Amadeus' appearance was bizarre.
　Every time a word was muttered, it was enough to distort Alford's expression.
　The reason for the uncomfortable feeling was because Amadeus would occasionally change the subject matter unnaturally.
　Alford and Eliza felt a kind of tininess there that they couldn't explain well.

'Alford, show me your power?　That's it. Don't ever think you can get away from me?

　Alford's expression intensifies at those words.
　It's not that he's afraid.
　No, you are afraid. But it's not about your life, it's about Eliza's life.

"Zeke, I want you to stand by. "Zeke, get ready. When I give the signal, send Eliza flying.

...Okay. I'm ready to go.

"And call Nito. We can't beat this guy. Take care of the rest, Zeke.

...Okay.

　Alford doesn't show it on his face so that he won't be noticed, but he hangs up on his telekinesis.
　But Amadeus would have noticed that Amadeus is moving somewhat strangely from its magical power. That was also known to Alford.
　But he didn't seem to pursue it, nor did he show any signs of stopping. In other words, they are no longer in your mind's eye, and Alford gave up in his mind.
　And while I gave up, I regretted that I had a bad habit again, but "confidence" is not something that can be acquired so easily.

''Are you ready?''

Yeah.

　Alford responds briefly to Amadeus' words.

'Let me tell you, this isn't a fight. It's just a way to pass the time--a viewing party.

Yeah.

　The words of Amadeus are nonsense now.
　Understanding is troublesome. The outcome is fixed anyway - Alford clenched his sword.

'Eliza--'

　Then Alford called out to Eliza behind him.
　At the same time, Eliza's expression changes to a sad one. It's as if she can see what's ahead.

'I asked for Ichijo. And Zeke, and Vaham and....'

Alford...?

"Eliza.

　At that moment, Alford's feet move slightly.

'--I love you.'

　Leaving those words behind, Alford turns to Amadeus.

'Zeke!　Now!

　Alford signaled with a telepathic message. Then he felt a faint light behind him for a moment.

'Wait!　Alford!

　With a sad look on her face, Eliza reaches out to Alford.
　But from that moment, the transference had begun.
　Eliza disappeared from the scene in an instant.

　The golden sword and Amadeus' shadow clashed with each other, echoing Hirono and the violent sound of impact.

''Huhahahahahahaha!　What was that magic?　Transferring.　You didn't even see the magic circle!

　He was able to escape, and yet Amadeus looks as if he is enjoying his own blunder.

'Forced transference, don't you know?'

I don't know. I've never heard of it.

"Huh, that's bullshit!

　Returning the irony with resignation, Alford stepped back and placed his left hand on the brave man's sword as he stepped back. Then, he entered into a magic chant.

''【Explosion King's Extreme 《Explosion Machina》!

　An orange aura enveloped the golden sword sword, and the sword blade shone.

''Is that your trump card?''

Do you disagree?

No?　I'd say it's better than those who use magic and such in vain.

A spell I don't have any magic left in me.

If you had any magic left, would you have used it?

I won't waste my time. I know your defenses won't work against you, at least I know they won't.

That's not the point, is it?　What made the transition possible?

　The moment Amadeus muttered that, Alford's left hand - the ring on his ring finger - shattered.

''Poof!''

　Alford's hand is safe. Only the ring was shattered cleanly.
　But that means that he could kill it right away if he wanted to.
　Because Alford was completely unable to react to this attack.

"Telepathic, cuckoo....insidious. Did you plan to let Eliza escape from the beginning?

'Didn't you notice?　Isn't that disgusting to hear from the god of life?

I can't get my mouth around it.

　Then, surrounded by a multitude of white men, each of them facing the other in a series of meaningless words.
　Then there was a moment's silence, and Alford clenched his sword in both hands with a good deal of tension.

　On the other hand, Amadeus' expression was not visible.
　But he couldn't possibly be nervous. From his still defenseless appearance, it was clear to see that.

　Then, Alford kicked the ground and ran away.
　The lack of hesitation can be seen from his undisturbed footwork.
　And when he caught Amadeus in front of him, he put everything he had on that one swing.

''Haaaaah!''

　With a spirited spirit, Alford swung his clenched sword at Amadeus.
　The sword tinged with "explosive magic" attacked the defenseless Amadeus.

　At the moment of the direct hit, an explosion that made the air tremble resounded throughout the area.
　The next thing to strike was the blast.
　The blast is so strong that the muddy water around the marshland is flung into the air.

　The white ones - the ones who don't belong (Machavelle) - just watched the figure.
　Most of them are worried about Amadeus' safety from its tremendous magic.
　Everyone was anxiously comparing each other's death masks.

　But Alicia, Lana, and Romero. These three were different.
　They didn't show any signs of confusion at all, but simply watched the smoke explosion in front of them that came after the sound of the explosion and the blast.
　They are convinced - Ankh Amadeus is not the kind of person to succumb to a blow of this magnitude.

　Then the smoke that danced around him gradually cleared.

　A faint breeze carried the smoke away, and two figures could be seen there.
　And that was the result of Alford's magic.

'Utterly ... the brave man is dumbfounded to hear this.

　The first thing I heard was disappointment.
　I knew immediately who the voice was.

''Guh........''

　--Alford, whose neck was grabbed by one hand and lifted up.

　The 《Brave Man》's blow was unable to inflict a single scratch on Amadeus.

''Let go, let........''

Hmm?　Do you want me to let you go?　But you know what?　That's just the way the world works.

　The golden sword that had fallen to the ground disappeared with a particle of light.

'If you guys hadn't come here, we wouldn't have met and I wouldn't have killed you. But eventually ... this is what would have happened, I guess. In everything, there is nothing that can be ignored. It was my own decision.

　Amadeus whispers words to Alford, which are similar to a soliloquy.
　But Alford can only flail his feet and writhe in agony.

'We'd better hurry up a bit. It's a shame to say goodbye, but if we falter, he's going to follow Zeke here and then that guy. You're going to do that anyway, aren't you?

What's... what are you talking about?

Hmm?　Don't you see? --Nito?　You'll be turning to Nito soon enough. Am I right?

　With his neck grabbed and breathing difficult, Alford couldn't believe his ears for a moment that he had misheard.
　But clearly, Amadeus had said 《Nito》, and that was what he said.

'Brave men are valuable, but I won't recruit them. Let's get it over with. No ... we should have taken action earlier.

　At that moment, Amadeus' palms slowly open and Alford's head slowly separates.
　Then Alford's body loses its support and slowly falls to the ground.

''-- I'm not naive enough to easily recruit the unearned.

　And it was only a moment.
　Before Alford's feet could reach the ground, Amadeus delivered a relentless blow.

'Gaha!'

　Alford lost his throat.

　As if he had been eaten by something, the area around his throat was gouged out, including his larynx, and a great deal of blood gushed out of it.
　Alford falls backwards and falls into the slush without being able to catch himself.

　When you hear the sound of him falling, you hear a voice that sounds like he's going to vomit, and when you look at him, you can see a lot of blood flowing from his mouth.

'No hard feelings. But I don't believe it was a senseless death. It's because you can't adapt to this world. The proof of this is that the Black Fog leaking out from behind you is very dense. This means that you either approve of humans or are hostile to the rest of the species. Either way, you are undoubtedly an inconvenient existence. That's why it makes sense for you to die here today.

　Empty eyes that gradually lose their power.
　There is no power in their expressions either. His skin is pale and his lips are losing their color.
　His breathing gradually increases in speed, and that was the sign of Alford's death.
　Thanks to this, he could only hear Amadeus' voice in a daze.
　Alford could hardly hear him any longer.
　The more time passed, the further away the sound became, and the more narrowed his vision became.

　Then it was that time.
　Amadeus, looking down at Alford, put his hand on his own mask.

'I'm not asking for a rebuttal. But you don't hear me anymore, Alford.'

　Then, standing beside the fallen Alford, Amadeus removed his mask.
　Then, gently, he looked down at Alford's dying face.

'This is the path I believed in,'

　I couldn't see his face. But Alford seemed to be able to see it.
　This was immediately apparent by looking at Alford's wide-eyed and surprised expression.

It's not a good idea to be able to get a good look at it.

　With his throat crushed, he couldn't speak anymore.
　But Alford seemed to be trying to convey something to Amadeus.

'I can't detect cheap sympathy, you know. 'Sorry?　You won't stop it you'll lose your life sooner or later.

　Amadeus turned his back on Alford.
　Where he was headed was where his friends were waiting.

　Life.

　--That's what Amadeus said.
　But Alford is a human, and in the words of Amadeus, he is "one who cannot adapt".
　Nevertheless, they recognized him as Life.
　But Amadeus didn't say anything more, he and his companions made short work of the execution of the King of Nuts and then disappeared from Alford's mind.



o



I got my red hair from my mother. She had red hair, too.

　As the rain beat down, Alford remembered.

(Mother was a beautiful person. ) He remembered it clearly, even now. That's why Father loved Mother, who was a commoner. (But my sister did not allow my mother's presence as a commoner.)

　Aries was probably afraid of losing his power to the commoners.
　That's why he never accepted Alford's mother as queen.

(I was the one who first found my mother's bleeding, dead body. I didn't have to wait long to find out who had done it.

　He was stabbed to death. The murder weapon was a knife. The tip of the blade was coated with poison.

　Then Johannes went crazy.

(Father didn't want to see my red hair. Because it reminded him of his mother. So I was imprisoned--in the dungeons.)

　And he kept Alford away.

(Once I gave up on living. I was past the point where I was being lionized for being brave. With my father gone mad, there will be no one to stand by me anymore. They are my sister's prisoners. (All the men would be.)

　It was clear that Aries had been guiding him.
　There was no longer a place for Alford in Grayberg.

(I slipped out of the dungeon.) The key was made from the bones of a small monster that happened to pass in front of me.
Through the castle, through the country, I ran through the meadow. I wandered through my hungry, fuzzy vision, wondering where I was now. I still remember it. And then I met those guys - Zeke and Vaham and Sebastian and Master Carpent........ (Eliza)

　The one Alford met, and the one he loved, was a woman with blonde hair, similar to his sister's.

　But perhaps that wouldn't be the point.
　That shouldn't be the reason.

　Alford loved Eliza. Just purely.

(I can feel the water on my hands.) Come to think of it, this was a swampy area. But I can hardly feel it anymore. Can't speak. And I'm a little sleepy ... is this what it means to die?

　Alford catches the rain falling in his narrowed vision and just stares at the empty sky.
　The rain washes away the blood that flows from his neck and spreads around him.

(So many things have happened, but strangely, I don't feel anything. I feel like I can forgive everything now. Besides, he wouldn't change his mind if I resented him. I didn't have those eyes anymore.

　I don't even have the energy to think anymore.
　My life was about to end.

(I don't know what happened to that guy. Or, from the beginning ... let's stop now. It doesn't matter what I think about it. Zeke will take care of the rest. It's all going to work out. We'll let him take care of everything. But ...

　Also, Alford thought suddenly. The last thing that popped into his head was Eliza's face.

(My regret is Eliza.) You didn't say anything until the end did you realize that?　No, you haven't noticed, have you? But that's okay. It's all right. I'm dying, and friendship and love and revenge and all that stuff doesn't matter to me. I can't have a relationship with them. But then again I should have told you. (If I'm going to die, I'm going to confess and then...)

　At that moment, a single tear ran down Alford's cheek.

(Huh?　What's this?　(Tears?)

　It mingled with the rain, and for a moment Alford thought it was rain. But Alford knew at least what he had shed. The consciousness to feel it was still there.

(Huh..........surprisingly, I too have......regretted......things.......that I regretted, right?

　Awareness that is interrupted.
　There was nothing more in Alford's vision.

　In the open field where all signs had disappeared, Alford was alone, exposed to the rain.

(I, for what..........)

　And then Alford falls into a deep sleep.

　What was the last thing that Alford had in his mind beyond those words?
　But no one will ever know that.
　And no one will ever know anymore.

　One more person died that day who had given his heart to the dragon.

　After that, the rain continued to fall on the marshes without stopping.