Chapter 0

Quiet and cold air filled a church building.

Like the heat from freshly baked bread, rotting stench seeped out from countless bodies at its center.

I basked in the crimson moonlight that spilled in through the window, savoring the sound of her desperate rush toward me.

Up the stairs.

Down the corridor.

Her footsteps abruptly halted with a “click.”

Only then did I turn to look in her direction.

“Ha… Ha… Oruri!!”

Come on now.

You’re here again today.

I’ve been waiting for you.

Her golden single braid shone brilliantly, and her white eyes sparkled like freshly bloomed flowers.

Her breath was so labored that her face, flushed red, spoke volumes about her state.

“Hello, sorry I’m late.”

In a city where I commit countless slaughters, and you, my relentless adversary, the heroine Erica.

When we first met, that composed and chilly demeanor is no more;

through this endless repetition, you now gaze at me with intense excitement.

“…”

Yes.

Those eyes.

Beautiful orbs that shimmer with resplendent light, fixed solely on me,

cloaked in overflowing sense of justice, poised to pounce like a crouching lion ready to spring.

Despite all the pain and sorrow I’ve sown in her path, her will never bends; unyielded.

Her belief.

“You’re too late, I’ve already killed them all.”

Motioning to the corpses barely even skin remains, I spat it out.

“……!”

You’re angry?

Good.

You should hate me.

Let every pain and scream of the world erupt from me;

let the groans of original sin and evil be blamed solely on my existence.

Think like that. Curse me like that.

Gaze at me with chilling and degenerate eyes and scornfully dismiss me.

And at the end, finally—

Release me from my eternal torment and my life.

Cough, cough!

Dragging my unworthy body, I cupped the gushing blood in my hands.

Even amidst my agony and cries, you’d still be joyful, wouldn’t you?

“…Aren’t you…”

Huh?

“I just didn’t… hear…”

Our gazes met.

Shaking pupils were seen.

No, it couldn’t be.

I must have misunderstood.

A heroine worrying over a villain?

Absolutely, that couldn’t be right.

“You’ve worked hard to get here. Take care of these corpses.”

Facing me with trembling hands, you steadily closed your eyes, and I bid farewell.

Bathed in blood-sucking bats, I soared into the air, carelessly throwing out my usual jest.

“I’ll miss you.”

—Groan, splash!

Am I really not even worthy of an impressive exit?

As I watched the blood-stained clothing, I mocked myself.

“Wait a moment!”

“What?”

Unexpectedly, her hand caught me, and my body was bound and held aloft.

Naturally, silence enveloped us, leaving me no option but to stare into her face.

Why is she looking like that?

Flushed cheeks, ragged breaths—obviously filled with worry.

Even your grip that doesn’t secure my arm tightly.

No, it can’t…

It couldn’t be…

“A, are you… feeling sick…?”

What kind of nonsense is that?

From the beginning.

Do you realize what you’re saying?

I’m a criminal who’s killed countless people.

The heroine who protects the city’s citizens should detest me upon merely looking.

“Where, do you hurt…”

——Zzzt!

Even after desperately shaking off her hand, she continued to gaze at me with worry.

“Oruri…”

Please.

You are a saint of justice.

You should despise and hate me, the villain.

This is not the relationship where you cling onto such emotions that are absolutely forbidden towards me.

How could this happen?

From where did it start?

Was it the frail image of me you saw a few times that made your misguided pity take hold?

Or was it because of the length of time we spent together that led you to hate me?

Or perhaps,

did your unusual interest in me grow uncontrollably?

I don’t know.

I don’t know.

Even though indescribable masses of filth gnaw at my mind, I squeezed out the last of my strength, struggling to escape through the shattered window.

Avoiding her hazy yet splendid gaze which had become like an obsession.

“Next time… next time, I will definitely…”

Ignoring her incomprehensible murmurs, entangled in the twisted love between us.

“Forever… forever… I will bring you with me…”

Praying that these words aren’t what I think they mean, I concealed myself from sight in mid-air.