I confront Polina in the pitch-black darkness where I can't see even an inch ahead.
Polina had always laid traps long before the battle even began.
They poison food and drink, and steal or destroy equipment. They use every trick in the book to induce rule violations, and even bribe the supervisors who judge them. Attacking people while they're asleep is a common tactic, they've planted grenades in communal toilets, and they've even instigated other trainees to assassinate them in the back during missions.
I've never fought them head-on, not even once. Because if I did, I would definitely lose.
I am unscathed right now. I have arrived at the battlefield in peak condition. But I have absolutely no intention of letting my guard down.
The Polina of today is different from the guinea pig she was during her vulnerable days.
He has become a demon possessing fragments of the flesh of the transcendent fire demon.
In the darkness that seemed to swallow the ground, a human-shaped flame glowed brightly. A small girl's head rested on top of the flame. Her eyes, slit vertically like those of a reptile, stared intently at me. The eyes of something inhuman. The eyes of a demon.
Her eyes suddenly narrowed without warning.
"--!!"
I twisted my body. In that instant, the space I had just been in was engulfed in flames.
Run. Accelerate even further with the power of the bomb.
Using the recoil from the explosion, it glided at low altitude. Many fiery flowers bloomed in pursuit. Even when I dove into the gaps between the trees, the chase didn't stop. Feeling the heat waves on my back, I kicked off the towering trees to correct my course, and spotted the grove of massive trees passing by at a speed that was no joke.
He grabbed onto a particularly thick branch, changed course, and, twisting the violent G-forces that were assaulting his entire body, he shot out onto the asphalt road with the force of a bullet, getting a good look at Polina's slender nape.
She snapped her fingers, sending explosive particles flying. Polina didn't dodge. The particles hit her forearm as she swung it around, sending a dazzling light into the night. The explosion blew away the damp air. A thin plume of smoke spread out.
It probably wasn't having much effect anyway. I clenched my fists and lunged forward, but the intense heat burned my skin.
"~~~"
It was like a blast furnace. In the stretched-out time, less than a tenth of a second, I sensed that the closer we got, the greater the danger.
But his fist still can't reach.
The bomb's recoil accelerates him even further. He closes in and clenches his fist.
Emerging through the thin smoke, I saw Polina's astonished face.
I hit him.
"Agh!"
The right straight punch, delivered with the full weight of his body, sent the fire demon flying. He spun in a spiral, rolling across the asphalt.
If such force hit the head, an ordinary demon's neck should have broken. But I saw it for sure. The fire demon's arm broke its fall the moment it hit the ground.
My hands are hot.
Upon closer inspection, I saw that my right fist, the one I used to punch, was on fire.
Shaking it doesn't put it out. On the contrary, the flames gradually spread to my arm.
I picked up Polina's knife that had fallen on the side of the road and cut the flames off her arm. Her arm regenerated instantly.
"...This is troublesome."
Neither the explosions nor the blows had much effect. But I hadn't been hit by Polina's attacks either. I realized from that last exchange that Polina is fatally lacking in hand-to-hand combat skills.
"Let me tell you this upfront. I'm going to repeat the same thing over and over. I'm going to hit you. When your arm catches fire, I'm going to cut it off. I'm going to let it regenerate. I'm going to hit you again."
"That's not a worthwhile way to do things."
"But you can't escape... What will you do? Will you continue?"
"Wow... You've got some nerve. Trying to challenge me to a test of endurance."
He flies with all his might. The recoil from the explosion accelerates him rapidly, and he closes in on the standing demon, enduring the strain to the absolute limit. He clenches his fist with all his might and swings it with all his strength.
This time it didn't get blown away.
Polina is holding her ground, leaning her upper body back.
"Shall we continue?"
"...Hahaha"
The fiery demon continued to burn. Just standing near it caused my skin to scorch. My fist, which I had punched, was also on fire. It hurt, it was painful. But I wouldn't let go. I was determined to face it head-on.
"Hey, Reze,"
A powerful slash.
A fiery strike grazed my cheek. It was too fast. But even though I couldn't see it, it was obvious. He was so focused on the initial speed that he couldn't hide his preparatory movements.
My counter-attack landed squarely on Polina's forward-leaning upper body.
"!"
"Shall we continue?"
"Haha! You get it!"
The fiery body roared. Each blow from its limbs carried an incurable curse. The flames could not be extinguished; if you were hit in a place that could not be cut off, it was all over.
"Try and guess! You're terrible!"
"Shut up!"
"You can't win!"
"Maybe!"
"Then why?!"
"Who knows! Maybe I'll just blow off some steam?"
"You're lying!"
He thrust his left arm, still tormented by the flames, into the demon's side. The response was unparalleled. "Are you still going?!" The demon should have been in hellish agony.
"Heh heh heh... It's not working, is it?"
It was just bravado. I had no proof, but my past memories told me it was an act.
That's right, Polina always endured things like that.
I cut off my arm, which was almost carbonized, and let it regenerate.
"...You're good at deceiving people. But that's not the most important thing I learned from you."
Polina's movements stop.
"What is it?"
"The will to accomplish one's goals"
There was no consideration for the secret room. For me, who was not blessed with a good physique, the uniformly structured training and tests were nothing but torture. But right beside me, Polina, who was far more immature than me, was gritting her teeth and persevering.
If such a small, skinny child can do it, then it would be strange if I couldn't too. That thought kept me going.
"I admire their determination to see things through, no matter the cost."
"Is that a compliment?"
"To some extent"
There was something that had been bothering me ever since I reunited with her.
From the outside, there's not much difference between me and Polina. We're both ruthless human weapons.
However, from my subjective perspective, there was a significant difference.
It's about the people and positions surrounding you.
I'm now gaining recognition from the public security authorities. I'm also being accepted by the public as the mysterious bomb girl.
In contrast, Polina is now alone in a desolate wasteland, with no one to acknowledge her.
"...I looked into Reze's information. She's doing well. Were you happy to be praised for being so admirable?"
"Well, I suppose so."
"I'm not saying it's a bad thing or anything... But you know, don't people want others to see their flaws as well as their good points?"
"What's wrong with me...?"
"It's okay to be a murderer, it's okay to do lots of bad things! ...I want you to accept that, right?"
"Isn't that... somehow... somehow wrong?"
"It's not bad."
In the pouring rain of the night, two former guinea pigs faced each other.
The fire demon slowly raised its chin. With a distant gaze, it seemed to be searching for the stars that should be beyond the thick, gloomy wall of clouds.
"...Everyone has flaws. Some are unavoidable, and others are things that can be fixed but are not... Isn't it human nature to want to be accepted, flaws and all?"
"it is..."
The memory of being defeated by Denji flashed through my mind. At that time, I was on the beach—
—I've killed a lot of people, you know? If you let me go, Denji, you'll be complicit in murder, do you understand that?
--It's not like I have no choice, but I guess I can't help it. I still like her, after all.
...
I couldn't say no.
Polina declares with conviction.
"I also want someone like that—someone I can connect with on a deep level."
"Could it be that you are..."
I see. So that's what it was.
I finally understand. Polina is searching for that one light.
What she wants is my Denji.
"Reze did a good job finding him. There's no one like him anywhere."
"That's fine. I'm not giving it to you."
"I don't need him. He doesn't love me."
"yes?"
"Someone that stupid can't accept me. They need to be more unhinged."
"Polina, you are..."
I'm starting to understand.
The reason Polina does such a mess. The reason she stabbed Anastasia.
He is completely exposing his own shortcomings.
She's crying out, "I'll show you everything, and is there anyone who will still love me?"
Suddenly, I remember Polina's first question.
"...What if I were to die in just a few hours?
"Yeah"
"You want someone to accept you, don't you? From the bottom of your heart."
"Yes. But it's not 'someone'."
"Really?"
"I've already decided who I'm going to target."
Polina murmured softly.
Its eyes, slit vertically like those of a reptile, stared at me. It was something otherworldly, the eyes of a demon... but the malice was gone. The flames engulfing it gradually weakened. Eventually, it vanished as if a garment had been shed.
"Hey Reze, do you know who I'm talking about?"
...
.......
It's staring intently at me.
...
Huh?
Huh?
No way, surely not...?
I froze in surprise at the unexpected situation, but Polina only frowned.
"—Yes? No, no... I wasn't talking about Reze, though?"
"Hmmmm... I-I know, though?"
"Huh? What's wrong, are you being overly self-conscious?"
"I don't understand what you're saying."
Polina curled the corners of her lips up just a little. It was a wry smile, which was unusual for her.
"...I know. Reze can't accept all of me. No, I'm confident that not a single one of the approximately 6 billion people on Earth will ever like me."
His voice was calm, as if to say that it was the truth.
You want to shout, "That's not true!" But you can't get away with such platitudes with her.
Polina narrowed the corners of her eyes just a little.
"But what about someone who completely lacks those normal human sensibilities...? What about a crazy psychopath who doesn't even think twice about murder...?"
"Is that so?"
I heard a crunching sound behind me.
When I turned around, a woman was standing there.
He is tall and has red hair. His forehead is covered in strange, scaly scales.
Another fire demon.
"Ana, Stasia..."
It was an unbelievable sight. It's still alive.
"This is something I left unfinished. It's my final attempt to see if there's anyone who will accept me after experiencing all of myself."
Anastasia stood there with her usual emotionless expression.
The woman, who should have been dead long ago, was now burning in the solar plexus where she had been stabbed.
—So that's why you survived, because of that fire.
The fire demon's sustenance must be another kind of fire. The flames burning in its belly, exposed to the wind and rain, must surely have been lit by Polina.
Polina cured it.
I pricked myself, and then healed it myself.
For what purpose? It was for the sake of that final question.
this is me.
I'm the kind of woman who easily betrays trust. Even though I'm the worst and most despicable person, will you still love me completely?
"Hey, Nastya. What do you think of me? Considering everything that's happened since we first met until now, what do you think of me?"
Anastasia did not hesitate.
"I,"
@
A man never forgets love.
They are creatures that give names and preserve them.
Therefore, first love becomes a sacred space.
Two demons stood in the dark thicket.
One of them is a blood demon.
The other one is Makima—
It was an unbelievable story. It was born because Makima died. That should have been an undeniable fact.
Denji doesn't seem to suspect anything at all.
"Oh, wow, Makima's alive... Hehe, how strange! Oh well. It's better that she's alive than dead."
That Makima is the real deal—that's what the part of me that connects Denji and me told me.
The gestures, the atmosphere, the way he made facial expressions—everything matched perfectly. Denji's memories of having spent time with him in the past gave him certainty. That it wasn't a transformation or imitation.
But I absolutely cannot accept that.
"Who are you?"
Makima didn't react to the question I managed to stammer out. She didn't even look at me. It was as if I had never existed in the first place. I felt like I was suffocating.
"Denji, I wonder how Chainsaw Man is doing?"
"Hmm, Pochita? He's inside me."
"That's good."
"Do you perhaps still want Pochita?"
For some reason, I felt like Denji's voice was coming from far away.
"Denji...?"
"Makima, you want someone like a family, right? If I'm good enough for you, I can be that."
Was this what his profile looked like when he wasn't looking at me...?
Something is wrong.
Is this a hallucination? A psychological attack?
No, that's wrong. This Denji is the real deal. That Makima is the real deal too. Even this situation where the two of them are talking to each other...
"Denji, could you hand over Chainsaw Man?"
"Huh... again?"
"I won't do anything bad this time."
"Well, let's see..."
Denji is gazing at the first woman he's ever met. He wants to keep looking at her forever. That realization comes through in his connection with her. He feels like cutting her off, but he doesn't think he can let her go.
"Hey, Makima-san."
I'm thirsty.
Denji's gentle voice stirs my heart.
"I have a question for you."
Stop it...
"Do you still think it's better if there aren't any bad movies?"
Don't talk...
"I've said this before, but it would be better if uninteresting movies were eliminated."
"Oh, really?"
Don't look that way!
"Well, I guess the only option is to kill him."
Makima's head flew off.
"picture"
Which demon's voice was it that escaped?
Denji was already in a defensive stance. He cracked his neck and shook off the bloodstains clinging to the weapon.
"Makima, could you please reconsider?"
A head with red hair rolled around on the ground. A moment later, blood gushed from the severed torso. It slowly collapsed.
Denji slashed.
I slashed Makima.
"D-Denji"
"what?"
"Was it really okay to kill Makima...?"
"That's fine, but what can I do? If you're no different to Makima when she said she was going to destroy all my happiness, then I have no choice but to do it."
"I see..."
"Hey, wait? Makima isn't coming back? What's going on? She was invincible last time. Did she die? Seriously? I had so much more I wanted to talk about!"
"..."
I wonder what it is.
My heart suddenly started pounding.
"Ouch! What the heck?!"
"Who cares about Makima?"
"That's not good! Oh no, Makima's dead! Why?!"
"He didn't have a contract with anyone, did he? He couldn't have anyone take on the damage for him."
"No way!" Denji groaned, and I felt a little relieved. At the same time, a slight doubt crossed my mind.
Is this Makima really the real deal?
The woman, reduced to a corpse, did not move a muscle. Surely, a demon of domination would not appear on the battlefield without any insurance?
I was swayed by Denji's intuition just now, but... my ability to grasp things was also telling me something was wrong. There's something strange about this corpse. It doesn't smell of death. But it's not alive either. What on earth is this...?
"Huh... Harara?"
When I turned around, there was a blood demon.
I stood there, completely stunned.
"I couldn't see what he was doing..."
"Ah, power."
"...Hahaha! You're lucky! I just remembered I have something to do, so I'm going home!"
"Huh? Hey, wait a minute!"
"Denji, are you going to catch him? Then—"
At that moment.
Polina's voice reached them from the crows that had been keeping an eye on Reze and the others.
--If that's the case,
The tone of his voice sent chills down my spine.
A hatred that obliterates everything. It contained a burning hatred unique to humans, something that a demon merely driven by instinct could never possess.
--I hope they all die.
"Denji!"
She writhed and screamed.
In that instant, the space I had just been in was engulfed in flames.
"Ahh!? Aa
"Aaaah!? Aaaaaahhh!!"
The flames of fire, the flames of hatred, brightly illuminated the two non-human figures in the darkness.
Denji and the Blood Devil were burning.
@
"What do I think of Polina?"
His tone was emotionless.
Anastasia calmly listed her thoughts and feelings.
"Accept? What's that supposed to mean? I don't know what to say."
Polina,
Like a scarecrow,
He was just standing there.
"I don't understand how other people feel. You know, don't you?"
Anastasia's tone was flat.
His facial expression remains unchanged, just as normal.
It's exactly the same as when I was a guinea pig, feared as a Terminator that couldn't understand anything about human feelings. I don't care about other people, and I can't care about them.
Her attitude seemed to say, "That's the kind of woman Anastasia is."
Polina just stood there.
Rain is pouring down on her small shoulders. It sizzles and evaporates, taking away the heat.
The sky was filled only with thick clouds, and no matter how long we waited, not a single star came into view.
"......Huh?"
It was an unbearable voice to listen to.
"Are you serious? We've been together for two lifetimes' worth of time, and you still don't understand...?"
It trembled slightly, and the end of the sentence faded into thin air.
I've never heard a voice like that before.
"You're kidding, right...? We've been together until the very end of our lives, and I've tried to explain things to you in a way you could understand... You still don't understand the difference between love and hate...?"
"Polina...?"
My voice didn't reach them.
With the face of a lifeless dead man.
"Ka, s
There was an undeniable sense of despair.
I knew that scene all too well. The sound a guinea pig makes when it gives up on everything and decides to throw away even its own life.
"Haaah... They're all losers. There's nothing but losers here..."
"Polina, no, Anastasia thinks of you..."
"I kind of suspected it all along, but... there are no true comrades anywhere."
It wasn't that it had become empty. It was empty to begin with. It was just that it was confronted with that truth... I knew very well what would happen to a guinea pig that had reached such a realization.
"Polina! Listen!"
"In the end, I don't belong anywhere."
Those eyes said it.
I don't need anything anymore. I never had any hope to begin with. In the end, this world is either me or everyone else. I have no choice but to die alone.
"Then"
A world where everyone is happy while excluding me is nothing but an eyesore.
Hatred flickers in his golden eyes.
A parched soul burned brightly.
"I hope every single one of them dies."
@
"Aa
"Aaaaaahhh!! What is this fire!? It won't go out!?"
Denji and the Blood Devil were burning.
Denji lost his torso, and the Blood Devil lost one of its arms.
Furthermore, the crows that had connected me were also burning. They were being consumed by flames in the distant sky.
It all happened at the same time. All living things were burned simultaneously. Humans, demons, and animals. Precisely only life itself was burned.
"Is it... detecting something?"
A place where life exists.
Keep the flame of life burning.
"If only I had that kind of power..."
Now I understand why the Soviet demons were able to survive even after burning Moscow. If you can start a fire precisely through a building, you can win unilaterally, even if the enemy is in tanks or surrounded by a large force of machine gunners.
What was truly terrifying was its range. Judging from where the crows were burned, it was at least 300 meters away.
"It's so hot!"
The flames intensified, engulfing Chainsaw Man's entire body as if possessing a will of their own.
"What should I do about this?"
If I touch the fire, I will burn too.
To erase it...
The first thing that came to mind was "water." However, it didn't seem like it would disappear with just rainwater.
"...The river. Denji, if we can get to the river..."
"Ahhhh... that's it!"
In that instant, Denji severed the Blood Devil's burning arm.
"Ouch! H-h-h!"
"Run, run, Power!"
"W-what...? You saved me...? Why?"
"Power! Don't you recognize me?!"
"Power...? That's not my name!"
"The blood demon!"
I'll tell the demon who's still sitting there.
"He has a contract with you!"
"I didn't do it!?"
"Your predecessor made a contract with the previous Blood Demon!"
"The old me? That's a completely different person!"
"Maybe so!"
Denji shouts.
"We somehow became friends and ended up making a contract to become buddies again! It's so hot!"
The blood demon was simply bewildered.
"...That's just you wanting to believe that the old me is still alive... What a pathetic consolation... Humans are so foolish!"
Is that a natural reaction?
Even I am only connected to Makima by the name "Control Devil." There's nothing I can do even if I'm held accountable for the contracts Makima made or the evil deeds she committed.
In other words, Denji's actions and words are nothing but self-satisfaction...
"I know!"
He continued to shout.
"But I don't know! It's a contract... I made a promise!"
"..."
The Blood Devil silently and slowly rose to its feet. It brushed off the dirt, muttered "Scary," and moved to a tree branch above its head. It pointed its finger at Chainsaw Man.
"This guy's got a brain!"
He leaped again, disappearing beyond the branches and leaves.
In the stillness of the night, only the sound of Chainsaw Man burning can be heard.
He never came back.
"...He ran away."
He ran away.
They really did run away.
"What?!"
"Just put out the fire now."
He scolded the screaming Denji and led him through the thicket to the river at the bottom of the valley. As Chainsaw Man jumped in, steam rose up with a whoosh.
"Ahhh! Ugh, it's finally gone..."
"Are you okay?"
"Somehow..."
Transformed back into a human, water droplets dripped from the ends of her hair. Sitting by the riverbank, battered by the rain, she resembled a lonely stray dog.
"Hey, Denji."
I felt it was about time I said it.
"The devil known as Power, who was close to Denji, no longer exists. The current Blood Devil is a different person."
Denji slowly raised his head and peered into his eyes.
"They're completely different demons. Just like how Makima and I are different people. Do you understand?"
"I know, but..."
No, Denji doesn't understand at all.
It's understandable that you can't forget Power, who has passed away. But it's wrong to get hurt or waste time and energy on it.
When I pointed that out, she pouted like a sulky child.
"Are you saying everything I'm doing is pointless?"
"Yeah"
"Is it because he's not Power, but a different person? But there's nothing wrong with becoming friends, right?"
"I don't think we could ever become friends."
"Why?"
"Demons don't like humans, you know."
"Nayuta is different, isn't she?"
"Well, well... that's fine."
"Wow, isn't that unfair?"
I sat there, gazing up at the cloudy sky. Raindrops were showering me down.
"It's okay if you don't like me. It's enough if I just want to be friends with you, right?"
"It's not that it's bad, but..."
I almost blurted out, "One wrong move and you're a stalker," but I swallowed it back down.
I would be so happy if someone felt the same way about me, someone who would continue to love them no matter what they do.
"Hey, Denji."
"what"
"It's about the assassins."
"What is it?"
"Santa Claus is alive"
"Really? He wasn't dead?"
"He has been resurrected as a demon that hunts humans."
"Human... what? Demon? I don't really understand."
"Also, he's powered up by eating pieces of the Dark Demon's flesh."
"I don't know what's going on anymore."
"If we defeat him, it'll all be over."
"Hmm, I see."
He scratched his belly vigorously and let out a yawn.
He rolled up his tattered, burnt-out shirt and put his fingers on the starter.
"Then I understand perfectly. In other words, that persistent Santa Claus bastard."
Vuven
"Isn't the point just to chop it up?!"
@
The area where all living creatures were found caught fire.
The public security officers lying on the ground groaned and writhed in pain.
Polina herself once again donned her fiery armor. The heat she emitted was far greater than before.
My eyes were so dry I couldn't even look directly at it. My feet involuntarily recoiled, and I couldn't confront it, so I covered my face with my arms.
"Polly...na!"
That was their full power output.
A complete lack of mercy, a full-throttle murderous intent that wishes everything, including himself, would be reduced to dust.
There was no way to counter the hatred that seemed to say, "Die, everyone!" All I could do was foolishly keep calling out the names of my former comrades. I was so powerless. I couldn't save anyone simply because I lacked the strength.
"Polly...na..."
It suddenly occurred to me that perhaps Polina felt this way when she was a guinea pig.
I want to do something about it, but there's nothing I can do. But if I still want to do something about it... I have no choice but to cast aside my pride, morals, and ego, and cling to just one thing.
That's how she ended up where she is now. But even she didn't want to be this way from the beginning.
In that case, what I can do is—
The fire went out.
"...picture?"
It happened suddenly. The heat wave that had been pressing down on my entire body had disappeared.
I cautiously glanced at Polina, and she was facing completely sideways. She had also removed her fiery armor. She was defenseless, turning only her head, staring intently at something. She was distracted.
From deep within the forest,
Someone is coming.
The weeds were pushed aside with a rustling sound.
I saw an unbelievable woman there.
"Heh, hehehe"
It looked familiar.
A former comrade from the secret room.
Her translucent white skin, flowing blonde hair, and clear blue eyes—her beautiful appearance captivates not only men but also women. Her Slavic features give her an overwhelming presence even in the mountains at night.
"Vero, Nika...?"
I felt a chill run down my spine, and at the same time, I understood.
That's a fake.
She's been dead for ages. Her face is from before the plastic surgery. It can't be real.
"Hey there, Polina!"
However, everything about him—his gestures, his demeanor, the way he made facial expressions—matched my memory perfectly. My memories of having spent time with him before gave me certainty. It wasn't a transformation or imitation.
That's the real deal.
...No, that's wrong! That can't be!
I killed her with my own hands! There's no doubt about it!
Yet Veronica starts talking as if it's perfectly normal.
"I've finally decided on the gifts for National Foundation Day... Polina got a list of demons, Reze got a list of devil hunters from each country, and Anastasia got a book on psychology, right...? We're a team, so we need to choose something that will benefit each other when we show it to one another. Right?"
Veronica's words sounded familiar.
There's no mistake. He's repeating the exact words he's uttered in the past, word for word.
It was an unbelievable story. Even the guard in the secret room couldn't possibly know all of this.
Only the four of us should know this line. Which means...? If only we know it... does that mean it's based on our memories...?
Are they recreating memories?
"The information I received is..."
I felt a shiver, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end.
There's a demon with that kind of ability somewhere nearby. That's fine, the problem is, if this is a recreation of that memory, then the next line will be the worst possible thing for Polina.
Polina...!
Perhaps sensing it, her outward appearance was doll-like. But madness, every emotion being held tight within her, was burning within her. In a stillness reminiscent of the receding tide before a tsunami, an uncontrollable hatred awaited the trigger for its explosion.
We must not let him continue.
"Stop it, Veronica!!"
"The information I received is the location of your family, Polina."
Just like back then, Veronica laughed heartily.
"Your family lives outside, right? You want to leave here someday and go see them, don't you? Well, then, it would be good to know where they are, wouldn't it...? Being the kind person I am, I thought, I'll ask the instructor to find out."
The guinea pig has nothing.
I lost my money, my home, my family, my name, my family register, and my hometown. That's precisely why I can become an obedient soldier.
Conversely,
Guinea pigs are not allowed to have those things.
"I just got some information. About the whereabouts of your family... Apparently they were working in some village called something until yesterday. But today, for some reason I don't know, they're in a graveyard!?"
Hahahahahaha!
Laugh. Laugh. Laugh.
Those malicious words destroyed Polina at the time. It's no wonder that a girl who sacrificed everything else for her family would lose her sanity when that one and only source of strength was cut off.
The Veronica of the past had a viciously distorted face.
"You guinea pig! You have no right to have a family! Serves you right, you idiot!!"
With a thud.
I definitely heard the sound of Polina taking a step towards madness.
"You bastard, Veronica!! I'm gonna kill you!!"
Long before the intensely murderous expression could finish its cry, the object that resembled Veronica vanished. Its heat no longer resembled a flame. White heat engulfed the space, erasing its existence in a second.
"Haaah, haaah..."
It's a diversion.
My experience tells me so.
Whoever it is wouldn't do something like this for no reason. This "attack" is clearly targeting Polina. It's a scheme to distract her.
Polina understood that much too.
Even as he was consumed by madness, his ingrained combat experience refused to allow him to expose any weaknesses. The former guinea pig, who had managed to retain some awareness despite surrendering to an irresistible urge to kill, turned around with a demonic look on his face. "Whoever you are, how dare you show me something like this, how dare you remind me of the worst!" His eyes, which seemed to be able to hear the words, glared in the opposite direction from the bushes where Veronica had emerged, where the real assassin was supposed to be.
In fact, they were there.
Human figures are being generated from thin air. Two adults... a middle-aged man and woman, is that the real deal? They look like ordinary people—
For some reason, Polina's murderous intent vanished all at once.
He looked stunned, not even confused. He had a vacant expression, as if he had found a dream he had long forgotten.
" ... ..."
They spread their arms wide, as if to accept everything.
A warm embrace. A gaze of acceptance. A reunion with parents.
There was no way the guinea pig could resist the sight it had been longing for.
Even if I knew it was a fake.
A black bolt of lightning streaked across the sky.
"a..."
There was no time to defend against it. The blow, which left only an afterimage, tore Polina and her fake parents apart.
The girl's chest was ripped open. Her pectoral muscles, sternum, ribs, and even her heart deep inside were visible. She had been cut down with a single slash.
"Polina!"
"!"
The attack, which even Anastasia couldn't react to, was unleashed by a dense mass of darkness, a black hole in human form.
" The Soviet Union's guinea pigs"
добрый вечер (good evening)
The darkness spoke.
It was impossible to even grasp its depth, but it seemed to be a living creature. A black face was looking down at Polina, whom it had just sliced apart.
"Even a transcendent demon would die if their heart were slashed open. Giving them blood won't heal them anymore."
"You...!"
"Santa Claus, my target is every single living creature in this place."
Polina stunned and fell to her knees.
With her mouth half-open, she stared at something resembling her father and mother, sliced in a straight line. Blood gushed from her ruptured heart like a fountain, igniting the corpses and the ground, turning them into a compound. Faced with the reality that it was nothing but an illusion, the girl trembled uncontrollably, her blood-stained jaw shaking, as she simply gazed upon her shattered memories.
The fire is getting weaker.
It looks like it could disappear if the wind blew.
"Now there is no one left who can destroy me."
"you"
Anastasia,
Without mentioning Santa Claus's drastically changed appearance, they took a step forward.
"You really were an evil invader after all."
In his hand, he held a demon the size of a toddler.
"G-Gigigi!"
With a snap, its neck was broken.
The demon, which was probably recreating memories, is dead. Of course, kill the weak first; that is the iron rule of warriors, the iron rule of war.
Suddenly, a murderous intent seeps out.
"How dare you invade my... Polina. You are my enemy. I will kill you."
"Go ahead. If you can. I've absorbed fragments of darkness. Attacks in the darkness are..."
Boom
Anastasia's piercing hand went right through the neck of darkness. But...
"...That won't work."
"Looks like it. So what?"
She spread her legs and raised both fists. This was a combat doctrine that symbolized Anastasia's relentless aggression.
They will never retreat, and they will never stop. Even if they are reduced to corpses, they will relentlessly advance and continue their attack.
A deep strike doctrine that won't stop until one side is annihilated.
"This is the first time. The first time I've ever wanted to kill someone."
A deafening explosion rang out. It was the signal for the start of the battle. Amidst the flood of sound, which was no less powerful than the vibrations of the heavy weapons firing, I still couldn't take my eyes off the dying Polina.
"Polina, Polina!"
Why? How come?
That question occupied my mind and wouldn't leave.
She certainly did something terrible. Just a moment ago, she tried to kill several people indiscriminately. She might be the kind of woman who deserves the death penalty. Even so...
There was no reason for him to be killed like this.
"Polina"
I knew there was no way I could survive.
I was flustered, not knowing what to say, and I knew this wasn't the time for that. I just couldn't abandon him. Because I didn't know if I had made one wrong move and ended up in the same situation.
What if we hadn't been able to get Bomb's heart?
What if I hadn't met Denji?
Perhaps it was I who died without a single sense of satisfaction.
"Polina..."
But Polina... The girl who longed for just one thing, and ultimately obtained nothing, did not respond to the call, but simply gazed upon the remnants of her fake parents, shattered into dust.
"......"
He weakly clutched his own body, which was growing cold as the blood drained from it. His jaw twitched, and he stared blankly into space.
"...That's enough..."
The small body bent into a V-shape. He pressed his forehead to the asphalt and murmured.
"It's... so cold..."
It lay face down, in a caterpillar-like position, and stopped moving.
Blood slowly spread across the ground. The fire is gone. The dark liquid drips into the cracks of the asphalt.
Polina remained motionless the entire time.
I knew.
I was very familiar with this side of him.
I've seen it so many times. I should have been okay with it by now.
But for some reason, this time is different.
"For what purpose?"
Just a few words.
The words that rolled out unconsciously were questions I thought I had dismissed in the distant past. Questions from when I had just become a guinea pig and still retained some of my humanity.
For what purpose?
What is the purpose of our lives as guinea pigs?
I had decided to ignore all emotions and not let such thoughts get in the way, believing that there was no point in thinking about them, and that they would only get in the way. But now, those questions had become an uncontrollable torrent.
"Even though I'm alive"
Life, existence.
Is it really okay to end this without a single satisfactory conclusion?
"--"
Looking back, Anastasia and the dark figure were clashing in a flurry of attacks.
Countless scraping sounds disrupt the stillness of the night, stirring up the air. The outlines of the shadows are blurred, making it impossible to discern depth. Speeds of light are being unleashed that are barely visible, but Anastasia dodges them with minimal movement. Without hesitation, she counterattacks, simultaneously destroying the arms, joints, and vital points of the dark creatures.
But darkness will rise again.
It was restored like a video played in reverse, and the fire demon destroyed it again along the way.
Repair, then destroy, repair, then destroy...
Santa Claus treats an endless supply of lives as if they were water, discarding them as if they were worthless. I found that to be an insult I simply could not forgive.
"There are people who couldn't even manage one thing."
Does life have meaning for guinea pigs?
Does a life that is cheap have any meaning?
Santa Claus's decisive actions, as if to say "no," made my blood boil, and emotions I thought I had suppressed surged through my entire body. My chest was burning so hard I could barely breathe. A fire had been ignited in my heart.
"Santa Claus!"
I sprinted forward, clenching my fist, but before I could swing it, a flash of the enemy's weapon came flying towards me.
A fast, sweeping blow,
My combat experience tells me that I'm no longer in a position to avoid something moving at the speed of sound, which is just barely visible, and that the only option is to brace myself and defend myself.
But if you block it, they can't hit you.
So I'm putting all my hopes on just letting it go.
Raising one arm and concentrating for a split second, at the moment of contact, I become a channel to deflect the damage.
The kinetic energy from his right arm, which received the impact, was transferred to his deltoid muscle and spine, twisting and bending his body from side to side. He then passed it straight through his leg and pressed the impact force against the asphalt.
Dot
The moment the ground beneath my feet cracked, I landed a perfect cross-counter shot, snapping Santa Claus's head straight back. It was exhilarating to see Anastasia's eyes wide open in the corner of my vision.
"So you can now move sideways too?"
"Thanks to you, thanks to Polina."
"what...?"
"There is meaning. We have a reason to live."
Slowly, Santa Claus, who had leaned back, straightened his upper body.
"It's useless... No matter what you do, it won't affect me."
Santa Claus, who claims to have absorbed a piece of dark flesh, cracks his neck.
Already unharmed. Already in perfect condition.
As long as the night continues, this thing will surely be invincible.
The only countermeasure is light. But I can't think of a way to obtain it.
Polina, the only one who could start a fire in this rain, has left the stage, and there aren't even streetlights in the mountains. Electrical appliances in the town have probably been destroyed by the puppet soldiers a long time ago.
That doesn't matter.
"Why did you kill Polina?"
The black silhouette tilted its head just a little,
"Because it would get in the way of the request, the work, and so on."
"I see. Work is important. Everyone works to make a living... Even murder is like that. Even if it's a bad thing, work is work, and that's how we've lived our lives. So I won't condemn you. I won't condemn you, but..."
A dazzling passion rushed through me,
I pulled the pin out of my neck.
"I will never forgive you!"