surviving it. However, the Kaiser chose not to put any distance between them. Instead, he leaped, using his lithe muscles to propel his black body in a beautiful arc through the air. He bit down on the White Knight's neck. As Elisabeth clung to the Kaiser's back, she reached out her arm. Then, in unison, they wrenched Alice and the White Knight from the back of their steed. From there, Elisabeth and the Kaiser dropped their foes from high up. It was a tactic that was only available to them then, in that moment. Alice's tears had caused her to let down her guard in a fatal way. "Huh?" Alice cried in surprise. However, the White Knight remained silent. He had no proper will of his own. Blood spurted out from his windpipe, but he still prioritized Alice above all else. Still far from steady on his feet, he swung his lance. Elisabeth summoned a new weapon into her hand. "Whip Sword!" Her blade extended on its own accord as it curved through the air. By snapping it every which way, Elisabeth succeeded in diffusing the imperfect shock wave. Even so, it was still strong enough to sear her skin. However, she cast her Whip Sword aside all the same. She spared no thought for whatever follow-up attack might be coming. Instead, she readied Executioner's Sword of Frankenthal and swung it straight down. Her aim was to gouge out Alice's heart. "'Tis over now." And in that moment, it was like time itself stood still. Her sword cracked. She hadn't gouged out Alice's heart at all. As a matter of fact, her blade had failed to so much as pierce her skin. Fissures ran along its length as it sat motionless atop Alice's skin. It was as though she'd just tried to stab a hunk of metal. A profound sense of remorse spread through Elisabeth's heart as she quietly realized the truth. Ah. Is that...so. She was too late. That single attack the White Knight made back at the Capital had probably marked the final borderline. The vast quantities of mana Alice obtained had sparked a change in her body. Now no steel nor heat could mar her flesh. There wasn't a single person in the world who could hurt Alice anymore. All the King's horses and all the King's men couldn't kill Alice Carroll again. Ending her is beyond me now. Alice seemed to be aware of the change she'd undergone. For a moment, a look of sadness flitted across her face. However, her expression soon changed. She decided to adorn herself in that same innocent obliviousness to the very end. It was as if to say that, as one who sought to end the world, doing so was her duty. A stiff smile spread across Alice's face. She gave her fingers a light snap. "Good-bye, Elisabeth. This was fun. Really, it was." That was the White Knight's signal. He started by shoving the Kaiser aside, and the black beast left a trail of crushed snowflakes in his wake as he skidded across the ice. Then the White Knight rose to his feet. There was a deep sadness in Alice's voice. However, the White Knight showed no mercy. He raised his spear and drew it all the way back. Then he hurled it straight at Elisabeth. The deadly blow was accompanied by a burning shock wave, and when the Kaiser dived in the way, it pierced him right through. "...Why?" Elisabeth asked, shouting the question at the speared hound from the bottom of her heart. "A fair...question. I'm not...quite sure myself," the Kaiser replied. He sounded oddly pleased. Cracks formed on his sleek black belly and began spreading outward. This was no ordinary wound he'd suffered. He was starting to shatter, like ceramic that had been exposed to too much heat. One clink rang out after another as little shards of him broke off. With a distant look in his eyes, the Kaiser let out a growl. Then he laughed a very human laugh. "It's all his fault. That twisted glass sculpture of a boyâ€”he and He Who Rears Hell Within His Mind both. They fought for you, and somehow or other, I must have ended up thinking it would be a shame to let you die. What a sorry sight I've become." The Kaiser's words were self-derisive. Strangely, though, there was no regret in his voice. The black dog continued cracking. It was a beautiful sight to behold. Instead of seeming cruel, there was actually a sort of dignity to it. The Kaiser rose heavy to his feet, losing parts of himself all the while, and walked his chosen path with the utmost regality. The supreme hound came to a stop before Elisabeth. His innumerable fragments shone brilliantly as they scattered into the sky. At the glowing black center of it all, the Kaiser spoke. "Tell me, child. Is being human truly this painful? Is this why you tremble and cry out of fear of losing things?" "I suppose it is, yes. To be human is to know fear." "Then you're a strong lot. Your lives are so pointless, yet instead of dying, you live." Black crystals clinked downward. It was like looking at an hourglass. The pile they made must have once comprised the Kaiser's innards. It was unclear whether or not he felt pain, but if he did, the black hound paid it no heed. He scowled down at Elisabeth as proud and as lordly as could be. "Go on, foolish child, and win. Survive. You were the one who slew me...so I forbid you from dying!" With that, the Kaiser leaped again. A flash of black covered in more cracks than she could count drew an elegant arc through the air. A second lance strike caught him square in the torso. His gaze, burning with hellfire, landed on Elisabeth. It was the gaze of someone looking at an absolute fool. There was something almost human about those eyes, and they nearly resembled Kaito Sena's. A tiny clink rang out. The most beautiful fragment of all flew up, then vanished. That was the last of them. No life remained there. Elisabeth staggered to her feet. She let out a husky laugh. This time, she shed no tears. Her reserves had run dry long ago. She simply let go of her cracked sword's handle and shouted. "Alice!" "...Elisabeth," Alice replied. She made her White Knight stand down. Just as before, Alice dropped a spoon into her hand. No blade could cut her. In fact, there wasn't any sort of attack that could harm her anymore. Yet even so, Elisabeth was prepared to fight to the bitter end. It was a pathetic display of resistance. However, a silent bellow echoed in Elisabeth's mind. I have no regrets. "I have not a single regret." She had certainly made plenty of mistakes, and her wish might well go unanswered. But the fact remained that she had reached out and grabbed hold of that one frail hope. "If any dare call that an error, they shall have me to answer to!" That was why she had no regrets. Just a single tiny wish, not unlike a star. Elisabeth drew her long sword once more from a swirl of black darkness and crimson flower petals. Her glossy hair swayed behind her as she appeared before the girl. Alice, for her part, was waiting for the Torture Princess without so much as a shred of fear. Her arms were spread wide, and a broad smile sat plastered across her face. It was like she was greeting a playmate and for a moment, time seemed to stand still. Elisabeth's sword was raised aloft. Alice had her spoon in hand. Crimson and azure petals were cascading all around them. The Torture Princess brought her sword down andâ€” The room was red. It had no windows. It had no doors. Nobody could leave it. And nobody could come in. It was almost like a graveyard. Or perhaps a prison. And yet now its nonexistent door had been left wide open. Inside, Hina was sitting alone. She slowly surveyed the room's interior. The room's interior, dyed all in red. The room's interior that, even after getting sealed away in the crystal, Kaito Sena had coated with his blood as he continued absorbing the world's pain. She spoke softly. "You were never fighting alone, Lady Elisabeth." Andâ€” Right before Elisabeth and Alice's blows met someone reached out and caught them. The ensuing gale force sent the person's tattered cloak flapping about. Their hood hung low, obscuring their face, but whoever they were, they had just caught the blades without so much as breaking a sweat. Elisabeth frowned. She could tellâ€”if the person hadn't stepped in, she was the one whose chest would have been gouged out. She looked at the newcomer holding the blades. They really did resemble the Butcher...except for their hands. Their hands were human. That was it. That was her wish. That tiny, glimmering, starlike, solitary wish: to see him again. With a thousand different emotions swelling up inside her, Elisabeth Le Fanu spoke. "Kaito, is that you?" Andâ€” he nodded. 11 And with That, the World It was a tale from long, long ago. There once was a boy who was brutally killed by another, and there once was a monster who cruelly killed others. Or perhaps there was a child who was abandoned by his parents and a sinner who was abandoned by the world. By now, there was nobody left who knew how they spent their days. But the sinner was fine with that. The two of them used to be together. That was enough for her. But that was a big fat lie. In truth, she had a wish. A single, glimmering, starlike wish. For the sinner wanted, once, even just once would do, to see the boy again. The black cloak flapped away. When it did, it left behind a familiar figure dressed in a military uniform. His faded brown hair was tied up short in the back, and he had a boyish face and was short of stature. He was also underweight, and his growth had clearly been stunted. There was the person who had sacrificed himself to save the world. It was, without a doubt, Kaito Sena. He surveyed his surroundings with a quiet confidence. It was then that Elisabeth realized something odd about him. The amount of mana Kaito had in his body was far greater than it had been before. He had surpassed the point he'd been at when they called him the Mad King. In fact, given the state he'd reached... ...he can no longer be considered human. "Sorry for the wait, Elisabeth. I was gathering the pain of all God's creations, using Diablo to convert it into mana, and transferring it all into my immortal body inside the crystal. I only just got the full amount I needed. Now I have complete mastery over God." Kaito Sena's tone was calm as he spoke that unbelievable truth. Elisabeth gasped. In a sense, it was the same as the method she'd conceived of to sever their world's connection to God and Diablo. However, she never imagined that Kaito Sena himself would be the one to attain full control over God. Elisabeth found herself at a loss for words. Meanwhile, Kaito Sena snapped his fingers. It took Elisabeth a moment to realize what had happened. All traces of Diablo, including the ones in her own flesh, had vanished from the world. The ousted demon grandchildren had no doubt suffered the same fate. Kaito had forced God to recognize all of Diablo's acts of violence, including the lesser demons' acts of destruction, as "destruction carried out before the reconstruction." As such, God had rejected Diablo and expelled it from the world. It was an unthinkably grand feat, and Kaito had pulled it off with a snap of his