Lavina Kitten 

In the district of Neon Nebula governed by Ibis, a problem had occurred in a room in the IDC research building that towered over the northern end of the area.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

An electronic warning sound reached even Lavina from her private room. Yet another experiment had failed. Lavina paused her work and left her seat to check the status from the researcher in charge. The first words out of her mouth when she entered the room were a question for the researcher:

"What's the response?

"Eee!"

The woman was standing in front of an Ω-shaped container with the inside dyed red, clutching her arms to stop her body from shaking. Lavina waited as she regained her composure and began to explain.

"U-Unclear. Most likely, the subject's body could not withstand the erosion."

"Let's purr-epare another subject right away," Lavina said. She thought about the researcher. It was no wonder. Lavina couldn't remember her name, so it must not have been long since she was assigned here. She still lacked experience. Eventually, she would learn to do her job calmly, like Lavina had. She had been the same way before meeting Ibis.

"Dr. Ibis has high hopes fur us. We can't betray that trust. Get results. You don't want to join the test subjects too, do you meow?"

The woman nodded silently as something in Lavina's pocket beeped. She pulled out a communication device and opened the line. The caller was from IDC security.

"Yes?"

"Dr. Lavina, we have a problem outside Neon Nebula—please contact security at once."

"Okay."

With that, she ended the call.

"You've gotta be kitten me, making me go... Anyone can check a heat signal..."

"D-Dr. Lavina, where are you going?"

"Sounds like something happened outside the city."

Lavina left the laboratory, making no effort to hide her dissatisfaction. She headed for the security department to check on the situation. As she listened, she realized why she had been called out. A heat source had suddenly been detected. A Human man was discovered at its coordinates. Apparently, he was armed, and had somehow defeated the investigation team dispatched there.

"Bunch of lazy rats, slacking off 'cause the city's been at peace for so long!" Lavina raged. However, when she saw the images from the investigation team, she began to change her mind. The attack looked bizarre, the men's armor and weapons impossibly distorted from the edges.

"A Human did this?"

"It was dark, but he did not possess any external features of an Anthro... Dr. Lavina, do you have any idea who this might be?"

Such a feat could only have been done by an Anthro of especially powerful strength. It was impossible for the Humans of Neon Nebula. If there was anyone who could do that, it would be—

"We were no match for him. Dr. Lavina, I'd like to request the help of you and your drone unit."

"Hehe, sounds like a job fur me! I'll get it all sorted out and retrain the security guys!"

Spitting out those words, Lavina confidently led her drone unit to the location of the heat source signal.

"N-Nyaaaaaah! Pleeease, spare meee!"

After Lavina so brazenly sent her drones to capture the target, she surrendered the instant she saw them destroyed one after another. She dismounted from her personal flying saucer Willard, got on her knees, and bowed her head over and over, begging for her life. She was surrounded by a darkness no light could penetrate. The only light sources were a searchlight attached to that man's rifle, and the faint light leaking from Willard. Possibly because of the glare, Lavina's voice, or both, he scrunched his face up and shouted:

"I can't tell a damn thing you're saying! Quit meowing! You wanna end up like this hunk of scrap metal too?"

He stepped on the wreckage of an animal-shaped drone he had shot down.

"Nnngyaaaaaah!"

A metallic grinding sound assaulted Lavina's ears. For an Anthro with superior hearing to Humans, this repeated act bordered on torture. Her hair standing on end and her whole body trembling, Lavina finally listened to what he had to say. She peeked at him, removed a translation device from one ear, and tossed it his way.

"What's that?"

Trying not to make him any angrier, Lavina used her hands to tell him to put it on his ear.

"You want me to wear it?"

"Right!"

Lavina nodded fiercely. The device was shaped to clip onto the earlobe, and had the iridescent luster of the inside of a seashell. It was a captivating sight to behold, but unfortunately, it wasn't visible in this situation. As soon as the man put the device on, he could hear Lavina's voice clearly, instead of the meowing from before.

"—understand what I'm saying!?"

"Whoa!"

Seeing the shock on his face, Lavina once again apologized for attacking him so rudely. The man explained his name and identity, as well as how he suddenly appeared outside Neon Nebula.

"Hah, no wonder you attacked me in the dark."

"M-My apawlogies..."

Lavina paused after those words, then said, "I think you've come from another world."

"...Oh yeah?"

He grew warier, fiddling with his rifle to intimidate her.

"O-Our world doesn't have the technology fur traveling to other worlds. But we could work together."

"How'd you even know I'm from another world?"

"It's your power that defeated the investigation team," Lavina explained, adding that the city was the only place people in this world could live. "That's why we just want to know where you came from... Plus, I'm a researcher in a high position. I can help you fur sure. I'll help you with anything, as long as you spare me!"

Lavina's ears and tail drooped in a display of apology.

"..."

The man went awfully quiet. She cautiously looked at him to see him fidgeting angrily with a device on his forearm. His gestures were rough and careless. Finally, he clicked his tongue and spoke to Lavina.

"Hey cat girl, you're good with machines, yeah?"

"Mrow?"

Lavina eyed him suspiciously. He strolled closer to her and stuck out his elbow, showing her his arm. Unfamiliar symbols were displayed on the device.

"This thing's been acting up. If you can fix it, I'll spare your life."

"Fix...this...?"

When she adjusted the angle so that the light from her saucer hit the device, she noticed that it was constructed as a row of rectangles. Each rectangle was made from a smooth, glassy material, and the left side was blinking slowly. Lavina couldn't tell what rule the symbols followed, but since they changed when pressed, she decided to think of it as a control panel.

"It won't self-destruct if I press the wrong thing...right?"

"Stop chatting. Fix it or die—your choice."

He gripped her by her labcoat and shook her vigorously back and forth. It was so intense, her coat looked as if it might tear at any moment.

"Okay, okay! I'll do my best to get it working!"

"Then get to it!"

Lavina regained her composure as she tinkered with the device, and asked the man a question.

"Tell me your name."

"Huh? What's it to you?"

"This device is restricted. I need your name to unlock it."

That was a lie she made up on the spot. She still didn't understand the meaning of the symbols, so there was no way she knew what needed to be fixed.

"Tch, pain in the ass making me give that up... It's Ankh."

"What?"

"I said it's Ankh, cat girl!"

From his reaction, he seemed to still have some immaturity befitting his age. He was straightforward about his own interests. That might make him easy to manipulate. And thus, with the perfect opportunity to avoid retaliation, Ankh fell into Lavina's hands.

"Nyehe...there we go..."

"Hey, what the hell are you mumbling about? Just fix it."

Suddenly, Ankh tugged on her ear.

"Nnnyah!?"

He had found her weak spot so precisely that her mind went blank. If he kept it up, she wouldn't stand a chance against him. Keeping that in mind, Lavina continued to struggle with the strange device. After some time...

"Good thing the structure was so elegant..."

Since she could predict the maker's thought patterns, she came to understand the device's structure somewhat. She was also deeply relieved that she had stocked Willard with repair tools beforehand.

"I gave it a quick fix by connecting these wires. It'll work just fine, but don't forget it's only temporary."

"Tch, just my luck. Shoulda been an easy mission, and it all went to shit," Ankh swore, sitting down on Willard.

"Mrow?"

"Hey cat girl, take me to that city."

He pounded his fist on the saucer, speaking as if he himself were Willard's master.

"Why should I have to—"

"Is there a problem?"

Lavina saw the muzzle of a gun in front of her eyes.

"Nyaaah, there's no way!"

Holding back tears, she meekly sat between his legs as he straddled the saucer.

"Hey, I can't see like this!" he complained.

"It's not designed fur two people, stupid! This is the only way!"

Then, Willard took off for the location Ankh had shown her on his device.

Ankh and Lavina passed quietly over Neon Nebula on the flying saucer. Under the city lights, Lavina had noticed that Ankh's skin was brown, a trait no Humans of Neon Nebula possessed. She found herself staring fixedly at his face, when he looked down and met her eyes.

"W-W-What are you doing here, anymeow!?"

"None of your business."

"It is my business! I'm helping you get where you want to go. Even the puny brains of Humans can understand what happens if they treat me like—nnnyaaaahhhn!?"

Ankh had wordlessly stuck his hands in Lavina's ears. Just as she had begun to figure out how to manipulate him, he too had apparently found the best way to silence her.

"Wah! S-Stop messing with my ears!"

"I choose what information I share. Got that?"

"Okay..."

"I like a good listener," Ankh said with a small laugh, and explained who he was looking for. "There's this silver-haired brat, and the little shithead with her who has my face."

"Your face...?"

"Yeah, a real lowlife who just showed up and got in my way."

Lavina stopped herself from saying aren't you the lowlife here? and asked instead about the person he was searching for. But no matter how many times she asked, Ankh wouldn't answer.

"Hm... Almost there."

Lavina peered into the panel on Ankh's device, as instructed. The marker that had been stuck at the edge until now had stopped in one spot. Just then, the view became clear.

"Here..."

Below them was the mark of Ende Firm indicating they were in the territory of Momo—one of Neon Nebula's most powerful figures—and its representative skyscraper. Ankh's marker was pointing at that skyscraper—

"You can't! Not here!" Lavina cried.

"What do you mean?"

"It'll be so much trouble if they find out I helped you!"

Interspecies conflict and sabotage outside of their districts were strictly prohibited in Neon Nebula. If that law were broken on a large enough scale, it could cause a clash between those in power.

"There's a robot named Gigi on standby here. She's strong—even you would struggle with her!"

"Hah, doesn't matter who comes at me. No one in this world can resist my power."

With that, Ankh leapt down from the saucer. It was quite a height to jump from, but he quickly disappeared behind a wall.

"Aaargh! I didn't even get to scope it out!"

Lavina rushed toward the building, looking closely at it from the cover of a hologram advertisement. As she examined each balcony from the top floor down, she noticed someone looking out from a lower floor.

"Nya!?"

There was a girl with bluish-silver hair, and a boy whose face was the spitting image of Ankh's.

"Found youuuu~!"

Having found the target by luck, Lavina broke through the building's defense system to attack. However, someone unexpected barred the way.

"...!?"

Lavina's eyes went wide, shaken by the sight. It resembled a Human child, with sensory organs like floating tentacles. That child—Linne—was unmistakably one of the experimental organisms cultivated in the IDC research lab.

"Th-Those sensory organs...what's a test subject doing here!?"

As far as Lavina knew, no living specimens had been released outside. Any who survived were used again in other experiments. Only in her wildest dreams would she expect to find such an irregular specimen in Momo's building—not to mention cooperating with Ankh's targets.

"You know me?" Linne asked.

She felt a strong urge to ask how this experimental organism had gotten outside. However, this specimen appeared to have a high level of combat ability not seen in the other organisms, so it would be difficult to catch unscathed.

"Wanna know how? Be good fur me and hand over the Humans!"

"Can't." Linne replied, expanding the feelers left and right. "I'll protect them."

"You've got some real nerve!"

Lavina extended all the arms at once and closed in on Linne, using her flying saucer as a shield. As the two grappled with each other, they disappeared beyond the wall.

Meanwhile...

Saved from Lavina's attack by Linne, William and Eirene headed to the basement where Momo was evacuating, led by the guard. The moment they stepped into the passage leading into the basement, a certain someone stood before them, as if by fate.

"Yo, you sure kept me waiting."

The brown-skinned man leaning against the wall—Ankh—flashed them a crooked smile. He was surrounded by fallen guards, both human and beastmen. They must have gotten back up to face him again and again, until they couldn't anymore. Their faces were distorted, mercilessly marred by bruises and internal bleeding.

"You... You did this to them," William spat.

"Hey now, don't get it twisted. These guys were just my playmates while I waited for you to show up. They're no match for me, so I thought maybe I'd put 'em out of their misery...they should be grateful to be alive!"

Ankh kicked one of the beastmen away, sending him flying into the wall.

"How could you!?"

The guard standing in front of William and Eirene aimed his gun immediately. However, no gunshot rang out—instead came the dry sound of fingers snapping.

"You're nothing. Outta my way."

"Gaaaaaah!?"

The guard's arm and gun contorted, twisting around each other, and he collapsed to the floor.

"Just now..." William muttered, his eyes catching something strange. Something thin and threadlike had come from Ankh's arm when he thrust it toward the guard. The instant it wrapped around the man's gun and arm, that phenomenon occurred. William had seen that thing wrapping around him before, when he first confronted Ankh. If it moved as he prepared to use his power...

"Eirene, get back!"

"Huh? But everyone will get—"

"Other way around," William said, not taking his eyes off Ankh for a second. "If we stay here, we'll get caught in the crossfire, and it'll be even worse for them."

"...!"

Violent as he was, it wasn't hard to imagine. Because they weren't residents of this world, William and Eirene wanted to avoid getting the guards hurt indiscriminately.

As they withdrew into the passageway, Ankh shouted after them, "Hahaha! That's right, run away! I'll chase you down anywhere you go!"

With his laughter echoing through the hall, the pair made it back to the entrance. In the middle of the entrance, Eirene came to a sudden halt.

"Oh, that's it..." she said.

"What's wrong?"

"This whole time, I've been thinking. How does he always appear wherever I go?"

She hadn't had time to think about the reason thanks to her rapidly changing environment. But a brief respite had allowed her to think back on the events in the desert world.

"He said he could tell where I was while looking at his arm," she explained.

"You think if we destroy that thing on his arm—"

"What happened? I thought you were running away!"

They didn't have time to think about it forever—his voice was slowly drawing closer. William had a plan that just might turn the tables. However, it was incredibly irresponsible to suggest, and it would even put Eirene at risk. Was their only choice to keep running until Gigi returned? While he hesitated on what to do, Eirene spoke as if she could see right through him.

"Um, you know how we can fight him, don't you?"

William was caught in her big, round eyes. He nodded back without averting his gaze.

"...His objective is you. In other words, he won't kill you. We can take advantage of that if you buy time with your power until Gigi comes back. I think it's the best option we've got."

It was easier said than done. There would be no coming back from even a single mistake. Even so, they chose to face him.

"Please, William. Tell me how to fight him."

They were both scared. Still, taking each other's hands to support each other, they knew how to fight back.

"Here's the plan..."

Ankh appeared from within the unused passageway, his steps slow and leisurely. He looked at the pair waiting for him with their hands linked and spoke, thoroughly unimpressed, "What, stopped running already?"

"Yeah. We figured it would be faster to beat you now," William replied.

"We won't run from you any longer!"

Ankh scowled at Eirene, undaunted. There wasn't a trace of fear in his expression.

"Sheesh, keep pissing me off, why don't you? Fine—I'll put you in so much despair you'll never be able to say that again!"

Linne and Lavina's battle had shifted from Momo's tower to the skies above Neon Nebula. They battled it out atop the flying saucer, blocking each other's blows with mechanical arms and feelers. It seemed they were an equal match for one another. However, Linne actually had the advantage, being able to control multiple organs at once.

Not good, not goood!

It was a completely unexpected situation for Lavina. Contrary to its appearance, the experimental organism was highly capable in combat. It tossed Lavina about with its sensory organs, as if it were a wholly different creature. Another of her drones was shot down. If it weren't for the arms' automatic intercept function, Lavina and her saucer would have fallen, too.

"There's only room fur one!"

The saucer suddenly tilted. Linne had hooked their limbs onto the side of the saucer to temporarily throw it off balance, and pulled their feelers back, ready to deal a decisive blow.

Now!

Lavina grabbed that opportunity to send the saucer plummeting down. The next moment, the feelers passed over Lavina's head. Linne was launched into midair, but quickly twisted their body and landed on the wall of a building, then leapt high in the air toward the saucer.

"...Eeek!"

Up close, Linne's expression was hollow. They looked at Lavina with dull eyes, as if dreaming or feverish. The contrast with their rapidly wriggling feelers made Lavina's hair stand on end. She stopped attacking, focusing on dodging instead.

If it gets close again I'm in real danger! I need to shoot it down in the air!

Lavina readied a sonic cannon while dodging attacks. She wasn't too knowledgeable about guns, but even she could use the cannon to attack a wide area with sound. If she could land a hit in the air, where there was nowhere to escape, her victory would be decided. Linne, knowing nothing of Lavina's plan, kept jumping from wall to wall to attack her.

I've been waiting fur this moment!

The arms detected Linne's movements, and the saucer turned sharply.

"Eat thiiis!"

"—!?"

Maximum power sound waves rippled through Linne, who had thrust their feelers out front in a defensive stance, shattering the windows of the building behind them in one fell swoop. Linne stopped moving, thoroughly scrambled from inside.

"Yes! You see that!? That's the power of Lavina Kitten! Nya-hoo!"

Lavina, so intoxicated by victory, was too slow to notice Linne rushing toward her. The shock of the collision brought her back to her senses, and as she tried to shake off the feelers entangled with the saucer arms, she crashed into a sign.

"Nnnyagh... aaah!?"

Lavina and Linne plummeted downwards in a tailspin. As Lavina clung to the saucer to avoid falling off, she operated the arms and landed atop a building. Immediately, she checked her surroundings. The area was surrounded by taller buildings, and she could see smashed windows up above. Lavina let out a sigh of relief that she survived a fall from that height.

"...Right! Where'd you go!?"

Lavina saw Linne further below, still falling toward the ground. There wasn't anything nearby for their sensory organs to grab onto, so they probably would take serious damage. Relieved that she had survived the threat for now, Lavina leaned against her saucer and thought of Ankh, who had attacked Momo's base all on his own.

"I wonder if he can really survive a fight with Gigi..."

----------

Ankh was starting to get impatient. The people he thought were nothing but weaklings had put up an unexpected resistance when they worked together. Eirene, who should have been terrified from a gun pointed at her, seemed to have gotten the idea that he wouldn't kill her from William, and had picked up a fallen shield and pressed forward. On top of that, she was more accurate with the Teleport ability that she couldn't use properly back in the desert world. Was it because of the sense of security she felt fighting hand in hand with William? However it may be, the two continued to fight.

Ankh had no choice but to go for close combat—but every time he closed the distance, Eirene would teleport away with William, and just when he thought they were gone, William appeared right beside him to strike back. He gripped a cylindrical weapon in his hand. It was one of the tools attached to the self-defense keychain that had hurt Ankh in their last fight. The rod was easier to handle than iron and twice as strong, and William attacked the gaps in his defense. No single blow inflicted much damage, but William's adaptable martial arts style and ability to thoroughly break Ankh's concentration made him madder and madder.

"Piece of shit!"

Ankh desperately unleashed Verzerrung at William, but he dodged it easily. Panting heavily, Ankh looked at the pair observing him from a distance. Their expressions were composed. Their eyes conveyed a clear, unwavering will not to give up in the face of adversity. Eventually, Ankh's gaze fell on their tightly linked hands—

"..."

Ankh's face turned bitter for a moment, and he quickly rejected the words that sprang into his mind.

"...I won't lose. Not with my power!"

Spurred on by anger, he began to think about the two of them goading him into attacking. It might have been coincidence that they fled to the entrance, but this wide area was a great place to keep hidden while teleporting short distances. If they were in the narrow passageway, he would have cornered them in no time. So, how could he corner them here...? As Ankh thought about that, he noticed something about the pillar that had collapsed under his own power.

"Ha... Found the way to destroy you both," he said dryly, a daring grin on his face. Ankh thrust his arm in a different direction from William and Eirene—toward the main pillars at the entrance. He put all his strength into it, not caring if they tried to teleport away again.

"Verzerrung!"

With the snap of a finger, one of the pillars supporting the entrance was twisted by force and broke into pieces, scattering fragments.

"It's not over yet!"

Ankh used Verzerrung on three more columns in turn. The collapsing pillars and rubble kicked up a cloud of dust around the entrance, which was down to half of its pillars. The impact was powerful, instantly limiting the area Eirene could move around in.

"That's the end of your stupid game!"

Ankh ran at full speed, following the signal on his device. William and Eirene, who he had a hard time finding before, were hiding in the shadow of one of the undestroyed pillars. William glared back at him with a mixture of shock and regret.

"Now that's the face I like to see!"

Ankh kicked away Eirene, who was trying to cover William with a shield, and aimed his gun at the defenseless William. It would be a waste to kill someone who had caused him so much trouble with one shot, but just seeing the despair in his face would be enough. He could let off the rest of his steam on Eirene. As he thought that over...

"Die."

Ankh reached for the trigger and—

Screeeech!

An intense presence approached from beyond the dust, piercing through his gun from the side.

"My deepest apologies for keeping you waiting. William, Eirene."

Appearing from the dust was the robot Gigi, who had come out to investigate.

"Gigi!"

"Miss Gigi!"

"Ha, so you're Gigi, huh?"

After destroying the gun trained on William with one stab of the blade protruding from her heel, Gigi wordlessly slipped into Ankh's reach. Ankh dropped his gun and jumped back the same moment her blade sliced through the place he had just been.

"Pretty nasty-lookin' thing you got there—!?"

Ankh's face contorted from the pain running through his chest. He didn't have to touch it to know. If his judgement had come a moment too late, he would be down on the floor right now.

"Unfortunate. I'll have to work harder to arrange your funeral," Gigi said.

She closed the distance again. She came in a straight line, so she should have been easy to intercept. However, between her precise footwork and the dust still lingering in the air, it was hard to say he could truly bring her down. His only choice for now was to avoid a fatal wound and wait for a chance to counter.

"You sure like showing off your legs, huh?"

"Affirmative. How many pieces would you like to be sliced into? Two? Three?"

"Yeah, keep talking!"

Gigi's leg cut through the dust. As a machine, she wouldn't hesitate to take his life. Ankh, cornered once again, twisted his body to dodge Gigi's foot at close range—and fell to his knees.

"Huh?"

Ankh realized his legs were giving out at such a crucial time. There would be no "next time" in a battle for his life. After constant fighting from his time in Wasteland to now, Ankh's body was reaching its limit. Sensing imminent death, Ankh looked straight at Gigi's outstretched leg. She pulled it back against her body—as soon as she began her next attack, he would die.

"...I've still got something to accomplish!"

Instead of distancing himself from Gigi, he closed the gap himself. Then, he pushed hard against her legs, breaking her posture.

"!?"

Ankh and Gigi fell to the floor, entangled with each other. Gigi tried to get up at once, but Ankh thrust his arm at her abdomen.

"Verzerrung!"

The next moment came the high-pitched sound of Gigi's body twisting and splitting into two. The battle with the mechanical doll Gigi was over.

"...Hah...hah... Gaha..."

However, Ankh did not come out unscathed. He stiffened at the sharp pain in his stomach. He checked his stomach, where he could plainly see a mark left by Gigi's fist. If he had been any slower, she probably would have run him through.

"...My apologies... Momo..."

"Tch, still alive?"

Ankh aimed his arm at Gigi's head. The next moment, William appeared beside him.

"...!?"

With his reactions delayed by the pain running through his whole body, Ankh hardly noticed the spray in William's hand.

"Eat this!"

"Another cheap trick—!"

Before he could spray that irritant liquid, Ankh blocked his eyes with his arms. However, for as long as he waited, nothing came out. It was...just a feint.

"Waaaaaah!"

No sooner had he realized that than he heard a shriek and felt an intense pain at the side of his head. Suddenly unable to move, Ankh crumpled to the ground, powerless. Blinking over and over, the last thing he saw in his shrinking vision was Eirene, clutching his destroyed gun.

"You...piece...of—"

With those final words, Ankh lost consciousness.

William and Eirene had won the battle with Ankh. There had been quite a few wounded in the fight against him, but even more shocking was the devastating damage Ankh's Verzerrung must have dealt to the Ende Firm building. Its majestic exterior was marred with cracks as if torn apart, the symmetrically arranged decor smashed. The interior was an even sorrier sight, as if two armies had clashed on the first floor. After Ankh destroyed the main pillars, William and the others were forced to evacuate outside. Momo sat in the collapsed Gigi's palm, swearing to herself as she looked up at the unrecognizeable remains of her headquarters.

"It's unbelievable a single Human did this..."

"I'm so sorry for getting you involved, Miss Momo," Eirene said. "And for Miss Gigi..."

"Don't you mind it. I was prepared when I took you all in. And lucky for us, no one's died."

In spite of all the damage, Momo let out a hearty laugh. Still, Eirene's face didn't brighten.

"But, Miss Gigi is..."

"Not to worry! We can't restore a destroyed body, but we can swap out her parts, no problem."

"Then...!"

"Affirmative. I am the ideal automaton, created by Momo."

There was a strange metallic screeching sound, but Gigi didn't seem to mind. Seeing Momo proudly fold her arms, asking, "What'cha think?" Eirene finally smiled. Momo smiled back for some time, then shifted her gaze to the culprit of the incident. The mastermind, Ankh, was lying on his side, bound and blindfolded. Eirene's blow must have been quite powerful. There was no sign of him regaining consciousness yet.

"Now then, the problem is dealing with this guy. William?"

"There's a lot I want to ask him, but I don't know if he'll answer..."

"Keheh, there are ways to make him open his mouth, you know? If he won't talk, we can force him with a drug we're developing. Yeah, I like the sound of that."

Sure enough, she did have a bit of a grudge after all. Each and every "method" Momo kept suggesting would be illegal in William's own world.

"I want to find out who he is, but we should look for Linne first."

Linne still hadn't shown up. Linne had been fighting the Anthro who showed up in front of them earlier, but neither of their whereabouts were known.

"Where's that beastwoman called Lavina right n—"

At that moment, something rushed past William. That "something" turned out to be a mechanical arm, stretching from beyond the gloomy fog in the sky.

"Wha—!?"

"Nyahaha! You called fur me?"

The beastwoman Lavina appeared in the sky, lounging haughtily on her battered saucer.

"It's you!" Momo shouted.

"I found this Human first! I won't hand him over to you!"

With that declaration, Lavina raised her saucer to take Ankh away with her.

"Don't you dare!"

William tried to stop her, leaping onto the arm with Ankh in its grip. The saucer was gaining altitude in the blink of an eye. William still wouldn't give up. Lavina's provocation rang out above him.

"Useless! You think a mere Human can—"

Right then, Lavina realized that the person in front of her was the one she saw on the balcony, whose face was the spitting image of Ankh's. This was who Ankh was talking about. Since he looked just like the boy with the power to destroy buildings, Lavina thought he might harbor some kind of special power—and restrained him with one of her arms.

"Guh!"

"It's my lucky day! I've decided I'm taking you back, too!"

"Ack...lemme go!"

He hit the arm with his self defense keychain, but it wouldn't give an inch. All the while, the saucer rose higher and higher, until the ground began to turn white.

"William!"

Eirene tried to teleport to save him as he vanished into the sky.

"...Huh?"

But no matter how many times she tried, nothing happened.

"Why...!?"

Unable to use her power in the end, she could only watch William disappear into the dark sky.

"William... William! Noooooooo!"

Her wails of sorrow scattered hopelessly among the colorful lights of Neon Nebula.

At the beginning of Linne's story, Subject 006 is referred to as ソレ (sore, literally "that"), which reads as detached and dehumanizing in this context. I used it/its for that section, up until Linne is "reborn" and the narration treats them more like a person. Lavina's POV briefly returns to using ソレ at the beginning of their fight, so I switched the pronouns as well to reflect the cold, clinical language Lavina uses.