When Altair first saw Alicetaria, she sensed that something was off.
She never fully trusted Alicetaria.
Although she hadn't regarded her as a potential traitor, Altair could clearly tell that this creation had undergone a change in mentallyity after learning of Homura Mamika defection.
If she had to trust someone, the only one left would be her other subordinate—Blitz.
However, Blitz was nowhere to be found.
Not only did he not come to the Rinkai for the rescue, but he also wasn't with Natsumi Kyouno, nor was he waiting at the other end of the dimensional passage.
This anomaly raised Altair suspicions.
Perhaps Alicetaria and Natsumi Kyouno had already betrayed her.
And as for Blitz, he might have been eliminated or imprisoned by them.
Of course, she had been missing for two weeks already, so it was also possible that Blitz had been taken down by others in the meantime.
After all, in terms of combat power, he wasn't a particularly strong creation.
Blitz's absence couldn't prove Alicetaria and Natsumi betrayal on its own—but the possibility was enough.
And to Altair, a possibility was all it took to act.
Her current state wasn't great, and she had to eliminate all potential threats in the cradle.
Even if it meant killing the very people who had just rescued her—she wouldn't hesitate.
No—in fact, she never considered them allies in the first place.
From the beginning, she had never treated anyone as a companion. All creations were nothing more than pawns brought forth to fulfill her own objectives.
All she had done was remove two pieces with uncertain variables from the board.
Besides, just give her a few days—once she fully recovered and undid the seal that Mio Takamiya had placed on her—she could summon more creations again.
"Buzz——!"
At that moment, a second spatial passage opened not far from Altair.
Another version of Natsumi Kyouno stepped out of it.
And what she saw… was the sight of Alicetaria and Natsumi bodies dissolving into digital fragments, vanishing from this world.
Her pupils constricted rapidly.
She hadn't expected Altair to act so swiftly—even killing both before she could make it back.
To bring Altair back into this world, Alicetaria had been sent to the Rinkai, Natsumi had been on standby in the Current World, and her own task had been to stall the Phantom, buying time for Alicetaria.
Truth be told, no one had much confidence in this plan.
Everyone who knew Date A Live understood—originally, Natsumi Kyouno didn't survive even one strike from Mio Takamiya. She had been instantly obliterated.
But Kurumi claimed she could summon a character from another world, one on the same level as Mio, to buy time. That was how she convinced the others.
However… she lied.
Although the "Unsealer" could open portals between different worlds, every traversal consumed an enormous amount of spirit power.
And the stronger the summoned character's specs, the more spirit power required.
In other words, at best, she could summon someone with strength similar to her own.
But that didn't matter—because she had a special item: a Trial Experience Ticket.
Back when she played the role of Tohka Yatogami, she had perfectly completed a side quest and obtained the [Tohka Yatogami - Beast Form Trial Experience Ticket]. It was still sitting in her inventory.
Since this was already the ninth world, and once she played all ten Spirits these item cards would become useless anyway, she figured—better to use them now and enjoy the benefits.
After all, once all ten Spirits had been portrayed, keeping the cards like some kind of treasure would just be a waste, wouldn't it?
And Beast Tohka's power—even if not quite a match for the Origin Spirit—was more than enough to hold her off for a while.
She just hadn't expected that, even after cutting the experience short and rushing back, Altair had already acted and killed her two teammates.
Especially Natsumi.
Even though she didn't expect much from her in battle, she was at least the wielder of Zafkiel Replica.
Even if she didn't know how to use it well, she could've at least handed it off to Bandaged no.3!
"Zayin no Tama (Sixth Bullet)!"
Natsumi Kyouno made a quick decision—she transformed Zafkiel Replica into Zafkiel itself.
The Sixth Bullet's ability was to transfer one's consciousness to their past self—up to a few days prior.
But she only needed to go back one minute.
That would be enough to prevent the deaths of Alicetaria and Natsumi.
She might not have City of Devoured Time, but as a Spirit, she could still use at least one of the bullets.
Altair clearly realized her intention as well—countless military blades surrounding her shot toward Natsumi.
"Protect Little Nana!"
At that critical moment, other creations lying in ambush nearby activated their abilities, intercepting the incoming blades.
Their timely support bought Natsumi Kyouno the precious time she needed.
As black mist flowed out from Zafkiel, pouring into her flintlock, the Sixth Bullet quickly took form.
Natsumi Kyouno raised the flintlock to her temple and pulled the trigger without hesitation.
"Bang——!"
A short crack echoed out.
Her consciousness blanked for a moment, but in just the blink of an eye, everything changed dramatically before her eyes.
She had returned to the moment in Date A Live when she stood against the Phantom-form of Mio Takamiya.
"You..."
Mio's distorted voice rang out, seemingly about to ask something.
But Natsumi Kyouno already knew she wanted to ask:
"Are you also from a parallel world?"
She didn't want to answer. In fact, this time, she didn't even want to listen.
Behind her, nine Demons—formed from the reversed Angels of various Spirits—emitted a powerful humming sound as they launched a full assault on Mio Takamiya.
Faced with the full might of Beast Tohka's final strike, even the Origin Spirit had to yield and dodge.
Taking the opportunity, Natsumi Kyouno grasped the last Demon—belonging to Mukuro Hoshimiya—and opened a portal leading to the world of Re:Creators.
Just as she turned and stepped into the spatial passage, she ended the effect of the experience ticket early and reverted to her original form as Natsumi Kyouno.
Almost simultaneously, as she re-entered the Re:Creators world, another spatial gate opened up a short distance away beside her.
From that portal, Alicetaria, Natsumi, and Altair stepped out.
"Move aside!"
The counterfeit witch had already transformed into the Extinction Angel, and dozens of floating cannons flashed into place around Altair.
Doing her best to avoid her two companions, Natsumi Natsumi acted before Altair could, activating the Extinction Angel's Light Sword.
The condensed light materialized into a weapon of destruction, shooting toward Altair at an incredible speed.
"So there was an ambush after all!"
However, having suspected the possibility of betrayal from Natsumi and Alicetaria, Altair had remained on high alert. She reacted immediately, dodging on instinct.
Forty-eight military sabers formed a shield that surrounded her, deflecting the majority of the light swords.
With a puzzled look, Natsumi turned her head, still not understanding what had just happened.
But Alicetaria, seasoned from countless battles, instantly recognized this as the beginning of the ambush. Although confused as to why Natsumi hadn't followed the plan and lured Altair to the designated location before launching the ambush, her combat instincts kicked in. She grabbed Natsumi by the collar, pulled the reins of her steed, and quickly distanced them both from Altair.
"Plan's changed—everyone attack!"
At that moment, Meteora and the others who had been lying in wait not far away snapped to attention and sprang from their hiding places and cover.
They weren't far from Tokyo now.
Worried that opening a spatial gate directly to some deserted outskirts would arouse Altair suspicion, they had chosen this location instead.
Moreover, with Bandage three's City That Consumes Time in place, the moment battle erupted, she would deploy a barrier to force nearby civilians into slumber and temporarily store them in the shadow dimension.
But Natsumi sudden attack had caught everyone off guard.
"Forehead slash!"
"Magic Flash Grenade!"
"Book of Ten Thousand Miles, Iron Bastion!"
Once they gathered their wits, the surrounding creations unleashed their abilities.
They spared no effort, some launching direct attacks on Altair, others providing support to their allies. Everyone went all-out from the very beginning.
Against an enemy of Altair caliber, they didn't dare hold back.
"So, you've all chosen to burn your bridges."
Seeing that nearly all the summoned creations had now appeared, united against her, Altair didn't show a hint of panic.
With a flick of her hand, she drew a saber from the chaotic storm of blades and summoned the rifle required to activate Holopsicon. A mocking smile curled her lips.
"Ninth Movement: Reversal of Causality."
Like an upper-class violinist playing her instrument, Altair used the gun as strings and the saber as a bow. Tangible sound waves surged toward them, imbued with mysterious power.
If the sound touched them, all of the creations' ability settings would vanish in an instant—turned to nothing.
In other words, they would become ordinary people, completely powerless, left at Altair mercy.
"Gabriel: March!"
Behind Natsumi Natsumi appeared a golden pipe organ. A fierce and uplifting melody began to play on its own, boosting her comrades' abilities even further.
With Meteora magical enhancements and the Gabriel's amplification, the creations' physical attributes improved dramatically.
Thanks to that, they quickly scattered, narrowly avoiding the Ninth Movement of Holopsicon.
However, Rui Kanoya, who was piloting a giant mecha, couldn't dodge in time. Due to the sheer size of his machine, he became the only one hit by Reversal of Causality.
"Damn it!"
Though he didn't crash thanks to Meteora floating magic, he had lost all combat capability and was forced to retreat.
The battle continued.
"Hmph, you're a bit stronger than I remember."
Alone against seven creations, Altair still carried herself casually. "But even so, that's still nowhere near enough to defeat me."
She could tell that the creations' strength and abilities had increased.
It wasn't just due to support magic or the Gabriel's enhancements—likely their creators had also added new settings.
"What gave you the courage to challenge me?"
Taking the opportunity, she trapped Mirokuji Yuya's forehead avatar within a blade formation and shredded it into pieces. With interest in her eyes, Altair asked, "Is it because both versions of Natsumi are on your side? Or do you have another trump card?"
"Heh, don't get so full of yourself."
Seeing her Starshadow Clone eliminated, Mirokuji Yuya was furious and taunted her, "Weren't you just beaten senseless by Mio Takamiya and locked in solitary? Don't kid yourself into thinking you're invincible!"
Altair expression darkened instantly. The look she gave Mirokuji Yuya now carried an unmistakable murderous intent.
Being imprisoned by Mio Takamiya was one of her greatest humiliations, a deep wound to her pride.
And now, Yuya had just poured salt on it—she instantly marked him as the next to be eliminated.
"Fourteenth Movement: Transference of Causality."
Altair pulled another saber from the swirling formation. This time, she stabbed it straight through her own heart.
But the next moment, as the power of the Fourteenth Movement activated, Mirokuji Yuya's face changed dramatically as he coughed up a mouthful of blood.
A hideous wound had appeared in his chest—his heart impaled, front to back.
This was the Fourteenth Movement's ability: to transfer damage taken by the user onto someone else.
"Zafkiel—Fourth Bullet!"
Reacting immediately, Natsumi transformed her angel into Zafkiel and fired the Fourth Bullet, which could rewind time, toward the grievously wounded Yuya.
Fortunately, he was a creation who had undergone multiple enhancements. His tenacious life force kept him from dying instantly.
As the Fourth Bullet's time-reversal effect hit, the wound on his chest disappeared, and even his Starshadow Clone returned.
"At a time like this, you still have the luxury to help others?"
But just as Natsumi used the Fourth Bullet to save Yuya, Altair let out a low laugh.
In truth, she had never taken these creations seriously.
Even after multiple power-ups that slightly increased their threat level, to her, they had only gone from annoying mosquitoes to buzzing bees.
There were only two people in this battle she truly considered enemies.
The two versions of Natsumi Natsumi.
"Twentieth Movement: Sealing of Facade."
A saber glowing with strange light shot forward. The moment the Fourth Bullet struck Yuya, the saber pierced the Zafkiel behind Natsumi.
In the next instant, countless chains coiled around Zafkiel and forcibly sealed it away.
This ability, similar to the "Close" of the Unsealer, could seal away even conceptual entities.
What made matters worse was that while Altair standing was lower than Mio Takamiya's, it was still higher than any individual Spirit. Against such a high-level seal, even the Unsealer's "Open" couldn't necessarily undo it!
But—it didn't matter!
Even if Natsumi could no longer use Zafkiel, they still had the other Natsumi!
"Natsumi, create distance! Use the Extinction Angel or Hurricane Knight to assist from the flank!" Meteora gave a decisive command. "Your Zafkiel must not be sealed. It's the key to turning the tide!"
"Understood!"
Upon hearing that, Little Tsumi immediately pulled back, giving Altair no chance to seal her.
The intense battle did not pause because of this incident.
Explosions of various colors continuously burst in the sky. Magical energy, spiritual energy, and all sorts of other powers intertwined, turning this part of Tokyo into near-total ruin.
"A prolonged Engagement is not in our favor—we can't drag this out any longer!"
After a round of fierce combat, Meteora had already sensed the terrifying rate at which her magic was being consumed and realized they couldn't afford to delay any further.
She exchanged a glance with her teammates, and the others immediately understood.
This was a plan they had prepared for before the ambush.
"In the name of Alicetelia February, O ancestors of mine, grant me the power to bring forth the dawn!"
Alicetelia raised her lance high, and intense light burst forth from it.
This was her ultimate move—Dawn Cavalry!
Faced with such dazzling light, even Altair had to raise her arm to shield her eyes, a displeased expression appearing on her face.
A quarter of her forty-eight sabers split off, trying to eliminate Alicetelia before she could complete the charging of her ultimate move.
"Magical Splash Flash Bomb!"
At the same time, Mamika Kirameki squeezed out the last of her magic and once again unleashed her ultimate attack.
And it wasn't just her—the rest of the creations also unleashed their most powerful attacks simultaneously, all targeting Altair.
Altair instinctively commanded her blade formation to intercept, and the sword wall that surrounded her like a fortress was immediately divided and dispersed.
"Now's our chance!"
Natsumi Kyouno seized the opportunity and, together with Little Tsumi, changed the angels in their hands.
The two flanked Altair from both sides, launching an attack against her now poorly defended position.
"Sandalphon, Final Blade!"
" Camael , Fire!"
A pitch-black blade beam that could seemingly split the earth in two, and a crimson beam that seemed capable of melting the ground, blasted out simultaneously.
Altair expression changed as she tried to recall all her sabers, but it was already too late.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
Two forces of pure destructive power struck Altair saber formation.
But the meager ten or so remaining sabers couldn't withstand such devastation. In less than a second, they were obliterated into nothingness.
"Bang————!"
Even Altair couldn't defend against those two attacks. Forced to take them head-on, she was violently hurled to the ground.
A deep crater appeared on the previously flat road, with countless fine cracks spreading out across the surrounding streets.
Parked cars nearby were shaken by the shockwave and started blaring their alarms, forming an earsplitting cacophony.
Dust filled the air, debris flew everywhere, but Natsumi Kyouno knew that the previous strike hadn't been enough to destroy Altair completely.
"Not bad. You all went to such great lengths, and finally managed to injure me."
With a step forward, Altair swept away the dust with a gust of wind.
From the depths of the crater, the slightly disheveled Altair slowly floated up. Her military uniform was in tatters, yet it was bizarrely repairing itself.
"Fourteenth Movement: Causality Inversion."
As her wound-transferring ability activated, Yuya Mirokuji face twisted in pain. The wounds that had just appeared on Altair reappeared on his body.
"That last attack was quite good... but just that—quite good. You're still far from being able to kill me."
A slight smile hung at the corner of Altair mouth as she tilted her head.
"You should know the effect of the Fourteenth Movement. Since that's the case, why still go through such meaningless effort?"
"Because that last strike was never meant to destroy you."
Natsumi Kyouno, slightly out of breath, had nearly exhausted all her spiritual energy from the intense battle and that final blow.
The others were in similar states.
However, there wasn't a trace of gloom on their faces.
Because the real purpose of that strike... was to force Altair to the ground.
Upon hearing Natsumi Kyouno words, Altair sensed something amiss and instinctively tried to react.
But how could the other team of creations, who had long hidden in the shadows, possibly allow such a hard-earned opportunity to slip away?
From the squirming shadows, two figures emerged.
They were creations that Altair had never seen before.
She could confirm that she had never summoned these two creations.
"It's you!"
But considering Natsumi Kyouno ability to traverse worlds, Altair quickly realized these two were helpers Natsumi had brought from another world.
Final Blade and Scorching Ghost Annihilator were not their trump cards.
Their true killing move had always been hidden in the shadows!
Altair eyes widened. She had no time to recall her sabers and instead tried to generate another forty-eight to form a new sword formation.
"Star Platinum!"
However, Jotaro Kujo wasn't going to give her the chance.
As his purple-skinned Stand appeared, the entire world turned gray.
"Yare yare daze... You really kept me waiting."
In the frozen world, Jotaro stood still.
But his Stand moved swiftly, grabbing the shoulder of Dazai Osamu, who was standing beside him, and flew toward Altair.
Then, Star Platinum placed Dazai next to Altair and adjusted his arms so that he hugged her from behind.
Mission accomplished.
Soon, five seconds passed.
As the world regained its color, time resumed.
The points of light swirling around Altair—those yet-to-be-formed sabers—also vanished the moment time began to flow again.
"No Longer Human" activated!
"Huh?"
Natsumi Kyouno looked in surprise at Altair, who was still standing there. She hadn't expected this outcome.
According to her plan, Altair should have vanished by now.
No Longer Human could nullify all supernatural powers, and Altair very existence was a supernatural one. If touched, she should have disappeared instantly.
Yet she was still standing there, seemingly only having her Holopsicon ability suppressed.
"Insolent fool!"
Altair didn't immediately grasp what had happened. Instead, she was startled by the man who had suddenly appeared behind her and was now hugging her tightly.
She instinctively tried to manipulate her sabers to stab Dazai to death, only to discover that she had lost her Holopsicon powers.
"Miss, if I were truly an insolent fool, I wouldn't just be touching your waist!"
Dazai Osamu clung tightly to Altair and spoke awkwardly:
"But if you keep moving like that, I might just actually get insolent."