"Loooong, long ago, in a certain place. There lived a sailor whose future was promised..."
"You barge into the room only to start a picture show? What kind of whim is this?"
"I just felt like it!"
"...It was my own foolishness to expect a proper answer from you."
『The Count of Monte Cristo. Gankutsuou.』
(Your handwriting is messy.)
"I just felt like I had to do it! Please, listen to it! There was a beautiful woman named Mercedes, and a man who was promised a future with her..."
—His name was...?
«The most praised Rage in this world. The story of a man who became a legend of righteous vengeance.»
—Rage, vengeance...
«The roots differ, but the results are not so different. No explanation is needed. That story contains the sum of all wrath and hatred.»
—Yes. Then... I will listen closely.
"And so, the man was imprisoned in a Hell called the Château d'If..."
Wrath
"Any second now."
Jeanne whispered.
"Any second."
Rikka nodded.
At the bottom of Hell, in the tower of the Château d'If. The two were waiting with bated breath.
"U-Um... are we really doing this?"
"Of course."
Rikka replied boastfully to the timid Mercedes.
"We have to get the drop on that high-spirited 'Kuhahaha-Man' once in a while."
"I made party crackers using the Item Construction skill Marie taught me!"
The two sat on the floor, crackers at the ready.
"He's coming!"
Creak. The door opened.
"One, two!"
Whoosh. Avenger appeared, flaring his cape.
Simultaneously:
"""Wait and Hope!"""
Pop! The two pulled the strings on the crackers.
"Well? Were you surprised, even a little?"
"We were on standby for ages!"
They watched for a reaction, but...
"...That is good to hear. Let us go. The preparations for the Hall of Judgment are complete."
Saying only that, Avenger briskly left the room.
"...A dud?"
"What is his deal? His tension is awfully low. Did he eat a sewer rat or something?"
"U-Um... please be careful. It seems he is in a very bad mood..."
Tilting their heads in confusion, the two looked at each other.
"Well, who cares about his mood? Shall we go? Master. It is time for your trial, and mine."
"Yeah! Okay, I'm going to dive into Hell!"
"Please, do be careful... I will be waiting for your return."
Receiving Mercedes's smile, the two leaped out into the inferno...
"I will tell you in advance. The embodiment of 'Wrath' is placed in the next Hall of Judgment."
Walking briskly, he announced it curtly.
"Wrath!? Eh, Jeanne...!?"
"No. Do you think I would turn my sword against you? No matter what happens, I swear on my soul."
"Is that so? Your very existence vividly represents the Lord of the next Hall, does it not?"
Jeanne frowned at Avenger's words.
"...—Eh, seriously? Does that mean..."
"Wrath. Anger. Indignation. I define it as the strongest emotion."
Whoosh. He flared his cape.
"...—"
"Whether it is private resentment stemming from oneself, or public outrage against the world, it matters not. Equally, righteous wrath captivates people. At times, people will even praise the tragedy that anger leads to."
Glint. His golden eyes pierced through Rikka.
"East or West, past or present, young or old, man or woman. You humans love and cherish tales of revenge."
—Wrath. Righteous anger.
Hearing that, what she remembered was...
—Morning, Rikka! Morning practice again? You work hard!
Oh, it's Rikka! Sup!
Rikka is being totally Rikka today too!
Those gentle, fun days of high school.
I like you, Rikka! ...Man, why can I say it to you, but I can't say it to that girl...
Guys, stop using Rikka as practice. Confessing to Rikka? She's way out of your league.
No way!? Well... maybe.
Standing next to Rikka is a hurdle too high, isn't it?
Or rather, I can't see Rikka in that way! Seriously, she's too close to us!
You should be grateful! A beautiful girl is actually talking to guys like you.
Unlike you stuck-up jerks!
Ahahahahahaha!!
What do you want to be, Rikka? ...Don't know yet? I see, yeah. The future doesn't really click yet, does it?
Eh? You have a dream? Tell me, tell me? ...You want to have a normal family, and make the children born to you happy?
—You're a kind girl. Well then... you have to polish yourself.
The world won't leave a good woman like you alone. I guarantee it.
But, you know... you are a little... lacking in too many things. I hope you can fill those gaps someday.
—Irreplaceable memories of a high school student.
...Why?
There isn't a fragment of wrath there. It's impossible.
Why do these precious memories come to mind...?
"That is—!"
Avenger's wrath dragged her consciousness back to reality.
"He refuses to admit it! He denies anger, the purest of thoughts!!"
Black flames burned, burned. They raged.
"Master, stay close to me. The sparks are flying."
"Y-Yeah."
"To be placed as the Fourth Ruler, yet he continues to speak of salvation and forgiveness as if it were natural!! Unforgivable! Unforgivable!! Oh, I could vomit at the sight of a false savior!!"
"...—He?"
Avenger is angry. He is ferocious.
Who is that directed at...?
"I see it. I see it now. I understand completely. I have realized. —Bring it on. That hand, that flag. It will be worth tearing apart. It will be worth burning to ash!!"
"Indeed!! It is him. Even if man forgives, even if God forgives, I shall not forgive!! He is the opponent you will kill each other with in the Hall of Judgment ahead! Ah, use us to your heart's content in battle!! We shall gladly become your strength!! Being able to tear him apart is nothing short of serendipity!!"
Raging with anger, Avenger pulverized the door into dust.
"Who is it..."
"—Master."
Suddenly, Jeanne Alter, who was in front, stopped and whispered.
"Hm?"
"—Look at me. No matter who is ahead, no matter what happens. Please, look at me."
She looked back just a little.
"Don't be swayed by anyone, don't be moved by anyone. —Look at me... only at me..."
Her eyes were wavering with anxiety.
She exuded a timid atmosphere, unlike the usual Jeanne Alter.
"—"
...At times like this, what she, as a Master, had to do was decided.
"Ah—"
She wrapped her left arm around Jeanne's waist, entwined her right hand like a lover, and gently pulled her close.
"Don't be scared. You don't have to be anxious. —Rest easy, Jeanne."
"Master..."
"My very own Jeanne. I believe in you. I believe in your burning thoughts and your heart."
—Softly, she whispered in her ear.
"Because you belong to me... right?"
"—Yes... I am yours... your Jeanne alone..."
Reassured by the reply filled with emotion, she gently released her hold.
"Let's go! Let's burn Hell and kick them around! Me, and you! With Avenger!"
"—Yes! My Master!"
"—Oh, right."
"?"
"You can call me Rikka. It's just me and you. Right? Calling each other by name feels better, don't you think?"
"—Yes! Rikka!"
"Yeah! Let's go!"
Having retied their bond deeply, the two jumped into Hell—!
"—You have come. Enemy of justice, who drags lost souls into stagnation. My other self seems to have been with madness, but I am Gilles de Rais, a knight gathered under the Holy Flag! Under the blade of justice, I shall condemn you!"
Standing in their way was the White Marshal. The soul of a knight roaring in the Hall of Judgment.
"Saber Gilles de Rais...! His eyes aren't bulging..."
"Hmph, his presence is somewhat different from last time. Hoh, it appears he materialized by being dragged along by her."
"Yes. Gilles is a mid-boss; white or black, it makes no difference. ...Over there, Rikka. Look closely."
Rikka squinted as told.
There, holding a flag and radiating unwavering holy aura, was a white saint—
"Look! Look!! That is the one! Raising the holy flag! Foolishly speaking of the Lord's protection, pretending to be an arbiter!!"
"Yes, it makes sense that she is in the Hall of Wrath. Possessed by delusions of hearing God's voice, never stopping until the very end, betrayed by everything and burned in the fire, a psychopath, the most foolish woman in this world—"
"""Servant Ruler!! Jeanne d'Arc!! The woman who voluntarily entered the Prison Tower to block our path!!"""
"Jeanne...!? Eh, Jeanne!?"
No way, really!? Is it really Jeanne!? Rikka was confused.
"...Avenger. Yes, it is as you say. I arrived here to stop you. As the one who stood as a guide in the distant past, I will block you."
"She's saying reasonable things!! She's not acting dumb!! A-Are you the embodiment of Wrath...?"
"D-Dumb...?"
"Yes! It goes without saying!! A Saint of regret who believed in humans, believed in the Lord, and was betrayed by all of them!! Then an inextinguishable flame lights that soul. Nay, it is only logical that flames burn as her core!! Just like the Avenger who is Edmon there!! You must know sorrow!! Anger, resentment, surging black flames are what you are!! You!! You are worthy of the Fourth Judgment!"
Avenger raged like erupting magma.
"—If my thought circuitry were that complex, I wouldn't have become a bubble-like dream, but a proper aspect of a Heroic Spirit. Without shame... I could have called myself Rikka's Servant."
Jeanne Alter muttered quietly.
"You don't have that kind of will, do you? Your head is stuffed with muscles."
"...Yes. I am the 'Me' who waves the flag for Master. Wrath has never existed within me from the start. I will never judge Rikka. I have neither the right nor the will. I do not care if the 'Me' here is not the correctly materialized one."
"—Whaaat?"
"Sigh—she truly is a woman beyond saving..."
Avenger groaned. Jeanne Alter shook her head.
"She's normal... She's Jeanne, but she's acting like Jeanne..."
"It is you. Avenger. Sorrowful, wild soul destined to continue hating the world and people. I shall save you. Just as the Holy Flag shines like this, even in the Château d'If."
To the Saint's words.
"Silence. Silence, SILENCE!!"
The Black Avenger burned them away.
"SILENCE!!"
"Rikka, get behind me. —That idiot won't listen no matter what you say. Unless you roll the head of the man she fell in love with at her feet."
"That much!?"
"Well, there's no way a muscle-brain like that would fall in love. That would disqualify her as a Ruler. Abandoning a life of waving a flag for the masses to choose a stupid romantic comedy. If such a version of her existed, I would absolutely never forgive her. I would burn the 'Her' who defiled a life lived in God's name with romance, and I would tear the man who seduced her limb from limb—!!"
Shing. She drew her sword.
"Ah, ah, that would be fun in its own right! If I tear the man she loved to pieces in front of her eyes! If I burn him to ash with flames, that woman will realize it too! 'I was, after all, just a little girl'—!!"
She laughed happily. She laughed from the bottom of her heart.
"I am Rikka's! You are just some horse bone! There is no need to compare! It is obvious which of us grasped the irreplaceable person—!!!"
"...Impossible, me. The tails of the coin that slid into the heads that is me...!"
"Jeanne, please stand back! The sword dedicated to God and you, I understand now is the time to wield it!"
"Gilles! You must not! They are my—"
"That black presence, and your counterfeit! In the Prison Tower, even the Lord's salvation does not reach that soul! Saint, they are not the souls you think they are! There is no other way to deal with a soul gone mad than with the blade of condemnation!!"
Facing impeachment, Avenger shone.
"Hahahahaha! Yes, I am the Avenger who comes from beyond love and hate!! Everyone says I must be so!! Continue to expect me to hate, to kill, to slaughter every last enemy!! Then I shall be so!! Just as you beg and wish, I will take revenge on the world!!"
Whoosh. His cape raged with fire, burning brightly.
"Beloved Haydée is not here, the noble Father Faria is not here, thus even the Lord cannot save my soul!!"
"So what does that mean! Keep it simple! Summarize the main points!!"
"Ah, that is right! It means I will kill the Fourth Ruler for the sake of your Master!!"
Letting black flames seethe through his body, he roared like a tiger.
"I shall tear that shine of hope vividly apart! Neither radiance nor holy things! Have any meaning to me!! Noble, holy things!! All! Equally!! Are nothing but worthless junk————!!!!!"
"Master! Power!! To me—to the Fake me! Power to surpass the Real one!!"
"You are not a Fake!! If you were born, then that is You! That consciousness belongs to You! Jeanne Alter is—the only one for me!!"
"—Thank you...! My one and only Rikka!!"
"Let's go!! Avenger who is Edmon!! My hatred, your wrath! Now is the time to burn hope to ash!!"
"Do not order me!! The only one who can give me orders is Rikka—!!"
The two Avengers assaulted the flag that raised hope—!
"Master!! How long do you intend to sleepwalk!!"
—And then, Avenger accused her.
"Eh—"
"How long do you intend to act as if you have no anger, as if you harbor no rage! Do not tell me you have no idea while standing before me!!"
"Avenger, what are you...!!"
"Your opponent is me!!"
Black Jeanne blocked White Jeanne, just like in the past.
"Be conscious of it! Recognize it! Understand it! Understand the strongest emotion humans harbor!! —That is the fire that melts the frozen heart and enters the reactor core!! That is the fuel necessary for you to save the world!! —Come, awaken!! Break the yoke!! Now is the time for you to raise a roar of farewell to the unknown beast!!"
Avenger's flames, and all the wraiths, flowed into her.
"Remember!! What was stolen from you!! Let it seethe! Your heart!! Do not tell me there is nothing among the things stolen from you that sparks anger—!! I will not let your life!! Be so worthless as that—!!!"
—
There were precious people.
Friends, acquaintances, comrades. Club members.
Everyone was laughing. Everyone wished for the future.
They wished for something. They believed without doubt that there was hope in the future.
I heard all their dreams. I heard all their wishes.
I want to get married, I want to be famous, I want to be big, I want to be humble.
I heard so many, so many futures.
I laughed.
I wished from the bottom of my heart that they would definitely, definitely come true.
—Those futures were stolen.
Stolen without achieving anything.
Burned away without anything coming true.
Trampling on everyone's will, ignoring it, simply. Burned away.
Even though there was a future.
Even though there was hope.
Everyone, everyone, even though they had happy futures—
—I can't forgive it.
I can't forgive that it was stolen.
—I can't forgive it, I can't forgive it.
I can't forgive that everyone couldn't reach their future.
Unforgivable, unforgivable, unforgivable, unforgivable.
The future that each and every one of them was supposed to welcome.
The fact that someone else stole it—I can't forgive it—!!
『Lord Rikka.』
I snapped my head up.
『—Live on. For you are—a beautiful, and... radiant "Human". In this world—』
—Gudōshi!!
Gudōshi, at the end of my outstretched hand, was—
"Ah—"
Burning out—
"Ah—, —ah... ah— ah...—"
—Who is it.
"Ah...hhh—"
Who stole the world?
"————hh, gi—"
The world Gudōshi lived in, the world Gudōshi wanted to live in.
"——————hh...————!!!"
—The world everyone wanted to live in, the prayers—
"AAAAAAAHHAAAHHAAAHHAAAHHAAHHAAAHHAAHHAAAHHAAAHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA———!!!!!!!"
Who was it that trampled them—————!!!!
"Last Master of Humanity! I liberate that Karma!!"
Gilles de Rais's blade closed in on Rikka.
"Rikka!!"
"————"
—Crack, a dull sound echoed.
"————Eh?"
The sword Gilles de Rais was holding... his arm was snapped.
No—she snapped it. The one who did it was—
"————UAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!"
The Last Master of Humanity, Fujimaru Rikka.
Her rage became power, and she snapped Gilles de Rais's arm—!
"Gilles!!"
"Jeanne! This is—!?"
Grab. She seized his throat.
"————!!!!!"
Crush. His throat was crushed with a wet sound.
"How dare you, how dare you— The world where everyone lives!! HOW DARE YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!"
Crushing his left wrist, she swung Gilles de Rais around with all her might.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!"
With a scream, she slammed Gilles against the wall with 'one hand' using all her strength.
"————!!!!"
"Kuhahahahahahaha!!! Yes, Master!! That is 'Wrath'! That is the most important emotion for you to turn from a beast into a human!! Rage by the weight of what was stolen!! Rage by the value of yourself!! Because 'getting angry for the sake of something' is the expression of emotion permitted only to humans!!"
"Jea— Ru— Run—"
"Gilles...!?"
He was never granted the chance to finish that sentence.
A Gandr flew, and Gilles de Rais froze completely.
"OOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHAAAAHH!!!!!!"
Against the frozen Gilles, Rikka began a trampling using every ounce of her strength.
Punch, punch, punch. She continued to punch with all her might. Even as flesh tore and bones shattered, she punched.
Crush, crush, crush. Even as flesh ripped and joints bent in impossible directions, she crushed.
"I won't forgive you!! I won't forgive you!! I won't forgive you!! The world that was unreasonably burned, the 'Someone' who unreasonably burned it!! —The absurdity that stole the future everyone wished to live, I will absolutely never forgive it—!!"
—That fighting method was bestowed upon her by Heracles.
Use every means to kill the opponent. Even if they resurrect, kill them again every time they resurrect—a sure-kill strategy.
A style devised by the Great Hero to annihilate the enemy using every tool, every tactic.
Kill until they die. School of Heracles — 『Shooting the Hundred Heads (Nine Lives)』.
Normally, a Servant could not possibly be beaten to death. However, Rikka's soul absorbed all the grudges, took in Avenger's flames, and—harbored Wrath in her fists.
Fists forged to perfection easily destroyed the human body. —And the current Rikka had released every single limiter.
Because of Wrath. Anger at the world being burned away.
Anger at the hope, the everything, stolen from those who lived there.
—Anger at the ringleader who burned the world.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!"
A blow unleashed with the limit of her power shattered Gilles de Rais's Spirit Core.
Exceeding the damage limit of the physical vessel, Gilles de Rais instantly dissipated into mist.
The blow exploded against the wall of the tower, cracking it biki-biki, and instantly shattering it.
"Kuh—!!"
Jeanne vanished instantly.
"Even if it is impossible now, surely—!"
"Come back the day before yesterday, loser! Defeat does not exist for Rikka and me!"
"Kuhahaha!! Kuhahahahahahahahahahahahaha!! Congratulations, Master!! From this moment on! You have gained the right to be born as a human!!"
Avenger bestowed a black blessing.
"The weight of what was lost! Anger toward those who stole precious things!! Only by harboring that do you know for the first time! 'What you want to save'!! What meaning is there in salvation without anger!! There must be none!! As long as 'that life has meaning'! I acknowledge it, I affirm it!! Your life! Certainly had meaning!! Roar! Roar!! Like a tiger!! I shall guide you!! You! To the other side of love and hate!! Kuhahaha! Kuhahahahahahahahahahaha!!!"
"I will take it back!! Everyone's future!! I will save it!! The world where everyone lives!! And definitely— I will slam this anger against the guy who burned the world!!"
While receiving the black blessing, Rikka roused the emotions welling up from her chest.
"Together with everyone, definitely!!! Carrying the regret and anger of the people who were burned away!! —I!! Will continue to swing these fists!! Until the day I save the world—!!"
Rikka's rage, burning Hell to ash, echoed through the entire space—
"And so, the man dropped his opponents into hell one after another... Okay! Break time!"
«Wrath. This is something quite difficult to handle. Whether righteous or unjust, it always burns something. It is like fire. Righteous indignation, personal grudges. Those who are destroyed by it are inevitably produced. —However, because it is so vivid. It sometimes invites miracles. —You have an idea of this, do you not, Ea?»
—Yes. This emotion is something I cherish.
Those who insult the King, those who judge the King's world as worthless. Those who hurt and insult Fou... I will absolutely never forgive them.
(Ea...)
«That is fine. Will you use anger as fuel, or be swallowed by anger? That is decided by your own will, your way of being. And by the opponent you direct it toward. Wrath is not to be suppressed; the only way to tame it is to be conscious of where you point it, and to control yourself. Remember that well, Ea.»
—Yes!
(That is precisely why he is an Avenger. Because he was able to properly choose where to point the knife he raised, he became a legend.)
—Monte Cristo...
"Haa, haa, haa..."
"Rikka...?"
"—...Ah—————"
"Are you oka... hya!?"
"I feel so refresheeeed—!! What a clear mood! I feel like singing! It feels this good? To let your feelings out!"
"Indeed. It isn't bad, is it? To behave according to your anger! That is the very state of your soul!"
"Yeah! I—feel like I've been reborn!"
"Reborn indeed! —You have finally obtained a human form. You are close to breaking away from being a beast that knows not the world...!"
"Jeanne! You were fighting while holding these feelings! You're really amazing! Thank you! My Jeanne!"
"—Yes. Let's do our best next time too!"
"Yeah! Okay, let's go! One, two!"
"""Wait! And Hope—!!"""
-------------------------------
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