Tio: "I will not fail you, my liberator."

The woman spoke subserviently.

Kyrie: "I know you won't... Take care of her."

A small, blue-haired Merfolk lay unconscious in the arms of a black-haired maiden with yellow eyes.

Tio: "What will become of me after this?"

Kyrie: "Oh? You saw through my surface intentions..."

A slightly sad expression appears on her face. Tio averts her eyes, a little ashamed of doing such a thing to her liberator.

Tio: "My apologies. I--"

Kyrie: "Don't worry. I only want you to have a better future, seeing as you lost your people."

The two already know of each other, with Tio knowing Kyrie's vampirism and Kyrie knowing that she was likely the last one of her kind.

Tio: "But I wish to travel alongside my liberator."

Kyrie: "I know... but this is not your fate... I'm sorry."

A thin cylindrical device appears in her hand, pointing it in front of Tio.

Kyrie: "I wish you and the Merfolk well."

She already showed Tio where the Merfolk were through a psychic vision.

Tio: "... Then... I shall do my best."

Kyrie: "Yeah... Goodbye, Tio."

She puts on shades.

Kyrie sighs as she puts away the Neuralyzer.

Kyrie: "You found this Merfolk child down a riverbank about to be captured by slavers. You rescued her and are about to return her to her people, of which you know the location of. Due to a lapse in your memory after breaking free of the mind control, you will not remember how all of this specifically came to be."

After that, she turns her back and walks away.

Upon hearing wings flap, Tio must have transformed. Myu and Tio's fate has strayed from the original timeline.

---

Kyrie: "'I've had enough of this. I'm already attached to them. I can't let this happen again. I will... show no mercy to the next world I visit! I want to numb myself. I want to numb my emotions!!!' "

She had perfect hatred in her thoughts. She not only hated harem protagonists, but she also hated herself for feeling attachment to people like THEM. She's had fucking enough of that. She just wants to leave but can't leave the story unfinished.

Being this angry, her teeth ground against each other like metal. This caused a little Warp energy to leak out, causing a bit of the walls in the alley she was in melt like ice.

Kyrie: "'The Mechanicus... I need the help of the Mechanicus!' "

---

Kyrie didn't bother remembering what happened when the three of them destroyed an entire slave organization or something. It was sickening.

Throughout her travel with the two, she feigned joy and appreciation despite feeling them genuinely. And in the background, she's been sending assassins and other hidden forces of Ehit to the Warp to be killed by Daemons.

Going along with the story, they ride to the outpost town to go to the guild there. She's been pretending to sleep all this time throughout the ride to avoid conversation.

Walking to the guild to also deliver a letter, the three walk alongside each other, with Kyrie being in the middle.

She yawns.

Hajime: "Did you rest well, Ain?"

There was sweetness in his voice, which Kyrie did her best to stop herself from feeling.

Kyrie: "Yeah... I think I'm still fatigued from when I released that storm on the monster army."

Yue: "Mh-hm. Ain-oneesama worked really hard. She even spearheaded us to the criminal organization's elimination!"

Yue spoke brightly and with reverence for her sister.

Kyrie pats her head with a smile. Even when she tries to resist, she's only human who doesn't want her humanity.

Kyrie already noticed that ever since that time when Hajime carried her, he's been much more open about expressing... his feelings about and for her. She needs to finish this before things get bad for her in particular.

Kyrie: "Let's just get this over with. I'm just walking and I'm already tired."

Hajime: "You mean you're bored?"

He asks with a clever smirk.

Kyrie: "Haha! Yeah."

Hajime: "There's my bloodthirsty Ain."

He spoke with adoration, making Kyrie flinch.

Kyrie: "... Bloody hell, mate."

Hajime loses his smile after that.

Hajime: "I can feel it... We're... close to completing my goal."

The voice of anger starts small in his throat.

Kyrie: "Yeah..."

Yue: "Will you be able to go through with it, Hajime...?"

She spoke, concerned for her friend.

Hajime: "I've gone too far to turn back now."

Kyrie: "... 'If I'm gonna leave, I'll leave with a dramatic end to this narrative!' "

---

"I am Loa Bawavis." The guild master introduced himself. 

Hajime: "Mmh. Let's get down to business."

Loa was handed a letter containing the seal of the guild they worked with before.

Loa: "According to this, you three are quite miraculous. You wiped out 60,000 monsters using powerful magic unknown to even the most knowledgeable. You destroyed an entire criminal organization in just one evening. This sounds too good to be true, but I know Ilwer's no liar."

Hajime: "You could consider this one to be the spearhead to our achievements."

He pointed his thumb at Kyrie, giving a smirk towards her. He had his eyepatch down, so it made him look a bit teasing and smug.

Kyrie: "Come on, man... Stop giving me credit. You're just flattering me."

She says with light-hearted intentions.

Hajime: "Nah, nah, nah. You deserve every bit of credit. You were the smarter one here."

He says with a smile and pleasant tone.

This back and forth goes on a few more times before the now-smiling Loa coughs on his fist to break it up.

Loa: "You two seem to be a good couple."

Hajime looks away nervously. Kyrie was about to say something but her mouth was blocked by a smiling Yue.

Yue: "Yes, they are, aren't they?"

She held up an innocent smile, which just made Kyrie squint her eyes.

Kyrie: "'Bruh.' "

Right on cue, someone bursts through the door to interrupt them. It was a guy who went out of invisibility. Kyrie already knew it was Endo.

Endo: "Urgent news! There's a Demon in the labyrinth!"

He was very much panicked, making Hajime raise an eyebrow.

Loa: "Do you know this man?"

Kyrie looks at Hajime.

He lets out a deep sigh.

Hajime: "... No, I don't. But to my knowledge, he's part of the hero's party, right?"

He asks, showing indifference and little care for Endo. Yue only now sat next to Kyrie with her silent and indifferent demeanor.

Loa: "This is-"

Before he was able to introduce them, Kyrie stood up with the firmness of a Commissar and the demeanor of a war veteran.

Kyrie: "Ain Soph Naval. Gold Plate adventuring party."

The stare she gave was enough to make Endo stutter, focusing on her instead of Hajime.

Endo: "I-I'm Endo..."

Realizing time was being wasted, he gets up and runs to Kyrie to plead for her help.

Endo: "P-Please, you gotta help-"

As he was about to beg and grab onto her elbows, Endo receives a firm backhand slap to the face.

Kyrie: "Firstly, shut the bloody hell up. Secondly, calm down."

Endo: "But you have to-!"

Kyrie:

Endo: "They're going to-!"

Kyrie:

After 5 seconds, Hajime calls her off.

Hajime: "I think he's had enough, Ain. Now, Endo, explain the situation calmly... or our leader here would give you more disciplinary action."

At this point, Endo had cheeks of painful red and was panting because of being slapped so many times. But he did eventually explain things calmly.

Hajime: "Uh-huh... Mind telling me the names in the hero's party of everyone who went down there?"

Endo found this a bit confusing but his judgement was clouded by the thought of urgency, so he spoke all their names. All the names Endo had said passed through Hajime's ears, until the last name was spoken.

Endo: "... and Hiyama Daisuke."

That's all he needed to hear. Shadows covered his eyes, and the two girls present could sense his bloodlust for revenge. Hajime was so close. He smiled a wide, toothed grin, almost freaking Endo out.

Hajime: "Say, Loa,... are we allowed to take this request?"

He says with a slight chuckle in his throat.

Loa: "Of course."

Hajime: "Heh... What do you say, leader, do we take this request?"

Kyrie responded with a calm yet serious smile as she turned her head to look at him.

Kyrie: "Oh, absolutely."

Yue: "If that's what my sister wants, I have no objections."

She was eager.

Endo's face lights up with hope. They leave immediately, with Hajime more enthusiastic than Endo, Kyrie, and Yue combined. But Kyrie had something else in mind to finish this narrative.

---

Kyrie disintegrated the Behemoth before it even spawned. They all keep running as fast as they could. Kyrie continued to use her psyker powers to enhance herself physically.

Kyrie: "We take a shortcut here."

On a seemingly insignificant part of the cavernous and stony walls, they all stopped. Hajime planted a machine in the ground and, with a quick power boost from the Elenium, it shot a giant metallic spike through many, many floors.

The spike pierced through the monsters that was about to attack the heavily injured hero's party. It actually went down a few more floors, but it was enough to reach the party so it wasn't a problem.

Kyrie bowed and extended her arms to present the dug hole.

Kyrie: "Ladies first."

Hajime chuckled.

Hajime: "If you say so. (￢‿￢ )"

As a funny prank joke, he quickly tossed Yue in. He gives Kyrie an innocent and teasing look.

Kyrie: "... (ಠ_ಠ)"

Hajime: "What? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯"

Kyrie: "I'm wolverine mean, you sonuva bitch."

She says with non-serious anger as she kicks him in the hole.

She also kicked Endo in.

---

Suffice it to say that backup has arrived.

Yue landed first with elegance, followed up by Hajime doing a superhero landing with the arm Kyrie made him.

Yue: "Never do that again..."

Hajime: "Oh, come on. I was just having a little fun with your sister."

When Kyrie was about to land beside him, Hajime decided on a little revenge. He instructed Yue to do a little wind magic and make sure she was outbalanced enough to land in Hajime's arms.

Kyrie: "..."

Kyrie looked at him with a dumbfounded and deadpan look.

Kyrie: "You bold bloody mary."

She just exhales and stands up properly. Oh, and Endo also lands.

The light-hearted atmosphere quickly evaporated.

Hajime turns to everyone, looking at Kaori, but then loses focus on her as he stared at Daisuke. Upon feeling his gaze, the coward inched back and flinched with fear.

The demon who Kyrie knew whose name was Cattleya seemed to be taken aback by the sudden intrusion.

Cattleya: "I never expected someone to go down to hell out of their own free will."

She mocked with calm glee.

Hajime: "Meh. You get used to it after almost dying the first time."

Kaori and the other students remain silent.

Kyrie: "Yue, stay here for a second. I'll use a few experimental scrolls on the others."

Yue nods. Hajime didn't even bother looking at his former classmates. He crossed his arms and remained looking at the demon.

Kyrie approached them, the members looking at her wearily. They did mind her military uniform, though.

She took out two scrolls from underneath her trench coat and tossed them in the air. The scrolls unravel and burn into blue sparks of light.

Kyrie: "Anti-Life Cacoon. Wall of Protection from Arrows."

A greenish dome surrounds them.

Kyrie: "Yue, provide support only. Use your wind magic to make sure they're away from these guys."

Kouki: "E-Excuse me, but who are you people?"

He mustered up the courage to speak in his usual righteous way.

Kyrie: "None of your business."

Kyrie pulls out a strange backpack and gun from her extradimensional storage.

Endo: "T-They're gold-plated adventurers I found in the guild. We don't have to worry, I think."

Shizuku: "Yeah, but... something's off about that one with white hair."

Kaori just couldn't stop trying to discern who the one with white hair was.

Kyrie... decided to cheer up Hajime by letting him have a little fun with another new gun that she "made" during her spare time. She handed it to him.

Hajime: "Mm? What's this?"

Kyrie: "That is the Heavy Bolter, my friend. It's yours now."

The demon lady decides to make the first move and summon a monster right next to Hajime, which Hajime quickly dispatches by tearing its head off with his metallic arm. 

While everyone was occupied with the confusion and Hajime using his pistols instead of the Heavy Bolter (for now), Kyrie uses the Medi Gun to heal Meld.

Meld was miraculously healed. He pushes up his body in disbelief, seeing as he's alive.

The students comment on Kyrie's machine. But before they could comment more, Kyrie heals them through the barrier. The beam of red passed through it to heal Kouki and Suzu.

Suzu: "W-Who are they...?"

Kyrie: "Hey! Are you ready?!"

Hajime: "Are you sure this will work?"

Kyrie: "Hahahah! I have no idea!"

The monsters that tried to attack the hero's party were blocked by the Anti-Life Cacoon and were blown back to the front of Hajime and Kyrie. There was now a giant horde of monsters of various shapes and sizes.

Kyrie connects the beam to Hajime and he becomes shiny and red and completely invincible. 

He starts using the Heavy Bolter without discrimination.

Cattleya: "You're kidding... Are you lot even human?!"

Kyrie: "Absolutely bloody not! Humans are weak!"

A giant turtle fires a beam at him, making a smoke screen.

It deals no damage. Hajime mows down every single one of them, even the demon, who didn't even get a chance to do anything because of how powerful and how fast the Heavy Bolter was. And Kyrie didn't even have to activate the Elenium's crits.

The battle ended abruptly, but the students just witnessed a small war that will scar them.

---

Kyrie to Yue after the battle:

Kouki got up to face Hajime since the leader of their saviors was busy praising her sister.

Kouki: "You...You killed them all... without even batting an eye! You massacred them all!"

He was made because he also killed Cattleya.

Kouki: "Why didn't you at least spare her?!"

Kyrie: "I'll tell you why."

Kyrie speaks seriously with the stare of a Commissar. Hajime keeps both eyes closed and his arms crossed, ignoring them.

Kyrie: "Because we could."

Kouki: "What was that...?!"

He didn't like the answer she gave. He walked over to her, much to Endo's fear of his fellow classmate getting too close.

Kyrie: "It's better to have ended someone like her now than to have a future problem later."

Kouki: "She could have been taken prisoner instead!"

Kyrie: "So you can fulfill your justice-hero power fantasy? I think not. In this world, it's kill or be killed."

Kouki: "You... YOU-!"

He got too close. He got a firm slap to the face, so form that he faceplanted hard onto the floor, making a small crater.

Kyrie: "We kill our enemies, and give retribution to those who've wronged us. Isn't that right,... Hajime?"

Kaori: "Hajime-kun...?"

Within a blink of an eye, he was holding the throat of Daisuke with his metallic arm.

Daisuke: "That's-- impossible.....! You can't be Nagumo...! Lies... SHE'S LYING! SHE HAS TO BE!"

Kouki: "You bastards! You didn't come here to help us! You came here to kill us!"

Yue froze his body in a block of ice.

Yue: "No... We're only here... because Hajime was wronged."

Shizuku: "Nagumo-kun, wait!"

Hajime: "Mm?"

Shizuku became frightened. She called out to him but didn't have anything nor knew what to say.

Kaori: "Hajime-kun!... Please, don't kill him."

She pleaded.

Kaori: "I'm sorry!... I'm sorry I wasn't able to protect you back then...! I failed you, Hajime-kun!"

She cried out.

Hajime: "You didn't fail me, Kaori. You didn't try to kill me, but this motherfucker did."

He was cold and detached. He didn't care about anything other than his revenge. He was so close. He was right there! One well-placed shot to the head, and he'll finally have peace.

Kaori: "It doesn't have to be like this! You're here, now...!... I couldn't save you and protect you then, so please, Hajime-kun,... let me save you and let me protect you now."

Kyrie: "..."

She took out her chainsword and hid it behind her back, making sure nobody saw it.

Hajime: "Aah?"

He said with a lack of energy in his voice, meaning he's not paying attention.

His grip on Daisuke's neck released, giving Kaori a light of hope.

Hajime: "5..."

Daisuke's eyes light up with fear. He knew he wouldn't be able to defeat Hajime, so he ran.

Hajime: "4..."

Kaori: "Hajime!"

She cried out desperately, not entirely because she didn't want a classmate to get killed, but because she was afraid Hajime would lose himself entirely if he did.

Yue freezes Kaori in place too.

Yue looked at them regretfully.

Yue: "I'm sorry... I really am sorry..."

Hajime: "3..."

Kouki: "Guys, stop him!"

The others present didn't move. They were all too frozen in fear.

Hajime: "2..."

Shizuku closed her eyes, afraid to finally hear the gunshot.

Time seems to slow down for Daisuke as he was running for his life, even if he's running in a straight line. Foolishness, really.

Kyrie hid her chainsword away and took out the Yamato instead.

Hajime: "...1."

Instead of a bang from the gun he held, they all heard a slash, and then a wet thud. Daisuke's head was cut-off by a cut from the Yamato.

Hajime gasps, looking back at Kyrie with anger and shock. Even Yue was shocked by her sister's sudden action.

Kyrie's head was held low, her officer cap obscuring her eyes as she sheathes the Yamato.

Kyrie: "Urizen... The Usurper..."

Hajime: "You... usurped my kill."

He says with silent fury.

Kyrie: "The first time I saw your eyes, they were ones that said, "I want to live." But the second time I saw them, they were of bloody revenge..."

Hajime took one step closer to Kyrie.

Kyrie: "Revenge,... while sweet once taken,... can be devastating... You would lose yourself after the kill. You would feel empty... I... I couldn't let that happen to you, Hajime. And that's why I stuck with you, helped you out, made you happy here and now... because you deserve something better than emptiness."

She spoke, sounding genuine, caring, and compassionate. Kaori, Kouki, Shizuku, and the rest looked at him — even Meld.

Hajime: "..."

He stood in front of her. They couldn't see each other's eyes. He lifted his eyepatch.

Kyrie: "Sorry..."

Tears hit the floor, making Yue look concerned and pitied.

CLANG! Goes as two metals hit each other.

Kyrie looked at Hajime's eyes with shame. Hajime's tearful eyes looked at Kyrie with a bitter mixture of sadness, anger, and gratitude. They had clashed; Hajime with his metallic arm and Kyrie blocking it with a bayonet.

Kyrie: "I see, now... Then, I'm even more sorry, Hajime."

She gave him a bittersweet smile.

Hajime: "Ain!... You bastard...!... You... You took my kill!"

He shouted in anger but he didn't mean it entirely.

Hajime: "I've gone all this way to kill him — to get my revenge! And you took that from me!"

He shot his guns at her with a sad and angry tearful face.

She blocks them all with the Yamato.

Hajime: "I'll kill you..."

He didn't mean it.

Kyrie: "Yue,... please take care of Hajime for me. I'm not wanted anymore."

A bittersweet tone and smile were present as Kyrie also tears up a little.

Yue: "Onee-sama... W-What do you mean?"

Regretfully, Yue trapped Hajime in ice as well.

Kyrie: "And, Kaori,... please understand Hajime. He is a broken man."

Kaori looked at her with sadness and understanding. She misjudged her and Hajime. Actually,... she felt respect for Kyrie.

Kyrie cuts open a portal with the Yamato.

Yue: "Onee-sama! Don't go, please!"

Kyrie: "... Thank you for being my sister, Yue."

She walks through, leaving them all.

Hajime collapses on the ground with overflowing tears in his eyes.

Hajime: "Ain... You bastard... You did this for me because you're so compassionate... I tried to make you happy as well and I tried to make you mine... But you were too good... You're too good for me... Thank you... Thank you,... you bloody bastard."

He cried to himself in private, seeing Kyrie as someone so kind that she was willing to betray Hajime so he wouldn't feel empty.

At first, everyone who isn't Yue saw Hajime and Kyrie as monsters without mercy. Now, they understand that... Hajime was just broken, and Kyrie had the resolve to put him back together even if it meant being excluded from his life.

Yue wept as well at the loss of her sister. She wept with Hajime silently.

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No meme for today. Only pain.