After the engagement with Amadeus and the death of Alford, Masamune told Sieg that he had parted ways with the dragon's heart.
　In the days after his return to Ursula, Masamune did not see Lucius, nor did Lucius want to see Masamune, and time passed.
　The Toa was in front of Masamune's eyes.
　Sufilia was still holed up in the storeroom.
　Sometimes Nem would be near Masamune, sometimes he would be in the storeroom with Sufilia, reading a book or taking a walk in the garden, and for Nem it was a peaceful day for him.

　But for Masamune, it was just an agonizing day, wondering where to start the conversation and what to tell Toa.

'Toa........what kind of person was Rosalia-san?'

　Masamune cuts in awkwardly to Toa, who is relaxing by the fireplace.

'Eh, sister?　She's ... beautiful, kind, and she always listens to me ...

　That's where Toa's words stop.

'Toa?'
I wonder when he'll be back.

　At those words coming from Toa's mouth, Masamune doesn't say them, but accepts the fact that Toa has truly forgotten.
　But there is no breakthrough.

'Toa, today ... would you like to go to the lake with me?'
A lake?　You mean the lake of origin?
Yeah. Well, you know, I kind of have to talk to Toa.
No problem, but can't we do it here?
'Well it was a place I wanted to go with Toa once, and it was just right...'

　Toa questioned Masamune who said that, but replied, "I understand.

　As they were about to pass through the gates of the Demon King's Castle, Lucius appeared in front of them.

''Father, what's going on here?''
'I was just passing by, are you going somewhere?
The lake, Masamune wants to go.

　But Lucius and Masamune looked at each other quietly and spoke without words.
　There was confirmation and agreement in both of their eyes.
　It was a confirmation of what they were going to tell Toa today, and an agreement to it.

'Do you mind if I make a move too?'
Yeah, I don't mind, but...

　Those words were his agreement to Masamune.
　And when Lucius said that, he said, "I'd like to go alone with Toa if possible, but are you sure you're going to follow me? And one last check.

'I haven't been over there in a long time. It's been a while since I've seen it.'
''....I see. Well then, it can't be helped.



o


　The lake of origin was a not so large lake surrounded by forest.
　It hadn't been altered since the birth of Demon King Rosef, and hadn't been tampered with by anyone.
　The three of them walked through the forest and came far enough to see the lake in the distance between the trees.
　Then they reached the entrance to the lake and Lucius and Masamune stopped in their tracks.
　Then Toa smiled and ran towards the lake, alone, unaware of the two men who had stopped.

'Masamune, this choice is a one-way street. We can't turn back now.
'That's why I'm here. When I came to this world, I was only dragging my past with me, and Toa saved me. Now I'm going to save you....
This is not a problem that can be solved by emotions alone. Controlling it is not easy.

　It was then that they both realized at the same time.
　The Toa stopped by the lake. He turned his head and did not move from his spot.

''Toa........''

　Immediately after Masamune called out to him, a gust of wind arose in the area around Toa.
　Masamune immediately sensed that it was a magical wind, and recalled his memories of being fascinated by Lucius.
　And when the wind began to stabilize with its wildness still intact, the voice was heard: "She can't see this place.

'I can't let her see this place...'

　It was not Toa's. Masamune immediately judged that to be the case on a hunch.
　But it is Toa who is talking.
　The voice was Toa's, and the face he turned to look back at was also Toa's. But the expression and the look in his eyes were not Toa's, but someone else's.
　But the expression and the look in his eyes, Masamune sensed the presence of someone else, not Toa.

'What do you want, why are you tormenting the Toa while in the Toa's body?'
'Masamune, you don't understand. I'm a Toa, too. I just want to save me. I'm just defending myself...
Not the usual Toa. That much is certain. The Toa do not emit such wild magic for no reason. It's because of the damage it does to those around it.
"Well I'm certainly not your 'usual toa' as you call it."
'A composite of personalities. Masamune, she is indeed Toa, but she is not Toa's original personality. I've shown you, Toa would never have killed Cassandra in the first place. But if the Toa killed her, as you say, it's not the usual Toa, it's the Toa we have in front of us now.
Toa why did you lie to me?
'No?　I'm not lying.
'If Toa hadn't stopped me then, I wouldn't have killed that demon tribe and Cassandra wouldn't have appeared in Fischanatica. I wouldn't have killed the demon tribe unwillingly. Nor would Toa have killed Cassandra unwillingly. I just believed the Toa's words. It was easier to doubt, and since I'd lived my life doubting people, I wanted to at least trust my own people my mistake in running away from my emotions. In my head I knew I should have killed them.
'Yes but like I said, it was okay, wasn't it?'
'What's okay nothing is okay. Cassandra is dead and things have just gotten worse. It makes sense now. You just wanted to make Toa do something he didn't want to do. Ignotus is the one to kill, not Cassandra. If you get your memory back, the Toa will...
It's broken.
"Well yes. That was your purpose. I didn't do it to protect the Toa.
''Masamune-kun, that's the Domination. This is the path of the demon race that has this skill in its possession. Sacrifices are necessary, and the Domination is always on the lookout for an opening in the host. But I want to clear up one misunderstanding of yours.
...a misunderstanding?
'Mr. Masamune just said that Toa lied to you, and that's not a lie.
....
He doesn't realize it. The Toa in front of him has no awareness of the fact that he is in control. Good and evil, this is the work imposed on life. Everyone, regardless of race, is tormented and confused. This Toa was not born out of nothing. It was originally in the Toa. If loving and adoring Cassandra was good for the Toa, then the evil was killing her. If killing Ignotus was good for the Toa, then not killing her was evil. That's all there was to it. On top of all the possibilities that could have happened, this Toa is real.
''But even so, they are fundamentally different. Assuming you're not aware of it, even if the Toa and this Toa are the same Toa, the Toa wouldn't hurt themselves. He would at least know what would happen if he killed Cassandra.
I didn't understand.
What?
'She was simply following the evil within her. Regardless of the consequences of killing Cassandra and causing Toa to lose her mind, that's just a consequence. In her mind, that is. So she is currently out here now, trying to keep the Toa from coming to the surface like this. Isn't that right?
'If Toa comes out now, she won't be able to keep her sanity anymore. I'm just trying to protect myself.
...a quibble.
'Masamune, Control is the harmony of good and evil. You cannot truncate one or the other. Good and evil are involved, but it is not a problem that can be solved by good and evil. That's not the essence of it; it's why the Toa are in control. It's because Toa didn't accept herself and ran away from the truth. It's not her fault. She's right, she's a Toa too, and she's protecting the Toa now.

　Masamune was terribly confused.
　He had thought that destroying his evil personality would solve the problem.
　But things weren't that simple, and Toa himself needed to accept the possible evil he could have imagined.

'You need to accept that Roazaria-san is dead and that Ignotus killed her and that Cassandra was just being manipulated.
"The young Toa saw it happen. He saw the moment Cassandra stabbed her sister. It was a traumatic experience, an ingrained one. The Toa would understand that now. But a trauma is not something that can be explained by logic.

　Masamune looked at Toa as he listened.
　The Toa didn't even respond, giving no answer.
　Then Masamune summoned a dungeon vortex and pulled out a red-black shadow from it.
　It turned into a long, stick-like shadow that transformed into a single, large staff.

'Vel, what should I do?'

　--Velphegor's great staff.
　Masamune asked Vel.

'Why don't we just take the whole skill away?'

　Vel answers immediately.

'Is that ... a talking wand?

　Lucius looked at Vel with a convincing expression, as if he had some idea of what was going on.

'But that was...'
If you miss, the master dies. I wouldn't recommend using it too many times if you're not familiar with it. But if that's your master's intention, I won't stop you. Lying to yourself, that's death to the abyss. I don't care about anything else. And it doesn't have to be now. You can try out the abyss as many times as you want after you've familiarized yourself with it. What do you think, Master?

　Vel's tone of voice, as if he were testing himself, made Masamune look deep in thought.

I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about this. Vel, I need your support.
What do you mean?

　Lucius' expression darkened.

''I'm going to rip off the Toa's [control].
No way.... that's not possible...
With existence, it is possible. However, there is a certain amount of risk involved. Regardless of the nature of the skill, if you fail to take it away, you will lose the Existence and I will die.
...You've done this before?
It's just a matter of threading a needle. It's just that when you can't do it, it's a big deal.
You're going to...
'I don't mind. There's no hesitation ... the time to do it is now, and let's get it all over with.
....

　Lucius didn't respond to his words, but Masamune approached the Toa, a red-black, iron-sand shadow drifting from his entire body.

'Toa. I'll take care of that skill. It was best if I could destroy it. I wouldn't want that either, if I could.''
Masamune...

　Toa didn't look like he was running away, he just looked into Masamune's eyes as he approached.

'She's yours, I told you so.
'I help because I could. That's all there is to it. The rest is up to the Toa...
Hmm.....

　Toa smiled thinly.

'I knew it was right to leave it to you. Masamune........

　A red-black shadow covered the Toa.