Choice

Since losing Leo, the black-haired man had never again revealed his true emotions from deep within. But that didn't mean he didn't have any feelings. Although he could easily take someone's life, it didn't mean he had no thoughts about it.

This black-haired man was someone who disliked seeing "tragedies". He hated seeing others in pain and begging for mercy because seeing those things would also cause him pain, and he would remember the scene where they were all destroyed under the betrayal of their "allies".

Years had passed since then, and during this time, he had killed so many enemies and innocent people that he couldn't even remember the number. Taking someone's life no longer required any thought. By treating it numbly like eating, he could avoid any unnecessary hesitation. This was his "only" solution.

Despite this, it still hurt.

Despite this, he persisted. Even if it would hurt him, he insisted on leaving a final message for every person who "shouldn't" have died by his hands. The purpose was not to show pity, but simply "self-blame".

"Eda Terry, do you have anything to say before you die?"

The black-haired man's words were devoid of any emotion. But this time, it was not so. For some reason, standing beside this young girl gave him a strange feeling.

The silver-haired girl, whose body was stained with someone else's blood, seemed unable to stand up on her own due to the great shock. She did not use any words, only reached out her left hand and looked up at the black-haired man.

-- Help me up.

This was an easily understandable gesture.

However, she was not looking at the black-haired man, to be precise, she was looking in the direction of the black-haired man. Despite having such beautiful azure eyes, they had no luster. In her eyes, the black-haired man could not see any light.

Although they were not like those of others that turned pale and lost their color, or became cloudy, these eyes were indeed "unable to see anything".

-- Blind.

The girl named Eda was a visually impaired girl who had lost her sight.

"Don't want to talk to me?"

After the black-haired man made the futile effort to pull her up, the girl still said nothing. She just tiptoed a bit, trying to make up for the height difference between them, and her slender hands slowly reached for the man's cheeks.

There was no hostility or killing intent.

The black-haired man, who was very sensitive to such things, could assert that, so he didn't need to make any evasive moves.

The girl's hands kept feeling around the man's face, as if trying to figure out his features, every detail.

"Can you not see with your eyes?"

"Yes."

The words were very short, the tone was flat, and the voice seemed even more peaceful than when she sang.

"Name."

"What?"

"Your name."

The black-haired man couldn't understand at all what the silver-haired girl was thinking. Even if she couldn't see, she must know that he was an enemy, an enemy who was about to take her life. If he wanted to, he could have torn her body apart with the magic sword Derfflinger at this moment. But the black-haired man didn't have that thought.

Rather, he cared about this girl immensely. Whether it was during the Rain Prayer Festival or now, no, maybe it started from the moment he knew her name.

"The name, along with my past experiences, has been discarded."

The man naturally made his answer.

"I see, it must be lonely."

The girl also naturally expressed her thoughts.

"You are black, like darkness that seems to absorb everything, wrapping up all the small light in this darkness...Is that how you conceal your pain?"

The girl put her hands beside the man's cheeks. Her hands were so warm, completely different from the man's cold hands.

"..."

"Black...Cross, let's call you Cross, your name."

"Why?"

"Surname...Hmm, Halleluya. Cross Halleluya."

The girl ignored the man's question and spoke out her name, a name that was completely unrelated to the black-haired man. Regardless of the cross or thanking God, she knew that they could never be associated with the black-haired man in her life.

The black-haired man frowned. "Is that all you want to say?"

"If possible, I'd like to chat with you a little more."

The silver-haired girl remained calm, gently pulling her hands back from the man's cheek and looking at him with her bright blue eyes. She couldn't see anything, yet she didn't close her eyes. If she did, it would truly cut off the last path to the light and enter a completely sealed black world, a space without light. However, if she kept her eyes open, she would always be open to the light, and the hope of wandering and getting lost would one day step into that door.

"Don't you fear death? Even though you're about to lose your life?"

On this path of slaughter, he had seen countless people begging for mercy, struggling wildly, and even giving up and accepting death, but this calm girl who seemed to be about to meet death had nothing to do with him. It was as if she didn't even know that the Grim Reaper had come to her side... This was the first time he had seen such a unique girl, and her tranquility seemed to infect the black-haired man, and the rage that was emanating from him gradually dissipated.

Why?

Why? Why? Why?

Even the black-haired man, even the "madman" who had completely lost his "soul," couldn't remain so calm in the moment of death. Could she really let go of everything?

The black-haired man's expression twisted slightly. "I'm afraid... I don't want to die... Even if I continue to be the 'caged bird' of the Holy See, I want to live. I have... something that I must accomplish, something that I must accomplish someday."

The blue-haired girl shook her head. "But it's your decision, not mine. Whether you choose to bear the 'sin' and wield your weapon, making me one of the countless souls under your sword, or make the 'decision' to change, leave this painful cycle, and walk on another path to see the light, or continue to choose to escape, feel the pain, deceive yourself, avoid others, and be shrouded in shadows for your entire life... It's all up to you, and you must make the decision yourself."

"..."

The black-haired man was stunned. For him, a brief moment of loss of consciousness could mean death. However, his body involuntarily reacted in this way.

To bear the "sin" and swing his weapon, or to make the "resolve" to change, or to choose to continue avoiding it, the words of the blue-haired girl echoed in his mind.

To continue avoiding it.

Yes, to choose...to avoid.

He could only choose to avoid.

When he lost his father, he couldn't see any hope. After his mother tried to kill him and he barely survived, he had been choosing to avoid ever since. Until he met Leo, until he met Kate, he regained hope, only to lose everything again. He could only chase after an elusive phantom, give up thinking, and mechanically kill for that purpose without knowing why or wanting to think about it, just constantly avoiding.

After that, he hadn't made any choices.

"Hey, do you know? There are roughly three types of people in this world. The first is a great person who is willing to sacrifice everything for others. The second is a despicable person who will do anything for themselves. The third is a person who doesn't know why they are alive and does nothing. I don't know what kind of person you will become in the future, but no matter what kind of person you become, it is your own choice. Don't run away, don't regret it."

This was something Leo, who used to cry a lot, said a long time ago.

Why did he remember this?

"You..."

The clear voice of the blue-haired girl brought the black-haired man back from his daze.

"What do you really want? How will you choose?"

What do I want?

...I don't want anything. If none of this had happened, that would be best.

What do I want?

...Since I can't change the past, at least, at least I want to make her, make Leo who died, open their eyes and see this world again. She shouldn't have ended her life at that age and in that place.

For this, he was willing to become any kind of villain, no matter how despicable.

"But...," the black-haired man's left eye corner held a hint of tears. The tears of a "monster" and a "human" were the same, clear and transparent. "I lost. I thought I had given up everything, but I never thought I would be confused by a few words from you. It seems that I cannot become a pure villain."

"You're just being overly critical. Doing bad things makes you a villain, and you must always play the role of a villain? No one is born a villain. Every living creature yearns for light. If you think you have become a villain again in your latest transformation, then you have the right to make a second change. 'People are fickle' is not entirely a bad thing. Whether you become a villain or return to the light, it's all a choice."

Indeed, the black-haired man understood. "Yes, at first, I only wanted to see that person again..."

"What about now?"

The blue-haired girl whispered.

"In my eyes, that dark entity is no longer here. I can't see his figure at all. Now in front of me is a person named Cross·Halleluya. Although he is still very confused now and doesn't know where to go... But, being stuck in confusion means that you are still near the 'starting point.' You still have enough time to embark on the 'journey,' and anything can happen. After experiencing so much pain, isn't it time to enjoy happiness? Isn't that what 'life' is all about?"

The girl's soft tone comforted the invisible wounds on the black-haired man's body, as if purifying...

The rain outside the corridor was still falling, and no one knew when it would stop, just like no one knew what their future would be like.

At least.

At least this time, give up... No! Even so, the clues that were so hard to obtain cannot be given up like this. The black-haired man once again clenched the magic sword in his hand - he could not obtain an ordinary life.

In that case, he must... perhaps... give this blue-haired girl in front of him...

At this moment, Eve, who had been by the black-haired man's side, tugged on his clothes as she had done before. But unlike before, this was not to prevent him from getting lost, but to remind him!

Remind him of the man who suddenly appeared behind him, known as the "Saint"!