346 343. Ragne, Kaikuwora--.txt (1/2)

Nosfi Fusoya's and Lagne Kaikwola.

If the other side is the light, this is the darkness.

Their magic power was contrasted and divided into clean light and dark.

And 'substitution' and 'reversal'.

The two truths intersected, resonated, and enveloped me.

It was light but not light, darkness but not dark, just a dark fog.

In the midst of it all, I finally came to the third verse of Ragne Kaikwola.

The answer to the third verse was darker and more prominent even in that dark world.

The 'truth' confronting me.

'My mom is still ....... And I also (...) my mom is ......--

-- 'I hate (...)

As I had planned, 'The One Who Steals the Reason of Light' Nosfies gave me the answer.

Nosfi Hoozeyers, who took a completely opposite path from Ragne Kaikwola and promised an ending that I would never reach. In her blinding light, the shadow that was me was clearly visible.

However, even though it was planned, the sacrifice I paid ...... was too great.

I'm not going to be the only one who can do this.

I'm not going to be the only one to have a huge hole in my heart right now.

It's only natural.

My mother was everything to me.

Once I denied my mother, I had nothing left to say to her.

The content of this Lagune person will seem hollow.

In fact, there is nothing underneath the surface skin of this ”ideal”.

There is no blood, flesh, or soul inside Ragne Kaikwola that a human being should have.

The world, which was even darker than it was, becomes even darker and I instantly want to die.

Empty, I wander around in search of my own contents.

I look around and look around - and find one thing that I deserve.

It's the atrium in the center of the top of Hoosiers Castle.

It was a hollow that was worthy of a suicide jump.

'--oh (...)'

I understood.

The reason I had come to such a high 'summit' to be the 'first' was to jump off of this place.

I was being sucked into the hole.

Without any hesitation, easily.

I shut my eyes and stepped off of it.

With a crunch, my body collapses and I fall headlong down.

In the midst of the floating sensation, I calmly recall that the number of floors in Hoozeyards Castle is fifty.

This is the highest place in the world.

I'll fall headfirst.

If I do, I'm sure I'll die instantly.

And Ragne Kaikwola will die.

The end.

This long, empty life is over.

It's all right.

No, that's the way it should be.

I don't want to think about it any more.

Because--

The more you move forward (・・・・・・・・・), the more it only hurts (・・・・・・・・・), because the more you move forward, the more it hurts (・・・・・・・・・).

The more you fight, the only thing that hurts (・・・・・・・・・) and the more you kill (・・・・・・・), the more painful (・・・・・・・).

The closer you get to the 'best', the darker the world just gets.

I have no reason to live.

No, I'm simply afraid to live anymore.

I'm afraid of life. Just being alive is painful, painful, bitter and dark. The thought that this kind of day-to-day life will continue for a long time to come scares me and I can't stand it.

Death” is kind. It is the only hope for me to end this painful, painful, and gloomy life. I want to die. Oh, I've been dying to die for so long, I can't stand it.

--I'm going to die.

Finally, after my mama told me not to die, she's gone, finally.

Finally, finally, finally, finally, I can...

Oh, you mean ......?

But I wasn't going to die any time soon.

I opened my eyes, wondering at the awareness that would last forever.

I could see the ceiling.

Realizing that it was the ceiling of the Fuzzy Yards Castle's corridor, I could see that the darkness had faded a bit from my world.

Apparently, it seems that the 'magic power has been drowned out'.

At the same time, the heart that should have been broken was back to normal.

'What, eh ......?　Why ......, I can't kill myself ......

Impossible.

I couldn't believe I was about to die earlier, I couldn't believe it myself.

I desperately tried to think back to what had happened just before to figure out what had happened to me.

I had been fighting with Mr. Nosfi.

As expected, Mr. Nosfi said he wouldn't give me the Elixir of Immortality, so I almost fought him to take it away, even if it meant taking it by force. I knew in my gut that this was the last way for me to become strong - the last way for me to reach my true 'magic (...)'.

And I almost broke my heart with just a few words from Nosfi-san.

In order to silence it, I used the [Reason of the Stars].

There's no doubt about it. The cause is this.

That's where I must have 'reversed' Nosfi-san's 'replacement'.

From there, everything became a mess, my mind was attacked by the mental interference of the light, I didn't understand myself, and the end result was that I 'hated'--

No, no, no!

I love my mom.

Now that was just Mr. Nosfi's stolen logic working, and my stolen logic working on me!

I just got 'flipped' from liking to hating!　That's not my answer!　Absolutely not!

I don't make mistakes in my thoughts!　This love is the only thing I can't mistake!　This is the only thing I'm absolutely, positively, positively--

In the midst of that denial.

A flutter.

There was a sound beside me.

'......?'

Surprised, I picked my upper body up.

Fortunately, the world was only dimly lit, so I immediately knew what the sound was.

The 'blood puppet' that Fafner must have summoned was standing right beside me, protecting me. It didn't make any unnecessary noise, but continued to control it.

Looking at that too quiet figure, one name almost makes me want to throttle it.

The 'Blood Puppet' has a red Noh mask on its face, and its attire is not distinctive. The only thing that could distinguish it from the others was its magic and gestures, but I could tell. I knew better than I could explain, only because I'd been following it with my eyes for so long in the past.

'...... ri, Riel-sama?'

I called out his name.

At the sound of his voice, the 'blood puppet' that had been restrained reacted and looked at me. I was convinced of its identity, upset, and moved my blank head to spin the words.

I knew I had to say something.

All along I thought that I should have had 'something to tell Rielle Kaikwola'.

'Riel-sama ....... That, I ......, since then I have become a 'Celestial Knight (Celestial Knights)' ....... Of course, I'm not suitable for Riel-sama, but I'll do my best to replace you ...... and protect the Kaikwola family ....... So, that ......--

Halfway through, I don't know what I'm talking about.

My epidermis moved in my body, and all I could say was something too unimportant to say.

I wish I could get to the point, but I can't think of a single word. If I hear one word, it's over (・・・・・・・・), but I can't find that one word in my overly blank mind.

'--, ----'

The 'blood puppet' nodded and responded to it.

There is no voice.

Perhaps it has no vocal cords.

But it is trying to tell me something by the wriggling of the Noh mask on its face. It's moving it as if it were a mouth, but there's no hollow space there to make a voice. I try to hear the words of the Blood Puppet, but I can't hear anything.

I don't feel like I can hear it at all.

I don't know what Rielle sounded like in the first place: .......

What did I sound like and what did Rielle say to me in the past?

As I follow the movements of the Noh masks in The Blood Puppet, I recall the figure of Rielle, who was gesticulating in the garden of her hometown house - the house's garden. I also recall the conversation we had there.

Gradually, the Riel of my memory and the ”blood doll” in front of me now overlap. Their magic and gestures are the same, and the movements of their mouths are the same. The past is repeating itself through magic. I thought I heard it. A nostalgic tone of voice reverberates in my pure white head--

'...... It's hard for me to watch Ragne fooling himself like that.

Yes, I've been told that.

And now, without fail, the same thing is being said to me right in front of my eyes.

The words that follow echo in my head.

In the past, his will, which I received at the time of our parting, has stuck to the underside of the surface skin called Lagne, and I can't remove it.

''-- Lagne, find your new self in the great holy city, I want Lagne to be Lagne, I want Lagne to be Lagne, I want Lagne to decide for himself...''

My vision wavers at that group of words.

With dizziness, I turned over.

...... What's the new me?

Like me?

My meanness is definitely my mom.

I am only my mom. I'm the me that loves my mom, me.

There is no one else but me. That's why I'm always trying to make my dream come true, with the promise to my mom in my heart. I'm always trying to be the best. That's Lagune Kaikwola.

It's okay. I'm clear. I'm not going to make a mistake.

This is who I am--

”--Hey, is that ......?　Dear Rielle: ......!

When I looked up from my prone face, there was no longer a 'blood doll' beside me.

No one was there. I was all alone.

Hurriedly, I stood up and looked around.

This is Hoozeyards' castle, a corridor on the side of the atrium.

I don't know the exact number of floors, but I'm pretty sure it's a bit below the rooftop.

Even from this position, I can see the figures peeking out of the rooftop atrium.

Because of its characteristic magic, I immediately recognized it as Nosfi-san.

''Well, this is bad ......!　It's taken away: ......!

It's just Kanami and Nosfi-san on the roof right now.

All I knew was that I had to get back soon.

Rielle can be dealt with later.

First and foremost, I have to be 'first'.

That's right. Now that I've fallen, I can go back to being the best.

Now, move before you think. That's what I said to Mr. Nosfy, too.

I'm 'Lagne Kaikwola'.

'......?　Speaking of which, the road is ......

Before I ran for the stairs, I noticed something unusual about my surroundings.

The Fafner-controlled castle should have been filled with a great deal of blood.

Ungainly flesh stuck to the walls and ceiling, and if I walked, I would be trapped in a shallow pool of blood. It had been a place where just moving around took away your energy and strength, but now it was different.

It was bloody, to be sure.

But there was no more pulsating flesh, no more blood flowing like a river.

There is no obstacle at all to running out.

Fafner's control has been lost.

Before parting with me, Fafner was ready to fight on until he disappeared. To say that he has diluted his blood would not be his intention.

It was settled downstairs while I was fighting Mr. Nosfy.

If I listened carefully, I could hear the victorious battle cry of the army from outside the castle. I moved to the open window to check out the Great Sacred City and saw that the blood red that had been staining the ground was more than halfway back to normal.

''Fa, Fafner-san lost ......?''

I can't envision that one losing, but I can't explain it other than in defeat.

At the same time, it's Kanami's friends who have won against Fafner and are looking to move up. In contrast, I have no more friends.

That Fafner was my first and last companion .......

'Don't bother ......!　Originally, I was going to do it alone: ......!

I start running down the blood-thinning corridor.

I pop the clattering pools of blood with my feet and aim for the 'top'.

Just like that, the anxiety that had gone out in my chest seemed to disappear.

The emptiness disappeared and I felt alive.

I felt like strength was coming from my body.

'I'll be right back: ......!　Go right back to Mr. Nosfi at ......,--!

It was as I was climbing the stairs that the momentum was building.

An unseen wave of magical power hit my entire body.

I thought it was someone's attack, but I soon found out that it wasn't.

-- the source of that magical power was me.

Moreover, it was a pure white shining magic power - Nosfi-san's magic power.

Suddenly an unusual magical power gushed out of my body, and it went out of control, ”It's not over yet”.

My dark magic power also gushes out to match that magic power. It is not my will. A phenomenon that can only be called a runaway occurred suddenly in my body. The magic power of light and stars crossed and intertwined again--

'Kukk, kukk, ah, ....... Ma, ta--?　Wha--

Instantly, the light in front of me goes dark.

No, the light in the castle hadn't exactly gone out.

Thanks to the light from Nosfi-san on the rooftop reaching downstairs, there was enough light to walk down the street.

--but it was dark.

I felt as if the stairs and corridors I could see earlier were nowhere to be seen, like the night.

Then I sensed the presence of others in the dark world, on the upper floor of this supposedly empty Hoosier's Castle.

''--?''

Flopping.

I can hear people walking.

For a moment, I thought it was Rielle coming back to me.

But a moan that seems to stain my eardrums denies it.

The staircase I'm walking on now, below it.

A vindictive voice rises from behind me, like the dead cursing the living.

Suddenly my legs begin to tremble and my speed up the stairs slows down.

The world was dim, bottomless and chilly, as if we were in a graveyard.

It was as if the voices of the dead were grabbing my legs, my thighs, my waist, my arms, my shoulders, my neck, trying to drag me down.

'What ......?　Fah, Fafner: ......!　No--

I guessed that the voice was Fafner's 'blood puppet', but I quickly denied it myself.

The Blood Puppet cannot speak. However, there is no doubt that the voice is reaching my ears now.

Even if it's not the Blood Puppet, it's definitely Fafner.

He has the ability to call the dead from the graveyard. And I know that he is tormented by the voices of the dead at all hours of the day and night because of that ability.

That phenomenon is happening to me ......?

In this castle where the souls of the dead pool, the unvoiced voices of the dead are echoing ......?

”Uh-uh-uh. ......--

I'm not of such a pliable nature that I trembled in the graveyard.

And yet, despite this, my body couldn't stop shaking.

Combined with the darkness, I could often hear the moans echoing from downstairs.

And even the meaning of the voices is well understood.

This lean, dark world just emphasizes the meaning of the voices clearly.

-- these are the voices of people who have died because of me.

Together with my mom, the number is over a thousand.

Today alone, it will reach ten thousand.

All of those murdered people are screaming at me.

They are asking why they were killed. They say they will never let me go until they know what they died for and why they are dead.