She has had her doubts for a long time now.
Roswaal L. Mathers, the Lord of Loyalty, in order to achieve his ultimate goal, he would have to kill the "dragon" that guarded the Kingdom of Lugnica. Ram is an important pawn essential to Roswaal’s goal, and it has been nearly ten years since she was told this by none other than him.
In the red-burning village of the Onis, where he had saved Ram and ■■, Roswaal demanded a price. Ram decided that she would pay the price in exchange for the Oni tribe's retribution. To that end, she was willing to cooperate, whether it was a plan to kill the "dragon" , or whatever it was.
The only thing that Ram didn't have an answer for was the key to killing the "dragon" . It's not easy. Even if they tried their best, it wouldn't be easy. When the time comes, what can Ram do?
Roswaal: [Only time will tell. --You and your sister ■ will have a role to play.]
Ram felt like she was given somewhat lacking words. She never really thought about what that meant, strangely enough, until today--
Ram: [I finally understand. I know what Lord Roswaal was up to.]
All of Roswaal’s actions are for the ultimate goal of his own long life. For that purpose, he went deep into the Kingdom of Lugnica, rescued Ram and ■■, held the "Sanctuary" as a test of resolve, and tested Natsuki Subaru for that purpose. Even if he was forced to change his original plan, his previous preparations would not be in vain. --no, he’s the one who won’t let it go to waste.
Hence the answer even in Ram's mind. The reason why Roswaal had taken in the young demon's sister ■ as his last trump card.
■■ had been taken in as a replacement for Ram's lost horn. Ram and Ram’s sister ■■ were placed on hand to kill the "dragon" as one demon together.
Of course, Roswaal couldn't escape the influence of the Authority of "Gluttony" . As a result, he too must have forgotten why ■■ was placed in his mansion. But even if he had forgotten, he would have immediately intuited his own aim. As he watched Ram and the others struggling to get ■■ back from the damage of "Gluttony" , he didn't mention that fact. Utterly and unreservedly--.
Ram: [You can't change the details of the situation.]
-- Even though his plans were once thwarted by the actions of Subaru, he continues to work behind the scenes with an eye to accomplish his objectives. It's a tricky situation. She wonders what he's doing while out of Ram's sight by now. However, she also thinks this.
-- This trip, when Roswaal allowed Ram to accompany Subaru and the others who were taking ■■ on this trip, perhaps he was anticipating the possibility of this happening.
Maybe I'm overthinking it. In the first place, there was no way he could have been certain that Ram or ■■ would be placed in a dangerous situation because of the unforeseen appearance of the great Sin Archbishop of "Gluttony" in the Pleiades Watchtower. It might have been too delusional for Ram to overestimate the man she adored. But--
Ram: [-- I'd feel better knowing that the man I love entrusted me anyway.]
He believed that if Ram was there, ■■ and the others would be protected. He believed that if push came to shove, Ram would realize his hidden agenda and choose to turn over the trump card to kill the "dragon" herself. It felt much, much better to think that a man named Roswaal L. Mathers valued the decade spent with a woman named Ram.
So--
Ram: [--I'm in a great mood. You're going to die now!]
△▼△▼△▼△
The achievements of the "First King" Neiji Rockheart in the Holy Vollachia Empire's "Gladiator’s Island" , Ginunhive are a bit of a story-- No they were a tale.
Now that he has been deprived of both his "name" and "memory" by the power of "Gluttony" , no one knows what he had done as a warrior. Neiji was the only warrior to survive hundreds of fights to the death using only his empty handed fists as his weapon of choice, on an isolated island for swordsmen as a show of strength, finally earning the right to be a freed slave. He was one of the most successful warriors of all time, with a tempered fighting spirit, while catching swords and crushing steel, and making every obstacle look like a maiden's soft skin before his fists.
"The Carnivore" , Beli Hainelga, is a rare serial killer who has made the Holy Kingdom of Gusteko tremble with his brutal tactics.
Now that he has fallen victim to the authority of "Gluttony" and has been deprived of both his "name" and his "memory" , the many tragedies and lessons he created as a murderer have been lost to history. Beli was born with an extraordinary growth spurt, gaining physical strength that was impossible for a normal human being to achieve. He committed a number of heinous crimes, embracing and killing men of his choice. The monstrous power realized by his huge body and the tough skin didn’t suffer a single scratch from a sword. This killer, who seeks touch and warmth, was one of the worst criminals feared alongside the "Gut Hunter" .
"The Leaper" Dorkell’s history is unusual. He used to be a mere merchant living in the city-state of Kararagi, but he became a deviant who strayed from his path when he heard the voice of an inhuman being.
Now that he has fallen victim to the authority of "Gluttony" and has been deprived of both his "name" and his "memory" , the fact that he was laughed at by many as a deviant is remembered by none. One day, Dorkell suddenly threw away his life with his wife and children. He became an oddball who chose to believe in something that didn't exist and to come into contact with the Witch Cult. Ultimately, Dorkell manifested powers that were different from magic, but were also different from the Authorities of the Witch Cult, becoming a heresy within a heresy that was banished from even the Witch Cult.
In other words, they are transcendent beings no less than monsters, ecctrenrics, and madmen. Not only is it impossible for most people to stand up to them, they are not complete in their own right. They are mixed with all kinds of "memories" in "Gluttony" and are made into something even more supreme.
What would happen if Neiji Rockheart got the endurance of Beli Hainelga and the godlike abilities of Dorkell? It's the completion of one of the most vicious beings in history.
Until now, the Great Sin Archbishop of "Gluttony" , Ley Batenkaitos, had never done that.
This is because he was afraid that by mixing all the "memories" in the cauldron of his own being, he was afraid that his very being would be incorporated into the contents of the cauldron. But even if he drank the mixed contents of the cauldron, he would not be taken in-- at least, that's what happened in Ley Batenkaitos' view. And now that he has done so, he had no hesitation in trying what he had never dared to try before, and to break through the limits he had set for himself.
All the outstanding talents, careers, and possibilities of the world- the "gourmet" who had exhausted the limits of "Gluttony" and had stored them all within himself, is Ley Batenkaitos.
Therefore, on this day, born in the tower of the Sea of Sand in the east end of the world, is a demon who fuses all kinds of skills and abilities at a high level regardless of their congenital or acquired nature.
It had arms that could destroy everything, a body that could not accept any attack, magical skills that could repel any technique, and the wisdom to control all things. Wherever one looks in history, no one has ever excelled in any capacity like this, and no matter how many thousands of years pass in the future, no one will ever be born with these capabilities either.
This is an extraction of the world's potential, created by the abominable disaster known as the witch factor. Born from a cauldron of only the best things was the supreme "gourmet" itself--
???: [--I'll give you three chances.]
In front of that rare existence, the peach-haired girl held up three fingers and spoke. It was a girl with blood flowing from her forehead and a cold light in her pale red eyes. She was full of wounds and suffered serious injuries around her slender body that hindered her movements. She knew that there are plenty of other reasons why she can’t keep standing though. The biggest factor is not the wounds or the bloodshed, but the fact that her weak body is not functioning as an acceptable vessel for her existence. --It’s a shame, she thought.
Ram: [I'll let you hit me three times first. There’s something I want to try. It's a steal, isn’t it?]
But the girl seemed to have no such sentiments, and holding up three fingers, she spoke, as if to provoke him. Three times, that's a fatal sentence. In the first place, there was no way she could withstand them- even if it was only one, and there is no particular reason to refuse the offer.
There was no reason to think that it was a trap. She was not the kind of girl who would offer such a bargain for nothing. But he had to tell her that excessive confidence could destroy her, and that she had to be sincere about it. That if you take them into the same cauldron, she’d know-
Ley: [--Nee-sama, i'm coming.]
Gulping, he explodes from his hind legs which have gathered strength, and strikes the blow he wants. It's a shot packed with the best of the First King's skill and destructive power- one that is powerful enough to destroy a human girl- and it's sucked towards the face of the girl-
Ram: [First time.]
Ley: [-What?]
A moment after he thought he had caught her for sure, the girl's face avoided the fist at such close quarters that it grazed her hair. Then, with a hand on the outstretched arm, a released knee kick snaps his right arm at the elbow. An impossible event: by kneeing into the outstretched arm and the joints of the elbow- a fixed point that only existed there, the girl destroyed his strong body, which was impervious to even the slash of a holy sword, But-
With the impact of the broken right arm intact, the left leg bounces up to the girl's face. It's not payback for the arm, but it's a knee kick aimed at the face. The long leg and white knee smash into the girl's soft nose, trying to ruin her beautiful face.
Ram: [Second time.]
He couldn’t believe his ears when those words were spun from her thin lips. She shouldn't have been able to speak, but she moved her hand as if to smoothly trace a knee-kick approaching from the side, softly deflecting its trajectory upward. The released knee easily passed over the girl's head, as if it had been released to trace the empty sky from the beginning. And then-
Ram: [Third time.]
The right arm and left knee kick were avoided, and the left elbow that was released with the momentum of turning oneself around, sharp and hard. If it had been a direct hit, it would have crushed the girl's skull like a fruit and smashed its contents on the floor of the tower. Well- it would have. The elbow that was aimed at the girl's temple only grazed a few strands of her peach-colored hair. And the girl, who ducked the elbow as if she knew it was coming, grabbed his face with her outstretched hand.
Ram: [You're an idiot.]
She told him as ruthlessly as she could and slammed his head down on the floor.
△▼△▼△▼△
Wriggling and wiggling, Ram slammed Ley, coming at her as he was changing forms, to the floor and Ram stuck three fingers in his face.
Ram: [Anyone who plays the game thinking they have three chances to win loses all three times. If you play the game with no real intention of winning, you’re not even lucky enough to win.]
Ley: [But...]
Ram: [Thank you. That proves it. --Even the luck of the hour is no longer an enemy of Ram.]
To Ram, the most formidable enemy was fortune itself. But Ram subdued it with her own hands and even made it bow down at her feet. There was no longer anything to fear.
Ley: [Tsu-]
Lying on the ground, Batenkaitos stood with both arms raised and swung down with momentum. Ram stepped in without hesitation to her opponent, who slammed his broken right arm down on her as it was. Blood flowed from her forehead, but the pain and the sense of loss made Ram's blood boil from deep within.
Oh, how annoying. This feeling, this elation, she always thought it was annoying. The Oni’s hateful instincts, the welcoming to fighting, the exuberance of being able to wield power, the craving that made her blood boil to kill her enemy, Ram had always hated it. So when the horn growing on her own forehead snapped off that night, she thought she'd been released.
Ram: [It's ironic.]
Spilling that out, Ram takes the arm that's being slammed into her and throws her opponent back. Throwing him to the floor, she kicks his head away and goes to the back of the aisle. She doesn't let him get close to the injured earth dragon and the girl leaning against the wall behind her.
[....]
The girl who continues to sleep is unchanged, her white horn shining faintly on her forehead as she asserts her existence. Originally, as she continued to sleep without her own will, she was not supposed to be able to make her horn function even if she was an Oni. But even if that feeling remains lost, Ram and the girl are twin sisters- "Synesthesia" , as it is called, is the insubstantial connection that is sometimes made between beings of thick blood.
Its very existence has also been felt by Ram over the past year of caring for the sleeping Rem. It wasn’t just the similarity in appearances, but also that feeling that has allowed Ram to easily and objectively accept the fact that she is her sister. But that "Synesthesia" had also nothing to do with the sleeping Rem. If Rem had one of her own scary dreams, that fear might have been transmitted to Ram, but not once in the past year had such a thing been transmitted to her. In other words, Rem, who continues to sleep, is not dreaming either. --The whole time, she only stared into the darkness behind her eyelids and breathed in nothingness.
So it's only a coincidence that she noticed the misuse of that "Synesthesia" here. It's annoying, but it was because of Subaru's ideas. He took on Ram's burden with a strange power, giving her the strength to fight, which gave her the idea to do the same thing.
Those connected by "Synesthesia" share strong emotions and sometimes even injuries and pain with each other. Ram didn’t know the principle, but she found that hypothesis in a book she once read in Beatrice's Forbidden Library.
-- That "Synesthesia" is the connection and action of the Od’s between two different individuals.
Od is the source of power that exists in the depths of human beings-- which can be translated as their soul. It is sometimes used as a power to use magic instead of mana, but essentially, Od is the pure nature itself that makes a human being a human being. "Synesthesia" is the result of being born from the same womb and being connected to each other in a realm that is safe from anyone.
In the end, the theory was dismissed as a myth, not a proven story. But it probably didn't raise any eyebrows as long as it had been placed in the Forbidden Library. More than anything, Ram personally liked the theory.
It's wonderful to be born with a connection between you and someone else.
Ram: [Those annoying horns were a lot of trouble.]
The destructive urge that came through the white horns, that was what Ram detested. It was also abhorrent that people around her were holding up Ram as the second coming of an Oni God. There is no connection between Ram and such an obscure, old-fashioned existence. It wasn’t a kind of thing that Ram should be valued for.
Therefore, it would be wonderful if she had a connection with someone else, regardless of such a thing. And if there really is a connection with someone like that, then-.
Ram: [I'm sure that Ram was born to love that child.]
Even if she was a baby, she would stop at nothing to protect that bond. She would give everything to protect it, to love it, to care for it, to nurture it. So--
Ram: [Please forgive me. I’m a bad sister for making you carry such a load at a time like this.]
Through "Synesthesia" , Ram shares the burden of her body with her sleeping sister. Once she had experienced the power of Subaru’s Authority for herself, Ram was able to do most of it the same way. Subaru's Authority had the same mechanism- it forcibly connected the other person's Od with their own Od, causing a one-way "Synesthesia" . If Subaru wanted to send the burden on his own side, he could send it, but Subaru is too much of an idiot to do that. On the contrary, he tries to reduce the burden on his allies by taking them in one way or another.
Ram: [--You’re an idiot.]
They were same words as the ones she had called Ley earlier. They were the same words, but they did not sound the same.
What Subaru did with his Authority, Ram could only reproduce with Rem who is connected by "Synesthesia" . She didn’t know what happened on Subaru's end, but this will make things a little better. Ram can also get out of the horrible situation of being connected to Subaru all the time. Instead, Ram's burden is being shifted to her--
Rem: [....]
Rem, who continues to sleep, says nothing. The white horn held in Ram’s overlapping hands, using her broken horn implanted in her wand as a catalyst, continues to send mana from Rem’s horn to Ram. With that, and the enormous mana required by Ram, there is no way to estimate how much strain it will put on Rem's body.
--Hence, it is a short-term decisive battle.
Ley: [Hey, come on!]
With a howl, Ley Batenkaitos kicks-off and flies back down towards Ram. He utilized the power of the "Leaper" , a magic technique that instantly erases the distance that existed in the blink of an eye- but even that divine technique is meaningless if the opponent can completely see through it.
Ram: [You're too late, fool. This is going to turn Ram into an old woman.]
"Clairvoyance" steals the opponent’s sight. The focus of the opponent, the movement of his eyes, the way he moves his eyes, the way he exerts himself, and the integration of all those things makes his target easier to read than if she were to read his mind.
Ram avoided the protruding palm and twisted all five fingers to the other side to slip through. She puts her elbow into his throat, which is about to scream, and slams her opponent into the wall with a sharp backward kick.
Ley: [Ka...]
Ram: [Although Ram is cute even when she is old.]
As she says it, she grabs the collar of her opponent's clothing and pulls it down, dropping it again from the back of his head to the ground. She slammed her heels down into his face, smashed his nose. She ducked back, avoiding both of the arms that were grabbing at her, and slammed countless wind blades into him.
Ley: [--Gi, ah!]
Ram: [That's a pretty face and a very ugly scream.]
His entire body is sliced up by the wind blade, blowing Ley away and spraying blood. As usual, his body is restlessly changing, but through and through, it refuses to change from the only thing it has been from its neck up. It's repulsive, it's a lack of class, and Ram doesn't do that.
Ley: [....]
Batenkaitos pounces on her without any tricks, shedding a horrible amount of blood. To be correct, it is probably making full use of a divine technique. By combining the power of the various transcendent people, he must have devised a technique that no one could replicate.
However, the superior attack, which specialized in every area, is crushed by Ram with more violence than the attack itself. Hundreds and thousands of great techniques were crushed with the power of hundreds of millions. This was no longer such a fight anymore.
Ram wouldn’t let Ley even touch her. She was in good shape. Unlike Subaru, she still felt she was in good shape. About two more shackles were removed. She probably was fifty percent of what she was in her prime - no, Ram was so young back then that she's much stronger now than she was then because she's grown up. Not drowning in that strength was Ram's strength.
Ram: [I knew it was right to have my horn broken.]
If it hadn't been for that night, Ram might have succumbed to the temptation of her horn one day. She would like to have said it was impossible, but she didn’t know the answer to what couldn't have been. So Ram is proud of the cleanliness of the path she took, that it was the right path to be on in the present. Thanks to the loss of her horn, Ram didn't have to become the "Oni" she hated.
Ram: [In the first place, if it wasn't for that night, I wouldn't have been able to meet Roswaal-sama, so there is no need to compare.]
There was no better conclusion and, with that as her answer, Ram held her palm out in front of her. Right in front of her palm's face, Ley appeared, leaping through space. His face, astonished that she had read the location in which he was going to appear, grabbed it eagle-eyed.
Ram: [You can't fly in succession, can you? I'm tired of seeing your magic tricks. And your face.]
Ley: [Well...]
Ram: [I'm not waiting.]
Coldly, Ram generated a blade of wind in her palm that carved her opponent's face. In an instant, his eyes, nose, lips, ears, and every other part of his face was sliced at once, and Batenkaitos screamed out while spitting blood.
Ram was going to let the wind blade gouge him until his face was gone. In an instant however, Ley disappeared from Ram's hand as she did so. But there was no escaping, no escaping the wound, no escaping the pain, no escaping reality.
Ley: [Ah, ahh, ahhh--!]
Ley lurched around, crying, sobbing and shedding a profuse amount of blood instead of tears. As she watched, Ram slowly stepped towards him.
Hearing the sound of Ram's footsteps as she approached, Batenkaitos' figure changed: a tall, strong body. --Ram slammed down the approaching fist and snapped his knee.
Kicked down, Batenkaitos' form changes as he tries to escape from Ram: the bearded behemoth curled up, stiffening his protection. --Ram kicks his body up and nails it to the ceiling with a barrage of fists, turning his prized skin into a lump of flesh.
To kill Ram who endlessly tormented him, Ley’s form changes once again: a bald-headed old man and a divine magic trick. --No longer catching his broken magic trick with an ounce of mercy, Ram presses his face against the wall and runs as if to scrape his entire body.
Ley: [Ah, bah-bah-bah-bah-bah--!]
Ley is held down by Ram's stiff hold and his entire body is scraped away with no chance of escape. The figure changes in Ram's hands, gnarling and seeking the optimal solution. Blocking out every one of them, Ram mourns the victims of a hundred, a thousand, and ten thousand by force.
For those who have been trampled upon and despised by "Gluttony" ,the skills they trained, the paths they walked, and the thoughts they loved, Ram made a memorial for them with her power.
No more skills, no more paths, no more thoughts are being used. None of them will work against Ram.
Ram: [You must take responsibility for your actions.]
With a swing of her arm, Ram throws down the blasphemer whose entire body has been violently shaved off. Ley rolls into the corridor of the watchtower, jittery and trembling. His figure slowly, slowly, slowly changes. That figure, which relied on numerous "memories" , transforms and-
Ram: [Oh, my God, it's been a long time. I wanted to see you with that face.
Ley: [-Uhh.]
Wiping the blood from her forehead, Ram's lips loosened as she looked at Batenkaitos. In the truest sense of the word, it's Ley’s. A Ley who has returned to his own face and appearance, rather than the petty presence that he had been borrowing the faces and skills of others.
No matter who he becomes, no matter who he relies on or clings to, he can't escape himself. Just like how a broken horn couldn't change the fact that Ram was still an Oni or that Rem was Ram’s sister even if Ram was robbed of her "memories" .
Ram: [Will you at least try to resist at the very end?']
Ley: [....]
Ram: [Speaking of which, you mentioned something on the spiral staircase that bothered me. --You look like you have a younger brother or sister. Why don't you show backbone for them?]
Batenkaitos collapsed, his painful breathing suddenly stopping. He didn't lose his life, it was a response to Ram's words.
As soon as he heard the sound of his brother and sister, Batenkaitos' breathing calmed down slightly. Then, slowly, Ley raised himself up on the spot and--
Ley: [I… our… my… my… sister]
Ram: [Do you want me to leave them alone? I hate to say it, but do you think you're in a position to make that argument? Have you ever once lent an ear to someone's plea?]
Ley: [You know......]
Ram: [....]
His bloodied face contorted into a mangled mess and Ley pleaded in a tearful voice. Ram narrowed her eyes slightly at the mournful-sounding plea. Then, sighing, she lowered her eyes.
Ram: [Think about it.]
Ley: [You are too kind, my sister.]
A moment later, the moment Ram’s gaze wandered away, Ley said just that and disappeared. The spatial leap of the "Leaper" Dorkell-- without even leaving a trace, the blasphemer vanished from sight.
--He fled.
△▼△▼△▼△
Ley: [Haha! Hahahaha! Hahahahahaha!]
Using the "Leaper", Dorkell’s unusual ability, Ley escaped from Ram's territory. He no longer thought of the outrageous idea of eating Ram. He chose to run away without a care in the world.
He can't win. He can't win. He can't win. He can't beat that thing. She was a monster, just like he thought she would be. She was a substandard existence who bought time but came back stronger and stronger. She was the kind of existence that couldn’t be on the plates of either the Bizarre Eater or the Gourmet.
Ley: [Louis and Roy, I hate to break it to you guys, but I'm sorry! Preparation is the key to good food.]
As he pushes through his injuries all over his body, Ley laughs at his younger siblings who were aiming for the same prey. Louis left the front lines early, and it's about time for Roy to go on a rampage elsewhere. If that demon were to aim at the two of them, he could leave at ease.
The "Bizarre Eater" Roy didn’t know when to back down, so he might finally die, but it couldn’t be helped. Ley was rather fed up with Roy's "Bizarre Eating" . Roy ate through the feeding grounds as he pleased, so there were times when Ley was deprived of the gourmet food that was supposed to be coming his way.
--He wasn’t sure if what he ate so far really was "Gourmet" or not.
Ley: [They're all useless ...... ah, shit! Shit, shit, shit, shit! I can’t believe there was something like her! I wish I didn't know that!]
It was not an emotion caused by a sister's feelings for their sister. It was an immeasurable, immensely impatient desire for something profound- an intense emotion born from within Batenkaitos, a true, genuine, intense desire from the bottom of the heart.
He wants to eat it. He wanted with all his might to taste it. He had claimed he was a "Gourmet" , that he had eaten all kinds of emotions and the finest talents, but now that he knew there was something "genuine" in the world, everything else faded away.
Everything that he, Ley Batenkaitos, believed as the Great Sin Archbishop of "Gluttony" crumbled away and turned to dust. What had seemed like a glittering, opulent dinner had turned into a sandbox with mud dumplings.
(Translator’s Note: Mud dumplings are a form of Japanese art in which mud and water is shaped into a smooth and shiny ball.)
Ley: [I want that.]
I want it, I want it, I want it, I want it, I want it, I want it, I want it, I want it, I want it, I want it, I want it, I want it, I want it, I want it, I want it, I want it, I want it, I want it, I want it, I want it, I want it, I want it-
He was willing to give up everything to taste it. He didn’t regret losing everything he accumulated just for the sake of tasting it.
He didn’t want to taste anything else. He didn’t want to fill himself with anything other than that.
Ley: [Oh, ugh!]
As he ran, vomit leaked out of the corner of Ley’s mouth. It wasn't caused by any pain or suffering. It was just unbearable: the things he believed to be the best were not, and now that he knew what was supreme, everything that filled him was foul. Why did he think anything other than her was great? Did he admire them? Did he enjoy them?
What is the point of being a "Gourmet" if he loved something other than what was truly wonderful?
Ley: [Oh, yes, yes, yes, yes, I suppose it is, because it is, and because I want it to be! Gluttony! Gluttony!]
A rising appetite, a hunger to be satisfied, and a heartfelt cry of want. If the appetite to be one, to mingle, to take in an outside entity was love, then the "Gluttony" that drives him is the ultimate love.
Ley: [I love you, I love you...... yes! I love you! My sister... no…, Ram! I love you--]
The words that were about to scream out the extreme emotions that had grown within him were abruptly cut off. The cause was pain, and it was due to the new pain that had arisen.
Ley: [--Ah?]
Batenkaitos holds his cheek and checks his palm, which is sticky and wet with blood. A new cut was there, a wound that tore the cheek of Ley who was heading out of the tower to escape- the cause of which was the empty space.
Ley: [....]
Silently stretching his fingers out, Ley saw a cut on his fingertip. There was an invisible blade in the empty space.
Ley: [Ha.]
It was the same technique as the one that Ley had performed on Ram in the spiral staircase. The technique of placing an invisible blade in space was a legendary Shinobi technique, but it didn’t matter anymore because he had discarded whoever’s "memory" it was. What matters is that there is a blade there that he didn’t remember himself placing.
Ley: [No way.....]
Avoiding the blade that cut his finger shallowly, Ley tried to step further back- and his toes blew off, causing him to scream and recoil with a screeching [Ah!]. And then the back of his head, which was in the process of recoiling, was shallowly shaved off as well, leaving Batenkaitos standing there with his face tensed up.
--He was surrounded by invisible blades.
Ley: [...... Ha, seriously?]
-He only showed it to her once. Only once in the fight, and since it was also an invisible technique, she wouldn't have been able to see it either. Moreover, she hadn't even actually visited this place. Nevertheless, she captured his escape route and installed the invisible blade ahead of time.
Ley: [....]
Ley put his hand on his right eye, which was barely alive and well, instead of his left eye, which had been torn and crushed by the wind blade. --In "Clairvoyance" , Ram shares this eye. As she overlapped his eye, Batenkaitos could not escape.
Ley: [Haha!]
Ley laughed. He couldn't sneer any longer. He loved her. For the first time, he had a strong, intense longing for something. He was in love, despite that being out of character. And then--
Ley: [Ah! Wait, wait, wait! Wait, wait, wait, wait! I' m almost there! I just need a few more! Just a few more minutes!]
No matter how much he appealed to "Clairvoyance" , he knew his voice would not reach her. So the desperate call wasn't meant to be heard by the other party. It was meant to propel him forward.
In a great hurry, Batenkaitos attached himself to the wall just off to the side. He did what he had done because he had prematurely thrown away what he had eaten. If only the "First King"’s unusual talent remained, he would not have had to struggle. Putting those feelings behind him, Batenkaitos slammed his arm into the invisible blade. Both wrists of his hands were blown off and blood gushed out of the wounds.
It hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, but the pain doesn't matter right now.
Ley: [Accept my thoughts! Just watch and see what I wish for!]
He presses his blood-spurting arm against the wall and, with all his strength, writes the words. With the darkest blood, he used his small body as much as he could to write big, large words on the wall of the sand tower.
Ley: [Bwah!]
Then, he steps back and opens his right eye to see those letters. He hopes that those blood letters painted on the wall will reach the person he has been seeking from the bottom of his heart. Because, overlapping with his eyes, she would see him to the very end.
Ley: [Ah, I love yo--]
--Before he could say it, the head of the Great Sin Archbishop of "Gluttony" was slashed off by a wind blade.
△▼△▼△▼△
Ram: [Fura.]
Waving her finger and releasing a blade of wind, Ram muttered a single word. Even if the size of the magic affects an area instead of a specific target, its power itself does not change much. Moreover, with the sharpness of the wind blade, only a minimum amount of power would be enough to make a thin neck go flying.
Chasing after the back of the escaping "Gluttony" , Ram sent a single wind blade flying. The footsteps of the desperately escaping "Gluttony" were easy to follow with "Clairvoyance" . She had to do a little bit of stalling to get her aim right, but it seemed to work well for a hastily made shot.
Then, just before the last blade reached him, "Gluttony" took an unusual action.
He slashed off his arm and wrote letters on the wall with his blood. Filthy and terribly one-sided, it was a malignant act that wasn't even worth reading, but-
Ram: [....]
For the last time, Ram watched the letters being painted in blood spinning and flying and she closed her eyes. She couldn't feel relief if she didn't do so, so she did so. There was not the slightest sense of obligation to witness it through.
The blasphemer had made the wrong choice in the end. If he risked his life for his brother and sister, Ram would not have been without mercy. But he used it as bait to conspire against Ram, making it a tool for his own survival. He didn't even know how to return the thing he had eaten. If he knew, he would have used it as a bargaining chip to beg for his life. --That didn't happen either, so he got what he deserved.
Ram: [Whoever holds the sword put their wishes in the sword; whoever clung to an Oni, to the Oni; whoever gives himself to the flame, to the flame. --And those who wish for the Oni will be destroyed by the Oni that they rely on.]
--That's what Ram believes is the providence of retribution.
She dropped her arms and takes a long breath. Then Ram turned around and headed back down the much rougher passage. She couldn't afford to fight so close, so she had deliberately openmed the distance. It was a frustrating sense of distance, and Ram's steps naturally deviated.
Ram: [--Gosh.]
When she returned over the crumbling wall, the earth dragon's high cry greeted Ram. The jet-black earth dragon used her body to dexterously hide Rem's figure behind it. In the worst case scenario, if it wasn't Ram who was coming back, she was going to use it as a shield. Subaru really didn’t deserve her. Even after being so battered, she is still trying to do what Subaru told her to do.
Ram: [--No, it’s not that. Did you want to protect Rem, too?]
Patrasche: [....]
Ram: [Yeah ..... good girl, Patrasche.]
Ram gently stroked the ground dragon's neck. She would have to be carried to the "Green Room" as soon as possible as she is covered with wounds. Full of loyalty however, the earth dragon could not be overwhelmed by those injuries. Even then, Ram did not want to be rude to her sister’s protector.
And so, pardoning the earth dragon, Ram went down to Rem, who was sheltered behind her. The sharing of the power of Rem’s horn using "Synesthesia" has already been released, and there wasn’t a horn on her forehead. However, the repercussions of carrying the power of Ram's power on her shoulders, which is the same as that of an Oni god, was certainly eating away at her body. Ram herself feels uneasy about the reaction to that power in the not so distant future, but-
Ram: [Now is not the time for wild ideas.]
Slowly kneeling in place, Ram put her hand on her sister's cheek as she continued to sleep. The bond of sisterhood that Ram had never realized was accompanied by a much more certain feeling than ever before, and she felt an overflowing sense of love and importance.
Ram’s horn was broken and she lost her power as the reincarnation of the Oni god, spending the rest of her life from that moment to this day. About what that night of fire was for, Ram has concluded that it was meant to allow her to be herself, and she doesn't think that there was anything wrong about it.
But today, at this moment, that has changed. That day, the day in which Ram’s horn broke--
Ram: [--It was the only way I could find out today that Ram was Rem’s sister.]
Through "Synesthesia" , Ram was able to realize that they were twins, sharing one world through the contact between their souls and spirits, and that they were irreplaceable sisters.
Ram: [I want to talk to you more than ever before. Let's fill in the missing memories together about what kind of yesterdays we've accumulated.]
Time doesn't stop, so there's plenty of future memories to fall back on. So let's make memories bloom as many times as we can, night after night, so that everything doesn't disappear without knowing anything and being forgotten.
Ram: [Let's talk about the many, many stories of yesterday.]
The "Sleeping Beauty" does not answer. But the silence doesn't make her heart buckle, and Ram smiles, filling it with warmth. Smiling, she could move her lips without doubting her feelings any longer.
Ram: [--I love you, Rem]
Ram was sure that, no matter how much time they spend together, she would never betray this feeling. Oddly enough, while uttering the same thing as the last words of the distorted Sin Archbishop, it still doesn't sound the same, even if they are the same words.
A thing that does not know love and a thing that lives in love doesn't sound the same. They will never sound the same.