Shuumatsu Nani Shitemasuka? Mou Ichido Dake, Aemasuka? Volume 1 Chapter 5

Hatred filled the red world stretching across the entire surface.

I'll never forgive you. No matter what, I won't forget. One day I'll definitely kill you.

More than a mere declaration, it was a pledge to the heavens. It wasn't intended to reach anyone's ears, nor linger in anyone's memories. As long as even a spark of a cinder of her hate-filled flames continued to flicker in one person - her - it was an irrevocable oath directed into the very depths of herself.

Splat. The sound of something crus.h.i.+ng.

Splat. The sound of something being crushed.

She held her hand up to her face. Something that looked like garbage was stuck to it. "Now that I look at you very, very carefully, up close, that… was it. You know, I got along with you once, laughed with you once. My precious friend who I was so dearly attached to and saw as an equal."

She laughed.

"Somehow…"

"…I feel…"

"…elated…"

"…my face… a smile's…"

"…escaping…"

"…COLL-"

She woke up abruptly, hearing a loud voice somewhere close to her. "…on…?"

She squeezed her chest, feeling the loud, panicked pounding of her heart. Ah… I really did wake up to my own screams. I didn't expect that.

"You sooo loud…" From the top bunk, Tiat mumbled in a half-asleep voice. "Making racket in middle… of night… quit it…"

"Sorry," she apologized quietly, imagining the other fairy probably wouldn't hear it at all.

Recalling the incident from the other day, she thought once again how glad she was that Tiat was safe. She might have thought that they would all die anyway in three months, and rushed to try and make that death meaningful somehow. "I'd like to die so that even one of my friends can live, even if it's just a day longer." That was likely what Tiat's hope had been.

She understood those feelings well. She, too, would like for Tiat and the others to live for a much longer time, more than just the next three months.

Lantolq had told her all about it. Fairies were the mere shadows of a child's soul, someone who died before they could understand death. Among Leprechauns, some seemed to have been created with particularly large souls as their base.

Although she didn't really understand the subject matter, she remembered when she was born. Back then, she had just barely sensed another huge something there, lurking in the dark.

If stray souls were their true forms, then those souls must also have their own history. If a history existed in a soul, there must also be memories there.

Perhaps their own memories were, in fact, transient. If she revived the original memories that must be hidden within her soul, then she would likely disappear in an instant.

It would be the same thing as my death.

Or perhaps, something far more terrifying than death.

She wanted to drink some water. Standing up from her bed, she went over besides the fireplace to pick up the pitcher which had been left atop the nearby small table. There was still some water left over in it. She poured it into a cup.

As she sipped from her cup, she suddenly noticed the mirror on the wall.

She had been told once that mirrors like it were hanged on all the walls in all the rooms of the lodging house. Once she'd had the idea of removing it, but it had been tightly nailed to the wall, making any such attempt difficult. She was also afraid they might ask, "Why don't you want to look in the mirror?" As a result, she hadn't been able to strongly pursue the matter.

A red-eyed girl was reflected in the mirror.

She felt as if the girl was looking straight at her. The girl's lips curved into a joyless smile.

She gasped, then quickly covered her mouth with both of her hands, unintentionally dropping her cup. It fell to the carpet and rolled soundlessly, then stopped moving.

She dropped down to the floor, covering her eyes and letting out a little sob.

No, better yet, I want to crush my eyes. I want to rip and tear them out! If that would completely fix this, I would do it without hesitation!

Someone I don't know is right there.

Unknown memories, unknown feelings, unknown impulses, are overflowing from within me.

And it's not a good thing, not for us.

That day, Lakish Nyx Seniolis did not get a wink of sleep.

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