"Thank you!" Chiyori replied with a restrained smile.

"You're welcome, Yu Nai, Yuko, and... Juxi. They've been waiting for us inside for a while now."

Inside the shrine, Yu Nai, Yuko, Yuanhui, Chiyori, and others stood in a row, each holding a box containing their letters.

Everyone placed their boxes in front of the photos in the designated order.

Each box represented longing and anticipation, until Yuko handed her box with the words - "I am always with you!" written on it.

For the first time, Yuko smiled with contentment, a glimmer of light shining on her beautiful face, before disappearing into the distance.

"Juxi... I've come to find you."

...

Ugh... Ahh...!

I felt so uncomfortable, immersed in a sticky liquid, feeling something pressing on my chest, unable to catch my breath.

"It's so uncomfortable... Is there anyone who can save me... Save me!!!"

I wanted to shout, but my body didn't respond to my consciousness. Instead, as the temperature around me dropped, my body gradually cooled down.

"The test subject has entered a dormant state, cell condition stable."

"..."

"Capo, the work is done. I think we can leave now."

"......"

"Go... back!"

My lips trembled, but I couldn't make a sound.

Juxi, you pitiful and ridiculous person. If you were just a bit stronger, maybe you wouldn't have ended up in such a miserable situation.

But, at that time, I could still feel that my body was not dead. My consciousness was like trapped in a cage, no matter how I struggled, the soul couldn't leave my body.

After enduring a long period of torment, I felt that I had no strength left. I didn't even have the power to move my lips slightly.

Just when my consciousness was gradually becoming blurry, a pair of hands stroked my cheeks, then forcefully twisted my face.

"Ouch~!"

The sudden pain made me open my eyes wide. Instead of being dead as I should have been, a brand-new world appeared before my eyes again.

The warm sunlight shone on my cheeks, giving me an unprecedented sense of calm.

"Am I in heaven?"

I pondered.

"Or is this just a glimmer before I vanish?"

Thinking of this possibility, I faced the sun, allowing me to depart from this world peacefully and without pain.

"Ah... if there is another life, I mean IF! Then I hope I can live in a world without war, a beautiful world where there is only sunlight, and it would be great if I could become the emperor of a country!"

"......"

"Hmm? No one is answering me?"

"......"

"Where on earth am I?"

After closing my eyes for what seemed like half a day, I finally realized that this was not a glimmer but a genuine world!

Where... Where am I in this world?

With this thought, I quickly opened my eyes, and the first thing I did was examine the wounds on my body.

"I remember I was clearly fatally injured... No, wait, I should have been dead!"

Looking around, I found myself in a familiar place rather than some unfamiliar world.

...

I woke up early in the morning on an unfamiliar bed and turned on a television in the corner of the dormitory to browse through.

Hiss...other than the grainy screen, there were no other programs.

"No TV stations?"

Suddenly, a line of text appeared on the black screen. Last night, the Eastern Quarantine Wall of the Western Alliance was breached. If there are any survivors, please call the rescue hotline...

Some residents in the dormitory corridor were shocked and shouted in panic.

"Isn't it over? What about my parents?"

"Yu Xiang...".

I was about to say something when my mind suddenly became clear.

"Hehe, it's really absurd. I forgot..."

In my calm voice, there was a hint of helplessness and self-mockery.

"I no longer have any family."

An address appeared on the TV screen: Elena Shelter, the last refuge for humanity.

It was another scorching hot summer, and it was almost summer vacation. But the school suddenly announced that the postponed campus festival would be held on this day, which put us in a difficult situation...

"Woo hoo!"

On the playground, a group of sophomore boys from the soccer club were sleeping in the shade.

Ah, I have now entered the darkest and deepest abyss of my life, and what awaits me is an unending abyss, because...

"Why is it like this?

I struggled to drag the boy who fainted in the squirrel doll and pulled him into the infirmary, but he managed to say something to me in his last breath.

"Please, I beg you!"

As I turned around to leave, the boy desperately grabbed my hand and pleaded with his last ounce of strength.

"Little brother, our arduous mission is calling you... (and so on)"

In short, I accepted everything and had to finish everything I could do!

So many things have happened in the past two days. I never expected that Elena, which I had just escaped from, would come back on its own.

"What a fool, how can you mistake the toilet for this?" (Boy)

"Yeah, are you trying to sneak a peek in?" (Boy)

"Wow, what a pervert!" (Girl)

That's just how messy and unwelcome I am.

Now that I have left the Allied Army, I'm no different from an ordinary hoodlum!

"Even so, do you still need scum like me?"

I simply couldn't believe their words, considering it was them—Elena—who conducted those destructive experiments!

And now they have gone through great lengths to find me, which can't be easy.

"What is it?"

A man wearing a gray wolf mask and a group of men in black came in front of me, followed closely by a person in a black suit.

They stood in front of me, blocking my way, and didn't seem like the ordinary guys who came to chat.

I stopped and looked up at the neon sign, which was the name of the apartment building where I lived.

"No need to say anything, I understand, I understand!"

I pretended not to see them and prepared to walk past them.

"Oh, by the way, I almost forgot to tell you something."

I deliberately put on a mask of indifference, then without reservation, I told them everything about my current situation.

"I already have my own team and teammates. If you want to do something foolish that could cost lives, go find someone else!"

I didn't pretend not to see them, but it was impossible for them to pretend not to see me either. Now that they had found me, they naturally wouldn't let me go!

It was already late at night, and the residents of the building and the surrounding area had already gone to sleep. Ever since the government announced the energy-saving measures, the streetlights hadn't been turned on at night, and even vehicles didn't dare to drive on the roads.

"You are Tsubaki Juxi, right?"

The leader of the masked men had a look of determination, as if he was ready to fight me to the end. I thought he must have known everything beforehand, which gave him the confidence to confront me.

"By the way...how did you find your way here? This is the territory of the Alliance Army. Weren't you afraid of getting into trouble when Elena suddenly broke in?"

"We're not afraid, that's why we said not to easily trust the people around you...even your most trusted friends!"

He gently took off his own mask, revealing a face that startled me. Of course, I was only startled because I didn't know anything.

"Oh dear, do you really have the worth for us to go through so much trouble for you?"

"You...who are you?"

"Tsk tsk tsk, I'm so sad, my friend. It's only been a short while and you've already forgotten about me?"

Under that wolf-head mask was...!!

"Is that so? I don't remember having a friend who speaks for others."

Without looking back, I walked past Yuanhui, but his two black-clad subordinates blocked my way. It seemed like they were ready to fight me to the death.

But he still remembered my existence. Could it be...

"My friend, have you regained your memories?"

"Heh heh, you still like to doubt others, Shura. Don't you think it's a waste that the Hope Badge didn't fully unleash its power on you?"

He placed a hand on my shoulder, as if to threaten me.

"Do you know? It's such a waste to let it go to waste!"

"I'm asking, did you come here to talk to me...or to start a fight?"

I had a strong dislike for this Yuanhui. I always felt like he had ill intentions.

After all these years, he finally came. And this time, he came to provoke me in this manner. Did he want to die?

"No, fighting in the safe zone will make us enemies of the people. I just wanted to remind you of something."

"Oh?"

I became interested. If that was the case, then I should still have a third option.

"The third option is..."

Yuanhui reached out towards me with a greedy expression on his face.

"Hand over the Hope Badge, and you can go live your life as an ordinary, happy citizen. How does that sound?"

"..."

We were locked in a stalemate. What he said made sense, although it didn't sit well with me. But it was a harsh reality.

"Think about it. We're in the midst of a human war. Our positions will determine the course of events. Do you understand?"

"Heh heh heh...!"

I stopped pretending to be ignorant, because this time I truly understood. But my understanding was different from what he had in mind.

I finally understand why the Alliance Army is no match for them. It seems that Elena is more than just a commercial conglomerate!

"In fact, the battle between humans and the Demons has been going on for two years, with humans repelling the Demons' relentless attacks more than twenty times. Each battle has come at a great cost, you know?"

"...I didn't know."

"You idiot, how can you not know anything?!"

Yuanhui, with furious eyes, inexplicably stepped forward and punched me hard, but unfortunately, it had no effect on me.

"I'm just an ordinary person, I neither can nor want to know about these things."