The Detective is Already Dead

Chapter 96 - 1.9

Chapter 96: Chapter 1.9

The tale of the happy swallow

I was deep, deep in the light.

I turned my face away, squeezed my eyes shut, but the light was so bright, it seemed to penetrate through my eyelids.

I was born as a terribly nebulous being: the second personality of a girl. That girl—my master—had been physically frail since she was small and had created me in an attempt to escape the pain of her medical treatments.

As I shared my master's suffering, I hugged my knees, locked away in a world that held no one but me. Still, what I found hardest to bear was the "light" the girl radiated.

That smile, bright as the summer sun. The only reason she could smile like that was because I was bearing half her pain for her, but as she talked cheerfully with her friends, she had no idea. I couldn't have hated her more.

We were two sides of the same coin, though, and one day, we finally switched places.

"Your name is Hel. Code name: Hel."

When I opened my eyes, the first voice I heard was Seed's. My name was Hel.

Code name: Hel.

When he called my name—when I, who was no one, had my existence recognized—it felt as if a ray of darkness had appeared in the light. I couldn't imagine anything more pleasant than the chill of that darkness.

"You have a mission. In order to protect your comrades, destroy the world." With that, Seed had handed me a book.

"Destroying the world is my duty?" "Destroying the world is our method."

I cocked my head, puzzled, and Seed—Father—went on.

"You have only one duty. No matter what happens, your duty is to survive."

Looking back, maybe Father only said that in order to make his plan a reality. A plausible white lie so that he'd be able to use me as his vessel someday.

Still, when he said them, a certain emotion settled within me. I'd acquired a bond that let me experience a desire to live. As a result, I began to destroy the world in accordance with the book. Later on, I would learn that it was a book of prophecies known as "the sacred text." Read latest chapters at novelhall.com Only

"I know this isn't right."

Even as I told myself that, I swung the red sword Father had given me.

I thought things were best this way. A single black drop had fallen into that dazzling light, and I clung to the stain. If doing so would get this world, and Father, to acknowledge me... If my mission was to be the world's enemy, then I'd live for that alone.

If I'd made one miscalculation, it was this: Although I'd hated that light and my master more than anything, somewhere along the way, I'd begun to treasure them. That hesitation and weakness had created this battlefield, and the thought made me smile bitterly at my own pathetic weakness.

"—No. It wasn't 'somewhere along the way.'"

It had been like that all along. Nagisa and I were two sides of the same coin, a reflection in a mirror.

My envy had belied my affection.

"Are you still alive?"

I'd fallen to my knees. Far overhead, the golden eyes of Ouroboros looked down at me. This was Father's survival instinct, its physical manifestation. Did this mean I would have to cut off its head before anything I said could reach him?

"Will you get up again? Will you give me more blood?"

The snake coiled in midair, and its red tongue flicked. My blood contained Father's DNA; it probably wanted to absorb it and build up its strength.

"Don't misunderstand, all right?"

Stabbing my saber into the ground to use as a support, I got to my feet. How could I go back into combat against it? How could I stand up again? Apparently, the snake didn't know. Well, it was only instinct, with no memories or emotions, so there was probably no help for that.

That person had definitely said it, though:

"Father ordered me to live, no matter what."

Sorry, but I promised. Leveling the red sword Father had given me, I charged at the enemy dominating the space under the great tree.

When I said it, for a moment, his eyes widened in surprise. Then he gave a soft smile.

Why had I wanted to tell him that now? I wasn't sure, but my heart was calm.

"Take care of my master, Kimihiko Kimizuka." With his name as my final words, I ran like the wind.

On the way, my eyes met the white-haired girl's blue ones.

A year ago, I'd asked the pair of enemies who stood in my way how they could trust each other so much. I'd been sealed within my master's body before I'd managed to understand their relationship. Now, though, I understood. No... They'd told me as much back then.

"It was their bond."

Ouroboros's tail was right in front of me, and as I murmured those words to myself, I unconsciously cut it off with the shining red sword. Exchanging one last, wordless look with the Ace Detective, I launched myself off the ground.

"This is how she and I should be."

Maybe it's another sort of bond—although that would be wrapping things up too neatly, I thought, smiling wryly.

In the end, at the very least, I'd formed a bond with Nagisa Natsunagi.

Now I had to tell Father about it. That was my final mission.

"My legs will not stop."

Using my word-soul ability, I gave myself an order. In response, the sword in my hands blazed red. I'd channeled all of my seed's power, and even my own mind, into that red sword. Then I'd use it to destroy the primordial seed itself—the Ouroboros was bound to die as well. I ran toward Seed on legs that would never stop.

Father was at the foot of the building that had been pierced by the tree. That tree had grown even bigger; by now, it had almost swallowed the fifty- meter building.

"I will take responsibility for all our crimes."

The wounds we'd inflicted on this world would never fully heal.

Shouldering all the sins, the bloodshed, and the weight of life, I ran across the battlefield.

All the cells in my body. The power of the seed engraved in each cell. My own consciousness. I focused all of these in the palm of my hand, channeling them into the ruby sword.

"I believe that this was love."

And then... "Hel...!"

With Kimihiko Kimizuka yelling behind me, I ran my sword through the primordial seed's stomach.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" What was this emotion?

It wasn't anger or sadness—but I had to scream. I couldn't help it.

With the strength that could have shattered all the bones in my body, I impaled Seed with my sword and pinned him to the towering tree.

" ! Hah..."

A small groan escaped Father's lips, just above my head.

At the same time, I heard the monster's dying shrieks behind me. Our final enemy had just perished.

"—H...Hel?"

I heard a familiar, beloved voice.

It was the voice that had given me my name six years ago.

"Yes. Code name: Hel. I'm right here." I responded just as I had on that day, but the answer I gave was different. "Father, let's go home. Back to the world where we belong."

When I looked up—Was it my imagination? I thought his lips held the faint suggestion of a smile.

"...Yes. I am a little tired."

Father sounded almost like an ordinary human, and his words were the last thing I heard. Falling against his chest, I slowly, slowly closed my eyes.