Chapter 2

His smile froze in place as a dagger pierced his temple. “Hbuh?” An inhuman noise leaked from Mitsuki’s lips, so strange it was almost comical. The blade shattered the thinnest part of his skull, drilling into his brain. Life drained away from his wound. It was a miracle he didn’t die instantly. Mitsuki saw one last sight before he crumpled to the floor. It was Menou, holding the dagger to his head. “Wh…y…?” He would be dead in moments. Flooded with despair at this betrayal, power violently welled up within him. Guiding Force: Connect—S?T?i? K???Pure Concept [Null]—Invoke [What n’t be happening rrible d like this ullify everyth this world a little b better how could y Menou ] Energy streamed from his soul, flooding Mitsuki’s body. “Ah!” Menou turned pale, sensing something irregular conjuring itself in the dying boy. A flash of light surged from his eyes, and she dove to the side to dodge, curling up and tumbling across the floor. There was no crash, no telltale sound of destruction. In fact, it was so quiet that one might think nothing had happened at all. But when Menou stood up, she felt a gentle breeze—felt the afternoon sunlight on her skin. Even though she was standing indoors. “…Should’ve expected that from an Otherworlder.” Having narrowly avoided the conjuring the boy unleashed in his final moments, Menou sank to the floor. The part of the church where she’d been standing seconds before was completely gone—from the floor to the wall and even the ceiling. There had been no sound when the idea of “nothing” had manifested. The border around the vanished area was frighteningly smooth. “Impressive that he didn’t die right away. He was a real beast, even among those with exceptional powers granted by a Pure Concept.” She cautiously approached the boy and tilted his head up to confirm he was dead. Driven by amplified Guiding Force, the blade had plunged through his cranium and taken his life. “Your last words were ‘why,’ huh?” She checked his pupils for any reaction. “…You were right: This church has been abandoned for years. I decided to use its remains for this mission.” She no longer displayed any of the cheerful expressiveness that she’d shown him. Instead, she spoke with a quiet tone that better matched her mature features and pale complexion. “I was lying about setting you up with a job, too. Offering aid is one of the church’s duties, but that was just a convenient means of winning you over. I wanted to know your ability before I killed you, so I had to find a way question you without arousing suspicion.” No signs of movement in his pupils, his breath, or his pulse. No signs of life. The boy on the floor was just a corpse. “After all, some have abilities that make it difficult to kill them completely.” This boy’s power was the Pure Concept of Null. It was a terrifying power that could return any target to nothingness. If the user grew and deepened their understanding of the Pure Concept, they could even learn to do things like Nullifying their own death. “We received information that the top players of the Noblesse were planning to summon Otherworlders. And we confirmed signs of the summoning ceremony in the astral vein. That’s why they dispatched someone like me to deal with you.” She’d initially planned to infiltrate the castle, but when she saw a young man in a school jacket come out first, she suspected it might be a trap. She monitored him overnight before making contact. Then she lured him into the church, her base of operations, and assessed his ability through their conversation. There was no need for further interaction. If anything, it would be foolish to give him a chance to figure out his abilities. As soon as she confirmed his skills, it was necessary to dispose of him at once. From the very beginning, she had approached with the intent to kill him. “You did nothing wrong.” Having confirmed he was dead, Menou gently closed his eyelids. “It’s not your fault. You didn’t do anything deserving of death. I’m the villain, and you’re the victim.” The boy who’d been smiling and looking forward to the future just moments ago would never rise again. Menou had robbed him of that possibility. “And yet…” Though she knew she’d done the unforgivable, Menou softly continued, as if offering her condolences to the fallen. “…The Sword of Salt that sank the western continent into the sea. The Pandemonium that devoured the southern archipelago. The Mechanical Society that controls the Wild Frontier in the east. The Starhusk that carved out the center of the northern continent and set it afloat.” Each of these titles referred to legendary disasters that had occurred in this world. These four calamities were caused by supernatural forces. The massive scars left across the continents were so surreal, its sights were etched permanently into the mind of any who witnessed the wreckage. Though the phenomena that caused each of them were different in nature, they all shared the same source. Despite being on the scale of a natural disaster, none of these events had happened naturally. They were caused by Human Error—man-made calamities brought about by Otherworlders. “…Your kind have simply caused too much harm,” she explained to his now-silent remains. Otherworlders. While some saw them as potential tools, their powers made them so dangerous that they became targets for disposal. Of course, Menou did feel some pity for them, caught up in the power struggles of a world not their own. But she would never let her emotions prevent her from completing a mission. She’d already resolved long ago that she must take on the role of a villain. Which was why, although she pretended to be friendly to get close to the boy, she never once asked for his name. “Otherworlders are taboo entities that we, as Executioners, must exterminate.” They served as the assassins of the First Estate, the Faust, and hunted down these human hazards by any means necessary. They were forever concealed in the shadows, and this was Menou’s true identity. “…If you truly had no ability, I wouldn’t have had to kill you.” Her quiet murmur carried a trace of sadness at the loss of this modest hope. In the end, though, he had a skill. And what’s more, as soon as he activated it, he clearly began expressing intentions to Nullify others. As a side effect of his abilities, the Pure Concept started devouring his soul, dragging his thoughts toward the idea of Null. Before long, his soul would have been taken over completely, and he could very well have committed acts that would eventually build to another Human Error. Menou tugged the dagger out of the boy’s skull and wiped it clean of blood. As she locked eyes with her reflection in the blade, she suddenly remembered the dream she had that morning. The dream was in some classroom in Japan at a school she’d never been to. Everyone was in different uniforms. There were students in jackets, blazers, sailor uniforms… Even though their clothing clashed, nothing seemed out of place, for some reason. When she entered the classroom, they all stopped talking and looked at her. The space was warm—hushed with no conflict. Nobody was armed with weapons. Other than dipping into their studies, everyone was free to spend their time however they chose. When she greeted them, they welcomed her with friendly smiles, chatting about nothing in particular. She was friends with everyone in the class, and among them was her best friend. They were very close. There were no secrets between them. It made her happy to see her friend upbeat. And it made her friend happy when she was in a good mood, too. They understood each other because she knew about her friend’s tragic past and her friend was aware of her regrets. She talked with her best friend about nothing in particular as they waited for class to start. It was a place she’d never seen before. A world she would never be able to touch. She knew about this place called Japan only because she was taught to kill its people. That dream was the embodiment of her sins. When she had it next, she was certain there would be another member of the class in a mismatched uniform: a boy in his school blazer. There was nothing more to it than that. “As for this other girl…” She had to seek out this second Otherworlder in the castle and take her life. Thus, the Executioner began to play out her next plan of action, acknowledging her sins and her role as a villain all the while.