The Qwaser of Stigmata

FRIENDSHIP OF MASKSWhile Tomo sleeps to resolve the delirium from her fever, Mafuyu compares notes with the sympathetic Ayana Minase who offers her assistance upon request before the bell prompts the girls on their way to class as the priest Yūri Noda prosecutes a soliloquy about the »Tsar's Crowning«. Waylaid with no practical recourse, Sasha explains Mafuyu about the »Tsar's Crowning« icon along with the fanatical zeal driving the Adepts' pursuit thereof. Mafuyu's opprobrium of all Qwasers being murderers strikes a nerve within Sasha whose languishing into unconsciousness after holding her at bay sets the stage for a glimpse of Sasha's prologue in refining his iron-based Qwaser powers and gives way to a dexterously prepared apology pot of borscht from Mafuyu. Teresa admonishing caution of Mafuyu prior to departing with Sasha is the only warning of an innocuous bathtime session of girl talk becoming the preamble for Ayana showing her true colors as the Magnesium Qwaser as she wields Tomo in an obverse abduction; the ultimate irony of the whole confrontation is that even with her powers energized by Tomo's soma, Sasha successfully turns the tables on Ayana using an iconoclastic strategy in spite of his rage.