Hi, everyone.
I haven't been writing for about half a month. I sincerely apologize for that. School is slowly taking away my writing time. I cannot help it. December is killing me. At this rate, I have to break my promise of updating regularly once again. I'm sorry, but I will update when I have time again.
Now, about the contractors: this story is still a crossover between the two worlds, and I have been hinting that there will be other souls of contractors lingering around in other hosts. So, yes, there will be other contractor powers; however, don't expect too many of them, since my ability to write is unable to handle an abundance of them.
Chapter 67 Lies
It has really happened.
Just as he predicted.
The bishop is lost.
Brutally cut down by the enemy rook.
Now, people of the age, will you let go of what you once held precious?
…
Who doesn't feel the pain for a lost comrade? Who cannot be moved by the sacrifice from a dear friend? They say, the more death you see, the more distant you are from these feelings. You will start to give in to fate, and you will embrace your emptiness in the very end.
If you are still struggling in the middle of that petrifying journey, then at least you are still human.
Lubbock is, like everyone else, well aware of this. Even though he could be, at times, a shameless and fearless pervert, he is, above all, not stupid. In the instinct when Mine stumbles through that unclasped door, her gesture contains no other than the despair from losing what could only be so precious. To this he sighs.
And yet, everything seems so familiar.
"Instead of holding onto your precious pieces, you should sacrifice them to obtain your victory."
Hei's foreboding words, Hei's controversial wisdom, Hei's unilateral train of philosophies. All of them, so intriguing but so nonsensical, cannot be easily forgotten.
The green-haired boy slowly uplifts his gaze from the bleeding pinkette, taking in the sorrows of his once-tenacious teammates, and shifts his view from the embracing scene between Mine and Leone to the other members of Night Raid.
Sheele's death – what could it possibly bring? How can it be a sacrifice? Hei is undoubtedly going to view this as the loss of no more than an asset. But this is Sheele, this is not, in any sense, a piece on a chessboard. Just look at the remorse in this room, and one will immediately disregard such an outrageous thought. The emotional ones have already demonstrated enough unwanted courage in this incident, but assassins are still human. Even the stoic Akame can reflect a string of hurt in her crimson pupils.
The green-haired boy turns his line of sight again – this time to no other than the deepening darkness outside of the window.
The Black Reaper is back.
Why was he out in the first place? Lubbock tries to recollect that piece of memory buried within his own mind. Right, Hei left with the phrase, "Information gathering." Did he know from the very beginning? Mine has told everyone about Hei's arrival at the scene, but how did he know Sheele and Mine were going to be ambushed by the Imperial Police? Coincidence? Oh, Lubbock hopes. The alternatives are just too alarming – either the Hei is intelligent enough to predict the danger, or he has intelligence inside the imperial military already…
A cold shiver gradually climbs up from the tip of his spine as Lubbock looks at the black figure with a slightly frightened expression.
"…"
The pale mask seems extraordinarily luminous, but the light complexion does not seem to lessen the tension in the atmosphere in a single bit. The silence of the Black Reaper does not help, either.
"She is gone."
No meter, no cadence. A blunt conclusion – it is just as if Hei is reporting his usual findings from his scouting missions. Such is the fact, receive it as how it is.
Of course, Mine saw it. She is the one who has witnessed her friend's fall, but this… this candid demeanor – it is nothing like reopening a healing scar – it is thrusting a sword straight into an uncompromising blemish.
Lubbock turns his head from the Black Reaper to their young sniper – there is something in her eyes. Billows, they are. Yes, relentless waves. No, they are not tears, for she has already dried them. It is the emotional surge of raging regret.
She is blaming herself.
Lubbock knows his teammates very well. As assassins, they are always prepared for the funerals of one another. They try, very assiduously, to bury that emotion underneath, because the personal impacts of the death of a loved one can be poisonous.
And contagious.
What can they possibly do?
Just break down?
No, breaking down cannot accomplish anything. One must swallow it, one must digest it, and one must engulf that feeling with a sense of maturity.
Mine unintendedly bites onto her teeth. There is a beast inside her, and she must contain it. As an assassin, she cannot let that outrage spread onto her friends. The atrocity is damaging, and it might carve a permanent mark onto those who do not ever deserve it.
She must stay strong, she tells herself.
Stay strong like the unyielding sniper.
Stay strong to her teammates.
Stay strong like the one who always takes care of her.
Stay strong like Sheele…
Oh no.
Sheele.
"Do this for Sheele. Do this for Sheele. Don't break down, Mine. Sheele would not want you to cry. Smile, Mine, tell them you are okay. This is not why Sheele died. Hold in. Hold in. No! Eyes, you traitors! Stop tearing! This is not what Sheele wants! DAMN IT MINE HOLD IT TOGETHER!"
Her internal voice is struggling. It is on the edge of collapsing. The more the pinkette tries to use Sheele as her mental guide to stay strong, the more fragile she becomes.
"She was glad."
At just the most unforgiving of all times, the monotone breaks into the silent atmosphere once again. Hei, what are you doing?
"Before I departed, she still had a dying breath."
Hei, you are lying.
"She saw you left."
Hei, this is unnecessary.
"She was contented."
Hei, this is becoming distasteful.
"Because you matured in her eyes."
…
With those words still lingering in everyone's ears, the Black Reaper quietly exits the crowded room. Perhaps there are more tears. Perhaps there are none. Hei doesn't really care. He needs to work with emotionally stable partners, and lying to Mine will eventually release her of her spiritual entanglement – of what she once held precious.
Feelings are subjective and useless.
They will only cloud your future judgements.
As long as Mine is calmed in the course of time, Hei will be able to use her once more.
In the end, it is all part of his deal.
And ultimately, achieving his goal is the only thing that matters.
Isn't it?