Due to the government's information control, the events at Shinjin Lake never reached public awareness.
No one knew that within the Tanzawa Mountains, an army of calamitous Demonic Beasts had emerged—some still lurking in the wilderness, where the Lion King Agency and the Self-Defense Forces continued their struggle.
The world remained oblivious to how The Divine Child had wreaked havoc, causing Shinjin Lake to vanish, entire mountains to disappear, and kilometers of terrain to be reshaped as if by catastrophe.
Yet, in the end, the incident concluded on a somewhat positive note.
Rozen and Yukina successfully retrieved Nagisa and Avrora.
The Lion King Agency rooted out the terrorists within the Self-Defense Forces.
The Aldegyr Kingdom recovered the precious Sinful God's Artifact.
Even Kamioda Shrine was freed from its ancient duty of guarding Shinjin Lake and performing sacrificial rites.
While the general public remained unaware, the major factions observing these events certainly were not.
Some distance from the Tanzawa Mountains, in a desolate stretch of wilderness, a small campsite flickered under the glow of a bonfire.
A group of teenagers sat around the flames, chatting and laughing as if on a casual camping trip, their atmosphere warm and carefree.
Then, a man approached from the darkness, stepping into the circle of light.
He wore a crumpled gray coat, his unkempt hair slightly long, giving him the air of a middle-aged artist in his forties.
Seeing the lively group, his lips curled into a tender, almost paternal smile.
"What's got you all so excited?"
His voice carried the indulgent warmth of an elder addressing beloved juniors.
The teenagers turned their attention toward him.
"Sensei!"
"Sensei!"
They called out in unison—except for one girl, seated closest to the fire, stretching her hands toward its warmth.
"You're back, Takehito!"
Though she appeared no older than the others, her tone was oddly affectionate, as if speaking to a mischievous younger brother.
Her appearance was striking—no taller than 160 cm, clad in a baseball jacket paired with a denim miniskirt, a half-shell helmet atop her head, swim-goggle-like windproof glasses, and thick rubber-soled shoes. The punkish ensemble clashed bizarrely with her delicate, foreign features—her gemstone-blue eyes shimmering like the ocean under the firelight.
The girl huddled by the flames, looked every bit like a rebellious teenager in the midst of a phase.
The man, Takehito, chuckled helplessly at her tone.
"Sorry for the delay. Don't hold it against me, December."
The way he addressed her as an equal, despite their apparent age gap, hinted at their true dynamic.
The others chimed in.
"Don't mind December, Sensei. She's always like this—no sense of tact."
The speaker was a slender boy with a sharp, androgynous face—his features eerily symmetrical, as if artificially crafted. His short blue hair matched his irritable demeanor, his voice laced with impatience.
"True. December never changes. You don't need to indulge her, Sensei."
This came from a petite girl, barely 150 cm tall, dressed in a white blouse and suspender skirt like a prim elementary schooler. Her large, upturned eyes gave her a childish charm, but the pair of prominent beast ears atop her head betrayed her inhuman nature.
"Not like it's anything new."
The last voice was flat, devoid of inflection. A girl with sharp, expressionless features, her neck wrapped in a long scarf, her oversized coat swallowing her frame.
These three had been bantering with December around the fire—until Takehito's arrival.
Hearing their remarks, December's smile faded.
"Rogi, Carly, Rahn—how could you say that? Don't you love me anymore?"
She clutched her chest dramatically, as if heartbroken.
"Who ever loved you?" Rogi scoffed, unimpressed.
"Here we go again," Carly sighed.
"Not like it's anything new," Rahn repeated tonelessly, munching on a snack.
December pouted.
"After all the love I've showered on you as your big sister… You've all changed."
She shook her head mournfully, drawing amused glances.
Takehito chuckled but quickly grew serious, his gentle eyes unwavering.
"Alright, I've brought back some hard-won intel. Listen up."
The group's playful atmosphere vanished instantly.
Their gazes sharpened as they focused on him.
"Did you get info on Shinjin Lake?" Rogi leaned forward eagerly.
"Took you long enough. When Rahn couldn't hack the data, I thought we were out of luck," Carly remarked.
"...The government locked everything down tight. I'm no Priestess of Cain. Even if I could breach their databases, extracting intel that fast was impossible," Rahn muttered, a hint of frustration beneath her monotone.
Takehito nodded. "True. The blackout was severe. It took everything I had to infiltrate Tanzawa and gather this." He took a breath. "I'll keep it brief."
He relayed everything—the emergence of the Horned Serpents and the Dragon, Rozen's arrival, the crushing defeat of The Cleansers, the utter annihilation of the Knights of the Sinful God.
Every detail of Shinjin Lake's catastrophe, laid bare.
"In the end, The Cleansers failed spectacularly—worse, they destroyed themselves in the process. Akatsuki Nagisa and No. 12 were taken back to Itogami Island. Any hope of leveraging The Cleansers to challenge the Management Cooperative and destroy the Demon Sanctuary is now gone."
His words hung heavily in the air.
The group's expressions darkened.
Especially December.
Her eyes flickered.
"Minamiya Nichiyo... No. 12..."
She whispered the names, her voice barely audible.
For the briefest moment, a glint of flame-like light flashed in her gaze.