"We don't die for our friends, we live for them."
— Erza Scarlet, Fairy Tail
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This body was identical to Yuriko's, though much younger, almost like a grown-up Saya.
This was Roy's solution: utilizing the power of the Evil Pieces. He had completely reconstructed a perfect body for Yuriko.
However, because so much magic was used in the reconstruction, Yuriko was considerably weaker than Saya.
"Mom!!"
Saya cried tears of joy as she saw her mother truly revived, rushing to embrace her.
Under Saya's watchful gaze, Yuriko slowly opened her eyes.
"Mmm..."
"Is this heaven?" Yuriko murmured, looking at her daughter with confusion.
Her last memory was of taking her own life with a gun.
"Mom... Mom, you're okay! That's wonderful!"
"Saya? Is that you, Saya? Did you die too?" Yuriko asked, still disoriented.
Saya giggled. She had never seen her normally serious and composed mother so bewildered.
"Mom, you're not dead! None of us are!" Saya explained.
Finally, Yuriko's mind cleared. As she stood, she suddenly felt a chill and instinctively hugged herself.
Saya quickly removed her jacket and offered it to her mother.
After putting on the jacket, Yuriko took a look around. Her eyes fell on Roy, and she instinctively knelt.
"Master!"
Yuriko addressed him respectfully, then looked surprised at her own actions. Why had she bowed to this boy? And why had such an embarrassing title escaped her lips?
Roy wasn't surprised. As his servant, she was bound to him.
"Mom, Roy is the one who brought you back!"
Saya explained everything that had happened.
"Eh? Roy... I see!"
Yuriko finally regained her composure.
She knelt again before Roy. "Yuriko greets her Master!"
"Mm."
Roy nodded and helped her to her feet.
He then turned to Yuriko's original corpse, enveloping it in demonic energy. Within moments, the body was completely obliterated.
Now that Yuriko was revived, there was no need for her old body to remain.
Yuriko felt a strange sensation looking at her former self. Her new body was younger; if she walked alongside Saya, they would surely be mistaken for sisters.
Prompted by Saya, Yuriko explained why she had chosen to end her life on the rooftop.
It turned out that someone within the Self-Defense Force had been bitten but hadn't reported it. When a large horde of zombies attacked, this betrayal, combined with the external assault, led to the fall of the Takagi estate.
Yuriko had fled to the rooftop, trapped with nowhere else to go, and ultimately chosen suicide.
Saya fell silent, absorbing her mother's words.
"Alright, now that this is resolved, let's move on!" Roy declared. "The only one left is Shizuka's friend, Rika Minami... Shizuka, do you know where she is now?"
He turned to Shizuka.
"Hmm... I don't know her exact location, but I remembered Rika's phone number this morning!" Shizuka said with a cheerful smile.
"Saya, let Shizuka borrow your phone," Roy instructed.
"Oh!"
Shizuka accepted Saya's phone.
"Eh... this is one... this is two..."
Roy sighed, watching Shizuka's ditzy attempts to operate the phone. She was adorably clueless.
Saya and Saeko also exchanged exasperated glances.
*Ring! Ring!*
The call connected.
"Hello?"
A woman's voice answered. Shizuka exclaimed in delight, "Rika! Thank goodness you're alive! I'm so glad!"
Rika's lips curved into a smile at the sound of Shizuka's voice. She was clearly relieved as well.
"Where are you now? Are you at my place?"
"No, we left there. Oh, and we borrowed your car!"
Shizuka chattered away, lost in the reunion.
"Ahem... Shizuka, please ask her for her location," Roy interrupted, finally losing his patience. He wasn't sure if the events would unfold as they did in the original story, with the nuclear EMP disabling all electronics.
But to avoid any unforeseen complications, it was best to locate Rika quickly.
Shizuka stuck her tongue out playfully.
"Oh, right! Rika, where are you now?"
"Is there anyone else with you?" Rika asked, having heard the commotion on Shizuka's end.
"Yes! Roy-chan is protecting me!"
Rika understood immediately. Knowing Shizuka as she did, she knew her friend would never have survived this long without protection. She felt a surge of gratitude towards the person who had kept Shizuka safe.
"Rika, tell us your location quickly so we can come and rescue you!"
"Shizuka, it's okay. Knowing you're safe is enough for me. It's very dangerous out there, so please don't come looking for me!"
Concerned for Shizuka's safety, Rika refused to reveal her whereabouts.
"Eh, Rika..."
Static...
*Bang!*
A brilliant white light flashed across the sky.
The line went dead. Shizuka looked at the phone in her hand.
Smoke curled from the device. It was clearly fried.
"Could it be...?"
Everyone looked towards the sky.
A white ring expanded across the heavens, brighter than the sun.
"It's a nuclear attack," Saya said grimly, recognizing the telltale sign.
"Eh?" Shizuka looked at Saya with confusion.
"When a nuclear warhead detonates in the upper atmosphere, gamma radiation causes the air molecules to scatter electrons..." Saya explained, her expression grave.
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