"No way... By a child like this... How can this be..."
Feathers drifted through the air with a soft rustle.
No, that wasn't right. They weren't feathers at all. Black light radiated from every inch of Kurotobari’s body, creating an illusion of fluttering plumage.
Raiha caught her breath at the sight, which possessed a strange, almost ethereal beauty. From within that radiance, the man who had been transformed into Kurotobari finally revealed himself.
As she looked upon him, she saw a middle-aged man in crisp, professional attire—the kind of person one could find anywhere.
He looked perfectly ordinary. He didn't look like a threat to public order; in fact, he looked exactly like the type of man who spent his life strictly adhering to the law.
However, as Raiha looked into his eyes, she saw a cold, frantic madness dwelling within them. She felt a pressure so intense it threatened to crush her, but she forced it back and called out to Garando.
"Why...? Why would a man like you do something like this? You’re a member of the Security Force. You’re supposed to protect people!"
A thin smile touched Garando’s lips at her question.
Exuding an air of nostalgia, as if he were looking back on the distant past, he began to answer.
"...That is a story from a long, long time ago. Back when I was still on the front lines of criminal investigations... I had a wife and a daughter back then. Yes, I had a family!!"
Garando groaned the words, his fists clenching so tightly they shook.
Raiha remained silent, having pieced everything together from the fact that he spoke of them in the past tense. Garando continued his story.
"My daughter was murdered by a criminal with a prior record. After we lost her, my wife’s mind shattered, and she took her own life to follow our girl. Of course, the culprit was caught immediately and executed. But what does that matter? Even with that man dead, my wife and daughter will never come back to me! Everything was stolen from me by the hands of a criminal!!"
Garando doubled over, screaming as if he were retching.
His cry was a howl of lamentation, a sound so heavy with sorrow and hatred it could be described as nothing else. He snapped his head up to glare at Raiha.
"If that man had never been released, my daughter and wife would still be alive. His life should have been taken in the name of justice! Those who commit evil will eventually lay their hands on even greater atrocities. That is why—!!"
"You intend to kill them before they can act?" Ryuga interrupted.
"Exactly! The wicked deserve no mercy! To protect all innocent people, I shall execute all evil with these hands! That is my justice—the justice of Kurotobari! I am the Messenger of Justice who smites all evil! The cheers of those who believe in my justice are proof of that! It is almost time! Soon, through my comrades who have been granted my power, this world will be transformed into a paradise of justice and order!"
He's insane, Raiha thought.
She finally understood how the members of the Society of Friends of the Night could be so fanatical. It was because the man they worshipped as Kurotobari was more delusional than any of them.
Unable to heal the despair of losing his family, and having gained immense power, Garando had gone mad with his own sense of righteousness.
He dreamed of a world of pure white—a world where not a single speck of black was permitted, and where his personal sense of justice was the only rule. To the casual observer, it might have sounded like a wonderful world of order.
However, as if to declare that this twisted ideology wasn't even worth considering, Ryuga spoke with pure contempt.
"...Is that all you have to say, murderer?"
"What did you say!?"
"Didn't you hear me? I said you’re nothing but a murdering criminal."
Garando’s expression darkened instantly at being called a criminal.
Ryuga stared him down without so much as a flinch. A tempest of fury raged in his heart, bleeding into his voice as he growled at the man.
"I can sympathize with the tragedy you suffered. But what you’re doing now is just murder. You’re simply using 'justice' as a grand excuse to lash out at others with your displaced rage."
"You...!"
"What was that about 'executing evil to protect the innocent'? You tried to kill Raiha and En for no other reason than that they disagreed with you. How is that different from any other criminal who tries to eliminate someone they don't like through force? Answer me that."
"Silence! Those who mock my justice are evil themselves! You! Those women! All of you are evil that must be judged!!"
Garando let out a crazed shriek and crushed the black feather badge in his hand.
Though he was buffeted by the explosive madness and killing intent radiating from the man, Ryuga didn't move an inch. He took the pressure head-on, staring Garando down with icy composure.
"...Do you know? A hero doesn't fight for justice. They fight to protect world peace and human freedom... or so I’m told. A real hero, unlike a fake like you, said that."
Slowly, Ryuga drew his katana from its sheath.
He began to let the storm of anger within him flow into his blade. He fixed a sharp, piercing gaze on the man who had become Kurotobari and spoke from the very depths of his soul.
"Because of your self-righteous justice, people have turned into rioters and innocent bystanders have been hurt. Because you dragged so many people down a path of hopeless revenge, you’ve created nothing but sorrow. 'Messenger of Justice'? Don't make me laugh. You’re just a criminal who disturbs the peace of this city and traps the hearts of the people!"
"You dare...! You dare call me a criminal!? You would call me a sinner and deny the justice that will build a New World Order!?"
"I’m not a magistrate. I don't have the right to judge you. But I will say this much."
Ryuga channeled the full force of his internal storm into his katana and leveled the tip of the blade at Kurotobari.
As their respective rages swirled and clashed, Ryuga bellowed at the Magic Armor Beast he had marked for death.
"Kurotobari... your sins are heavy!"