Outside, Blindy scratched his head
like he was trying to comb the panic out of his brain,
watching Airi.
She didn’t take her eyes off the golden blur
where the Architect was fading—
already thinking how to pull her “big brother” out.
But in Blindy’s head, he’d already done the math:
If Zeros couldn’t be saved—he was losing his “bodyguard.”
With him, survival chances were… slightly above zero.
Without him—basically zero.
And if that happened…
he needed a backup plan.
He glanced at Airi:
“A-Airi…” Blindy started, his voice jittering like a busted antenna.
“I—when—if Zeros… uh… doesn’t wake up—
y-you—YOU think you could maybe—just sayin’—
ask your grandmammy… or—whoever runs this nightmare—
to, uh… assign me a new partner…?”
He leaned in, lowering his voice to a whisper:
“J-just—please—let it be a girl—
someone… uh… y’know—like you—yeah…?”
Airi slowly turned her head.
A thin, sunny smile—
but a chill ran down Blindy’s spine.
“Ah, Buraindi-kun… how sweet… [˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶]
So you like me more, hai?”
The smile vanished instantly—like it got deleted by an algorithm:
“BUT REMEMBER THIS!
ZEROSU-ONĪ-CHAN IS NOT GOING ANYWHERE! [¬`‸´¬]”
Blindy swallowed, forced a nervous laugh, stepped back:
“Heh—yeah—yeah, I mean—
that psycho-drone could probably survive a damn black hole—right…?”
And right at that moment—
Zeros’s head, which had been hanging low,
snapped up exactly 47 degrees.
A cold, lethal gaze locked onto Blindy—
like he was already dead,
just hadn’t realized it yet.
“YOU FUCKING ROTTEN PIECE OF MEAT.
ALREADY WRITING ME OFF?!”
Blindy’s knees started shaking.
“N-n-no—man—I—I was just—just jokin’—I swear—”
He froze.
“WAIT—?!
Y-YOU’RE AWAKE—YOU SON OF A—!”
Zeros scoffed, turned away from him—
and finally noticed the Architect.
He was no longer floating—
just sitting there, head down,
like a broken symbol.
The next second—
the air exploded.
Zeros launched forward at supersonic speed.
The hit would’ve wiped half the island.
Another instant—and—
BAAAAM!
The island shook.
Trash hills collapsed.
SHIRŌ–KAGE barely managed to leap back.
But the strike never landed.
Between Zeros’s fist and the Architect—
stood Airi.
Calmly holding his punch in one hand,
like stopping a baseball mid-flight.
Her hair barely moved.
“Zerosu-onī-sama… matte. [｡>﹏<]
Yamete kudasai.
Kare wa mō taoreta no.
Dōka… korosanaide.”
Zeros straightened—
and only then noticed the wall.
Hundreds of SHIRŌ–KAGE stood around her,
forming a perfect circle—
each one in stance,
each blade aimed straight at him.
Taichō raised his plasma sword—
one more second
and this would’ve turned into orbital-level slaughter.
Airi caught the shift instantly—
and switched to SISPOWER™.
Her smile returned—soft, warm, saving:
“Minna… okoranaide.
Mō katta yo! ⸜[｡˃ ᵕ ˂]⸝♡”
SHIRŌ–KAGE lowered their weapons in perfect sync.
And right then—the Drone drifted past, lightly smoking,
wobbling in uneven vertical loops, like a drunk firefly,
still filming—pf–pf–pf–pf…
For a second, it distracted everyone—
like some weird little anomaly
that somehow survived all this chaos.
Dust from the impact still hung in the air,
swirling through the ruins—
when the Architect’s body twitched. Barely.