One Year After █████████████████
Thick, hot red liquid dripped endlessly between my fingers. Blood.
I opened the door, leaving behind the room I had decorated with the corpses of my own kin.
My grip on the scythe tightened. Under the pale moonlight, its blade gleamed, reflecting my blood-smeared face.
How many Cardians have I killed?
I tried to recall for a moment.
Forty-seven.
Forty-seven Cardians, cut down without hesitation, without remorse, without even a flicker of regret.
How many more must I kill?
Turning to my left, I walked through the academy's dorm corridor, each of my blood-soaked steps leaving a trail of scarlet across the marble floor.
Then, I stopped before a brown door. A small chuckle escaped me.
This was the forty-eighth door I had knocked on tonight. I was like the Reaper himself, visiting each soul in turn.
I raised my hand, ready to knock on the door of my next victim, when—
"Arthur Salvatore."
The faint, trembling voice came from beside me. It was almost inaudible, yet I knew that voice all too well.
I turned my head. A girl stood there, blue-haired, clad in white armor trimmed with gold, the plate fitting her slender form perfectly.
Her eyes… they were no longer the gentle, innocent eyes I once knew. Now they were mature, filled with emotions I could no longer read.
Was it hatred she felt? Disgust? Hypocrisy? Was it sorrow? Fear? Or perhaps… did she still love me, even now?
I turned fully to face her.
One thing was certain, she was still the Protagonist of this world, and I was still the Villain.
The Protagonist: Amira Rafael.
The Villain: Arthur Salvatore.
We were never meant to be together, two sides of the same cursed coin.
"Why are you doing all this, Arthur?"
I stayed silent. I had planned to leave the Protagonist for last… yet it seemed she had come to me on her own.
I had no choice now.
My grip around the scythe tightened, the symbol of my Cardian power blazing on my chest.
Sensing the surge of my aura, Amira too activated her own power.
"Please, Arthur," she pleaded. "Tell me why you're doing this."
Again, I said nothing. If I told her the truth, she would be tainted by the filth that had consumed me. And I… I couldn't let that happen.
Amira gave a bitter smile as I took a single step forward.
"Please, Arthur. At least tell me," she whispered. "I've followed your words since the beginning. I turned a blind eye when you slaughtered your entire family, because you told me it was part of your plan. I trusted you, Arthur. I always trusted you. But after seeing what you've done tonight… that trust is fading."
Behind me, shards of ice began to form—slowly, deliberately, I shaped them into a single, slender needle, sharp enough to kill with one strike.
"Surely… surely you have a reason for all this, right?" she continued, her voice trembling. "You must have one. Because the Arthur I know would never do something this foolish, this cruel, without a reason."
A small smile crept onto my lips.
Seeing it, Amira lowered her guard, hope flickering faintly in her eyes.
"So please, Arthur," she said softly. "Tell me your plan. Tell me what you're trying to do. Trust me, Arthur."
My plan, huh…
"You're wrong, Amira."
This was the only way.
Forgive me, but this is the only path where neither of us will suffer anymore.
"I did all of this to seize the kingdom. I desire power. I desire wealth. I desire lust."
My voice broke into a deranged laughter. "I will become a King!"
Amira's expression shattered. Her face went pale.
"No…" I whispered, my grin widening. "I will become the King of Kings! That is my plan!"
As Amira stood frozen in despair, I released the shard of ice I had shaped, perfected to kill in a single blow, designed to minimize pain.
Woosh!
Her eyes widened.
Under the pale moonlight, the world slowed.
As the ice bullet flew, our eyes met one last time. For a brief second, I saw the light in her eyes twist—turning from sorrow… to hatred.
Forgive me, Amira.
You were right.
I did have a plan.
A plan I created myself.
A plan that deceived even me.
Yet despite that, everything still went according to plan.
A noble plan.
This is the plan for the greater good.