“Uoooooh!”


  While raising a war cry, Rook put the strength of his whole body in the blow.

  He had the impression that Riku had muttered something, but his ears could not hear anything. In his eyes, nothing but the girl with a devilish smile were reflected.

  The one in front of his eyes wasn′t his elder sister, but the enemy of Selestinna. The red haired demon. Moreover, as if it wasn′t enough for her to say bad things about Selestinna, she was now holding Selestinna′s silver sword with the same hands that killed her.

  He couldn′t forgive her.

  He would definitely not forgive her.

  Rather, there was no way he could forgive her.

  “Dieeeeee!!”


  Letting his anger take control his body, Rook swung his sword down.

  Rook had considerable confidence in his sword. He was able to become the champion of the spiritualist tournament, and he was able to defeat the man that was praised of being the greatest fencer in only a light swing with his sword. That′s why it was obvious he would be able to kill the demon that was in front of his eyes. Riku received Rook′s prided blow that could even break a boulder, and then she crumbled without being able to even raise a groan.

  “Wha!?”


  …Or so it was supposed to happen.

  “You are too slow.”


  The instant Rook′s sword was about to hit Riku′s shoulder, Riku moved her body sideways with a half-step. Obviously, Rook′s attack didn′t hit Riku. The sound of the sword cutting through the air reached Rook′s ears.

  “Such a thing!? Impossible!!”


  Rook was astonished.

  This last attack was definitely at a trajectory that would have hit her. Besides, it wasn′t at a distance that one could evade it with just agility. Despite that, Riku evaded the attack without any agitation or difficulty.

  No matter how much blood had flowed into his head, he at least was able to notice that his attack had been seen through. Rook clicked his tongue strongly. From his forehead, a strand of sweat was flowing down. Looking at Rook′s behavior, Riku snorted as if she was taking him for a fool.

  “What is it? Is this your all?”


  “Tch, you just got lucky right now!! It′s obvious that you just got lucky!!”


  Rook was shouting with all his strength. He distanced himself from Riku by one step and swung up his sword with all his strength. Considering the length of the sword, this time, the sword was going to cut through her belly up to her torso. While picturing the scene of his perfect victory, Rook swung his sword.

  “…Hey, are you properly aiming?”


  However, the result was the same.

  Riku swiftly dodged Rook′s sword. Moreover, there were absolutely no signs of anxiety in her face. No matter how many times Rook swung his sword, the results were nothing but the same ones. As if she had been dancing a dance, Riku kept continuously dodging the attacks.

  “Shit, hit, hit, hit, hit, hiiiiiit!!”


  No matter how many times he swung it down, no matter how many times he swung it up, and no matter how many times he swung it sideways, to the point of it being sad, the result didn′t change. Riku dodged with a scornful smile as if all this was fun.

  However, Rook was not able to come up with other ways to attack other than those. Leaving his body to his emotions, he kept recklessly doing the same attacks which he had already seen the results of. While Rook had been keeping this up, something inside him started to change. The hatred of Selestinna′s death and the anger of having the attacks he had done seriously continuously being dodged welled up. And at the same time, an fear unknown to him that was deep inside once again started to sprout.

  During when Rook went from trying to convince Riku to fighting her, he started to forget something due to his boiling hatred and anger.

  Before the fight began… At the start, Rook had been trembling in fear.

  Rook remembered the day he left Riku Barusak to her death.

  This was an old memory very distant in the past of when Rook was four years old. It wasn′t unreasonable for one to forget things of when one used to be only four years old. However, despite how he remembered about the game memories of his previous world, why couldn′t he remember that unforgettable incident until this instant?

  He couldn′t understand the reason for that.

  However, Rook vividly remembered when he and Riku parted ways.

  The figure of the girl that had been thrust away by Raimon′s hand, the girl′s tears falling from her big eyes and the light in those eyes fading away. As if they were seeking for something, those extended hands grasped the air, and she fell down in the sea, being engulfed by it.

  Without him even running to the cliff as he wanted to try save her, or ever thinking of sparing her life, all Rook did was to comply to his father′s will.

  For capturing the demon intelligence operative and the Demon Lord′s sister, Raimon Barusak would become an hindrance. However, on the other hand, in order to capture Catherinne and Selestinna, Raimon would become an indispensable existence. If he was going to aim for the harem route, it was necessary for him to keep following his orders and silently wait for the opportunities.

  At least, there was no way he could oppose Raimon when he was still only four years old.

  While saying that, Rook kept fooling himself. However, those things were simply things that were convenient for him to say. His true feelings back them were of gladness for having someone sparing him of the trouble for that useless and not so cute heroine. She was by far not really cute, and compared to the other ones, Rook didn′t have interest in that girl that wouldn′t bring him any advantages.

  That′s why he threw her away like a toy he didn′t need. The place she was thrown her away wasn′t the trash bin, but a raging sea, and the one that went his way to throw her away was his father, and not himself.

  “It is not my fault.”


  If she was to survive from that… It would be natural to imagine that she would want revenge on the spiritualists, including Raimon. She would hate Rook, who was living a carefree life; it was possible to understand her feelings of wanting to kill him.

  Probably, if Rook hadn′t left her to her death, perhaps Riku wouldn′t become like this. Perhaps things would proceed just like the game. Perhaps he would have been able to have Selestinna smiling beside him right now.

  “But, it′s not my fault!”


  But even so, rather than recognizing his own disgrace, it was easier for Rook to think of all this as the story of a newly made game.

  That′s why he tried to give a warm reception to Riku. Thinking that it wasn′t his fault, but believing that it was something about the development to the game was much more easier to do.

  …However, Rook was scared. The grudge of being left to die. From whichever angle one was to see her, it was impossible to see Riku as nothing but as an [avenger] that came to kill Rook.

  The detestable red hair that stood out in the darkness of night, the spilled blood as her makeup, and both of her eyes fierily shining like those of a beast. And besides that, despite not having her right arm, there were absolutely no gaps in her fighting stance. Moreover, although Rook had been desperately shouting, during all this time, she had been clashing into him a vicious hatred that looked as if it would engulf him. The way she could sneer at him even under this condition made him so scared he couldn′t endure.

  Rook was so scared of Riku, but so scared that he couldn′t bear.

  He was going to be killed. The more his sword was avoided, the more this fear intensified, and the future of himself falling to the ground while coughing blood started to dazzle his mind. And so, he was scared. A fear that felt like a darkness that gradually engulfed his body started to dominate him.

  “Let me kill you already, damn it! You demon!”


  “…I see, you only amounted to this much.”


  This was the instant his fear had won over the anger of Selestinna′s death.

  The insanity that used to be showing on Riku′s eyes vanished like a wave of the sea drawing back. Before Rook could react to Riku′s change, he received a strong hit at his stomach. With a strike that exceeded Rook′s attacks, she hit him at the stomach with her left elbow.

  “Guha!”( ぐはっ!)

  “You are full of openings.”


  While muttering “Was I overthinking?”, Riku gave a roundhouse kick on Rook, who had been crouching because of the pain at his stomach. He wasn′t able to avoid it, and also didn′t have the time to protect himself from it. With a speed was as fast as a whip, Riku′s leg convincingly hit his flank.

  “Ouch!!”( 痛いっ)

  Rook′s body was sent into the air with the attack. He violently hit the wall and fell to the ground. While groaning in pain, Rook squatted at the road that had been dyed in blood. Rook curled up as if he was waiting for the next attack.

  He had enough of pain. That′s why he wanted the pain to lessen even if by only a bit. Curling up his body while shutting his ears, he shut himself in his own world.

  “…”


  Seeing Rook acting like this, Riku gave him a look that was as cold as ice.

  Her intense gaze was to the point of making one imagine whether her emotions had frozen. Because of the fear, Rook wasn′t capable of even whining.

  “For you to not even put resistance, I am surprised… next head of the Barusak.”


  Riku silently pointed the silver sword forward. Being illuminated by the moonlight, the silver blade shone in a pale light. The sharp point of that sword looked as if it represented Riku′s heart.

  Rook tightly shut his eyes.

  He would be dying here. Because he wanted to make the harem of his ideals, his elder sister had been engulfed by her own darkness, his precious people had been killed one after another, and his friends had been dying with him not even having the chance to see them off. What a lonesome conclusion for his life. Even though he couldn′t accomplish anything in his previous life, when he thought he obtained a second chance, he ended up wasting it.

  Rook Barusak was about to leave the stage.

  It had been such a purposelessly unsightly and comical role.

  “Goodbye, Rook Barusak.”


  Rook′s view was covered in dark.

  In this black and cold darkness, he could hear his elder sister bell-like voice and the sound of her sword cutting through the wind brutally clearly.(TL note: What is a bell-like voice? 、姉(リク)が発した鈴のような声)