44
The Twelfth: I—Ewa.
She watches Arc's battle with Mukuro from the stands.
Soon after Mukuro falls to Arc, the barrier around the field is lifted.
At the same time, the magic filling the field gathers in Mukuro's remains.
Then his body starts to rebuild.
Actually, "grotesque reconstitution" is more accurate.
His flesh peels off, leaving a horrifying sight that makes the crowd want to look away.
Necromancy might sound more elegant, but this just looks vile.
Then—
Rattle, rattle.
Mukuro moves.
Rattle, rattle, rattle, rattle. It's a creepy, jerky motion.
Yes, he's basically a skeleton now.
"——"
Ewa silently drops into the arena.
She steps between Arc and Mukuro.
Medusa just stands there in shock.
"Lord Arc. Please step back. I'll take care of this."
One of Ewa's roles is to protect Arc.
She knows he doesn't really need it, but that's still her job.
"Out of my way, Ewa. Don't spoil my fun."
"As you wish."
"He's my prey. I'll handle him."
"Understood."
Arc's orders are absolute.
Ewa bows low and moves behind him.
"A dead man lingering in this world… Looks like the reaper's slacking off."
Arc speaks to Mukuro.
"Then let me send you to the afterlife instead.Feel honored. A count is sending you off.You can brag in the underworld that Arc Noyadarma killed you!"
Ewa's face barely changes.
That's thanks to Count Hagenoe's experiments.
She used to be expressive, but now she doesn't even know what kind of face she'd make if she tried.
"Rattle, rattle."
Mukuro's bones clack together.
Ewa looks at Mukuro.
Their eyes meet.
She sees a faint sparkle in his dead gaze.
◇ ◇ ◇
He's called Mukuro.
Or that's the code name.
He lost his real name long ago.
He drifts in darkness.
Images form in his mind.
Old, old memories.
Memories he forgot, or was forced to forget.
He once lived in a small, ordinary village.
He was a child who wanted to be an adult fast.
That desire alone proved he was still a kid.
He was just a normal boy who knew a simple kind of happiness.
He wasn't allowed to hunt because he was still a child.
But Mukuro broke that rule, taking the family's black spear to hunt a boar.
That day was special.
It was his fiancée's birthday.
In that village, kids sometimes got engaged at a young age.
She was about to turn twelve, basically an adult there.
He wanted to give her a present.
He remembered her happiness when he once gave her earrings carved from boar tusks his father hunted.
"Wow! They're beautiful!"
She was so pleased.
This time, he wanted to bring back a whole boar instead of just tusks.
He thought that would make her even happier.
The hunt went surprisingly well.
He took down a small boar.
He thought, "I'll take this fine boar straight to her."
He felt like celebrating.
He hummed a tune, excited to see his fiancée, and headed home.
He ran quickly toward the village.
But what he found was an attack.
Elderly villagers were murdered, young men were pinned at the gate, young women were assaulted, and children were taken.
Mukuro's parents were killed, their heads lying in front of the house.
"Ah… Ah…"
A hellish scene.
His fiancée had been taken.
Mukuro fought to save her.
But a child couldn't do anything.
He lost her and was captured himself.
It was devastating.
He'd forgotten the horror until now.
The Dark Hand stole his memories.
Once he turned into a monster, some of them returned.
He endured brutal training.
He was injected with drugs.
Most people died.
He killed a person for the first time.
It was someone he'd called a friend.
He followed orders like a machine.
His heart emptied.
He lived like the dead.
No different from a corpse.
No different from a skeleton.
"Aah… Aah…"
He groans in misery.
He's had everything taken from him.
His village, his parents, his friends, his fiancée, even himself.
"Darkness kept me in this shell and stole my hope and hatred… My fiancée fell into darkness as well."
He starts singing a lament for the dead.
Rage, hate, and resentment swell inside him.
Everything was taken.
He can't forgive that.
He grips the black spear soaked in hatred.
"Now is the time for revenge."
He glares at Arc.
"Was it you? Did you take everything from me?!"
His mind is a mess.
Right now, he sees Arc as standing between him and Ewa—the same as those who took his fiancée.
He sees the same evil in Arc.
"Don't take anything else from me. If you try, I'll kill you!"
He channels all his rage, pointing his spear at Arc.
His vision narrows to Arc alone.
He's the eighth strongest in the Numbers.
He's even stronger as a monster.
Fueled by rage and excitement, Mukuro prepares his final attack.
"——"
He sets his sight on one thing:
Arc's heart.
He focuses all his energy.
Then—
"—Chototsu Moushin!"
He charges forward like a wild boar, only looking straight ahead.
—Boom.
The ground shakes.
Arc is in range.
This time, he's certain he'll pierce Arc's heart—
"——"
—But it's just empty air.
Impossible.
That strike was perfect.
It should've been a guaranteed kill.
No normal human, even with body enhancement, could dodge it.
Body enhancement wouldn't be enough to avoid such a blow.
And yet the expected impact never comes.
"…!?"
He's shocked.
Somehow, Arc is already to his side.
"Icicle."
A spike of ice appears in Mukuro's abdomen.
"Gah…!"
Arc destroys Mukuro's magic stone.
Without that, a monster can't move.
—So cold.
He feels it in his core.
Mukuro looks around.
Arc is right there, just out of reach.
He feels the same helplessness he felt when the village was attacked and he was unable to do anything.
"Aah… Aah…"
He tries to cry, but skeletons have no tears.
That, too, was taken from him.
He shifts his gaze.
Ewa is there.
Their eyes meet.
Her eyes are calm and unclouded.
"(Ah… I get it… So that's how it is…)"
Sorrow and joy flood him at the same time.
He feels despair at having himself denied, but also relief that someone precious to him has been rescued.
The relief is stronger.
"(She's already free.)"
Ewa doesn't seem trapped by the past.
She's living in the present, looking forward.
"…"
Mukuro looks back at Arc.
Gathering his last bit of strength, he speaks:
"Arc Noyadarma… can you banish the darkness?"
Arc looks at him, confused.
"Sure… if it stands in my way."
Mukuro spent his life getting everything stolen from him.
But somehow he thinks Arc might be able to defeat the darkness.
He believes it.
"Take care of… Ewa."
Mukuro smiles peacefully.
Then he becomes a silent skeleton for good.