Ochita Kuroi Yūsha no Densetsu:Volume 5 Chapter 3

Chapter 3 - After devouring god-

Months and years passed on the calender.

But he didn't feel it.

He had no concept of time.

Ever since that day.

Ever since the first time he visited the room in which the demon lived, he had no concept of time.

But day by day, his sister grew taller and more beautiful, so time probably passed. He changed his own appearance in accordance to that. He altered his own appearance so that he'll always look a bit older than her.

But he didn't have much of a body to speak of anymore. Maybe it's because he'd given in to his hunger and devoured too many demons - sometimes he didn't even know who he was anymore.

His own existence thinned and threatened to disappear.

But she stopped him.

His sister stopped him.

She pulled him towards the human side.

Whenever he was about to forget himself and disappear, she would always speak up.

With an expressionless face that still betrayed a spark of light, she would speak up.

And today, she spoke to him again.

In her clear, beautiful voice, she called out to him.

"...what is this 'love' that's written here, brother?"

She said.

And Lucile turned his consciousness to reality. He turned his consciousness, which was dwelling in the depths of emptiness, towards her.

He saw a beautiful girl. Long, golden hair that glittered with a bewitching light and skin so pale that they seemed opaque.

Long eyelashes and elegantly slitted eyes.

She should be fourteen.

She had already reached the age when she could bear children.

But she never earned enough power to gain approval from her parents. She probably never went to see Eris either.

In other words, she was trashed.

She was reduced to a tool for the sole purpose of bearing a child with her father, or perhaps Lucile.

And she asked.

She asked what love is.

So Lucile looked towards the book she was holding. It was a compilation of poetry. He doesn't remember what was written, but since she was asking about love, it was probably something along the lines of that.

He smiled thinly at her question,

"Ferris, do you not know what love is?"

He replied.

He spoke slowly, after confirming that his voice is truly resounding within reality.

And his sister nodded.

She said she didn't know what love is.

Of course.

No such thing existed here.

In the Eris family.

The word 'love' didn't exist in a place created for Eris' use alone.

However, Lucile replied with the following words. In a quiet, calm voice,

"....I'm sure the feeling that I hold for you is love, Ferris."

And his sister tilted her head adorably.

"Brother? Brother loves me?"

"Of course. You're my precious sibling. And I think father and mother - and even Iris - love you."

"..."

Ferris looked like she couldn't comprehend those words, and clouded her eyes.

Her face was full of bruises, like it was 10 years ago. A face full of wounds from being beaten and cut by her parents every day.

A few of those wounds came from himself.

He inflicted those upon her when his father ordered him to train her.

He tried his best to guide her so that she won't be tormented by her father, but because of that, she was hurt every day.

She hurt so much that she didn't even know what love was anymore.

So she said.

While touching the wounds on her body.

While touching in the pain in her heart.

"Is that love?"

She said.

Lucile stood up at that and returned his book to the shelves, turning slowly towards Ferris.

"Was your training harsh?"

Stop asking her about that, he thought to himself.

When he posed the same question before and patted her head, she showed emotions. She cried, and opened her heart to him.

But now, she won't cry anymore.

She won't smile either.

She merely shook her head without emotion. She said that her training wasn't harsh.

That can't be true.

There's no way being born in this ridiculous family isn't harsh.

But she didn't even understand that anymore.

Even while being called 'trash' by her parents, her training continued without end.

Abuse in the name of training continued.

And she said that it wasn't harsh.

"..."

And Lucile smiled at that. He extended his hand,

"I see. Ferris is great."

And patted his sister's head while speaking.

"Hmm? Am I being praised?"

Ferris asked, and he corrected her.

"....no, you are being loved."

He corrected while patting her head.

And Ferris looked at him in wonder. Then she closed her eyes, and quietly let Lucile pat her head. Lucile didn't know what she was feeling at that time.

He, who was separated from the human realm, couldn't understand anymore.

But what he said was true.

He loved her.

He loved her so much that he'd be willing to destroy everything.

Because she's the one who kept pulling him towards his human side.

Only she smiled to him within this darkness.

And he remembered.

Remembered Ferris' smile moments after her birth.

Simply by remembering her face back then, he could convince himself to move forward.

Even when the poison of the tens and hundreds of demons that he devoured began to erode his body, he could convince himself to proceed further.

To move forward for the sake of devouring Eris and saving his sister, yes- "..."

Right then, Ferris opened her eyes.

And looking like she reached an understanding of sorts,

"I see. So this is love..."

She said, and Lucile nodded.

"Yes. This is love."

"Hmm. Not bad. Brother, do want me to pat your head?"

"Ahahahaha"

"Hm? Why are you laughing?"

She spoke with a tinge of sadness to her face. Even while emotionless, her light did not disappear.

Looking at her powerful light, Lucile said.

"Nothing, I just thought of how cute Ferris is."

"Hm? Am I cute?"

"Yes, you are. That's why I love you."

"That's why you patted my head?"

"Yep."

"Okay, I'll go and give Iris some love."

She said, and began to leave his side.

Lucile smiled at that and said,

"Alright. Give her enough love to mess up her hair."

"Okay. Leave it to me."

And she tried to leave the library somewhat energetically.

Lucile looked at her. He looked at her gently.

And she turned around, looking at him as if to gauge his expression,

"Brother isn't coming to love Iris?"

She said.

Lucile shook his head lightly.

"I still have something to do. Ferris, you should go to sleep early with Iris."

"Something to do? What is it?"

Ferris asked.

She asked about what he had to do.

And Lucile felt his own expression twist for a moment.

He felt his own face contort, as if he was on the verge of crying.

And he was surprised that such feelings were still left within him.

A long time had passed since that day, and he'd become quite broken. However, his heart still faltered just by being in her presence.

He almost stopped himself from proceeding.

"..."

He was about to devour Eris. No, he already spent years and years breaking Eris bit and bit.

First, his arms.

His feet.

His eyeballs.

His insides.

Slowly but surely, Lucile broke what he could and devoured it.

And now, he was about to devour Eris' soul. If he did that, he won't be himself anymore. He knew that. Even before that, he felt himself gradually separated from reality.

The more he devoured, his heart was separated more and more from reality.

So if he devoured the soul, he probably wouldn't be able to remain the same anymore.

He probably wouldn't be able to look at this cute face of his sister's with the same feelings anymore.

He hesitated a bit at that.

Just for a bit, he felt like stopping.

But it really was a bit. Because his consciousness had ceased to be human.

He couldn't feel human emotions anymore.

That's why

"..."

He smiled with his contorted face. He smiled, and tried to look as kind as possible.

And replied to his sister's inquiry.

"I'm going to see the abyss of the world."

"...the abyss?"

Again, she looked confused. She looked troubled.

He smiled at that.

"Don't worry, Ferris. Come, go to sleep already. You have an early morning tomorrow."

He said, and she nodded.

"Okay."

She said.

And the conversation ended.

His final conversation with her ended.

She left the library.

She went somewhere beyond the reach of Lucile's hand. She probably went to pat Iris' head. She probably went to give lots of love to her sister. That's alright. They didn't need to be cursed like he was.

He'll put an end to everything with none of them being any wiser.

He'll put an end to the family's darkness with none of them being any wiser.

Before the demon makes a move against his sister.

Before his parents make a move against his sister.

"...let's go."

He whispered and stood up.

But he still hadn't realized yet.

That this was the beginning of everything.

That this was the beginning of everything.

He hadn't realized that this was the beginning of everything that cursed him.

♦

♦

♦

♦

Devouring Eris was easy.

Because he spent time doing it.

Lots of time.

He devoured the demon's body.

He devoured the demon's soul.

And absorbed everything into himself.

As always, unbearable pain that threatened to rip apart his entire body assaulted him when devouring a demon. In exchange for filling the hunger that plagued him continuously, he began to feel pain that he hadn't experienced before.

And that pain assaulted him this time.

Just by feeling pain, he could confirm that he was still living in this world.

He curled up like a ball on the floor and bore that pain. He grabbed his own shoulders while shaking, and waited for himself to become inured to the pain.

But the pain wouldn't pass. He devoured an enormous demon. The likes of which he had never experienced before. There's no helping that.

So he bore it.

Bore it as best as he could.

He bore the pain so that his own consciousness won't be erased and eroded by the demon.

And something different happened within him.

He heard a voice.

He heard someone's voice.

It took him a while to realize that it was the voice of Eris, who he'd just devoured.

The demon spoke to him.

That's bad.

When he devours demons, they should've lost their will and power, absorbed into Lucile's body. But even after devouring him, the monster Eris still had a clear will and talked.

That's bad, he thought. He scowled, fearing that his own consciousness would be taken over.

Was he too rash?

Did he attempt to devour Eris even when he didn't have enough power yet to do so?

He scowled.

But he didn't have much time left.

He had to put an end to everything before his father touches Ferris...

"..."

But the demon spoke up and interrupted his thoughts.

Eris spoke up.

Lucile listened to that voice intently. And thought that he'd like to devour that voice as well, if possible.

But the voice said,

"Ah...this is quite troubling."

And within his consciousness appeared a man with a sad smile.

The demon that should've been devoured.

He looked exactly like Lucile.

Gold hair and sad blue eyes.

Within his eyes was a pattern that resembled a demon's smile.

A thin, crescent moon.

He turned his strangely patterned eyes towards Lucile and said.

"...why did it come to this...just who were you deceived by?"

Lucile replied,

"I wasn't decei...."

"You were deceived, right? At the very least, this isn't the scenario that I wrote. This isn't the scenario that I wrote with Ryner. It shouldn't be yours, either. So what is the writer of this scenario trying to do?"

He said.

And slight suspicions formed in Lucile's heart. It's true that he didn't write this scenario. Why is he doing something like this? Why can he do something like this?

He couldn't even remember why he could devour tens and hundreds of demons, as well as the demon standing in front of him.

The demon said,

"Who was that man who controlled you?"

Lucile replied.

"That man?"

"You don't remember?"

"..."

"Well, the fact that he does things like this proves that he isn't human anymore. Is it a Goddess? No, they're always logical, and won't do something this bad. Then what? Who is that mad man?"

Of course, Lucile couldn't answer. Because he couldn't remember anything. He didn't even know what he was doing anymore.

What remained in his heart was his desire to save his sister. But is that really what he thought...?

"This is troubling."

The demon said.

"Ryner suddenly left me and disappeared...I can't protect Asruld like this..."

Saying that, the demon looked at Lucile with his crescent moon eyes. He looked at Lucile with a sad expression.

And said,

"What are you going to do after devouring me?"

Lucile replied,

"I'll save my sister."

"Just for that..."

But Lucile interrupted and said,

"To me, she's everything."

"..."

"Everything."

Lucile said.

And the demon's expression darkened again, and he laughed.

"I see...that's right. I wanted to help Asruld for the exact same reason, huh."

"..."

"Everyone has gone mad anyways. They couldn't bear solitude. They couldn't bear loneliness, and seek love. And this is how it all ends, huh."

"..."

"Alright. I'll let you devour me. You'll never be able to stop if you did that...you're fine with that, aren't you?"

"..."

"Devour me. Then I can be released from this cursed cycle. You'll be the one to bear it. You will save Asruld and bear all responsibilities."

He said.

Lucile couldn't understand the demon's words, after all.

But he knew that there wasn't a choice to begin with.

Nothing is going to end unless he devours the demon.

The darkness that befalls his sister won't disappear.

So he chose to devour.

The demon didn't resist.

He merely looked upon Lucile sadly,

"..."

With pity in his eyes.

And his last words were,

"It'll be nice...if you could find happiness."

Eris said, and disappeared.

In an instant, all the memories, suffering and pain that Eris bore flowed into his head.

Perhaps due to their lack of organization, Lucile could not understand any of it.

But he knew that Eris was tired beyond reason.

Because he embraced loneliness for too long.

Because he put up a bold front for too long.

To keep this world intact.

To prevent this world from disappearing until his beloved hero could stand on his own feet.

But the demon's bold front came to an end. Everything of him was devoured by Lucile, and his power was passed on as well.

His immense sense of loneliness that opened up a hole in his chest was passed on.

And Lucile,

"..."

He didn't say anything.

He didn't care about the loneliness.

He didn't care about the world.

He didn't care about the hero.

What he needed, and what he wanted to save - was only his sister.

So he turned around.

And projected his consciousness to the distance.

His consciousness easily found what was important to him.

He thought of going there.

And a thought was all it took.

"..."

He found himself at the dojo.

The same dojo of the Eris house.

Ferris lay on the floor. Her bones were broken, her body beaten, and her clothes stripped away from her.

His mother was grasping Ferris by her hair and pushing her naked body onto the floor.

There was fear written on Ferris' face. There was despair. There was darkness. The light that was always present within her threatened to disappear.

For something meaningless.

The house of Eris had already lost their purpose in existing.

Because the demon disappeared, so this house didn't even have anything left to protect. The antics of his ignorant father and mother appeared foolish to him.

His mother said while pushing Ferris onto the floor,

"Do it, brother."

His father nodded and began to unfasten his upper garments.

Ferris struggled desperately. She fought desperately. But her body won't move, not even a bit. Her two arms were broken, and her head was held firmly in place by her mother.

"Uh....uh..."

She moaned.

She was filled with such fear that she couldn't even scream.

And his father extended his hand. His foolish hand. His dirty hand. He tried to touch his sister's skin with the hand of a weakling who was simply one cogwheel in this huge structure.

But Lucile swung his hand. He swung his hand slightly from a distance. And just by that, he managed to cut off his mother's head with his hand.

His mother's body fell on the floor with a dull thud. She fell beside Ferris. And Lucile thought, it'll all be okay. You don't have to fear anymore, he thought.

Blood sprayed before Ferris.

And she looked at it.

Looked at her mother's blood.

And her eyes contorted even more in fear. Even though he came to save her, her face twisted further in fear.

But he didn't feel anything.

For some reason, he didn't feel anything.

So it really did turn out like this, he thought. Because he devoured the demon, he changed. Everything within him had changed.

But that didn't matter.

Because he can protect his sister now.

Because he achieved his goal.

So...

"Wha....you, you bastard..."

His father spoke up.

In a voice with a slight tinge of fear.

Lucile opened his mouth.

And his voice was different.

His voice and breath were laced with the demon's scent. It was quiet, but it had an oppressing feeling that seemed to reject everyone.

He spoke in such a voice,

"...my my, father. Whatever happened to you? People from the house of Eris cannot show such a face before trifles like this. They'll say that our family is declining."

And his father looked towards him.

Looked at his figure at the entrance of the dojo.

And looked at his mother's head, dangling from his hand.

But his father immediately regained his composure. As the head of the Eris house and a genius of unparalleled talents, he did not feel threatened by Lucile's movements.

His father looked at him with his emotionless and cold eyes.

"....so, what are you trying to do? I understand that you've become stronger than your mother. But did you think that you'd be allowed to live after interfering with me?"

He said.

How ignorant.

Lucile smiled thinly.

He smiled in enjoyment.

But Ferris' face shook in fear again when she looked at him.

Looking at him.

Looking at him, Ferris' expression darkened.

And Lucile laughed even more at that.

It seems like he'd really crossed the point of no return.

Because she became afraid when looking at him.

He found that strangely funny, and almost couldn't stop himself from laughing out loud. He almost did.

But he won't laugh anymore.

More importantly, he must bring peace to Ferris as soon as possible, he thought.

He had to tell her that the curse on the family had been lifted, he thought.

So he said while smiling.

Smiling with a face like that of a demon who smiles in the abyss of darkness.

"Well, I wonder."

He said.

And his father replied.

"Oh? You want to say that your strength has already surpassed mine? I see. Then you can be the one to mate with Ferris..."

But Lucile interrupted,

"Don't defile my adorable sister with your foul words."

And killing intent arose in his father again.

"I see. So you're another good-for-nothing that can't understand the Eris house."

He said.

Even though the Eris house doesn't exist anymore.

Even though such a curse doesn't exist anymore.

His father picked up his mother's wooden sword from the floor.

"Good-for-nothings aren't needed."

He said, and disappeared.

At the very least, that's how it appeared to Ferris.

His father closed in upon him while straddling the border between reality and emptiness.

But Lucile followed his movements with his eyes, and whispered.

"How slow."

He stopped the sword that appeared instantly at his side with his mother's head, and laughed.

He laughed.

He laughed.

He laughed.

His father swung his sword as hard as he could. He swung it time and time and time again.

But that sword couldn't reach him. It couldn't touch him. And finally, he blocked the sword with his bare hand.

"Haha. You call yourself a genius with this level of strength?"

And his father's expression changed for the first time.

"W...what is..."

Anxiety and confusion.

Human expressions.

His father was human, after all.

He was human, like Ferris, like Iris.

Different from himself.

But it ends here. Everything ends here.

So that's what he tried to say.

He tried to say that this was the end.

But for some reason, his mouth whispered something else.

"....in the beginning..."

He said.

Even though nothing is beginning.

Even though everything is coming to an end here, his mouth weaved the word 'beginning'.

Lucile said, in a quiet voice at first,

"In the beginning comes destruction. And in the end comes reconstruction....destruction...reconstruction...destruction...reconstruction...destruction...reconstruction...destruction...reconstruction...destruction...reconstruction.....he, hehe......he...hahaha....ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha"

He laughed maniacally.

He laughed maniacally.

He laughed maniacally.

And he couldn't stop himself.

Even though Ferris is shaking.

Even though she was shaking in fear, he couldn't stop his laughter.

His father spoke in a shaking voice,

"D-don't tell me you..."

Lucile laughed at that again.

"I am a good-for-nothing that can't understand the Eris house? That's you, isn't it? Everything has ended, my incompetent father. I'll bear the burden myself. The curse of the Eris house's blood and its responsibility will all come to an end in my generation. I'll bear the cursed chains. So, ancient ones like yourself can leave the stage with no worries."

He raised his hand.

"W-what are you babbling about? You're mad. That...that..."

He swung it down.

His father's body was torn apart from the insides and exploded outwards.

Everything should've come to an end with that.

The house's darkness, its secrets...everything should've come to an end.

But he wanted to suck his father's blood.

He wanted to suck the blood of the Eris house.

Not only his father.

But also Ferris' blood, Iris' blood...he wanted to break it, gouge it out and sip it.

A violent hunger that threatened to drive him mad.

He wanted to suck his sister's blood.

He wanted to suck his sister's blood.

And he'll change the world.

He'll change this rotten world.

For Asruld.

For Roland.

For his beloved, beloved hero....

"..."

But Lucile bit down on his tongue. Hard. So hard that he might've torn it to shreds, and regained his consciousness. He forced back the demon's power that was going wild within him.

It was so painful he wanted to throw up.

It was painful to suppress his hunger.

But he tried his best. He tried so hard that he nearly cried.

And certain words appeared inside his head. He couldn't remember when he'd heard them.

But those words appeared.

'And you'll be rejected from this world and go mad. You'll be irreconcilable with man, with gods, doomed to be <<God Devourer>>[Lucile]. Goodbye *****, your life will end here...'

The words ended. He couldn't hear them anymore.

But suddenly, he remembered what happened before that.

He remembered the words of someone that he didn't know. It was so sudden, it almost seemed like he wasn't supposed to remember it now.

The voice said,

The gentle, yet ambitious voice said,

The man's voice said,

'Your life will end here once. And an endless fight will begin. Until you attain your hero...until you attain real love, you'll never know fulfillment. You'll be driven to madness by your hunger, and you'll writhe with the desire to devour all demons, all gods, all humans...and more importantly, the sister that you hold so dear. I don't care if you devoured her. Your hunger won't disappear by just devouring your sister, but you can go ahead and devour her anyways. That's none of my business. But you seem kind, so you'll suffer. Oh, how pitiful. But, well, that's life...so keep walking as far as you can. Don't worry, just keep walking. If you stopped, then I'll kill you immediately.'

The man said.

The enigmatic man said.

And he remembered.

He remembered that his hunger won't disappear until he attains the hero.

This desire that commands him to devour his own sister.

He looked at his sister.

He looked at his beautiful sister.

His beautiful sister, stained with his mother's blood.

He looked at his delicious sister.

She looked so delicious, he didn't think he could suppress his desires anymore.

Because she was too beautiful.

Too beautiful.

So he looked at her.

He looked at the shaking Ferris.

And then.

And then, he

"...now...there's nothing to fear anymore, Ferris. Everything is over. I'll protect you from now on."

He said, all while suffering the pain of his violent hunger that tore apart his body from the insides.

♦

♦

♦

♦

And he began to search for the hero.

He began to search for the hero that would truly bring him salvation.

It took him years.

But even after finding him, Lucile's hunger didn't disappear. He hadn't become the true hero yet. The hero must devour both <<Lonesome>>[Ryner] and <<Demon>>[Eris] and become <<true>>.

Or else Lucile's hunger won't disappear.

His overwhelming hunger won't disappear.

"..."

Lucile stopped his reminiscence and pulled out his fingers from his head.

And a magic circle weaved by golden lights was drawn from it.

It's probably something that the man Lieral put in him when he was small.

"...so this controlled my memories."

He muttered and sliced apart the magic circle with his finger.

A lot of other things were done to him, but he couldn't do anything about them. They rooted themselves too deeply within him, and he couldn't move them.

For example, the <<God Devourer>>[Lucile] charm cast on him to devour demons, and several interlacing magic circles that enabled him to devour demons even when he had no power. He couldn't pull them out anymore.

But his memories returned.

The memories that were altered by Lieral returned.

And he remembered.

He remembered what happened last night.

He remembered the man that interrupted when he and Sion tried to kill the <<Goddesses>>.

That was probably Lieral.

And he couldn't do anything about Lieral.

Yesterday night, the man said,

'It's no use, Lucile. You're still in the shallows. Whatever you do in this state won't reach me...unless you come deeper, deeper into the bottom of this darkness where your cries won't reach anyone...'

Those were his words.

And he told Lucile that he'd come to save them. Because they might be useful to him - Lieral said.

'Now run. I'll coax the Goddess into calming down somehow. In that time, you should gain power. Enough power to bear this country's darkness. Before this country's king grows strong enough to devour your other half...before he's strong enough to devour Ryner...'

He said.

He interfered to prevent the king of this country, the descendant of Asruld Roland, from growing stronger and devouring <<Lonesom>>[Ryner] and <<Demon>>[Eris], from becoming <<true>>.

Asruld's power depends on the amount of Human α that succumbed to those who inherited his power, but the man Lieral came to prevent him from further gaining any power and devouring the Lonesome Demon.

That man acted only for the sake of his son.

Mad with love, he acted only to save his child.

He should know that the current king was broken and could never become <<true>>, yet he still came to interfere.

And he'll probably try to prevent Sion from becoming <<true>> as well.

Try to prevent him from devouring Ryner and Lucile, becoming <<true>>.

Even though this twisted and rotten world cannot return to its original state unless he becomes <<true>>.

Even though Lucile's hunger will never disappear unless he's devoured.

Lieral didn't care about that.

Because he was mad.

Mad with love.

"..."

Lucile couldn't help but break into a smile.

"....everyone's mad like this. Can there really be a path for us?"

And then,

"...what about 'everyone'?"

A clear voice resounded.

And he turned around.

He stood in the middle of the large dojo.

And his sister was at the entrance.

Dressed up in her usual garb of white, she was looking at him.

And Lucile...

"..."

Lucile smiled.

"Not sleeping yet?"

He asked, and she replied,

"It's morning already."

"Morning?"

"Yes."

Lucile looked behind Ferris, and found that the sky had begun to brighten.

"...that much time has passed, huh."

"Did you not sleep, brother?"

Ferris asked him.

Did you not sleep? He was asked.

And he though to himself, just how many years has it been since he last slept? He even forgot what it meant to be asleep.

But he smiled,

"You're right. I have to sleep. I was thinking, and didn't realize..."

The voice of his other sister interrupted him.

"Big sisteeeeeeeeeeer!"

He heard her shouting and dashing through the corridors. A cute girl that resembled a miniature Ferris jumped in from the corridors and attempted to hug her sister.

Ferris stopped her with a hand.

She grabbed Iris' face and stopped her.

"Uwah~ I can't move forward~!"

Iris chirped happily.

Looking at the sister that was even more expressive than Ferris, Lucile smiled again. And thought to himself that he did the right thing.

Even if this happy scene was momentary.

Even if this can't go on forever.

If they could remain smiling just in this moment.

"Good morning, big sis!"

Iris said, and turned her eyes toward him with her face in Ferris' hand.

"Good morning, big brother!"

She said, and Lucile nodded.

"Good morning to you."

"What were you doing?"

"Staying up all night."

"All night? You didn't sleep?"

"Nope."

"Sleepy?"

"I wonder. I'm not a lazy bum like you, Iris. I train hard every day, so I'm fine without one night's sleep."

He said, and Iris frowned adorably.

"Iris isn't a lazy bum. I hate you, brother!"

She said.

She removed Ferris' hand from her face and attempted to jump her again.

"I love my big sister~!"

She shouted.

And Ferris grabbed her face again.

"Uwah~ I can't move for..."

"Shut up."

"Okay~"

Iris said, and removed Ferris' hand from her face again.

"I'm hungry~!"

And ran away into the corridors.

Ferris watched her leave, and looked towards Lucile again. For some reason, she looked a bit nervous.

No, ever since that day.

Ever since the day Lucile killed his parents in front of her eyes, she always wore this kind of expression when looking at him.

He didn't know if that was fear, disgust or simply regret. He didn't know, and he didn't care.

She shouldn't be too close to him.

Because this house is still cursed.

No, because he's still cursed.

Ferris and Iris, who have escaped this curse should just live in happiness that couldn't be found here and smile every day.

So Lucile smiled,

"Ferris, you should get breakfa..."

He began, but Iris shouted from the corridors.

"The dango man has come!"

And Ferris turned around.

The dango man was Sion.

Asruld Roland.

Sion passed by the garden beyond the corridors and looked towards him. Iris was running circles around Sion.

Silver hair that gave off an air of nobility, and golden eyes that exhibited a strong will.

But he was cursed like Lucile. He was charmed by the darkness.

Still, he struggled as hard as he can to rip apart that darkness.

Looking at Sion, Lucile stood up.

"...I guess I'll invite him to have breakfast with us today."

He said.

And Ferris looked surprised again. She widened her eyes slightly, and looked towards him.

"..."

And just for a bit, she looked happy.

Relief, not disgust nor fear, filled her face.

And Lucile smiled again.

He walked on.

He didn't know what awaited him from now on.

This wasn't the scenario that the demon had envisioned.

Even the Goddesses won't write such a mad scenario.

So, did the man Lieral write this scenario?

But Lucile doesn't think so.

Then...what?

Just why...

"...why are we moving forward, then?"

He whispered quietly.

Everyone moves forward with different objectives.

Somebody's happiness becomes another's sadness.

Somebody's screams will inevitably connect to another's joy.

But the ones involved still try their hardest to live.

Even when they're called mad, even when they're criticized for being ridiculous, they struggle as hard as they can and move forward.

And beyond that...

Exactly what lies beyond that maddening rhapsody made from the screams of the insane?

"..."

Lucile thought, and smiled at the youth who embraced a saddening ambition just like he did.

He was cursed.

He was cursed.

Still, he smiled gently.

He smiled gently, saddeningly.

He looked at the man in the garden, who smiled gently despite Iris' antics; he looked at the Fallen Black Hero-

He looked above at the clear sky.

"..."

And spoke no more.

And the revolution began.

The demon was unaware.

The Goddesses were unaware.

The hero was unaware.

In a scenario that nobody was aware of, but one in which everyone screamed, ran, and killed one another - the story of everything found its beginning here.