The following morning, just before dawn.
Six people, myself included, gathered in the Commander's office.
Perhaps because the sun had yet to crest the horizon.
The others, still bleary-eyed, each voiced their complaints in turn.
"Um, why did you call us in at this hour?"
"The Commander's tyranny…."
"Waaah."
"Sleep deprivation is the enemy of beauty, you know…."
Their identities: the Rabbit Hole Squad.
All currently C-rank — Lumia's most formidable assault unit.
The only personnel here who could genuinely be called combat-ready.
And yes. These were the allies I had recommended to the Commander.
Given that we couldn't rely on outside support, it made sense.
Whether in skill or character, they were people worth trusting.
I calmed the Rabbit Hole Squad as they aired their adorable grievances.
Then I turned to the Commander, who looked somewhat hesitant.
"Commander."
"…Yes."
He stepped forward with a grave expression.
The Rabbit Hole Squad's scattered attention immediately shifted to him.
I wasn't sure what it was, but something about his bearing told them this was serious.
They quieted down, mouths closed, waiting for what came next.
As if he had no intention of betraying that expectation.
The Commander dropped the main point without preamble.
"Two days from now, an unidentified Erosion Species will infiltrate the city and cause casualties. Shortly after, hundreds of Erosion Species will flood in. I'm asking for your cooperation in preventing that."
"Wh— what?"
A bombshell announcement, stunning in its bluntness.
The Rabbit Hole Squad all looked utterly dumbfounded.
Which wasn't strange at all.
The content was terrifying just to hear.
But no matter how you thought about it, it didn't feel real.
An Erosion Species sneaking into the city two days from now — that alone was hard to swallow.
And then, hundreds of them in a horde? What was that even supposed to mean?
Among the confused faces, Promina cautiously raised her hand.
"May I ask something, Commander?"
"Go ahead. What is it?"
"Has any movement actually been observed?"
"No. It hasn't."
"…Is there any evidence that this is true?"
"No evidence either."
His shameless reply left her speechless.
Then how on earth were they supposed to believe him?
Yubina, catching up to the conversation a beat late, shot to her feet.
"Th— then how do you even know this, Commander?!"
"I saw the future."
"The future…. Isn't there a chance it was just a dream…?"
"No. This will happen. Without a doubt."
"That's… weird…."
Doubt swirled in the Rabbit Hole Squad's eyes.
They couldn't bring themselves to believe him.
In a way, that was entirely predictable.
They were among the more favorably disposed Valkyries toward the Commander.
But they'd only known him for five days.
Five days wasn't nearly enough trust to swallow a claim with zero evidence.
Still, letting the doubt fester wasn't going to help anyone.
We didn't have time to spare. Better to cut through this quickly.
I stepped forward and spoke up in his defense.
"If you can't trust the Commander, would you be willing to trust me?"
"Leila?!"
"We haven't known each other long, but I think you know that neither the Commander nor I would waste your time with a joke like this. Please — hear him out properly."
My words visibly surprised the Rabbit Hole Squad.
Well, I was a fellow Valkyrie, after all.
And in the short time we'd spent together, we'd built something of a rapport.
Surely that counted for something.
I turned and fixed my gaze on the Commander.
A silent signal: say it now.
He hesitated for a moment, then gave a single nod.
"Two days from now, I fought alongside all of you against the Erosion Species. I died there, and returned to the past. I don't know if this will serve as proof, but I'll tell you everything that happened."
"Y— you died?"
"That can't be… possible…."
The Commander declared himself a Regressor, bold as anything.
A shocking announcement — that he had died in the future and come back.
Under any normal circumstances, it would be impossible to believe.
And yet, perhaps because both the Commander and I remained perfectly composed.
The Rabbit Hole Squad, skeptical as they were, seemed to be wavering.
Then Yubina's hand shot up.
"M— me! I have a question!"
"What is it, Yubina?"
"In that future… did we die too?"
"Yes. All of us. Myself included."
"That can't be…!"
The Commander gave them the brutal answer.
Everyone was going to die two days from now, just like that.
The news was chilling just to hear, and Yubina's eyes went wide.
Even for Valkyries who lived with death as a constant neighbor.
Being told you were about to die was something that shook you, no matter what.
As the mood in the room grew heavy.
I gently kneaded Yubina's shoulder and said,
"Don't worry. We just have to stop it from happening, right?"
"Leila…."
"I believe that if we all work together, we can absolutely change that future."
I'm putting my faith in all of you — so please, put yours in me.
I let that unwavering conviction show in my eyes.
Yubina met my gaze, and something seemed to ignite in her.
She gave a firm nod and turned to her squadmates.
"I believe in Leila! Let's cooperate!"
"Mm, well… the Commander would've ordered us anyway…."
"I like it. Changing the future. That works for me."
"Fine."
Perhaps because their leader had made up her mind.
The others followed, one by one, signaling their willingness to help.
After all, the whole point was to change a future where everyone died.
There was no good reason to resist.
By the time the group's consensus had solidified into cooperation.
Dahlia, who had been hovering uncertainly, sidled up to me and asked,
"Um, so… what about alerting Central Headquarters and requesting backup? For something this serious, they'd probably send A-rank Valkyries…."
"That's a good thought. But Dahlia — do you think Headquarters would believe us?"
"…Probably not."
"And a horde of hundreds of Erosion Species has no precedent either."
Promina and Yubina each added their piece in response to my answer.
Which only reinforced the argument that outside support wasn't an option.
Of course, my answer was a lie.
My affiliation was still officially with the Valkyries dispatched from Central Headquarters.
If I pushed hard enough, I could have squeezed out some assistance.
But that wouldn't serve my purposes right now.
So I kept my mouth shut and maintained a perfectly neutral expression.
"Then let's do it this way."
We worked through a quick meeting and hammered out a basic plan.
First — the Commander's status as a Regressor was to remain undisclosed for now.
If variables were introduced, we'd lose track of where the black Erosion Species would appear.
After we dealt with the black Erosion Species ourselves.
We'd hold a defensive line through the city while waiting for outside help to arrive.
"A defensive line means…."
"First, we pull everything we need out of the stockroom. Reinforce the outer walls, and commit fully to defense."
Only two days remained until the plan's execution.
But that should be enough to clear out the stockroom.
"What if nothing happens…?"
"If we prepared and nothing happened — isn't that a relief in its own right?"
"That's… true, I suppose."
"Better than being caught flat-footed."
We wrapped up the meeting quickly and split into pairs.
Team A: draft an evacuation plan for civilians and prepare shelters.
Team B: inspect the city walls for damage and carry out repairs.
Team C: retrieve stockpiled supplies and position them throughout the city.
We moved out immediately, determined not to waste a single moment.
Just as everyone was rushing off to their assigned roles.
I had something to take care of, so I stopped the Commander for a moment.
"Oh, right — Commander. Please take this."
"This is…. What is it?"
"For self-defense."
What I handed him was a card, roughly palm-sized.
I opened it down the middle to show him.
The card unfolded into the shape of a gun.
"It's a single-use projectile launcher loaded with my unique ability. Even against an Erosion Species, it should give you at least a moment's pause."
"From something this small?"
"Yes. When you unfold it like this — doesn't it look like a little gun?"
"I… suppose it does."
I looked up at him and pressed the point with deliberate care.
"It can only be used once, so please keep that in mind."
"Yes. Understood."
The key card for this loop. Don't you dare lose it.
I smiled to myself — a quiet, private smile with a dark little edge to it.
*
Two days passed in a blink, and the day of reckoning arrived.
Time had been brutally short, but we'd cut into our sleep to make it work.
Somehow, we had managed to complete every last preparation.
The city walls had been reinforced without a single gap.
The turrets positioned to intercept Erosion Species coming over the top were fully operational.
Evacuation space for the civilians had been secured in ample supply.
If the horde came now, we could at least buy ourselves some time.
Surveying the results with quiet satisfaction, I murmured to myself.
"Preparations are perfect. Right now, I'm certain we can hold out for a few hours even against a full Erosion Species horde."
"It's all thanks to you, Leila."
"Pfft. What did I do? It's all thanks to you, Commander. Thank you. For going to the future and coming back."
"…Yes."
Three hours remained before Midir would appear.
Beneath a sky dyed red as the sun tilted toward the horizon, we steeled ourselves.
'Well then. Time to get started.'
A pause.
In that moment, a petty little conscience poked its head up from somewhere inside my chest.
A small, timid voice asking whether I was really going to go through with that plan.
The part of my reason that hadn't been conquered by desire grabbed at my ankle.
…But I can't help it. It's the Commander's fault, really.
Does he have any idea how dangerous it is to go around announcing he's a Regressor?
What if some weirdo or a creep latches onto him because of it?
I have to be the one to teach him. Yes. I'm not the bad one here.
'It's not like I'm killing anyone….'
Sss, haah….
I drew a silent breath and pulled my mask back into place.
Then I turned to the Commander with a smile.
"Well then — I'll go check on the situation to the west with Dahlia."
"Yes. Take care."
"If anything happens, you'll fire the signal flare?"
"Yes. I'll make sure of it."
I headed west with Dahlia.
Atop the high, solid walls that encircled the city.
The sun had sunk completely below the horizon.
The sky deepened to indigo, announcing the beginning of night.
"I still can't believe it. That a horde of Erosion Species is going to come flooding in within hours…. What about you, Leila?"
"Heh, same here. The thought that we'll be fighting Erosion Species in just a few hours… I'm a little nervous, honestly."
"…Are you scared too, Leila?"
"Of course. I'm only B-rank, you know? Even a slightly stronger Erosion Species feels like a real struggle."
Perhaps because I looked like an overwhelming powerhouse to Dahlia.
She seemed genuinely surprised to hear that I was nervous.
It wasn't like I was B-rank for nothing.
Still, I didn't have any real complaints about it.
Being too strong made it naturally difficult to die when needed.
But being too weak meant I couldn't perform like this.
Personally, this level felt just right for me.
'Ah — it's completely dark now. Good. No one will see.'
The brief gap between the sky going fully dark and the lights coming on.
Feeling the wind from up high, I turned to look at Dahlia.
"Oh, right. Dahlia — there's something I wanted to say…."
"Oh! Yes! What is it?"
Clamp.
Before she could turn around, I seized her by the throat.
A pale, slender neck — thin and soft the way only a woman's can be.
The flesh that yielded so easily under even a light grip had a strangely satisfying quality to it.
"Would you mind… taking a little nap?"
"Ngh— gkk—?!"
Crackle!
The current that spread from my fingertips sent Dahlia's eyes rolling back.
Perhaps because Dealer-class Valkyries had lower endurance and resistance.
She lost consciousness instantly, without the slightest resistance.
Dahlia's body went completely limp and crumpled to the ground.
I caught her in my arms and rummaged through the pockets of her uniform.
'Where was it…. Should be around here somewhere.'
What came out of the pocket was a needle.
I pressed it carefully into specific points on Dahlia's body.
Nerve locations I had confirmed on my own body, over and over again.
With her key nerves seized, she trembled faintly.
Then, without another twitch, she went completely slack.
I hadn't killed her, of course. Or damaged anything.
I had simply put her into a state where she wouldn't wake for a very long time.
I cradled Dahlia in a princess carry and looked out over the city below.
"Haah, my heart aches…. Is it really okay for me to do something this terrible…."
The city's nightscape, lights flickering on one by one across the dark.
The corners of my mouth were curled into a wide, cheerful smile as I watched it.
Thump, thump. My chest swelled with anticipation for what was about to unfold.