--looks off, and Palinkron laughs.

'--haha. Looks like this one was first, brother Kanami.

　With those words, a tremor as if an earthquake had occurred hit the fort.
　The "magic stone line" began to emit purple light, and a tent of light (aurora borealis) fell from the ground to the sky.
　The color of the garden changed drastically with the light.

　Everyone braced themselves for this fantastic change.
　It was because they thought that something called a "magic circle" would be activated and some sort of phenomenon would occur.

　However, it just continued to emit light and nothing happened.
　My friends are not affected either.

　The only person who was affected - was me.

　The light burns into my retinas.
　And at the same time, the purple magic seeps into my brain.

'Hey, do you remember. Kanami's brother?

　At the same time as Palinclone speaks to me, the aurora of the "Magical Stone Line" also enters me. I suspected it was the magic of the one who stole the logic of the darkness, and I immediately rejected it.
　However, I couldn't prevent its invasion.

　The reason for this is because that magic power was too warm and didn't have an ounce of harm in it.
　It penetrated naturally, as if it were its own magic power.

　It is soft yet warm. A magical light that helps everything it touches.
　Touching it, I recover (...) again.
　The magical power heals and cures me. But that was only to get closer to the masked man I saw in my dream.

　Again, just as before, unidentified emotions come up and come out.
　But this was one of those situations I had expected.

''Such a thing--!

　As I declared to Hailey, I try to resist the unidentified emotion.

'Kanami-san!　We're almost there!

　Maria is anecdotally aware of my abnormality and complains aloud about the priority of capturing the Sith.
　This is not the first time I've been swept up in this emotion. I'm determined to show her that this time, I'll show her everything.

　Nevertheless, Palinkulon speaks to me in a nonchalant manner, spitting blood.
　He's right beside me.

You know what I said to Kanami's brother before we parted at Lauravia? ''Kanami and Maria's wishes have been granted. And yet, Kanami is still looking for a lie? He said. At that time, Kanami's brother was indeed 'happy'. Still, Kanami's brother shook his head. 'Still, we have to expose the lies,' he said, 'Lies won't save anyone.' 'I want to know everything,' he said. And just as he said, we escaped that prison and Kanami's brother came here.

　A voice that feels strangely spare.
　A chill runs down my back.

'I get it, all right. In other words, Kanami's brother can't tell a 'gentle lie'. Happiness and peace of mind are meaningless. That's what I mean. Then, yo... ....... Now I'm going to show you the exact opposite of that - unhappiness and anxiety.

　Palinkron muttered and a shiver ran down my spine.
　Of course, he didn't touch Palinclone's blood at all. Hence, it's not the spirit magic of The One Who Steals the Dark Reason.

　It's a completely different thing.
　It had nothing to do with magic power, it was just pure fear.
　My hands are about to loosen up.

''Ka, Kanami-san--?

　Maria, who is holding the Sith back together, senses my abnormality and screams.

　Out of reach, Palinkron chuckled. I had the illusion of being grabbed by the heart.

This is the truth that awaits you in the deepest depths. This is the truth we've been waiting for in the deepest part.

　It's a sickening concern, as if teasing or worrying.
　With those words, the momentum of the garden's aurora borealis increases. It fills with a heavenly light and fills my vision with the brilliance of the 'magic stone line' (line).

　It wasn't just their eyes that were dazzled. Even Dimension will be dazzled.
　All of my senses were engulfed by the light, and they were being repainted.

　It is as if the world is changing, and I am swallowed by this scene.


　Beyond that, I can show you.
　And a memory.


◆◆◆◆◆


　It was raining again.

　A large castle that was now a familiar sight. Raindrops kept hitting the walls of the castle, making a noise-like sound.
　Inside the castle, there were four boys and girls in the hall.
　It's the same situation as in the previous dream.

　However, it was clearly different from the memories I had seen before.
　The previous cheerful atmosphere was gone.
　The air is so tense that it looks like it's about to collapse.　

　If you look closely, you can see that only Tiara's body has grown by one size or so.
　The other three hadn't aged, but Tiara was the only one who had grown taller. From the memory of seeing her before, it was difficult to determine whether time had passed or not.

　Unusually, the man wasn't wearing a mask.
　And as expected, he had a face that looked exactly like mine. The man who can only be called 'Aikawa Uzumi' is sitting on the stone floor.

　The man was holding a girl's body in his arms. The girl should be "Aikawa Yotaki" ...... -- that girl should be "Aikawa Yotaki".

　Yotaki's body that was held was abnormal. I'm not going to be able to say that I'm not going to be able to do anything about it. Most importantly, both arms and legs were strange. The skin was not skin-colored, but dyed black. They were lined with scales (...) that looked black and hard. Furthermore, the number of fingers and toes on the hands and feet was not five, but three. The length is also disproportionate to human. The only human-like feature is the head.
　It's hard to call it human. It had become a deformed 'monster'.

　And the crystal long sword is stuck in the chest of that Youtaki. The man held Youtaki, whose heart had been pierced, with tears streaming down his face.

　Holding Yotaki's body, the man cries out.

''--Ah, ah, ah!　How dare you fool me!　Sis!

　It was a wail of full-bodied sorrow that seemed to tear at my throat.

　Seeing that scene, I realized.

　--Ah (...), I knew it (・・・・).

　I couldn't do it to the gentle Hailey, but it was something that Palinclone would certainly poke me with. I understand that he is being shown that now.

　To the man's wailing, the last one, the Apostle Sith, answers.

'You didn't have a vessel in "The One Who Steals the Reason of Water" ....... It's sad, but it can't be helped. Stop crying, allies, and stop crying. There are alternatives: .......
'Or, alternatively, ......?　A replacement?

　The man laid Yotaki's body gently on the floor and stood up like a ghost.
　His face, which looks exactly like mine, has become a form I've never seen before.

　--Is this the 'ending' of a thousand years ago?

　You get an answer right away.
　No, I guess I'm trying to be precise, I'm trying to answer the question. I can see that I am answering the predictions that I have known for a long time and have known in thin air for a long time.

　This situation is simple.
　The man would have continued to fight.
　He believed the apostle's words and kept fighting and fighting and fighting.
　But it was unrewarding.
　His precious sister's illness was not cured.
　The 'price' of the treatment turned her into a 'monster' and she died in the end of it - she died.

　That's why I'm crying.
　That's why I'm crying.

　In other words, it doesn't matter whether I'm a "Demonstone Human" or "Aikawa Uzumi", either way, "Aikawa Yotaki" is dead and no longer in this world.

　I was filled with a feeling of emptiness, as if I had lost my heart.

　But the man, unlike me, is indignant.
　He screams and pulls his sword out of the empty space.

'There is no substitute for Yotaki!　My only family!　You were my only family!　You killed him!　Oh, it's your fault. Everything!　I'll kill you too!　I'll kill you, Sith!

　That ability is no different from what I call 'possessions'. As expected, that was one of the magic he developed.
　I'm not going to be able to get a good idea of what's going on.

I'm not going to be able to get it right. Calm down. It was all for the good of the world. ......
"You're not doing the world any favors!　I don't care about that!　To me, Yotaki was all I had!　It was everything!
'Don't lose sight of the cause, my friend!　If you don't do this, all life will die!　Someone had to try to save the world!　And Yangtaki was the best fit for it!　Yes, she was the cornerstone of the world's salvation--
"--Oh, that's a big deal!　That's tough!　That's a great story!　But it's not our problem!　It doesn't matter, Sis!

　Swinging his sword to the side, the man continues to scream as if he were spitting blood.
　He interrupts the Sith's words and takes a step forward, his face contorted.

'You said you'd be cured!　I trusted you!　Even though Yotaki believed what you said!
'In theory it was!　I was going to fix it too!　But it doesn't always work out for everything!　It was something I wouldn't have known unless I tried it!

　Unbearably, the Sith shout back.
　If this is the case, the man in front of him will cut him down. That's what I was frightened of.

　That's why I'm going to convince them.
　The Sith also scream back with all their might.

"Friends, I'm not alone!　You have to understand me!　Yes, with a little bit of progress, we can all understand each other--
'- Yeah, I know who you are!　I know you'll do anything to get what you want!　I know what I'm talking about!

　But I can't reach it.
　It's blocked in half.

'You used us!　She used Yangtze waterfall as an experiment!　I'll never forgive you for that!

　The man pointed his sword at the Sith.
　A killing spirit flies as if to cut the air.

　Feeling that reconciliation was no longer possible, the Sith began to build up their magic as they retreated.

...... Why can't you figure it out?

　He mumbled softly, tears welling up in his eyes.
　He didn't know if the man heard him.

　The man waited for his sword and tried to get closer to the Sith.
　The Sith, who must have felt his life in danger, activated his magic and spread his white wings with the light. Then, with the blindness caused by the flash of light, they run to the window of the great hall.

'Let him go!

　The man tries to chase after it.
　But it was stopped by a hand stretched out from behind.
　It was Tiara's hand that was watching him.

　Unlike sometime ago, the childishness is gone, and she is closer to Las Tiara. Her beauty was distorted and she desperately grabbed the man's sleeve and shouted.

''Master, wait!　At this rate, Master will lose himself!　If you continue to 'convert' any further, Master's body will be the same (...)!

　The man stopped in his tracks when he was stopped.
　In the meantime, the Sith takes off through the window and into the sky.

　With a click of his tongue, the man yells at Tiara for causing his enemy to flee.

'So what!　Shut the f*ck up, Tiara!　You don't know what you're talking about!　It's none of your business!

　With a gasp, Tiara's body shook.
　There were tears in her eyes.
　But without taking a step back, she said back.

''Ka, it's nothing to do with that!　I've done it with you!　I'm my master's best student--!

　Tiara gripped the man's arm forcefully and pleaded her deepest feelings.
　But it didn't reach him either.
　The man laughed.

''Ha, ha, yes, I created it with you!　Hahahaha!　What a 'level up'!　Status!　That's a laughingstock!　You guys inspired me to create The Conjuring, and now I've got this.　This is how it ends!　I feel like an idiot!　This was all in the palm of your hand, just as you wanted it to be!　After all, 'witchcraft' was a 'curse' and a curse was a curse!

　The man shook off Tiara's arm.
　Still unbeaten, Tiara continued to appeal.

''But thanks to Master's idea of the 'conversion' technique, many people were saved!　The master became a hero, or rather the savior of the world!　I believe that it wasn't a curse, it was something more sacred!
'Haha, the Messiah?　Sacred?　Oh, yeah, I'm the Messiah!　All in the name of the apostle!　Now we can gather all the magic in the sky in one place!　Good for you!　This is going to save the world!　Hahaha!　And (...)?　So (...)?　So what happens (・・・・・・・)!　Oh, good, good!　That's really good, you guys (・・・・・・)!　I'm not good!　The world is saved, and what do I get out of it?　I've come this far since I heard that Yotaki was going to be cured!　He killed himself, killed others, did things he didn't want to do, and here we are!　That's the reward!　You couldn't help what you didn't want to help, and you couldn't help what you wanted to help!　Don't be silly, don't be silly!

　The verbal abuse spun from a mouth that looks exactly like mine.
　Under the pressure of his verbal abuse, Tiara finally lets out a single tear.

"Master, get a grip ....... Master is a more kind-hearted person .......
'A good-hearted man!　Haha, I'm not even a person anymore, though!　That's right!　Right now, I'm the highest level in the world!　I'm the one who came up with this magic formula!

　The man's face was pathetically distorted and ragged after tears as he continued to laugh.

　An outburst of emotions caused the magic power to erupt out of control.
　Avoiding getting caught up in that magic, Tiara kept her distance.

　The color of the magic power is a mischievous black-violet. It erodes everything it touches, shifting (...) the dimensions of its existence and breaking down.
　It's an extraordinary magical power. And I know a magic power similar to it. It's the same as the Guardian's magic power. The phenomenon that occurs when a guardian shows its full strength.
　It is an embryo of magical power that invades the world as well.

　The walls are dyed black and purple and shift at an angle. The walls are not broken in any way, but you can see the other side of the wall. The same goes for the floor. As if cut out with a knife, the fault lines of the earth beyond the floor are exposed.
　As I recall, in this era, 'magic power' was called 'poison'.
　As the name suggests, it was a scene that could only be seen as the poison was invading the world.

　If I were to name this man, it would be 'the one who steals the reason for the dimension'.
　There would be no other.

'Sith......, you'll never let him get away with it or ......'

　The man tries to walk.
　But behind him, there is a shimmering shadow. Tiara is caught in the runaway of the magic, but she hasn't given up yet.

''Master, wait for me. ......
"--...... wait?　What?

　The man's expression is stern.
　You can tell that he's frustrated with Tiara for holding him back so persistently.

"I'll change everything from now on ....... I'll figure out all of the "reason" and create a new law of magic power, so ....... I will create the 'magic' that will make everyone happy that we set out to do together ....... So wait a little longer ....... I'm sure your sister Yotaki will also ......--
Shut up!　We don't need any more 'magic' to make everyone happy!　It was all a lie, and you believed in the hypocrisy of it all!　What I said was 'magic' that would make Yotaki happy!　It was all for Yotaki!

　The man stops arguing with Tiara by returning the mindless words.
　The man walks away, shaking off the girl who tries to follow him.
　Then he shouts out his answer to everything.

'It's too late!　Everything!
Don't go to ....... I only have a master--

　The girl, Tiara, needed a man.
　I know this because I see it objectively. Perhaps, a man was all that was in the world to her.

　But she could also understand men.
　To a man, Yotaki was all the world had to offer.

　So no matter how many tears Tiara would bring to her eyes, she would not stop her feet.

''I'll definitely catch up ....... I'll catch up with you ......, just wait for me, Master .......

　Tiara did not try to follow his back.
　She must have known that there was no way she, as a disciple, would be able to defeat the man who was her master. Even with a light glance, he could see that the total amount of magic power was more than double the difference between them.

　However, he hasn't given up yet. Tiara shouts to the man who is leaving.
　A poor "contract" that only imitates the "Apostle". But it's a word that has no magic power.
　--a verbal promise.

"Wait for me!　I'll make sure to go where the master is!　Not by contract or anything else, by my will, by my power, I will share my soul with my master!　I swear!

　Tiara declared to her own soul.
　There is no magic formula. There is no magic power in motion. The world and the "reason" have not moved even slightly. But it was indeed a 'contract'.

　I'm not going to be able to bear those too pure words, and the man grits his teeth.
　And then he shouts back.

''--!　...... You're my enemy!　Tiara!　If you're a Hoosiers' pawn, that means you were an apostle's pawn!　Don't let me see your face again!　At this rate, I'll even want to kill you!

　Compared to Tiara, the word is too fragile and dirty.
　Hence, she is unwavering.
　She continues to stare at the departing man and vows to the end.

''I will not leave my master alone ......, never ......!　Just as my mentor saved me from one, I will save my mentor from one: ......!　I'll catch up with you over the years, even if it takes me thousands of years to do so: ......!
'　Why are you--!

　The next time the man was hit with that innocent thought, he couldn't argue with it.
　Unable to find the words to reply, he shouted like a child.

'Oh, shut up!　Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up--!

　He then picked up Yotaki's body and walked out of the great hall to escape.
　He walked through the ornate entrance, opened the entrance door, and walked out.

　The man stared at the sky where the Sith had flown away while being hit by the heavy rain that was pouring down.

'I will avenge you!　The whole country that tricked me, the apostle who took the Yangtaki, the one who stole the truth from the apostle, the whole world!　I'm gonna kill you!　We're going to liquidate!

　The man proceeds into the dark forest surrounding the castle.
　He loses his family and friends and wanders alone in another world.

'Don't think you can escape, Sith!　With my 'Dimension' now, I can even cover a continent!

　As he lovingly embraces Yangtaki's body, he expands the magical power of his body.
　The dimensional magic covers the forest, jumps over the castle and envelops the continent.

''It wasn't the world I wanted to save!　It was a Yangtaki!

　His voice is muffled, and it's hard to make out the words anymore.
　His eyes were red and swollen, his face was pathetically contorted, but the corners of his mouth hung up.
　Anyone could only assume that he was mad.

　No, the man must have been mad.
　The mad man disappears into the forest - and then he disappears into the forest.

　That's when the replay of the memory begins to distort.

　Like a fast forwarded image, the world accelerates.
　As if to say that the rest of the story is irrelevant, our memories start to fade.

　I felt the same way.
　The only thing that mattered was the story of Yotaki.
　That's why I just watched the movie in fast forward.

　The rest of the story is simple.
　It's just a story of a crazy man getting revenge.
　He cheats and kills the "thieves of reason".
　He collects "poison" without thinking, and as his level rises, he becomes a "monster".
　Such a ridiculous story.

　And at the end of the story--

　Scraping up a lot of magical power, the man had become stronger than anyone else.
　But in return, he had become a 'monster'. Just like the man's sister, Yotaki.
　His skin was ugly and sore, the number of arms had increased, and scales lined up. Red and black flesh like internal organs were exposed, and the floating blood vessels pulsed. It is a horrible sight, as if it were a fish or a bird, a creature that had been grafted on to its body. And its body is still crumbling.

　A certain battlefield.
　At the center of the magic circle, a man holds his dead sister's body in his arms.
　Under the black sky, the man mutters to himself.

This is the 'World Consecration Squad' ......, and that's the end of everything: ......

　The man is not the only one present.
　There were people facing the man who had become a "monster".

　It's like a painting that imitates a myth.
　It's enough to give you a hint that the "saints" are going to defeat the "monster" just like the folklore Rastiara told us about.

　One woman was at the head of the humans.
　Tiara, who had grown into an adult, was standing in front of the man--


　The vision darkens.


　--This is the end.
　I guess this is the end of the story from a thousand years ago.

　To be honest, this is not a story that has anything to do with 'me'.
　After all, this memory has only one thing to say.
　Only one thing.

　Aikawa Yotaki is dead.
　That's the only thing I want to say.

　That fact is the only thing that sticks in my mind, and I can't even pull it out--