7:22 PM
It's over.
This nightmare has finally ended.
The school is now open, and many of the survivors are leaving. Despite everything, this wasn't an incident of catastrophic proportions in terms of deaths. Including Manabu and Mikoto, only about fifteen percent of the students were killed.
In fact, the more significant number was those injured, mainly due to the rebellion sparked by Keiko.
As for Keiko, she was the only high-ranking student council member to survive the game, with injuries confined to her hands. She's already receiving treatment for her severe hand injuries, though they're not life-threatening.
Perhaps her deepest wound, however, was not physical but to her pride. Her revenge was a complete failure, taken over by Manabu.
"Manabu-kun! Why?! Why did he have to die?! And in such a way… There were still so many things I wanted to tell him!" Miyu cries desperately over his body.
"Miyu-chan. He died to save you. I don't think he'd want to see you like this," Shou tries to comfort her.
"It doesn't matter! I loved him! At least I wanted to confess before…" she continues sobbing.
"Manabu never explicitly told me if he liked someone, but honestly, I don't think he would've done what he did if he didn't feel the same," Shou says, embracing her.
Miyu clings to Shou as she weeps uncontrollably.
At this moment, for both her and me, only acceptance remains. It's something we must overcome together. I, too, must come to terms with Mikoto's death.
Am I not a pitiful being? My best friend has died, and I can't muster an ounce of consideration for him. Instead of staying with Shou and Miyu, I chose to accompany Mikoto's body. I'm mourning over the corpse of an enemy, the very person responsible for Manabu's death.
Ambulances, fire trucks, and police cars are parked in front of the school. Uniformed personnel enter the courtyard, carrying injured students on stretchers. I glance at my phone to check the date: February 7th. We're still on the same day the game began, meaning we were trapped in the school under temporal dilation only until nightfall.
A light tap on my head draws my attention upward to her familiar and somber face.
"Ailiss?" I ask.
She doesn't respond, only staring at the president's corpse I carried to the courtyard. She's probably frustrated that I made such a foolish decision.
"I know it's strange. I know she did terrible things to all of us, but I felt an inexplicable need to take her body out of there. Do you think I'm losing my sanity for feeling compassion toward an enemy?" I continue.
"Maybe we both are. In any case, if you hadn't done it, I would have because I still need to finish my work," she replies.
"And what would that be?"
"Remember how I told you this ability is inherited? There's a way to stop that. It'd be a waste of time to explain the details, as you'll soon see for yourself how it works."
"Alright. What about everyone leaving the school? Won't there be issues with so many witnesses to a supernatural event? I imagine it'll be nearly impossible for the media to ignore something of this magnitude. Won't the organization you work for do something about it?"
"That's not a problem. Passive participants will have their memories automatically erased. It's one of the inherent properties of this dark magi—" Ailiss stops mid-sentence and alerts me. "Mistkerl, look at that."
She points to Mikoto's body. Something strange is emanating from her chest. A light? It's a color I've never seen before, seemingly outside the visible spectrum. It's as though I'm perceiving a new frequency of electromagnetic waves.
The geometry of this luminous object resembles a sphere but simultaneously a tesseract. It feels like something both unknown and eerily familiar. It's the materialization of contradiction, a paradox deliberately inserted into our universe.
"What the hell is that? How can something like this exist?"
"The souls of everyone who died during the game are inside it. Death comes to feed on its offerings at the end of each ritual. This strange glow signifies a bearer. Since Mikoto is dead, after Death feeds, it will carry the fragment to a new host."
The light source begins to drift toward the center of the courtyard, entering a region where the orange flames of the fire barely illuminate. Ailiss follows it, and I rise to do the same.
We move deeper into the darkness of the courtyard.
Wait, what is that? Once again, I see this terrifying image. It stands in the shadows, watching us intently.
"Don't get any closer. It could be dangerous to stay near her," Ailiss warns.
The light moves toward the entity watching us and begins being absorbed by Death's presence. It's like a star gradually losing matter to a black hole.
It grows smaller.
Smaller. Its glow continues to diminish.
It stops.
It becomes a minuscule particle radiating that strange frequency of "light."
Ailiss pulls out her silenced weapon and fires at the fragment. There is no sound or impact from the shot. The particle disintegrates like a tiny supernova in complete silence, scattering almost microscopic fragments across the area.
Did she succeed?
After the shot, Death begins to grow increasingly translucent until it vanishes, marking the end of our participation in the game.
"Did you destroy it? Does this mean the end of this branch of the curse?" I ask.
"Yes. Let's say these weapons were enchanted to exorcise weaker forms of dark magic. Right after Death feeds, it's weak enough for me to break it, thus finishing my work."
"And now? Since your work here is done, do you plan to leave Japan?"
"Probably. There are other cases like this around the world, and I need to destroy all the fragments to complete my revenge."
I didn't expect a different answer. Even so, I can't help feeling disheartened. I can barely believe how quickly I grew attached to her.
"I understand."
"So… I'd like to propose that you come back to Europe with me and become my partner," she turns to me. "And by the way, as you probably know, I won't take 'no' for an answer."
Even amid the chaos we just survived, the thought of never seeing her again was weighing heavily on my mind. Despite the complications her proposal might bring, her words feel like a huge relief.
"I can't refuse? Framed like that, it's not even a proposal but an ultimatum."
My words say one thing, but my feelings say the opposite. I wouldn't even consider declining her request.
"Sure, call it whatever you like."
"By the way, when you say partner, do you mean I should join your organization?"
"Exactly. With my recommendation, your employment is guaranteed. Wait, are you implying I might have meant partner in a different sense?" she glares at me.
"That never even crossed my mind."
The only thought crossing my mind is how stressful this line of work will be. I'm the type who prefers a quiet, monotonous life.
"Actually, it's not such a bad idea," she says, looking into the distance. "It's decided. Mistkerl, from now on, you'll be my partner in every sense."
What? She can't be serious, not with such certainty.
"Are you serious?" I ask, wide-eyed.
"Do I look like I'm joking?" her voice turns ominous.
"I'm sorry. You're not. I suppose my opinion doesn't matter. But could you stop calling me Mistkerl? It's tolerable here, but it would be problematic to be called that publicly in Germany."
"I understand your concern. Fine, would you prefer I call you Johann or Liebling?" she says, stepping closer with a smile.
"Liebling?" What? She would never address anyone with such a positive term.
"Just kidding," she hides her smile as she lands a powerful punch to my stomach.
"Why did you do that?" I ask, doubled over in pain.
"You implied I was too serious, so I decided to mess with you."
"Dear God, I'm talking about the punch… How is that messing around? What's the point of continuing this?" I slowly get up, still dazed.
"You know, I grew up without experiencing romance. All the books I read from adolescence onward were technical. So this is my only way of saying 'Ich liebe dich,'" she looks me in the eyes and smiles again.
Why do I even ask? I hope my body builds resistance and gets used to her superhuman strength. My mind surrendered to her a long time ago. Seeing her face like this is more than enough to make up for all the pain I'll endure.
"We don't have time to waste. Let's go," she says, pulling me by my tie toward the school's exit.
My peaceful days, though devoid of color, are gone forever. First, my life was painted with the blood of despair inside this cursed game, and now I will have to experience it frequently from now on. But the idea of living for Ailiss and protecting her as she fulfills her goal brings me an incredible sense of being alive.
Epilogue
...
The End.