——The place had already undergone such a complete transformation that one might have forgotten what the original terrain had ever looked like.
The aftermath of destruction looked as though some enraged serpent had gone on a rampage. Every standing tree had been mowed down, and several had been wrenched root and all from the earth, sent spinning violently through the air.
The cracked, gouged, and sunken ground was riddled with holes of unknowable depth, trampled and ravaged to the point where it seemed the whole place might plunge straight into the abyss of hell at any moment.
All of that destruction was the doing of a single figure standing at its center.
A man who, despite having blood streaming from every part of his face and barely clinging to life, still forced himself upright on tortured legs. A blasphemer who had embraced an "Sin" too large for his body and purchased power at the cost of his dwindling life.
Juice——
"————"
His breathing was ragged, his complexion drained of all color to a pallor that went beyond mere paleness.
But even in this state, his condition had improved compared to when it had all begun. The "Something" that had been rampaging inside his body appeared to have accepted the thoroughly unwelcoming space as a temporary residence.
After having gone wild inside the confines of his skin and bone, it had at last ceded full control of the flesh to Juice, and in exchange—as rent—the power it granted had only grown in precision and lethality.
The Authority he wielded, the overwhelming power of destruction.
The "unseen hands" invisible to every eye were formidable beyond measure, reaching out to places beyond one's grasp, extending fingers to what could never be touched, and unleashing force against those who should have been unbeatable.
Among the
The fact that Juice had faced him and not been ground to mincemeat in an instant was, without question, entirely thanks to the
Nevertheless, Juice's desperate resistance, fought with every last ounce of strength— "Is this… enough… yet…?"
He glared straight ahead with bloodshot eyes, raising trembling arms and forcing the words out.
The merciless, undiscriminating, concentrated storm of violence from the unseen hands had been hammered relentlessly against his opponent for what felt like eternity, but the enemy, coated in the thick clouds of dust and debris— "Oh, are we done yet?"
Regulus poked his head out from the clearing smoke, a bored expression on his face as he stuck a finger in his ear.
He scratched his ear roughly and carelessly, looking completely unaffected by the surrounding devastation—as though his figure had simply been pasted into the scene of destruction after the fact.
"After all… that… and still…!"
"Give it a rest, will you? When are you going to realize? That it doesn't matter. You and I—we're different leagues entirely. Compatibility, how much you've grown, none of that is even the issue. No one can beat me. No one can hurt me. Whether you ingest a Witch Factor, bring a Dragon, or fetch the Sword Saint—it's all pointless."
"For all you say… you seem to have been awfully generous… with your time, keeping me company… it seems…"
"There's no rush for me to chase after anything. Isn't it obvious? I'm just an escort. Otherwise, why would I bother coming all the way out here? I'd be at home, surrounded by my wives, enjoying my little peace and quiet. But honestly, I'm getting bored."
Responding to Juice's words with complete indifference, Regulus took a slow step forward.
He picked his way through the altered terrain without hesitation, and when he descended to the same eye level as Juice, he gave a casual flick of his raised hand.
A gesture like swatting away an insect. Juice tensed, sensing what was about to happen.
He called upon the power within, sacrificing blood and flesh to the dark, writhing thing inside him to gain strength. He inhaled, preparing to unleash the surging impulse at Regulus— And Juice's arms were torn from his shoulders and sent flying.
"Huh—!?"
"What a dull reaction. You're inconveniencing me, so the least you could do is flail around entertainingly—that's basic courtesy, isn't it? Well, I suppose expecting that was foolish of me."
"Ahhh—!!"
His severed arms tumbled across the ground, spraying blood in every direction. Juice, robbed of both limbs, rolled his eyes back and screamed.
The stumps on both shoulders were ugly, brutal wounds that looked as though they'd been torn off by beastly fangs. The right arm was gone from the shoulder; the left, from the middle of the upper arm.
His body arched violently, convulsing in excruciating pain.
Blood foamed at his lips, and the teeth he clenched in agony shattered one after another. His legs, already failing, buckled at the knees and his forehead struck the ground, his face submerged in despair.
"In the end, that's all your resolve, your determination, and all the rest of it amounts to. Everyone's like that—it's nothing to worry about. No one can carry more than what fits in their own two arms. They live satisfied with their small worlds, fulfilled, seeing only what's inside. Within their proper measure. And now that you've lost the arms to carry anything at all… it's self-evident, isn't it?"
"Aaah… aaah… ahh…"
"I really do hate this, you know. Watching me beat you like this, you might think I'm some kind of sadist who gets pleasure from hurting others, but that's a spectacular misunderstanding and a tremendous insult to my character. It's not like I'm doing this because I want to. There's nothing left in my life that I want to do. I'm fulfilled. I don't want to be influenced by anyone, for better or for worse. I'm without desire. I'm content. You have no right to hate me. You simply stood in the path I was already walking."
The spurting force of Juice's blood weakened, and his screams grew smaller and fainter.
Rough, short breaths came in ragged rasps as Juice crouched, foaming at the mouth, his body convulsing like a bug on the verge of death.
There was no malice or hostility in Regulus's words as he spat them out.
He was merely stating pure, unvarnished facts as they applied to himself—there was no reason to attach emotion to it. Regulus genuinely believed it all, with no need for concealment.
Juice's desperate efforts had not so much as ruffled a single hair on Regulus Corneas.
"Honestly, it's a letdown. When you go to the trouble of summoning me, you'd expect something more… Well, it's not like anything has ever been a letdown from my perspective—but if you're going to drag me all the way out here, you should at least show me something worth the walk."
"My apologies, Bishop Regulus. You went to all this trouble, and I failed to meet your expectations."
She too stood alone in the center of the forest that Juice's unseen hands had ravaged, exactly where she had been at the start.
Like Regulus, her appearance hadn't changed in the slightest. The white cloth wrapping her slender, petite frame bore not a single speck of dust—it remained pristine—and her beautiful features were, naturally, without a single wound.
"This is not Lady Pandora's fault. It's simply that everyone in this forest, and every useless fool among the moderates, are all equally pathetic. Scum without a shred of ambition. Unlike me, who stands so high above there's no need to improve, they're ordinary people who would be finished the moment they stop struggling. To refuse to even fill their own vessels—that's a shallow greed I, the Greed Archbishop, simply cannot fathom."
"Not everyone can think as you do, or reach your level. You are special above all others, and you are content with yourself. You, complete and perfected, are magnificent. And they, imperfect as they are, are also magnificent."
"I'm not one for sophistry. I don't mind receiving Lady Pandora's compliments, but I'm not seeking praise. Besides, you never needed to bring me or the
Regulus wore a look of distaste as he mentioned the death-spreading magical beast still lurking somewhere in the forest.
He bristled at the existence of such loathsome malice, completely oblivious to the fact that others would regard his own distortions in the very same light.
"To be precise, there were several things I wanted you to accomplish. Regretfully, you were unable to do even that much."
"That's why I said I'm disappointed. When you summon me, I expect at least enough effort to justify the walk. But you couldn't even manage—"
"Honestly, that's all your resolve and determination and the rest of it amount to? Everyone's like that. It's nothing to be ashamed of. No one can carry more than what fits in their own two arms. They live satisfied with their small worlds, fulfilled, seeing only what's inside—within their proper measure. And you've lost even the arms to carry anything with. It's self-evident, isn't it?"
"Aaah… aaah…"
"I really do hate this, you know. Watching me beat you like this, you might think I get some kind of sadistic thrill from it, but that's a spectacular misunderstanding and an insult to my character. It's not like I'm doing this because I want to. There's nothing in my life I want to do anymore. I'm fulfilled. I don't want to be influenced by anyone, for better or for worse. I'm without desire. I'm content. You have no right to hate me. You simply stood in the path I was already walking."
The spurting force of Juice's blood weakened, and his screams grew smaller and fainter.
Rough, short breaths came in ragged rasps as Juice crouched, foaming at the mouth, his body convulsing like a bug on the verge of death.
There was no malice or hostility in Regulus's words as he spat them out.
He was merely stating pure, unvarnished facts as they applied to himself—there was no reason to attach emotion to it. Regulus genuinely believed it all, with no need for concealment.
Juice's desperate efforts had not so much as ruffled a single hair on Regulus Corneas.
"Honestly, it's a letdown. When you go to the trouble of summoning me, you'd expect something more. Well, nothing has ever been a letdown from my perspective, but if you're going to drag me all the way out here, you should at least show me something worth the walk."
"My apologies, Bishop Regulus. You went to all this trouble, and I failed to meet your expectations."
Pandora, who had watched the fight until now without intervening, addressed Regulus with those words as he looked down at the crumbling Juice.
She too stood alone amid the forest that Juice's unseen hands had ravaged, right where she had been at the very start.
Like Regulus, her appearance hadn't changed in the slightest. The white cloth wrapping her slender, petite frame bore not a single speck of dirt—it remained pristine—and her beautiful features were, naturally, without a single wound.
"If it means removing resistance, then yes, I could have handled it alone. But that would defeat the purpose. We did not come to this forest to harm its inhabitants."
"You brought the Black Serpent along without any restraint and now you say that? I believe you when you say you didn't intend harm—but you've clearly made peace with the fact that casualties would occur, haven't you?"
"Sacrifices are inevitable for the sake of a noble purpose. But I would never forget the courage to defy even such a cruel fate. The beauty of that spirit cannot be denied."
"You're dodging the point. What you're saying is that you'll kill people for your objective. Hahaha. Something that straightforward would be much easier to understand. Making me rack my brain for nothing—far better than wasting my day."
"I find that particular attitude of yours very agreeable."
Regulus shrugged at Pandora's smile—the kind of smile that could make the listener's heart melt.
Then Regulus turned his gaze back to the crumpled Juice, and began to walk toward him to deliver the finishing blow—because if left alone, the man would surely die.
"Well, it's not like the death of that body would mean your death, but it's easier to manage if I pull out the contents and hold them by the scruff of the neck. Though holding the scruff of a man with no neck or head is a bit of a contradiction, I suppose…"
He raised his foot, and in the motion of bringing it down, moved to crush Juice's head. But just before his foot could land, a voice cut in.
"Alchema!"
In response to the incantation, the world accepted a shift in mana and matter took shape.
With the explosive sound of displaced air, what appeared was a colossal block of ice vast enough to blot out the sky above. Across the entire canopy—made so easy to look up at now that every tree had been toppled—a pale blue surface of ice had formed.
"Oh… honestly, every last one of you is the same."
Regulus looked up and clicked his tongue at the continent of ice hovering directly overhead.
An instant later, the massive block of ice descended upon him from directly above—— "————"
A devastating tremor and an inescapable shockwave crushed Regulus's body.
How many times had this happened now? The explosion and the rumbling earth had turned what remained of the forest into something that could only be described as a disaster zone, now further devastated still.
Shattered fragments of ice lay scattered everywhere, trees and boulders smashed flat by the direct hit, ground buried under crushing mass—how many times had the landscape been transformed in this single day alone?
White shards of ice danced through the air, a world of swirling light.
And through it all, a silver-haired woman dragged a man who lay limply, devoid of strength.
"Juice! Juice, hold on! This is… ah, what do I…!"
At the sound of the voice calling to him, a faint light returned to the eyes of Juice, who had been at death's door.
His life was still in imminent danger, but he managed to cling to consciousness, and
"Yes, yes, it's me. Juice, you've become like this…"
"That's… fine, desu… The flesh is bound to decay eventually… The fingertips who believed in me and entrusted this to me—they'll understand… More importantly, Lady
"I left her in the care of someone I trust, and got her outside the forest. She'll be all right. I'm sure of it."
"I see… desu… That's… good, desu…"
"——'Good' my foot! How could that possibly be good!?"
Overlapping Juice's words of relief—his blood-streaked face softening with ease—came Regulus's furious shout.
The ice-buried ground exploded as Regulus, struck by the full force of the projectile, wore an expression of pure fury. He pushed his bangs back, and undisguised hostility blazed in his eyes.
"And you come back and think you can just do as you please? I was just about to crush him underfoot! What right do you have—what permission—to get in my way… MY way… MY way… MY way!!! Don't you DARE interfere!!!"
Screaming like a child throwing a tantrum, Regulus crouched and drove both arms into the ground. He swung them upward, sending earth flying—soft soil hurtling toward Fortuna and Juice.
Though the amount of earth scattered was not significant. It was the crude, childish embodiment of anger—like a child throwing sand in a sandbox.
Fortuna braced herself against the approaching mud, ignoring it entirely as she raised her magical power to counterattack immediately.
But— "Don't!! You must… avoid all of that mud…!"
"Wha—"
Cutting off Fortuna's incantation, Juice lunged forward and tackled her to the ground. With no protection, the two tumbled on the earth, and Juice, summoning every last shred of his remaining strength, used his "unseen hands" to fling them both backward.
He chose to dodge the mud over defending, over parrying, over everything—rather than be left rolling on the ground without even a guard.
In that instant, Fortuna was about to ask what he intended—when she saw.
The moment the mud and stone fragments Regulus had thrown hit the ground, a sound like heavy rain hammering a roof rang out, and "countless tiny holes" appeared in the earth.
Each hole was the size of a grain of sand, but the density and penetrating power were the real problem.
Most of the mysterious attack had ended up merely gouging the earth, but one of the few fallen trees that still retained some semblance of its form had been grazed by even a fraction of its power.
The result: a trunk thick enough that Fortuna might have barely been able to wrap her arms around it was perforated by countless tiny holes and utterly pulverized into dust.
If it had hit a human body head-on, the body would have been turned to a cloud of blood in an instant—it didn't take much imagination to see that.
And what was most terrifying of all— "What are you dodging for, you two!? Just take it properly, turn into scraps, and become bug food already. That Petelgeuse trash and the woman too—I was thinking of adding her as my seventy-ninth wife, but you just had to go and do something foolish…"
Regulus drove his arms into the ground again.
What was most terrifying of all was that this act—which brought such devastating destruction—cost him no more effort than digging up and scattering dirt. It was child's play.
Despite having unleashed such fury and destructive power, Regulus's build hadn't changed in the slightest from what it had been even after weathering Fortuna's full-powered surprise attack. The word for it was simply: abnormal.
Regulus Corneas wielded overwhelming power in both offense and defense. Yet that power was locked inside a body that housed a selfish and juvenile spirit.
A dangerous being—like giving a dragon's power to an undisciplined child who would point their spear at anyone on a whim. That was how Fortuna assessed the monster before her.
"If you don't want scraps, I'll just cut off your limbs and decorate you with them! I'll make you regret mocking me—me, the Greed Archbishop!"
"Please wait, Bishop Regulus."
Pandora's voice called out from behind, stopping Regulus just as he was about to unleash another volley of earthen shot at Fortuna and Juice.
With his arms still driven into the ground, Regulus turned only his head to look at Pandora. The color of his anger had not faded in the slightest, and even toward Pandora—whom he had treated as superior—he showed no sign of backing down.
"…What is it, Lady Pandora? Right now, my rights have been violated and I am shaking with rage from the bottom of my heart. What business do you have with me? What do you mean by stopping me? Choose your words carefully, and answer me immediately…"
"Calm your anger, Bishop Regulus. I will not permit you to kill them here. Don't you feel something, looking at those two?"
"Can you not see that I'm clearly not in the mood for sentiment? —If I deign to hold back, don't you dare get cocky, woman!"
Regulus's jealousy, Juice's condition, Fortuna's resolve—all of it was at a different temperature from Pandora's words, and Regulus's fury turned toward her.
As though he'd forgotten entirely that they were allies, Regulus pulled his arms from the ground and swung them toward Pandora. Earthen shot launched upward, crushing the trees in its path as it headed straight for Pandora's calmly standing figure. Upon direct impact, the girl's body exploded into countless fragments of blood and flesh.
"…No way."
Fortuna stared blankly, stunned. She had just watched her hated enemy die a miserable death from infighting.
She had expected Pandora to possess some trump card that could deflect even Regulus's attacks, but Pandora had been reduced to bloody chunks and scattered across the barren earth, becoming fertilizer for the ravaged ground.
"That's what happens when you run your mouth at me. Why can't anyone seem to manage the most basic courtesy? Don't interfere with me. Don't obstruct my path. Don't meddle with what I do. Don't oppose my actions. Is that really so much to ask? Hey—what do you two think?"
Having killed Pandora, Regulus turned back toward the two of them, a dark gleam in his eyes.
This was not a situation where they could simply be glad that one enemy had been reduced to a single opponent. Even if their opponents had gone from two to one, the one remaining was an absolute powerhouse—nothing had changed.
In her surprise attack, Fortuna had poured every last ounce of power she possessed into that strike against Regulus.
And even after taking it head-on, Regulus hadn't sustained a single injury—not so much as an added wrinkle on his clothing. It was infuriating, but Fortuna could not defeat Regulus.
And Juice had been pushed to this extreme, his body battered to the point of ruin. Even if they forced him to stand in his near-death state, the battle would be completely one-sided.
All they could do now was draw Regulus's fury toward themselves and buy time for their beloved daughter's escape.
"Leave this… to me… Fortuna… desu…"
"Juice, you—"
"No matter how much… blood I lose… as long as the body isn't entirely dead… I can still move. I… I'll buy time… Lady Fortuna, you run…"
"Don't say something so foolish."
Fortuna's face softened as she looked at Juice, who was trying to raise himself in her arms.
She was a little surprised at herself for being able to smile at a time like this—and proud.
"You want me to leave you here and run? If that were the case, I wouldn't have come back in the first place. I left Emilia, came all this way back—and now you tell me to flee? What good would that do?"
"If… that is so… then why… did you come back… I…"
"To keep you from dying. And if you do die—to be by your side."
Gazing into Fortuna's deep indigo eyes, Juice forced his blood-smeared lids open.
With both arms gone, he had become frightfully light, and Fortuna pulled him close, their faces nearly touching as she spoke.
"In a world without you, in a forest where you no longer exist—what is there for me to wait for? I'm too weak to live through a long time without you."
"You are not… weak…"
"I am. I was only able to stand strong in front of you and Emilia."
Saying it as though she had finally made peace with something, Fortuna lifted Juice's body.
Juice, trembling, used Fortuna's body as support to rise to his feet, and she leaned into him, firmly holding him up.
Watching the man and woman standing as though embracing each other, Regulus's expression turned to one of pure revulsion.
"You've ignored my question at length and now you're getting sentimental. What exactly is going on here? What is the meaning of this? I've shown you the gap in power, I've made it crystal clear—so why do you keep insisting on 'don't do it'? What on earth are you thinking?"
"What a whiny, tedious man. We've shown you clearly enough with our attitude. He goes on and on with his lectures, but our answer is simple."
"That's right… desu…"
Fortuna and Juice exchanged glances, then spoke together to the raging Regulus: "——How should we know, idiot?"
Their voices overlaid, and Fortuna even added the gesture of raising her middle finger.
With their retort delivered, Fortuna and Juice each gathered the power within them.
And Regulus, having received that retort, went scarlet with fury.
"……!! Fine, then! I'll turn you both into a lump of indistinguishable blood and throw you into the Black Serpent's filthy mouth—"
"I told you to wait, Bishop Regulus."
For the third time, Regulus Corneas's will was interfered with.
Pandora's arm descended from above, pressing down on Regulus's head, and his body sank into the ground without resistance. From the tips of his feet to beneath his chin, he was swallowed by the earth in an instant, and Regulus looked up at Pandora, who had landed beside him, from directly below.
"Again… and again…!"
"If breaking your will is necessary, I will do it. At this point, I believe the purpose for which I brought you here has been fulfilled. You are free to leave now."
"You bring me here, get what you want, and now tell me to go home? Who on earth would accept that? I absolutely will not return to normal until this irritation of mine has subsided—"
"Is that so? Then allow me. 'Bishop Regulus is not here. He is at his mansion, surrounded by his wives, enjoying his peace and quiet.'"
"Wa—"
The next instant, Regulus, who had been about to shout something, vanished without a trace.
He hadn't sunk into the ground any further. He had simply disappeared—as though he had never been there at all. Not even the mark of his body having been embedded in the earth remained.
As if to confirm Pandora's words that "he is not supposed to be here."
"Now that the loud one has made his exit, we can talk at our leisure."
"…Before that—one question. Why are you here? I'm certain I watched you die with my own eyes."
Pandora stood there as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
She had been wearing that gentle smile—the smile that should have been obliterated into fragments by Regulus's attack. Fortuna glanced toward where Pandora's remains should have been scattered, and drew a faint breath.
At the spot where fragments of red-black flesh should have been lying, there was not a trace. Just as with Regulus's disappearance, Pandora's corpse had vanished as well.
As Fortuna stood speechless, Pandora tilted her head.
"Perhaps… 'you saw something incorrectly'?"
"—!"
Fortuna's blood ran cold at Pandora's words.
It was impossible, and yet the world had reconfigured itself to match Pandora's statement. The scene she was certain she had witnessed was being denied and overwritten with an entirely different reality.
The corpse had vanished. Pandora had returned. Regulus had vanished. Every trace of his presence had disappeared.
And just as she registered this, Fortuna looked to her side—and nearly screamed at the even more astonishing sight that had appeared.
Juice's arms—the arms that had been torn off—were back.
"Since Bishop Regulus is no longer here, the consequences of his actions have been erased. It's a simple matter. Though, I did heal Bishop Petelgeuse's wounds out of my own kindness."
Pandora explained this matter-of-factly to Fortuna and Juice, whose throats tightened.
Juice rotated his restored arms as though testing them, while Fortuna turned trembling eyes toward him.
"J-Juice, those arms…"
"They work… again, desu. The rest of the body is… fine too. Everything except what's inside."
"I won't go so far as to erase the fact that you ingested the Witch Factor. I wish to commend that act of yours—and hers, for coming back for you. Please consider this gesture of mine as proof of that sentiment."
Pandora continued to speak in her calm, detached tone despite the clearly abnormal situation.
For Fortuna, Pandora's existence was an object of loathing. That had not changed, and there was no doubt that she was someone whose proximity made it impossible to suppress one's rage.
And yet, she had never imagined someone this unfathomable.
She couldn't even conceive of what had been done to her. She couldn't understand what was happening.
Everything that had occurred in this forest today—every last bit of it—exceeded Fortuna's imagination. The only thing she understood was that, as a result of all these incomprehensible events, everything was coming to an end.
"Fortuna, please pull yourself together!"
Her thoughts, on the verge of freezing under the barrage of shock, were jolted by a sharp cry.
Feeling the sting of a slap on her cheek, Fortuna blinked—and Juice was right there before her eyes. He gripped both her shoulders.
"You must have doubts. You must be confused. And yes, desu, we have to put those aside for now. What matters is protecting the forest—protecting Lady Emilia! And… we can do that if we defeat that woman!"
"——Juice."
At his shout, strength returned to Fortuna's eyes, and she glared at Pandora.
He was right. The woman was indeed incomprehensible, terrifying in the unknown of what she might do next. But Pandora had eliminated Regulus—her own combat asset—from the scene, and restored the arms Juice had lost.
She had weakened her own forces while recovering her enemy's power. A foolish act. She might not even realize she had backed herself into a corner.
"Juice is right. What happened can wait. Right now!"
"We combine our strength and defeat her, desu! If we can drive her back, the other Witch Cult members in the forest should retreat as well. —We can save Lady Emilia, desu!"
At Juice's words, the image of her beloved daughter flashed through Fortuna's mind.
She had been prepared for this to be a final parting. In truth, until just moments ago, she had intended to go down fighting with that resolve. But now, a new hope had appeared.
To save Emilia. With her own power, and Juice's.
"——Freeze white, and close away even the tremors of time, O frozen hand of absolute ice!"
The magical power she had been about to unleash at Regulus was still swirling within Fortuna's body, seeking an outlet for explosion. She gave that power form, gave it a point, and through her incantation, mana intervened with the world.
With a sound like the world itself cracking, what took shape was a single pillar of ice sharpened to a razor point—a lance of ice so massive it would take several giants to lift.
Its tip was aimed at Pandora. If the ice lance struck true, the girl's body would be torn asunder, and every last fragment of flesh would freeze solid, leaving no opportunity for resurrection.
Beside Fortuna, Juice—clutching his own shoulders with his reconstituted arms—also radiated pressure.
Under his tattered priestly robes, power raged, and from wounds beyond his restored arms, blood flowed once more. He had become a wretched sight, yet the man was burning his soul for what he believed in.
And before the manifestation of their combined power, Pandora—who didn't even raise a guard—smiled.
"Come now. —Let me embrace the full extent of your resolve, and savor it."
To tear that smile apart, their power shook the world.
And then—— *** Emilia awoke in a hollow, shook her head, and looked around in confusion, trying to figure out where she was—until the memory returned.
"That's right… I…"
Mud-caked and surrounded by unfamiliar scenery. Scraped knees, and legs that ached from running too far.
It all crashed down on Emilia's freshly returned consciousness—the constricting urgency, the memories that proved this was no dream and no lie.
"Mother… Juice… Archie…"
The dear people who had risked everything to send her away somewhere safe.
One by one, their faces came back to her, and Emilia remembered what she had to do. They had told her to run. Everyone who had tried to protect Emilia had said that.
Run straight through, burst through, and escape outside this forest.
But Emilia must have thought this as well: That there had to be something she could do for them. For everyone.
"That's right… the seal… the seal!"
The word—its sound—dragged back Emilia's memory from the very brink of falling into the hollow.
Fortuna's stern expression as she spoke with Archie. The terrifying people who had come to the forest were after the forest's seal.
The seal was a mysterious door located in the deepest, innermost part of the settlement where Emilia and the others lived, deeper even than the deepest point. A door like iron, standing alone in the forest, connected to nothing.
Emilia knew the place where the adults called it "the seal."
"I have to go."
Even if she raced there, there was little a young Emilia could accomplish.
Emilia didn't know how to open the door, and she didn't truly understand what the word "seal" even meant. It was simply that something terribly important existed there, and that she knew where that place was—that was all, and for Emilia in that moment, it was enough.
It wasn't the ability to do something that drove the young girl's body forward.
It was the hope—the belief that if she went there, something would change—that pushed at her back.
"The place of the seal… but which way…?"
She had separated from Juice, sobbing as she went. She had been held by Fortuna, crying and clinging. She had been carried by Archie as they raced through the forest. And then she had run alone, straight through unfamiliar territory.
This place was no longer the forest where Emilia lived, nor was it the forest she knew. At best, she could run freely around the outskirts of the settlement. As for the seal's location—or even where her mother and Juice might be now—Emilia had not the slightest idea.
"U-uf…"
Helplessness and inadequacy surged up, choking the young Emilia's throat with sobs.
She had found something she needed to do, but she didn't have the power to do it. Her mother—the one she could rely on and cling to in times of trouble—was not here. And it was to save that very mother that she had to take action.
"——Huh?"
Emilia's earnest, desperate feelings moved a supernatural entity that watched over her.
Wiping her overflowing tears with her hand, Emilia blinked as a faint light passed before her face. She looked up to find multiple luminous presences crossing her field of vision.
"The… fairies…?"
What Emilia called fairies, and what Fortuna and Juice had called spirits—those beings beyond the natural order.
The minor spirits, who were supposed to possess neither words nor will, responded to the young girl's desperate wish.
Before Emilia's rigid body, the minor spirits circled as though dancing, then began pacing back and forth in a single direction, as though pointing the way.
Seeing this, Emilia grasped the spirits' intent, and her voice trembled.
"You're… showing me the way…?"
There was no answer. But the minor spirits flickered up and down, as if affirming her question.
"If I go that way… will I find the seal? Will I be able to help Mother and everyone…?"
The minor spirits pulsed powerfully.
Watching their pale blue glow, Emilia wiped her tears with her sleeve and shook her head.
There was no time to stand here whimpering.
Her mother, Juice, and so many others had helped her. She had been crying her eyes out, and now even the fairies were encouraging her. She couldn't bear to keep crouching here any longer—she wouldn't allow herself to.
"Mm… mm, mmh!"
The minor spirits swayed as if checking Emilia's mood. Nodding back at them, Emilia shook her small body and broke into a run. Following the spirits' lead, she kicked desperately at the rough ground.
Over the hollow, up the slope, squeezing her small body through narrow gaps between trees.
The minor spirits could slip through paths that Emilia could not. She stumbled, branches scraped her cheeks, she fell and bit the dirt, spat it out, and dragged herself to her feet again.
Breathless, overwhelmed by pain and fear, tears welled up once more.
She sniffled, wiped her tears with a mud-stained sleeve, slapped her scraped knees, and ran.
Enduring the pain and the exhaustion, running with all her might, memories flooded back to Emilia's mind.
From as far back as she could remember, Emilia had spent her time in this forest, in this settlement.
Fortuna was a strict mother who never once spoiled Emilia. She would say: I'm not your real mother. Emilia's real parents are alive and well.
She repeated those words like a habit, and Emilia both believed and didn't believe them. Real parents existed. That was something to be happy about. But Fortuna was her real mother too. For Emilia, that was an irrefutable truth. And today's events had made her realize it more than ever.
She remembered the days she was scolded. She remembered the nights Fortuna held her as she cried and apologized, sleeping together until morning. She knew that Fortuna had stroked her hair in bed, keeping it up until Emilia woke, so she wouldn't feel lonely.
Emilia knew, better than anyone, that she had been loved by her mother.
Everyone in the settlement had been kind to Emilia.
There had always been a sense of alienation—as though she was being kept at arm's length, treated as someone they didn't know how to approach. But they never spoke words that would hurt Emilia, and they had always been kind to Fortuna, who protected her.
Even that princess room—Emilia knew that everyone had done everything they could to make her time there comfortable. They had prepared toys to keep her from feeling lonely while she stayed inside, and sewed countless dolls by hand. The dolls multiplied day by day, long since exceeding the count of all the fingers on both of Emilia's hands and feet.
Each of those dolls, each spun thread, was proof of the care the settlement's people held for Emilia.
As for Juice, Emilia had hated him at first.
The only times she was ever shut away in the princess room were when Juice and the others came visiting. The adults must have been doing something fun behind her back. The first time Emilia had sneaked out of the princess room, and the first time she had witnessed Juice meeting with Fortuna and the others, she had seen Fortuna smiling—and she had been jealous of Juice.
She had thought: I'll never forgive him. But then he had happened upon Emilia and burst into tears. He wept and wept, crying tears of joy, clinging to her—and Emilia had forgiven him.
Because those tears were warm. Remembering the comfort of being held by Fortuna, Emilia had stroked Juice's head. When he finally stopped crying, she stayed by his side so he wouldn't feel lonely. She had thought: I guess there's no helping it.
She had truly thought: I guess there's no helping it.
"I… want to be with everyone again…"
She wanted to sleep in the same bed as Fortuna again.
This time, she wanted to invite everyone to the princess room.
This time, she would step on Juice's foot for being so presumptuous as to try to protect Emilia.
That was why she wanted to see everyone again.
"I'll be good…"
And then—her vision blurred with tears as she ran, ducking through branches—Emilia found the seal's door, the one she had been searching for, and— "Welcome. Come in."
A girl with platinum hair stood before the door, arms spread wide as though welcoming Emilia.
*** "Good. You came to me. I was glad you found the seal, but the problem was I didn't know where the key was. But I'm relieved you've appeared safely."
"Why… are you here…?"
The girl—Pandora—spoke with such familiarity, and the bizarre pressure emanating from her made Emilia's voice tremble as she asked. Pandora lightly clapped her hands.
"Oh my, you're surprised. It's simple, really. This seal is tremendously important to me. So I've been searching for where it is for a very long time. The reason I came to this forest today is exactly this. So my being here is inevitable, you see."
"…………"
Pandora's answer was not what Emilia was looking for.
What Emilia wanted to know was how Pandora had gotten here. The last time Emilia had seen her, Pandora had been with Regulus, and their path had been blocked by Juice.
If Pandora was here now, it meant Juice's desperate sacrifice had— "Why… are you here…?"
Not wanting to accept this, Emilia repeated the same question.
Perhaps sensing Emilia's heart on the verge of shattering, Pandora's eyes widened, and then she placed a hand on her chest as if reflecting on what she had said.
"I'm sorry. I gave you a strange answer, didn't I? What you wanted to know wasn't about me—it was about Bishop Petelgeuse and your mother."
"…!"
But Pandora's belated understanding arrived at the right answer.
If only she had continued to misunderstand—at least Emilia would not have had to learn the answer to her question. Even if she was beginning to lose track of what she herself was seeking.
Receiving Emilia's silent anguish, Pandora smiled gently.
Her smile was free of malice or spite, brimming only with a sincere desire to ease Emilia's worry.
"You may rest easy. Both Bishop Petelgeuse and your mother, whom you're worried about, are safe and sound."
"Huh…?"
"There's no need to look so anxious—I wish you'd asked from the beginning. Neither I nor my followers came to this forest to harm anyone. As I said before, we came because we have business with this seal. We're not so foolish as to cause unnecessary harm."
Pandora's gentle, reassuring words sank into Emilia's already overwhelmed heart.
If she believed what Pandora was saying, then Fortuna and Juice were safe. And maybe the people in the forest hadn't suffered the terrible fate she had imagined.
More than that—Pandora said she had business with this seal. In other words, once that business was concluded— "When the seal's business is done… will you leave…?"
"…………"
"When the seal's business is done, will you leave the forest? Will you stop hurting people and just leave…?"
"——Of course. I have no desire for unnecessary sacrifices either."
To Emilia's clumsy plea, Pandora nodded deeply, as though making a promise.
Then Pandora pointed at the seal's door and tilted her head at Emilia, who looked as though she might cry at any moment.
"So, please hand over the key. Once this seal's door is opened, we will withdraw from this forest immediately."
"The… key…?"
"Yes, the key. This seal happens to be shaped like a door, so without a key, it cannot be opened. And that key should be in your possession."
"I don't know anything about that…"
Emilia shook her head at Pandora's certainty.
In truth, she had no idea what Pandora was talking about. Emilia had never been entrusted with anything resembling a key, and the seal itself had been kept secret from her by the village.
There was no way Emilia, who had been kept ignorant of the seal, could possess its key. It was an obvious conclusion that required no deliberation.
Emilia shook her head.
Pandora, too, slowly shook her head in response.
"There's no need to hide it."
"I-I'm not… I really, truly don't know! I don't have any key! Nobody ever gave me one! I can't open this seal!"
"I see. —Then I'll have to dig up the entire forest to find it."
At Emilia's answer, Pandora's face twisted into an expression of profound sadness, and she lowered her eyes.
Her manner and words were sympathetic toward Emilia, yet behind them lay an ironclad resolve to carry out exactly what she had said—and Emilia shuddered.
If Emilia did not open the door's seal right now, this girl would dig up the entire forest.
"Dig up" was far too gentle a word. Pandora would "dig up" the forest, and everyone living in it—her mother, the people of the settlement, Juice and the others—root and all.
Even young Emilia could see clearly that Pandora possessed the power to do this.
This was an abnormal existence.
Even Fortuna—who was, for Emilia, the embodiment of strength—could not stand against her.
"I'll open it! I'll open it myself!"
That was why Emilia raised her voice—to stop Pandora from taking action.
Hearing Emilia's answer, Pandora's face brightened instantly.
"Really? That's wonderful. So the key really is in your possession. I thought so. After all, you look nothing if not a witch's daughter."
"A… witch's…?"
"Yes, that's right. Now then, please open the seal. Once we've seen what's inside, we'll withdraw at once."
Pandora stepped aside, her face beaming with joy, and waited for Emilia to act.
Though Emilia's mind was in turmoil over the word Pandora had used, she had no choice but to step forward. The seal's door loomed before young Emilia—so vast that even looking up, the top remained out of sight.
A door so colossal that it could have been built for giants to pass through even larger giants to walk through—and a tiny girl had to open it. It was like something out of a fairy tale.
"…………"
She stood before the door. She stood there, but Emilia still had no idea how to open it.
When she had confirmed the seal's location before, Emilia had already tried every approach she could think of with this door. Pushing, pulling, climbing—she had done it all long ago.
The ancient door didn't so much as budge under Emilia's small frame; it didn't even produce a creak, remaining utterly impassive.
Today was the same.
Even when she reached out and touched it, there was not the slightest hint of movement.
"Hah… haah… hah… aah…"
Her heartbeat accelerated abnormally, and the sound of blood rushing through her head echoed endlessly.
Her chest burned, and her heart hammered so violently it seemed it might leap from her mouth. Yet her hands and feet were ice-cold, the tips of her limbs heavy as though filled with lead.
She had to move, but couldn't move.
If she couldn't open this, something terrible would happen to everyone.
She knew this, and yet she could do nothing.
Terror and despair bleached her mind white, and the being called Emilia was being smothered.
"——Think of yourself as the key."
That voice slithered past the earlobes of Emilia, who had been searching for something to cling to.
—I am the key.
As the voice commanded, Emilia's heart conjured that single thought.
In that instant, Emilia felt weight settle into the palm that touched the door. She looked down. There, gripping firmly in her hand, was a large, tarnished silver key.
"A key…"
"Now you can see it? Then you truly are the key."
Pandora pointed this out happily upon hearing Emilia's murmur.
But there was something unnatural about her words—as though Pandora herself could not see the key in Emilia's hand.
"You… can't see this…?"
"——. No, I cannot. This key can only be entrusted to one who possesses the right. There are surely only two people in all the world who can open it."
Pandora looked at her with what might have been envy. Her gaze was certainly directed at Emilia's hand, but she could not see the key. Emilia didn't understand what it meant that Pandora couldn't see this key she could feel the weight of, but holding it firmly, Emilia turned back to the door.
The key had manifested—but there was no keyhole on the door.
The door didn't even have a handle. And as large as the key was, it was minuscule compared to the colossal door. Could this really be the key to open such an enormous door?
"——Ah."
And yet, instinctively, Emilia understood how the key was meant to be used.
She didn't need to search for a keyhole. The door itself was something like a keyhole.
This door was not the one that imposed the seal.
It was merely a lid covering the seal. This door wasn't what was doing the sealing. The seal was something more formless, something that had been cast on the inside of this door.
"Now, please open it."
At Pandora's demand, Emilia drew a breath and took one step forward.
She pressed the key in her hand against the door—and with nothing more than the will to "open it," a slight turn of the wrist would be enough. That single act would release this door from its long, long duty as a seal.
—If she opened this door, everyone would be saved.
"……What's wrong?"
But just as Emilia's hand reached for the door—her extended arm stopped.
Pandora's brows furrowed slightly at the sight of Emilia's trembling fingertips freezing in place.
Without answering, Emilia stared at the key in her hand.
If she pressed the key against the door now, the seal would open.
But—— *Emilia. —Promise.* What she heard in her mind was her mother's words, whispered at their parting.
It was the promise they had exchanged—one entirely unrelated to the seal.
But Emilia remembered. She had promised her mother that she would keep her word.
She didn't know about the seal. She wasn't supposed to know.
Emilia didn't know this place, and she wasn't supposed to interfere.
She had made a promise to Fortuna. And keeping that promise was her highest priority—to break it would mean betraying her trust. It was wrong.
If she became a bad child, no one would ever forgive her. No one ever could.
Therefore, opening the seal was something she must not do.
"I… can't open it…"
"…Why not?"
"There's a… promise. I don't know about the seal. I'm not allowed to open it."
"I see. A promise is a very important thing. The feeling behind your desire to keep it is truly admirable and precious. However… that also depends on the circumstances."
Shaking her head repeatedly, Emilia listened as Pandora gazed at her steadily, speaking as though gently instructing a child. Pandora touched Emilia's silver hair with both hands.
"That promise you made—was it with your mother? Your mother is a truly admirable person. She taught you what is right and what is precious. Her aspirations are something worth protecting."
"Th-then…"
"But sometimes, there are moments when you must make a decision even if it means going back on a promise. Asking such a thing of you, still so young, may be cruel. But the fate that demands your decision does not take the circumstances of those it torments into account. Fate loves those who struggle against its tides, and the hope it grants is born of the outcome. Which hope will you choose?"
"Which… hope…"
At Emilia's hoarse voice, Pandora nodded with a motherly smile.
She gently extended both hands before Emilia's eyes.
"One is the hope of keeping the promise you made with your mother, refusing to open the seal, standing against us, and overcoming this ordeal without breaking your word."
She raised her right hand, making a gesture as though holding an invisible hope.
"And the other is the hope of breaking your promise with your mother, opening the seal, granting our wish, and bringing this situation to an end without any further harm."
She raised her left hand, presenting an equally invisible hope to Emilia.
"————"
Staring at Pandora's outstretched hands, Emilia couldn't speak. Her body locked rigid.
She couldn't even breathe—as though her lungs had frozen. She feared that if she carelessly said anything, Pandora would withdraw both hands in an instant.
That the two hopes offered before her would be snatched away before she could touch either of them.
——That terror gripped the young girl's heart and would not let go.
"Which hope will you choose? —I leave it to you."
The hope on the right. The hope on the left.
The hope gained by breaking her promise. The hope gained by keeping her promise.
Pandora's voice, sweet and melting, beckoned.
A gentle, guiding voice—Fortuna's—called out.
The heartbeat that had been pounding so loud was gone.
Sound had vanished from the world, color had drained from everything, and Emilia had been left behind in the emptiness.
She was thinking. Agonizing. Her thoughts burned white-hot, and her brain seemed on the verge of boiling over.
All of her body's functions had concentrated in her head, to the point where she hallucinated that everything below the neck had died. The evidence was clear: she couldn't hear her own heartbeat, and her limbs, severed from her will, wouldn't twitch even a fraction.
I can't choose. I can't choose. I can't choose, can't choose, can't choose, can't choose, can't choose, can't choose.
Which choice would save everyone? What could she do to help them?
What could she do to be of use? What should she do—someone, please tell me.
"——Ah."
"So that is your decision."
Her thoughts white-hot, her vision clouded white, Emilia let a faint sound escape.
And seeing the choice Emilia had made, Pandora lowered her long-lashed eyes.
——Emilia's hand had touched Pandora's right.
The path of not breaking her promise, not opening the seal, and praying for everyone's salvation.
"I… made a promise… with Mother… I'll keep my promise… I'll keep it, so… Mama…"
"At the very end, you still believe in the words of your mother—the one who was your guiding light. The answer you arrived at after all that struggling is itself a result of the life that is Emilia, and I shall respect it."
Pandora nodded with an expression of understanding as Emilia's tears spilled one after another.
She gently released Emilia's hand from her own right, and looked down at the crumpling girl with tender eyes.
If she had wanted to, Pandora could have pressed Emilia's hand—holding the key—against the door.
True, whether Emilia would have maintained the will to "open the door" under such coercion was another matter entirely. But it could not be denied that this might have been the decisive push Emilia had been seeking for her conclusion. And even knowing that, Pandora had chosen not to do it.
Of all the abnormalities that defined this girl, that was one thing one could truly believe in.
However— "So."
"…Huh?"
"My own decision to take measures to open the seal—please respect that as well."
At Pandora's words, Emilia looked up with a blank expression.
Pandora wasn't looking at Emilia. Her gaze was directed behind them. Emilia followed it and saw a figure bursting through the undergrowth.
It was a woman with short silver hair— "PANDORA!!"
Blood-soaked from head to toe, Fortuna appeared in a leaping bound.
She was covered in far more wounds than when they had parted—her body was a mass of injuries. Yet after the despair of wondering whether they might never meet again, knowing she was alive brought a measure of relief.
"Eat this—!!"
Fortuna didn't seem to notice Emilia's presence. She fired six pillars of ice that orbited around her in a simultaneous barrage, unleashing them mercilessly at Pandora, who stood before the door.
Emilia braced herself against the danger of being caught in the crossfire—but Pandora deftly slipped in front of her, shielding her.
"You need to watch your surroundings before you attack—it's dangerous, you know."
Just as she finished saying that so calmly, an ice pillar pierced through Pandora just above her chest. Then it went through her slender waist, her right arm, her right leg—one after another—until the last one struck and blew her platinum head away.
"————!"
Watching the small body that had stepped in front of her get horribly impaled by ice, Emilia let out a thin scream. Pandora's body staggered weakly, then leaned against Emilia behind her without strength.
Emilia caught the headless, bleeding body—and screamed at the unreality of it.
"…Emilia?"
Hearing that scream, Fortuna snapped back to herself and stared in disbelief.
Her eyes were not shaken by the fact that she had struck down a hated enemy, but by the realization that her beloved daughter—who was not supposed to be here—was standing right in front of her.
"Why is Emilia here…? She should have escaped outside the forest…"
"What a cruel thing to say. Your daughter, worried about your safety and desperate to help you, ran all the way back here. As her mother, shouldn't you be praising her for the purity of her heart?"
"——!"
Fortuna, who had voiced the question, found Pandora's face suddenly appearing from directly beside her.
At Pandora's phantasmal arrival, and at the body that Emilia had just watched die so miserably vanishing from her arms, both of them opened their indigo eyes wide.
"That expression of surprise—how alike you look. As expected of mother and daughter."
"——! Emilia and I aren't blood related! Emilia's adorable features look just like my sister's!"
"My apologies, then."
Twisting her mouth in anger, Fortuna raised her hand, and a blade of ice formed within it. A sweeping slash bisected Pandora's torso as the girl offered her apology. Blood sprayed, and Pandora collapsed limply onto her back.
"Then your role was simply as a foster mother. In that case, there was nothing wrong with how you raised her. Your daughter has grown into a straightforward, wonderful girl. Her true parents—your brother and sister—would surely be proud."
"Don't you dare speak my brother and sister's names from your mouth!!"
The fallen corpse vanished, and Pandora reappeared before Fortuna as though it were the most natural thing. Fortuna cleaved her in two with a downward chop, then used the returning blade to take off her head.
Immediately, Fortuna spun around and impaled the revived Pandora from behind with a thrust. In one motion she drove the body backward, pinning it against a tree trunk.
"Elchema!"
A mist of ice enveloped Pandora, who had been pinned to the tree, and transformed her into an ice sculpture.
A humanoid ice sculpture was born—taking Pandora, who possessed beauty that bordered on divine craftsmanship, and sealing her in the forest for eternity as a natural monument.
"Wearing yourself out like that with magic will only exhaust you. Why not take a moment to calm down and give dialogue a chance?"
"——! I told you I'm done listening!"
The ice sculpture remained, but Pandora had walked out of it, perfectly intact.
Fortuna spun around to face the Pandora standing behind her and threw a haphazard punch with her fist—not even infused with magic, a desperate wild swing.
It connected with Pandora's cheek as though drawn in— "——Ugh!"
"Em—Emilia?!"
Fortuna had struck her own daughter, who was sent tumbling to the ground without even the chance to roll with it. Horror-stricken, Fortuna went pale and rushed to her fallen daughter.
"No! Emilia, I'm sorry! That's not—I didn't mean—"
"This is what it feels like to be struck. Surely the same degree of pain has just run through your heart. Do you understand now, how cruel your actions truly are?"
As the risen Pandora asked this, Fortuna shoved her aside and turned to look. Emilia was still standing beside the seal, unchanged. On that white cheek, there was not a trace of a blow.
"You keep spouting nonsensical things over and over—!"
"But you saw just now that it was different, didn't you? Won't you direct even a fraction of that feeling toward the one you hate? I'm not asking you to love everyone as you love your daughter. But there are things that can change with even a small gesture of kindness. I don't want to keep showing you such cruel sights over and over either."
"Who are you to tell me to be kind to anyone!? You, who killed Emilia's parents…"
She stopped herself mid-sentence, noticing Emilia's gaze and biting her tongue.
Before her daughter, who was watching her mother's profile with a rigid expression, there were things that must not be said—no matter how deep the hatred.
"Then how about this? Would you, from your own mouth, persuade your daughter? I've confirmed that she has the key, but she absolutely refuses to open the door. To keep the promise she made with you."
"…………"
"If you revoke the promise, there will be nothing chaining that stubborn heart of hers. Once the seal is released, we will leave the forest without doing anything further—I promise. Yes, I promise. I promise to keep my word… those are good words, aren't they?"
There was no intent to mock—these were probably words spoken from the heart.
Precisely because there was no malice, such words existed in this world that could only serve as the bitterest of ironies.
Pandora's manner of speaking was enough to make Fortuna understand this.
Fortuna looked at Emilia.
Emilia stood with both hands clasped, waiting for her mother's words. The bulge in those hands was the door's key.
Emilia had become aware of the key. And if Fortuna so much as spoke the revocation of the promise, Emilia would open the door—believing that would save the forest.
"——Don't say something so stupid."
"Something stupid?"
"You'll back off like this? Do nothing more? And what exactly will you give us in return? You've torn through everything, destroyed everything, trampled on what we've tried to protect, twisted even our pride… what do you think will remain?!"
"Even from nothing, something can be born anew. Isn't that the beauty of life?"
"The ones doing the taking have no right to spout pretty platitudes!"
Fortuna roared, pointing her finger at Pandora.
Pandora tilted her head, looking as though she couldn't comprehend Fortuna's outburst.
"The beauty of the struggle, the preciousness of the will to live—don't speak in pretty words when you're the ones who stole everything. We built this peace and this happiness with our own hands. You took it all away!"
"A difference of opinion, I suppose."
"When you stand at different heights, you see different views. No doubt the sky looks different from someone who's always looking down from on high."
Fortuna spat on the ground in response to Pandora's proposal.
Pandora looked deeply saddened, but Fortuna was in no mood to engage. Keeping her guard up against Pandora, Fortuna ran to Emilia, who stood beside the seal.
Confirming that it was truly her daughter, Fortuna dropped to her knees and embraced Emilia's small body.
"Oh, Emilia… Emilia, I'm sorry. Why are you here…? What about Archie…"
"Archie told me… to run to the white flower… so I ran…"
"——!"
At Emilia's words relaying Archie's final message, Fortuna understood that the young elf had fallen.
Pressing Emilia to her chest, Fortuna turned her face away so her daughter wouldn't see her tears. How many lives had been lost in this forest, battered by the tyranny of the Witch Cult.
As she had told Pandora, the days of old would never return.
"Emilia, Emilia… you kept your promise beautifully. Good girl. Good girl."
"Mother… Mother, I…"
"Emilia… you are my pride. My treasure…!"
A daughter clinging desperately, a mother holding her tight.
Watching this scene, Pandora's expression was rapt, as though she were savoring the most beautiful sight in the world all to herself.
"A truly beautiful display of maternal love. Seeing people care for each other is always wonderful."
"You saying that gives me chills. —I won't let you break the seal. I won't hand over this child. Go ahead and turn yourself to ice and rot where you stand."
"Judging from your phrasing, wouldn't this be the moment to recommend retreat?"
"My wish right now is to grind what's left of you into fragments and throw them off the great waterfall."
Emilia had never heard such curses, but Fortuna raised her magical power once more.
Pandora pressed her lips together wistfully at the surge of mana.
And that was when— "I finally caught up—desu!"
A voice that carried a tinge of madness rang out as a man appeared, leaping through the trees.
He crossed the tall canopy of ancient trees in a great bound, arriving with the force of someone having been thrown—and it was Juice, his priestly robes drenched in blood.
"Juice!"
"Fortuna—desu!"
They called each other's names, and that alone completed their coordination.
With Pandora at the center of the forest clearing, Fortuna and Juice launched a pincer attack from front and back.
Fortuna's left hand firmly clasped Emilia's weakly trembling right.
Emilia looked up at her mother's profile.
——The straight, unwavering profile aimed at the enemy was so beautiful it made her tremble.
"Alchema!"
"Unseen hands—desu!"
Fortuna's most powerful incantation, and Juice's forbidden power—the authority of the Witch Factor pushed to its absolute limit in this desperate moment.
Their devastating power burst forth in a straight line, and— "——Mama?"
The "unseen hands" pierced through her chest, and Emilia was drenched in her mother's spurting blood.
*** The strength drained from their joined hands, and Fortuna's body collapsed in front of Emilia.
"And now—it's over, desu!"
Juice landed violently on the ground, shouting as he swung his battered arm to the side. Following his motion, Fortuna's body sailed through the air along the same trajectory.
Like a doll with its limbs gone limp, Fortuna was flung to the ground. Blood fountained from her convulsing body like a geyser, and the grassland was dyed a vivid crimson in an instant.
"There was… feedback, desu… if I do this much, this time for sure…"
Juice let out a rough breath and sank to his knees.
Emilia did not see him still keeping his wary gaze fixed on Fortuna.
"————"
She simply staggered forward and approached Fortuna, who lay face down.
Her mother's body had holes in both her chest and back, torn open so badly that the insides were visible. The flow of blood was weakening rapidly, and Emilia sank to the ground beside the growing pool.
She cradled her mother's pale head, somehow managing to lift it onto her lap. Even Fortuna's beautiful silver hair was streaked with red, and Emilia desperately tried to wipe the blood away with her fingers.
But Emilia's fingers were already stained with blood, and the more she touched, the more Fortuna's hair became matted with it.
"Fortuna, please maintain your vigil! I need to confirm—"
"Juu… ce?"
"————"
Juice, who had been catching his breath and struggling to his feet, had his palm raised toward Fortuna.
At the sound of his voice, Emilia slowly lifted her head and called his name. When Juice heard his name called, he had a distant, unfocused look in his eyes for just a moment before he blinked.
"Lady Emilia…?"
For the first time, he seemed to notice the young girl sitting in the pool of blood.
Then his gaze traveled downward, finding the figure slumped lifeless across Emilia's lap.
His eyes went wide.
"…No. That's impossible."
His face a mask of disbelief, Juice looked behind him.
Between himself—who had moved there by dragging his feet—and where Fortuna lay, the platinum-haired girl stood.
Pandora smiled at Juice, who was looking at her.
"There's nothing to be troubled by. You simply 'saw incorrectly.'"
"A—ahhhhh… ahhhhhhhhhahhhhhhhh!?"
Juice pressed both hands to his face and dug his nails in without mercy, scoring crimson lines across his skin.
The dull sound of nails tearing loose was accompanied by the sight of blood streaming down his face, painting it a vivid red.
"Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong—! Wh-what am I—what have I done—desu!? What have I done—desu!? Why, why, why, why, why, why, why!? Then what was it all for!? Why did I… ah!? Ah!? Aaaahhhhhh!!"
Juice had ingested the Witch Factor into his body, suppressing its power through sheer force of will.
That will—the most precious thing supporting it—snapped.
With a sound, everything within Juice collapsed.
For the very thing he had been willing to sacrifice his life to protect, he had used the power gained by risking his life to destroy it himself.
Juice's heart sustained a wound beyond repair, and he lost his sanity and screamed.
"What was it all for!?!"
"It was all for love."
Juice's eyes rolled back, foam at his lips, his face turned skyward.
To that soulful cry, Pandora answered in a quiet voice.
"You sacrificed even your soul to save the one you love. That is no ordinary feat. The long, long days of supporting the Witch Cult—everything was for that love. Every act you committed was a gift of love. The most sublime beacon of love."
"Love… ai… AI… ai… ai… ai…"
"That's right. There's nothing to fear, nothing to regret. It was all inevitable. Fate guided it so. The path led here to make this happen. 'Everything—for love.'"
"For… love…"
Repeating the whispered words like a mantra, Juice's heart shattered beyond reassembly.
And from that moment on, his eyes lost their color, and Juice, hollow and empty, could no longer move.
Muttering incoherently, lips moving with sounds no one could hear—a living corpse.
Watching Juice, so utterly broken, Pandora let out a satisfied breath.
"Emi… lia…"
And at the very moment that the existence called Juice was scattered into nothing, a single life's flame was also guttering toward extinction.
"Mama."
Called by that fragile, fading voice, Emilia answered in a daze.
Drawing her mother closer with trembling arms, she realized the body had become heartbreakingly light. At some point, even the blood that had been flowing so freely had stopped entirely.
Then perhaps her mother's wounds were healing?
Even that fragile hope could not protect young Emilia from the truth. Fortuna's face, which no longer had the strength to move, had taken on the unmistakable color of death.
"…Big… sis… I'm sorry…"
"Mama."
"I… couldn't keep… a single thing… I was told…"
It was the voice of a child apologizing—full of regret.
Fortuna's body no longer bled, but from her eyes, tears flowed without end. Feeling the hot drops on her fingers, Emilia tried desperately to collect them.
Because those tears felt to Emilia as though they were everything her mother had left.
"Big… sis will be mad… at me… won't forgive me… right…?"
Listening to her mother's delirium, Emilia finally realized.
Fortuna's wide-open indigo eyes had long since ceased to reflect any light.
They had been reduced to organs that only shed tears—Fortuna's sight was already gone. She couldn't even see Emilia's face. She didn't even realize Emilia was there.
No matter how she touched her, held her, she couldn't reach her.
And before Fortuna, who simply sobbed like a child asking for forgiveness, Emilia— "——I forgive you, Mama."
"…………"
"Mama has been… my mama… all along, taking care of me… loving me so much, more than Papa or Mother ever could…"
"…………"
"So there's nothing to apologize for. Nothing at all. Emilia loves Fortuna Mama, always… always. I love you. I love you. I love you… I love you…"
It broke open.
Her voice lost all composure, and tears she could no longer hold back fell upon Fortuna's face.
If those teardrops were her life force, then the final miracle had been given by Emilia's tears.
"…Mama?"
"Lia."
A hand, slowly extended, touched Emilia's cheek.
A hand that should not have been able to move caressed Emilia's cheek, her ear, and stroked through her hair. As though touching something precious, as though loving something without breaking it.
"What a crybaby."
"…………"
"I love you… so much…"
The strength gave out.
The arm dropped with a soft thud.
Emilia, whose cheek had been caressed, felt Fortuna's body grow lighter.
Every muscle had gone slack—though the weight on her lap should have increased, Fortuna's body in Emilia's arms had unmistakably become lighter.
From her mother's body, something most precious—something that must not fall away—had fallen away.
Emilia understood this clearly.
"————"
Mother—Fortuna was lost.
Juice—Petelgeuse Romanée-Conti had been broken.
And Emilia— "Now then—are you prepared to choose the hope of opening the seal?"
"————"
Pandora approached, her voice falling upon the Emilia who held Fortuna's body.
Gazing down at the sitting girl, Pandora waited for an answer with a calm expression.
In that attitude, Emilia understood.
"Open… the seal?"
"That's right. The mother with whom you exchanged the promise has, regrettably, passed away. Now there is no longer any promise to bind you. What do you say?"
Pandora spoke these outrageous words as though they were the most natural thing in the world—and Emilia understood.
She understood what this demon in human form had been thinking all along.
This demon had done all of this to make Emilia break her promise.
To make Emilia lose sight of what a promise meant—that was all Pandora had wanted. For that alone, Pandora had let Fortuna die, broken Juice's mind, and ravaged the forest.
"Oh, that's right—I nearly forgot."
"…………"
"I suppose you no longer need these ones, either."
Pandora reached gently toward the unresponsive Emilia—and a faint light溢れ出 from Emilia's body, choosing to take residence in Pandora's arm as its new anchor.
Minor spirits.
The fairies who had guided Emilia to the seal's door, who had shown her the way.
How did they end up with Pandora?
"I didn't believe you would come here on your own, so I asked for their help. They can't speak, but they're very reliable."
Pandora smiled and conveyed her gratitude to the minor spirits, who danced in the air in response.
Where it had all begun—Emilia could no longer tell.
"…………"
Swaying, Emilia shook her head and looked up at the seal's door.
The door seemed to gaze back at her, waiting serenely for the moment it would be opened. She felt the heavy weight of the key in her hand—the key she thought she had dropped somewhere, now firmly in her grasp once more.
"The key is there after all. Then you understand, don't you?"
Before Pandora, who nodded, Emilia slowly rose to her feet.
She gently set her mother's head down from her lap and laid her quietly on the grass. She arranged the bangs with her fingers, carefully straightening her mother's beautiful face.
And then— "Die."
——A ferocious blade of freezing cold swept through, slicing Pandora's body to ribbons.
The blood that sprayed froze in an instant, and flowers of red ice bloomed in magnificent profusion.
A single pillar of ice stood at the center, and the scattered blood served as petals—a work of art depicting death and ice.
"What a troublesome thing to do. What's come over you all of a sudd—"
"Die."
A barrage of ice stakes pierced Pandora's limbs. Ice lances burst from the ground, running through her from bottom to top, and the frozen body, stretched between them, shattered with a sharp crack.
"Please, calm down. I'm sure we can understand each other if we talk."
"Die."
Blocks of ice closed in from both sides, crushing Pandora's body between them into a cloud of blood mist.
"Let's stop this. You're a gentle-hearted child who would never harm anyone. Isn't that what your mother told you?"
"Die."
Rotating blades of ice bisected Pandora from the waist down, turning her into a gruesome sherbet.
"If your mother could see you like this, she would be heartbroken. Your real father and mother, and Bishop Petelgeuse who risked his life—they don't want this."
"Die—die!!"
White mist enveloped Pandora's body, transforming it into ice. A moment later, a massive ice sword descended, crashing down not so much as a slash as a hammerblow that returned Pandora's frozen form to the earth.
Yet despite this tempest of destruction and killing intent— "It seems this has backfired."
"Die, die, die, die…!!"
Sobbing and screaming, Emilia waved her arms as ice destruction rained upon Pandora.
But Pandora took every last attack, endured grotesque death after grotesque death, and in the blink of an eye, reappeared in perfect condition, continuing her gentle chatter.
"Haa… haa… haa…"
Gradually, it was Emilia who was approaching her limits, wielding magic beyond her strength.
With each successive blast of magic beyond her years, Emilia's body was freezing over—half her small frame had already turned to ice. The immense mana her young body had absorbed was running wild, and she couldn't release it fast enough.
"A power that can't even protect its own vessel—overflowing force beyond the vessel's capacity. That is what it truly means to carry the bloodline. The Witch's blood cannot escape that causality. —Perhaps this forest was necessary to keep you from becoming aware of this power."
Pandora mused.
Emilia shook her head, denying the words that reached her ears. Her right leg had frozen completely, making it difficult to remain standing. She sank to one knee, her murderous eyes fixed on Pandora.
Pandora looked at that sharp, ominous light and slowly shook her head.
"As much as I regret it, given how close you are to your wish, I'm afraid I must withdraw for today. I don't think I'll be hearing you willingly offer to open the door anytime soon."
"Die, die, die, die…"
"For today, the existence of your bloodline and the birth of a new Sin Archbishop will have to suffice. Someday, I will return and see my wish fulfilled."
Self-serving conclusions. Self-centered to the very core.
As though she had seen through the situation, Pandora's gaze was suddenly obscured by a flurry of white crystals.
Snow.
Emilia's immense magical power was running wild, distorting the weather to its extreme—snow was falling.
At first it was a gentle flutter, but the snow quickly gathered in strength and ferocity, soon accompanied by winds that could be called a blizzard.
"Even if we speak someday, you'll need to have purged everything from yourself before we can truly face each other."
Pandora, who had been looking up at the sky, exhaled a white breath and stepped toward Emilia.
Watching the hated enemy approach, Emilia could not move. The freezing had already reached her waist; she couldn't even raise her arms.
"The power that ran rampant will now put you into a long slumber. Either the mana of this forest, now turned to permafrost, will run dry, or someone possessing power equal to yours will counteract it. Either way, you will spend a good long while beneath the ice."
"Die, die…!"
"Regrettably, you will not die. Both you and I will remain as we are until the ice melts and we meet again. And when that happens, we won't be able to hold a proper conversation in your current state. So—"
Pandora's white fingertips touched coldly upon Emilia's forehead.
Looking into Emilia's eyes, which burned with hatred, Pandora smiled without a trace of malice.
"The memories of your life up until this day—will be completed without any trace of my existence."
"——Ah."
"Fill in the gaps however you like. That's right—you kept your promise faithfully. Please hold that firmly in your heart, and remain as you are. I would be happy if you did."
Emilia's face, already freezing up to her chest, tilted backward, her unfocused gaze wandering.
Her vision spun, saliva dripped from the corner of her mouth, and her mind was being ransacked.
With a sound, it collapsed.
Without purpose, without mercy, the wallpaper of memory was replaced.
The words they had shared faded into the distance, and condemnations that should never have been given berated Emilia.
What was precious, what would never disappear—that was the promise.
She had kept her promise. That alone must never be forgotten. Promises were things to be kept—that too must not be forgotten.
She had kept her promise. The promise had been kept.
Therefore, no one had the right to deny the Emilia who had kept her promise.
"I look forward to the wonderful reunion we'll have—seeing what resolution your heart reaches, and how you'll smile when next we meet."
Pandora turned and walked away into the raging blizzard, holding down her wildly blowing hair.
Juice, on his knees in a stupor, was already half-buried in the accumulating snow. Pandora whispered something to him, and Juice rose with a blank expression.
The two—Pandora and Juice—walked away through the snowy forest side by side.
Emilia simply watched them go.
The freezing had reached her face, and Emilia's consciousness remained only in her eyes.
She glanced down, and noticed.
On the ground before her, snow had accumulated in an unnatural shape.
As though, within that white landscape, someone was embracing another.
"————"
Her mouth could not move. She could no longer even close her eyelids.
Her body was freezing, her heart freezing—and Emilia's consciousness— "——ama."
Thereafter, she would spend a hundred years encased in unmoving ice.
Until the spirit who had been born into this world solely for her sake, seeking only her, found her.
——Emilia remained frozen, just as she was.
*** Having witnessed everything, Emilia stood before her own frozen form.
"————"
She remembered it all—everything that had happened.
Slowly, like tracing the awakening memories, the scenes of the past had unfolded.
Every last one of them tore away the thin skin of pretense and came flooding out.
Young Emilia had seen everything. Fortuna dying in her arms. Juice's mind shattering into madness. And the one responsible for it all—she had seen it all with her own eyes.
Was it because of her own weakness—the weakness that made her want to forget?
"If you're blaming yourself for the memory alteration, then you're wrong."
"————"
Suddenly, the girl standing beside Emilia—
Just as Emilia had been reliving her memories, Echidna had witnessed every scene from beginning to end.
She looked at Emilia's profile, which gazed out at the snowy landscape.
"What you confronted was the 'Witch of Vanity'—Pandora. She wields shallow, self-serving logic and 'rewrites' events to her liking. The fact that her influence has weakened somewhat is likely due to the passage of time, and your own power."
"My… power?"
"As you can see, your power, when uncontrolled, is immense. In terms of pure combat strength, you were already surpassing Pandora even as a child. However, the stronger you are, the shallower the fight becomes. Especially since Pandora is a Witch who excels at one thing above all else—survival."
Echidna appeared to know about Pandora as well—just how vast was her knowledge? Though her expression as she exchanged words with Emilia was, as always, stern, and Emilia doubted that a straightforward question would earn a straight answer.
"…You're not going to mock me like before?"
"That's precisely what I dislike about you. Even I have enough tact to show consideration toward someone who has just recalled the memory of losing their mother. Even if that someone turns out to be a filthy harlot on par with the lowest of the low."
"Thank you."
At Emilia's gratitude, Echidna exhaled softly and said nothing more.
Noticing that she almost smiled at that attitude, Emilia was forced to acknowledge her own weakness—the instinct to look away, even slightly, from the brutal memories before her.
The recovered memories overturned Emilia's entire worldview.
In the truest sense, Emilia's life had been flipped on its head from the very start.
Because Emilia had entered the royal selection for one reason alone—to save everyone in the forest.
"In the frozen forest… who's still alive…?"
Fortuna was dead. Archie's death, too, Emilia had witnessed.
The attack by the magical beast "Black Serpent" was new information—something that hadn't been in Emilia's memories. She knew of the beast's threat and its malicious nature.
The disease-carrying beast "Black Serpent" could infect any living creature with a hundred plagues simply by touch. And the land it slithered over became cursed—uninhabitable to anything but magical beasts, a land of death.
——Before the settlement was buried in snow, how many survivors had there been?
And were those survivors, buried beneath the ice, free from the Black Serpent's pestilence?
For Emilia, the very reason she fought had been lost.
No wonder the memories had been sealed away.
Even without Pandora's interference, wouldn't she have wanted to forget?
That was how devoid of salvation this memory was.
"……Standing here forever won't bring the 'Trial' to an end."
Echidna, watching the snow from within the frozen world, murmured.
"The past proceeded without issue. We should have been able to confirm your deepest regret as the challenger of the 'Trial.' All that remains is to provide an answer."
"An answer… to the 'Trial'?"
"The first 'Trial' is completed by bringing closure to the emblem of your regret. Whether you affirm or deny your actions in the past—if you cannot accept and choose to reject it, then that too is an unfulfilled outcome."
At Echidna's words, Emilia let out a deep breath.
Again and again, she had thought about what she needed to overcome the 'Trial.' She had questioned why she couldn't surpass the scenes of false memory.
It was only after losing
Now, at last, Emilia was standing at the starting point of the 'Trial.' And yet—even though her feet had finally reached the starting point—her heart had lost sight of where that starting point was.
She had left the forest to save the villagers, to save her mother.
But that resolve had been nothing but idealism—a pipe dream.
Her mother was dead. The villagers' fate was unknown.
Having lost her reason to walk forward, what was left for Emilia?
"——That's something I've already been given."
As Emilia's heart wavered on the edge of an answer, a hand reaching from the light grasped it firmly.
An arm that pulled her forward—powerfully, decisively, even as she hesitated.
Don't give up. Look ahead. Raise your head. Look at me.
Again and again, over and over, he had said those words to Emilia.
He knew she was weak, yet he roared at her never to remain so.
When Emilia shook her head, saying she couldn't do it, he had pulled her up, insisting she could.
When she tried to give up, saying she was no good, he had declared without basis that she was the best.
The pain of their clashing teeth, the heat of their lips pressed together—these things set a fire in Emilia's heart.
"Mother loved me."
"————"
"I wanted to save Fortuna, Mama. I wanted to hold her again, to sleep in the same bed with her. I wanted to tell her 'I love you' as many times as it took."
"Then—do you regret it?"
Echidna's subject-less question probed the moment when Emilia had been forced to choose between hopes.
At that time—if she had taken Pandora's hand and broken her promise—perhaps Pandora and the others would have withdrawn from the forest, and Fortuna and Juice would never have been taken from her.
*If only… if she had… if that were the case…* Looking back on the past, that might have been true.
"I don't regret it."
"…………"
"I kept my promise, and I didn't give up that place. I don't regret it. If I were to regret anything, it would be that I wasn't strong enough then, that I wasn't clever or brave enough. The idea that I would regret not breaking my promise and falling in line with Pandora—absolutely not."
Because had Fortuna not said so, right until the very end?
That she was proud of Emilia's decision to keep her promise, and that Emilia was her treasure.
Those words were the treasure that would remain in Emilia's heart forever.
"Haven't you lost the reason to fight?"
"Not at all. Mother… I couldn't save her. But I don't know yet about the villagers. Everyone might still be alive under the snow, waiting to be saved. And only I can save them."
"The land is still tainted by the Black Serpent. Even if villagers remained in the permafrost, they wouldn't have survived with their bodies invaded by the plague."
"That's just speculation. A pessimistic guess. Everyone's under the snow, waiting to be saved. I need to pull them out quickly. And then they'll be angry with me. And then they'll laugh and say they're glad I'm alive."
"A ludicrous fantasy."
"No—a happy prediction for the future!"
Emilia pressed forward, refusing to let Echidna dismiss it.
Squaring off with the Witch, Emilia gestured at the snowy landscape.
"What no one can see yet—refuse to let them deny it! What Mother left behind—refuse to let it end in sadness! Mother's dream—I will make it come true!"
"Dream? What was your mother seeking, exactly?"
"Mother always said—someday, everyone would leave the forest and live normal lives. The way Juice and the villagers used to get along, the way Subaru tells me he loves me—the world where Mother and Juice could have walked side by side, that world would surely come!"
"And you see frozen villagers in that world? The ones you trapped beneath the permafrost?"
"I'll apologize—so deeply, so many times, over and over, as many times as it takes, until they forgive me! And once they do, I'll introduce them to the world! I'll tell them there's no more need to hide—that this is the world Fortuna Mama spoke about!"
"————"
Taking a breath, Emilia shouted.
Before she knew it, the snowy landscape was gone, and Emilia and Echidna stood in a world of white light.
The cold that pierced her skin had vanished, and the landscape dominated by countless regrets was gone—but Emilia didn't notice. She simply raised her voice.
"I'll scream until my voice gives out, singing of this dream, so that Mother in the heavens above can hear me!"
"————"
"That in the world Mother loved—I will be happy!"
In that instant, the world cracked open with a sound.
Seeing the fissures running through the white space, Emilia finally noticed the landscape's transformation. Before her wide-eyed surprise, Echidna brought her hands together.
Applause.
"I see—I understand. I thought I already knew, but it exceeds my imagination. Bossy, arrogant, self-righteous, self-serving, and a peddler of false charity."
"Yes. Is that bad?"
"Not particularly. But you're exactly like your mother in that regard."
Furrowing her perfect brows, Echidna watched Emilia raise a question.
What Echidna had just said— "You know my mother… the other mother, different from Fortuna Mama?"
"I do. The fact that I become this emotional toward you isn't unrelated. Though why it's only you I can't stand—I suppose that's jealousy of a sort."
Echidna shrugged, and her figure began to blur before Emilia's eyes.
At the same time, Emilia's own consciousness grew hazy and heavy, and a floating sensation—like the edge of waking from a dream—enveloped her whole body.
"It's over. No matter how self-righteous the conclusion, the past has been settled. Use your mother's sacrifice as an excuse for your resolve, and flail about in all your gracelessness—that's all you can do."
"Say whatever you like. I've gotten used to your complaints."
Emilia placed her hands on her hips, showing composure before Echidna, who never forgot her sharp tongue to the end. Echidna averted her gaze from Emilia's attitude.
"There are two more 'Trials' remaining… but frustratingly, they probably won't pose much of an obstacle."
"Really?"
"Apathy and resignation are the mortal enemy of self-reflection. The essence of the 'Trial' that delves into your inner self is currently exceptionally incompatible with who you are now. In a sense, that's the fruit of your surrender."
"Being told I'm not thinking is awfully offensive."
Emilia openly protested Echidna's lecture.
In any case, the conversation here was drawing to a close.
Echidna's form was almost entirely gone, and Emilia shook her slightly muddled head.
But she could no longer hold onto consciousness.
"——I hate you."
"But I don't hate you nearly as much."
Emilia couldn't see what expression Echidna wore in response, but she felt she knew.
Consciousness surfaced.
*** When Emilia's awareness returned, she felt a hard surface against her back and let out a small groan.
Behind her—directly behind her—was a wall. It appeared she had collapsed in a sitting position and come to rest against it.
She reached out and touched the wall, finding the rough scratch marks she had made. Perfectly positioned, *I love you* had been carved there, and the timing of it made her smile.
Right now, more than anyone, she wanted to be affirmed by his words.
"——I'm sorry, Mother."
Her smiling mouth twisted, and Emilia let out a voice like something smothered.
Her apology echoed through the dim little room, followed by the repeated sound of her sniffling.
Tears poured out, one after another, beyond endurance, beyond control.
Stubbornly holding on, pretending to be strong, determined not to let the Witch see her cry—Emilia, in this sepulcher where no one could see, pressed her face against the wall and wept openly.
"Mama… Mama… ahh…"
Tears streaming.
Tears that should have been shed long ago. A hundred years ago.
Because she had forgotten, she hadn't even been able to mourn her mother's death—and now, in a small room where no one would ever know, Emilia mourned.
So that when she emerged, no one would see this tear-streaked face.
So that he—the one who told her he loved her even in her weakness—wouldn't see her weak side.
Crying, crying, crying, crying.
Mourning her mother's memory, her mother's love, everything she had been given.
Emilia pressed her face against *love* and wept without end.