Click, boom! Click, boom!
— Ria, stop killing yourself, please! He may still be alive!
— He would never save me if he had a chance of coming out alive.
Click, boom!
— B-But we don't know yet!
Ria was shooting her head with her revolver repeatedly, while Kiseki healed her. Suddenly, a girl saw them.
— Ria? I was looking for you. Can we talk now?
Ria looked at the girl with empty eyes and said nothing. Kiseki answered.
— Um, this is a bad time for her… can you come over later?
— Ah, alright, I'm sorry. When you have the chance, can you call me?
— Sure! What's your name?
— My hero name is Disruptor. My contact is already on your phone.
— Oh, okay! Thank you, Disruptor!
The girl left. Kiseki had an idea.
— Ria, there's a way we can confirm it!
— …
— Unizard! We've captured her, and she can use any kind of magic!
— I can't believe we need her help…
Both went to the association's prison inside the main building. It was white and made of glass where the prisoner could be seen. It was made of a special material and gas that could nullify most of the power inside. It could hold even level 6's, so it was maximum security. Unizard was the first level 7 to be successfully imprisoned there.
They walked until they were in front of her. Actually, she was sitting with her back to them.
— U-Unizard, could you please…
— Help you? Why should I?
— Listen here. You will obey our orders, whether you want it or not.
Ria was staring hopelessly at the ground. She wouldn't want to waste any time. She didn't want to hear the truth, either. But she had to.
— You never looked this desperate before. Is it about your boyfriend?
— Is he alive?
— I can track him down, but first tell me where he was last seen.
— Why?
— I can filter it from anywhere on the globe. I just need the place.
— Pareto, Brazil.
— Brazil, huh? What were you doing there?
— It's none of your business.
— Alright, alright, let me check. Um, It looks like there was a war there. Thousands of people died.
— Is he alive?
— Oi, oi, you don't seem to care about the dead civillians. Some floating islands fell and a lot of people above and beneath it died.
— ...
Unizard finally turned to see Ria's face. She had no remorse or regret. It's almost like she was used to innocent people being killed around her.
— No, he's not alive.
— I see...
Ria was even more hopeless than before. She started pointing her revolver inside her mouth.
— Wait, there's still something important.
— Nothing more is important...
— You fought with Zenith, right? She seems to be alive, still.
Ria froze. Slowly moving the revolver away, she thought deeply about how that was possible.
— Where is she?
— Shit, I shouldn't have said it.
— Where. Is. She?
— Look, I know you're angry, but listen to me first-
Click, boom!
Without hesitation, Ria shot Unizard in the head.
— E-Ehh?! Ria, why did you do that? I can't heal her properly here, so we need to hurry!
Kiseki, opened the cell and took Unizard body outside. They went to a square nearby to try to calm Ria down.
— Hey, I would appreciate it if you didn't kill me mid-sentence.
— You're wasting my time. Tell me where Zenith is. Or I'll kill you for real.
— Wait a minute, please. You know Yuto and her have a long-term hatred for each other, right?
— He doesn't have anything to do with this conversation.
— Of course he does. He almost died multiple times because he didn't trust his friends enough. He thought they would die just like his sister years ago.
— You're saying he needs his revenge?
— Exactly. If he kills his nemesis, he'll open his mind.
— Hell no. Tetsushi died with no purpose. I need to revenge him.
— He died with pride. He thought no one besides him and his enemy died in that incident. You're just saying what you think it's best for him.
— You're not in the right to lecture someone. My sense of justice is perfect, different from yours.
— See? You need rest, not revenge. You're not thinking straight.
— Just so you know, I consider you a justified sacrifice.
— I know. But I won't let someone as twisted as you save the world.
— You're testing my limit, prisoner. Are you saying Yuto is a better person than me? That brat is not the protagonist of this world. Why the heck would you want to help him anyway? He killed your brother.
— No, I killed him. I've supressed this feeling for too long, but I do love seeing someone get their revenge.
— You just want him to owe you.
— That's just a bonus.
Kiseki, nervous around that situation, tried to settle it.
— R-Ria, I think she won't change her mind. Why not let her decide this? I-I mean, Zenith will be punished anyway.
— You're on her side? I regret saving you, Kiseki. That ritual wouldn't work anyway. You could just rot there and no one would even notice.
Kiseki was really offended, but she was more concerned about Ria's mental health. She wasn't the same hero who saved her multiple times. Annoyed by the defeat, Ria left.
Free falling in the sky.
Huh? I guess I'm in the paradise, after all. I was always a goddess, I would never be sent to hell. But why am I falling?
Zenith looked around and realized she was at the same place where she died. The explosion was a bit far, but she could still see it.
Wait, this is reality! How am I still alive? How about my cards?
Zenith touched her pockets and could feel only the three remaining cards.
Dammit, I really lost the most important one! Wait, this is it... That's why I'm still alive!
Right before the explosion, Zenith quickly took the power-stealing card, since she was close to Exwind. Her 7-Up endured a few seconds, until the powers returned to her possession. One activated immediately, reviving her. But the card was nowhere to be seen after that, so it must have been repelled by the explosion.
That girl, she saved me!
On a street.
— Gosh, why are there so many people who think they know me? I mean, I am the great Zenith, but they recognize me as someone they saw years ago. I don't remember that fat guy, so he must just be lying.
Suddenly, Zenith was surprised by someone falling on her from the sky. Getting up quickly, she shouted.
— Do you wanna die?! Who do you think you are?
She saw a very tall girl wearing a black suit. She had messy black hair that covered both her eyes. Her skin was so pale that it didn't look natural. The girl was startled and confused.
— Eh, um...
She bowed down as an apology. For some reason, she couldn't speak properly. Maybe she was a mute.
— Say something, dumbass! I will kill you after that, but you can extend your life by some seconds!
— Um, eto...
Zenith was confused rather than annoyed. She thought for a second and took a foregone conclusion.
It must be a blessing from the sky!
Zenith quickly took her power-stealing card and cut the girl's arm. She was confused, but she thought it was a punishment for surprising her.
— Hey, can't you talk? What is your power?
The girl looked away shyly, like she didn't know the answer.
— You don't know your own power? How useless... But don't worry, we can discover it!
Zenith took the girl to a fortune teller.
— You know the drill. If you lie to me once, I'll kill you.
— Don't worry, hero. The cards never lie.
— That's my line, idiot.
The old woman had a clairvoyance power, so she wasn't just a thief who lied for money.
— What is this girl's power?
The fortune teller took several cards and placed them on the table. They started levitating in their place. The middle one turned towards Zenith. She took the card.
— "You will revive after your first death, but only for three days." Really? What happens after the third day?
— The card says everything about the power. What is written always happens. The rest can be deduced.
— So I'll die after the time limit ends? But what if I die before that? And only for the first death? Wait a minute, let me test.
Zenith pointed her palm to the girl's head. A laser erased everything in the path, including the wall and the ceiling. The headless girl returned to normal after some seconds, like a rough reset.
— It really works! Now, the second death.
She threw another laser. The girl fell headless again. But she didn't revive this time.
— Interesting...