"Is it alright for you all from Chaldea not to return? Lupus took care of the demon extermination. The Singularity? Hasn't that been resolved yet?"
Johanna brought up the topic abruptly.
A hush fell over the breakfast table.
Ritsuka, who was chewing on a piece of bread held in both hands; Mash, who was demurely tucking her hair back and sipping her soup; and Tamamo-no-Mae, who was drinking her tea, all stopped what they were doing.
Mash was the first to bow a full 90 degrees.
"Yes. We are still investigating. I am truly sorry for continuing to impose upon the church, but if you could just give us a little more time…."
"No, no. I was just asking out of curiosity. I enjoy it when you and Ritsuka are here. You're welcome to stay as long as you like."
Johanna waved her hands dismissively to explain, and the slightly flustered breakfast came to an end.
Johanna went to the Papal States to proceed with the election, while the others scattered to investigate the Singularity.
Only this woman.
"The weather is lovely again today. It has been for over a week. It seems God only knows how to make sunny days~☆."
Except for Tamamo-no-Mae.
"What is your intention? It's about time you said it."
"I wonder. This pure Tamamo has no idea."
"You've been hovering around me for over a week. Is that the action of a pure person?"
Normally, her smiling face should have been infuriating, but,
strangely, I didn't hate it that much.
It wasn't infuriating enough to actually make me feel infuriated.
"Hmm. Hostile feelings are personally an NG for me. I must refuse... but your looks are a privilege, aren't they? Truly."
"You speak rudeness as easily as you breathe."
"Are those words for someone who thinks of killing us with every breath?"
In that instant, the air grew heavy.
I had expected her to notice.
This woman was more talented than she looked.
Seeing her create water from strange scraps of paper or breathe fire, she was likely a magus who had trained for a long time.
But she was going to spring it now? In this moment when we are alone?
Does she think she can beat me?
A mere magus.
"Oh my. Such a scary look. It's annoying, so could you please get rid of it?"
"If you intended to kill me, you should have attacked all together, not when we were alone."
I drew my Black Keys.
The woman's face contorted.
To feel fear before a Formal Wear that annihilates evil meant that she was not a normal living being.
"Do Servants fall under the category of demons?"
"Not exactly. Well, there's no need to talk further, is there?"
She let out a deep sigh.
"It was quite grating, you know, you saying all sorts of things with that face. I don't like that woman Johanna either. Really... there's not a single pleasant thing about this! Mikon -100 points."
"Do you think this is a game?"
I kicked off the ground.
In an instant, I had her by the throat. It was a speed a mere magus could not react to.
If she moves even slightly, I'll just snap her neck.
"Just as you all thought, I am the master of this Singularity. You must have been living off the church while only plotting to kill me. Aren't you curious why I didn't kill you right away?"
"I am very curious indeed."
Her words held not a single shred of sincerity.
It was likely meant to provoke me, but it was a meaningless act.
"It was because of Johanna. She seemed happy when she was with those kids, Ritsuka and Mash. I left you alone because you could fill a part of her that I couldn't."
"And do you believe that part is filled now? Oh my. I never dreamed you were a magus of psychology."
"There's no need for you anymore. Johanna is leaving with me today."
I just needed a little time.
"Today? I'm so~ very curious as to why."
"Because the new Pope will be elected today. Once that fool Benedict III is on the papal throne, Johanna will no longer have any reason to remain in Rome."
"I see. So the reason you were particularly friendly with Miss Mash was to get this information."
In a situation where I should be intimidating my opponent with killing intent,
I strangely felt a smile wanting to break out.
The future that lay ahead was so bright that just imagining it made me feel good.
"We will go to a quiet countryside. And there, we will be together forever in this world of dreams. A world with no one to intervene, no interruptions of any kind."
"A lover's escape, how romantic. For that alone, I will give you 10 Mikon points."
"I don't need them. You die by my hand today. The same goes for your Master and that shield-wielding girl."
I tightened my grip.
"No one can take her from me. This is my world. Even if it is a twisted world of dreams, my heaven is right here."
I love Johanna's smile.
I love her warm embrace.
I love her when she's gasping for breath.
I love her when she teases me with a shy smile.
Even if it means tearing her away from her faith, I will have her.
Slowly, Tamamo-no-Mae's expression twisted.
"Nggghh... ugh...!"
Her face turned pale, and she struggled, squirming desperately.
She scratched at my hand with her nails, but I didn't even feel an itch.
"Eh… ugh…."
"Is she dead?"
I released my grip.
The woman's corpse tumbled helplessly to the ground.
Burning the body was an option, but the smell would be too strong, so it wasn't a good choice.
I'd have to bury it.
"But first, a confirmation kill."
I threw the Black Keys. One landed in her heart, another between her eyes.
Blood trickled from the pierced holes.
Life extinguished. She was definitely dead.
The moment I broke ground with the first shovelful in a corner of the garden, a voice that should not have been there struck my ears.
"Total -90,000 points. A bad ending is confirmed. Please do the detailed calculations in the afterlife."
"...What?"
"Did you think I was dead? Oh, what a shame. Creating a double is no trouble at all."
The form of what I thought was a corpse began to crumble.
In its place was a large pile of the paper bundles the woman had called talismans.
"Binding Curse—Beast-Capturing Technique."
Thousands of talismans clung to my body.
I couldn't tear them off, no matter how I tried.
As if they weren't mere paper, but had become a part of my own body.
"Now then, how far shall we open you up? You seem to have more memories than I expected. Were you a yokai like me? Since this is the West... a demon?"
"What a pathetic trick…."
Her expression, so certain of victory, was grating.
But I couldn't move my body.
The paper was absorbing my strength at a terrifying rate.
"Master? You can come out now!"
"...Is it really safe?"
"I believe Ms. Tamamo's abilities are certain. If it's dangerous, I will protect you...!"
From within the bushes, Ritsuka and Mash slowly walked out.
I had to admit that I had been completely deceived.
For a week, the two of them would leave to "investigate the Singularity," and Tamamo-no-Mae would stay behind to annoy me.
When I had unknowingly grown accustomed to this routine, she provoked me into action.
Johanna had already trusted Chaldea for some time.
The fact that I hadn't told her Chaldea's true nature, in order to deal with them secretly, had backfired.
She would be attending to her duties at the Papal States without any suspicion.
All that was left was me, caught in the trap.
"You cunning bastards."
"I hear that a lot."
"I've never heard it before."
"That's because you're still pure, Master♡."
I couldn't muster any strength in my body.
She said it was a Master-Servant relationship, so I just needed to kill that orange-haired girl.
If I were given just 0.1 seconds, I was confident I could kill her over ten times.
But there wasn't even that short an opening.
"Well then. Shall we get started?"
"...Still, don't be too harsh. Just a little. Okay?"
"If it is my Master's command, then with pleasure."
Mikon. With a playful sound effect, her finger touched my forehead.
In that moment, I saw a vision of my head bursting into flames.
"Aaaargh———!"
And then the pain seeped in.
The pain of 100 thorns delicately and as painfully as possible stabbing my brain.
Saliva drooled from my mouth, which I couldn't close.
The agony was so extreme that I couldn't even scream.
My vision split.
In half. In half again. In half of a half of a half....
It had been divided so many times that I could no longer properly distinguish the form of the woman standing right in front of me.
Within my fractured vision, different scenes played out as if on a television.
I am not Lupus.
I am not Kyle.
I am not Mr. Lee.
I am not Lee XX.
I am...... who am I?
The memories of over a hundred years dug into every corner of my brain.
No, they were awakening.
"No... No...! Stop it, now!"
Is this what the cry of a beast feels like?
I'm supposed to be a hero of humanity, resolving Singularities and saving the world... right?
I felt like a villain.
It seemed like I was the completely evil one, and he was the good person.
My head drooped. Tamamo then spoke up.
"Don't shrink back, Master. With so much journey still ahead, it's too early to be discouraged, you know?"
But. He's so sad.
He was Mr. Lupus, as hard as a rock, who only ever softened for Johanna,
"Mia... Mother...."
but now he was crying like a child.
"Senpai. The world is shaking."
"As the caster's memories return, they're affecting this dream world. We'll probably end up tracing this person's... no, this beast's memories in reverse."
Honestly, I didn't want to see it.
You know, like those unfortunate children in Africa you sometimes see in public service announcements.
Seeing them walk 5km to fetch water, tears streaming down their faces, would ruin my whole day.
"Still, I can't look away... can I? Even if Tamamo did it, I'm the one who made the decision."
"As expected of you, Master☆. I think you look wonderful even when you're just pretending to be okay."
I steeled my heart and looked straight ahead.
The sky turned black, and the ground changed.
Along with the green grass, a foul, fishy smell assaulted my nose.
"Ugh…."
It was bearable.
After a very brief ordeal, a fire erupted.
The flames, which brightly illuminated the dark night, gave off an extremely ominous aura.
But what appeared right in front of me was a cute fairy.
A fairy that didn't fit the atmosphere at all. Dainty, charming.
The kind of fairy that looked like it would sprinkle magic dust.
"Paradise Fairy's Head Dribble!"
That fairy was kicking around a human head for fun.
Something that looked like brains was leaking out of a hole in it.
Blood splattered everywhere.
The fairy, far from being disgusted by the blood that splattered all over her face and feet, seemed to be enjoying it, getting more and more excited.
The spinning head... oddly enough, I found it almost comical.
My mind couldn't accept 'reality'.
This is a dream. A terrible nightmare.
Faced with a sight beyond comprehension, my mind refused to understand.
It was impossible not to go mad.
"Shoosh-shoosh! ...Huh?"
I met the eyes of the severed head.
A face that looked as if it had experienced all the horrors of the world.
The head then shattered into pieces.
The two eyeballs shot out like bullets, one hitting my neck and the other the back of my hand.
Sizzle. The squishy, pulpy sensation of the crushed eyeball trickled down my neck and inside my clothes.
I braced my hands on the ground and threw up everything I had eaten.