January 16, 2013

Those who lived by the sword would die by the sword.

Those who lived by the pen would die by the pen.

Humans would definitely die. This was an obvious fact even the Bible recorded.

The only ones who would not die were either Saints or witches, neither of which were humans.

In the Middle Ages of Europe, the witch-hunt spread like a plague. The way to determine whether they were humans or witches was whether they died or not. Amongst those who were put into the boiling cauldron, those who died were humans, and those who lived were witches.

I’m probably a witch then. Gankyuu Eguriko thought as she walked down the long corridor in the hospital.

No matter what damage she suffered, whether she was dipped in boiling soup, or she was pierced by swords all over the place, she could not die. However—since she was a witch, she wanted a spell to save others. If she had a body that would not die, the only value she would really have would be to disappear.

Around her surroundings, deaths and misfortune always accompanied her.

She had no memories of the moment she was born. When she was mature enough to understand things, she was not living with any blood-related relatives. Those relatives were all killed by the “Mushi” very quickly, without exception.

The apple owner who travelled with her disappeared too.

And at this point, she ended up causing the death of the one most important to her, all because of her carelessness.

Usagawa Rinne was a girl who was kinder than anyone else, and one who had so little happiness. Even so, she never hated her world, and unlike Guriko, she was never lost. Guriko liked her, who liked others, and she could die for Rinne.

That should be the case.

—

I should be the one suffering misfortune.

I should be the one to die.

“Itsuwara-san.”

At that moment, Guriko did not know who that person was calling for, and ignored it. Dark—this pitch dark hospital did not have its lights switched on for some reason, and the sky outside the window was already dark as the faint blue night sky surrounded the world.

“Itsuwara Guriko-san.”

The young woman’s voice called. I see, I am Itsuwara. When she accompanied Hino to the hospital, she said that name when she was asked who she was. Though she was worried about Hino’s situation, she had to find the person who killed Rinne and make the person remember this grudge.

There was still resentment within her at this point.

Nothing could be accomplished even if she did take revenge, but she just could not feel relieved if she did not do so.

She knew that the gentle Rinne would not wish for her to do this.

But Guriko had already decided to revive herself as a monster. Once she took revenge, she would head on a journey to find a way to revive Rinner. It was too painful for her to stay in this human world, and a world without Rinne was all the more painful.