Better than not making it."
The reincarnations of Saint Jeanne d'Arc and the great hero Heracles.
They weren't alone.
"Yeah, there's something we… no, we can do."
The Hero Faction, led by Cao Cao. Georg and Siegfried were absent, fighting in the Underworld, but the faction's strength was gathered here.
Archer approached, prompting the Hero Faction to brace themselves.
"You…!"
"Not long enough to say 'long time no see,' rookie."
Archer passed Cao Cao.
"I'll handle that side."
As they crossed paths, the transformed bowman spoke to his younger self.
"Protect your comrades. No matter what—"
"—No need to tell me!"
Archer's gaze fell on Rias Gremory, struggling to stand despite her abdominal wound.
"President Rias, stop!"
"If I don't move now, the Gremory name is disgraced!"
"Yes, let's go, Rias."
Archer gave a wry smile at the Gremory peerage's resolve to save their own despite the odds. Even he, who bore hatred for a man sharing his name, understood Hyoudou Issei's position after Flauros' words.
"…How absurd."
"Be quiet! I don't know what you or Solomon plan for Issei, but I won't let you touch my servant—"
"Mist of Oblivion—Dimension Lost."
Mist poured from Archer's coffin, enveloping the Gremory peerage. When it cleared, they were gone.
"…I thought you were more playful."
"Forgot that long ago."
Flauros muttered inwardly that he'd become a truly dull man.
"I can't read the situation, but I see. Looks like Asia won't die in this timeline."
In his time, only Asia was by his side. She died in his place, consumed by the mud.
"I will not use harmful drugs, nor knowingly promote them."
The flames cleared, revealing the Beast, nearly unscathed despite Heracles' attack. Its armor was pristine. It instantly analyzed the attack.
Analyzing, learning, absorbing, adapting, evolving. Ensuring the same attack wouldn't work again, ready to counter similar ones instantly.
"Victory condition: activate Asia's Balance Breaker. Defeat: if even one of us dies, we lose. To win, everyone survives with full effort!"
"That's insane!"
"You've gotten crazier!"
"But it's not bad!"
"This leader's better!"
Despite the literal death trap, the Hero Faction laughed. Resigned to dying here if it came to it, yet determined not to.
"The first strike is mine, the great Perseus!"
The Demon God Pillars couldn't join this fight, due to the Beast's nature and history.
Hyoudou Issei defeated Demon God Zepar. Strictly speaking, at this stage, Zepar was the only being Issei defeated alone. The White Dragon was only driven off. The former Dragon King chased him. He never fought the Phenex or Black Dragon King. The Fallen Angel he first loved died without a reunion.
Simply put, he had an advantage against dragons and Demon God Pillars, thanks to his cells and power. Impressive, but that's all.
Born with infinite evolutionary potential, this Beast chose the wrong material. No matter the possibilities, without the right foundation, they're meaningless.
Because it was Hyoudou Issei, neither Demon Gods nor the King of Men could fight it. The Hero Faction was inexperienced. Yet, this Beast was terrifyingly weak—weak enough for them to stall, if not defeat.
"I will strive to elevate the standard of my duties to the best of my ability."
Due to its low ability, the Beast couldn't dodge Perseus' strike.
It was weak, for now. It could grow infinitely, evolve easily. The more it fought, the stronger it became just by facing enemies.
Thus, a short decisive battle was the strategy. Given their victory condition, the fight would last mere seconds.
"In performing my duties, I will respect the private matters of all entrusted to me."
The Hero Faction focused on evasion over attack, wary of the mud pooling at the Beast's feet. Some fired arrows, others unleashed flames, some wove illusions.
"Come on!"
"Take this!"
The Beast, battered by attacks, roared, venting frustration and pain with a tantrum.
"Don't underestimate me!"
It unleashed a forbidden technique it shouldn't have mastered.
"Longinus Smasher…!"
But their response was swift, having recently seen a similar technique.
"I'll be the shield!"
Connla, a Hero Faction member, stepped forward.
Shunned since childhood for his shadow-manipulating power, the Hero Faction was his home. He revered Cao Cao, who gave him a place and said even someone like him could be a hero.
In his first encounter with Archer, Connla nearly died. He used his shadows to protect his comrades but failed. Without Asia, he and they would've perished.
He was powerless. It was frustrating. More than hatred for Archer, he was angry at himself.
Not just then. If Archer was Cao Cao, what was he doing in that timeline? Watching his leader become that? How pathetic. To let the man who saved him from loneliness become such a lonely Cleaner?
No way. At least in this timeline, he—they—wouldn't let him become that! Not led, but dreaming together!
"Balance Breaker!"
Not a blade to cut all, nor armor of power. A supreme shield to protect his comrades. A massive shield to swallow any attack.
"Dark Hole of the Night—Night Reflection Black Hole!"
Still, it wasn't enough. Even as a subspecies, a non-Longinus Sacred Gear's Balance Breaker lacked the power to stop a Beast of Humanity's ultimate attack.
"It's not enough…!"
"Not yet, I'll handle the rest!"
Cao Cao raised his spear.
"Surge, my demonic spear. True Longinus Second Form—White Night's Heavenly Spear, Midnight Sun Longinus!"
A white aurora shot from the spear, like a beam laser, clashing with and neutralizing the Longinus Smasher.
The collision's shockwave hit the Hero Faction. Leaders like Cao Cao and Heracles endured, but lower members were blown back. Still, they shielded Asia expertly.
"Haha… good thing we've faced similar attacks."
"Who'd have thought nearly dying to the IF leader would help like this…"
"Don't say that in front of me."
He couldn't fathom becoming that, and it was reasonable to see that possibility as a different person. Still, it weighed on him.
"I will not divulge the private matters of the families I know."
The Beast didn't see the aspiring heroes. It saw only the girl, unharmed despite its attack. Her chant was nothing but grating to it.
"Why!? That attack was meant to kill you…! Why didn't it hit!? Why aren't you dead!?"
To the Beast, this girl wasn't an enemy. No, to her, it wasn't an enemy. It wasn't about winning or strength—it wasn't that kind of awareness or recognition.
But the Beast couldn't grasp that truth.
"Argh! I'll kill you! If I kill you, I can evolve humanity! Even if it means destroying this star, I'll make humanity glorious! I'll wipe out every Devil, god, and Fallen Angel!"
The Hero Faction braced themselves. Asia's chant had seconds left. They'd risk their lives to buy those seconds, mocked by the Beast.
"I will earnestly aid physicians."
The next moment, the Beast was before Asia Argento.
This was its evolution. To remain a Beast, it had to kill Asia. But with the Hero Faction, attacks couldn't reach her. No time to kill them all. So, it learned instant teleportation.
Ironically, this was inspired by the shonen manga the boy it was based on loved—a clear sign he still lived within.
"Asia, run!"
But the saint didn't flinch. How could a nurse flee a patient? Especially this girl, who grew strong to offer true salvation.
"I will dedicate myself to the happiness of those entrusted to my hands."
The Nightingale Pledge ended here. But she was Asia Argento, not Florence Nightingale. The pledge wasn't hers, but her ideal was built on Nightingale's spirit. Merely imitating Nightingale held no meaning.
Further, to the future. For a better tomorrow!
Thus, she added her own chant, her ideal as Asia Argento.
"—And."
"Useless! Stop that annoying song!"
The Beast reached its mud-stained gauntlet toward the pure girl. The Hero Faction couldn't intervene. No Demon Gods, King of Men, or Heroic Spirits were there.
But if someone could leap through space, that changed things.
—Crack. A sound like breaking glass, and a Devil appeared before the Beast.
"We will face injustice time and again, and overcome despair time and again."
"Ddraig!"
A guttural cry, barely words, from a being only describable as a Devil. Its form was dragon-like, its surface more armor than skin, pure white. Claws unnaturally long, fangs sharp from its jaw. Black demonic wings spread from its back.
"DdraigDdraigDdraigDdraigDdraigDdraig! Y Ddraig Goch!"
The Devil grappled the Beast with its ferocious arms.
"Get out of my way, you freak!"
The Beast's knowledge came from Hyoudou Issei and Truth's mud. It knew of Solomon's death and Vali Lucifer's transformation. But it couldn't immediately recognize this Devil as the same. The once-beautiful White Dragon's traces were gone.
"When the spiral of conflict ends."
Ironically, the girl's words echoed the King of Magecraft's original ideal, shared with his accomplices: a moment when all races united not in battle, but in compassion.
"Raaargh!"
Something restrained the Beast from behind.
A boy in human form, once called the Beast of Revelation. A calamity born of humanity. The Beast instantly knew this boy was its other half.
"Trihexa!"
"That's right, my other half! Or rather, you fake father wannabe!"
Trihexa was weaker than its days as the Beast of Revelation, yet stronger than the Two Heavenly Dragons. It held the Beast for a mere moment before the Beast analyzed, adapted, and evolved, turning Trihexa's intrusion into overwhelming violence.
Still, that moment was enough.
A fleeting moment to save the world—no, to save one boy.
"We pray your soul rests with us."
To Asia Argento, "you" meant Hyoudou Issei, the King of Magecraft Solomon, and all humanity that formed the mud.
Some might mock it as nonsense, scold her for boasting, or lecture that one girl could save only so many.
But how can one envision the future without bearing the past?
"Balance Breaker—Twilight Lamp Sanctuary."
A faint flame flickered in her hand. Too small to light the world, yet bright enough to guide through the darkest night.
The three-thousand-year curse ended now.
***
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