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She had known where the sanctuary was from the day she arrived in Friedland, but this was her first time visiting it. It had been rebuilt for Yukinari’s use, but apparently it was the place where young women used to be offered up as living sacrifices to the erdgod.
Hatsune had carefully avoided going anywhere near it, lest she inadvertently run into Yukinari.
It was hardly that she didn’t want to see him. In fact, it was the opposite. She longed to be reunited with her beloved younger brother, to embrace him. But now, so it seemed, he was worshipped as the local deity, surrounded by servants and sycophants. Hatsune hoped to meet him only after she had eliminated these vulgar distractions to the extent that she could.
She had hoped that by leaving his name in kanji at the scenes of her murders, she might startle him into voluntarily leaving behind all the evil people around him. But he had done just the opposite, basing himself in Friedland and trying desperately to protect its inhabitants.
And so she had decided to punish him. It had been so long since she had scolded her younger brother. Dear, sweet Yukinari. They had promised to live their lives together, and only together. Hatsune had poured all her love into him, and yet the moment he was out of her sight he forgot all about his older sister and went making friends with the people of this other world. This did not make her happy.
And thus she had decided to pick one of those who were relatively close to Yukinari and kill them.
She knew how kind he was, and how much pain this would cause him. She had seen how deeply shaken he appeared when she killed the girl with the gun the day before. He was so troubled, in fact, that he didn’t even spare a hug for the sister with whom he was finally reunited, but only dove after the girl’s body, as if to pick up some trash she had thrown away.
That only meant she would have to kill more of them. That, at least, was Hatsune’s opinion. She would kill and kill and then kill some more. The thought brought a smile to her face.
Yukinari would blame himself, no doubt. He would lament that he could not save them. He would be deeply wounded; he would suffer. And then, she was sure, he would turn to his dear older sister to escape the pain. Then, at last, she could hold him again. Her dear, sweet younger brother...
When she finally arrived at the sanctuary, she found it a rather unimposing place despite its name. It was large, yes, but it didn’t look much different from your average warehouse. It didn’t seem ornamented to look intimidating, nor was the architecture very complicated. There might, she supposed, be booby traps inside.
Hatsune, however, felt as happy as if she had come to some amusement park. She stood in the middle of the road that stretched out to the sanctuary and called in a singsong tone, “Yuki! My dear Yuuuki!”
She sounded like a child engaged in some delightful game.
“Your big sister has come to you, just like you asked!” She spread her arms out to her sides as she spoke. “Haven’t I always done everything you’ve asked, my dear Yuki, ever since we were small? So come out, Yuki! Come out and see your big sister.”
She was sure he could hear her, and so she waited. At length...
“...Hatsune.”
Yukinari appeared from the sanctuary. Armed and ready.
He was carrying Durandall, of which she’d heard rumors in Friedland: a carbine with a bayonet. He must have created it using his angel powers. She had seen one once, when she’d caught and killed a member of the community watch unawares. The gun was obviously the product of Yukinari’s particular interests; it made Hatsune smile even as she recoiled at the ugliness of the weapon.
Yes—now that she thought about it, Yukinari had had a model gun just like Durandall. She thought it was from some Western. She remembered the movie; they had gone to a theater together to see it. She had found the show a bit boring, but Yukinari—who had only been in elementary school at the time—had been enraptured.
What does he mean, carrying around a toy like that?
Did he think he could kill her with it? A pitying smile flitted across Hatsune’s face—but it vanished when a girl appeared behind Yukinari.
She was a small woman with silver hair. In fact, her hair was the same color as Hatsune’s. Indeed, the set of her features even looked a little bit like that of Yukinari’s sister. That must be the girl Dasa, the one who had drifted into Friedland at Yukinari’s side.
“Ah... Now I see.” Hatsune nodded to herself in recognition.
So that was who he’d traded her for. Looking to ease the disappointment of losing his beloved sister, Yukinari had found a girl who vaguely resembled her to keep around instead. That was all she was.
The girl herself, however, didn’t seem to grasp that. She kept looking at Hatsune with a challenging glare. She had a gun in her hand, and she was poised for a fight. How impudent of her. A replacement ought to know her place.
“I’ll have to kill her, just for good measure.”
She didn’t recall raising a younger brother who could be satisfied with some pale imitation. Now that the two of them were back together, Yukinari had no need of a replacement for her. At least, he shouldn’t. She was confident that if she killed the girl, he would come to his senses.