Ul pulled out a desk that wasn’t stained with blood and sat down on it.
“Well, there are so many things I want to say, but… I’m just glad we could meet again. The premise is that we need to encounter each other for any conversation to happen.”
The dialogue through direct soul contact wasn’t a real exchange of words. If she rejected him from the bottom of her heart, conversation would be impossible. Fundamentally, the initiative lies with the one being interfered with.
Even if he could touch fragments of her memory, it would be meaningless if he couldn’t speak to her directly. Finally, he had met the prerequisite.
Facing the ugly, monstrous, groaning aberration, Ul felt relieved.
“So, let’s talk, but!?”
“————————-!!!”
A pitch-black fist flew at him. Ul took the massive blow with his entire body and was sent flying and rolling as if hit by a carriage.
“Ah, honestly…”
But Ul immediately stood up as if nothing had happened. He then approached Shizuku. She tried to swing her giant fist again, but…
“I said, listen to me!!!”
“Ngh!?”
Ul grabbed her arm and threw her over his shoulder. The massive monster, at least three meters tall, floated up as if it were an empty balloon and was slammed into the ground. It clearly defied the laws of physics, but that was to be expected. This wasn’t reality in the first place. It was the world of souls. Deception had no place here.
“Can someone who desperately wants to kill themselves win against anyone? Right now, you’d lose to Echel without even trying.”
The ground where Shizuku was slammed shattered. The “school” space, formed from her memories, dissolved and disappeared. In the utterly white space, only the fresh blood of a young Shizuku remained. In the center of it all, Ul pinned Shizuku to the ground and restrained her.
“Le… ave… me… a… lone…”
He dismissed her rejection, a voice undoubtedly Shizuku’s, though far uglier than usual. He pinned her thrashing limbs and then sat on her, using her as a makeshift seat.
“I understand. Why you’re fixated on the Moon God.”
Then, as Ul whispered softly, Shizuku’s movements abruptly stopped. Instead, she began to tremble and convulse slightly. She shivered, as if terrified of something.
“What if I can’t save the World, and lose that power…”
Her massive limbs trembled and began to flail. She thrashed as if trying to escape Ul’s words, but Ul held on, not wanting to be thrown off. And then, Ul spoke the truth she most didn’t want to hear, her personal truth.
“That it would be meaningless to have watched my family die?”
“Ahhh…”
The next moment, Shizuku’s monstrous body burst. Countless pitch-black thorns and blades sprouted from her skin, blowing Ul away and impaling him. The monster rose, glared at the mangled Ul, and roared again.
“Ahhhhhhh uuuuuuuuuuuu!!!!”
Her pained roar and the piercing blades made Ul wince deeply. But it wasn’t from pain. It was from hearing her agonizing, blood-vomiting shriek.
“No wonder Akane is angry. What a tragic way to deceive yourself—”
As he spoke, a fist flew at him. It wasn’t merely swung this time; it carried genuine killing intent. Ul sighed deeply and didn’t move.
“—”
“Ah.”
Ul’s body, directly hit by the fist, exploded into pieces. Beside the pool of young Shizuku’s blood, the remnants of what had been Ul spread out, staining the white space crimson. Shizuku, who had done this herself, froze for a moment in shock at her own actions. Then…
“Hii—”
She let out a choked scream and stood frozen before the bright red gore. With her arms, which hurt anything they touched, she tore at herself, her throat trembling as she sank to her knees. Spreading her arms wide, she touched the pulverized remains of Ul with her fingers and began to gather them.
“Ah, aaaaaah…”
Of course, doing so wouldn’t bring back his shattered body. It only further stained her own body red, not restoring anything. Blood-stained, she wailed incessantly, finally curling into a small, small ball, cradling her head with her arms.
“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa…!!!”
With a sigh of lament, the monster’s black armor peeled away. It rotted, melted, and flowed away as blood. All that remained where it had sloughed off was a girl, weeping alone.
“I’m sorry.”
Shizuku whispered, not directed at anyone in particular. Her trembling voice was filled with regret and sorrow.
“I’m sorry, it’s all my fault. I killed everyone.”
Pain, as if her heart were being crushed, spilled out with her words.
“Hurry…”
The monstrous form, spreading like black stains around her, began to take shape again. It didn’t cover her body but rather turned into sharp blades and pierced Shizuku’s flesh.
“Hurry and save the World, save everyone, and end it all—”
Countless black giants appeared, gripping the blades with both hands, mercilessly stabbing Shizuku. They assailed her as she cowered in pain.
“—I want to die.”
And Shizuku finally uttered it. Her own despair.
“Don’t screw with me.”
At that, Ul finally lost his temper.
◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇
To delve into the deepest part of this war, Ul learned much about this World in the remaining short time.
The inescapable reality of the World. Humanity desperately struggling and resisting amidst that hell, and the children who became its sacrifices. So many of them ended in agony.
Against such a World’s reality, Ul never raised his voice more than necessary.
While he showed anger towards Shizuku and Diz, he had no intention of interfering with this World’s structure or the madness of those who resisted it. He felt he had no right, having lived so blissfully without ever knowing such worldly suffering. Therefore, he even sympathized with Shintani.
Ul had been enduring.
He endured and endured, and now, he had reached the limit of his patience.
“Everyone died because of me?”
His fingernails dug in, and his fists clenched so hard his blood seeped out. His voice trembled. He was aware that his emotional control was failing completely, but he no longer intended to suppress it. The Black Dragon’s spear materialized in Ul’s hand. As if responding to its Master’s Wrath, the spear blazed ominously.
“It’s not your—”
And Ul stepped forward,
“FAULT—!!!!”
He embraced Shizuku,
“I SAID IT’S NOT YOUR FAULT!!!!”
And burned away everything that was hurting her. He screamed and roared. The flames of ash blazed, incinerating all. He glared at the curse within her, the one that sought to harm her, and screamed with all his might.
“How could this BE!!!! YOUR FAULT?!?! DON’T FUCK WITH ME—”
But the next moment, the white World trembled violently. Ul grimaced in surprise.
“—…!”
Black power erupted from the ground beneath his feet, tearing Ul’s body to shreds. Furthermore, it forcibly snatched Shizuku from his arms.
“〈Salvation must be achiefed■〉”
A voice echoed. As his body regenerated, Ul frowned.
“〈The■Ark must be■estroyed, humanity sav■d, and the planet resto■ed. You must fulfill that mission.〉”
Ul understood it was an implanted, forced imprint of salvation within her. The mission the World imposed on her had taken form, feeding on negative emotions within her soul. That was what had enveloped Shizuku, trapped her. And it had turned its blade of clear malice towards Ul, who sought to take her.
“〈To those who hinder it, a hammer blow――――〉”
“Shut the hell up.”
Ul spat at that malice.
“Don’t cling to a crying woman.”
Then he took out a white shard from his pocket. Something that had followed him, staying by his side, even after he became merely a soul. Ul gripped the bone fragment left by his friend, Rock, and crushed it.
“【Rock!!!】”
This was Rock’s remnant, nothing more than a fragment. It didn’t speak to Ul. But he could read the feelings and wishes he had imbued in it.
—Friend! I’m going to save her!
“Yeah, let’s go, brother!!!!!”
This was the World of Souls, a space where thoughts took form. Following that, the thoughts left in the bone fragment resonated with Ul’s soul and took shape. The surroundings shook, and a large number of Death Sentinels spilled from the space. From beneath Ul’s own feet, a colossal Gashadokuro was refined and rose like a Mechanical God. Riding upon that king of the undead, swallowed by a vortex of darkness, Ul glared at the trapped Shizuku and shouted.
“I’m bringing that idiot woman back!!!”
A storm of death to end the girl’s despair.
“Kaka-kaka-kaka-kaka-kaka-kaka-kaka-kaka!”
“【Apocalypse Disaster/Death King】” responded, laughing triumphantly.
