".. How stupid."
The white gerbera I received when I first met Denji.
The red gerbera in my hand now is probably no different from the flowers donated by orphans back then.
Denji and I, our common point is that we both lost our parents in childhood and had to live a hard life.
Seeing this red gerbera, I resolved in my heart.
Knowing full well I would die if I went back, that I had to go to his side.
The conflict continued until the Shinkansen was about to leave.
And I came to an answer.
".. Denji."
ㅡ Hey, Reze! I'll wait at that cafe during lunch break, be sure to come!
Remembering that voice, I head towards him again.
Past the phone booth, up the stairs I always passed…
Just one last alley to go.
My footsteps gradually sped up, and at the end of the alley, I could see the cafe window.
Inside, Denji was sitting, seemingly waiting for me to come.
Ah… just a little more…
But, at that moment.
Countless swarms of rats blocked my path from under my feet.
The rats were gathering into one, forming a human shape.
And in front of it…
"I like country mice too. A friend of mine farms out in the countryside,
and I go every autumn to help out with the work.
Because mice that ruin the crops live hidden in the soil of the fields,
we have to do pest control before snow covers the fields.
But you know what, seeing that always puts my heart at ease."
I gripped the trigger around my neck and finished preparing to transform into the Bomb Devil.
But then…
Thiiiing――
The hand about to pull the trigger was severed by a spear that came down from above.
My hand and arm were cut off simultaneously, regardless of my will.
I couldn't stop.
I grabbed the knife hidden in my clothes and rushed towards Makima's rear, but that was also brief.
The spear came down again and pierced my heart.
As I slumped to the floor, I tried to pull the trigger with my remaining right hand, but Makima quietly grabbed and restrained it.
Above, on the roof, the Angel Devil stood holding a spear.
The spear he threw had stopped me.
His expression seemed impassive, but inside it seemed to hold pity towards me, and anger on behalf of those who had died because of me.
The floor was soaked with blood, and the image of the cafe where Denji was waiting appeared before me.
But I could no longer move.
Makima's cold gaze finished off all my attempts.
ㅡ Ah… why couldn't I just kill you when we first met.
Just before my breath broke, a faint regret and relief, mixed with despair at not reaching Denji, swirled in a corner of my heart.
Where I, having collapsed, was looking was the sight of Denji visible beyond the window, his figure waiting for me there.
And finally, it flowed softly from my lips.
"Denji… actually… I've never been to school either…"
Even those words didn't reach Denji, and I collapsed onto the floor.
Reze suddenly opened her eyes.
Her heart was pounding roughly. Beads of sweat trickled down her forehead.
The room was dark and quiet. Beside her, Denji was in a deep sleep.
"…A dream…?"
She looked at her own hands.
No blood, nothing.
But the sensation was all too vivid.
As if it was something she actually experienced.
She quietly got up and walked to the window.
The night air seeped in, making the curtain sway.
The street lamp in the alley flickered, momentarily illuminating her face.
That expression… was tangled with an indescribably complex emotion.
'Was that… just a dream? Or… the last thing seen by a me… from somewhere else?'
Reze recalled the dream scene of red gerberas scattering and quietly closed her eyes.
Unconsciously, her heart was trembling quietly.
Reze stood by the window, unable to move for a long time.
Each time the wind gently brushed past the curtain, the scenes from her dream drifted through her mind like fragments.
The red gerberas. The swarm of rats. Makima's voice. And Denji's face.
Each one was so clear, it felt like she had just been there.
"…Weird."
Her own muttered voice spread softly through the room.
She looked outside the window.
The night in this small provincial city was as quiet as ever.
Only the sound of cicadas from afar, the occasional noise of a passing car, and the faint street lamp light.
But even within that peace, a corner of her heart kept trembling ominously.
Reze unconsciously brought her hand to her neck.
The sensation of her hand being severed and blood splattering still seemed to linger on her fingertips.
"...It was a dream. Just, a dream."
She tried to reassure herself, but her heart thumped loudly once more.
Turning to look back, Denji was still fast asleep, unaware of anything.
The moment she looked at his peaceful face, Reze's eyes wavered slightly.
'What if… that wasn't just a dream. What if, in some world, I… really died like that.'
As that thought arose, a cold sensation seeped in from deep within her heart.
"…Idiot."
She looked at Denji with a small laugh.
"I won't tell you. If I said I had a dream like this, you'd definitely say something weird."
She muttered to herself like that and turned her head.
But Reze could tell.
This wasn't just a simple nightmare.
A story that likely actually happened somewhere, in a 'different path' she herself couldn't know.
Because the sensation was all too realistic.
Closing the curtain smoothly, Reze quietly returned to the bed.
Lying down next to Denji, his body warmth felt close.
This small room, this ordinary night.
Everything was so warm, so precious, that it was frightening.
'If someday… that dream becomes reality.'
As that thought came, her chest tightened with a chill.
But she shook her head slightly and pulled up the blanket.
"For now, it's okay."
With a small whisper, Reze closed her eyes.
The room was still filled only with the quiet of the night.
But in her heart, the final breath of herself who died in another world was faintly echoing.