Epilogue The flames bursting from the Ploutonion dyed the night sky of Tokyo red. Suria Almiron took in the view with a blank expression where she lay collapsed on the hard asphalt. Her body was in shambles from the battle against Ellie. Her pure-white robe was stained with blood and mud, and she lacked the strength to even materialize her wings. If left to her own devices, she would die from blood loss and hypothermia in only a matter of time. The underworld sentries had tougher bodies than regular people, but they weren’t equipped with the supernatural healing power of the Lazarus. “Looks like Yahiro got the power of the Ouroboros back,” a voice came from overhead. She looked in its direction and met the friendly and smiling gaze of Giulietta Berith. Giuli had an old katana, a Relict Regalia, in hand. A weapon capable of killing underworld sentries. Yet Suria felt no fear at the sight of it. She was resigned. Giuli should kill her already. Her job was over. She had no more reason or way to defy death. “Yahiro Narusawa defeated the Lazarus Eater… But how…? No, it doesn’t matter to me anymore.” Suria sighed self-deprecatingly while watching the glow of the fire in the sky. “I wouldn’t have thought the sentries could be wiped out, even with Elimiel’s betrayal. And without most of its executive team, Kyuos will disappear, too. Funny how things turn out.” Suria sneered internally. The sentries had overseen the underworld for an unfathomably long time, and they perished in a matter of days. Only because they finally took action to complete their one job. “Do you regret going after Yahiro?” Giuli asked, looking down at Suria. There was no malice in her voice. Just pure curiosity. “I do not. I have no regrets regarding anything.” “How come?” Suria thought for a moment. “Because what she said was probably true. Heaven isn’t necessarily a special place. It is just another of the innumerable worlds like yours. They sent us simply because they were scared.” “They thought they would be destroyed one day, and so they tried to destroy the other first.” “…Ridiculous, isn’t it? It’s no different from what the foolish humans do. The Heavenly themselves proved that they are nothing special.” Now Suria chuckled. Yes, the Heavenly were foolish. Which in return meant their creations, the sentries, were foolish, too. Just the same as the people of this world they so looked down upon. “Won’t you kill me, Giulietta Berith?” “Do you want me to?” Giuli replied. “The underworld sentries will be gone if I die. There will be no one left to destroy this world.” “Unless humanity wishes for its own destruction.” “Indeed. But it is not our problem,” Suria said coldly. The first time she had spoken her own true thoughts. Suria had no responsibility for this world. But she could sit back and watch its fate. She had become free when she abandoned the job the Heavenly ones gave her. “Suria Almiron, would you like to help Ganzheit?” Giuli asked. Suria frowned. “Ganzheit? I thought it’d been dismantled.” “The extremist faction trying to use the power of the dragons to make their own world, yes.” Giuli grinned. The leader of the extremists had been her adoptive father, Eusebius Berith. And it was the Galerie’s Japanese branch who had put an end to them. “Ganzheit is an academic organization now, simply monitoring to prepare in case the Ouroboros goes berserk. Not that there’s anything we could really do in that case, though.” “…You want Ganzheit to use the underworld sentries’ technology?” “Same you’ve been doing since forever, right?” Suria pursed her lips at Giuli’s remark. The underworld sentries had used Ganzheit multiple times in the past to monitor the dragons. They gave them technology beyond modern capability to try to manipulate them. “I think it’s a pretty apt role for an underworld sentry, don’t you think?” “Very well. You’ve made me want to see a bit more of this world,” Suria accepted. Deep within her, she understood that their deal resembled that of the angel who fell to the snake’s temptation. “And if this world eventually destroys Heaven like Elimiel predicted, then that in itself would be an interesting sight to behold.” “What was Shigure Shindou like?” Iroha’s brother, Ren, came up to Yahiro with a worried look on his face, wanting to talk. He was fourteen now. He was as reserved and polite as always, but his sensibility contrasted interestingly with what one would expect from a teenage boy. “I’m not sure what to say. We only spoke a little bit in the end.” Yahiro looked up at the cabin’s ceiling. After firing the purifying flames and burning down the crimson dragon, they found Shigure Shindou back in his human form among the ashes. The Lazarus was fatally injured, yet still alive. He asked why they didn’t kill him, and Yahiro answered that they had no reason to. Shigure was born as Yahiro’s clone, but he was his own person with his own will. He was like Yahiro’s twin brother, separated at birth. It was irritating seeing someone else with his face, but not to the point he would want to kill him. He thought that Shigure should go find his own happiness somewhere. Runa gave him her blessing. Normally, Gula’s medium did not bless any specific Lazarus, but her job was done the moment Yahiro became the Ouroboros. There was no further need for her to remain neutral. She decided it would be no problem to simply provide Shigure with dragon factor. He would have died without Runa’s blessing, and she said that Ayaho would be saddened if that happened. “Ren’s worried that Shigure will steal Ayaho from him.” “Hey, Rinka!” Ren panicked. “Ayaho?” Yahiro finally understood after seeing the boy’s bashful reaction. Ren was infatuated with his adoptive older sister and was anxious about the guy she’d met. Worried that he would take her away. “Ahh… Well, apparently Shigure Shindou saved her, so…” Yahiro beat around the bush. “He saved her…?” Ren’s shoulders slumped. Yahiro was dismayed. He wasn’t good at handling this sort of thing. He had no idea what Ayaho thought of Shigure. “Still, they only knew each other for just a couple days, so surely they’re not in love with each other, right? Maybe they’ll send each other letters, but who knows.” “I’m not so sure. He looked just like you, right?” Rinka said impishly. Yahiro asked back in confusion, “Wait, why does that matter?” “Haaah…” Rinka shook her head dramatically. Ren sighed, too. “And this is why Yahiro belongs with Iroha.” “Yeah. Hopefully Shigure is just as dense.” “Hey, what do you mean by that?” Yahiro pouted, feeling like they were saying he was just as airheaded as Iroha. Yahiro didn’t think of himself as sharp when it came to other people’s romantic feelings, but at the very least, he was sure he was sharper than Iroha. Yet the kids didn’t seem to agree. “But hey, he’s also pretty dense himself, don’t you think, Rinka?” Yahiro whispered to her before they left, making sure Ren wouldn’t hear him. “Sh-shut up! Don’t mind me! And don’t you dare say anything!” Rinka blushed and punched him in the side. Yahiro writhed for a while as a result of the surprising force of her fist. Yahiro exited the log cabin wearing a T-shirt and narrowed his eyes in the bright sunlight. Before him lay the peaceful sight of the coast of a nameless island. But the view was different from that in his memory. The facilities and fields the underworld sentries had destroyed were once again in good shape, thanks to Galerie Berith’s repairmen. But that was not the only thing they had built. New structures lined the cape surrounding the beach. Thatch-roofed bungalows on the water, connected by wooden bridges. It looked like a premium beach resort. “Yahiro, are you done with the job I gave you?” Rosé lounged on a deckchair on the beach, in a swimsuit. Next to her was Giuli, sipping a tropical drink. They wore tiny bikinis that accentuated their well-toned bodies. Men would’ve been flocking around them if this were a real tourist spot. Yahiro only rolled his eyes at them. “Your silly job? What the hell is this thing?” Yahiro shook the papers in his hand. The twins had arrived at the island the day before, saying they would take a vacation. Iroha’s siblings had also come to spend their summer break. That much was fine, but the problem was this thick bunch of papers. “Didn’t you read it? The development plan for the island?” Rosé furrowed her brow as she pushed up her sunglasses. “Wasn’t this island supposed to isolate us from the world?” “Developing it doesn’t mean that you would no longer be isolated. It would only be eight thousand people coming every year.” “You’re making it a tourist resort!” Yahiro yelled at the sky. They were trying to turn it into Tahiti or the Maldives. A luxury resort primarily for honeymoons. It was Galerie Berith’s new business plan. Yahiro and Iroha would still live on the island. As the resort’s managers. Basically, the Beriths were asking them to stop being a couple of bums and work for the Galerie. The proposed salary wasn’t bad, but the working conditions were horrible. They must think some overwork was no harm when he couldn’t die anyway. “We’ve reconsidered after what happened. We thought you would attract less attention as members of society rather than hiding behind a barrier,” Rosé said with a serious, convincing tone; she was a good negotiator. “I know that, but why a resort?” “We already bought the island, so hey, why not get something out of it?” Giuli explained. “That’s why?” Yahiro’s shoulders slumped. “Look, you realize how much of our yearly earnings go into maintaining this island? Moving a submarine around isn’t free.” “I know that. And I’m grateful for it.” “And if we target honeymooners, there shouldn’t be any repeat customers. That way we don’t have to worry about anyone suspecting you of not aging.” “I guess…” Yahiro couldn’t argue. Yahiro and Iroha didn’t age after becoming part of the Ouroboros. Their lives would only end with the end of the world. Giuli, Rosé, and the siblings would one day die and leave them behind. It would be dangerous for Yahiro and Iroha to be cut off from society when that eventually happened. Rather than isolating, it was better for them to be involved with other humans, even if it required a slight risk. Hearing that, Yahiro was unable to argue further. “It was also Iroha’s request,” Rosé said. “Iroha’s?” “She’s excited to plan wedding ceremonies.” “I see…” Yahiro smiled awkwardly as he pictured it. She was conscientious, liked entertaining people, and valued family more than anything—of course she would be excited to organize weddings. And knowing her, she would suggest livestreaming them sooner or later. Yahiro sighed at the thought of all the trouble. Right then, he heard voices coming from the cape. From the bungalow the siblings were staying at. Iroha pulled them out of the bungalow, dressed in an outfit he hadn’t seen her in. A stunning pure-white dress. Layers of translucent fabric glowed like jewels under the sunlight. The skirt was short, and a lot of her back and shoulders were exposed. Yet in contrast, a long veil covered her hair. A wedding dress. Iroha had come out in a wedding gown. “Look, Yahiro! Look at this dress! The twins brought it as a sample!” Iroha spun around in front of Yahiro, who was astonished. It took a moment for him to unpetrify. He remembered how much she loved cosplaying. “The wedding planner’s not meant to wear it…” “But I couldn’t miss the chance! So? How do I look? Awesome?” Iroha demanded compliments, and Yahiro nodded halfheartedly. Then, he drew his lips to her ear and whispered, “You look beautiful.” “Wha…?” Iroha was paralyzed in shock. She turned red and looked up at him bashfully. “I… Umm. Th-thank you…” They looked into each other’s eyes as her siblings surrounded them. And around them, Giuli, Rosé, and the Galerie Berith operators who had deployed there for construction. It felt like a real wedding, Yahiro thought. Although this world was but an illusion created by the dragon, in this moment, the smiles of the people here were real. This reality would remain no matter how much time passed. “Yahiro. Stay with me forever, yeah?” Iroha looked up at him with a beautiful smile on her face. Then they spoke those words—the spell that bound them. The simple wish of a girl. The spell that saved the world. The vow that was still ongoing. “Yes. I promise.” “Until death do us part.”
Chapter 94
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