I'll kill you after I finish this game!

But that was the original.

"—He was murdered."

"...!?"

This is why Kasumi and Fujii Ren were attracted to each other.

"—Last night, the body of a male victim was found in a park in Suwahara City. Police are currently investigating this as a murder case—"

A corpse, a murder, and it happened in the city where Fujii Ren lived.

"—Currently, the police believe the perpetrator targeted passersby randomly, partly due to the bizarre method of severing the victims' necks—"

"—While the murder weapon has not yet been identified, it is generally believed to be a sharp knife—a Japanese sword or a sword with a blade length exceeding sixty centimeters—"

"—Furthermore, the victims were not only employees of the Suwahara City company, but also..., all of whom died from having their necks severed—"

As she watched the news on the store's TV, Kasumi pursed her lips with a somewhat somber expression. Fujii Ren, who was completely focused on the news, noticed Kasumi's odd behavior at a glance.

But she didn't think it was a big problem. After all, seeing news of a murder so early in the morning, especially in the same city, was understandable.

Besides, the park where the crime occurred was a place the two were quite familiar with.

Fujii Ren wasn't surprised by Kasumi's reaction; what was surprising was the content of the incident.

Many people died, all because their necks were cut off... that is, their heads were chopped off?

If there are no other external injuries, then the decapitation is accomplished in an instant.

It's unclear exactly how it happened, but since the murder weapon was a sharp blade, it's true that the victim's head was severed in one go.

If someone can do something like that, then the murderer must be incredibly strong, right?

Fujii Ren originally wanted to think of some burly people, but inexplicably she thought of the monster she had encountered before, and the kimono-clad girl Nanami who had saved her life.

The other party killed the monster with just a few moves.

Such a supernatural being is absolutely capable of doing it.

But could it have been done by the other party? Fujii Ren thought of certain monsters that devour a person's sense of existence.

If it were truly related to them, there wouldn't be any news reports now; all traces of their existence would have vanished without a trace.

The television broadcast didn't mention any information about terrorists, but Fujii Ren instinctively felt that it wasn't an ordinary person who committed the crime.

"..."

Without realizing it, she had placed her hand on her neck. From the moment she started, she had been trying to understand the reality beyond her thoughts.

To be precise, it's about trying every possible way to find an explanation that has absolutely nothing to do with "that".

It's not a question of possibility, but rather that I don't want to make simple associations with knives directly related to beheading...

Yesterday's guillotine, followed by that girl with golden-brown hair, appeared before my eyes, and even in my dreams.

She had a very vivid nightmare about being beheaded last night.

Is this a coincidence? Can Fujii Ren say that this has nothing to do with him and laugh it off?

At least, that girl appeared in both my dreams and reality yesterday.

Therefore, the boundary between dreams and reality is unreliable.

Who can guarantee that what happens in a dream won't happen in reality?

In other words, the dream that Fujii Ren had was—

"Lian, let's go. Aren't we going to school?"

Ayase Kasumi interrupted Fujii Ren's thoughts, looking at him with an unusually forced smile and a concerned expression, and said, "You could have taken a day off to rest, are you really sure it's okay?"

"...Ah, no problem."

Realizing she shouldn't be letting her mind wander at this time, Fujii Ren shook off her thoughts and said in a slightly somber tone:

"I need to talk to my senior about something today."

"Hmm, Senior Ling'ai?"

"...No, it's Skadi-senpai." Fujii Ren hesitated for a moment, but finally said it directly.

This matter is very important to her; there are some things she must ask Skadi-senpai in person to clarify.

At least, in Fujii Ren's perception, Skadi was not a malicious presence; that's how she sensed it.

Although the other party had beaten her half to death not long ago.

And then there was that girl named Nanami who saved her back then, and it seems that the girl even knows the upperclassman, so she should at least thank her.

Then there's the anomaly within herself; everything needs someone to unravel the mystery for her.

"Huh!? Ren, how come you're involved with another popular upperclassman?"

When Ayase Kasumi heard Fujii Ren mention a highly popular upperclassman at school who was almost as popular as Himuro Reia, she looked surprised, wondering if Fujii Ren's popularity had recently changed.

After all, the only people Fujii Ren could talk to before were Kasumi and Shirou, but recently he's been adding Himuro Rei-senpai to their conversations.

Now there's another senior student, and the popular Skadi at that. I wonder if I should change my mind and congratulate Fujii Ren on his change in interpersonal relationships.

"Don't make me sound like a pitiful creature who's been rejected by everyone."

Seeing Ayase Kasumi's expression, Fujii Ren was speechless and immediately ran away before her.

Although she has a rather aloof personality, she is not without friends.

Friends aren't about quantity, but about sincerity. At least, although Silang and Xiangchun both have their flaws, they are good friends you can have deep friendships with.

Moreover, a feeling told Fujii Ren that there was an untapped friendship between her and Skadi.

P.S.: Hmm... which route should we start with? Let's start with the dual-god battle between Fujii Ren and the Golden Beast...

Chapter Ninety-Nine: Fujii Ren's Completely Collapsed Daily Life

At the private Tsukinosawa Academy, Fujii Ren, whose mental state was in a bad mood due to yesterday's various experiences, was not paying much attention to his classes today.

After lunch break, Fujii Ren left the classroom and headed towards the top floor of the school.

call--

"Phew...it's so cold."

As soon as Fujii Ren opened the door to the rooftop, a gust of cold wind blew past and made him shiver.

It was winter, December, and needless to say, the temperature on the top floor was already so low it could freeze you to death.

Before the school holiday, this place would be packed with students during lunch break, but now that it's this season, no one is going to bother coming here anymore.

However, there are two such people: one is Himuro Rei-senpai whom Fujii Ren knows, and the other is the person she is going to meet.

With a soft sigh, Fujii Ren looked around and spotted the snow-haired girl sitting on the rooftop bench.

"...Senior sister—"

Fujii Ren knew that the other person had already noticed her, but she still called out politely before walking straight over.

The other person was leaning back in the chair, eyes closed as if asleep, or perhaps deep in thought.

The white-haired girl's eyelashes, as delicate as butterfly wings, fluttered slightly as she slowly opened her crystal-blue eyes and looked at Fujii Ren.

Upon seeing Skadi again, Ren couldn't help but marvel at the beauty she exuded.

Unlike Himuro Rei's gentle beauty, Skadi doesn't possess that kind of temperament that most women have to some extent. Instead, she has both feminine beauty and masculine handsomeness.

That delicate, snow-white face wasn't androgynous, but it allowed anyone who saw it to find any of their ideal qualities within it.

It's weird...but also perfect.

"You've been through a lot, so it seems you have quite a few questions for me, Lian."

Skadi blinked, yawned, stretched her upper body, picked up the thermos next to her, opened it, and took a sip of what she couldn't tell was hot water or a beverage.

Before Fujii Ren could speak, Skadi picked up a bento box from the chair beside her, took out a sandwich that smelled delicious, and handed it to her.

"...Thank you, you're welcome."

The unexpected kindness startled Fujii Ren for a moment. After hesitating for a moment, she accepted the sandwich Skadi offered, sat down next to her, and took a bite.

After sitting down, Fujii Ren was surprised to find that the cold wind around them could not get close to this place, and the temperature here was just right.

It's obvious who caused this. Looking at Skadi, the girl asked:

"Senior, what's been happening in Suwahara City lately...?"

"I can only tell you that this place is about to become a battlefield." Before Fujii Ren could finish his question, Skadi put down her thermos and suddenly said, "From now on, the death toll in Suwahara City will skyrocket."

Upon hearing this, Fujii Ren immediately clenched his fists, and even the audience was curious about what would happen to the city next.

Battlefield? Why would Skadi say that?

"...Why?"

"Are you referring to why it's Suwahara City, or the cause of the war?"

"All."

"Ha, the very establishment of this city was for a future war. For that war, all life in this city is merely a sacrifice that has been prepared long ago."

"Sacrificial offerings!?"

Looking at Skadi in disbelief, Fujii Ren immediately stood up in shock and anger upon hearing this. Her beloved daily life and the ordinary Suwahara City were all sacrifices?

Do those kinds of sacrifices used in ancient and ignorant times still exist today?

Fujii Ren couldn't help but think of the monster that devoured existence, and the victims who had been beheaded in the past few days.

I cannot accept or forgive the truth of this matter.

“Angry? But it’s useless.” Skadi ignored Fujii Ren’s shock and anger, shrugged and chuckled, “The people who planned this war created this city for this very reason. Without them, there would be no city.”

"And who devised this insane war plan?!"

Fujii Ren wasn't stupid; she also thought of Suwahara City, a city and tourist destination that had developed rapidly in the last decade.

This is very unusual; it's impossible to say that no one was secretly pushing this forward.

This shouldn't have been something Fujii Ren should care about, but now it's completely involved her. Everything she cherishes is here, so she can't accept that this city was born to be a sacrifice.