«Greed. It is a simple sin that results in clarity. Wanting, seeking. Karma has defined these as sins. Seeking itself is, of course, not a sin. It is a life activity that all animals in the universe perform naturally. A baby cries because it wants something immediately after birth. Life constantly screams that it wants better evolution, a better future, a better environment, and lives out its lifespan. —What happens when that turns into a sin? Do you understand? Ea.»
—For a King to seek wealth is instinct, not greed. That recognition is similar yet different...
—! The journey for immortality that the Hero King sought...!
«Precisely. 'Seeking' while 'losing sight' is the sin. What did you desire? What did you seek? What did you want to bring about? Joy? Material desire? Peace of mind? The shallowness of reaching out while losing sight of that is defined as sin. In the first place, life seeks results. One harbors desire to achieve something. Making that a sin is a matter of recognition and discretion. To desire yet not know the shape of that desire, to dissociate desire from recognition. In other words, it is nothing other than not knowing one's 'place'. Ignorance that does not know one's own stature, ambition that exceeds one's vessel. —Let us summarize. 'Ignorance' that does not know oneself. 'Ambition' that does not reflect on one's stature. With the 'discretion' of a soul that has forgotten selection, Greed is counted as a Deadly Sin. It would be fine if it ended with one's own ruin. But usually—the conclusion is leading the world to ruin along with oneself. Truly, it is well said that excessive greed destroys oneself.»
—To make that a virtue...
«It is simple. 'Define it.' What do you desire? What do you want to achieve? By what do you define your desire as satisfied? You could call it setting a goal. In short, it is knowing. Determine the extent of your own soul and vessel. If you do that, the outline of what you desire will naturally take shape. However—though it seems easy, this is quite a difficult task. Desire is life activity. Abandoning desire is equal to abandoning being human. Dying while living, living while dying. It is difficult, but... I do not say to attain enlightenment. Know yourself, know your place, know your wish. That is the means to keep 'Greed' as 'Self-Interest'. ...As an aside. Self-interest is what hinders the great enlightenment of saints. Without self-interest, one does not aim for enlightenment; with self-interest, one does not reach enlightenment. Truly, human life does not go as planned. —That is why human life is... worth watching.»
—Hero King...
«Ea. It matters not what you wish for. I forgive whatever you desire. —I shall warn you of just one thing. —Never forget that you are 'desiring something'. Do not degenerate into that most repulsive breed of human called a Savior. My garden will never bore you. As long as you desire as you please, your joy will never end.»
—Yes! ...Then, right away.
«Hm?»
—Please let me stay by your side from now on too. Hero King!
«—Hmph. To choose to be by the King's side first and foremost. Truly, a greedy thing. Fuhaha. Truly, you are worthy of the name Princess—»
Greed
"The Sixth Judgment, the Sixth Ruler—"
Walking down the corridor, Avenger spoke.
"That's abrupt. No foreshadowing or anything?"
"It's probably a strong enemy."
Feeling like they were just casually dropping by Hell, the two muttered.
"You will see. That there is no limit to what humans desire. I have never seen a creature greedier than him. In fact, it is worthy of astonishment."
"When you say 'him'..."
"So the next person is a man."
Crack. Rikka cracked her knuckles. Jeanne watched her with a dependable look.
"Even a man who tried to sacrifice his own daughter to hoard wealth, gold, and private property in his belly would fall far short of him. His greed literally extends to the world."
Avenger seemed to be enjoying himself. He even wore a smile.
"You seem quite happy, don't you? Is he that much to your liking? The next thing."
"...Hmph. Perhaps. I haven't thought about it, but that might be so."
Avenger muttered, staring at the ceiling.
"He sought an answer. Asking if there is truly anything correct in this world. Could it be said that because he believed in precious things, in human goodness and happiness, he denied a world infested with evil? You wouldn't understand. No, or perhaps you would truly understand?"
He looked straight at Rikka.
"Yes, he. He is a man who tried to achieve good for all the world. He resembles you closely. Because he tried to save the world..."
"...—"
Tried to save the world? That is Greed?
Trying to save something is desire? Is it Greed?
Why? Is that really—?
"Well, there couldn't be anyone similar to you. ...There are few who have had their existence stripped by their parents and lost their name and meaning."
"...What is it with people calling Rikka a beast, a beast? There are too many people who are rude to a lady. Do you want to be burned?"
"You will understand eventually. Regardless—I even hold a certain kind of respect. That recklessness! Nobility! Greed! It is worthy of applause! Therefore, therefore. With the utmost respect. My black flames will destroy it entirely. It is precisely for righteous thoughts and precious wishes that my flames burn. Prepare yourself, Master. You are..."
"We will crush the Greed that swallows the world. That is an easy-to-understand, simple answer. —Rikka, are you okay?"
"—Yeah. I'm moving forward. To live!"
"That is right; if you cannot kill, you will only die. To put it plainly, yes—"
Avenger shattered the door into pieces.
"He is a formidable enemy. If you let your guard down, you will die instantly."
"I won't let her die. As long as I am here. Greed that reaches the world? Ha, bring it on. My flame is hellfire that burns the world to ash! Let's test which of us is worthy of swallowing the world!"
Jeanne took Rikka's hand.
"—Right? Rikka."
"Yeah! We will—definitely win! Victory!"
"—Kuhaha! Then, let us catch a glimpse! The form of the Sixth Ruler! That sin—!!"
The Sixth Hall.
A familiar hell. Who was there was...
"You have come, Avenger. I fell behind last time, but I have made my decision. I will defeat you, and I will stop you."
A holy flag, eyes of determination. The Human Fortress appeared.
"I believe, now, that that will become guidance for you."
"WRONG!! WRONG, WRONG!!!"
Black flames erupted, blowing away parts of the Hall of Judgment indiscriminately. The space shook violently, and the atmosphere trembled with his scream.
"That's Jeanne, right? That isn't 'him', is it?"
"Sigh... I didn't expect him to say that to a Jeanne-face. Isn't he embarrassed to come out so many times?"
"Jeanne of Hatred and Hellfire. I want to save you too. —Even if you are an aspect of me that cannot exist."
"Die, you slut."
Ptoo. She spat on the ground.
"I certainly will not let you escape! I will kill you eventually! But not now! What terrible timing, Saint of the Flag! That bad timing! It rivals even Caderousse!!"
Avenger's anger was extraordinary. His threatening attitude, his passion, was stronger and more tremendous than anything.
"...Is he bad with Jeanne?"
"...It might be strange for me to say this, but isn't he freaking out too much at Jeanne?"
Alter looked confused, shouldering her flag.
"Because I am!! I am ME!! If you do not acknowledge the existence of Wrath! That is the same as denying ME!!"
"—Ah, if it's that, I understand too. —Yes, yes. It is a suitable reason for taking it out on someone, a suitable reason to stoke Wrath, to burn hellfire—!!"
Bam! She slammed her flag down. Hot, raging red flames burned the atmosphere maddeningly.
"If I had been a proper village girl, if I had been a country girl who knew joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure—I could have become a non-counterfeit me! I could have become Rikka's Servant without any shame—!!"
"Jeanne..."
"—I'm sorry for taking it out on you so ungracefully... I know that because she is her, she was able to become a Hero. ...But..."
"No. Jeanne. —To me, you are—my own Hero, with nothing to be ashamed of!"
"—Ah, Rikka...!"
"...As I thought, you are me. Jeanne."
"...Huh?"
"The one who continues to rage. Avenger. Wrath is, yes, as you say—it does not disappear easily. Even I have seen it many times without understanding it. Anger is like fire set to straw; surely it burns brightly."
Jeanne Alter was also reflected in her gaze.
"Until it burns out the angry one and many things around them. However... even if one harbors Wrath in their chest. At the same time, it is possible to think of forgiveness and salvation. —Like you, who have gained an irreplaceable Master... no. An important soulmate."
"————————"
"That is why, I will stop both you and Avenger! Before you burn away the irreplaceable things you have grasped with your own hands—!"
"...Jeanne..."
...Ah, as I thought.
Jeanne is a Hero who holds up irreplaceable light and salvation.
—But.
"Impudent!! You ask me for forgiveness and salvation?!"
"——————"
"Because, you must have experienced it once too, right? —『Edmond Dantès』."
...Edmond?
"Edmond Dantès...?"
Is that Avenger's...?
In an instant—snap.
"—Haha, ha."
Grind.
"—Hhaha."
The sound of something snapping was heard.
"Haha...! Ha...! Hahahahahahahahahahahaha!! Kuku, ha, hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!"
"Ah—hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!! Ahaha, ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!"
The two laughed like madmen, continuing to laugh.
"Y-You two...?"
In an instant. Avenger transformed into a human shape of black flame.
And from Jeanne Alter's entire body, crimson hellfire overflowed.
"DO NOT SPEAK OF MY VENGEANCE, WOMAN!!!"
"I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU, MUSCLE-BRAIN!! DO NOT DEGRADE MY RIKKA TO SOMETHING LIKE SALVATION!!!"
The two Avengers, their imperial wrath triggered, truly raged and went berserk.
"Rikka is not my salvation!! Do not speak of us in a relationship that demands compensation!! What does salvation do for me! She saved you?! Don't make me laugh! You were burned in the name of God!! I don't ask Rikka for anything!! 'Just being by her side'! I just want to be by her side!! Until this body rots away, until the very end, I will just dedicate my all to her!! Don't speak like you know anything— Don't trample on the feelings I hold, you defective human who can't even harbor a single anger—!!"
"My black flames do not seek salvation even if begged! My grudge grants forgiveness to no one on earth!!"
—Tiger, burn brightly. For where you go is beyond love and hate—
Roar, my Wrath. Rage to burn everything in the world to ash. All of it, for the sake of just one person—
"I am the Count of Monte Cristo!! The shadow carved into human history, the Eternal Avenger!!"
"I am the Witch Jeanne d'Arc! The one who illuminates, protects, and carves open the future, the tomorrow of the Master who saves the world, with the flame of my soul!!!"
~
"He is the Demon of Vengeance of the Château d'If. A person who descended upon Paris and exacted numerous revenges."
"—That name, Edmond Dantès. Tormented by the malice of the world, he turned all of his humanity into fire. The greatest Avenger in human history, is it?"
"Yes! He seems to be called Monte Cristo too; I looked it up. It's the same name as the Savior's mountain."
"Existing beyond love and hate, the grudge does not disappear but burns brightly. Monte Cristo is the name of a man who spent everything solely on revenge. Wearing steely determination and the wisdom of desperation, a living black flame—"
—Edmond Dantès...
«—The Prison Tower into which you were cast, too foul to speak of. The name of the demon who dwells there.»
~
"I understand. I acknowledge it. Saint of the Flag! Your nature is incompatible with mine, no matter what!!"
"Know this—my determination, my wrath, the roar of my soul!! Spokesperson for the voice of God standing in Rikka's way, I shall burn you all together—!!"
"""Roar, My Wrath!! We shall give you what you desire! This is what our vengeance is—!!"""
Hatred raged. Flames burned.
"You two are perfectly in sync...!"
"...!"
Now, to the Saint—
"—There are feelings that cannot be reached by words alone. Saint, you should know that well too."
Slowly walking out from the darkness was a dark-skinned man.
"I know. I know. But I simply cannot give up."
"—That is why the Lord continues to love you even now, I suppose."
"—Oh, I have been waiting for you, the other Arbiter. The embodiment of Greed."
Slowly, Avenger regained his human form.
"That guy... if I recall..."
"I see, a splendid idea indeed. Meeting an Extra Class with an Extra Class."
"...Two Arbiters against two Avengers. You are quite thorough, meticulous."
Putting anger aside immediately, she instantly nestled close to protect Rikka from a surprise attack.
"Do not leave my side."
"Y-Yeah!"
"Servant Ruler! Amakusa Shirou Tokisada!"
"—Pleased to meet you, Avenger. And the impossible Wrathful Jeanne. If it were not such a place, there might have been a possibility of meeting in a different form. But—to you who call yourself the Christ of Vengeance, neither prayers nor words will reach anymore. However—on the other hand, I also believe in you. More than anything."
"—Nnn...?"
Amakusa continued. He continued his accusation.
"If you are one who knows the hell of this world, you must have also known what is truly precious. —Yes."
He looked at Rikka.
"Birthing an 'Unknown Beast' from All the World's Evil. —To the Mage King's scheme..."
"Silence."
He cut off the words.
"Only my will concerns my conduct. Salvation, incineration, they have nothing to do with me. —I simply convey it."
From over his shoulder, he muttered.
"The truth that 'The right to celebrate life is permitted to all things'."
"—The right to celebrate life is permitted to all things..."
"In the first place—knowing this woman, you understand the meaning of standing before me calling yourself an Arbiter, do you not?"
What he spat out was jet-black killing intent.
"It is time to atone for negligence. You who did not lend an ear to voiceless salvation, who shook off the hand seeking formless salvation. You who overlooked the fact that a beast was harbored in a girl's womb and nurtured due to that mistake."
Finally, he raged madly.
"————Die. Karma that overlooked a single girl falling into a beast while claiming to arbitrate; it is time for us to impeach and burn it away."
"...Avenger..."
"...Then, Jeanne d'Arc. I shall borrow your strength. Not as the one placed in the Château d'If, but as a fellow Ruler."
"—Yes, Amakusa Shirou Tokisada."
"Hahahahahahahahahahahaha!! Then let the curtain rise!! Two Rulers, two Avengers!! Nestling by your side is the incarnation of hatred!! We who learned in the past that there is no salvation from the Lord!!"
"Will burn you to death, you who cling to the Lord in the present! —Come, let's go, Rikka! You and I are one in body and soul!"
She gripped her hand powerfully.
"If you are here! I will trample over God, the Devil, everything, and burn them away! For the future—that you desire!!"
"—!!"
The future, that I, desire—
"Yes! In the Château d'If where all salvation is cut off, those who Wait and Hope! Those who truly desire survival!"
Like a tiger, like a tiger, he roared.
"Must be guided!! The one who can guide you is—!!"
"The one who can illuminate your future is—!!"
"ONLY ME!!"
"ONLY ME!!"
—It's decided.
My end is not here.
My path still continues.
Hell is just a mere obstacle.
Nothing more than something blocking my anger and my wish—!
"What are you saying now! I definitely—We definitely!"
—Together with everyone, definitely!
"Will return to Paradise! Together with everyone!!"
"Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha!! Yes! You too must roar like a tiger!!!!"
"Come, let us announce the opening!!"
"—Kill the Beast!! Raise your dignity!! Regain your everything as a human!!!"
The two Avengers assaulted the Arbiters—!!
"Me of Hatred and Wrath! The current me can understand your feelings!"
"—Hah?"
"Because I, too... have thought of someone! I understand that your feelings are precious!"
"—You truly are a woman beyond saving! What is the point of telling me that!?"
"So—stop burning yourself any further! You understand who would be saddest if you burned out!"
Flags clashed. Black and White, Ruler and Avenger.
"—Ha! You say that!? You who didn't even hold anger! You who didn't even embrace me! You're giving me sarcasm about knowing love now!?"
"Th-That is—!"
"If you could harbor feelings like a normal person, why did you choose that ending! If you could harbor normal happiness, why did you live for the people!! Why, why—『Did you dream of a human way of life only now』!! Because you harbored neither anger nor anything, I ended up as such a counterfeit—!!"
"...ugh!!"
"Answer me! Save me! Come on, come on!! What kind of answer will you give me?! Do you intend to say 'I don't need you, but I'll be happy like a normal person'?! Ahahahahahaha!! What a laughingstock!!"
"That is... that is...!"
"Perish!! Jeanne d'Arc!! An 'Arbiter who sided with someone' is the most foolish creature in this world full of hypocrisy and defects!! Don't let such a cowardly, unequal, unfair person like you speak of salvation!! Don't get in the way of the path to the future for me and Rikka————!!!"
"...Sieg-kun, I...! What should I... do with her...!"
Jeanne Alter slammed her wrath against her. Earnestly, simply straight ahead.
"Kuhahaha! Is that all, Incarnation of Greed! Too powerless to achieve your true desire! The cup you desire is not at the bottom of Hell! Therefore, therefore! If you want to crush me! You have no choice but to crush me with Greed!!"
"A raging soul. To think it was this much..."
Black Keys clashed, flames flew, slashing, striking, mowing down in high-speed combat.
"But! The stars of tonight's party are not us!!"
"What did you say?"
"—Look!! Arbiters!! The Beast you buried in oblivion bares its fangs at you!! Come! Awaken, Master!!"
Whoosh. He flared his cape!
"Find your desire!! That answer alone shall become the sole Self-Interest capable of becoming the motive to regain Human Order!!"
"—"
—They called seeking a sin.
Knowing it's a sin now won't change anything.
Let's know. Let's accept.
What do I desire?
Come to think of it, I haven't really thought about why I want to regain Human Order.
Because it seemed tough, or because everyone is in trouble... or because I was the only one, so let's do it! I think it was like that.
...What do I want to achieve?
In the instant I thought.
I remembered. I arrived at it.
—Yes.
That was Olga Marie's Reality Marble.
Blue sky, sun. A world expanding endlessly.
That was truly beautiful. The scenery Marie depicted.
...I want to see it.
I want to see that scenery one more time.
I want to see. I want to know.
I want to see the ends of that expanse.
I want to take it back.
The future of the world. The entirety of the world.
I want to take back the tomorrow of all the people there.
And...
—I arrive at it. I find the reason.
What I want right now, is—
"—I found what I want."
Slowly, she raised her face.
"Hoh! What kind of ambition is it! Let me hear it, Master!"
"Yeah. —What I want is."
Brightly, with eyes cleared of hesitation, she announced.
"『The World』. I want the future of the world. I want to take back a peaceful world with everyone at Chaldea."
"————"
Amakusa gasped.
Because Rikka's eyes as she said that were bright, clear,
And endlessly—shining.
"Someday, I want to travel with everyone, go shopping, go to the aquarium, go to the zoo, go to the amusement park. —I want a peaceful world, Avenger."
—Yes.
Not because someone told me to, but saving the world for myself.
In that case, it's okay. I won't be crushed by any hardship.
Because humans... are creatures who will do anything for their purpose.
Fujimaru Rikka became self-aware. Of the reason to save her own world.
To the 'Greed' of trying to save the world... the 'Self-Interest' of challenging it together with everyone was added.
Inside Rikka, one of the karmas turned into light.
"So—"
Yes, so.
"I cannot stop! To obtain the future of the world—!!"
—Not 'Devouring' the future of the world, but 'Desiring' it.
"Kuhahahahahahahahahahaha!! That is good!! A fatal wedge has been driven into the Unknown Beast!!"
—The greed of the beast had certainly transformed into the wish of a human.
"Come!! Sing!! According to your wish! Raise the cry of birth!! If that is your desire! Crush the enemy as you desire!!"
"—Yeah!"
As if in response, from Dōjigiri Yasutsuna—
"Wah—!?"
[Ahahahahaha!! You have finally given your first cry, my beloved child!]
A voice echoed from the sword.
"Mom...!?"
[Yes. That is good! Desire the world, desire everything, and annihilate every enemy! If she is protection, then I shall protect my child with my means...! That is the true intent of Raikou, who handed over the half-life that is me to you!]
"Ah—"
Slowly, she took Yasutsuna in hand and drew it.
"—I feel Mom close by...—"
[Yes, that is right. Mother is by your side, you know. Come, beloved Rikka. Together with me—let us punish the enemies hindering our Self-Interest...!]
"Got it!"
She raised the sword high.
[—Come, Four Heavenly Kings!! No—]
In an instant, four shadows separated from Rikka's shadow.
[—Divine Envoys of Gozu Tennou! Mix with the mud from my child's abyss, take form, and—]
As if in response, lightning struck the Château d'If, giving them four forms.
"Wha—!?"
Jeanne Alter's eyes went wide.
—There were five Rikkas.
A Rikka holding a red katana, expressing anger.
A Rikka holding an ice nagamaki, wearing a sub-zero expression.
A Rikka holding the Moon Goddess's bow, looking endlessly amused.
A Rikka holding a golden axe, laughing ferociously.
—All of their eyes had crimson irises and black sclera, fixing their gaze on the enemy.
"Kuhahahahahahahahahahaha!! Look! Look at it! That is the darkness of the girl you overlooked! You deceivers who speak of salvation! Try saving her! Right now, try granting her a proper life!! If you! Truly! Uphold salvation!!"
"—Let's go, Mom!"
[Yes, let us show them. The foolishness of standing before us...!]
"To save the world! I shall annihilate every enemy!"
She readied her sword—and then.
"『Ox-King Summoning: Hair-Raising Wrath (Gozu Tennou: Dohatsu Tenshou)』—!!"
All at once, the Divine Envoys of Gozu Tennou shaped from Rikka's soul rushed the two Rulers—!
—That was the pinnacle of a mother's love.
"Kuh...!!?"
An ultimate technique that gave form to Gozu Tennou, the source of her self as a demon/monstrosity, and its envoys to wipe out the enemy army.
Normally, Rikka could never handle them. —However.
There was one who used the demonic, monstrous soul as a foundation to command, wield, and summon them.
It was the mother's other personality dwelling in the sword.
The 'Divinity' that 'copied' its consciousness into the Dōjigiri Yasutsuna entrusted by Raikou and served close by to protect her as a mother.
Its name—[Ushi Gozen].
Mother Raikou, as insurance for when her child went to a place beyond her reach, had unconsciously transferred it to Rikka to annihilate any threat.
Lurking in Rikka's abyss—a genuine 'Hariti (Demon Mother Goddess)'—!
Now, responding to the refined soul that had absorbed six of the sins, it revealed its form—!!
It trampled. It destroyed.
"Rikka multiplied!? Eh!? Eh!?"
Swords, nagamakis, bows, axes.
"Kuhahahahahahahahahahaha!! Did you see! This is the Last Master of Humanity! The Beast made to bear All the World's Evil!! A woman on the verge of rebirth into a human who upholds the noble purpose of saving the world and instinctively continues to crush foreign enemies!!"
Thoroughly, mercilessly, they beat down Amakusa and Jeanne—!
"It is a form resulting from your so-called God not extending a hand! From never saving her in the end! Ah, do not worry! She will soon be reborn! Devouring the Avenger! Crushing the Arbiter's scales!! And—!!"
"Jeanne, to my side!! —Petty Ten Hands."
Summoning Jeanne with a Command Spell.
"—Is this as far as it goes? Then, lastly."
"—What is it, Amakusa."
"Vengeance is too much for a human. —You will surely destroy yourself with that flame—"
"Turn to dust—!!!"
Wrapping the sword in jet-black lightning, harboring it.
"—Jeanne."
"...!"
"—I pray. That you... —with your precious person."
Spinning once, she unleashed it—!!!
"—May be together until the final moment—..."
That was the end.
Jeanne and Amakusa were swallowed by the jet-black lightning resembling a black rope.
And vanished without a trace—
"—What was that? Is he stupid? ...I don't need to be told that."
"—You all are too soft. That is precisely why Greed and Wrath and the like were forced upon you."
What the two Avengers gazed at was...
[Well done. Mother... yes, Mother supports your wish from the bottom of her heart. —If the eyesore beast nesting in your heart is eliminated, my child's abyss will be mine... Fufu, fufufufufufufu...]
"—Only one Hell remains, huh..."
The Last Master of Humanity stood there, muttering blankly...
—The child rejected by mother and father lost herself.
Her extremely distinct self-consciousness and existence became the perfect outlet for the malice of modern society, tormented by feelings of inferiority and powerlessness.
'If we bully her, everyday life becomes fun.'
'It's her fault things aren't going well for us.'
'It's because she's stealing it that our happiness isn't enough.'
Assertions far too selfish.
Persecution far too one-sided.
With a certain incident as the turning point, those rained down upon her with every malice.
She, who knew neither love nor even sin, became the perfect outlet for the malignancy birthed in the 'society' called school.
The only one oppressed was her.
The only one degraded was her.
Justifications accelerated, and human malignancy knew no bounds.
The girl had neither the will nor the means to resist.
Her way of life strangely resembled that of a boy worshipped in a certain village.
That state was like the Evil God of Zoroastrianism.
Truly—『All the World's Evil』—
-------------------------------
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