Nacht didn’t think she had done anything that astonishing. All she’d done was catch the thrown weapons as they came close and neatly, carefully stab them into the ground one at a time. She smiled, proud of her handiwork. “You done?” she asked.
“Gh!” Gyria exclaimed. It was obvious that Nacht thought very little of his attacks. It hardly seemed like a battle at all.
Nacht remembered what her friend Krista had said—that if she got involved with the war, it wouldn’t be a war at all. Nacht would simply overpower all. Under the current circumstances, that seemed like something worth keeping in mind. The thought slotted into place in her mind, like one gear turning another. It made this whole thing feel somewhat pointless.
Nacht took a step forward. “Kyee!” Gyria cried. “S-Stay back! Stop! If I die, Tina dies as well! If I don’t return to my master, she’ll assume that Tina is still being rebellious!” He turned to face Tina. “And then, your life will be forfeit! Staying in the church won’t protect you, you know! The only way for you to live is to submit! Submit as I have!”
Nacht stopped in her tracks.
“G-Good...” Gyria said. “Now, Tina, you have two choices: submit or die! But in my honest opinion, submission would be much better for you, you little thing.”
With Nacht no longer advancing, the wretched man seemed to have regained some of his confidence. But Gyria was Tina’s guest, after all. Nacht figured she should at least let him say his piece. Besides, Tina’s determination was the very thing that had endeared her to Nacht.
“You don’t need to be so miserable about it,” Gyria went on. “That woman is a genius, you know! A far more talented monarch than a certain king I could name. Just look at how well she uses me! Under her, my talents have only grown to even greater heights! She’s fond of us, in her own way. As long as we remain useful to her, she allows us to do as we please. Not as much freedom as she gives the Demon Eyes girl, though, mind you.”
“What is that supposed to mean?!” Tina demanded.
“Just that it’s quite enjoyable, working for her. Or should I say, she will make you enjoy it. My sense of self survived the destruction of my individuality, you know, and the work she gives me allows my talents to truly flourish. Can you not see how splendidly she uses me? Would you not like to be used as well? Now, give me your answer.”
Tina didn’t hesitate. Just as Nacht had surmised, she had already made up her mind. Her answer was a slash of her sword. The long, red blade flowed out of its sheath like water, accelerating into a draw cut. Nacht’s senses were sharp enough to follow the fast, beautiful movements of Tina’s swordsmanship.
Gyria’s outstretched hand fell to the floor with a plop. A second later, the stump began theatrically spurting out fresh blood.
“Gwaaah!!!” Gyria cried. “Youuu! How dare you, how dare you, how dare you, how dare you, how dare you?! My precious right aaaaarm!”
“You’re upset about a single arm?” Tina said. “After all the people you’ve killed? All the people you’ve hurt? Know their pain, then die!”
“Don’t... Don’t you look down on me!!!” Gyria fought back against Tina’s flowing sword technique with an array of hidden weapons. But Gyria was an ambush specialist. The fight’s outcome had been determined the moment he’d allowed himself to be the one taken off guard.
As Gyria fled for dear life, Nacht’s attention was elsewhere. She was thinking about the dolls she had seen that were created to be vessels and the humans who had merely had hearts implanted inside them. The difference between those two things was likely her first important clue.
“Agh! Bwuh! Gah!” Gyria wailed. “S-Stop! Y-You’ll die if you do this, you know! You’ll die, you hear me?!” Behind Gyria’s confidence, it seemed, was a sniveling coward. He took life because he valued his own above all else. But Tina sliced him apart without hesitation. First his fingers, followed by his chest, then his legs.
“You like the sight of blood, but you can’t stand to be bloodied yourself?” Tina said. “That’s quite presumptuous. I believe I hate you.”
“Stop! Stooooop! I-I’m meant to be doing the killing! The one painting in blood...” He collapsed onto the floor, mumbling incoherently to himself.
“Personally, I find it quite refreshing to think that I’ll never see you again in this world.” Tina’s sword burned red like the fire dragon’s breath as she cut Gyria to pieces. “Ah ha ha ha ha...” she laughed when it was over. “And now, I’m good as dead.” She sounded oddly happy about the prospect.
“Mm,” Nacht agreed, nonplussed. “But more importantly, Tina...”
“‘More importantly’?!” Tina shot back. “I wish you would try to think of things from my perspective sometimes, Nacht.”
Nacht smiled indulgently. It was Tina’s defiant temper that had endeared her to her in the first place, after all. “More importantly,” she went on, “have you thought of a wish?”
“What? You’re bringing it back to wishes as though nothing happened?” Tina frowned, uncertain. “To be honest, there’s so much going on that I hardly know what to think...”
“You don’t have to think,” Nacht said. “It’s just a wish, after all.”
Tina had no way of understanding Nacht’s true intentions, but she answered all the same. “Um...well...I suppose to defeat the demon and protect everyone at the orphanage?”
“And that’s all?” Nacht asked, an expression of plain boredom on her face.
“N-No! Let me think...” Tina began. “Well...there’s all the poor children who’ve been sent off to war. Perhaps...you could stop the war from happening?” She spoke wistfully, like she was talking about a far-off dream.
“Uh-huh. Nothing else?”
“Wh-What are you getting at, you fiend?! F-Fine, then! Please save me too, while you’re at it!”
Nacht grinned and took a step toward Tina.
“H-Hey! What are—”
And then, her hand pierced the girl’s heart.
~ ‡ ~
Izuna paced in the gardens of Analissia’s manor, seemingly unable to rest. Flowers shone in the light of the moons overhead. It was a sight truly worthy of the word “extravagant.”
“My, my, Izuna,” Analissia said, approaching her. “Did something happen? You seem to be in rather high spirits.”
“Yes...” Izuna said quietly, smiling happily as she spoke. “I made a friend...”
“A friend? Tell me about them.”
“Her name’s Aisha... She’s a half-elf... A young girl...”
“Well, isn’t that lovely,” said Analissia. “You must introduce me to her. I would love to meet this friend of yours.”
“Okay!” Izuna nodded.
When Analissia returned to her chambers, however, her tone turned to one of clear displeasure. “A friend?!” she spat. “That Izuna made a friend?!”
Who in the world could it possibly be? At the very least, certainly nobody from Estoll. Izuna Lendoll Greenfield was the last survivor of the lineage cursed with the Demon Eyes—a weapon of war. Her evil reputation was sure to precede her wherever she went within the kingdom. Not only that, but Analissia herself had forbidden anyone to associate with Izuna. It was impossible to think that a local would have broken the prohibition now, of all times.