The moment Reiji started processing those ominous words, the blindfolded man’s hand pierced through Titania’s stomach.
“Gah...”
“T-Tia...?”
Titania’s eyes shot open. Was it from the inability to understand what was going on? Or was it from the shock of having her stomach pierced? Blood splattered through the air, then dripped to the floor in vast quantities. A red stain spread across Titania’s clothes.
“This’ll make you desperate. Isn’t that right?” the blindfolded man asked. “The irreversible always twists one’s heart with despair.”
He yanked his hand out of Titania and threw her toward Reiji, who caught her in an embrace.
“Reiji...sama...”
Blood poured out of her mouth. Her body was rapidly losing its warmth. Her complexion was fading. That was when Reiji finally understood how dire the situation was.
“A-Aaaah... AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”
“Tia!”
“Princess... Titania...!”
Mizuki’s scream and Graziella’s groan followed. Even as they all wailed, the blindfolded man continued his jarring laughter.
“Now! Show me how you struggle! Flounder! Curse! Curse! Curse! Curse your powerlessness! Humans can only get stronger by hating themselves!”
“Y-You bastaaaaard!” Reiji screamed.
“Whoa now. You don’t have the time to be screaming at me, do you now? Isn’t there something else you should be doing? If you don’t, she’s really gonna die.”
“That’s...”
Reiji lowered his eyes to Titania, but what could he do about this? Wasn’t it already too late? As those thoughts crossed his mind, he caught a glimmer in the corner of his vision. It was the azure glow of the Lapis Judaix.
“That’s right. Use it. Crave it. Lust for it. If you listen carefully, you should be able to hear it.”
The blindfolded man was suddenly standing behind Reiji, whispering in his ear, like a devil tempting the virtuous. But that didn’t change the fact that Reiji had something he absolutely had to do.
“Tch! Hand it over! Give it to me! Give me EVERYTHING!”
Reiji’s scream resonated in the night sky. Shortly after, an azure glow enveloped him and Titania.
A moment after Reiji threw open the doors of his power, Titania’s wounds were sealed. Her complexion was back to normal and she was no longer bleeding. She simply breathed quietly in her sleep. Reiji thrust a hand to the floor. There wasn’t a drop of power left within him. He’d exhausted all of it.
“Haah... Haah... Haah...”
“Congratulations,” the blindfolded man said. “You’ve learned of fear. You’ve learned of desperation. All you need now is to lose something dear to you.”
“What... What are you...?” Reiji muttered, his vision growing hazy.
“But I can’t help you with that,” the man continued. “That kind of thing requires more drama. If you lose something from an act like this, you won’t be able to carry your cross.”
Reiji had no idea what he was talking about. He simply couldn’t understand. All he felt was a tremendous fatigue seeping into his every extremity.
“Everyone has a cross to bear,” the man said, explaining. “The same goes for Suimei-kun. Because he bears the cross called Kazamitsu, he’s capable of chasing his dreams the way he does. So you should become the same one day. By doing so, you’ll be able to run toward a never-ending dream too.”
With that, the blindfolded man once more burst into laughter. It was like he ridiculed humanity’s powerlessness—humanity’s dreams.
He then turned to Reiji once more as if remembering one last thing.
“I don’t think I know your name. What is it?”
“Shana... Reiji...”
“Reiji-kun, then. Best regards. You can call me... the man who laughs at dreams.”
“The man... who laughs... at dreams...”
“Yup. That’s right. In celebration of our new acquaintance, let us toast to blood and guts.”
The blindfolded man’s words blemished the night sky, and just like that, he vanished into the darkness.
After Moolah unleashed her miasma into her surroundings, after the violet-fringed blackness faded away, there was nothing left—nothing at all.
“Suimei...dono...?”
“No way...”
Felmenia and Lefille had barely escaped getting caught up in the wave of power thanks to Suimei. Their eyes were wide in shock. Suimei had definitely gotten caught in the blast. So, he had to be there. Yet they couldn’t see him at all. Had he taken refuge somewhere at the last second? But if he had, he would’ve escaped with Felmenia and Lefille. In other words...
“Hmph... In the end, still just a human. To be wary of such a weakling... That man is also nothing special.”
Listening to Moolah spit out those words, Felmenia spoke in a trembling voice.
“What are you saying...?”
“You need to ask? I’m speaking of the man in black, the one who protected you two from being annihilated.”
“Suimei-kun couldn’t have been annihilated!” Lefille protested.
“That’s right! That’s impossible!” Felmenia joined in. “Suimei-dono couldn’t have been defeated so easily...”
“Hmm? You dare to deny it?” Moolah said. “Can you say the same thing after looking at that?”
She pointed at something. It was a ruined fragment of black cloth. It was a scrap of Suimei’s clothes.
“Wha...?!”
“That can’t be...”
The two girls raised their voices in bewilderment, then fell silent. But even as they searched the area, even as they denied Moolah’s words, there was nothing to find.
As that went on, they suddenly heard the sound of running footsteps.
“Felmenia-san! Lefille-san!” a voice called out to them.
The two turned to see Hatsumi and Hydemary running toward them. Behind those two were Elliot, Christa, and Liliana.
“Hmm? Reinforcements?” Moolah said, taking a glance at them. “But you’re just a little too late.”
“What was that huge wave of power?” Hatsumi asked the two girls.
“I-It was the demon general’s attack,” Lefille answered.
“That’s the demon general? She can wield that much power...?” Hatsumi trailed off, noticing there was something wrong with the two. “What’s wrong?”
“Suimei-dono is,” Felmenia muttered.
“What about Suimei? Oh yeah, where is he...?”
“There...” Felmenia pointed at the scrap of Suimei’s suit.
Seeing it, Hatsumi figured it out.
“You’re kidding...”
Shock was clear on her face. She’d never expected this. The same went for Liliana, whose single eye shot open.
“No... way...”
Hatsumi and Liliana were in denial, but even as they looked around, even as they called out to him, Suimei was nowhere to be found.
There was only one among them reacting differently. Hydemary looked around the area in silence.
“Mary-chan!” Hatsumi cried in hope.
But Hydemary didn’t answer immediately. She remained in silent thought for a while longer before speaking.
“I also find it hard to believe... Even if he was hit by such a powerful attack, Suimei-kun isn’t one to be defeated so easily.”
“But it’s the truth,” Moolah said. “If he’s alive, is there any reason to go as far as hiding his presence?”
“True. You have a point there,” Hydemary conceded.
Suimei had no reason to hide. If anything, he could have rattled Moolah by coming out unscathed. It was just as Moolah said. Above all else, the tremendous mana Suimei kept within his body had been scattered over an immense area. As his disciple in magicka, Hydemary couldn’t deny anything she said.
Suimei had been obliterated. That was the undeniable truth.
“The death of the living comes unexpectedly quickly,” Moolah said. “None may choose how they go. Death comes equally to all.”
“Yes, that’s certainly true,” Hydemary agreed.
“So you do understand,” Moolah said. “In short, the same applied to that man.”
“I see. You may believe that. However...”