Naoki knew that the Burial Agency was composed of monsters with extraordinary combat abilities. Even Ciel, the lowest-ranking member, could, to some extent, fight against Servants.
However, letting Ciel face one of the 27 Dead Apostle Ancestors alone—the Fifteenth Ancestor, whom even the Church's repeatedly deployed forces had never defeated—was essentially sending her to her death, wasn't it?
"Ciel… do you think the Church genuinely believes you can defeat the Forest of Einnashe?"
Naoki couldn't help but ask.
"I don't know how strong you've become over these seven years. Maybe you're strong enough to destroy an Ancestor single-handedly, but sending you alone… especially since you no longer have immortality, right?"
In the past, Ciel had immortality. As Roa's reincarnation, she was born as Roa. She was both Ciel and Roa. As long as Roa existed, the world would see her death as a contradiction to be corrected.
But seven years ago, Manaka completely eradicated Roa. As a result, Ciel lost her immortality. Though she still had some regenerative abilities, they were far from the level where she could revive on the spot after being killed.
If she were still immortal, it would make sense for Ciel to hunt the Forest of Einnashe alone. Even if she couldn't defeat it, she could rely on her immortality to gather sufficient information or significantly weaken it.
But now…
"This is my final mission." Ciel said. "This mission was assigned to me shortly after I returned to the Burial Agency's headquarters following Roa's destruction seven years ago. But since the Forest of Einnashe hadn't appeared yet, I spent the time before this dealing with its offspring."
The offspring of the Forest of Einnashe—mutants said to be born from the forest's fruit. When the fruit ripened, it would drip blood. Some of those drops would turn into seeds. After lying dormant underground for a time, they would evolve differently from their parent. These evolved individuals were called the offspring of the Forest of Einnashe.
Depending on their evolutionary process, their final forms varied, but fundamentally, they were all forests.
"I learned this fact shortly after receiving the mission. While dealing with Dead Apostles and Ancestors is routine, giving me no support and only contacting me unilaterally—this abnormal behavior already explains the situation."
"Moreover, the main reason I joined the Burial Agency was my immortality. Now that I've lost it, I've lost my greatest value. I'm a worthless person in that organization, so it's only natural they'd discard me."
"This mission is my last. The Burial Agency contacted me for the final time before I boarded this train. Regardless of the outcome—success or failure—I'll be completely discarded."
Using valuable people and discarding the worthless—that was the essence of the Burial Agency. Its members all had abnormal personalities. Expecting pity or camaraderie from them was impossible.
Propping his chin in thought, Naoki asked, "I see… By the way, what do you think your chances are against the Forest of Einnashe?"
"Though it's not a reliable metric, I'd say I have a ninety percent chance against its offspring. With the data I have and the records on the Forest of Einnashe itself… I might have a thirty percent chance of surviving."
Not a chance of winning, but a chance of surviving.
Ciel had never considered defeating the Forest of Einnashe alone. After all, it was an Ancestor capable of wiping out entire cities, one that even the Church's assembled forces couldn't defeat, only destroy.
Defeating it alone was unrealistic, an impossible mission.
"A thirty percent chance of survival… that's pretty low. What about your chances of winning?" Naoki pressed, asking the same question differently. "What's your percentage chance of defeating the Forest of Einnashe?"
"Huh? Didn't I just say? Thirty percent—"
"That's not your chance of winning. Is your reading comprehension lacking?"
Touching Ciel's forehead, Naoki said seriously, "Ciel, to me, you're in a deeply contradictory state right now."
"Contradictory? Me?"
"Yes, contradictory, extremely contradictory. Because you want to die, but at the same time, you don't."
"What do you mean…?" Ciel didn't understand Naoki's point. "Are you saying I'm afraid of death?"
"No, no, no. You definitely don't have thoughts like that. But fear of death is an instinct every person has—even I can't escape it. What I mean is your resolve—up until seven years ago, you probably never thought about what would happen after Roa was destroyed, right?"
Ciel's life was thrown into chaos by Roa's emergence. Beyond death, there was destruction. The death of her family, the ruin of her hometown—that's why Ciel surely hated Roa. Otherwise, she wouldn't have joined the Burial Agency.
But Ciel had never considered what would happen after Roa's death. Until seven years ago, her only thoughts were about destroying Roa and exacting revenge.
Now, Roa was gone. Having suddenly lost her purpose, Ciel didn't know where to go next. She should've had time to think about it, but before she could, the Burial Agency discarded her, limiting her options to dying alongside the Forest of Einnashe.
As a Burial Agency member, though essentially discarded, Ciel still wanted to complete her mission.
But as a human, Ciel also didn't want to die after being abandoned by everyone.
In short, her half-hearted state left her in extreme contradiction. If Naoki were in her position, he might've faked his death during a battle with one of the Forest's offspring and hidden in the countryside under an alias.
"Do you want my help, Ciel?" Naoki suddenly asked. "If it's the Forest of Einnashe, I can help you hunt it. Not to brag, but I think I have the ability to destroy it alone."
"Huh? What did you say?"
Ciel thought she might've misheard. "You're saying… you're willing to help me?"
"Didn't you come to me with that intention? Maybe subconsciously—but it doesn't matter. Since this train will pass through the Forest of Einnashe's territory, I can't just relax."
The Fifteenth Ancestor was clearly a target beyond Olga Marie's capabilities. Per their agreement, Naoki had to protect her from the Forest of Einnashe.
If so, why not destroy the entire Forest of Einnashe while he was at it? It wasn't like he couldn't.
"After that… if you want, I can help you again. Whether you want to fake your death and hide under an alias or return to the Burial Agency and retire, depending on the situation, I'd be happy to assist."
"After all, it's not my first time being the tiger lurking in someone's shadow."