Souta stared in surprise at the ice sculpture behind Inori, momentarily at a loss.
He had more or less anticipated this outcome.
Still, seeing both the mid-tier and final boss of the series go down in under ten minutes and both at the hands of Inori, Souta couldn't help but feel like times had changed.
Inori was a little surprised to see him appear so suddenly.
He must've come because he was worried about me... Thinking that, a hint of delight crept into her heart, and the corners of her mouth curled up unconsciously.
"Hm?" Souta walked closer and asked, "Inori, do you have a grudge against Shuichiro Keidou and Yuu?"
"No." Inori shook her head. "Why do you ask?"
Souta reached out and tapped the corner of her lips with a finger.
"Then why are you smiling like that? I thought taking them down really lifted your spirits."
"..." Inori blinked, then reached up to touch her lips, a bit conflicted.
Now that her emotions had reached a normal human level, it wasn't all good.
She wasn't used to it yet, so her emotions were completely visible on her face.
It was kind of embarrassing for Souta to see her ...
"Eve is inside you, right?" Souta shifted the topic.
"Yeah, she's struggling," Inori nodded. "I'm suppressing her."
"No wonder she's so quiet."
Souta glanced at the ice on the floor and the walls. It was clearly the result of a Level 4 divine miracle, "Advanced Thermokinesis."
Beneath the ice were countless apocalypse virus crystals.
If not for the interference, Eve would likely be using those crystals to attack them now.
Souta then looked at the massive ice sculpture containing Yuu, examining it closely.
"What is it?" Inori noticed his gaze.
"Yuu's body is probably just like yours, artificially cultivated."
Souta made a quick deduction in his mind:
"If the envoy of 'Da'ath', Yuu, doesn't vanish then bodies like his can probably be produced endlessly."
"Then how do we destroy him?"
A touch of seriousness appeared in Inori's eyes.
To her, Yuu was an enemy that had to be eliminated.
Souta fell into contemplation.
Yuu's goal was to unleash the Apocalypse Virus, cull humanity, and preserve all life as memory data in crystals.
He called it "evolution."
Maybe one day, true AI would emerge. Machines and code capable of storing memory and emotion, like in Expelled from Paradise or Cyberpunk 2077. Humanity would have to choose its path.
But that choice belonged to humanity, not someone else.
Yuu, this enemy of mankind, had to be destroyed.
No one could say when he might return.
'Wishing with divine power to kill him directly... probably won't work. Even if he's weak, Yuu's still a part of the Counter Force of this world.'
(TL/N: There's no counter force in Guilty Crown.)
Erasing an existence with divine spark cost exponentially more power than just cutting it down with a blade.
Souta couldn't yet erase a weakened form of the Counter Force.
'Kinda like that "Angra Mainyu" in Fuyuki... Maybe I should burn him with Divine Flame?'
Suddenly, an idea came to him.
"Got it!" He turned to Inori and grabbed her soft, fair right hand. "We'll need your King's Power for this."
Feeling the contact, a faint blush colored Inori's cheeks.
Souta didn't notice her shy expression. With a wave of his hand, the ice around Yuu dissolved into liquid.
Yuu, whose body had been frozen and necrotized, collapsed to the ground.
He still had a breath left.
Stimulated by Souta's spiritual energy, he opened his eyes.
Yuu glared at Inori, trying to attack, but his dead limbs wouldn't move.
"Inori, extract... or rather, rip him open."
Souta pointed at Yuu.
"Okay." Inori smiled sweetly and locked eyes with Yuu.
Instantly, the trigger for the King's Power activated. A ghostly blue glow lit up on Yuu's chest.
The gateway to his mind opened.
Souta seized the moment, surging divine power through the link into Yuu's inner world.
Then, his Divine Flame spread: burning.
Terror and dread filled his gaze as he looked at Inori.
He could feel his unifying will, his essence, being disintegrated by an intangible force.
As if he was being incinerated to nothing.
"What... are you... you monster?"
Yuu spat weakly at Inori.
Inori just looked at him, confused.
Souta increased the intensity of the burning.
After more than an hour of dull waiting, Yuu's spirit finally vanished completely without a trace.
'So weak... That Angry Mango in Fuyuki, I burned him for days.'
'No... not fair to compare. I was much weaker back then, too.'
After another spiritual scan confirmed Yuu was truly gone, Souta finally relaxed.
"Infiltrating someone's void and destroying their heart and ideals... it's a solid method."
Souta thought of the new ability he'd gotten from Miku: Mental Manipulation.
He glanced at Inori, trying to connect with her inner world without the void's help.
He hadn't mastered the rules of the mind to that extent.
He could brute-force it by spending more divine energy...
But with the Void, there was no need to waste it.
"Let's go ahead and free Mana's soul now," Souta suggested.
"How do we do that?" Inori asked.
"Mana's true consciousness is trapped in the virus's 'Ideal World', a world made of memory, essentially her inner world. We can use the Void to enter and rescue her."
Souta looked at Inori and said:
"Lend me your King's Power. Then, let Eve take control of your body for just a few minutes. I'll use the Void to access her mind."
With Inori's current soul strength, she had complete control over her body.
Eve couldn't resist her at all.
Even if Eve was in control, Inori could take her body back at any time and suppress her again.
So Inori didn't hesitate and offered her right hand.
Her expression was full of unwavering trust.
Souta smiled and took her small hand. "You're not afraid at all anymore."
"Because you're here," Inori whispered. "I believe in you."
Her expression reminded Souta of a clingy kitten.
"Alright, the King's Power has transferred."
Souta watched as virus crystals, representing the Void, twined around his hand. He gave her a reminder.
Inori closed her eyes.
After just a few seconds, she opened them again.
But her gaze had changed.
No longer so clear and pure.
Now it held a hint of malice, a touch of seduction.
"Finally... finally I've taken it back!"
A triumphant smile lit Inori's face, but her eyes flickered with rage and coldness:
"Made me go through all that trouble... Just a damn puppet...!"
"Alright, enough howling," Souta interrupted. "Time to rip you open."