The Reason for Terror
"Double Crown, how long do you intend to keep using me as your plaything?"
I stood with my back to the edge of the cliff.
Trembling blue pupils. A desolate sky where only the rustling wingbeats of crows echoed. The wind whipped through my hair at will.
I quietly gazed at Jeffbery.
She ran all the way here just to see me? Because of one little remark that I'd taken care of Tola for her sake? That's ridiculous!
My heart was pounding so hard I felt like I might lose my footing right then and there.
"You've got guts, Jeffbery!"
I approached her with a look of pure exasperation.
"Why on earth did you come here?"
Spreading my arms theatrically like a stage actor, I caught her trembling shoulder with one hand.
This place is dangerous. You shouldn't be here.
I kept glancing at the cliff behind us. A single fierce whirlwind could sweep someone clean over the edge. There was no way I was letting my favorite character get tumbled around with that Tola bitch.
"Are you trying to die by my hand?"
"Stop playing games with my name."
I dropped the transparent barrier, shrugged off my suit jacket, and wrapped it around her.
"It's cold here, Jeffbery. This is no place for you."
She roughly shook off my hand.
Hey—hey! Why are you being like that? That hurts. Moving around so recklessly is dangerous.
Being a villain isn't easy. Even when you do good deeds, you get misunderstood. Especially me, Double Crown—with a track record this spectacular, even a decent good deed looks like build-up for some evil scheme. Just like right now.
"I don't know what you're scheming, but if you plan to use my name as an excuse for your insane stunts, stop it right now. And cut out that pathetic romance act of yours!"
I looked down at her face with a lingering, meaningful gaze.
"I think you're misunderstanding something…"
I curved my lips into a crooked smile.
"It's not something I can control."
I stared in rapture at the glossy sheen of Jeffbery's forehead and the bridge of her nose.
Wow. Honey skin! Seeing her up close, she's truly unreal. My imagination from only knowing her through illustrations was terribly inadequate.
But I didn't have the leisure to stand there admiring her. Already the eagles were gliding—whirlwinds were about to kick up.
Whoosh~!
If I dawdled any longer, we might both get swept away. I bundled her up in the jacket, pulled her into my arms, and leapt.
"W-what are you doing?"
"Kidnapping. It's not your first time!"
I marked coordinates of safe points and moved like hopping across stepping stones. I didn't use teleportation— in a place where dimensions opened and closed, we could easily get swept into a rift.
Hop. Hop.
Whoosh.
Rain began to fall. I held Jeffbery even tighter as the raindrops struck my face. Hot steam rose from my back.
Once we'd escaped to a somewhat safer place, I finally set her down.
"Go."
"Answer me."
She stood her ground, refusing to back down.
"What do you want me to say?"
"Stop mentioning my name entirely."
"Impossible."
At my words, Jeffbery's pupils widened.
Negotiations failed. You don't get it—if I wash my hands of everything, your life gets miserable. Just do as I say. As someone who knows the future, how am I supposed to stand by knowing you'll suffer? I have to untangle the story I twisted by saving you, get you and Dwight to reconcile—I've got a lot on my mind. On top of that, I have to deal with the witches before they awaken. I've got a mountain of things to do.
Jeffbery's sky-blue pupils lost their strength and slid away.
"Double Crown, how much more miserable do you plan to make me?"
Dwight watched Double Crown standing amid the thick demonic energy visible through the broadcast.
This was already the second time. The second time he'd turned a blind eye to the danger surrounding Jeffbery.
And each time, that Double Crown—whom he'd love to chew up and spit out—was elevating Jeffbery as if he were the lover of the century. In a situation where he could have killed her, he'd overcome his instincts and saved her. He'd braved harsh environments to eliminate danger factors in advance.
Weren't villains the sort who drooled over absorbing mages' mana the way beasts lust after prey? Double Crown's current behavior was thoroughly abnormal.
Public opinion was getting worked up about it, calling it the realization of an impossible love.
Dwight's face twisted into a wreck. The love-hate boiling in his chest began to tangle into jealousy and rage.
When he'd heard that Jeffbery had been seized by Double Crown, his heart had pounded like mad. He'd wanted to run to her and save her that very instant.
But…
Send Dwight as bait! Even if he dies, it can't be helped. For the greater good.
He could not accept the Jeffbery who had coldly nominated him without hesitation to lure the Witch of the Four Seasons. Thrown out bare-handed, his body had been torn to shreds and violated. Amid the visceral sensation of hundreds of thousands of metal filings pulverizing every inch of him, he had lost consciousness.
And after all that, she said she loved him? How could anyone say such a thing? How could she promise marriage with her own mouth after giving an order that was essentially murder?
Dwight suffered between unresolved feelings and the wounds in his heart. He loved Jeffbery. Even knowing she had tried to trample him without mercy. That fact drove him insane with agony.
Biting down on his lip, Dwight rose from the sofa.
Shhhk.
He floated a magic circle into the air and fanned several of them open like shuffling a deck of cards.
Click.
He selected one and released it into the air. A single word appeared, then vanished.
Cruel Love
Dwight's pupils trembled.
"Jeffbery…. Are you being swayed by the one who saved you?"
I was watching Jeffbery take the press conference under the escort of Chairman Grayton.
"Ladies and gentlemen, at this very moment, a bomb installed by Double Crown sits in the basement of Central Intelligence. Double Crown has conveyed that he will only communicate with Central Intelligence through me. According to him, at three o'clock tomorrow afternoon—when the demonic energy drains from Heil Lake—he will detonate Heil Lake and Central Intelligence simultaneously."
"What's the purpose of the terror attack?"
Jeffbery answered the reporter's question with composure.
"Safety."
Murmurs of astonishment rippled through the room.
"Both Central Intelligence and the Emergency Response Headquarters agree that the witches' movements are highly unusual. Heil Lake alone would have become a major threat if it hadn't been cleared. Double Crown predicted that the witches would soon seize Central Intelligence's control facilities."
Questions poured from the reporters.
"So he's proposing to demolish Central Intelligence to stop that?"
"Is the intent to declare the terror in advance and prevent casualties?"
"Are you saying Double Crown's terrorism is for the sake of humanity?"
Jeffbery's face flushed as she spoke.
"For now, he has stated that his purpose is to protect me."
Another wave of sighs swept through the crowd.
I glanced at the comment window. Comments were flooding in in real time.
7,530 comments….
I thought back to the words she'd thrown at me in Echo Canyon.
"Double Crown, how much more miserable do you plan to make me?"
"Jeffbery…. I'm a selfish bastard. This is so that I don't end up miserable."
Jeffbery had asked with a look of incomprehension.
"Everything you're doing right now…. You mean it's sincere?"
I have to answer this well. Right. First priority is keeping Jeffbery alive. I've already publicly proposed—I've crossed a river of no return. Dwight needs a strong stimulant too.
I drew a breath and let it out.
Oh damn, that one came with anti-magic resistance attached.
But why is the light in her eyes shaking so violently all of a sudden?!