Chapter 208: The Garden of Sinners Episode 5: Paradox Spiral! (Part 6)
Compared to the pompous critiques of the nobles, the audience in the southern territory—many of whom had seen the earlier chapters of The Garden of Sinners—were far more engaged, unable to stop whispering among themselves.
"Ryougi Shiki's condition seems to be getting worse… She's losing control of her murderous impulses."
"Judging from the timeline, this must take place after Overlooking View, huh? No wonder she's falling apart."
"The death of her male persona clearly left a huge void in her sense of self. She still hasn't filled it. She doesn't even understand who she is anymore."
"That Enjou kid's lucky as hell, huh? With Kokutou Mikiya conveniently gone right now… though I wonder what he's off doing. He's already one step away from getting 'greened'."
"That's a stretch. It's obvious Shiki has zero romantic interest in Enjou. The way she treats him isn't how you treat a person—it's more like how you'd treat a stray pet. There's no that kind of relationship at all."
"What I want to know is this, what the hell is up with Enjou's family? From the flashbacks, they looked pretty normal, so how did things get that twisted?"
"Beats me. Poor guy's just seriously unlucky. I hope he at least gets some kind of happy ending…"
"..."
These and countless other murmurs filled the air. Whether they were ordinary citizens from the South or magic scholars from the Imperial Mage Academy, everyone was baffled by the dense, slow-paced exposition of Paradox Spiral's opening act. All they could do was share theories and wait for the story to finally move forward.
And eventually, it did.
After a long and quiet buildup, the film finally shifted.
One day, Enjou happened to notice someone suspicious tailing Shiki on the street. Alarmed, he rushed to tell her.
Her response? Utter indifference.
"That kind of thing… isn't worth worrying about."
Just like that, she brushed it off.
Frustrated, Enjou blurted something out—something he hadn't fully thought through. He confessed to her.
But Shiki's reaction wasn't a flustered blush or awkward silence.
Instead, she raised a knife to his throat.
"Would you die for me?"
Her voice was calm. Cold. Merciless.
Trembling, but without looking away, Enjou answered:
"Yeah… if it's for you, I'd die."
At those words, something in Shiki's gaze shifted.
It grew even colder.
And Enjou—perhaps realizing how hollow his own words sounded—fell into a spiral of despair.
"It's not like my life means anything anyway. I killed my parents. No matter what, I'm bound for the death penalty. Better to die by your hand than be dragged to the gallows…"
"Killed… your parents?"
"Yeah. I did it. Over and over. I was afraid they wouldn't die right, so I just… kept going. Tore their guts open with a kitchen knife. Again and again. My fingers wouldn't let go. My wrist wouldn't stop. It was like… I wasn't even sure if I was trying to kill them or just stir their insides…"
He let out a broken laugh.
"I couldn't even tell if what I was holding was a person anymore…"
"Enjou… why did you kill them?"
He fell silent for a moment. Then, in a hoarse voice, he answered:
"Because I was scared. I had a dream. I came home after work, laid down on my futon, and then… I heard them fighting in the next room. Then the door slid open. My father was covered in blood. My mother stood there. And then…"
"She stabbed me. Over and over. In the throat."
"..."
"At first, I thought I'd died for real. But then… I woke up the next morning. It hadn't happened. I was still alive. But the dream kept coming. Every night. The same one. Over and over."
"So eventually… I couldn't take it anymore. And before they could kill me…"
"…I killed them."
His voice trailed off into silence.
Thus, the full tragedy of Enjou Tomoe was laid bare. A boy crushed under guilt and fear, spiraling into the depths of madness.
There were inconsistencies, to be sure—details that didn't quite add up. But no one watching seemed to care.
Because everything he said… perfectly matched the fragmented imagery shown at the beginning of the film.
And so, the film continued.
After Enjou Tomoe confessed to killing his mother, he never returned to Ryougi Shiki's apartment again.
He had planned to die quietly—like a weed, shriveling away on some nameless roadside.
But then, something impossible happened.
He saw his mother—who should have been dead—walking on the street.
The sight chilled him to the bone.
Panicked, he sought out Shiki once again and told her everything.
"So… you're saying your parents—who should be dead—are still alive?"
"There's no way! I did kill my mom! My dad's dead too! That's for sure! If they were still alive, that would be way more terrifying!"
"Then let's go check. Your house."
"What?"
Caught off guard by how easily she said it, Enjou couldn't even form a response before he found himself following her.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The story, which had simmered in ambiguity for so long, began to shift again. And this time, there was something in the air—an invisible tension, a creeping dread.
The sense of danger oozed from the screen like a fog.
Even the nobles, who had previously been jeering and ridiculing the film, now fell into silence.
They stared at the screen, expressions tense, desperate to uncover the root of this horror.
And then—
Arcueid Viktor finally spoke.
"It seems… Enjou Tomoe's whole family may no longer be human."
"Huh…?"
Edward blinked, visibly stunned by how easily she had guessed the final twist.
Arcueid, in contrast, wore a calm and confident smile as she continued:
"Let's leave aside the fact that his supposedly dead parents are suddenly walking around again. Just look at Enjou himself. He's gone this entire time without eating properly, and we've barely seen him sleep. That's not normal. Under that level of psychological stress and physical deprivation, a regular human would've collapsed long ago. Unless, of course, The Garden of Sinners has some strange human physiology. In which case, feel free to ignore me."
"..."
Edward hesitated for a moment but decided not to spoil the plot.
All around them, others who had heard Arcueid's quiet analysis were showing visible signs of shock.
They hadn't noticed those details at all—and now that they were pointed out, it changed everything.
Even Constantine was taken aback.
"I see… In other words, something was wrong with Enjou's family from the very beginning. They seemed normal, but in truth, they were no longer human. But what in the world could twist an ordinary family into something this grotesque?"
"We'll find out soon enough," Arcueid replied calmly.
"I suspect it has something to do with the man who was stalking Shiki… and possibly the very apartment building where the Enjous live."
As her voice faded, Edward couldn't help letting out a helpless sigh.
Inside, he was already groaning.
'She really is something else… Her eye for detail is unreal.'
<+>
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[1] https://www.patreon.com/collection/162522?view=condensed
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