The following morning, the World Allied Forces gathered in the assembly hall, all with proud smiles on their faces. Their teachers stood at the side, proud of their students for accomplishing what they thought was impossible.

Haruki stood at the podium, much like two days before. "Thanks to all your help, we stopped Ezeldarm from making it in to the Lost Area and protected Underbalance. Thank you all." All of Jenock, aside Gendou, was behind him, smiling.

Cheers and laughter filed the hall.

"There is no need to thank us." Musashi's voice came. "We just did our duty as soldiers."

"Haruki, you were a fantastic commander." Andrei chimed in from beside him. "We should be the ones thanking you!"

"Good work, Haruki!"

"Everyone really did their best!"

Their smiles became brighter. But that was also when Arata stepped forth with a serious expression. "Everyone! Though we stopped Ezeldarm, Miss Mito's dad is still locked up in the Lost Area. I want to save him somehow. But the Parasite Keys are gone. What should we do?"

"We will find a solution to that."

"Jin-san..."

The black and white haired man stepped into view.

"Saving Professor Mito is a job for us adults." He stated, walking on to the stage. "We can't continue to rely on you all like this."

"But..."

"He's a teacher that I very much respect." He cut off.

"Eh?"

With his voice loud enough to ring across the assembly, he told them his story. "Four years ago, I travelled to Country A to research LBXs. There, I met a professor of neuroscience... Professor Mito. The professor was researching how to stimulate the brain so that players could more efficiently control their LBXs."

Memories of the many times he practically camped at the professor's office replayed in his mind.

"I learned many things from the professor. It was the professor that came up with the idea of the Overload." His gaze hardened to a glare. "That man is locked up inside the Lost Area. Now that we know this to be true, Management can't easily lift a hand against us. We can definitely save him."

Haruki looked down in thought. "It's true that we can't do much beyond this..."

"It'd probably be a good idea to leave it up to Jin-san and the rest." Hikaru agreed.

Jin only stared as they have their short mental debate.

"Um..." Yuno raised her voice from beside him. "After you rescue the professor, what will happen to the Second World?"

"The central computer will result in an error, and it should stop functioning." He responded honestly.

"It means that this proxy war will come to an end." Muraku simplified.

"And that's a good thing... right?" Arata asked hesitantly.

"I don't know. However, Management will no longer have a need for this place. Which means..."

"This school will be closed down." Instructor Saruta bluntly stated what none of them wanted to.

"I thought so..." Hikaru's silent voice was the only one who replied clearly. The rest were incoherent mutterings and whispers blending in the audience.

"I... can't let that happen."

"Arata?"

"I love this school!" The red-haired boy stated. "I mean, it pisses me off that you adults used us and I know that there's no point in living peacefully when someone else has to suffer for it. But I really had a lot of fun living here!"

"Well, that's true."

"I did too."

"Yeah."

"I've made both happy and painful memories here. If I hadn't come here, then I wouldn't have met a lot of my friends... And even though getting used to better LBXs was tough, now that I think back on it, it was pretty fun! I want everyone who comes here in the future to have those same experiences! There's still so much that I want to do. And I want to polish my skills so that I can become a pro player!"

"I'm the same."

"That's right."

"And I'm going to be like Asuka-sama!"

Earning the smiles and nods from his friends, he turned back to the larger man. "Instructor Saruta! I want Kamui Daimon Comprehensive Academy to stay as it is. I don't care about this war or what the adults want. I just want it to be a normal school for LBXs, like what I thought it was when I enrolled!"

"I agree with him." Hikaru piped in.

"Me too." Muraku nodded. "Otherwise, we wouldn't be able to look at our LOST teammates in the eye." Hannah nodded silently at his words.

They all turned to the man expectantly.

He could only lower his head. "I understand how you all feel." He and Jin shared a glance.

The black and white haired man continued for him. "However, convincing Management is no easy task."

"There's one way we can do this."

"Rikuya?"

~~~~~

And so, a good majority of Jenock stormed the headmaster's office.

"Cut this place off from the ERP?"

"Yes, sir." Haruki stood at the front of the group, his platoon and Rikuya standing right behind him. Jin and Instructor Saruta stood beside him as he spoke. "We'd like to make this a simple LBX specialty school that has nothing to do with real-world battles."

"I'm afraid I can't do that." The headmaster shrugged. "A large number of countries are depending on the ERP."

Arata glared at him as he stepped forward. "So, are you planning on keeping Professor Mito down in the Lost Area forever?!"

He couldn't respond, so Instructor Saruta made his stance known. "Headmaster. The students know everything now. You can't continue managing the system like you've done up to this point."

Even so, "I don't have the power to make this decision."

"I will speak with my father." Rikuya offered.

"Rikkun!"

"My father, along with a select few other people, manages the Second World. After this incident, I believe that even they can see how dangerous this system is. I believe I can convince him."

With that, they left him to it.

~~~~~

The Russian woman's eyes seem to shine as Instructor Saruta explained their new situation. She cast a glance at the black and white haired man beside him, who only stared back with a serious expression.

"What do the teachers think about this?" The instructor finally asked.

It was her superior who voiced his objection. "A simple LBX specialty school... And what will become of us? Are you telling us to become regular instructors that simply guide the students?!"

"Yes." The reply came so fast and so bluntly that she needed to cover her mouth to suppress her laughter. Seeing Commander Krosky so bewildered made it all the funnier.

"What's important is that we raise these students into the finest LBX players." Arabista's commander, Keith Jordan, muttered. "If this school were to continue on, I would have no objections."

"But is something like that truly possible?"

Only when the instructor lowered his head in thought did Jin spoke. "It all depends on if we can convince Management or not. Either way, once we cut Professor Mito off from the system, the Second World will cease to function."

"That diorama's pretty spacious." Higurashi Mahiro, the school medic, as well as Harness' actual homeroom teacher, voiced her thoughts. "It'll be a nice little playground for the kids."

The room turned silent, aside the clicking of a pen.

The black and white haired man turned to the source. "Something you'd like to say, Miss Levanov?"

Niara couldn't stop a small laugh from escaping when he used her official title. "It's nothing more than the obvious, really. No matter what Management thinks, the students won't give in no matter what. So personally, Mister Kaidou, I believe it's not a matter of if we could convince them, but when."

"Always so confident." Though it was a snide remark, Jin was smiling. "Though I can't say I don't sympathize."

After all, they were also children with that same dream not too long ago.

~~~~~

Later that day, half of Jenock, along with Harness' first platoon, joined the adults in sending their enemies away. All the students of Ezeldarm were expelled, while Seredy and Ayabe would be escorted out with them.

"This won't be happening again if we rebuild the school." Haruki stated. "These students may be the last ones to be expelled..."

"Yeah." Arata sure hoped so.

"Itan Kyouji..." Hikaru muttered. "Looks like they still haven't found him yet."

"They're still on the search for him." Sakuya replied. "It's only a matter of time before they found him."

Seredy was the last one to be brought to the docks. His smile was ever-present on his face.

Instructor Saruta had his arms crossed. "After this, you will be judged appropriately in court. Be prepared to pay for your crimes, Seredy Kreisler."

He expected a witty come back, but what he got instead was manic laughter. They could only stare at him, confusion mixing with fear of something they've overlooked. Across the boat, the water started moving violently. A black submarine appeared, surprising them all.

"In war..." Seredy began, loud enough for everyone to hear. "... you must always be one step ahead of your opponent. Isn't that right, Instructor Saruta?"

They all took a step back from him.

"Now, let us begin! The true war."