A dim back alley. Having brought down two formidable foes, I exhaled, only to find the twin Holy Knights, Yuri and Lumia, standing before me.
Seeing my bare face exposed after Jin's strike shattered my mask, their eyes held unmistakable hostility and bottomless contempt.
"What a disappointment. I thought you weren't completely rotten to the core, but it seems I was mistaken. Not satisfied with merely committing sexual offenses, you resort to such atrocities..."
The sexual offense thing is a misunderstanding.
Yuri quietly drew her sword. A cold, metallic ring echoed through the alley.
Lumia didn't move. Did she believe her elder sister alone was enough, or did she have some other aim?...Even back when we were together, she was a woman of few emotional highs and lows. She was difficult to read.
"Surrender."
Yuri pointed the tip of her sword straight at me.
"You cannot defeat me. Not even if heaven and earth were turned upside down."
It seemed I had held back far too much during our first fight. Yuri appeared to believe from the bottom of her heart that she would win.
Seeing my silence, Yuri furrowed her brow, likely guessing I had no intention of yielding.
"...Why are you doing this?" she asked. "Is this out of spite because you couldn't participate in the Advent Festival? There are occasionally scoundrels who try to test their strength through such underhanded methods... but you are thoroughly despicable. A coward who can only fight through ambushes."
Contemptuous words were hurled at me in rapid succession.
It didn't seem like... mere provocation. I could tell that, right now, Yuri despised me from the depths of her soul.
Though our meeting had been the worst possible, deep down, she had probably believed I was a decent person.
However, I had circumstances of my own that prevented me from backing down.
...Why am I doing this, you ask?
I saw it with the Master Eye.
If things continue like this... both of you will die.
Lumia will be torn to shreds by an Apostle that suddenly appears.
And while Yuri is grieving her sister's death, she will be crushed underfoot by that same Apostle.
To change that future, I cannot afford to be hindered right now. There are still more than ten Seeds of Artificial Mythos left. I must retrieve every single one of them.
Persevere in villainy.
To eliminate every tragedy in this world—except my own.
"Heh-heh... What is the matter? You have grown awfully talkative." Wearing the smile of a villain, I addressed Yuri. "Does your lack of discernment frustrate you so greatly?"
A vein popped on Yuri's forehead.
A fresh, vibrant power enveloped her entire body. A power unique to this country, which worshipped Eternity. A physical enhancement technique born of self-sacrifice—something I was growing accustomed to seeing.
"Experience firsthand... the resolve of us Holy Knights, burning our very lives."
Having literally ignited her life to activate Life Shroud, Yuri closed the distance.
The instant I readied Zest, Yuri vanished.
Kicking off the wall, she had moved diagonally above me.
"Have you forgotten our previous battle?! There is no way someone of your caliber could ever defeat me!"
A sharp flash was unleashed from my blind spot.
Yet, I casually caught it with my blade.
"Wha—?!"
Among those I had fought in this country, it was the heaviest strike yet.
However, it was not something I couldn't handle.
Twisting my torso, I hurled Yuri's body deep into the alley.
Yuri immediately scrambled up and closed in again, with a ferocity that seemed to scream that the previous exchange had been some sort of mistake.
Unfortunately for her—it was no mistake.
It was reality.
"Too slow."
"Gwah?!"
Her stepping stride, the angle of her sword stroke—having instantly seen through both of her feints, I brought my blade down in time with her movement.
Slammed into the ground, Yuri let out a cry of agony.
"Y-You were holding back...?!"
"Only realizing that now?"
At this point, there was no need to hide my strength.
Jet-black magic power surged from my entire body.
Yuri's face instantly went pale.
"Ah, aaah... Ah?!"
As Yuri cowered, I kicked her in the ribs from the side.
Crashing back-first into the stone wall, Yuri collapsed powerlessly to the ground.
I grabbed Yuri roughly by the neck and hoisted her up.
"What is wrong, 'Strongest Holy Knight'? Are you finished already?"
With her feet dangling in the air, Yuri's face twisted in pain.
An overwhelming slaughter. Faced with a desperate gap in strength where she was utterly helpless, the defiance from moments ago completely drained from her eyes.
"P-Please..."
As I sneered coldly, Yuri choked out words through ragged breaths.
Yuri glanced briefly toward Lumia. Then, in a whisper too quiet for Lumia to hear, she spoke.
"I will do anything... You can have my body if you want. So, please stop for now...!"
What is this, all of a sudden...?
For a mere plea for one's life, something was off.
"I cannot afford to die here...! For Lumia's sake... I must live...!"
Large tears spilled uncontrollably from Yuri's eyes.
Her anguished voice was so earnest it made my chest tighten just listening to it. As expected, it didn't sound like a simple plea for mercy. It looked as though something other than death itself was driving her to the brink.
In that instant, a sharp bloodlust shot from the alley entrance.
Lumia, who had remained silent all this time, let out a breath laden with fury.
"I won't forgive you."
With a smooth ring of steel, Lumia drew her sword.
"Anyone who hurts my sister... I will never, ever forgive."
For a split second, I completely lost sight of Lumia. There was no doubt she had used Life Shroud. But her burst of speed was beyond comparison to her sister's.
I understood now. Though they were twins, their fighting styles were entirely different.
If Yuri was a balanced type, Lumia was a specialized type. Instantaneous firepower, instantaneous speed... the density of the life she burned was overwhelmingly greater. Her remaining silent until now had likely been to concentrate on refining the output of her Life Shroud.
A godspeed thrust that left even sound behind.
A sharp, gleaming blade was mercilessly unleashed straight toward my heart.
However...
"...Eh?"
A dazed voice slipped from Lumia's mouth.
With two fingers of my left hand, I had pinched and stopped the tip of Lumia's sword.
"Do you understand why I took my time with a woman of that caliber?" Glancing at Yuri, I sneered.
The reason Lumia stood frozen in astonishment was not merely because I had stopped the blade with two fingers.
It was the technique I had used to make such a feat possible...
This power, used to boost all physical abilities—dynamic visual acuity, reflexes, physical strength...
"You served as quite the fine example."
As life force surged across my entire body, Lumia's face turned a pale white.
—Life Shroud.
I had always anticipated that acquiring this power would be simple.
I already understood the sensation of burning one's life. If so, all that was left was to direct the energy released by doing so toward my own physical body instead of Zest.
The only things I hadn't understood were how to cloak the power and the mechanics of its circulation, but observing Yuri's movements had resolved that as well.
"M-Monster...!"
Before the trembling Lumia, I snapped the pinched tip of the blade with a twist.
I kicked the frozen Lumia mercilessly in the stomach. She had a slender frame. Her body was sent flying until it collided with the wall at the end of the alley, collapsing with a heavy thud.
"Stop... Don't lay a hand on my sister...!!"
Seeing the unconscious Lumia, Yuri crawled toward me, trying to resist even a little.
What beautiful sisterly love.
However, I could not accommodate it.
Grabbing the crawling Yuri by her hair, I hoisted her upper body up.
"Just as you screamed in the bathhouse, what if my target was Lumia's body all along?"
"Wha...!!"
"Hmph, a joke. I have no interest in a body so covered in scars."
It was assembling within my mind.
The equation for Reiji Wolf to become a hero in this country...
The shape of victory that I, as a stepping stone, would grant him...
"My target... is the Saint."
Yuri's eyes went bloodshot.
Ah, wonderful. It worked.
Just as expected, this is what villainy means to you all.
"I see... You're after immortality as well...!!"
Just as Yuri arrived at the intended conclusion, I stomped hard on her stomach. A choked gasp escaped Yuri's mouth, and all strength drained from her body.
It was a sense of achievement, as though the dots had finally connected into a line. After waking up, the Holy Knights Yuri and Lumia would undoubtedly report the fact that I was targeting the Saint directly to the Saint herself. And Reiji, being close to the Saint, would surely learn of it as well.
Now then, Reiji. Is the stage set well enough for you?
I shall give you all the reasons you need to defeat me.
'Claude, reinforcements have arrived.'
Zest detected the Holy Knight reinforcements closing in on us.
I immediately retrieved the Seeds of Artificial Mythos from Leon and Jin, then left the area.
'We're surrounded!!'
There were far more reinforcements than expected.
Defeating them all was possible, but causing too much of a scene might get the Advent Festival itself canceled. If that happened, there was no telling what the members of the Order lurking in this country would do.
Knowing the future was my sole advantage. For now, I still wanted to keep the Order dancing in the palm of my hand.
"Master, over here!!"
Suddenly, a voice called out from behind me.
Turning around, I saw Chesa. She shouldn't have been there just moments ago... Looking closely, a brick wall had slid aside, revealing what looked like a passage beyond it.
A hidden passage?
No, more importantly... why was Chesa coming out from there?
"Master!! Hurry!!"
"H-Hmph... Rather thoughtful of you. You have my praise."
Desperately suppressing my internal shock, I adopted a haughty posture and entered the hidden passage.
◆
"Just where does this passage lead?" I asked Chesa, who was running ahead through the dim underground tunnel.
"To the basement of the Grand Church....We will arrive shortly."
The Grand Church?
Another place I've never heard of.
Eventually, upon finishing the climb up a long staircase, a heavy wooden door appeared.
Chesa pushed the door open. Squinting as I stepped into the dazzling light, I found myself in a section of the Grand Church, adorned with solemn stained glass.
"I have been awaiting you."
A quiet, yet dignified voice echoed through the hall.
Standing before the altar was a young girl clad in pure white vestments.
It was our first meeting. Yet, I instantly deduced her true identity.
The Saint....The woman said to be capable of communing with the Second Mythos Eternity welcomed us with a gentle smile.
W-What do I do...?
I... literally just said that the Saint was my target...!!!!