That's a shame - we're not fooling around with anything. That's your unconsciousness, isn't it?　The doll captured the weakness of clinging to the past - and don't blame me for it.
　The cheeky man's voice reached my ears.
　Thinking back, it was the first time I had received a head-on rebuttal since my buddies.
　It's very fresh.

　Nacht turns his gaze to the black catmimi girl.
　Come to think of it, I used to get complained about her always giving me disgruntled zit eyes.

''Well, that being said, I'm up for you. Tina-chan!''
　As if to interfere with Nacht's emotions, the man's ear-splitting voice rang in his ears.
　A grin, he said.
　A smile full of lewdness went to Tina.

'Kiria....'
　Tina's eyes, which were returned as a reply, were filled with an unconcealed contempt.
　No, there was a deeper, more disgusting feeling in their eyes. It was as if she wanted to say that it was physiologically unacceptable.
　Nacht can understand that feeling a little bit.

Don't look at me like that, Tina. We're on the same side, aren't we?　Serving the same Lord - no, aren't we the same fellow used?
　The sweet, gentle voice is nothing more than mimicry.
　It only hides the fresh-blooded strains deep in the soul.

'Whoever you are!'
　Tina spits this out, as if to spit it out.

'Well, you're not well liked - but - if you don't listen to me too much, I'll gouge out your chest - again - hahaha. Hahahahahahaha--
　A distorted gaze stared at Tina's chest.　
　Tina averted her gaze and put her hand on her chest.
　However, as Nacht, I have my doubts. In terms of competence, Tina is better than him. If this guy was able to kill Tina, it must have caught him off guard.

''It's pretty ooky, isn't it? If you can chop it up into a mess, cut off the tip, and smear it with fresh blood, it's going to be a lot cleaner, uhii, uhii, uhii, uhii, uhii--
　Looking at Kiria, who continues to let out a laugh that could be considered a strange sound alone, Nacht says to Tina with a sigh.

'What can I say.......you should pick your friends, Tina.......'

'Don't look at me like that!　And besides, that's not a friend!

This is so bad. Well, never mind. Come to think of it, we haven't introduced ourselves yet - my name is Kyria, my occupation is assassin, my speciality is assassination, my hobby is killing people, and my favorite thing to do is to see blood, I guess - nice to meet you.
　It's an eerie, distorted gesture.
　The mouth is strangely misaligned to the point that I can't understand where the voice is coming from.
　It's not just the mouth that is out of alignment.　
　The state of the mind also seems to be fundamentally out of sync with normal humans.

"Hmm, my name is Nahat - the Dragon Man of the Soulpak Dragon, you may call me Nahat-sama with respect.

'Why are you greeting me normally!　The enemy!　He's a pawn of the demon race!

It's important to say hello, Tina. I think you need to be more relaxed.
　Nacht slowly turned his gaze to the three of them.
　Then the doll, which had remained silent as if at the right moment, opened its mouth.

'Yoo-hoo, Nahat-chan, it's been a while!
　Upon receiving such a greeting from the older sister, the younger sister gives a small bow.
　The two sisters, who were apparently twins in reality (real life) as well, are almost identical in face, voice, and gestures - even though they didn't consult with each other and match, it's a marvel to see that they are almost identical, except for their hair color. The younger sister, who was not as mature as she looked, and the older sister, who was just as well-mannered as she looked--.
　Oh, I've missed the--

'Hahahahaha, what?　An emotional reunion?　Fine, fine, I won't bother you, so go play hard. You're the only one who needs me, Tina.
　Kiria said to Nacht, who was overcome with emotion, to make fun of her.
　Kiria went to Tina alone, and the doll moved to surround Nacht.
　Apparently, the doll was not under precise manipulation (control) by the surgeon. In the days of the game, the mobs only accepted monotonous commands such as wait, attack, defend, etc., but they were able to act to the extent of entrusting their command to a higher level solid. To them, the commander was Kiria, who was following orders to deal with Nacht.

　Nacht was grateful that they had taken the trouble to care for him, he thought.
　For goodness sake, Nacht had run out of patience, too.

''Well, then--I'll be entertained--''
　As soon as he said that, Nacht--

"Yikes!

Ugh!
　-- aided by the skill (skill) and accelerated.
　With that, there was a heavy sound, and the atmosphere roared.
　The wind, which became an impact, slapped Tina's cheeks and caused her to collapse to her feet.
　Everyone closed their eyes for a moment, and the next moment when they opened their eyes - two heads were flying in the air.
　What was left as a residue was a red line.
　From the place where Nacht had stood, it left a brilliant glow as if pulling a thread, and was tied to the place where the two heads had been.

''Dragon Technique--Red Dragon Claws--''

　It is indeed a doll with broken strings.
　Nacht frustratedly stepped through the head of the fallen doll, which had not even bled out.
　As silence falls on the cruelty of Nacht's actions, the only sound is the sound of junk shattering. Although the doll, which had been dismembered and left its human vessel, had returned to its original junk, the dismemberment of its limbs was somewhat bizarre.
　Nacht crushed it to powder, so as not to defile his companion again, then burned it to dust with magic and gently opened its mouth.

'Brittle--'
　I'm still convinced that it's not a creative skill.

"Nah!
　The astonishment was piled on top of each other, but for Nacht, it was until he did the very natural thing.


　Kyria says that, but Nahat is even more irritated by such an insult and hits the words out at her.

''Companions........?　What a load of bullshit.　How can my people be unable to defend themselves against a mere me?　
　Because Nacht dared to aim at the Fist Emperor (Kaiser Monk) Cronet-san, who was even called the demon of melee combat.
　If she was the Krone-san that Nacht knew, the moment the trajectory of the technique was visible - Nacht would be the one to receive his signature counter and fly in the air.
　No matter how fast your agility is, there is no way you can be an enemy of her in close combat.
　Nacht's professional superiority, his experience, and his excellent sense of taste, none of them are in Nacht's range.

　It's the same with Shirone. As a support person, she also has many ways to defend herself. She can easily block Nacht's physical attack skills.

　Nacht was merely flirting with her as a greeting.
　Like a person playing with a cat. Or like a cat playing with a person.
　He couldn't get people to understand that, and the world now was a little bit - yes, just a little bit lonely.　

'Krone-san would say, "What... mock battle...? I guess you could say....
　At least when you don't use magic, the two of you will be deemed to be playing around.

''Most likely, it seems that your level of playfulness isn't enough for you to get involved in such games--''
　Kyria gives me a hateful look, but the separated difference in ability--in Kyria, no matter what you do or how you scratch your feet, it tells me that it's pointless.

''Ha........just because you're superior, if you're not careful--you'll die!
　But he chose to resist.
　The knives were released with the words.
　Four knives in one hand, eight in total.
　It didn't stop there.
　When I waved the sleeve of my clothing, which I thought was strangely flabby, the needle and the distorted blade that was planted in it came at me from all directions.
　It's just like rain.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find some poisonous drops on the flying blades.
　There is no escape, just as people cannot avoid the rain - there is no escape anywhere.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find the right one for you.
Nacht-san!

'Hee, hee, hee, hee, hee, hee, hee, ah, fun!　Dead, dead, dead, dead, dead, dead!　Bright red, bright red, bright red, bright red!

　A piece of metal covered their vision.
　The place where hundreds of throwing weapons flew in the air was like a cloudy sky that covered their vision.

''Eh.........''
　It's easy to imagine what he was hallucinating about.
　The blade had indeed stabbed him.
　But the funny thing was that all the blades were stuck vertically and directly down without a single millimeter of distortion.
　Nacht, standing in such a place like a needle mountain, is naturally not marked with a single scratch.

"What, what did you do........
　There was nothing to be astonished about.
　It was too late for Nacht to catch the flying object and insert it into the ground, just like that.
　In order, in order.
　In order, in order.
　One by one, carefully.

　The blades, neatly lined up on the ground, are so beautiful that they don't even resemble a weapon.
　Looking at them, Nacht smiled with satisfaction.

'Satisfied?'

Huh...!

　It was no longer a fight.
　An acquaintance, who could be called a friend of Nacht's, had uttered a word that would be appropriate.
　Overrun, he said.
　Such words fit together strangely, meshing together like a lightly moving cog, somewhat empty.

　Deliberately, with a sound, Nacht took a step closer.

''Hee ... yo, don't come near me!　Look, if you kill me, you'll kill her too!　Look, stop, stop!　If I don't return to my Lord in rebellion, Tina, you will die. If you remain here, you will die. The only way to survive is to obey the Lord, that's all - like me, here!
　Nacht stopped the walk he was making.

'Yo, okay - that's it. Now, Tina, there are only two ways you can choose. Submission or death - just like me - I don't know what method you used, abominable, or not so abominable - you're under the control of a curse. You haven't forgotten about it either, have you?　That's why I cut out your heart.
　Kyria, who got on well with the fact that Nacht stopped moving, said.
　I'll let you at least say what you want to say, though it's very much a misunderstanding.
　Nacht has that much, that much room in his heart right now.

'Don't be pessimistic - he's a genius in a way. He's much more talented than some self-proclaimed king who thinks he's a king. After all, he's good at dealing with people. And she's even better at playing with people. You and I are both a certain amount of people to her - though not as good as the magic eye.

What do you... you mean...
　Tina glares at Kyria.

'It's not bad under that guy - or is this a mistake - he's made to think it's not bad. I am, you know, a personality failure. I love blood on people, animals, plants, everything. He understands that. He understands that and uses it - he even went to the trouble of casting a control curse and respects my free will in its own way. Again, I was told I could kill anyone I wanted. I was going to kill and murder all the people here in front of you and mess them up, and then I ran into a hell of a monster, unfortunately~

'　You're more of a monster than Nacht-san!

Ha, yeah. Well, okay, but - well, to put it succinctly, the terms of employment aren't bad. It's a lot better than working for some idiot or bowing to some church incompetent. That guy rolls people's greed right out of his hand. So I've tried to persuade him as best I can, but what's the answer?
　There was no hesitation.
　In Tina's mind, the answer had long since been given.
　The reply was a flash of the sharpest sword in the world.
　It was a blow that was quick, brilliant, and quick enough to get Nacht interested in - from a hip tame, to a sprint, and then a drawn sword.
　And yet, it was also a somewhat ironic surprise.

　The right hand that had been outstretched as if to hold out, dropped with a plop, as if unaware that it had been slashed.
　At the same time as the sound of a ding, the sound of a sword being delivered rang out with a small sound.

'Gahhhhhh!　You, well, you, well, well, well, yokum, yokum!　My right arm!

"It's only one arm, sir.　You've killed and tormented many more people, haven't you?　Then do your best to know the pain and disperse unceremoniously.
　A flurry of sword shots and a wide variety of dark weapons to catch them.
　The dominance of the battle is obvious, just like how it was seen in the manga. With the loss of one hand, Tina naturally has the advantage. It can be said to be one-sided.
　That's why Nacht's attention is elsewhere.
　Not a vessel given to her, but a puppet with an implanted heart.
　A living human being with a sense of pain.
　That was the first clue, along with correcting a slight misunderstanding.

Gabe, blah, blah, blah, blah...　Wait, no!　You're going to die, for God's sake, or you're going to die!
　That's the absolute confidence he had in himself.
　A terrible, meaningless trust.
　It was a meaningless trust that there was nothing more important than life because it was something that would take a life.
　Fingers, breasts, and feet are carved one by one.

'Do you love to see blood, but hate to be stained with it?　That's very selfish of you, I despise it.
　And besides...
　Tina tells her, after a pause.
　It was just like a judge - or an executioner - sentencing her to death.

'I don't think I'll see you in hell, I'll be refreshed!
　The sword blade, which was red-hot like the breath of a fire dragon, easily - melted down a person.






◇






　Somewhere in there, Tina says with a satisfied look.
　But that's not what Nacht is interested in.

'More importantly, Tina--'

It's a lot lighter than that, don't you think?
　Nacht didn't respond to Tina's mutterings.

''--When did you challenge the demon race at the request of the prince and the like?
　His tone was stronger than ever.
　Tina couldn't help but try desperately to remember, and she realized she didn't need to.
　Tina had never forgotten that day, the day she had been challenged, torn, penetrated, planted, trembled and frightened, and she had never forgotten that day.

'It was just a month, and five days ago--'
　Oh, I see.
　I knew it was the day.
　Too ironic to call it a coincidence.
　It was more of an unfortunate, trivial coincidence that could be called inevitable.

'Priestess, Tina - if you sincerely wish, I will do you one thing, I will do you a favor -'
　It's another small whim.

''Kaha........what........so.......!　
　Nacht's arm went through Tina's chest.