I'll kill you after I finish this game!

"You should know that Suwahara City was born because of us. As for life on Earth? If the throne is to be replaced, the old world should be destroyed and eliminated. In any case, living in such a prison-like world, even death has no meaning."

"It's not meaningless at all!"

Upon hearing Reinhardt's disdainful words, Fujii Ren slammed his hands on the table in a fit of rage, roaring in rebuttal to the other's twisted words.

Skadi remained silent, Matilda watched her with interest, while Mary looked on with concern for Fujii Ren.

She couldn't help but be angry, because Reinhardt's words negated everything about her.

The annoying Shirou, the silly and naive Kasumi, Skadi who always loves to be sarcastic and cunning, and Himuro Rei who loves her senior, all for the happiness of everyone...

Destroy and annihilate? Are you kidding me!

"Even though this world has its problems, it also has a warmth that we can't let go of. The gentle air is always there, and those who love and are loved exist under the same sky."

Ren Fujii doesn’t acknowledge Reinhard’s ambitions or the world he wants to create. In any case, how can one feel the warmth of home, friends, and loved ones under a sky stained with blood and slaughter?

If only time could stop, if only it could go on forever, I don't want this everyday feeling to end.

Even if one day I understand that it will eventually end, as long as I stand there and breathe that gentle air, I'll be fine. But the guy in front of me wants to—

"That's why I won't lose it again, I won't let you destroy it, and I certainly won't let you plunder it!"

"You desire the unknown? I will grant you a catastrophic unknown, a deathly unknown, Reinhardt!"

She didn't know where she got the courage to speak loudly and forcefully against the terrifying man who had almost killed her.

It wasn't because she was relying on her senior and Mary; perhaps she was just bluffing with all her courage.

No, absolutely not. I'm not faking it.

Rather, it was because the meaning of her own existence had been trampled on by the other party's words. If she continued to remain silent, she would never be able to face Reinhard again, nor would she be able to return to the world she loved.

The other party desires an opponent, an enemy from whom they can gain the unknown, a sense of accomplishment, and unique satisfaction.

Skadi and another Matilda are eligible, so what about her?

One must be strong; Fujii Ren doesn't yet possess that value.

"Hmph, hehehe..."

Upon hearing Fujii Ren's disobedient words, Reinhard chuckled softly, then, as if provoked, burst into loud laughter.

"Hahaha, hahahaha, hahahahahahaha—!"

There was no hint of mockery, just hearty laughter, so much so that Reinhardt was almost in tears. He looked at Fujii Ren with a smile and said:

"Very good, haha, that's fantastic! The math education is excellent, Carl!"

Fujii Ren was furious at the sight of the other man's smile, but Reinhardt's smile gradually faded, and this time he looked at Fujii Ren with the condescending gaze one would use to look at prey, saying:

"But it seems to be of little significance. Your efforts are also under the shadow of the known. However, as it is the path to the gospel, please continue on! Take that goddess with you. I will await your good news. I will take my leave for now."

After saying that, Reinhardt's figure gradually turned into golden flashes of light and dispersed, then slowly disappeared from the place, just like when he first arrived.

Skadi and Matilda drank the last drop of wine from their glasses, their gazes toward Fujii Ren differing.

The former is gentleness, the latter is expectation.

The fact that Fujii Ren could unleash his desires and beliefs in front of Reinhardt already demonstrates his extraordinary nature.

Bluffing? Faking and hypocrisy are useless in front of them and people like Reinhardt.

They can easily see through things like determination and willpower.

Reinhardt must have already considered Fujii Ren as a serious enemy, and hopes that she can become someone like Skadi and Matilda, someone he can play around with.

P.S.: I got back from the hospital late with my medication, so this is an 8,000-word update...

Chapter 49 The Black Knight Who Resonated with Him, Comrades-in-Arms

Reinhardt left, and Matilda also left alone through a spatial passage she had created.

Ren Fujii's earlier bold words, or rather, challenging declarations, to Reinhardt had already silenced her, who was standing beside Mary and Skadi.

Instead of leaving immediately, they walked out of the guest room and onto the Golden Corridor.

Skadi gave Ren Fujii a period of silence, and once Ren Fujii calmed down, she opened a dimensional portal back to the present world.

Mary and Skadi went in first, followed closely by Ren Fujii.

But just before the girl was about to step into the dimensional tunnel, a humming sound, like that of the soul, began to pulsate.

A gaze, like a magnet to her, fell upon her.

At the last moment before entering the dimensional portal, Fujii Ren turned his head to look at the source of this strange feeling.

A cold-faced middle-aged man, dressed in a black military uniform with a round table-style design, wearing a military cap, and with a black sash engraved with runes around his neck, was staring indifferently and coldly at Fujii Ren.

Saying it was cold might not be entirely accurate; rather, it was more like Fujii Ren felt as if he were being watched by a dead person from a coffin.

The gloomy and profound aura of death surrounding that man was what gave Fujii Ren this chilling feeling.

Those eyes were also filled with deathly aura. The way the other person looked at Fujii Ren was strange, both cold and indifferent, yet also carrying a hint of...confusion.

However, seeing that the dimensional portal was about to shrink and close, Fujii Ren didn't linger after regaining her senses. Although she cared a lot about the man, she knew that he was definitely her enemy because he was dressed in a black round table outfit.

Fujii Ren knew from his intuition and a sense of déjà vu that they would definitely meet on the battlefield someday.

"...Lotos Reichhart..."

The Black Knight, Machina, watched the departing blue-haired girl and involuntarily murmured a name from his memory that he would never forget, even if he were to transform into a demon.

And most importantly, he got hard!

His fist hardened!

The moment I saw the other person, I unconsciously got an erection.

Who was that woman? One of the guests invited by Heydrich?

No, that's not right, it's not just that kind of identity!

This sense of resonance, there's no mistake, this feeling of soul-to-soul resonance, there's no mistake.

"...Comrade-in-arms..."

A purplish-black aura of death ignited on the corpse-like body, and anger surfaced in the Black Knight Magina's lifeless eyes.

He trusted his instincts, but that woman... there could only be one answer: it was the snake's doing.

It's impossible to confirm whether the two are in contact, but the feeling won't disappear. Just smash your iron fist into the other's chest on the battlefield to confirm it. If the feeling is wrong, the touch will definitely be right.

------

On the other hand, Fujii Ren, who had returned to reality and left that demonic city dimension, couldn't help but think about Reinhardt and the man she saw before leaving.

My mind was racing, trying to figure out what the source of that strange feeling was.

Ever since entering that golden demon city, she had felt a sense of familiarity that was different from any other kind of familiarity, as if she had been there before.

Moreover, there was a strange sense of familiarity about the middle-aged man in the black round table military uniform.

Because he couldn't find any memories that matched the sense of familiarity, even this forced thinking made Fujii Ren's head throb and ache.

"Lian, are you alright?"

Mary helped Fujii Ren, who was covering her forehead, with a worried expression.

"Ah, it's nothing, I'm just a little tired." Fujii Ren, forcing a smile, was indeed exhausted, but she couldn't rest yet. She looked at Skadi-senpai and said:

"Senior, I threw Silang out during the battle earlier, and now he's..."

After throwing Yuzashiro out, she completely lost her inhibitions and went into berserk mode to fight Reinhardt.

Now that he's out, I wonder how Silang is doing?

"That guy...?"

Skadi paused for a moment upon hearing this, then looked in one direction, waved her hand to open an interdimensional portal, and reached her hand inside.

When he reached out again, he grabbed a blond man covered in branches and leaves, tattered and covered in blood.

Holding the half-dead Yuzashirou by the back of his collar, Skadi instantly healed his injuries with a quantum recombination, then looked at the worried Fujii Ren and said:

"This guy only has a few broken bones. He's fine now. He'll wake up naturally tomorrow after a rest."

"Thank you, senior."

Upon hearing this, Fujii Ren breathed a sigh of relief, then took Yuza Shirou from Skadi, preparing to temporarily drop him off at her apartment before giving Honjo Erii a hug to ensure his safety.

It was already late at night. After exchanging words with Skadi and politely declining her invitation to stay at her home that night, Fujii Ren helped Yuza Shirou and returned to his apartment with Mary.

After easily opening the door to Shiro's apartment, Fujii Ren tossed the guy onto his bed in his room, dealt with him briefly, and then left him alone.

Anyway, Silang is no longer an ordinary person, and since his life is no longer in danger, there is no need to take care of him too much.

When a tired-looking Fujii Ren returned home, she saw Mary tidying up her room and pouring her a glass of water.

However, having completely relaxed, Fujii Ren was now utterly exhausted, and as she took the water glass from Mary's hand, her vision was once again eroded by darkness.

In her final moments, she felt herself fall into a warm embrace and heard Mary's gasp.

However, this coma due to overwork also allowed Fujii Ren to once again enter the realm of his subconscious mind.

Thinking back on the things that mattered to me today, beyond my limits, why did I feel a connection with that dark-skinned man who was full of death?

Ever since becoming a demon, Fujii Ren has been able to see other people's memories. Whose memories are they this time?

This in itself is not unusual. In order to make one's own desires the world, one must unfold the main events while evoking them, which can be said to be a necessary task accompanying the emergence of the creative order.

Therefore, it is not surprising that Fujii Ren would have such thoughts at the critical moment of life and death.

But... this memory is so strange, it's neither Mary nor Skadi.

What appears before Fujii Ren's consciousness and the audience is indeed a memory from the past.

"You idiot! You actually said you wanted to join the army?!"

It resembled a German family setting, with an older man angrily roaring at a figure with their back turned, "What do you take our clan's mission for?!"

mission?

As a third party in the tide of memories, Fujii Ren is unable to change or touch anything; he can only accept this strange part of the memory as an observer.

Speaking of her mission, the girl shifted her gaze to the photos on the wall of the room.