'I'm about to… figure what out?'
As Scylla had this thought, she saw a finger of the masked figure draw close to her.
'N-no! Stay back!' Her thoughts echoed as it neared.
Unfortunately, she could do nothing to stop its advance. Before long, it completely closed the distance and reached her forehead.
~Tut~
Nothing but a gentle tap reverberated through her head as the finger made impact.
However, the moment Scylla relaxed her body…
~ZZZTTZZZZ!~
… The true inflow arrived.
"ARRRGHHHHHHH!!!" Her screams filled the massive room, followed by convulsions all over her body.
Her head particularly swayed as her hair whipped all over. Like a madman, she constantly bobbed her head and her face showed hints of insanity.
Tears descended down her eyes, causing her mascara to melt. The cause was a dream of black lines streaming down her cheeks.
Perspiration covered her face as well, which caused most of her makeup to be ruined.
After a while—countless months, if not years, encapsulated in a single moment—Scylla finally stopped her throes of insanity.
It was only when she stopped screaming that the finger left her forehead, and the strange buzz it had exited her brain.
"Do you remember now?"
The strange voice of the man in the mask wafted through Scylla's ears as she looked up at him with a perplexed and apprehensive expression.
"I-I don't know who you are. You're not… you're not my guard. Who are you? Where's my guard?" Her voice began to climb as she gazed upon him.
"Oh? So now you remember!"
"Who are you? Where is my guard! Who are you? Where is my guard? Who are you? Where is my guard?!"
She kept screaming, almost like a broken doll.
"[Command: Silence]."
That very instant, Scylla stopped talking, almost as if she was never shouting to begin with.
"Perfect."
Her pained expression made it obvious that she had a lot more to say, but that didn't seem to concern the man in the mask at all.
"Don't worry about all of it. None of that matters now…"
Scylla didn't understand what he meant by that, but it didn't seem like he had any intentions to explain any further.
"You know… I've only known you for a relatively short while—though those false memories told you otherwise—but you've always disgusted me."
Scylla's shock didn't vanish. It only intensified upon hearing that.
"Your twisted habits and questionable tastes… I don't understand how people who are so weak and pathetic end up being so cruel." He drew closer to her, the blankness of his mask adding a sense of dread to the lady's mind.
"Ruthless, yet weak. It's incompatible, I'd say."
The man in the white mask took another step closer, and this time Scylla nearly jumped out of her skin.
She was frightened beyond words.
Her muffled voice pleaded for mercy, and the tears in her eyes flowed even more.
'Anything… I'll do anything!' Her face screamed as she watched him advance even closer.
Of course, the man in the mask ignored this altogether.
In fact, he seemed to be chuckling.
Suddenly, the chuckles stopped, and the guard seemed to look behind Scylla for some reason.
He was staring at something; she could tell.
"It's finally the time I've been waiting for. Looks like there's no need to delay any longer."
Scylla didn't know what he meant by that. She did her utmost to move her body, and much to her surprise… it moved!
Her head turned behind to see a man standing in front of a closing portal.
'Eeeeeek!'
It was the man in the black mask—the Reaper himself!
"Farewell." With those last words echoing in her mind, Scylla felt her head being separated from her body.
Everything went blank nearly instantly.
The last ounces of her tears floated in the air with her blood as the violet colors of her eyes dulled.
Just like that… she, who had planned everything from the start, ended up suffering such a humiliating and thorough defeat.
Where did she go wrong?
She knew it already! The nexus point that kickstarted her entire undertaking.
'H-he did this…!'
Scylla had always been somewhat dissatisfied with her position in the Slave Union. As an ambitious human, she constantly desired more.
However, she never acted on this desire.
Not only was she too weak, but her resources wouldn't allow her to swallow the others in the same trade as her.
Besides, if she ended up failing, or if the other factions ganged up on her, she would be completely done for.
As a result of these factors, Scylla never made any real moves.
Not even after the capture of Evals Redart and the deaths of the Councilors who truly ruled the Underworld.
But… all of that changed when she got power.
She suddenly obtained more resources and an invincible guard. She was confident in her ability to win, and she acted on it.
As a result, she was able to pull everyone she wanted as an ally to her side and get rid of her enemies.
None of this… none of it was her fault.
'I never wanted all of this!'
It was too late, though. Her cries could be heard by no one at this point.
Scylla only screamed at the abyss as it called for her.
And she had no choice but to answer.
*******
Silence.
Pure silence pervaded the world of white and red that the two masked parties occupied.
They stared at each other in quiet observation.
However, before this entire confrontation went any further without a single word being spoken, the man in the white mask spoke out.
"It's understandable if you're confused about what just happened."
"There's no need for you to explain." The one in the black mask—
Rey—responded.
He stared at the corpse at his opponent's feet, before trailing his gaze back to the white mask.
"I know this is the sort of thing you would resort to…" With narrowed eyes and creased brows, Rey spat out his name.
"… Adrien Chase."