Writing Love Letters in the Enemy’s Toilet - A Vow of Eternal Love, Even After Rebirth (Transmigration) - Chapter 40 – Brainwashing

Five Days Later…

Commander Mac stood before the assembled forces and spoke in a firm voice.“From this moment on, the Providence Defense Force will launch as planned and head for Mars. Whether we laugh or cry, this will be our final battle. I pray for your courage and success.”

With those words, Suzaku and Byakko soared into the sky. Following them, one by one, the warships began to launch. Once every last ship had departed, Genbu was the final one to take off.

Meanwhile, on Mars, Animus had already detected Providence’s approach.

Commander Haskel of Animus barked, “Multiple enemy forces confirmed! Launch the Black Dragons in order of readiness. Lucifer, can we send out the Azure Dragon?”

Lucifer hesitated. “The soldiers aren’t fully prepared yet…”

Haskel slammed his fist down. “They don’t need to be. Send the Azure Dragon out now!”

—

Leading the vanguard toward Mars, Ares grinned and said, “Still can’t believe Tia confessed like that~.”

Helios laughed. “Yeah, but Marres was so cool. After pulling her close and kissing her, he said, ‘You’d better come back alive.’”

Tia crossed her arms, cheeks pink. “You know I can hear you, right…?”

Ares shrugged. “Didn’t expect you to confess at a time like that.”

“I didn’t plan to!” Tia shot back. “I mean, I’ve got a brain tumor—I didn’t even know when I might die. I thought confessing would just be pointless. But when I realized that if the mission failed, we’d all die anyway… I figured I should tell him how I felt before the end.”

Helios smiled gently. “Instead of thinking about dying, let’s focus on coming back alive.”

“Yeah,” Tia nodded. “We’ve got to save your girlfriend, too.”

Just then, Helios’ eyes narrowed. “They’re coming.”

“What is?” Ares asked.

“Multiple Black Dragons approaching from the front.”

Ares frowned. “I don’t sense anything…”

Commander Mac’s voice rang out, “All ships, prepare for combat. Ready all weapons for interception!”

A moment later, Ares stiffened. “You’re right… I can feel them now. Guess that’s why you’re the ace.”

Soon, countless shadows appeared ahead.

“Full assault!” Commander Mac ordered.

And thus, the final battle of Ragnarok began.

Flashes of light blinked on and off all around.
Helios and his team took down Black Dragons one after another, but the Providence ships were also under heavy fire.

Helios called over the comms, “We’ll handle the Black Dragons! The rest of you, focus on support fire and avoid direct engagement!”

—

Meanwhile, in the heavens, Hades reported to Zeus. “Lord Zeus, Providence and Animus have begun their battle. Their conflict has spread beyond planets—now they’re fighting in space. If this continues, the cosmos will be defiled…”

Zeus slammed his fist down. “How did it come to this?!”

“Tch.” Lucifer clicked his tongue, frustration flashing across his face. “Too late, huh?”

He had interfered many times before to keep Zeus from learning the truth, but this time he’d been too busy dealing with Providence’s assault to stop the report.

Lucifer murmured to himself, “Let Zeus decide which is good and which is evil—Providence or Animus. Either way, it’ll serve my purpose.”

And with that, he vanished from the heavens.

Zeus, desperate to uncover the cause, began peering into the past.

—

Though struggling, Providence was gradually pushing back the enemy, reducing the number of Black Dragons.

“At this rate, reaching Mars is only a matter of time,” Ares said.

“Not yet,” Helios cautioned. “We still haven’t seen the blue one.”

Tia frowned. “Yeah. If more than one of those shows up, we’re in trouble.”

Ares grinned. “Even if the blue one appears, we’ve got the Phoenix.”

Tia sighed. “Idiot. While we’re stuck fighting it, the others could get attacked.”

Helios nodded. “And besides, how many times can the Phoenix even fire its beam? Or can we even summon it again…?”

“True,” Ares admitted. “After what happened to Marres, we barely managed training in Byakko. We haven’t called the Phoenix once since then.”

Tia clenched her fists. “If the blue one shows up, we’ll have to summon the Phoenix on the spot. But even if we do, we need to conserve its energy—we can’t rely on the beam too much.”

Suddenly, Helios’ eyes widened. “Something big’s coming. It’s the blue one!”

Tia snapped to alert. “How many?”

“Just one—for now.”

“Then let’s take it down and get to Mars!”

“Yeah!” Ares shouted. “Together, we can handle it!”

Helios nodded. “If it’s only one, let’s fight it with the Phoenix!”

The three clasped their hands together, closing their eyes. “Please, Phoenix!”

Their Trinity gems shone in brilliant rainbow light. Beams burst forth from Suzaku, Byakko, and Genbu, weaving into a glowing ring that encircled them. The three machines merged into one—Phoenix was reborn.

Helios grinned. “We did it!”

Tia cheered. “Yes!”

Ares raised his hand. “Now that we’re the Phoenix, I’ve got an idea!”

Tia snapped, “Now?! Seriously?!”

“The beam attack—what if we call it… Flame Tornado?”

Helios chuckled. “Well, it is good to have a name.”

“Right?!” Ares grinned wide. “Marres already named Byakko’s move, so I wanted to name one too!”

Tia rolled her eyes. “You’re such a kid… But fine, I kinda like it.”

“See! It fits! The way the fire swirls—perfect, right?”

Helios nodded. “Yeah, easy to picture.”

“Then it’s settled! Flame Tornado it is!”

Just then, Helios’ expression hardened. “He’s here!”

From below, the Azure Dragon suddenly emerged, launching an attack.

Phoenix narrowly dodged.

“He’s faster than the last one!” Tia shouted.

The fierce clash began—Phoenix and Azure Dragon trading heavy blows.

Suddenly, a voice screamed inside Helios’ mind—furious and grief-stricken. “Give me back my sister! Give Luna and the children back!”

Helios’ eyes widened. “Selene?! You’re piloting the Azure Dragon?”

“Selene, it’s me! Helios! Listen to me!”

But the Azure Dragon didn’t stop.

Tia gasped. “Selene—she’s the one you told us about?”

Ares frowned. “She’s piloting that thing?”

“It’s her, I’m sure of it,” Helios said. “But something’s wrong…”

“What do you mean wrong?!” Tia demanded.

“She thinks we kidnapped her sister and the kids!”

Ares yelled, “What?! We’d never do that!”

Tia’s eyes narrowed. “Then… she’s been brainwashed?”

“Most likely,” Helios said grimly.

“Can’t we do anything?!” Ares growled.

“I’ll try to reach her,” Helios said firmly.

Tia warned, “We can’t dodge forever! Hurry!”

Helios sent his thoughts out. “Selene, we don’t want to fight you! You’ve been deceived!”

Still, the Azure Dragon’s assault continued.

Now it fired its beam—Phoenix, limited to melee combat, was steadily driven back.

Finally, Ares snapped. “We can’t keep this up! Sorry, but—”

He began charging the Flame Tornado, but Helios shouted, “Wait!”

In that instant, Phoenix’s form shattered—splitting back into Suzaku, Byakko, and Genbu.

“What happened?!” Ares yelled.

Byakko responded, “The synchronization was broken.”

Tia blinked. “Broken? Why?”

Genbu answered calmly, “Your hearts were conflicted—your desire to save Selene disrupted the harmony.”

“So it’s my fault…” Ares muttered.

Tia shook her head. “No. Actually, this might work better. We’ll be smaller targets this way.”

“Alright, Ares. You and I will distract the Azure Dragon. Helios—convince her!”

“Got it! I’ll try!” Helios said.

Genbu and Byakko dove in, darting close and pulling away, weaving around the Azure Dragon. Beams chased them, but they persisted, drawing its attention.

Helios poured all his focus into his telepathy. “Haruka! It’s me—please, remember!”

Tia groaned as another beam grazed past. “Is that thing’s ammo unlimited?!”

Then—suddenly—the Azure Dragon froze.

Selene blinked, dazed. “Where… am I?”

Inside her mind, she heard a voice. “Haruka… it’s me.”

Her eyes widened. “Kuno? You’re… the one from the flower field?!”

Helios smiled. “You finally remember. Yes, it’s me—Helios.”

Tia and Ares both threw up their hands in relief—then slumped forward, exhausted.

Selene shook her head. “Why am I here?”

“You were brainwashed,” Helios explained gently.

She looked at him in confusion. “Then… why are you here?”

“To rescue you,” Helios said. “You, the children, and the people of Niflheim.”

Tia crossed her arms with a teasing smirk. “We came to save Niflheim’s people—but you? You came to save your girlfriend from a past life.”

Helios flushed. “Wh—what are you even saying?! Are you still hung up on that meeting room thing?!”

Tia huffed. “No, but it still annoys me how your tone totally changes when you talk to her!”

Selene giggled softly.

Ares chuckled. “See? You’re making her laugh. Come on, let’s just get to Mars already.”

Tia puffed out her cheeks. “You’re the most annoying one here!”

Helios turned back to Selene. “Can you move it?”

Selene nodded. “It just overheated a little. Give it a moment, and it’ll be fine.”

Tia grinned. “Then let’s call the Phoenix again.”

Once more, the three combined their power—summoning the Phoenix anew.

Helios clenched his fists. “Alright—let’s finish off the rest of the Black Dragons and head for Mars!”