"You insolent wretch!"
With Eve now controlling her body, Inori shot Souta a frosty glare.
A crystalized virus spike formed in her palm and lunged straight for Souta's throat.
But before it even touched him, the crystalline weapon disintegrated in midair.
"Your object control is pretty trash, huh."
Souta grabbed Inori by the neck with his left hand, lifting her so that only her toes grazed the ground.
"Let go... Who are you...?!"
A vicious expression bloomed on Inori's delicate face.
Seeing that expression on such a flawless visage gave Souta a peculiar thrill.
He didn't answer Eve's question. Instead, he locked eyes with her and activated the King's Power.
Instantly, a ghostly blue light glimmered at her chest.
The gateway to the mind flung wide open.
Souta's immense spiritual power surged in without restraint.
"No...! You're... too big... Get out!"
"Ugh... Don't come in... Get... out!"
Her expression contorted, eyes nearly rolling back.
"..." Souta was speechless.
What the hell are you yelling for?!
What did I even do to you?
All I did was enter your mind with massive spiritual energy, what's with the whole "too big" nonsense? You make it sound is some kind of JAV scene!
"Get out... you bastard...!"
"Hmph. Scream all you want. Scream till your throat gives out, no one's coming to save you."
Souta grinned wickedly.
"Accept your fate, you lowly virus!"
With no one around, Souta really got into character.
Why be polite to a virus?
He closed his eyes and plunged his consciousness into the "Ideal World" formed by the virus, a realm of pure memory and thought.
There, he saw countless fragments of Mana's memories.
He didn't dwell on them. He headed straight for the core.
After a bit of searching, he finally found the weakened consciousness of Mana.
Her soul remained within Inori's body, but it had been hijacked by the virus.
Mana's sense of "self" and her awareness were buried deep within this mental realm.
As if forever trapped in the memories of ten years past.
Souta had long suspected that Inori or rather, Mana's Void taking the form of a "sword" was no accident. Deep down, she probably wanted to sever her bond with the virus.
Because the virus had turned her into something she wasn't.
Of course, it could also be that she wanted to protect someone dear, and so became a blade.
'If I can just suppress the virus's will, that should be enough.'
Souta channeled divine power into the mental world. With a single thought, he freed Mana's consciousness.
Mana regained control of her soul.
Souta stopped the King's Power and drew her soul out from Inori's body.
The virus, still carrying Mana's thoughts and memories, remained within Inori was now just a pitiful puppet, completely suppressed once again.
Inori's crimson eyes opened, clear and unclouded.
She calmly looked at Souta, who still had her by the neck.
"Sorry, forgot to let go."
Souta quickly released her and explained:
"Eve was acting up, so I had to put her in her place."
Her heart felt a little strange.
After two months together, this was the first time she'd seen Souta act so forcefully.
When there's no one else around, Souta seems... unrestrained, almost indulgent.
Inori looked at the soul enveloped in divine power beside Souta.
After her soul was strengthened, she could now vaguely see such incorporeal beings.
"That's right," Souta nodded.
Mana's soul had already awakened and was staring blankly at them.
Within the divine field Souta had constructed, she temporarily regained her senses and physical sensations.
Mana was noticeably shorter than Inori, her body matching that of a twelve-year-old girl.
Just as Souta had guessed, she wasn't as beautiful as Inori. In fact, you could say Inori was what Mana would've become with a beauty filter turned all the way up.
At that moment, a ripple of spiritual energy came from the soul.
It was a telepathic message, thought communication.
As a god, Souta could understand it clearly.
"Me? I'm the one who rescued you. Name can wait for now. First things first..."
Souta studied her figure closely, estimating her height, proportions, and other physical data.
Once he had a solid mental image, he said:
"I'll make you a body first. It's been ten years, I think you'll want to see the world again."
When Souta and Inori returned to Roppongi with the little girl, Gai was the first to arrive.
The pink-haired girl stood before a massive floor-to-ceiling window, quietly taking in the vibrant world outside.
Her eyes were filled with curiosity and more than anything, the joy of freedom.
Gai saw her side profile. His memories aligned with the girl before him. He froze in place, unable to move forward.
His voice came out hoarse.
The girl reacted to hearing her name, glanced at Gai, and then, as if a little scared, hid behind Souta, who was currently playing chess with Inori.
"Don't worry," Souta said to Mana. "He's your childhood friend, Triton. You haven't forgotten, have you?"
Mana looked surprised. She studied Gai's features, comparing him with the little boy in her memories.
Slowly, the images overlapped.
The wariness in her heart faded, and a gentle smile appeared on her face:
"Triton... you've grown up."
In that moment, she finally felt the weight of those lost ten years.
"Alright, save the reunion talk for later."
Souta placed a chess piece and turned to Gai.
"How's the charity effort going?"
The "charity" referred to distributing vaccines in virus-hit Tokyo.
Afterward, the cult's influence would likely spread across Japan and beyond.
After all, the chaos caused by Shuichiro Keido had collapsed the GHQ's Tokyo branch, and many had been infected.
And most of them had seen divine miracles firsthand, like when Souta obliterated leukocytes.
Real "miracles," combined with a vaccine, no doubt the Church would take root within GHQ and attract plenty of believers.
"We've just begun," Gai replied, suppressing the emotions in his heart. "I sent half our members to the infected zones. While distributing vaccines, they're also preaching. Enough clergy are with them—no risk of mishaps."
"Good... Some GHQ executives will probably join. If you want to liberate this country, this is your chance."
Then Souta added a warning:
"One thing I forgot to mention, the cult won't stay confined to one country. So I've imposed a restriction: divine power can't be used in national warfare. Grow the organization, but don't overstep."
"No worries. I accounted for that long ago," Gai nodded solemnly.
Souta had never favored any one country, Gai had known that for a while.
After resolving the current crisis, Souta would focus entirely on expanding the Church.
Leaving Japan was only a matter of time.
"There's one more task for you."
Souta stood and handed Gai a translucent orb.
"What is this?" Gai asked.
"Something that can save someone's life."
"I'll grant you the King's Power. Use it to extract Shu's Void. Then, absorb the Voids of the other students at his school."
"Those Voids contain fragments of Eve. They'll help her become whole again.
After that, I'll use Shu's Void to absorb all the scattered virus and purify it, then have Eve spread it again in harmless form."
Gai blinked, then quickly understood:
"Shu's Void can contain anything, right? So if he absorbs the virus... he'll be infected. That orb... it's to protect him?"
"Talking to smart people is easy," Souta patted his shoulder. "Oh, one more thing…"
He suddenly used spiritual power to transmit a message directly into Gai's mind:
"While you're collecting Voids, help me kill a few people. I've sent the intel directly to your brain. I'll be waiting for good news."