Epilogue

"Man, nothing good ever happens when you get involved with the corps."

"Goodnight, Res-chin. Good luck with tomorrow's match too!" "Yeah..."

It was a hollow-sounding reply. Fluegel stopped for a moment—but soon wagged her tail and vanished into the night of Amatsu.

In the silence that followed, Resty spent a while stroking her scraped knuckles.

"............So it's come to this."

"Yeah. That's right. Fight me."

The answer came back from the darkness. It wasn't that Fluegel had returned.

It was lower, carrying a faint heat.

A voice Resty could never forget.

"I thought I'd never see you again—"

"—Did you know it would turn out like this?"

The white ghost did not answer. Rubarf. The former Student Council President of Delos.

"What about the kids at the orphanage?"

"I've hired a new owner. Someone trustworthy."

The white silhouette floating in the dark night wavered slightly.

"With the money I got from Yakumo... in exchange for this fight." "I see."

Resty stood up and brushed the dust off her rear.

"Then I can do this without holding back."

That was all. That was it.

If she fights one more time, she will die.

But.

Knowing about Resty's body, Rubarf respected her decision. So Resty would show the same respect.

"Let me introduce myself again. I am Rubarf."

The hair on the back of Resty's neck stood up as if touched by static electricity. Before she knew it, she had instinctively taken a fighting stance.

Is this her?

Is this the pressure emitted by someone on the verge of death?

"The conditions Yakumo presented didn't specify victory or defeat. However..."

"I'm going to win, Resty."