’This is my fault! I should not have allowed Serena to absorb my corruption and become like this. I should have stopped her and told her that I would take care of myself.’

Teressa’s thoughts were a mess. She felt guilty toward Serena for what had happened. This was all her fault one way or another for allowing Serena to bear her burden.

But her mouth would not move to confess such a thing to Rin.

All Teressa could do now was stop Serena, or what was left of Serena, and hope she was able to find peace in the afterlife.

That was the plan before the calamity decided to become a problem they could not resolve.

Even Albus and Shelly were having a hard time fighting the calamity, so it was a given that anyone else would not make it out alive either.

"Rin, what should we do now?"

Teressa was shocked by her own voice. It sounded far too low and terrified to make her feel good about the situation. But she still knew that she needed to keep her calm and assess the situation with a rational mind.

Rin looked shaken as well, so she needed to be his pillar this time and give him strength.

"I...have an idea. Shelly, I will distract that calamity and make it come after me. You go back and call for reinforcements. We will need to bury this monster with all of our available firepower."

Rin told her with confidence, but she could tell that he was not sure if this was going to work or not.

But this was the only option they had left.

Still, between her life and Rin’s, his was more valuable. So he should be the one to go back and Teressa should try and hold Serena back...

"Rin-"

"Don’t argue with me right now and head back to the settlement. Your powers do not work on the calamity long enough to stop it. I don’t want to find your corpse when I come back."

Rin told her and it was clear to Teressa that this situation was hitting him hard. Especially the fact that Serena had not trusted him or even told him what was happening.

’Is Rin feeling a sense of responsibility for what happened as well? He has no reason to feel like that. I-I need to tell him what happened between me and Serena and how this is my fault.’

"Teressa, I know what is going on, and I assure you that it was not your fault. Serena made that decision knowing what would happen. But if you truly feel guilty, then we can talk about it later. For now, our priority is to survive and make sure we do not lose too many people. Now go!"

Rin’s words were sharp and Teressa flinched before realizing that he was serious about sending her back.

She had no chance to even say no or complain this time. His orders were clear and Teressa took a deep breath before making a run for it.

"I will be back with reinforcements. Please don’t die or get too injured until then."

She yelled as she ran back to the base. She needed to come back before Rin got himself killed somehow. She did not have any other choice but to make it.

Teressa reached halfway to the settlement when she felt another presence following her.

She was not sure who it could be, but her senses were telling her that her follower was dangerous.

It made her pause and look behind, but she found no one.

"Was it my imagination?"

She questioned, wondering if she was too out of it and imagining being followed. But her heart told her that it was not likely to be the case.

So she turned back to run toward the settlement once more when she felt someone standing beside her.

Teressa knew that there had been no one by her side a few seconds ago, but this new presence made her look to the side.

Her eyes widened as she noticed a girl she had never seen before smiling at her with a creepy look on her face.

"Oh my! Are you heading back? I cannot allow that to happen."

The girl spoke softly before she knocked Teressa out. Teressa did not even get to say anything or use her powers before she was rendered unconscious.

...

The female looming over her let out a sigh of disappointment before she dragged Teressa to a safe spot.

"Sleep here for now. I will make sure the rest of your comrades are knocked out soon as well. Not that we have a beef with you or anything. This is just for the sake of our mission."

The unknown female told Teressa’s unconscious body before she got up and headed toward the battlefield.

Now that she had taken care of the support, it was time for her to keep Shelly distracted. Her companions would likely do the rest and then their mission would end.

"Finally, the real game has started. I wonder what you will think of all this, Mother?"

The girl questioned, but she did not get an answer. She already knew that her mother was uninterested in failures like them.

But these failures of hers would show her that they were far superior compared to the genuine thing. And then, they would take over the system and destroy it.

That way, their revenge would be complete.

For now, she had a bone to pick with Shelly and it was personal.

She hurried toward Shelly and made it in time. Shelly was regaining consciousness and she looked ready to head after Rin.

So it was up to her to stop that.

"Hmm, so you are fine? I was told that you were a monster, but I did not expect you to be such a monster. It is going to be difficult to keep you down. Anyway, allow me to introduce myself. I am Mira. It’s nice to meet you-"

Shelly did not even wait for the full introduction to be made before she attacked Mira. She was extremely fast, but Mira was able to dodge her attack.

"Hey, this is not fair. I was introducing myself, so why did you have to attack? Do you want to make me angry?"

Mira asked with a pout on her face, but Shelly did not seem to care.

"I don’t care if you are Kana or a monster. You are blocking my way, so I will clear you out first."