Chapter 101
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 101
Chapter Title: At the End of All Things
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A pure white space devoid of even a speck of darkness.
In this desolate place stood a single chair fashioned from people... no, from things that had once been people.
And there were two people.
Well, that last part depended on how you defined "people," which could change the count a bit.
Two people.
Or maybe just one.
Or perhaps not a single person at all.
If you considered someone mentally whole to be a person, then the man grinning grotesquely from the chair was no person at all.
Which made sense. No one would call a being who lusted after all humanity mentally sound.
In truth, there was only one person left who could even say that about him now.
On the flip side, if physical wholeness defined a person, then the man qualified perfectly.
All his limbs were intact, his body pristine without a single wound.
Handsome features, perfect proportions.
The epitome of a human.
Unlike the girl whose body—save for her head, part of her upper torso, and her arms—had been entirely "moth-eaten."
Of course, if both body and mind had to be whole, then not a single person existed here.
Just a madman and fragments of a human.
Which was why this place held two people while containing not even one.
In that moment, the man who was a person yet not a person cast a gaze filled with amusement.
Toward the girl he was trampling underfoot.
Toward the girl who was likewise a person yet not.
"You know what? When a mana-bearing creature surpasses its innate limits, it undergoes a transformation aligned with its mana's form. That's how the 'breaking through the wall' trope from novels manifests here."
The girl didn't react, but the man pressed on regardless.
As if determined to prove his own madness.
"The trigger is usually intense emotions like rage. Some call it enlightenment or resolve, but I've never seen a single case like that."
Ah, well, the Sword King was different, I suppose. The man muttered to himself before continuing.
"Excluding special cases like mine, it's almost always temporary. And during it, they get emotional, swept up in impulses. You could say breaking through the wall means crossing moral lines too."
The man looked down at the girl and grinned.
A smile as twisted as his mind.
"This phenomenon where the body changes to match the mana's form is like dye soaking into fabric, so we call it 'Dyeing.'"
It's a pretty good term, if I do say so myself. The man nodded proudly.
"So then."
At that moment, he pressed his foot down harder on the girl trampling her.
Not enough to shatter her.
But just enough to make her feel the pain.
"Whether it's temporary Dyeing or permanent, where do you think the changes show up?"
"I... don't... know..."
I don't even want to. The girl added silently.
But ignoring her rejection, the man answered his own question. As if he had no intention of giving her what she wanted.
"Right in the eyes."
The girl ignored him.
Undeterred, the man continued.
"Most Dyeing manifests as the mana form reflecting in the eyes."
In that instant, the man's hand roughly seized the girl's hair and yanked her up. Her half-gone body floated lightly into the air.
"So then."
Forcing their eyes to meet, the man grinned grotesquely.
"Come on, tell me. What do you think my Dyeing looks like?"
His eyes were as bizarre as his smile.
They evoked the sun, yet felt profoundly alien for one.
Countless things haphazardly woven together, pretending at perfection.
As if forcibly mimicking the sun.
But the girl didn't voice it. Nor did she let her pain escape her lips.
Instead, she said something else.
"You... talk... too much..."
Then, she rummaged through her memories for a moment.
She needed to pull out the perfect word her precious hero had once used.
Soon, the girl smirked.
"No wonder the hero bro utterly wrecked─"
"Shut up!!!"
The man hurled her body aside, cutting her off mid-sentence.
Her broken form tumbled pitifully across the ground. Yet she glared at him with fierce defiance.
Laced with even deeper mockery than before.
"You piece of shit..."
"I said shut up!!!!!!"
His face twisted without a trace of his earlier smile as he kicked her savagely.
"If you'd just died back then, bitch! My scenario would've been fine! That's what you were from the start! If not for you, I wouldn't be skulking around waiting for chances like this!"
"Then... kill me... now..."
"Too late now, you fucking bitch!!!"
He kicked her even harder than before. The girl coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Still, she kept sneering.
Uttering the words the hero had taught her.
"If it bothers you... beat me..."
"Ha."
Crack. His sclera turned red.
Overwhelmed by rage, some of the blood vessels in his eyes had burst.
With bloodshot eyes, the man glared at her.
"Where should I do it this time? Huh? Eyes? Ears? Or that goddamn mouth? No, just smash the whole head off!"
No sooner had he spoken than his hand shot toward her face.
However.
"No, wait."
His hand halted abruptly before reaching her face.
"I should leave that damn face mostly intact."
It'll come in handy. With a smile befitting a madman, his lips split wide.
"So this time, I'll take the whole arm."
Words tantamount to a death sentence.
But the girl didn't respond.
Or rather, she had no time to.
With her remaining fingers, she hurriedly brought the moonflower to her mouth and bit down.
Truth be told, it was hardly a flower anymore. Just tattered petals and a crushed stem—little more than trash.
But not to her.
A symbol of precious memories.
A token of a small, humble promise.
She could never let it go.
No matter how much more wretched she became, no matter how much more pain she endured.
Ignoring her resolve, the man indifferently placed his hand on her arm.
"■."
His voice was muffled, as if obscured by something. She could barely make out that it was a single syllable.
Soon, her arm began to moth-eaten away.
Her few remaining fingers, her gaunt wrist with exposed bone, her forearm and upper arm covered in wounds and bruises—all of it.
Her head, part of her upper torso, and that one moonflower.
That was all she had left now.
Looking down at the even smaller fragment of a person, the man smiled in relief.
"Looks better than before."
Then he kicked her body away.
"You finally shut that mouth on your own!"
Not shattering her, though she could be.
But etching the pain crystal clear.
Watching her writhe like something less than a bug, the man flopped back into the chair made of former people and burst into laughter.
"Ahahahahaha!!!"
A laugh only a being who was human yet not could make.
Ray couldn't believe it.
Kim Siyul staking everything he had on a fight, using magic despite being a regular human, and ultimately winning.
But the truly unbelievable part was something else.
Kim Siyul and Ray were barely more than strangers.
Just vague fellow Magical trainees.
Yet Kim Siyul had willingly picked a fight for her sake.
Against a Magical Girl leagues above him.
Even the hot-tempered Sora wouldn't dare charge in recklessly and only lodged timid protests against such a high-ranking Magical Girl.
'He says he just did it on a whim, but...'
There was no way it was that simple.
Kim Siyul gained nothing from this fight. If anything, he'd only lose if he failed.
So Ray couldn't believe it.
Wasn't he afraid of making enemies? Of being ostracized? How could he make that choice with nothing to gain?
"Sniff..."
Tears welled up.
She who spat harsh words at others without hesitation felt utterly pathetic for being unable to speak up when it mattered.
Sorry that she couldn't even give proper thanks to Kim Siyul, who had fought for her sake, with not a single decent weapon.
Truly grateful to Kim Siyul, who under the awful condition of a single Magical steel pipe had restored her leave.
Ray wept endlessly.
"Hey, why are you crying again?"
Just then, Kim Siyul's voice rang out.
As she looked up, he handed her the Magical steel pipe.
"This one's intact, so return it to the captain and get your card back. Got it? If she won't give it, tell me."
Even as she took the pipe, Ray stared at him blankly.
"You okay...?"
"Nothing compared to before."
He answered her question with casual indifference.
But that couldn't be true.
Ray was certain.
Not as bad as earlier, but blood still trickled from where his fingers had been severed.
His complexion was alarmingly poor too. He must have suffered internal Magical damage.
Which was only natural. He'd used dangerous magic twice. The second time, he'd even spat up blood pooling in his mouth.
Reckless. Overreaching.
Tears flowed from Ray's eyes once more.
Tracing the same paths as before.
"Sorry... because of me..."
"I told you it wasn't for your leave. I just wanted to beat her ass on my own whim."
Kim Siyul chided her apology.
"Hey, didn't I tell you last time too? Stop crying."
Then he smirked.
"You're ugly enough already. Don't get uglier."
The same words.
Exactly what he'd said before, when Ray wasn't in her right mind and had hurt him.
Back then, she'd cried until she passed out. A pathetic way to treat her savior.
But this time was different.
"Yeah...!"
So Ray smiled.
Infusing it with gratitude, brighter than ever.
But Kim Siyul merely glanced at her briefly before looking away.
"No, just cry. Your smile's even worse."
This jerk?
Ray bristled for a moment and opened her mouth. How dare he say that after she mustered a smile.
But.
What came out was something else entirely.
She had no choice.
"Wha... You...!"
Blood suddenly sprayed out.
"Your... arm...!"
From one of Kim Siyul's severed arms.