Chapter 52

CHAPTER 2 Don’t Lay Down Your Life To get right to the point… Nayuki Fuyuse had been erased from this world. That meant she couldn’t be located. Everyone affiliated with Camelot International High School had lost all memory of her. Suspecting someone had cast a strange spell on them, Rintarou examined the school with his psychic senses, but there were no signs of magical tampering. Her name had been scrubbed from all official documents—it was not in the family registries, in certificates of residence, or on lists of Social Security numbers. Even the apartment he’d heard she lived in was empty. He couldn’t locate a single thing that belonged to her. And her neighbors had no recollection of her, either. It was almost laughable that she had disappeared so completely. Rintarou had exhausted all methods to search for Nayuki’s whereabouts, and yet he still had no leads. Three days passed with no progress, overwhelming anxiety, and fear. “Ha-ha! Good job today, Rintarou!” “…Sure.” Rintarou trudged behind Luna, who stomped through the school halls. Unlike Rintarou’s difficult search for Nayuki, Luna’s campaign was going well. The outsourced team—Emma, Felicia, and Sir Gawain—were the cream of the crop. With both her honest and nefarious strategies, Luna was steadily gaining the lead in the school’s public opinion. “Whew. Equipped with your iron defenses for the debate, Rintarou, we won the discussion by a landslide!” “Sure…” “Heh-heh-heh! You’ve made a masterpiece! Did you see the look on the other candidates’ faces when I beat them? And—” “…” Luna continued to rave beside him. Rintarou was distracted, thoughts occupied by…Nayuki, naturally. Nayuki…where did you disappear off to…? And why did you…? It wasn’t like she was his girlfriend or anything…but she had been an important friend. In fact…there was something familiar about her, as if this wasn’t the first time they’d met. When she disappeared without a trace, he couldn’t deny she had left a gaping hole in his heart. …I wanted to protect Luna and Sir Kay and Emma… And also Felicia and Sir Gawain, I guess, even though they’re idiots… You were always grinning, Nayuki, in our annoying group… Without you… A sigh pushed past his lips. There wasn’t anything he could do. He’d thought everything would fall into place if he dedicated some effort to it…but this was damaging his ego. Rintarou felt powerless. “Um… Sorry, Rintarou…,” Luna suddenly said from next to him. “Wh-what are you sorry for all of a sudden…? What’s wrong?” “Um… You seem tired. I know I’ve been unreasonable lately…” Luna seemed worried, observing him with sad puppy dog eyes. I must look like shit if she’s making this expression… Rintarou was annoyed that he was so worthless. It wasn’t clear if she knew what he was thinking, but she took on a brave tone. “So I’ve got a reward for you! You don’t have to do any work after school today!” “Yeah?” “After I’m finished for the day, I’ll grant you the privilege of going on a date with me at a café! Your treat! What do you think?! I bet you can’t wait!” “How is that a reward in any way? I wish I could lock you up and interrogate you a hundred thousand times! It’s like you love to exploit me!” “Sounds good! I need to wrap up the last thing on my schedule! Wait for me. If you leave before me, it’s capital punishment for you!” “…Are you hell-bent on punishing me?” Rintarou watched Luna from behind as she marched away triumphantly… “…Whew.” Rintarou collapsed onto a bench on the outskirts of the schoolyard. Lately, he had been so swamped with Luna’s campaign and searching for Nayuki that he hadn’t had a chance to catch his breath until now. The campus seemed ablaze as the sun set on the horizon. The shadows of the student athletes were bouncing around energetically. It felt like it was all far away as Rintarou turned inward. “…Dammit…Nayuki… Where did you go…?” It was like Nayuki Fuyuse never existed in this world… Maybe she was just an imaginary friend that he’d fabricated in his mind. Tch…I’ve got to keep it together… She’s real… I know she is…! The day before Nayuki had disappeared, it was obvious that something had befallen her, and yet he had chosen Luna over her. Now he was saddled with regret. If only I’d been with her…! Dammit! Why did I have to leave her alone?! Right when she was ready to talk to me about something… There was nothing to absolve his regret. Maybe…I was unconsciously afraid of hearing what she had to say…? Maybe I wanted it to remain the way things were…ignorant, but blissful. Rintarou was grilling himself. “Hey, Rintarou!” Someone seemed to be scolding him from behind, yelling at him with a voice that was an earsore. He turned around… “Gah?!” Luna’s archnemesis at school—the Ethics Committee chairman Tsugumi Mimori—stood there imposingly. “Rintarou! I need you to be sensible! Luna has been out of control!” “Not my problem… What do you want me to do?” Rintarou grumbled, fed up to the back teeth. “Feign innocence all you want, but you’re the only one she listens to! We need you to keep better control over Luna or we’ll be in trouble! What was with that debate? You just let her do her crazy performance on stage! A debate should be more—” Tsugumi was beginning her sermon. Since Luna was absurdly good at escaping from her clutches, things always came around to Rintarou. That was just how things went. Dammit! Luna told me to take it easy because of this, huh?! Do I never get to rest…? Rintarou held his own head, letting Tsugumi’s lecture go in one ear and pour out the other. He didn’t have time for this. “—Do you understand now?! Please get a better handle on things!” “Fine, whatever…” It seemed the lecture of the day (by proxy) was over. Rintarou plugged his ringing ears, sighing in relief. “…Putting that aside.” Tsugumi looked down at Rintarou, into his dead eyes. “Hee-hee-hee… Seems you’re exhausted. I never would have thought you would be so upset about losing Nayuki Fuyuse…” “—Huh?!” He snapped his head up to stare at her face. “I suppose people can change… Heh-heh… I’m pleased to see you grow, but it might pose problems if you get too gutless…” At some point, the air around Tsugumi Mimori had transformed. Though she retained her beautiful face, it had been elevated to something beguiling that had the potential to seduce even the devil. She seemed to be outlined by darkness, as if they were in the bottom of the abyss. The air turned dull, heavy, and cold. While she was still human in shape, Tsugumi had become a monster, beyond human. “…Who are you…?” He realized no one was around them. Though the schoolyard had just been buzzing with athletic activity, there was no one else there. He had been launched into a world of silence. The campus burned red at dusk, making dark shadows of Tsugumi and Rintarou that stretched like an endless corridor to the reaches of the horizon. “…Tsugumi Mimori… You couldn’t be—?” “Does it really matter who I am right now, Merlin…?” Her empty eyes reflected no light, staring right into his soul. “Right. Wait… Do you remember Nayuki?” “Why, of course. I remember her just as well as you do.” She let out an ominous chuckle. “I’m surprised you remember her… That must mean you’re regaining your powers from the ancient era. You’re heading in a good direction. Everything I’ve done has been worth it.” Shing… Rintarou was already standing with his swords at the ready. However, he still hadn’t tried swinging them down on her. There was something he needed to ask first. “Do you know…where Nayuki went? Do you know what happened to her? Or did you do something to her…?” Depending on her answer, he would cut her down. Brimming with dreadful animosity, Rintarou had questioned Tsugumi. “Hee-hee-hee. You only have my word…but I haven’t done anything to her.” She sounded like she was enjoying herself, mocking Rintarou. “But I do know what happened that day—when Nayuki disappeared… Because I was watching.” “What?! Then answer me! What happened to Nayuki?! What went down that day?!” “I could tell you, but…would you believe me? What if I’m lying to trick you?” “…” She was right. He shouldn’t think of her as Tsugumi Mimori, a member of the Ethics Committee. This girl was a witch—the particular witch he loathed the most in the entire world. He couldn’t believe a single word that came out of her mouth. “Since that’s the case…would you synchronize your consciousness with me—just for a little while?” “?!” “Our minds will temporarily convene in the deep subconscious. There, you can read my memories directly… What do you say?” Rintarou went silent. That certainly was one way to find out the truth. If he peeked directly into her depths, she had no way of lying. It was impossible even for a god to fake something in there. But it was dangerous. To connect consciousness and probe memories was like peering into an abyss without a lifeline. If things went badly, he wouldn’t be able to come back. On top of that, he would be in Tsugumi’s domain—the void. Who knew what kinds of traps would lie in wait for him there? If you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you. However… “Fine. Let me peer into your void. But I get to take the lead. All right?” Rintarou got ready to step into danger of his own volition. “Hmm? I was just saying that because I never thought someone as guarded as you would willingly put yourself at risk. Hee-hee-hee. So you’ve changed. Up until now, you would have tortured me in captivity until I spilled the truth.” “Shut your mouth. I’ve given up on those methods.” “Hmm? Influenced by Luna? Someone’s stopped being so rough around the edges…” Tsugumi stepped toward Rintarou, closed her eyes, and stuck out her forehead. “Just to be clear, don’t try anything funny,” he warned. “If you do, I’ll send your head flying on the spot. I’m not so gutless that I wouldn’t protect myself from danger.” “…I’ll keep that in mind.” Without allowing his guard to lower in the slightest, Rintarou extended his pointer finger…and touched Tsugumi’s temple. Then, he steadied his breath and concentrated, refining his mana…and chanting under his breath. Rintarou’s consciousness cut off from his flesh. His flesh was grounded on the physical plane ruled by the laws of physics, while his spirit was an existence untethered to time and space. This all happened in a fleeting moment in the real world… Rintarou had a chance to meet the truth. Huh?! He caught a glimpse into the memory of the past. Flashing in his consciousness was the schoolyard exactly three days prior. This was the unknown—and it had been unfurled from beginning to end. “We were in the wrong! Even if the three goddesses predicted this fate…it doesn’t justify robbing Merlin of a future!” He witnessed Vivian, who had been waiting for Nayuki. The two had severed their ties. Ah. He could tell what was going on just by seeing them. “I could say the same about you, Master! You can’t make a sound judgment! Why are you letting the Catastrophe happen?! Why are you focused on saving the world after humanity is destroyed?! Are you sure you have your priorities in order?! “We should be trying to prevent the Catastrophe!” He understood her feelings for him—that she had walked a path of hardship, incredible sorrow, pain, and discontent. “Master…I mean, Vivian, you’re no protector of humanity. Right now, you’re just a pathetic monster obsessed with controlling humans! You refuse to openly discuss the possibility of true salvation! When you disregarded that option, you became a beast! The enemy of humankind!” From their exchange, Rintarou knew Nayuki had weighed her obligations and feelings for him on a scale, fighting alone for a long time. “My… You’ve learned to speak your mind, Nimue.” However, Vivian sneered at Nayuki’s desperation—unceasingly cruel and merciless. With deep malice, she tried to crush Nayuki’s emotions. “Your mischief ends here! I imagine you know why I’m in front of you today—to punish an ungrateful traitor with death.” She was trying to swallow Nayuki with her limitless power. Facing against Vivian, Nayuki’s face expressed grim heartbreak. Even without words, it was almost painful the way she communicated her emotions. If I survive here…if I have a chance at tomorrow… …Why? Why did I have to abandon Nayuki when she was secretly carrying this out? Why couldn’t I have stayed by her side? I know she’s the type to shoulder the burden herself to avoid wrapping us into her mess. What the hell was I so afraid of? The floodgates opened, engulfing Rintarou’s heart with regret as he watched. As he remained unable to do anything, a ghastly slaughter commenced in front of him. “Ugh! Aaaaaaaah?!” Nayuki shrieked in agony, her voice ringing through the nighttime blizzard. There were flashes of red. Scarlet. Crimson. “Ha-ha! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!” Vivian’s high-pitched squeals of laughter grated his ears. The ice spears had come together to form a barrage; tens of thousands of them rained down on her. They assaulted her petite body, skewered her. She was being ripped into shreds. Without mercy or compassion, Vivian snickered as she continued to tease Nayuki, to make sport of her body, to torment her. It was cruel, ruthless. Blood speckled through space. It was almost laughably beautiful. Nayuki was armed with an ice sword, covered in frosty air, trying to counterattack. However, her attempts didn’t even matter. They would never take it to Vivian. The cruelest part of all this was that Nayuki couldn’t die immediately because she was half-fey. “…Gah! …Rintarou…! …I…I…!” Stained with blood, her body had become a mountain of spears as she desperately swung her sword, trying to ward off the icicles showering down on her like meteors. She endured it all, calling out his name. But there would be no salvation for her. …Stop…! Nayuki! That’s enough…! Stop…! Rintarou barked out voicelessly as more blades lacerated her body and fouled her luscious hair and soft skin. Her dainty body jerked around as the spears slashed her, tugged in all directions like a broken puppet. She was blasted away, launched off the ground, rebounding. This couldn’t be called a fight. How long would this unfair slaughter last? “Ah. Ugh…ah…” Nayuki’s arms were extended to her sides, pinned up by spears to the wall of a school building. Blood stained the ice that pierced her palms, her arms, her chest, her stomach, her shoulders, and her legs. The frozen blood flaked into red chips that were blown away by the blizzard. She seemed like a pinned insect specimen. That, or a crucified saint. “…Cough. Gah… Ugh… Ah…” Much of her body was frozen over, and she could no longer move a single finger… “Hee-hee. Do you understand your position?” Vivian looked up at Nayuki with joy and disdain before offering an ultimatum. “But seeing that I’m kind, I’ll give you one last chance, Nimue.” Her lips spread into a bewitching and detestable grin. “You must ensnare Merlin…Rintarou Magami. You may whisper sweet nothings to him or use your beautiful physique… Either way, you must make him your captive once more.” “…What?!” “Seal him away again. Kill him. Only then will I absolve your crimes. I believe you can do this, right?” It’s fine…it’s fine, Nayuki…, Rintarou thought as he heard this echo of a memory. Nayuki had already gone above and beyond. This entire time, she had been shouldering this burden all by herself. There hadn’t been a moment of rest for her—even as Rintarou had been a little brat with a huge ego, playing the world’s smallest violin, believing he was the most unfortunate person in the world. Nayuki had been working by herself for all that time. And wasn’t that enough? Even if Nayuki had given in to Vivian, Rintarou had already decided he wouldn’t hold it against her. In fact, there were things he wanted to apologize to her for and tell her— …It’s fine… You should…! “…” In the end, Nayuki limply…but with authority…shook her head to the side. She had turned down Vivian’s offer. “…I don’t want to do that… I’m never going to betray Rintarou…Merlin…ever again…” …Stop…! Please…! Stop…! His inner screams fell on deaf ears. This was a memory of the past. It had already come to be. He couldn’t step in to help her. His words and emotions could never speak to her. Even though he was watching from up close, Rintarou could do nothing. “You’re a hopeless imbecile. There’s no saving you. It was a mistake to accept you into the Dame du Lac.” She glanced at Nayuki as though she were disdainfully looking at trash that had served its purpose. Vivian raised her hand, causing cold air to gather and eddy around it. It solidified into an ice spear as long as a telephone pole—a staggeringly lethal and fiendish weapon. If that thing went through her, Nayuki would likely be torn into nothing. Stop… Stop! Stop! Stop…! Rintarou howled in his heart, but it was futile. “…Are you ready, Nimue?” Vivian asked like an executioner to Nayuki, who was pinned limply above her head. “…Sweet dreams.” She launched the icy blade. It tore through the blizzard, splitting it in half as it flew at high speed. Nayuki groaned as she watched the tip of the spear come at her. That was all she could do… “…Sorry…Rintarou…,” she murmured at the end. Tears formed at the corners of her eyes. “…I…couldn’t…keep my promise…” “Stooooooooooooooooooop!” His own scream almost popped his eardrums, and his consciousness snapped back to reality, leaving the memories of the past. “Hah…! Haah…! Haah…!” He lifted his finger off Tsugumi’s forehead and staggered backward. Sweat started to gush out of his pores. It was sickening. It felt like his heart was going to burst, pounding violently in his chest. His vision spun. His consciousness turned white, his breath was as hot as fire, and it felt like he was going to puke out his entire stomach. He had the sensation of being suspended in the air, as if the world had been smashed to pieces. He desperately endured these feelings as he tried to piece together his scattered self with brute force. “Dammit…! Nayuki…! Nayuki… Gah! Ugh…?!” He had seen it. He’d had the misfortune of witnessing the situation. Now he knew. Nayuki Fuyuse was dead. Her body had been torn apart. She had been turned into a fog of mana. She no longer existed in this world. Rintarou had ended up making the mistake of seeing it all—from start to finish. “Ah…ugh, ah, ahhh…! N-Nayuki…! Why did you…?!” Rintarou desperately held back his tears, gritting his molars with enough force to make them groan from the pressure. His shoulders heaved with each breath. “It seems…you saw the truth of the past without a problem…” She snickered. Tsugumi Mimori was laughing. He realized she was no longer in her school uniform. Instead, she wore a jet-black robe that revealed slivers of her body. Her enchanting face was half covered by lace… She was a witch who seemed to be born from the darkness. Rintarou knew her. He remembered her name, his memories as Merlin bubbling up from within him. Her Masking magic shattered, letting the figure in his memory overlap with the one in front of him. She had been the opponent who had stood in front of them many times, only to provoke them. Her name was— “Morgan…! Morgan le Fay…!” “Hee-hee-hee. Long time no see… Would you say that’s the appropriate greeting, Merlin?” He was having a chance meeting with the second-strongest mage of the legendary era. “…What are you scheming…?! Why are you working behind the scenes of the succession battle…?! What are you trying to do…?!” “I may be concocting something. Hee-hee… But I’ll never tell you the details.” Morgan evaded his question with scorn. “Anyway, Merlin… You know the truth now. Nayuki Fuyuse died by the hands of Vivian, the head of the Dame du Lac… What are you going to do?” Morgan didn’t try to mince her words, declaring this without mercy. It was almost as if she knew how the future would go… “I could hardly think the Merlin himself would give up without saying his piece… There’s no way, right? Hee-hee-hee…” Morgan snickered as though she was goading him. “…Is that what this is about?” Rintarou glared at her, overwhelmed with tempestuous hatred and rage. His frigid eyes seemed as though they could kill her with just a look. “Are you telling me this is all according to your calculations…?! Even my future actions?! All this time, you’ve been manipulating everyone in the King Arthur Succession Battle…!” “Maybe? Who can say? I’ll leave that up to your imagination.” “Tch! You’re shameless!” Morgan had transferred her true memories to Rintarou with that goal in mind. She had gone out of her way to show him her own consciousness instead of telling him, so Rintarou could witness Nayuki’s brutal death. All so she could provoke him. Ah, it was audacious. Just plain distasteful. Morgan was one or two steps ahead of him. And even though he knew that, he could only dance on the palm of her hand. “Fine. I’ll entertain you for now, Morgan le Fay. But don’t expect me to fulfill your expectations in the end…!” Rintarou howled. The heavens would have shuddered from his wrath, but Morgan snickered and smiled bewitchingly as she waved him off. She pinched the hems of her robe with her fingers, bowing gracefully. Her body seemed to dissolve into the shadows, melting away into the dark. With that, the world whirred into motion again. When he looked around, the student athletes filled his vision as they engaged in their club activities. Rintarou watched that peaceful scene for a while… “…Just you wait, Vivian.” Suddenly, he disappeared—no, jumped through the air. With a single kick, he reached the edge of the school roof. Another kick launched him into the sky. He was charging right through the air of the international city of Avalonia, from rooftop to rooftop. The cityscape flashed past him, trailing behind him like a stream. “You’re the one I could never forgive.” His mind and soul burned with resentment. Rintarou sprinted and soared, whizzing through the sky. The rooftops were his launching platforms as he ran from wall to wall of skyscrapers, racing in front of trains. He jumped off cars and touched down on traffic lights, going higher and higher. He did it fiercely, savagely, resolutely, a certain location in mind. He was a violent tornado, tearing through the city toward Area One of Avalonia. Rintarou was lost in thought. Nayuki… So you were Nimue… Nimue from the Dame du Lac. Merlin’s former lover. She was the traitor who had tricked him, sealed him away, and murdered him. …I’ve had my suspicions for a while… I couldn’t get the pieces to fit because you had Masking on you, which was why you didn’t match up with my memories… I thought there was a vague possibility…but…! Rintarou hadn’t touched on it on purpose. He hadn’t wanted to get too involved with Nimue. …He had been scared. In the past, Merlin had been betrayed by Nimue, and he’d lashed out at her from bitterness. He shuddered even now, just thinking about the dark animosity he’d felt back then. He had abandoned himself to his impulses without questioning the reasons behind her actions, cursing her as she apologized through her tears. I didn’t know how I would respond when I confirmed her identity… I didn’t know what would come out of my mouth… I was scared that I’d lose my circle of friends I’d worked so hard to get… So he had remained complicit. He had continued to allow things to remain ambiguous. By chance, Luna had barged in on them as Nayuki decided to reveal something in their conversation. Things had remained up in the air. When they decided to postpone their conversation, Rintarou had felt relief. His own weakness disgusted him. This happened because I was spineless enough to put things off…! He gripped his hand hard enough for his fingernails to break skin. Blood started to well out of his palm. His fury was hot enough to fry his brain. There were a lot of things to consider—and circumstances, too. Too many to count. Vivian’s motives, Nayuki’s reasons, Rintarou’s secret. Even if he worked his way through the noise— I’m getting what I deserve. This is all my fault. That’s why I need to fix this myself! He couldn’t get Luna involved in this battle. Call it what you will, Rintarou was heading into a personal struggle, a desperate form of retaliation, revenge, vengeance. Nayuki wouldn’t be coming back. His actions meant nothing, but he didn’t stop. He couldn’t stop. As if he could ever stop. “Aaaaaaaaaaaah!” Rintarou pushed through the skyscrapers, flying in between them, before he arrived at one conspicuously larger and newer tower. It was the city hall, the central department for the administration of the artificial island of Avalonia. To the trained eye, it was obvious that there was another city hall perfectly overlapping this one—on the underside of the planet, the netherworld. Those two edifices were divided by the boundaries between the worlds. Normal humans couldn’t step over this divide, much less perceive it, but there certainly was a second building there. And it was plainly visible to Rintarou— “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” Crashing down from the sky, Rintarou unsheathed his red and white swords, swinging them into the shape of an X as he jumped into the city hall’s entrance. Boooom! Glass shattered everywhere. Rintarou’s swords broke through the world boundaries that divided the two city halls, letting him slip through to the underside via a fissure. With his extra momentum, he slid ten yards across the floor, the bottoms of his shoes and his knees scraping from friction. When he lifted his face, not a single normal employee or human was on the floor that stretched before him… “Wh-who are you?!” “How did you get in here?!” Instead, there was a crowd of gorgeous women wearing the same clothes as Nayuki and Vivian. The Dame du Lac blinked at Rintarou, their sudden intruder. He staggered to his feet in front of the gaping group. His voice rumbled, loud enough to reach the pits of hell. “Bring me Vivian.” “…Huh? Wh-what are you…?” “Isn’t she here? Somewhere in this place… Tell her that Rintarou Magami…that Merlin has come to kill her.” It was like all hell broke loose for the Dame du Lac upon hearing his egotistic tone. “Hey, you… Don’t you know this is holy ground? No trespassing! Filthy humans from the outside world aren’t allowed entry.” “And you think you’ll get to see Lady Vivian? To kill her? Someone’s being stupid…!” “Hyah-ha-ha! Hiiiiiilarious! I bet you have no idea who we are! Hyah-ha-ha-ha-ha!” “Oh my… It seems like you’ve got some power, but we’re the Dame du Lac—noble beings of half-human, half-fey blood. We’re superior to humans. You’ll make a fool of yourself if you keep that up.” The Dame du Lac were looking at Rintarou as though he were some clown. They met him with inquisitiveness, contempt, and ridicule. Rintarou didn’t have his eyes set on those ladies—ignoring them and barreling through to the back of the floor. “Hey…!” “St-stop right there! Don’t take another step! Consider this your final warning!” “Outta my way!” Rintarou spat. “I’ve got business with Vivian, that harlot! You might be her minions, but I would prefer not to unnecessarily manhandle any girls. If you don’t want to get hurt, step back.” Up until this moment, the Dame du Lac had been looking at him with disbelief. Now they changed everything about their attitude and demeanor. “I guess you need to be taught a lesson or two…” “Ha-ha-ha! All humans are idiots who don’t know their place!” They stood in Rintarou’s way and surrounded him. Seventeen in total. Every single one of them was a proud mage who boasted incredible mana. Encircled by all this power, despair was the only mood appropriate for this situation. However, Rintarou didn’t slow his pace at all. Even in this circumstance, he wasn’t interested in a single one of them… “Oh, well. I won’t actually take your lives. Just go to sleep.” By acting all superior, he had apparently spoiled their mood. “It seems someone needs to be punished and taught some damn manners.” “No need to call in Vivian. We can take care of this on our own.” “Hee-hee-hee. To think he’ll have to fight on his own against us!” “You’re just a human. You’re not our enemy.” “Ha-ha-ha. I’ll go easy on you…but don’t come crying to me if you die.” With that warning, each of the Dame du Lac boosted her powers and chanted her magic words. A destructive amount of power started to expand in the room—a crushing Aura. Eventually, their hands unleashed a torrent of blazing flames, a whirling vacuum of sharp blazes, blizzards below freezing, tsunamis, thunder and lightning, and all forces of nature, trying to swallow him whole. “Hmph. So you’re stupid.” At that moment, Rintarou made his move. To put it simply, his actions were minimal—clean. He approached them and swung his swords. That was it. There were no tricks or illusions. He kept repeating his movements in a speed beyond human comprehension—seventeen times. In the blink of an eye, he had cut down the seventeen of them. Fwsht! His swords flashed with a beam of light. “Gah?!” “Ahhhh…?!” A beat later, there was a shock wave, blasting out with force. Screams were barely audible above the roaring wind. His swords produced a whirlwind, sucking in streaks of blood as the beaten bodies of the Dame du Lac were mercilessly blown away, smashing against the ceiling and walls, rolling across the floor… “…Hmph.” The place was still. There was no one who could utter a word. Rintarou whipped his swords through the air. There wasn’t a single drop of blood on them from the speed of his attacks. Composed, he left the place behind. Rintarou walked through the city hall that the Dame du Lac controlled in the netherworld. He stalked up to the top floor. Many a Dame du Lac attacked him on his trek there, trying to thwart his progress. “Outta my way.” ““““AAAAAAAAH?!”””” A single slash of his sword sliced through the gathering crowd like paper. With his overwhelming power, Rintarou hacked down all those who were there to keep him from his goal as he continued toward the top floor. He kept climbing up the stairs. He walked all through the building, trampling over the layers of magic traps underfoot like ants. No one stopped Rintarou. They couldn’t stop him. No matter how many straw men formed a wall, it was nothing against the heavy armor of a tank. Witnesses said he’d marched forward like the devil. In a certain office on the top floor of the city hall in the underworld, Vivian was performing her usual duties. She was lost in thought as her eyes scanned the documents she’d received from her underlings. They had burrowed their way into the government of every country in the world through its underside. Hmm… The postindustrial areas—Japan, America, Europe—are doing fine at present. As for the Middle East…I suppose I’ll have them continue their wars to tweak the power balance among their countries, and for economic reasons. About the drought in the southern region of the northern states… Hmm… We don’t have any resources to help them… We’ll have to let them be for the time being. Sorry. Even if the population dips, it won’t take long for them to recuperate… Vivian wrapped up her written commands, determining the general state of the world moving forward. The shadow leaders in each country were the Dame du Lac. The leaders would follow Vivian’s orders when it came to politics and the administration of their countries. They didn’t even realize they were being manipulated by magic. On this day, she would continue to maintain the equilibrium of the world. Just like that, the Dame du Lac had secretly guided and managed the planet for generations. …Every once in a while, humans need war. Otherwise, they’ll head toward their own decline with no advancements… These children are a handful. But it seems they’ve been showing troubling signs—acting in ways beyond our expectations… I’m beginning to hope for the Catastrophe to come sooner… Vivian sighed. Outside her office, there were heavy footsteps of someone coming closer… BAAM! A bloodied girl staggered into the room, clinging onto the door frame, still from shock. “Emelda? What in the world happened to you?” “This is bad news! Lady Vivian…! That man…Rinta—!” CRASH! Someone violently kicked her from behind as she tried to deliver her message. She splayed out on the office floor. “…What’s up, Vivian?” The one who had appeared behind her was— “Rintarou Magami—Merlin?!” Dangling his two swords as his arms hung limply at his sides, he emitted a dark Aura that froze the air around them. The boy fouled the place with his wrath. Rintarou. He had made it to the top from the first floor of the building. Not a single wound had been inflicted upon him. His breaths were even… He hadn’t killed a single person. “…Gh! …You’ve come all this way with that scary face? What’s the matter? Can I help you?” For a moment, her face screwed up in shock, but it took her no time to regain her composure. She held back her emotions with a smile. “I can’t believe you’d march in here without an appointment… And all violent, too… I wish you had more tact and common sense…” “Haven’t got any use for chitchat, you damn tramp.” Rintarou glared at Vivian as he thrust the point of his red sword at her with his right hand. “This is for Nayuki… This is for Nimue. I’ll hear you out if you want to apologize or beg for your life…after I’ve slit your throat.” He was more furious, more forceful than ever. Splayed out on the floor, Emelda labored to breathe, shrinking back from his power. Suffocating, she started foaming at the mouth before fainting, eyes rolling to the back of her head. “…Haah… Why do you know about that, Merlin?” Vivian stood up from her seat, making her nasty remarks. “Nayuki Fuyuse… Nimue gave up being human and became part of the Dame du Lac… That was when she departed from the world’s providence, which is why no one would have any memories of her. All traces of her life disappeared, and the world synchronizes for consistency…” She started to walk quietly, staring at Rintarou as though making a fool of him. She slowly circling him, clockwise, in the expansive office. “…” Rintarou kept his swords lowered as he locked onto his target and started stalking through the room with her. He continued to keep a fixed distance from Vivian. “And you’re seeking vengeance? She should be nothing more than a traitor to you. She’s the detestable person who sealed you away and killed you.” “…” Inching across the room, the two continued to pace around in circles. While maintaining a fixed distance, they kept an eye on each other without lowering their guards…and continued prowling.