Leon’s happy thoughts completely vanished. He could only stare at the figure, his entire being reflected in the ghoul’s crimson eyes.
Then he spoke their name.
“Rheina…!”
The use of that familiar nickname had little connection to the feelings swirling in his mind. Alice stood beside him, stunned with amazement and unable to utter a word.
For the man was none other than Rheinhardt Crossline.
“…Uh?”
Alice’s mind was full of questions. It had all happened so fast, her brain couldn’t keep up. Leon, however, barely even noticed his disciple’s confusion. All that mattered to him was the damned friend before him—the friend he had damned by his own actions.
“Ah, that was fun, partner. Almost forgot the feeling of fighting side-by-side again. It really was worth luring you out here.”
Those black fruits must have been created by Rheinhardt’s newfound power. When Alice realized that, she yelled.
“Why?! Why would you do that? That fruit could have saved the world!”
“Oh? But you weren’t interested in saving the world, were you? Only yourselves.”
His gaze was callous and cold, his violet eyes devoid of any malice, hostility, or hate. Yet Alice feared for her life, like a frog transfixed by a snake.
They were on two different levels of being. That was what it felt like. And the thought made Alice shudder.
“Doesn’t it remind you of how you used to be, partner? Back when Master had just taken you in and all you used to do was shiver in fright and hide behind other people… Anyway, to answer your question, missy, why did I do it? Well, there’s a lot to unpack, see…”
Rheinhardt gave a playful shrug and continued.
“Why did I set a trap for you guys specifically? Why don’t I save the world even though I have the power to? Why has the man once known as Shining Rheinhardt become such a despicable villain? It’s all too much to address in a single answer… So instead of speaking, I’ll let my actions do the talking.”
Rheinhardt grinned. “In other words, missy, my answer to your question…is this.”
Suddenly, his entire body went blurry, and by the time Alice figured out if what she was seeing was real or not, it was already over.
He was standing before Leon, his right arm embedded in the ghoul’s chest.
“Gh…ah…”
“Master!”
Leon’s and Alice’s cries overlapped as Rheinhardt pulled his arm free.
“Think you got all that?” he said. “This is my true objective and always has been.”
His angelic smile was so graceful, so bewitching, that it made Alice feel sick.
“I want to kill. I want to destroy. Him…and the world.”
Rheinhardt moved. It was beyond Alice’s ability to say anything more than that. All she could see was Leon falling to the ground. She was powerless, even to tell what had been done to him, and that realization filled her with rage.
This was the man she had sworn to protect. This was the man she had sworn to make happy—with whom she swore to be happy.
“Haah…haah…”
Panting hard, she suppressed her rising fear and despair. She had to fight, even if it was an impossible one. She couldn’t just stand by and let him be taken from her.
“O…OAAAAAAAARGHH!”
She screamed and launched herself forward. She drew her weapon; Emilia’s gift, Leon’s pride.
“You’re a brave young lady, I’ll grant you that.”
Rheinhardt disabled her without even breaking his confident smile, and Alice was lying flat on her stomach before she could even tell what had happened. She was terrified. She wondered if this was the end, but as she thought about losing the one she loved…
“Ur…gh…!”
Newfound courage flowed into her, and she tried to get back up.
“Very good, missy. Leon could learn a thing or two from you.”
As soon as she pushed up from the ground, she felt a heel on her back, like a boulder pressing her into the dirt once more. She flailed, trying to extricate herself…but to no avail.
“Now, then,” said Rheinhardt, looking down at her. “That’s enough preamble. You’re going to listen to what I say.”
With this, he pointed his gaze at Leon. The ghoul didn’t move.
That’s right, not couldn’t, didn’t. Unlike Alice, he had the ability to move but failed to do so.
“Today I’m going to talk about…courage,” Rheinhardt went on, never breaking Leon’s gaze. “Now, partner. After defeating the Ifrit, did you feel like you finally realized what courage is? That wasn’t wrong. The courage really has been inside of you all this time. It comes from your love and trust for this girl… However…”
Rheinhardt pressed down with his foot, grinding Alice into the dirt.
“Ugh…Gah…!”
Her pained grunts reached Leon’s ear. But…
“Stop it, Rheina!”
They still didn’t spur him to action. Leon was afraid of the absolute power his old friend possessed. All the self-hatred and determination he had built up over the past four years crumbled to dust when faced with that inescapable fear.
What remained was an all-encompassing desire to live. Rheinhardt smirked at him before continuing.
“There are different kinds of courage, and that which relies upon another is the weakest of all. It’s nothing but the wishful thinking of a child who wants someone else to save them. You can’t help others with courage like that.”
So, how could you help others? Rheinhardt had the answer to that.
“The mind to live for someone else, and not just yourself, and the willingness to die for them. That’s what she has, and you don’t. The spirit of self-sacrifice.”
Leon heard a sickening crack from Alice.
“Aargh! M-Master…”
It was starting to dawn on her that she was going to die. The fear and agony were plain to see in the tears that streamed down her face. But even so…
“Run…run away!”
She didn’t ask for help. All she wanted was for Leon to be safe.
“But you still won’t do anything about it, will you, partner? That’s just who you are.”
“…You’re wrong.”
“You see, the problem with you is that there’s nobody you love more than yourself.”
“You’re wrong!”
Leon leaped forward. He didn’t know why or how he could suddenly act. His mind and heart were a mess. He was driven by emotion, not cold calculation…but was that something that could be called courage? No, it was not courage that fueled Leon’s actions.
“Courage is the power to stand against fear, partner. But just now, you let the fear control you. That’s not courage; that’s self-abandonment.”
Rheinhardt raised his arm and pointed. In the next moment…dozens of slice marks appeared all over Leon.
“Grh…!”
“Master?!”
He fell over again, unable to move. Rheinhardt spoke without emotion.
“Still,” he said, “being willing to sacrifice yourself is part of what courage is all about. Depending on how it goes, that could be your strength. After all, it made you act when before you could only stand still. What are self-abandonment and self-sacrifice if not two sides of the same coin? …What I’m trying to say, partner, is if you want to be rid of me, you’re going to have to throw it all away. Only then will your promise be fulfilled.”
He smiled, like a big brother chiding his naughty younger sibling. A trickle of tears streamed down his face.
“Right, partner? You didn’t…forget…our promise…did you? …Huh? What am I talking about? That’s…strange, I…was going to end it all here… No, I wasn’t… I wasn’t, was I?”
He wiped his eyes and lifted his foot from Alice’s back.
“Forget it, forget it! The mood’s all ruined! Besides, what fun would it be to kill you both now? No…that’s right, it’s too early. Too early…”
Rheinhardt kept muttering like a madman before finally opening his three sets of dovelike wings.
“…It has to be bigger than this. More spectacular. That’s the only way I’ll accept your death.”
It was almost like he was angry at himself for entertaining the thought in the first place.
“I need to prepare some things,” he said. “In the meantime, you’d better remake yourself, partner, or else…”
Rheinhardt didn’t finish that thought. He just looked Leon in the eye. Violet reflected in crimson. Even now, Leon could see the emotions he once felt. They hadn’t gone anywhere.
“…See you then, partner.”
He looked strangely subdued. He spread his wings and departed into the ashen sky.
“Rheina…”
Leon looked to where the figure of his friend had vanished and pondered.
“There’s still something there…”
The reminiscence brought with it weariness, and Leon found it difficult to string together a single coherent thought. Instead, he closed his eyes. Next, a figure emerged from the darkness. His fellow apprentice, calling out for help. Leon heard his voice. A promise…but also a curse through which their souls were inextricably linked.
“Hey, partner. The next time we meet, please…”