The moment the soldiers opened fire, Gai and Kyo had hit the deck with their eyes shut — so neither of them had seen the phase-shift that Inori Yuzuriha's Time Erasure produced. That particular erasure hadn't lasted even a full second, just long enough to cross the room, and the displacement was subtle enough to go unnoticed.
But what came after — that, Gai saw clearly.
The decommissioned Endlave had been completely destroyed by the impact, and the soldiers who had just been shooting at them were pinned underneath it. He'd also seen the girl stroll back down to ground level across the wreckage, casual as someone returning from a walk. He tried to imagine the kind of force it would take to pick up and hurl an Endlave weighing upward of three metric tons — and came up blank.
"Is that... what a Void can do?"
— Damn. This isn't as simple as I thought.
Gai set his jaw, his expression grim.
Her unusual appearance aside — why did she have a Void Genome? And that mysterious man who'd contacted him over the comm... was he after the same thing?
He had a deeply unpleasant feeling that he was being used as a decoy.
"Stop gawking and move," Inori said, already stepping around the wreckage, heading for the exit just ahead.
"Gai?"
"I'm fine."
His unease was obvious, but there was nothing to be done about it now. Whatever his frustrations, the situation had moved past the point where they mattered. And this girl with a Void — her identity was a puzzle with no pieces.
Deal with it later. Get out first.
...
...
— Inori pulled her face mask back on.
In the original story, the other Inori had never worried about being recognized — kept performing as an online idol, transferred schools without a second thought... the more she thought about it, the more absurd that seemed. What, did everyone who saw her face spontaneously develop amnesia? She wasn't willing to take that chance. She needed a disguise.
Because this wasn't an anime. This was the real world.
After clearing the last obstacle, they arrived at the final exit: a massive iron gate, four or five meters high, set into the wall ahead. At one edge of the wall was a smaller glass door — one solid strike against the frame and it would give easily enough.
"I have a bad feeling about this."
Gai stopped her just as she moved to go through.
"Would you prefer we wait for them to catch up, Gai?"
Inori gave him a flat look.
"We got through too easily."
He answered seriously, his handsome face set in a frown.
"This could be a trap."
"Even if it is." Before Inori could tell him he was being an idiot, he finished the thought himself. "We can't go back. So — mysterious lady—"
She met his eyes. Gai was searching her face with a complicated expression, and Inori knew exactly what he desperately wanted to confirm: whether she was the synthetic vessel meant to resurrect Mana Ouma.
Letting him see her face had been deliberate. That was the cornerstone of her next move. Anything connected to Mana had the power to make this otherwise sharp man abandon rational thought — or rather, not abandon it exactly, but push forward anyway, knowing full well he shouldn't. Inori needed to use Funeral Parlor, but she couldn't afford to be under Gai's thumb. That meant building a relationship of equals, an alliance of mutual benefit. And what could she offer him as a bargaining chip? The only thing he was truly interested in: herself — the "self" that could establish contact with Mana.
"Inori."
She gave him her name.
"...It suits you."
Gai murmured it once under his breath, a quiet smile crossing his face. He found it unexpectedly pleasant — the kind of name that appealed to his sensibilities.
— Of course it does. You're the one who picked it.
"G-inori! Thank you so much for coming to rescue Gai and me!"
The moment the mysterious girl finally gave them a name to call her, the guileless young boy stepped forward and bowed deeply, his face full of earnest gratitude.
"Mr. Diavolo asked me to. There's no need for thanks."
Inori turned away, making a show of peering through the broken glass door to check the guards outside.
Saying those words, she felt something strange stir inside her... Maybe this was why the original Diavolo had been so devoted to using Doppio as a cover. There was something oddly satisfying about having fooled everyone completely. A small, smug warmth she couldn't quite explain.
"Diavolo — that's the name of that man?" Gai asked, frowning.
"Yes."
"Who exactly is he?"
"You'll understand in time."
Inori held Gai's gaze, her deep crimson eyes as still and quiet as a lake at midnight.
"No one's guarding the outside. Let's go."
"Right."
...
...
The night outside was peaceful, as it always was. Nothing on the road but the barricades set up to stop Endlaves and vehicles. Inori's steps were steady — she had everything in hand. Gai was strung wire-tight, every nerve braced for the blow he knew was coming. GHQ would never let them just walk away.
"That's — this is bad."
They stepped onto the straight approach to the bridge, and Gai saw them.
The entire first half of the bridge was packed with GHQ's standard-issue GOCE-model Endlaves, deployed in a disciplined line that left no room to breathe, as though they had been waiting here for some time.
"This many Endlaves... did they figure out our intentions from the start?"
Kyo couldn't keep the despair out of his voice. He'd already taken a bullet wound; what little fight he had left was nearly gone.
— There's no winning against mechs. Those are mechs.
"Is this really Mr. Diavolo's suggested route? inori, what do we do now?"
Inori looked at the two of them — helpless, out of ideas — and said nothing.
"They're trying to take prisoners. That's why they're waiting for us here."
"Gai! I'll buy time — you and inori jump into the sea and swim for it!"
"Impossible." Gai shook his head. "We don't have diving gear. Hitting that water is the same as dying."
"Then what do we do?"
Kyo was nearly in tears.
"Terrorists."
Spotlights found them. Not blinding — just enough for whoever stood behind the lights to see their faces clearly.
— Major Rowan? Of all people to be leading the intercept... what a small world.
Inori was mildly surprised, though she didn't show it.
"Surrender. You will be processed through legal channels, all charges will be formally adjudicated, and you have the right to request legal counsel."
"inori, your Void... can it get us out of here?"
"My Void can't handle this many enemies simultaneously. And even if it could, it would only be enough to get me out alone." Inori answered honestly. That was the truth.
"Then we're out of options."
Gai pressed a hand to his forehead, jaw tight. He was out of ideas. Was this really how it ended — back to a prison cell after everything?
"But Mr. Diavolo thought of that too."
"Wait for the explosion. Then we jump off the side of the bridge. Mr. Diavolo has already arranged our escape transport."
"Explosion?"
Inori only smiled — mysterious, unhurried — and began walking toward the Endlaves with the easy gait of someone taking a stroll after dinner.
Even through the face mask, Gai couldn't see her expression. But those eyes, brimming with complete, unshakeable confidence, left him at a loss.
— That man... he planned for this too?
"Stop. Don't take another step."
Rowan frowned and raised his megaphone.
"Before we surrender, I have one question for you, Officer."
Inori stopped walking. She crossed her arms, tilted her chin up slightly.
"What?"
"Your Endlaves... are they waterproof?"
Rowan had apparently not anticipated that the third party — the one potentially classified as a humanoid combat weapon — would turn out to be a girl. And the question she'd asked made no sense at all. After a beat of silence, he replied warily.
"Stalling for time won't help you, miss."
"King Crimson has already touched the bridge under your feet."
"...What?"