Sunset Counterattack

One Hour and Ten Minutes since the Last Death (Fifteen Deaths)

Subaru's statement was preceded by another long and ponderous silence. Out of his mouth had come a great number of lies and artifices, pathetic attempts to hide his circumstances and weaknesses. On some occasions he had lied of his own free will, and on others he had been coerced into doing so. After all, great would be the punishment that would befall him if he dared to break the taboo of the shadow.

Excruciating and hellish pain would be the consequence of trying to reveal the true nature of his ability, which was both a blessing and a curse. And this could only make more surprising the fact that during the previous loop, in the midst of a violent outburst of madness, he revolted on multiple occasions against the shadow that tormented him.

If Subaru were to strain his mind to recall how many times he had tried to reveal the truth to Utada, Otto and Leith, it would prove in vain. He had broken the taboo of the malevolent, jealous shadow far too many times. The crimson tears, the bloody vomit, and the nosebleeds and ear-bleeds, which ended up completely staining his face red, were proof of how far he had gone in his attempt to, at least just once, express what lay hidden deep within his soul.

Yet his efforts had indeed proved to be in vain. In the end, in lieu of truths, nothing but frenzied screams and bloody clots came out of his mouth. Now the scar left by his repeated attempts of betrayal towards the shadow was that unbearable pain etched in his mind; a psychological scar that would haunt him for the rest of his life. Subaru once feared breaking the taboo, but that fear had evolved into a paralyzing horror.

Even so, he had managed to ignore the terror and agonizing pain, and had continued to futilely attempt to overcome the shadow's seal; that spoke volumes about how deranged and unhinged he was during that outburst of madness and rage. Subaru had been driven mad by the deadly impasse he found himself in and his mind had been able to temporarily ignore the pain inflicted by the shadow, nevertheless, he could not claim that the same thing would happen once again.

Moreover, attempting to reveal the existence of his mysterious ability, Return by Death, not only triggers the appearance of the shadowy entity, which portends a paranormal and excruciatingly protracted torture, but causes his body's energy to be violently drained. For no matter how much his body suffers during the infinite torture of a millisecond, his life will never be extinguished. If his heart is shattered a thousand times, a thousand times his heart will be returned to normal.

In that infinite span of less than a second, time freezes and the shadow does with his body as it pleases. With the only real aftermath being an indescribable tiredness and the blood accumulated in his body, which immediately after the torture is expelled through the orifices of his head. The blood being an anomaly born of the jealous desperation of the shadow.

Therefore, lying was not only a product of his selfishness and stupidity, of his weaknesses. If Subaru became accustomed to concealing so much, it is especially due to his despicable circumstances. Subaru had no control over the shadow whose hand involved indescribable pain, and, ultimately, he also had no control over the hopeless circumstances that led him to make such desperate decisions.

Subaru harbored no desire to create a weapon, and he definitely did not want to hide the creation of a reinvention from Anastasia. Still, after suffering two attempts on his life, Subaru unconsciously began to crave something to defend himself with. Subaru tried hard to avoid resorting to it, fearing he would become responsible for thousands of deaths, but his lack of talent closed off the few alternative paths left to him. In the end, Subaru was forced to make decisions he did not want to make and to keep quiet about it.

There was what he did not want to say, and therefore he lied about it. There was what he needed to say, but he was forbidden to voice it, and so he lied about it. Lying had become the only way he could maintain the fragile and unstable life he had built in that world. Nevertheless, it is well known that it is impossible to keep a lie concealed forever...

He had lied out of desire and obligation, yet his desires were worthless in comparison to that which obliged him to keep the truth hidden. Therefore, only that which he had lied about to keep up appearances and to avoid unwanted problems, ended up being unveiled. Revealing that his Divine Protection was nothing more than a facade for his true ability remained impossible.

Keeping the existence of the firearm sketch and Halibel's true affiliation from Anastasia, Julius and the Fang of Iron leaders had been a mistake, and now he could see it; he should have at least discussed it with Anastasia. Anxiety, fear and stress had pushed him to make the wrong decisions. Lying had backfired. Subaru would not be surprised if it resulted in the total loss of the confidence he had gradually built up.

It was for this reason that, as the tense silence continued to stretch second by second, Subaru began to analyze in his mind various courses of action to take. What were the chances that Ricardo would be satisfied with his words? Had he succeeded in convincing him that he was still loyal to Anastasia? Had he convinced the two triplets?

In an instant everything Ricardo, Tivey and Hetaro thought of him had been rendered obsolete. The perception the three of them had of Subaru had undoubtedly been altered as a result. The same had probably been true of the remaining members of the Fang of Iron, but Subaru could care less about the opinion of those mercenaries. His fate depended on the leaders of the organization, not on those subordinates.

If Subaru had failed to convey his sincere emotions to the demi-humans, then he would once again be faced with a desperate decision, a difficult decision that could greatly alter the course of his life in that world, taking him completely away from those he had come to cherish. Precisely what he had intended to avoid, by keeping the truth from them. Ironically, or perhaps not so ironically, those lies had only accelerated the process of estrangement.

What would he do? Subaru himself was still unclear. Nevertheless, a sudden, vicious suggestion arose from deep in his subconscious. Abhorrent was the part of him that had conceived such a despicable thought. Tivey, Hetaro and Ricardo, people from that world who had at one time or another reached out to him and supported him when he needed it most. To think of repaying the kindness of those demi-humans in such a way...

Still, the despicable suggestion reverberated in his mind over and over again, until Subaru actually began to consider carrying it out. Would he do it? Would he summon the Witch Cult and use them to assassinate the mercenaries? No, that wouldn't work. There was a chance that Halibel wouldn't accept it, after all, he had worked alongside them for months... Even so, Halibel had claimed to feel bored with working as a mercenary...

Would it work? Perhaps the Archbishops' followers would not be enough to slay the most powerful of the Fang of Iron, but they would indeed serve to facilitate his own escape. He would flee the mansion with Halibel using the cultists as a distraction and hurry to the castle. Once he explained everything carefully, Anastasia would understand, wouldn't she? She would understand. She would be capable of understanding his reasons and would come to accept them, and then she would comfort him, she would relieve the emotional burden and guilt that overwhelmed him.

No, he was wrong. Anastasia would never welcome a scumbag like him with open arms. Once she found out about his treacherous actions, Anastasia would undoubtedly consider him a problem she would have to deal with. Subaru would cease to be useful to her, Subaru would become a danger. She would fire him, or worse... No, if that were to occur, he would simply have to abduct her. Yes, if necessary, he would protect her from fate by force, even against her will...

The fuck am I thinking; that thought suddenly popped up and the previous train of thought came to an abrupt halt. If he kidnapped Anastasia with the excuse of protecting her, then he would finally lose everything he had strived for. I'm truly losing my mind... Subaru had given ground to the corrupted part of his being and had almost made a terrible mistake.

Utilizing the cult was no longer an option. Not only because of the danger involved, but because he did not wish to wind up genuinely betraying Anastasia and her employees. Subaru was indeed loyal to Anastasia, and so he wished to remain. In any case, he had only one option left. He would accept Ricardo's punishment, accept Utada's judgment, and die at the hands of those he considered allies. Then he would start from scratch and make sure to keep his lies buried until the end of his days...

"I do believe ya, kid. Well, I never really doubted ya. Ya're sorta nuts, and sometimes ya make us worry a little 'bout your health, physical and mental, but ya've never shown any indication of intendin' to betray us. If ya really wanted to, ya would've done it a long time ago. After all, ya've had no shortage of opportunities. Besides, the lil' lady really needs ya to achieve her goals. So I'll take yer word for it, Subaru."

"Huh?!" Subaru, who in his mind had only considered worst-case scenarios, could only respond with an expression of stupid confusion.

"Why do ya seem so surprised, Subaru Onii-san? At Priestella you risked your own life to save the miss's, my siblings' and mine; if it weren't for ya, I wouldn't be here today, doin' my duty. From that moment on, any trace of distrust we might've harbored towards you disappeared completely." The one who responded to Subaru's gesture of bewilderment was Hetaro, who, using his crutches, approached him with a smile plastered on his face.

"It's as my brother says, from that day on you completely earned our trust and appreciation. We'd never betray such kind sacrifice by doubtin' ya. Besides, if we had, our sister would've killed us." Tivey added, placing himself at his brother's side.

"So ya don't have to be so uptight, boy." Ricardo finished, patting Subaru's back. Immediately afterwards, however, he continued. "Of course, we'll have to inform the lil' miss 'bout dat, but I don't doubt she'll understand too. We'd also like ya to explain in detail all this 'bout the weapon artifact, the witch's miasma, and the matter of Halibel actually workin' for ya and not the Fang of Iron. But we will've a chance to deal with that once we get past this damn crisis."

Smiles broke out on their previously tense faces, however, it was clear to Subaru that it was all a façade. And it was not that he had detected any lies in the words of the Fang of Iron leaders, only that these false expressions of calm were nothing more than their attempt to reassure a visibly anxious Subaru.

Everyone there had witnessed the terrible panic attacks of the young black-haired man, and the least they wanted was for one to occur right then and there. Reassuring Subaru, who in his mind had surrendered to the worst of fates, namely dying at the hands of his own allies, had become a priority. But that did not mean they were not upset by his furtive actions. They were, very much so.

Subaru's lies had indeed eroded some of the trust they had in him, and that was inevitable. Repairing the trusting relationship they had formed would not be easy, but this was no time to dwell on it. A large-scale danger was looming over them, so they had no time to deal with internal conflicts.

Everyone in the room agreed that, although his actions had been despicable and dishonest, worthy of suspicion and distrust, Subaru deserved a second chance; after all, his successes were overwhelmingly superior to his failures. Understanding how they really felt, Subaru resolved to prove that trusting him had been the right call by saving Anastasia; once again everything concurred with that vitally important goal.

Therefore, everyone agreed to that temporary solution; everyone but one person. "Ya've got to be fuckin' kiddin'! Are y'all stupid?! Can't ya see that he's the enemy?!" Utada, who remained immobilized on the ground, shouted in anger.

"Utada, I understand your anger, but I need ya to calm the hell down. To this day ya've always been a disciplined subordinate, and so I'm willin' to overlook your insurgent behavior and your attempted assault on Subaru. But I won't allow ya to continue insultin' him, and us, yer leaders." Ricardo said with a hostile look on his face. The captain of the Fang of Iron approached Utada and looked down at him from above, waiting for Utada's response.

"Eat shit... cap'n! That infiltrated witch cultist has brainwashed ya people, that's why ya're protectin' him even though he just admitted to havin' acted behind your backs all this time!" But Utada was not intimidated by Ricardo's words, quite the contrary, his anger had only increased.

"Ya're speakin' of the man who saved the lil' lady, yer employer, don't ya understand?" Although Ricardo's aura of hostility was steadily increasing in tandem with Utada's blinding wrath, Utada was still striving to remain calm. The Fang of Iron would not sacrifice one of its "brethren" if it was possible to prevent it; at that moment correcting Utada's actions and making him see that he was letting his anger get the better of him was paramount.

"Ya're the one who doesn't understand, captain! Ya need to come to your senses! That was all a sham, a lie! He did it to gain yer trust, so he'd more easily infiltrate Anastasia-sama's camp! It's likely that his real target's the Royal Selection!" Utada's delusions had gone too far. However, Subaru could not calmly claim that they were completely nonsensical. Depending on how one analyzed Subaru's actions since he first met with Anastasia, Utada's claims could arguably be said to possess some degree of veracity.

Dammit, Ricardo and the triplets claimed to trust me, but Utada's words might sway them if he doesn't shut up; Subaru thought, his worries once again on the rise. Casting nervous glances at the leaders of the Fang of Iron, Subaru again began to consider what his best course of action might be. Should he order Halibel to silence Utada for life? No, he knew that doing so would only incur the mercenaries' wrath. In that case, he had only one option left.

"Shit, Utada, ya're sayin' that cause ya aren't thinkin' straight, but-!" Before the mercenary captain could continue speaking, Subaru stepped in front of him, interrupting him.

"Leave it to me, Ricardo." Subaru told him, looking at him sideways. For a moment, Ricardo was at a loss for how to respond, however, after a few seconds a smile formed on his face and then he raised a thumbs up towards him. "Thank you for trusting me..." Subaru whispered as his gaze refocused on what was in front of him. There, with a sharply furrowed brow, stood Utada completely immobilized.

"Ya damn traitor, nothin' ya can say will be enough to persuade me! All my life I've acted with only one goal in mind! So no matter how hard you try, I can't be brainwashed by ya!" Silently, Subaru waited for Utada to finish his tantrum. Once he saw his chance, Subaru said the only thing he could say at a time like that.

"I know that revenge is all you crave." Subaru had already witnessed it throughout that cycle of death, Subaru had experienced firsthand Utada's immeasurable hatred, and in his flesh he had suffered the bloodlust that drove the mercenary. "You probably became a mercenary because you're aware that you needed to become stronger to achieve your revenge. It's also likely that you did so thinking that at some point you'd be hired to attack the Witch Cult; after all, they are quite hated throughout this world. Am I mistaken about something, Utada?"

"Tch! Ya damned insidious brat! What do ya think you're gonna accomplish by tellin' me all that? It isn't like it's any secret that I hate the Witch Cult. Ya probably also know by now that I do it 'cause they attacked my village when I was just a child and murdered my family. So what?! Ya reek of the Witch's miasma! Ya reek of the murderers of my parents, the destroyers of my hometown! The only reason I didn't kill ya before is cause ya hadn't done anythin' to justify my doing so! But now I've enough reason to brand ya a traitor, so have yer lapdog take that kunai off my back so I can tear ya apart with my bare hands!"

"Halibel..." Calmly, Subaru said the name of the Shinobi warrior. Utada for an instant did not grasp the meaning of this.

Would he possibly be so daring as to release him? But Subaru was not stupid enough to do so. What Utada didn't know was that his life was inches away from being snuffed out. Halibel was fed up with Utada's claims against Subaru, and when the latter once again threatened to kill him, the black wolf was determined to murder the mercenary. Had it not been for Subaru, Utada would have died at that moment.

"..." Unable to move, Utada did nothing but shoot a silent hateful glare at Subaru. With a heavy sigh, the jet-black haired young man resumed the conversation.

"It's true that I've withheld a number of things that I shouldn't have withheld. And while I'd my reasons for doing so, that doesn't excuse it. Still, it wasn't until recently that I learned that I reek of the witch's miasma, and I wasn't entirely sure of it... So thank you for confirming my suspicions, Utada." Squatting down, Subaru spoke calmly to an increasingly annoyed Utada. The fact that an extremely fake smile was creeping across Subaru's face only served to further annoy the tiger-faced mercenary. "However, I ain't what you think I am. And that's something I wanna make crystal clear once and for all; and I hope I don't have to repeat it in another loop."

"Huh?" The way Subaru phrased the last he said puzzled not only Utada, but the rest of the people present as well. Still, Subaru would not explain himself; he could not do it even if he wanted to.

"I'm not a member of the Witch Cult; and I want everyone here to get that engraved in your heads, so I'll say it again. I'm NOT a fucking member of the Witch Cult! I hate them just as much as you do, maybe even more! And yes, that includes you, Utada! So stop insulting me by saying I'm an infiltrated cultist!" Fervently, Subaru denied his affiliation with the Witch Cult, whose members had caused him to suffer unbearable hardships throughout that cycle of death.

"Are ya really that naïve? Ya think just sayin' that alone will be enough for me to take your word for it?" Utada insisted. A more than expected retort, so Subaru did not display the slightest sign of frustration on his face.

"And you don't need to do it, Utada. The mere fact that you're alive and I'm calmly arguing with you even though you tried to kill me just a moment ago, should be proof enough that I'm not a traitor." After saying this, Subaru and Utada stared at each other in complete silence. It was then that Subaru smiled once more; a disgusting, fake smile. "You aren't stupid, Utada. You must have understood by now... So assist us in getting to the castle safely. On the way you'll have plenty of opportunities to get revenge on the cult, I assure you." Utada was about to retort, but Subaru beat him to it. "I get it, you don't trust me. Still, you don't need to. Keep an eye on me all you want. Eventually you'll understand that if you want revenge on the Witch Cult, you'll be needing me."

An atmosphere of silence then fell over the room. Everyone there waited attentively for a response from the immobilized mercenary. Then all the tension in the room was dispelled by a growl of frustration. "Shit... I guess ya're right. If ya truly wanted to, I'd be dead by now." The tension built up in Subaru's muscles then was abruptly released, visibly relaxing, to the point where he had to stand up or else he would have fallen face first against the ground.

"With that settled," Subaru added, once again being in charge of picking up the conversation. "I'd like to make one other thing clear. The witch scent emanating from my body serves to attract the Witch Cult, that's why they attacked us recently. And for some reason that's beyond my knowledge, that's also related to the fact that the Sin Archbishops slightly favor me. And that doesn't mean they are my allies, they just won't kill me."

"That sounds fuckin' suspicious, Subaru-sama." Again Utada replied before anyone else had a chance to. The fact that he once again used honorifics when saying Subaru's name was proof that his anger had been considerably quelled.

"I know, I know. But that also means we might have a chance to arrive at the castle without a scratch. And if that fails, then I'll act as a decoy for the Sin Archbishops; I'm sure you don't wanna waste the opportunity to confront them, do ya, Utada?"

Subaru was well aware that disclosing that the Archbishops favored him could cause all his efforts to convince Utada and the other members of the Fang of Iron to go down the drain, but he also knew that hiding it would do so as well. That was another of the mysterious aspects surrounding him that would eventually come to light, so Subaru felt that the best time to bring it up was now.

"Whatever… If at any time it appears to me that ya intend to betray us, I won't hesitate to slit your throat with my own claws... sir."

"Sounds perfect to me." Sarcastically answered Subaru.

"The weapon, Halibel, the witch's miasma, the Sin Archbishops... It's gonna take weeks for my brain to assimilate all that information." Mumbled one of the triplets.

"Yeah..." Replied the other. That short talk elicited several faint chuckles, making the atmosphere in the room lighter at last.

"Ya handled it pretty well, boy, I'm proud!" Ricardo said, giving Subaru another hard pat on the back; the latter thanked him with a slight wince on his face. "Still, all this stuff 'bout the witch's miasma and the Sin Archbishops favorin' ya… As the lil' ones said... Subaru, can ya elaborate on that later?"

Having regained his breath after Ricardo's pat had knocked the air from his lungs, Subaru denied with a solemn expression on his face. "I don't even understand it myself, so I'm afraid not. Hopefully, if we beat one of those damn lunatics, we'll be able to ask them directly."

"Hmm... Sounds good to me, boy. Let's beat the crap out of those vermin." Having come to an agreement, Ricardo and Subaru shared smiles; that was until an irked voice reached their ears.

"Subaru-sama, couldya do somethin' about the paralysis." It was a complaint from Utada, who remained immobilized on the ground.

"Halibel." Subaru commanded.

"If you try to do anythin' to Su-san, ya won't live to see the sunset." The Shinobi threatened Utada, as he crouched down near his back. After calling one of the healers, the kunai was removed, and Utada regained mobility. It was then that they finally began to plan how they would carry out the journey through the city. However, there was still one issue to be resolved.

"Subaru, I really need to go get my family." It was Leith, who, with Otto at his side, had approached Subaru to remind him of what he had promised him in the old workshop.

"Right! Sorry, I forgot!" Subaru exclaimed, causing the craftsman to scowl slightly. "Ricardo, I need you to order your mercenaries not to allow either of these two to leave the mansion."

"W-what are you saying, Subaru?!"

"What are you up to, Natsuki?"

As expected, none of his colleagues took such a request kindly. However, Subaru had already once renounced his friendship with them and was not willing to retrace his steps, it was too late to have considerations. Even if it caused Otto and Leith to hate him for the rest of their lives, he would forcibly keep them in the mansion. He would do whatever it took, that was the extent of his resolve.

Do the weak have the right to make decisions? No. This applied to his colleagues as much as it did to him. Subaru did not wish to take such extreme measures to handle the situations he had to deal with, but if he did not, it would forever weigh on his conscience that he could have done something for his colleagues, but he did not.

Images of their limp bodies being tortured by Capella flashed in his mind. Subaru was not willing to bear with that emotional burden any longer. If the result was resentment and hatred, that was irrelevant to him; there was no reason for him to care anymore. Subaru, for one last time, would alter their destinies. From that moment on, their lives would finally no longer be his concern; the debt would then be settled. That would be his way of repaying them for being the first to offer him stability, friendship and support in that damned hostile world.

"I hadn't wanted to address this, but since we're on a revelation streak, I'll tell you." As expected, those words caused everyone present to tense up again. Luckily for most of them, the revelation would not be as earth-shattering as the previous ones. "Otto, Leith, remember I told you that my visions don't fail?" There was no response; they were upset. "Leith, the vision I received was not exactly as I told you, since I found it necessary to omit one part. And that is that, before we ran into the Archbishops, we took a detour and went to your family home. What we found there is one of the main reasons why I decided to come for the weapon and Halibel. In that vision, we went for your family and that was the cause of our death at the hands of the Sin Archbishops."

"Hnk! M-My family? So-" Leith still didn't seem to fully grasp what Subaru meant to imply; the gleam of hope had not disappeared from his eyes. And Subaru would be the one to make it disappear.

"They are all dead, at this moment their corpses are nothing more than the artistic expression of one of the many degenerates of the Witch Cult." The reactions were not long to follow. The floor of the mansion's hall ended up covered in the craftsman's vomit. Otto ran to hold up a Leith who was about to pass out, but Subaru didn't seem the least bit moved by the scene. That could not compare to Leith's reaction to seeing his family's corpses in front of him.

"...Leith, take a deep breath! Inhale, exhale!" While an alarmed Otto struggled to aid a pale Leith, Subaru continued with what he was saying.

"So I'm not going to allow you to waste your lives and the lives of any of the members of the Fang of Iron by returning to the commercial district." Subaru concluded, turning to look at Ricardo. The mercenary, understanding what Subaru wanted to convey to him, nodded.

"Alright, Tivey and Hetaro will make sure that none of those in charge of guardin' the mansion allow them to leave it until we've returned." Whether or not Ricardo agreed with Subaru's methods, that was unknown, however, the captain of the Fang of Iron readily acquiesced to his request. The triplets, likewise, nodded without objecting to Subaru's decision.

"Thank you." Making a small bow, a custom he still maintained from his native country, Subaru thanked them. The one who did not seem grateful was Otto, who angrily confronted Subaru without leaving the side of a semi-conscious Leith.

"Who gave you the right to decide about our lives, Natsuki?! You aren't the master of our destinies!" To Otto's surprise, that last statement caused Subaru to react violently.

"Believe me, I know it all too well! However, my cursed blessing makes me solely responsible for the destinies of everyone around me, and I'm sick of it! I ain't gonna bear the guilt of having allowed you and Leith to die, Otto, so you'll stay here whether you want to or not!"

"Natsuki... What the hell happened to you?" Otto questioned him, shocked. The person he was facing was not the same Subaru he met in the business district over a year ago.

"I started to see things as they are, Otto. I understood that if I want to win this damned game of fate, I will've to do whatever it takes, even if it means getting my hands a little dirty. I realized that if I don't discard everything that is not a complete priority for me, that if I don't give up what I simply can't protect, that if I don't disregard the burden that I can't carry, then I'll end up losing everything. So you can thank me later..."

"Thank you...? Don't you see? You don't have to carry all the responsibility by yourself. Don't try to solve everything on your own! So please don't push us away..." With pleading words, Otto, in a last desperate attempt, stretched out his hand towards Subaru, waiting for him to take it.

"Otto, I'm sorry, but I'm the only one capable of resolving all this; but to do so I've had to sacrifice too much, so it's best to keep it this way." Subaru replied selfishly, refusing to take Otto's hand; his damned unfounded pride was seeping through his words yet again.

Once again he refused to empathize with the pain of others. But it was necessary. To maintain what little sanity he had left, he let go of what he did not consider a priority, he would neglect those who would hinder him from reaching his goals and their feelings; because he was weak, he had to resort to it.

Otto, distressed, finally understood that he would not convince Subaru with anything he could say and dropped his hand, dejected. Subaru then walked away from Otto and approached Ricardo. Both of them, together with Halibel and the rest of the mercenaries who would be heading to the castle, began to hastily devise a plan based on the information collected by Subaru throughout the current cycle of death.

One Hour and Twenty Minutes since the Last Death (Fifteen Deaths)

In the middle of a street carpeted with death, a sinister man stood. His yellow teeth, gnawed nails and greasy hair were evidence that he did not care much about his appearance and personal hygiene. His empty gaze, devoid of sanity, was focused on a single point situated several yards in front of him. Slowly, a grim smile crept across his pale, unhealthy face.

There, where the man was staring at, the entrance to a narrow and lonely alley, a small group of hooded people emerged, their faces completely hidden. However, the appearance of this peculiar group was not the cause of that maddening smile, but the young black-haired man who walked in the middle of the entourage of mysterious people. Without making a sound, the group moved down the pestilent street, the air of which reeked of blood.

A few strides were enough to bring the manic-looking man and the peculiar group of hooded men face to face. However, the sickly man completely ignored the peculiar group of people and looked at the only person whose face was visible among them. The young man and the madman made eye contact, and then the man's smile widened even more, until it abruptly vanished and morphed into a gesture of utter disdain.

"It's a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance, Archbishop Romanée-Conti. My name's Subaru Natsuki, and I am the anomaly you were informed would appear."