After the battle, Irina seemed to be in unusually high spirits, walking ahead with a lightness in her steps.
"You look… happy. Didn't think I'd ever see that," Sato said, speeding up to walk beside her.
"It just happens I'm in a good mood. This was the first time I could use my powers efficiently… though still nowhere near my full strength." Irina stretched slightly, glancing at him from the corner of her eye.
"In any case, well done out there. You were amazing!" Sato exclaimed with a smile.
Drastei didn't look like a good person at first, but I guess he cared about Kaito. Must be nice… I wish Irina cared about me like that. But even like this, I'm happy—and if the roles were reversed, I know I'd be the one screaming her name.
"Flattery will get you nowhere with me. You know that."
"I know. But getting stronger might—and if not that, then maybe my cooking." Sato grinned. "How about this: tonight, I'll make your favorite pizza."
"I never told you I like pizza," Irina muttered, looking slightly embarrassed.
"No, but you made it pretty clear when you ate an entire one by yourself."
She clicked her tongue but didn't deny it.
The two of them continued on their way home, unaware that from the rooftop of a nearby building, someone was watching. The figure reacted to a faint magical trace, swiftly turning and aiming the sniper barrel straight at his head.
"Sharp as ever, mademoiselle Killa. No need to resort to violence now. I'm only the observateur of this chapitre, not the villain."
Killa relaxed when she saw him, lowering her sniper from his face and setting it on the rooftop's concrete as she leaned against it.
"You really should be careful where you sneak, Trickster. I was ready to blow your brains out. So—what is the famous 'Failed Director' after?"
"Mademoiselle… that title pains me greatly every time I hear it. You may stick to my stage name instead."
Killa shifted her weight, stepping onto the edge of the building, ready to leap into the night.
"Ah, mademoiselle Killa…" Trickster's voice cut through the wind like a violin string. "Leaving already? You'll make the chapitre feel… incomplete."
He tilted his head slightly, his grin hidden beneath the shadow of his hat.
"Stay just une seconde," he said softly, one hand extended as though pulling invisible strings. "There's a question you might want to answer before the curtain falls."
"Mademoiselle, I meant to ask, what do you think of the page that just turned?"
"Page that turned… You mean Irina's fight? It was alright. Nothing special." Killa tilted her head to peek at him.
"Quite a blank answer, mademoiselle, but acceptable nonetheless."
Trickster flipped open his pocket watch, checking the time with theatrical disappointment.
"This scène is about to end anyway. I must prepare for the next act. Until we meet again."
Trickster removed his hat and gave a small bow, as if concluding a grand spectacle. From inside the hat, smoke began to pour out, thick and rolling across the rooftop until it swallowed him whole. By the time it cleared… he was gone.
"Weido," Killa said as she turned and jumped down.
That fight Irina had… it was bigger than I expected. To think she can already use that much of her power. And Sato said he wasn't strong enough. He really has no idea how strong he already is… and yet he keeps striving for more.
Killa dropped down from the rooftop, landing effortlessly before heading into the shadows of the alley.
"She'll ruin him if he's not careful." With that final line, she vanished into the dark.
Night had fallen over the city—and just as quietly as it arrived, it slipped away, giving place to a new day. Somewhere else, a pair of curtains were drawn aside, allowing sunlight to pour into a meticulously tidy bedroom.
Megumi lay in bed. The moment the light reached her, she turned away, facing the wall instead. Seeing that, Butterfly sat beside her and gently ran her hand through Megumi's messy, sleep-mussed hair.
"It's time to get up, Megumi. It's already morning."
Megumi shifted under the covers for a moment before finally pushing herself up.
"...Morning, Butterfly." She sleepily rubbed at one eye with her fist.
"Good morning!" Butterfly greeted her with a warm smile. "Whenever you're ready, I'll be waiting in the kitchen, breakfast is already done."
"...Thank you."
As Butterfly left the room, Megumi sat up and stretched. She changed out of her pajamas and made her way to the kitchen, where Butterfly was already sitting at the table.
Megumi took her seat, and the two began to eat in silence—until Butterfly finally decided to break it.
"So… are you feeling any better today?"
Megumi put her fork down and nodded.
"I'm feeling much better. Thankfully, my body's finally caught up with my mind. Still… that memory won't fade anytime soon."
"Take it easy. With time, everything will get better."
"I know." Megumi's gaze drifted toward the TV, where a news broadcast about heroes was playing. "Anything interesting?"
Butterfly followed her glance before answering.
"Actually… yeah. Future's interview seems to have stirred things up quite a bit. Heroes don't seem to hide their fights anymore."
"And what about the bystanders?"
Fortunately, there hadn't been any casualties so far.. From what I can tell, this is the first time things have gotten this heated—but even so, the heroes are doing their best to keep the fighting away from civilians.
Butterfly raised a hand to her chin, thinking for a moment.
"It's like they either agree beforehand not to fight until they're in a secluded area… or, if they do clash in public, the moment someone innocent is in danger, they both immediately shift their focus to protecting them."
"I see. I'm glad maniacs like that aren't roaming around anymore," Megumi said with a sigh of relief.
"That was an isolated case," Butterfly replied. "Normally, arbiters oversee the competition to make sure things like that don't happen and no rules are broken. But I still can't wrap my head around why they allowed it this time."
What was Future thinking…?
"In either case, they're horrible for letting something like that happen."
"Oh my, even me?" Butterfly said with a playful tone.
"You're nothing like them. You didn't let people die." Megumi snapped back, aggressively lifting her glass of juice, downing it in one gulp.
"That's true. I didn't let something like that happen…" Butterfly's smile faded. "I did worse."
Megumi froze.
"It's been a while since we met, and we've already been through a lot together," Butterfly continued, her voice softer now. "So I think it's about time I tell you a little more about myself."
Megumi listened closely to Butterfly as she began to speak.
"You should know, Megumi—there aren't many saints in Nexus. Everyone who ends up there has a past tied to some kind of achievement. Some might have helped their nation prosper. Others fought valiantly in wars for their homeland. There are even those who achieved something legendary, like cutting down a mountain in a single strike."
She paused for a moment.
"But that's not the case for most of us—many of us are murderers, past people who proved their worth by killing others. This… is my case as well." Butterfly said heavily
Butterfly blinked once, and when her eyes opened again, she was already looking at her younger self in that distant world.
"When I was born, my parents abandoned me at a hidden dōjō deep in the woods. The people there took me in and raised me. That's where I learned how to wield a weapon… how to fight."
Megumi remained silent, her eyes fixed on her.
"But since that dōjō was directly under the shogun's command, the moment they deemed me ready, I was sent on my first mission. At first, it was just scouting and sabotage. But over time, I started receiving assassination contracts… and I obeyed."
"You obeyed… without question?"
"Yes. The Empire was absolute. Anyone it considered a threat—we were sent to eliminate them. In time, we even earned a name of our own: the Shadow Widows."
The Widow was the first to welcome me into the dōjō, my closest friend at the time, and my greatest ally. She always made sure everything went smoothly.
"They used us as they pleased, making us do their dirty work. We were seen as nothing more than killing machines, and because of us the Empire's rule spread across the land. We, on the other hand, lost our humanity in the process: from laughing together in the dōjō, we eventually stopped talking to each other entirely. Even food began to lose its taste."
She stared at her own hands, as if seeing blood on them still.
"But everything changed one day. On a mission I was ordered to eliminate a noble after their previous leader had fallen in battle—the new noble was barely a child. I didn't hesitate. In a single bound I lunged for his neck, but at that exact moment a man threw himself in front of the boy to shield him. I froze, then stepped back."
"Why would you back down then?" Megumi was captivated by her story, listening carefully to every detail.
"Maybe it was because it was the first time I saw someone willingly risk their life for another… I still don't know for sure, even now. But that man snapped at me, shouting that the boy was only a child… that the Empire wouldn't stop even when a clan was already on its last breath."
"At the time I didn't care what he was saying. Procedure ordered us to eliminate anyone who stood between us and our target, but I decided to spare him. I simply slipped past and killed the child." Butterfly said, her voice heavy with regret.
"Some time passed after that mission. I was on patrol alone, far from the Empire's territory, when I began to feel unwell—exhaustion caught up to me, but I still forced myself to keep going. Eventually, my vision grew blurry, nausea hit me… and soon I blacked out. All alone, in the middle of a cornfield."
"Back then I was sure I was going to die there. But instead… I woke up in a small house, weak, lying in a bed with a cold compress on my forehead. And standing further away with his back to me was that same man, the one who tried to shield the boy."
"He had saved me. Though I didn't realize it at first. I tried to jump out of bed, but my body gave in and I collapsed back onto it."
"He heard the noise and came over, telling me to calm down, saying that I should rest. He said he found me collapsed in the field, and that I was safe there. That I could leave whenever I felt better."
"I didn't know what to do. I had never been in that kind of situation before, so to understand why I was even there, I asked him why he'd saved me. Back then he answered shyly, saying that, if possible, he didn't want to see anyone die as long as he was around." Butterfly smiled faintly, a soft chuckle escaping her lips.
"…Even though you were his enemy?" Megumi asked, surprised.
"It's surprising, isn't it? And now that I think about it… Sato kind of reminds me of him—only his naivete, though."
"So I stayed there for a while. He nursed me back to health, and before I knew it I began to taste food again, to enjoy my time there… to not want to leave that place. He was the only person who accepted me and helped me rise from the darkness that I fell into."
"As time went on, we grew closer with each passing day. Eventually, we became lovers… and we had a child, Yuna. She was my treasure, the light that turned my world upside down." Butterfly's gaze dropped to the table, her fingers tightening slightly.
"But deep down I knew my happiness wouldn't last. The rest of the Shadow Widows found me when Yuna was only two years old. I begged Widow, our leader, to let her live… but she wouldn't even hear me. The Empire had branded me a traitor and ordered my execution—along with anyone who had helped me."
Megumi's hand froze halfway to her lips.
"I tried to protect my family, but I was no match for all three of them. They killed my husband… and they didn't spare Yuna either, even though she couldn't understand what was happening"
"That day… I died. And soon after, I became a hero in Nexus because of my 'realizations' in the Shadow Widows."