The Black Song Truth

"Be happy, Shirone───"

Kuroka had already bid farewell to Shirone and prepared to accept her fate—yet, no matter how long she waited, the end never came. Puzzled, she cautiously opened her eyes.

"!!?"

The crimson blade had stopped just a few centimeters away. The sight made her breath hitch in disbelief.

"Why…?"

The words slipped out before she could stop them. The Guyver then released its transformation, its scarlet armor vanishing into another dimension. As Kuroka stared in confusion, the man—Kazuki Fuwa—spoke.

"Kuroka… Did you really kill your master because you were drunk on power?"

She had told the truth countless times before, yet no one had ever believed her.

In the end, none of them cared about the truth. All they wanted was a villain who fit their narrative—a foolish reincarnated devil who succumbed to her own strength. So, she had given up on speaking the truth and accepted their script.

And now, this meaningless question? She scoffed, a mocking smirk twisting her lips.

"Yeah, that's right. I killed that damn master. Happy now?"

But Kazuki didn't look away. His piercing gaze remained locked onto hers, making her skin crawl. Uncomfortable, she spat out her next words with venom.

"Not like it matters anymore. I can't move anyway, so do whatever the hell you want. Or—" Her smirk turned seductive as she deliberately loosened her kimono, exposing her shoulders and the upper swell of her breasts.

"—You gonna take advantage of me while I'm helpless and rape me? Heh, fine. Big sis'll take you to heaven with her skills~!!"

She expected him to flinch, to finally look away—but his eyes never wavered. Instead, he spoke with unwavering conviction.

"I don't doubt that you killed your master. But what I want to know is why. No lies, no deflections—tell me the truth."

Kazuki's words were sharp, unyielding.

"You're fucking kidding me!" Kuroka's voice trembled with rage. 

"What's the point of telling the truth now?! You nobles twist reality just to protect your own fucking authority! Who the hell would believe me even if I told you?!"

Her scream wasn't just anger, it was the howl of a soul crushed under injustice, of a woman whose fate had been warped by cruelty.

'So that's how it was. No one had listened!! They had branded her a "power-hungry stray devil" just to preserve the nobility's image, then tried to dispose of her.' Kazuki thought.

'What a fucking tragedy.'

And that was exactly why Kazuki had to say it.

"I'll believe you!" His voice boomed, cutting through her fury. "I'll believe every word you say! So don't give up! Don't you dare give up before you make it back to where you truly belong!"

"Wha… What the hell…?"

His intensity left her stunned.

"…Why? Why would you believe me?"

"Your last words." His voice softened slightly. "Even when you thought you were going to die, you wished for your sister's happiness. Someone truly lost to power wouldn't give a shit about anyone else in their final moments."

"…That's it?"

"For me, that's more than enough. So, Kuroka… will you tell me?" When he asked again, she let out a slow, shuddering breath.

Then—

"…Fine."

And so, Kuroka began to speak—to reveal the truth of what had really happened to her.

Kuroka was born to a human researcher father and a Nekomata mother. Her father was a man who cared only for his work, refusing to even acknowledge his own daughter.

After losing both parents in a lab accident, Kuroka sought out the high-ranking devils of the Naberius House through her father's connections in order to raise her younger sister.

There, a man offered her the chance to become his servant. Under the condition that he would never lay a hand on her sister, Shirone, Kuroka agreed to the contract, becoming his Bishop.

But her master was a man who would resort to any depraved method if it meant strengthening his servants.

Though Kuroka awakened her Nekomata powers and grew stronger, some of her fellow servants were subjected to grotesque experiments, some even losing their lives.

Eventually, the experiments extended beyond just the servants to their families. And then, her master set his sights on Koneko. Despite the contract, he tried to force the still-childish Shirone to use dangerous Senjutsu, risking her life.

When Kuroka learned of this, she stormed the lab, killed her master, and barely managed to save Shirone. But just as she tried to escape with her sister, interference forced Kuroka to flee alone.

Though she attempted to explain the situation, her pursuers refused to listen. They weren't there to capture her—they came to eliminate her. Eventually, Kuroka gave up justifying herself. As she cut down those who came for her, she was branded an SS-Class Stray Devil, a fugitive.

The only thing that weighed on her was Shirone's fate. She later heard that her sister, nearly executed for Kuroka's crime of killing their master, had been taken in by the Gremory family, becoming a servant of Rias Gremory, the next heir.

With nowhere left to go, Kuroka was scouted by the Khaos Brigade. There, she met Vali, and that was how she ended up where she was now—

Hearing her story, Kazuki was stunned.

This was nothing like what he'd been told. Kuroka hadn't killed her master out of lust for power—she'd done it to save her sister. And clearly, the master was the one in the wrong. 

"Devils value contracts above all," Rias had once told him. If he broke the terms, he had no right to complain about being killed.

Though Kazuki's knowledge of the "original story" had already told him Kuroka wasn't power-hungry, he'd forgotten the finer details. Either way, something about this whole situation was off.

Did that certain Maou know about this? For all he knew, that Demon King could even be the mastermind. But—

"Hey, Kuroka. You wanna help your sister—Koneko-chan—out?"

Kazuki placed a hand on Kuroka's shoulder, locking eyes with her.

"Me… help Shirone…?"

Her golden eyes wavered with uncertainty.

"Yeah. Right now, she's trapped in the past, unable to move forward. She needs you."

"...Shirone… really needs me…?"

"The reason she refuses to use her latent power is that deep down, she's terrified of it. And the only one who can erase that fear is you, the source of it. If things go well, you two might even be able to live together again. It's all up to you. So… what'll it be?"

Kuroka closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them again, filled with resolve.

"Got it. I'll trust Nya~, Guyver."

"Alright, deal sealed. And the name's Kazuki Fuwa. Just call me Kazuki."

"Got it, Kazuki!"

Kuroka's golden eyes now burned with determination, no longer trembling.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

10 Advanced chapters are now available at Patreon: p@treon.com/SMU_NANI

Support me by joining my Patreon page and start reading my advanced chapters earlier: p@treon.com/SMU_NANI