Chapter Four

Translator: MrKusabi

The Flowers' Chapter

1

This is where it will end.

When he heard those words from his sister, he looked around the cathedral, seized by some kind of strange emotion.

It was open space from the door to the altar, and the ceiling was high. It was so vast a single cough would echo many times. And the feeling of strong magic filled the place.

“What’s wrong? What are you looking at?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

For him, the cathedral of the Cathedral City was the place where it all began. In this silence and magic, he was created. Without a mother, without a name, without a past, One, who had made him, was his everything.

“Sister…”

“What is it?”

“This is where you’ll kill Zero, isn’t it.”

Zero would bring disaster to this world. Therefore, she must be killed. That was the duty of the Intoners who bring peace and order to the world.

He had been told that many times. To protect the world, to protect the people, to defend the weak… Those were One’s favorite phrases. He even felt that the only thing on his sister’s mind seemed to be protecting something.

But that was the righteous thing to do. So killing Zero was righteous. Zero must be killed.

“But why the cathedral?”

There are places more suited to battle, so why choose this peaceful place?

“If I use the magic here, I can create a powerful barrier.”

“To keep Zero from escaping?”

“Yes. First, I’ll make sure she can’t escape, then I’ll fight.”

A year ago, she got away, One had said with bitterness. Even though they were so close—had driven Zero into a corner—she escaped. Or more precisely, a dragon had carried off the mortally wounded Zero.

“That’s not the only reason I chose this place.” One slowly turned, looking around the cathedral. “I’m going to poison it. You remember the fog in the Land of Forests, right?”

“Yes…” He vividly recalled the intense choking and discomfort. The strange poisonous mist wasn’t from magical beasts, plants, or monsters, nor was it due to magic or the Power of Song. If it weren’t for Gabriel’s wings carrying them to the safety of the skies, he didn’t know what would’ve happened to them.

“Zero is a formidable foe. So I’ll weaken her with poison. It won’t kill her, but even as an Intoner, if she keeps inhaling it, her body won’t be able to move as she wants, and her senses will be impaired. Naturally, her attentiveness and judgement will also decline.”

“That’s right. Your face was pale then. I felt really sick, too.”

“Above all, the poison poses a threat to dragons. Unlike Intoners that can handle it.”

It seems like she doesn’t plan to make the same mistakes as a year ago. Both Zero and her dragon trapped in the barrier, unable to escape, breathing the poison… Thinking about it, he realized something terrible.

“Wait. You’re going to fight inside the barrier, aren’t you, Sister? In the poison? It’ll weaken Zero and the dragon, but won’t it hurt you as well?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll bring them down before that.”

“Really?”

Can she do it? She said Zero was a formidable foe.

“Besides, it doesn’t matter if my senses are dulled a bit. I’ll just be like a normal person.”

It was then he finally understood. She plans for both of them to kill each other. Since she wasn’t thinking about surviving from the start, since she’s planning to die after killing Zero, she’s not worried at all…

As if reading his mind, One mumbled, “That’s right.”

“It’s fine, but it’s not perfect. Because nothing’s perfect or absolute in this world. Everything is subject to failure or miscalculation. So…” One pulled out a sword. “If I fail to bring her down, kill Zero with this.”

“Is this sword…?”

She handed it to him. The blade was quite slender for such a terribly heavy sword. “It’s a sword made from a dragon’s fang. You need the power of a dragon to kill an Intoner.”

“Gabriel’s fang?”

“No. I made it from one Gabriella gave me.”

Before Gabriel had become an angel, he had been a dragon named Gabriella. She had been the only one who knew about One creating her brother, and…had been One’s absolute best friend.

When Gabriella became an angel, One could use Gabriel, but not converse with him. He didn’t know why Gabriella gave up her ego to become an angel. At the very least, One must not have wanted that. After Gabriella became Gabriel, One spoke much less.

“You should laugh more. You were the kind of girl to laugh a lot before, right? C’mon, laugh!”

Maybe because she no longer had anyone to say such things to her, he hadn’t seen One genuinely laugh since that day. She would laugh sarcastically or scornfully, or even fake a laugh along with someone, but it never reached her eyes…

“I’m going to kill Zero…with this sword?”

“Yes. You can, right? Just do it like your training.”

He had been taught to use a sword so he could kill Zero. One had taken him out on monster hunts as well. He wouldn’t lose to ordinary enemies. He had acquired enough skill to at least be able to say that.

But Zero’s strong. Even if I saw a chance and attacked her from behind, I wonder if I would be able to take her out.

Perhaps sensing his worry, One gently placed her hand on his shoulder and said, “Don’t worry. I will defeat Zero. I’m just saying this in the one in a million chance I fail to finish her off.”

And then One began to explain the plan.

2

“It’s just us again, huh…” Mikhail said, alone, as he stared at the bonfire. Until only a few days ago, there had been four disciples as well as Zero and Mikhail around this bonfire.

The annoyingly chatty Cent; Dito, with his constant quips; Decadus, lost in ridiculous and unrelated fantasies in the middle of conversations; and Octa, always seizing every opportunity to steer the conversations to his lower half.

After the battle in the Land of Forests, the disciples had all turned back into birds.

“Do you miss them, Zero?”

“Not particularly.”

From the beginning, this was the journey of two people—no, a person and a corpse. Those four had just been fellow travelers for a little while. And even the journey with Mikhail has only been a bit over a year. Compared to the long lives of dragons, I’ll only be a brief companion as well, Zero thought.

“I’m lonely. Really lonely.”

“I see…”

Casually looking up at him, she saw Mikhail absentmindedly waving his tail. After devouring Three, his body had evolved once again, and he had become the spitting image of Michael.

But only in appearance. When she spoke to him, his tone was clearly Mikhail’s, and the way he would tilt his head in confusion or wave his tail around was still very childish. But if he were to remain still and silent, she might not be able to tell him apart from Michael.

He looked so much like Michael, but his mannerisms were completely different. It was both terribly heartbreaking and yet somehow a relief.

Unlike with Four, when he devoured Three, he was aware. It wasn’t that Three’s Power of Song was weaker than Four’s; she had summoned and controlled an ancient dragon, so if anything, she was stronger. But Mikhail did not attack her on instinct—it had been the act of a predator identifying prey.

When he had attacked Four, he had still been immature, in both appearance and ability. But after eating Four, he grew not only in how he looked but also his capabilities. That he was no longer controlled by his instincts to the point he would lose consciousness showed that.

He developed even further due to devouring Three. The current Mikhail was in no way inferior to Michael, who had lived up to the title of “strongest.”

In other words, he’ll no longer act on his predatory instincts and devour me without realizing…

“Zero, Zero, what’s wrong?” He looked at her with concern. It seemed she had had a gravely serious expression on her face. “Does the flower in your eye hurt?”

“…You noticed that, huh?”

The Flower within her had rapidly been increasing in Power lately. Though she could control it, it was with no small effort. Her remaining time was running out.

“You clench your fist real tight sometimes. You don’t show it, but it must really hurt. You even stop breathing. Like now…”

“I’m fine. Don’t worry.”

She knew not only from the signs from herself, but the feeling of the Flower: it was blooming. The time had come to say the same words she had said to Michael.

“Do me a favor.”

Mikhail went quiet, sensing something unusual. He didn’t even move. Until a short while ago, she had thought if he were still and silent, she wouldn’t be able to tell him apart from Michael, but no. Even stone-still, she knew him to be Mikhail. At least, that was how she saw him.

“Kill me.”

Mikhail remained silent. Though she hadn’t ever said the words before, he couldn’t have not guessed what was happening. Dragons were the natural enemies of the Flower, and that Flower was within her.

That wasn’t all. Its increasing power had driven her sisters to madness, turning them into murderous destroyers. Mikhail had seen it as well. At first, he had hated fighting them, but at some point, he had stopped saying anything. He no longer asked why she wanted to kill them.

He had already come to understand what Zero and Michael had been trying to accomplish. And why Michael had been willing to reincarnate in order to keep his promise to Zero.

“When we kill One in the Cathedral City. After that.”

If they flew at dawn the next day, they would reach the Cathedral City before it got dark.

“…Alright.”

Though the voice was different, the words were the same as Michael’s.

3

Cathedral City was called the birthplace of magic. It was said that all magic—commonplace in this world—had its origin there. But no one knew who it was that first said it, or when.

Whoever said it first must’ve been either a genius or an idiot. They named this place “Cathedral City” and came up with such a grandiose backstory.

“Hey, Zero, there’s so many buildings!” Mikhail shouted in surprise as they flew over the Cathedral City. The ground below was packed with gigantic stone structures.

“I’m not sure I’d call them buildings.”

Those structures were ridiculously huge and strangely shaped. They were either absurdly tall, squared off, and completely uniform, or weirdly overdecorated. Moreover, all were broken and crumbling.

“What kinda people live here, you think?”

“No one.”

She didn’t know what purpose the buildings in this ruin once served, but she could guess it wasn’t housing. The pointlessly tall and spacious buildings were unsuited to daily life. The transfer magic just to move around them would be horribly inefficient.

“This place has been dead for a long time.”

People didn’t settle there, nor was it overgrown or overrun with wild animals. The only ones that set foot in there were, at most, scholars interested in the “academic value of the ruins.”

“But…One’s here, right?”

One, who had chosen this as her headquarters, was of the same ilk as these eccentric scholars. In the Cathedral City were vestiges of the ancient civilization called the “Old World.” Zero had heard rumors that One was shut up in a library—one of these vestiges—engrossed in reading.

It was said that, at one time, people with advanced knowledge and technology existed here. It seems the buildings of the Cathedral City were strangely shaped because they were built by people of the Old World using Old World technology.

They could only say “it seems” because, though there were vestiges of the people of the Old World, their whereabouts could not be traced. They supposedly appeared suddenly and vanished with the same abruptness. Leaving behind the vast ruins of the so-called Cathedral City.

What’s the point in studying that shit now? she wondered. It’s not like learning about it would bring back a vanished civilization, or let anyone meet people from the Old World.

Yep, it’s just One I can’t figure out. I didn’t get Three much either, but she still seemed to be a part of me. But One’s different. Hard to believe she was born from a piece of me…

“Can you sense One?”

The Cathedral City was extremely large and full of obstacles, making it easy to hide in and difficult to search. She had no choice but to rely on the dragon race’s ability to sense the presence of Intoners.

“Yeah. It’s really clear. Much more than your other sisters. Is it because her Power’s so strong?”

“No, suppressing her presence is as easy for One as breathing.”

Even the others could suppress their presence. With her much stronger magical power, One could not only eliminate her presence completely, but would also be able to fake it. But Zero was confident the presence Mikhail was feeling now wasn’t a decoy but the real deal.

“So why? Why’s she not hiding it?”

“She’s trying to provoke me.”

She’s saying, “I’m not gonna run and hide, so hurry up and let’s settle this.”

“She’s pretty confident.”

She’s just a failed host, but she talks big about “protecting the world,” acting like some hero. Even though she’ll bring disaster to humanity when she’s taken over by the Flower. I wonder if she’d act so cocky if she knew?

“Zero! It’s close! Really close!” yelled Mikhail. She didn’t need to ask if he was talking about One’s presence. Suddenly, from behind a building, came a huge shadow. It was the dragon One used, Gabriel.

“One!” Though she wasn’t close enough to see her riding, Zero could sense One as well. That was just how powerful One was. “I’ll finish this right here!”

The dragon, covered in armor-like plating, rapidly approached. This time she could clearly make out One riding on its back.

“Be quiet. You don’t need to shout. I can hear you.”

That was right. One’s senses were abnormally keen. Even from a distance where Zero couldn’t clearly make her out, One could see every hair on Zero’s head. She probably heard her chatting with Mikhail as well.

One’s eyes could see much farther than ordinary people, and her ears could pick up sounds much more minute than others could hear. In addition, Zero had heard her sense of smell, touch, and taste were abnormally acute. Her overly powerful senses were naturally a hinderance to daily life, bringing nothing but pain. There was no doubt One had incredible mental fortitude to be able to suppress that pain so completely.

And that wasn’t the only thing One was keeping in check.

“That dragon… Where’s the disciple you used to summon it hiding?”

Gabriel bore a strong resemblance to Zophiel, the daemon summoned by Four, but there was a vast difference in ability. Even with the support of a disciple, to summon such a strong daemon…she wondered just how much Power was needed. It was no wonder One’s Power was on the verge of going out of control.

“There is no disciple. It is unnecessary for me.”

Zero wasn’t about to just take her word for it. She had made four disciples. There were four going berserk in the Cathedral City—Two, Three, Four, and Five—so she had turned four white birds into the disciples. She hadn’t made one for One.

But there was no way an Intoner could summon such a powerful dragon alone. In that case, she must’ve made a disciple herself. With her strong Power, it was possible.

“A thing only to be used as a tool for an Intoner… I do not need such a sad creature.”

“Why don’t you just tell the truth and say you didn’t know how to make one?”

Of course One didn’t rise to the bait. Besides, it probably wasn’t that she didn’t know how. Even Zero hadn’t been taught. Just as a human child would learn to stand and walk without anyone, and eventually begin to run, she had come to know how to use her Power as it grew. So once she had the power to make a disciple, she knew how.

Conversely, Zero couldn’t do things that she wouldn’t know without being taught. Just like how—unlike walking and running—a person couldn’t learn how to swim without being taught or imitating another.

In any case, One had enough Power to rival Zero. She should at least know how to make a disciple, and above anything, understand the danger of using her Power without the aid of one.

Naturally she made one, so where would he be…?

“Zero! They’re coming! They’re coming! What do I do?!”

So much for all the unnecessary thinking.

“What do you mean ‘what do I do?’ Shit, hurry up and shoot ‘em down!”

Instead of replying, Mikhail inhaled. The feeling that followed was different from usual; she saw not mere flames but a huge fireball growing. With his evolution as a dragon, Mikhail had learned a new way of fighting.

The fireball grazed Gabriel’s wing, blowing the building below into tiny pieces. Its destructive power was tremendous. Had it been a direct hit, no matter how strong Gabriel was, he wouldn’t have survived.

But even though Gabriel had lost his ego, he hadn’t lost his judgment. As he evaded, flames shot from his mouth.

“It’s coming! Intercept it!”

Mikhail’s fireball met Gabriel’s flames. They collided, exploding in the air.

“Don’t stop! Again!”

The fire from the two dragons met in the sky over and over again. Each time, a blast and a wave of heat would surge out. After repeatedly evading and attacking one another, the one that struck home first was Mikhail’s.

Gabriel fell, One still on his back. Zero was about to cheer when, right near the ground, Gabriel spread his wings.

“She’s trying to run!”

It was a retreat disguised as a fall. Regaining his bearings, Gabriel glided low.

“After them!”

Right when Mikhail moved to swoop down, something obstructed their view, as if to protect Gabriel. A swarm of winged creatures. Mikhail shouted in irritation. “Dammit! Lowly wyverns!”

The swarm came at them at once. Mikhail breathed fire. Zero didn’t need to give the order.

“I’m gonna crush ‘em like bugs!”

Not only didn’t need to, but if she tried to give any orders, he wouldn’t have listened to them.

“Die! Die! DIE!”

“You really are a completely different person when it comes to wyverns. Well, a dragon, not a person.”

Mikhail was absorbed in burning the wyverns. Gabriel had fled, but his destination was easy enough to gauge. One didn’t intend to escape; she was just trying to change the location.

“Take that! And that! Low-class creatures! Hurry up and die!”

She decided to go along with Mikhail’s wyvern hunt for a while. It wasn’t bad to let him play a bit rather than forcing him to stop.

4

Mikhail’s wyvern hunt lasted more than just “a bit.” Ultimately, he didn’t move from that spot until he had exterminated the entire swarm.

One may have only deployed them as a barrier to aid in her retreat, but as a result, they had expended extra energy and worn themselves out. Furthermore, it had given One enough time to prepare and recover Gabriel.

What a cheap fucking trick, Zero cursed to herself.

“Hurry up and go after One, dummy!”

Like before, One made no attempt to hide her presence. Mikhail flew without the slightest hesitation. Where he was going was a strikingly large, conspicuous building. It must have been the cathedral of the Cathedral City.

“Alright. Bust through that window.”

She pointed at a large stained-glass window. The building’s structure was familiar, not at all like the Old World style.

“It’ll smash, you know? Is it okay? Is it okay?”

“It’s too much trouble to go down there and open every door.”

Besides, with Mikhail’s huge body, we’d have to break the doors anyways. If we’re gonna have to break something either way, it’s easier to break the window than a bunch of sturdy doors.

“You’re really violent, Zero…”

“Just go!”

After a halfhearted okaaay, Mikhail hurled himself through the window. The multicolored shards sparkled as they scattered. Of course, he didn’t sustain even a single scratch, and he flung the shards away with just a shake of his head.

When he smashed his way in, they found the interior to be quite spacious. There was more than enough room from the ceiling to the floor to prevent Mikhail from smacking into the ground with his excess momentum.

Moreover, there was quite the distance from where they landed to where One was. “Great Hall” wasn’t even close to a good enough term to describe the space.

Leaping from Mikhail’s back, Zero strode towards One. A moment later, Mikhail slowly followed.

One, sitting in a chair with an open book, raised her eyes. Three stone golem statues were lined up nearby as if to protect her. Monster statues aren’t very fitting decorations for a church, Zero thought.

“Whatcha readin’?”

Her voice echoed together with her footsteps.

“It’s a record of life in the Cathedral City.”

Seems like the rumor that One’s playing scholar is true. What the hell’s so interesting about studying the Cathedral City—or rather, Old World ruins and stuff? I’ve got no idea.

“A Flower was once sealed in this place. You remember, don’t you?” One looked at Zero. “It was none other than you and Michael that destroyed that Flower.”

“Who sealed it away? Why here? What was this place to begin with? If I understood that, I may be rid of these questions about the Power of Song and we Intoners. What are we? Why were we given this Power…”

“Why you gotta know that? It’s not necessary, right? Shit like that’s just called ‘a waste of time.’”

Shutting the book, One let out a small sigh. “Perhaps it should be called ‘foolishness.’ You’re right. To ask if it’s necessary or not…it’s certainly just so.”

“But,” One continued, “I wanted to know. From the moment I noticed the discrepancies in our memories.”

They had been implanted with false memories by the Flower. One was no exception. Until they took over their respective countries, the five sisters had been working together, and it seemed there had been times when they would “reminisce.” So One had noticed the inconsistencies in their memories.

“Two had memories of loving parents, while Three hated them. Four loathed both, Five had only the memory of Father’s death, and as for me…I was supposedly the second eldest, yet I had no memories of parents at all. Despite remembering the six of us living together.”

Zero steadily approached One, her stride constant. The sound of her footsteps resounded harshly.

“So I researched. I read every single volume left behind in the Cathedral City. Who we are, where we came from, the meaning of our existence, what duties we should accomplish in this world, what the world needs from us, the world—”

“So,” Zero interrupted. She had come close to One. “You understand?”

“I did not attain an acceptable answer. But,” she stood, “one thing is certain: this world doesn’t need us.”

“If that’s the case, say no more.” She drew her sword and pointed it at One. “How ‘bout you die for me?”

One’s expression didn’t change. She didn’t get angry, laugh, cry… Only her lips moved, calmly.

“Sing, Abdiel.”

As if on cue, the three golems lit up. A summoning circle appeared on the floor. The monstrous statues that Zero had thought so out of place in a church turned out to be Abdiel, a daemon One was using.

A huge fist came at her. Zero quickly leapt back, and the fist sank into the spot where she had been standing. Looks like that’s her answer.

“Zero! Hurry, get on!”

The moment she jumped on Mikhail’s back, a crimson light fired by the golems cut through the air nearby. Mikhail countered it with flames. They had fought golems many times, but this was the first time they had seen one deployed as a daemon.

Mikhail’s flames completely engulfed them. The stones, exposed to the tremendous heat, glowed red, swelled, and exploded.

“We…did it?”

The limbs of the statues, which had been blown to bits, were being drawn back in and were once again taking shape. She hadn’t thought it would be so easy, so she wasn’t particularly surprised.

If anything, she was more shocked by the sturdiness of the cathedral. Even with several golems and a dragon battling—and being exposed to the flames and the shock waves—not a single pillar had broken, nor had the ceiling or the walls crumbled. She suspected there was probably some form of magical protection against impacts from within. It had been easy enough to bust in through the window from outside.

“I beat you! Getting back up’s not fair! Not fair!”

Before Zero could say a word, Mikhail breathed fire again, frustrated that the golems he thought defeated had been restored to their original forms. Once again, their limbs broke and scattered. As they reformed once more, Zero saw it—the scattered stones were being drawn toward something glowing red in the center of them.

“Aim at that core!”

“Huh? Which one? Which one?”

“Just break ‘em again! You’ll see it then!”

The red core was hidden within one of the three stone statues. She was certain that was Abdiel’s true form, the source of the magic moving them.

Over and over, the hellfire shattered the golems. The scattered limbs glided through the air, swirling like a maelstrom.

“That! Smash it!”

This time, Mikhail noticed the red core as well. Before the limbs could gather, he rammed it. He was repelled, but the limbs had nowhere to return to and stopped moving in midair.

“Burn it!”

Mikhail aimed at the red core and shot a fireball. The huge flames engulfed it, pressing down on it. But then the floating stone limbs surrounded it like a barrier. Immediately after, they gathered again, attempting to reform the golems.

“Stronger! Burn it to the ground before they can recover! Hurry!”

Mikhail fired successive shots. The limbs were blown off. Once there were no more obstacles around the red core, he attacked with a particularly powerful blast. This time, it shattered into pieces.

The summoning circle on the floor disappeared. After destroying Abdiel’s true form, the lumps of stone just lay scattered on the ground. A surprisingly underwhelming end, but right after making use of Gabriel, this was probably the remaining magic One had available to use.

“One! Next, it’s—”

Zero, about to finish with “your turn,” was shocked. A summoning circle had spread out near the ceiling before she had realized it.

“Give me your blessing, Raphael!”

One raised her right arm high. The circle opened.

“Idiot!” Zero screamed the word. It was impossible. An Intoner could summon at most one daemon. Without a disciple’s chant, even that one runs the risk of an ego collapse. That was how heavy a burden the summoning of a daemon placed on the Intoner. Four, for instance, couldn’t bear the burden and the careful balance in her mind was destroyed in one fell swoop.

One had summoned Abdiel alone while keeping her mental stability normal. That was amazing as it was, but to summon another daemon on top of that?

“One’s a monster…”

The daemon that appeared from the light of the summoning circle took the form of a spider. Its hairy legs scuttled across the floor. It didn’t move quickly by any means, but Zero’s instincts screamed danger.

“Dodge it!”

Mikhail slid through the air. At the same time, she saw something being spit out of Raphael’s mouth. With an unpleasant sound, a white net-like thing stuck to the wall.

“Webbing, huh?”

Real spiders use webs to capture their prey. So that means the webbing of a daemon spider must be strong enough to stop even a dragon.

“Don’t get in front of it! Stay beside or behind it!”

“Okay!”

Mikhail flew side to side so he could get around it, all the while breathing fire. Since its form and behavior were so much like a real spider, it should share the same weakness to flames.

He didn’t miss, and when the flames hit Raphael’s torso, it let out a shrill scream. It spit gobs of white webbing as it writhed in pain.

“Good! If we keep it up…”

But, though it was slow to advance, it was unexpectedly quick to rotate. While the flames grazed it several times, Mikhail was unable to score a direct hit. Plus, when he tried to get behind it, it would rapidly change direction. It took all he had just to avoid being in front of it, and even getting to the sides was difficult.

In addition to the white webbing, it sometimes emitted something like looked like a black mist. Real spiders don’t cough up fog. So what the hell is that?

“It dodged again! That’s not fair! Not…faaaiur?” Mikhail’s speech suddenly slurred.

“What’s wrong?”

“For some reason…my body…feels…weird…”

Zero’s vision wavered and her body felt bad as well.

“Shit! Poison!”

The black mist that Raphael was occasionally spouting was apparently poison. Mist-emitting spiders may not exist in reality, but there are plenty of venomous ones.

“Hey! You okay?”

“Yeah…ya’…’kay…Z’ro…?”

That answer wasn’t even a little bit “okay.” We should leave for now and recover. Thankfully Raphael can’t fly. If we leave through the window we broke to get in, it shouldn’t be able to get in the way or follow us. Thinking along those lines, Zero looked towards the ceiling—and was stunned.

The broken window was blocked off by some sort of barrier. When they had been fighting Abdiel, she had been amazed at the interior’s durability, but its purpose wasn’t simply the building’s protection. Its particular goal was to keep them from escaping.

“Hurry up and kill this small fry! Stop dawdling!”

If a retreat is impossible, we just have to take out the source of the poison.

“Yeah… O…kay…”

His voice sounded weak. Had this been before he had eaten Four and Three, he may have been killed by now. Thankfully, his stamina and defensive power had dramatically improved. If we hurry, we can still make it.

“Go, dummy!”

Zero wrung out every bit of the Power of Song from her body alongside Mikhail’s flames. Her throat vibrated violently, and she could tell the magic was merging with him.

We’ll take it out with this shot. No matter what.

Flames filled her blurry vision. In the midst of the raging fire, Raphael could be seen burning.

Mikhail landed and flopped down. The summoning circle lost its light and the figure of Raphael disappeared.

She slipped clumsily off his back. She wanted to ask if he was okay, but all that came out was ragged breathing. The Flower may have extraordinary regenerative abilities, but if it hurts, it hurts.

“Zero…!” One wheezed. She stood in a corner of the room. Her face was pale; she had probably been breathing the same poison within the barrier. “You’re the only one…I’ll never forgive.”

Zero couldn’t believe her eyes. A summoning circle was spreading behind One once again. First Abdiel, then Raphael, and it looked like she planned to summon another daemon.

“Come to me, Gabriel!”

What the hell kinda strain is she holding back? She didn’t feel anything off in One’s thoughts. The only thing that was coming through was absolute, intense determination. She was suppressing the flower by the sheer force of her strong will and using the Power while maintaining her reason.

She’s a monster, Zero thought. One, who didn’t seem at all like she had been born from Zero, was an incomprehensible monster. She felt her steps waver. Whether due to shock or the poison, she couldn’t stand up straight.

Her back hit Mikhail’s body. That’s right. I’ve gotta get Mikhail to safety, she thought.

“Zero… I’ll do my best.” Slowly, he rose. “Leave Gabriel to me. You…get One…”

Mikhail spread his wings as though to protect Zero from Gabriel. Suddenly, Michael’s voice overshadowed the figure. “Zero! Go kill your sisters!”

Her eyes widened. Her waning strength returned. I can’t afford to do this again. I don’t wanna fail like a year ago. Never again. This time.

Mikhail has a future. A long life, more than a thousand years ahead of him. I will not allow him to be robbed of that.

Gripping her sword tightly, she strode powerfully ahead.

“Okay, dummy! Hurry up and finish this so we can get out of here! Got it?!” She ran towards One, sword aloft. All so she could get Mikhail somewhere safe as soon as possible.

She saw a chakram fly from One’s hands. She, like Octa, was a chakram user. Though difficult to handle, it was probably the best weapon to make up for her short stature.

It hummed as it spun, and she stopped the blow with her blade. She had wanted to repel it but was a bit slow. It arced back to One’s hand.

Holding the chakram at the ready, One spoke. Her feet were unsteady due to the poison, but her eyes were colored with rage. “‘Hurry up and finish this’? Don’t make me laugh! You’re the one that created us!”

So she knew, Zero thought. But she wasn’t all that surprised. She had already surmised that One, shut up in the Cathedral City’s library reading every volume—absorbing countless bits of information—would have already come to that conclusion. That they were beings born from the Flower, made of things that existed within Zero—the one they thought was their older sister.

“Even if they were manufactured existences, my sisters were alive! Two, Three, Four, Five—they lived!” She released the chakram, aiming to slam it into Zero. “I swear by my murdered sisters’ souls, I will never forgive you!”

Zero used the entire length of her sword to catch the spinning blade. The power was enormous, so much that if she hadn’t braced herself well, she would’ve been mowed down. Such was One’s fury.

“I will not just let you kill me! To be arbitrarily created and then just as arbitrarily murdered… How could I possibly accept that?!”

Can’t accept it…

Ah, that’s it. Earlier, she said she hadn’t found an “acceptable answer.” She’s always been looking for that “acceptable answer.” She doesn’t want to know the truth. She just wants to be able to accept it. Accept herself, her fate, and her death.

There I am. One is me, Zero felt for the first time.

When she—a convicted criminal—had been on the verge of death on the execution grounds, she had cursed the whole world and thought, I can’t accept it. She couldn’t accept her lifetime of betrayal and deprivation. She couldn’t accept a world where the righteous are not always rewarded and only the cunning profit. She couldn’t accept a world where the noblest and kindest of girls was killed like an insect.

Why? Someone tell me! Give me an answer!

Such was her wish, on the threshold between life and death. What she kept screaming soundlessly. As she cursed the world, she questioned it with the same intensity. That was the true nature of One, the sister she had thought she couldn’t understand.

Once she understood that, One was an easy puzzle to solve. It wasn’t that she had a strong sense of justice, she just didn’t accept things that weren’t righteous. That was all. She eliminated the oppressive lords and the corrupt nobles because she “couldn’t accept” the reasoning behind them.

She was earnest about everything because she wanted to accept herself, and devoured books because she wanted to accept all the things around her. Even her personality and actions that seemed hard to grasp had that single motive behind them.

“Yep. I’m the culprit.”

Zero could see the fire in One’s eyes. Her red eyes were burning with indignation and hatred. Red eyes, as though they had collected the blood of everyone Zero had killed. Those flames, seeking to burn Zero to ashes…

Atone, One’s lips spelled out. Atone for those lives. The blade that demanded Zero’s atonement attacked her. Using her sword as a shield, Zero stopped it. She wasn’t about to just let One kill her either.

Again and again, they clashed. Over and over, One’s chakram and Zero’s sword met. The chakram, humming, returned to strike, and Zero swung her sword down as she dodged.

“I made you all. Me. So—” The caught the blow as it came straight at her, repelling it. Without a moment’s hesitation, she thrust her sword out. Directly ahead. Through the piece of herself. “I had no intention of getting your fucking forgiveness in the first place!”

She could feel a strong resistance through the grip she was clutching. The sword had plunged into One’s forehead. One screamed. It turned into the Power of Song, a shockwave that shook the entire cathedral.

At the same time, Zero unleashed her own Power. She drove the sword through One’s skull and into her body.

From behind her, she heard Gabriel’s roar. And then the sound of something crashing.

The force transmitted through the sword disappeared. The Song stopped, and there was silence. One slowly collapsed, a black mist rising from her body before dissipating. Her motionless corpse remained.

“It’s over.”

Zero froze as she turned. She couldn’t believe it. It wasn’t just Gabriel that had crashed; Mikhail had fallen alongside him.

“You’re kidding…right?”

Gabriel was charred from his chest to his head, apparently having received a direct hit from the flames. Mikhail, on the other hand, had had his throat gouged out. She had only heard the one crash. So it had been a draw.

No, it can’t be a draw. Mikhail’s not dead. He’s just unconscious. She ran to his side, putting her hand on his chest. But…

“No…”

She lifted her hand from his chest—silent and cold as stone—and touched his closed eyelids.

“Wake up! You can’t just keep laying around!”

She punched him in the jaw. The place he hated getting kicked when he was half-asleep. She hit him repeatedly. Again and again and again.

“I said get up, dummy! You can’t just go and decide…decide to…die on your own!”

His eyes remained shut, unmoving. Even when she hit him, or kicked him, or shook him. There was only silence.

“I can’t believe you’re leaving me again! Leaving me…again…! Why…”

Images of Mikhail and his voice flashed through her mind. The days that they had spent together flew by.

Right when he had just reincarnated, he had been no different than a baby, knowing nothing all. He could say a few words, but just kept repeating why?, how?, and what’s this? Everything was new to him, and the world seemed full of wonder. Every sentence he spoke was a question.

Almost every day, he would get all caked in mud while playing around, making Zero angry. Once, trying to wrestle with Zero, he destroyed a path, sending them careening into the ocean. There were even some times when he’d go off in search of food for the injured Zero.

Just a year. Looking back, it was just a brief span. She’d been cruel to him. She could count the number of times she’d been kind. And yet, like a duckling following its mother, he never tried to leave her. He had no memories of Michael, so it wasn’t like he remembered the promise, and yet he stayed by her side.

They had faced down the ancient dragon together. He had overcome his instinctive fear at a few words from her. That was how much he believed in her. She was confused by the weight of that, however, it also felt pleasant.

He had never betrayed her. Not only Mikhail. Michael, too. For Zero, who had been deceived and betrayed for so long, the first person she had been able to trust wasn’t a human at all, but a dragon—a completely different species.

“Mikhail…”

Regret that she hadn’t called him by his name in the end smoldered in her heart. It hadn’t been malice. She was just scared. To call him by name like Michael, to let down her guard like with Michael, and then lose him.

“Why the fuck wasn’t it me?!”

Why is it only I survive, while everyone important to me leaves? Why is it the one who should be dead always, always, survives?

“It’s this thing’s fault!”

Because of this Flower, I can’t die even if wanted to. Because of this Flower’s stupid regeneration!

“This…this flower!”

The hand that went to rip the Flower from her right eye stopped. “The flower…”

If I used this Power, couldn’t I bring Mikhail back to life? If it was that crazy regenerative power…

I know how to do it. If I’ve got the Power, I don’t need anyone to teach me. Like a child will learn to walk, then run, and then jump, and then control its body in various ways.

As I am now, I can do it.

It’s just… If I use this Power to bring him back, that’d mean dragging him into the Flower’s curse, too. Would he want that?

I know. This is a mistake, selfishness on my part…a sin. I’m scared of being left behind again, I don’t want to be left alone, and I’m dragging Mikhail along with me.

“…I’m sorry.”

Even so, I don’t want to let him die. Never have I wished for someone to live more.

“I command it!”

She put her hand against the chest that had lost its heartbeat.

“With the Power of Song, for the sake of saving this dragon…”

She knew the exact way to use the Power. Just like when she made the disciples. Even though it was the first time she was doing it, she knew the procedure.

“I hereby form a pact!”

The magic within the cathedral and the Power of Song mingled, swirling together. A summoning circle appeared.

“God of the East, Goddess of the West…”

The light erupted. The Power sent.

“I offer the fire of this life. In return, he is to be bound by the accursed flower.”

Power surged through her, becoming a torrent. It was directed at just one point.

“Mikhail…”

Pure whiteness sucked away her consciousness.

5

The air in the cathedral was pure. The poison emitted by the spider and the barrier created by the Power of Song had vanished without a trace. Sunlight illuminated the broken stained glass. It must have been evening already. The light was soft and tinged with red.

Zero, standing on her toes, put her ear to Mikhail’s chest. There was a slow but powerful pounding sound. As she sighed in relief, her clothes slipped from her body to the floor. She quickly grabbed them, wrapping them around herself. The clothes of an adult were a bit much for a child’s body.

She had certainly never expected her body to revert back to that of a child. When the Flower took all the Power from her and created her sisters, her body hadn’t changed, she had just been unable to move. So she had thought this time would be similar.

Apparently, giving your Power to revive someone alters your appearance.

“Heeey!”

The voice that called out sounded quite young, which was for some reason terribly embarrassing. It may have been her lowered point of view, but Mikhail looked ridiculously big. That annoyed her a little, and she kicked him. But with a child’s strength, he surely felt no more pain than being bitten by a mosquito.

Still, he must have felt something. He jerked awake.

“Zero?” Mikhail’s head, which was in a much higher position than hers, lowered. He blinked his left eye, confused, when he saw Zero’s appearance. “Um… You’re Zero, right?”

A flower was blooming in his right eye. She had known, but she felt a dull ache in her chest. The joy she had felt at his revival withered, and bitter regret spread.

“Zero!” Mikhail shouted. She didn’t know what had happened; before she knew it, she was lying on the floor. “How… How could you…!”

She saw Mikhail raising his claws. It was a move filled with rage. The one at the end of that swing swiftly jumped back.

Her mouth was strangely dry when she went to ask what the hell was going on. When she swallowed, she tasted blood. Right then she realized she was in so much pain she couldn’t even breathe.

It was then she finally understood—she had been stabbed. She saw the blood spurting out. She saw Mikhail, his huge chest puffed out to breathe fire.

Who? Who stabbed me? Who is it Mikhail’s trying to burn?

Searching for the answers to those questions, she frantically looked around, straining her eyes.

“O…ne…?!”

My eyes are open. So why’s Mikhail about to burn One?

But the flames never came for One. Mikhail lurched over. Zero felt the vibration from the fall through her entire body.

Why’s Mikhail dying? Why am I dying? Why? I don’t understand. My mind’s a mess. Why’s One—who should be dead—standing, while Mikhail—who should’ve been revived—falling?

“You’re wrong. I’m not One.” It was a male voice. “I’m her younger brother. One’s brother.”

Shut up, that’s not what I wanted to know! she wanted to scream. But not even a word would come, and again, the man threw back only irrelevant replies.

“In the same way you created your sisters, One created me.”

She didn’t want to hear it, but she understood. In an instant, her head cooled.

One said she hadn’t made a disciple. It wasn’t a lie. She used a piece of herself—in the form of this ‘brother’—in place of one.

It’s just my guess, but I suspect One felt opposed to using another living creature to control her Power. If it were a piece of herself, it wouldn’t matter. So instead of a disciple, she decided to make this ‘brother’…

The man who called himself One’s brother released something nearby. That dry sound was probably a sword. The sword that had just stabbed Zero.

“I was a failsafe in case you managed to kill her.”

“Zero. Zero,” came an anguished voice. The rough breathing was that of someone on the verge of death.

She had expected to bring him back to life. With the single-minded determination not to let Mikhail die, she had used the Flower’s regenerative ability to forge a new kind of magic—a “pact.” By dividing her Power and combining the two of them, Mikhail—dragged into the curse of the Flower—had been revived.

But it had backfired. Since she had reverted to a child, she had been swiftly cut down and was about to meet her end. Since he was a part of her, Mikhail hadn’t even been able to counterattack, and was about to lose the life she had worked so hard to get back.

The man that looked like One was still saying something, but Zero could no longer hear him.

“Mik…hail…sorr…”

She couldn’t even manage a satisfactory apology. Suddenly, everything became dim. Trying to at least see Mikhail one last time, she summoned all of her remaining strength to shift her gaze. And in the edge of her vision, she saw something unbelievable.

That woman. Accord, the one she had killed on the cliff overlooking the sea, was standing near a pillar, staring at her.

Zero had never expected that Accord lived. After a fall into the ocean from that height, she had been sure Accord had died.

The woman I had planned to kill didn’t die, while the friend I had wanted to live so badly did. I hate the cold words “fate” and “destiny,” but what other words would best describe my life and afterlife, both filled to the brim with only ironic happenstances?

She saw Accord turn. It looked as though she had only come to witness Zero’s death. Her back was soon swallowed by the darkness. And then that darkness took the fallen Mikhail, the cold cathedral floor, and everything.

This is the end, she thought. Forgiven or not. Saved or not. In the end, everything returns to nothing.

Zero knew there was no peace in the darkness of death, and yet, she earnestly awaited that moment.

Even now, I sometimes dream about it. About the moment Zero murdered my sister. Yes, I saw it all.

My sister’s plan should’ve been perfect. She had lured Zero and the dragon into the cathedral and then erected the barrier. She used her life to create a barrier not even she could break. It could only be lifted with her death.

She had probably been thinking about what would happen if she couldn’t die. If she didn’t die and the Flower took control, she could be comfortable in the knowledge that the world would not face disaster so long as she was trapped within.

Within that powerful barrier, she first summoned Abdiel to tire out Zero and her dragon. Because that wouldn’t be enough to kill them, she then called the poison-spewing Raphael. Zero and the dragon suffered from the poison, but that wasn’t enough to bring them down either.

At last, she summoned Gabriel, though she herself was poisoned as well. She had not summoned him until the very end so that he would inhale the least amount of poison possible. Between the dragon weakened by poison and Gabriel who was not, the outcome was clear. After all, the dragon had been defeated by Gabriel a year prior, before it had reincarnated.

Besides, since Gabriel is a special angel, there wasn’t much burden on my sister. Even exhausted by the previous summons, he could be called without problems.

But the reincarnated dragon was stronger than she predicted. Even weakened by the poison, it fought with Gabriel on equal footing.

Zero was strong as well. Gabriel and the dragon fought to a draw, but my sister lost. Outside the barrier, I watched as my sister was murdered. The moment Zero’s sword pierced her forehead, till the moment she fell and died. Everything.

And then the barrier vanished. I had to kill Zero. But my sister had miscalculated. I was a weakling. My heart had been too weak to accept her death. For a time, I wasn’t able to move from that spot. Her death was lamentable, and her murderer terrifying.

While I was frozen, Zero used the restorative ability of the Flower to save the life of her dragon. It was the first “pact” in this world.

Zero probably didn’t fully understand what would become of her as a result of this, or what would happen. If she had known everything, I think she wouldn’t have made the pact.

But she revived the dragon through a pact. The Intoner Zero and the white dragon became this world’s first pact-partners.

When I saw it, I was truly stunned. After all, the devilish Zero had become a small child. If that were the case, even I could kill her, I thought. I regained the courage I had lost after my sister’s murder.

Zero and the dragon were completely oblivious to my approach. The dragon was probably shocked to see Zero as a child, while the child-Zero’s abilities had completely degraded. Thus, they were unable to pick up on the approaching bloodlust.

I easily circled around behind her and killed her with the sword made of Gabriella’s fang. There was no counterattack at all. She died with no resistance. The dragon fought back, but not in time. It had become one with Zero due to the pact, and so ran out of strength before it could breathe its flames.

Ironic, isn’t it? The dragon had been revived, but only for a mere moment. No matter what Zero did, she couldn’t change the outcome—the dragon’s death.

If she hadn’t become a child, I may not have been able to kill her. I may have remained quivering behind the pillar, clutching the sword.

Trying to save someone as an accursed Intoner turned out to be her downfall…

Come to think of it, when Zero called its name as she was dying, the dragon looked delighted. It’s a strange topic to be happy about as you’re dying, so I may have been mistaken.

After I killed Zero and the dragon died, I stood there dumbfounded for a while. I was overwhelmed beyond anything I had ever experienced. Sister and Gabriel were dead. Who would protect the world—protect me?

I might’ve gone a bit crazy then. I was so terrified of anything and everything that I ran without thinking.

I think my sister had probably expected me to die there. When the barrier lifted and I killed Zero, I would breathe the remaining poison and die. There would be no one left who was affected by the Flower…

She probably never imagined that Zero making a pact would purify the poison from the air in the cathedral. The pact was a miscalculation for both of them.

From there, you know the story. I took refuge in my room in the tower, and after hiding myself away for a long time, I was found by the people of the Church. I claimed to be One, and masquerading as my sister, built a new church. The Church of Angels, in honor of my sister One, Gabriel—the dragon that died for her—and Gabriella—the dragon that became an angel for her.

Then—quite by chance—you discovered my true identity. No, I’m not criticizing you. I’m grateful. It wasn’t a secret I could have kept alone. You saved me by becoming my accomplice. If you hadn’t helped me, I don’t know if I could have acted as the church’s suzerain for so long.

Speaking of which, I left the Cathedral City once. You were curious, but after what I’ve said now, you know the reason, don’t you? Why I was so anxious to go to the Land of Forests.

It’s because I had to find out. After all was said and done, what happened to the forest?

Surprisingly, the forest had completely gone back to how it had been before. The poisonous mist was nowhere to be found, and the fairies and elves had returned. I wondered if my sister and I had been dreaming.

But that wasn’t the case. There had been something going on. It wasn’t some sort of dream.

How did I know, you ask? Because the same disaster struck the Cathedral City. You remember, right? It was no more than five years ago.

It was the year 1012. That day, the same disaster occurred in the cathedral. Everyone thought the end of the world had come. I was the only one who knew it was the same as the outbreak of poison in the Land of Forests. Its strength was a bit different, but the sensation was the same, so I recognized it immediately.

When the believers that had congregated there began collapsing, I knew I had to do something. I’m not a true Intoner so I can’t use the Power of Song. But I’m not an ordinary human, so I can use a bit stronger magic.

I would draw the poisonous mist to me, and in the meantime, everyone could escape. I thought if it were just that, even I could manage.

It was pride, now that I think about it. I was posing as my sister One, and people revered me as the Holy Suzerain, so I felt I should save the world. I was conceited, thinking I had that much Power.

Even my sister had been unable to stop the disaster in the forest. It had spontaneously begun, spread, and vanished. It wasn’t something a person could do anything about. I should’ve known that, and yet…

Unable to stop it, I was about to get swallowed up when I was rescued by a believer. The girl, her faith so strong, risked her life to save the “Holy Suzerain.” And thus she was swallowed up instead.

Amazingly, that stopped it. My incomplete magic and a woman willing to sacrifice herself combined, accomplishing some sort of transformation.

Ah, that’s right. You were there, too. But even though you saw the whole thing, you don’t completely understand what happened, do you? Me neither. I had no clue what was going on.

I didn’t understand why, but regardless, the disaster ceased. Unlike when it happened in the Land of Forests, that’s not to say it vanished. It just stopped. No, maybe the phenomenon hadn’t vanished from the Land of Forests either, but just moved somewhere else. Like from deep in the forest to the cathedral of the Cathedral City.

One thing was certain: the only thing stopping it was a living human. After that believer died in agony, it started up again. Yes, unless someone sacrificed themselves, it couldn’t be stopped. That was learned through her sacrifice and death.

So when you stepped forward, everyone was relieved. With this, everyone would be safe until your death, they said. Selfish, right?

Why did I object to it? You’re saying you don’t understand? That my catchphrase is that my sister put her life on the line to try to save the world, so I want to protect it instead?

That’s just lip service. I…as long as my sister was alive, I didn’t care either way about the world. But she’s not here anymore. The only thing she left me was the world she tried to protect. Just that. So to me, the world is just a stand-in for her, so to speak.

…Sorry. That wasn’t very kind of me. I shouldn’t have said such things in front of you. But that’s why I didn’t think you needed to be sacrificed. There’s no reason for you alone to suffer for the sake of something like the world. So I objected.

But my opposition alone didn’t change anything. Though the suzerain of the Church of Angels was against it, it was covered up. They just pretended it wasn’t the case. Everything was decided without my knowledge and carried out in my name. Before I knew it, I had become a mere figurehead with no real authority.

A handful of priests held the real power, and they were squeezing the believers—the people—dry without anybody knowing it. I had inadvertently created a group that did the same things as the lords my sister so despised. Within this Church.

They exaggerate and embellish everything, manufacture authority, and twist things to their advantage. As far as they’re concerned, righteousness, truth…those things don’t matter one way or another.

As for the disaster, well, even though nothing at all had been clarified yet, they started talking about the “Great Era” or some such, acting like they knew anything. It was just luck that it stopped, but they spread it as their own achievement.

You know what they plan to call you? The Goddess of the Seal. You’re to be the second goddess, with the one who stopped the disaster five years ago being the first. “Seal” is a bit of an exaggeration, because it’s my faulty magic if you trace it back. It makes me laugh.

After this, I wonder how many goddesses will die in pain for the sake of this world. I wonder if their families and lovers will mourn them. If they’ll curse their fate. If they’ll hate the world. The goddesses that should protect the world will give rise to so much hatred and tragedy…

Besides, I can’t help but feel the word “goddess” itself is a rather ominous coincidence. Here, the usual legend: “Long ago, five goddesses descended on this land.” Ultimately, the goddesses—the five Intoners—didn’t save the world. Led around by that mighty Power, they died.

Perhaps it’s a dangerous decision to entrust the world to those that bear the moniker of “goddess.” But that’s a cruel thing to say to you.

Well, with this, my story comes to an end. There’s nothing more I can do for your suffering.

Oh, there is one thing. A way to end your suffering. Yes, by my own hands. By getting these hands dirty. I told you, right? The value of this world to me. It’s certainly not heavier than someone suffering right before my eyes.

Come on, how about it? You want that, don’t you? ​