Chapter 37 — New Day

Morning sunlight quietly entered through the curtains. Yuki Horikita slowly opened her eyes.

For a few seconds, she simply remained beneath the blankets, staring at the ceiling as the warmth of the morning sun touched her face. She wore nothing more than a simple white T-shirt. Then she turned her head.

A gentle smile immediately appeared on her face. Sleeping peacefully beside her were her two beloved wives, Lilia Horikita and Minami Horikita, the women she loved more than anyone else in the world.

Lilia, twenty-two years old, slept closest to her. Her long brown hair was tied into its usual ponytail, although several loose strands had fallen across her face during the night.

Beside Lilia slept Minami, twenty-five, her short black hair slightly messy against the pillow.

Neither had awakened yet.

Yuki remained silent. She simply watched them. Their slow breathing. Their peaceful expressions.

Yuki smiled. But that smile slowly faded.

How long will this last?

The thought escaped before she could stop it. The Witches were still out there, four of her former friends now turned into monsters...

And with every passing day, the threat seemed to grow closer.

Yuki lowered her eyes. She wanted moments like this to continue forever.

Yet... somewhere deep inside, she knew peace had become something fragile. Something that could disappear at any moment.

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Later that morning, the smell of breakfast filled the kitchen.

Lilia stood near the stove preparing food while Yuki and Minami sat together at the dining table.

Minami quietly drank a cup of coffee.

Yuki, meanwhile, stared down at a military report displayed on the tablet in her hands.

Her finger slowly moved across the screen as she reviewed deployment reports and the latest updates on the mass production of Stellar Energy weapons she was overseeing.

Lilia glanced through the nearby window.

"The weather is really nice today."

Bright sunlight covered the backyard. Not a single cloud could be seen.

Minami looked outside as well. She took another sip of coffee.

"Yeah... It's too bad we can't go out for a stroll."

After Minami said those words, an awkward silence fell.

Minami froze. Her eyes slowly moved toward Yuki. Yuki's expression had changed only slightly. Her eyes had lowered toward the tablet, and she looked slightly depressed.

"Oh!"

Minami immediately placed her cup down in a panic.

"I-I didn't mean it like that."

Lilia turned around from the stove, looking at Minami with scolding eyes.

"Minami..."

"I know!"

Minami raised both hands defensively.

"I realized it the moment I said it!"

Lilia gave her a gentle but disapproving look.

"You should be more careful. You know those words might hurt Yuki."

Minami lowered her head.

"...Sorry."

Yuki remained silent for a moment. Then she smiled softly.

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"It's fine... If it weren't for me, neither of you would be forced to stay locked inside this house."

Lilia immediately turned toward her.

"Don't say that... For us, there isn't any better place to be than beside you."

Yuki's eyes widened slightly. Minami quickly nodded.

"Exactly... No matter how difficult things become, we're supposed to stay together."

Minami smiled nervously.

"After all... that's what marriage means, right?"

Yuki stared at the two women. Then her expression softened.

"...I really don't deserve either of you."

Minami immediately leaned back.

"Well... Maybe you don't."

THWACK!

"Ow!"

Lilia lightly struck Minami on the shoulder.

"I was joking!"

Yuki covered her mouth. For several seconds, she tried to hold back her laughter.

Then—

"Hehe..."

A quiet laugh escaped her.

Minami stared at her. Lilia smiled.

And soon, all three were laughing together.

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Some time later, Yuki stood inside the bedroom. The warmth of the morning had given way to the cold familiarity of duty.

She pulled on her customized white military jacket and adjusted the collar.

White trousers.

Military boots.

Once again, Yuki Horikita no longer looked like an ordinary woman enjoying breakfast with her wives.

She looked like a soldier. One of the Bravers. Someone carrying the weight of countless lives.

Yuki walked toward the door... Then she stopped. Her eyes had fallen upon a framed photograph resting on a nearby shelf.

In that photograph were the original Bravers. All seven of them.

Yuki slowly approached it.

In the photo, Taichi Konoha stood near the center, his spiky red hair impossible to miss and his usual confident smile spread across his face.

Standing close beside him was Sakura Tendo, her soft pink hair framing her face as she nervously looked away from Taichi instead of directly at the camera.

Saki stood nearby, her bright yellow hair matching her energetic personality as she laughed with one arm thrown around Roland.

Roland, tall and broad-shouldered with short green hair, had his own arm around Saki's neck while laughing just as loudly as she was.

Ryuen stood slightly apart from everyone else, his long violet hair neatly styled as he held a glass of expensive wine in one hand. Although he had deliberately positioned himself away from the others, the faint smile on his face betrayed how much he had enjoyed being there.

Endou Tachibana stood calmly near the edge of the group, his short blue hair perfectly neat and a gentle smile revealing a rare moment of genuine happiness.

And finally...

Yuki herself.

Her short silver hair fell neatly behind her neck, and her blue eyes looked straight at the camera.

But she wasn't smiling. Yuki stared at her younger self from months ago.

She remembered that day. She remembered laughing before the photograph. She remembered enjoying herself. She remembered being happy.

Yet the moment the camera had been raised... she had instinctively returned to her usual serious expression.

Yuki gently touched the glass.

"...I really should have smiled."

She gave a small laugh at herself.

Then her gaze moved across the photograph again.

Taichi.

Roland.

Sakura.

Saki.

Her smile faded. Four of the people in that photograph had suffered something far worse than death.

They had become Witches of Sin. Their bodies had changed. Their minds had been twisted. Their pain had been transformed into weapons against the very world they had once risked everything to protect.

Greed.

Sloth.

Wrath.

Gluttony.

Monsters that now sought to spread suffering and despair.

But when Yuki looked at the photograph...

She couldn't see monsters. She saw Taichi's ridiculous confidence. Roland laughing with Saki. Sakura nervously standing beside Taichi.

Her friends.

The real ones.

The people they had once been.

Her hand slowly moved away from the photograph.

"You would have wanted us to keep fighting."

Yuki opened her eyes. Determination returned to them.

She knew... one day, she would confront them.

Even if she had to fight the people she once considered family, Yuki would continue moving forward.

And if somehow, some way, there was a way to save them...

This time... she'd make sure she was smiling if she ever got the chance to take another photo with her precious friends.

Then she opened the door and prepared to continue moving forward.

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From the outside, the Horikita residence appeared completely ordinary. A simple two-story house stood beneath the clear blue sky. A small yard surrounded it. Morning sunlight reflected off the windows.

At first glance, nobody would have imagined there was anything unusual about it.

Until the view expanded.

Massive reinforced walls surrounded the entire area. Watchtowers stood at regular intervals. Armored vehicles patrolled the secured roads.

Hundreds of soldiers guarded checkpoints while automated defense systems continuously scanned the skies.

The seemingly ordinary house stood directly at the center of an enormous military installation.

The facility had been constructed for one purpose: to protect Yuki Horikita.

And, more importantly... to protect Lilia and Minami from becoming targets.

The military understood Greed's pattern now. She sought the people closest to the remaining Bravers. Anything she could use to break them.

For that reason, Yuki's wives were never left unprotected.

As Yuki stepped outside, two soldiers were already waiting beside a black military vehicle.

Both immediately straightened up.

"Colonel Horikita."

One of them opened the rear door.

"It's time."

Yuki looked back toward the house.

She could see Lilia and Minami watching her through the window.

Lilia smiled. Minami raised her hand and waved.

Yuki smiled back. Then she turned around. Her expression became serious once more.

"Let's go."

She entered the vehicle. The door closed. Moments later, the military car began moving through the enormous base.

Soldiers opened the checkpoint ahead. The reinforced gates slowly swung apart, and the vehicle continued into the distance.

As of right now, the military was preparing for the battle that might decide humanity's future.

And Yuki was heading back to the nearby base where the new Stellar Energy weapons were being mass-produced.

The preparations to defeat the Witches of Sin continued.