After everything had been annihilated, Senzo fell backward without warning.
Thud!
"!!!"
Hyoubu and the others stared in horror at the now unconscious Senzo, blood dripping from the edges of his eyes and mouth.
He lay there unconscious on the deck with that same ice-cold expression, but with a small smile as well.. Like he was satisfied with what he had just done.
After staring at him for a while, Sophie suddenly snapped out of her daze and rushed to his side immediately, placing his head on her thighs.
"Senzo!? Are you okay? Can you hear me?" she asked frantically looking around for anything that could help her at the moment.
But she saw nothing, not a single medical kit or bag; there was only blood and the three other people, all of them injured or unconscious as well.
Only Hyoubu was barely conscious, but he was of no help at the moment because he himself looked terrible as well.
Sophie looked around frantically, trying to find anything she could use to improve the current situation, but she saw nothing; the deck was completely empty except for a couple of people who also weren't in any state to offer any help.
"Wh-What should I do?" she choked up between sniffles. As tears slowly started forming at the edges of her eyes, she just kept looking around, hoping anything or anyone would show up to resolve the current situation.
But that, of course, did not happen, and the only thing she could do was softly cradle Senzo's head with her hands, hoping he would wake up anytime soon.
"Please just wake up, Senzo," she muttered, planting a soft kiss on his forehead full of love.
***
Meanwhile, Magi and the others suddenly felt the shaking Catastrophe stabilize itself, and they looked at one another with concern.
"What was that?" Magi asked, while staring around, hoping this nightmare would soon be over.
"Should I go take a look?" Momiji proposed; she knew it would be dangerous, but that was the only thing she could currently do.
"No! That's way too dangerous." he immediately rejected her idea with a stern look.
The children were all huddled together in a large room behind them with the other non-combatant espers and Patty to take care of them.
And Magi, Momiji, and Yo stood in front of the door, guarding the corridor from any assailants.
"But what else can we do? Senzo went to help the major, and if something went wrong, wouldn't we get captured shortly after anyway?"
Hearing Momiji's words, Magi and Yo could only grit their teeth in frustration; she was right, but it still felt horrible to hear it so bluntly.
"But what are you going to do if they are caught? They will most likely be deploying an insane amount of EMCs to stop them from using their psychic powers," Magi countered, trying to talk Momiji out of it.
"Does it make a difference if they catch me sooner rather than later?" she blankly stated, a resolute expression on her face.
"Haaahh," Magi sighed; she was just like the major—way too stubborn for their own good.
"Fine, go."
"Magi!?" Yo exclaimed, his eyes shot open as he looked at Magi with disbelief.
"What? What else am I supposed to say? Even if we keep going back and forth here, it won't make a difference in the grand scheme of things."
He explained with a resigned look. He knew that even if he forbade it, she'd go anyway. So it was much better to just give her that permission; maybe this decision might bring forth a miracle.
"Thanks."
Momiji deeply bowed her head while clasping her hands together after hearing Magi give her permission to go.
"But remember to be careful and don't cause trouble for the major or Senzo." he sternly said.
"Understood."
Then Momiji was gone.
"Hah, it feels terrible to not be able to do basically anything, you know," Yo said while staring at the ceiling with a somber expression.
"That's right, but that is also the reality of the current situation; only Senzo or the major could possibly resolve something of this magnitude," Magi said, smacking Yo on his shoulder.
"So let us just trust those two."
He could only nod his head at Magi's words as he slid down the wall and took a seat on the ground, his gaze still aimed at the ceiling.
***
Momiji stood atop the Catastrophe, and what she saw left her speechless; everything was gone.
No more drones surrounding the Catastrophe, no fleet on the sea—just pure silence.
"What has happened here?" she muttered while looking around in shock.
How is something like this even possible?
She just couldn't wrap her head around it; in less than half a day everything had disappeared.
Had it been wiped out? Or did something else happen? She had no clue, but for now she had another priority: locating the major and all the others.
That's when she suddenly heard it: whimpers coming from somewhere.
She stopped staring at the now calm sea and instead tried to locate where the whimpers were coming from.
That's when she suddenly saw it; Hyoubu and the others were atop the deck.
"Let's go."
And a moment later she appeared next to Hyoubu atop the deck with a smile on her face.
"Great job, Major!" she exclaimed, smacking him on his back.
But instead of his usual banter or snappy answer, he just groaned weakly and lost his balance, falling face-first onto the deck.
"!?"
Alarmed, Momiji immediately helped him up, and the moment she saw his pale, almost snow-white face, her heart stopped.
"What happened!?" she shouted, her mouth agape as a tear started forming at the edge of her eye.
Hyoubu coughed weakly a couple times while he stared straight at Momiji, who was now holding him, but he could only see the blurry outline of her face.
"Don't worry about me, and get Magi here right now," he ordered, trying to sound stern, but he couldn't muster any strength in his voice, and it just sounded like the dying wish of an old man instead.