it, his immediate reaction was shock. Whatever the something was, it was made up of fragments of ice and snow. Its body was unsettlingly linear, and if he had to compare it to something, it looked somewhat like a fish. But even upon getting a closer look, it was difficult for a human to truly understand its appearance. After all, their brains refused to parse some of the optical information on it. In fact, it was hard to say definitively if living creature was really the right descriptor for it. The only thing sure about it was that it possessed a concept of "death." All in total, there were four of the somethings. They were lying horizontally, their pyramid-shaped heads all caved in. "...Hmm. This land seems free of foreign invaders, yet they appear to have been killed by something." Elisabeth stooped down and began inspecting the damaged sections. Kaito did the same. Once they did, a commonality emerged. All four of them seemed to have been struck by something soft. Also, there was blubber stuck to their wounds. "With my cunning intellect, I've unraveled all the mysteries. The weapon...was a slab of meat!" "I'd be surprised if it was anything else. In other words, that means the Butcher definitely passed this way." The two of them nodded to each other. This time, the whelp's somersaults seemed to be saying, See? Now trusting its guidance, the group resumed their pursuit of the Butcher. They carefully walked among the somethings' corpses. As Kaito stood atop an unsullied patch of ice, though, a snapping sound rang out from around his feet. "Huh?" "Is something the matter, Sir Kaito? Hmm?" Lute turned around as well, and his ears perked up. The two of them started inspecting the ground at their feet for presences. The moment they did, a square chunk of ice directly below Kaito cracked and burst up into the air. Slipping along its now-slanted surface, Kaito narrowly managed to land on his feet. *** "Ah!" A massive slab of ice had pierced through the ground. Innumerable cracks were running along its surface. The slab then split into fine vertical segments. Its cylindrical fragments danced through the air, then recombined into a three-dimensional shape. The transformation it underwent was impressive, like a single sheet of paper being spliced into a meaningful form. Chilly air blew off its body as the completed something bent into a fishlike shape. However, it had no scales and no mouth. It swung its smooth, clear, pyramid-shaped head down onto Kaito. Drawing his sword, Lute stepped forward, intending to meet the hammer-like blow. "Fall back, Sir Kaito! I shall repay the debt I onceâ€”" "How dare you try to strike my dear husband, you hoodluuuuuuuuuuum!" However, Lute's noble declaration was drowned out by indignation and fury. His ears went slack, and he stopped in his tracks. Hina dashed across the ice like a cannonball. Accompanied by her vaunted halberd, she twirled freely through the air. "Hyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Her maid uniform fluttering, she raised her weapon aloft behind her back. Then, as she flew forward, she swung it down hard. Its blade crashed solidly into the something's side. There was the sound of glass cracking. The something's body flushed with white, then shattered. Its needle-thin fragments scattered all about. Upon mixing in with the snowflakes, they ceased to even be visible. Hina then landed with an elegant thump. After courteously straightening her maid outfit, she gave a sweet bow. "Phew. With that, the cleaning is successfully finished. How was that, Master Kaito?" "Perfect as always, my dearest Hina." "Eek! Oh, Master Kaito! Not in public! Why, how embarrassing!" As she let out quiet shrieks, Hina covered her reddening face. Watching over her with affection, Kaito nodded. Lute stepped back as he commented, "Very...very well, then," and a bemused expression overtook Elisabeth's face. The sole member to ignore the commotion and continue walking was Jeanne. Everyone else then hurried after her. And with that, Kaito and the others left the somethings' corpses behind and continued pursuing the Butcher as though nothing had changed. Eventually, their surroundings started to transform with increasing speed. Snow began falling from the empty sky. The massive flakes resembling delicate lacework fluttered gently through the air. Upon closer inspection, each one of them had a unique shape. In all likelihood, no two of them were alike. The strange rainbow membrane covering the milky-white sky was beginning to get thicker as well. Snowflakes tumbled lazily down from within it. It looked like silvery flower petals being spat out from inside an oil slick. Anywhere else, such a blizzard of petals would have been unimaginable. The area around Kaito's group had long since taken on an otherworldly quality to it. If someone had told them it was the afterlife, they practically would have believed it. Kaito's eyes were captivated by the landscape's untarnished, lifeless beauty. The world was hollow and empty, and it was terrifying. But at the same time, it was also endlessly fascinating. As Kaito was preoccupied by all that, the whelp abruptly stopped advancing. "Kyau!" With a loud cry, it gave its wings a powerful downward flap. After making a sharp nosedive, it suddenly vanished without a trace. "Wait, where'd he go?" Kaito looked down in a panic. The scenery, which had had a bare minimum of regularity to it, had come to a complete and total stop. At some point, a narrow, deep fissure had appeared before them. In contrast with its transparent icy walls, the ravine was filled with a pervasive darkness. The whelp must have flown down into it. It was almost like it was trying to say that its task was complete. Now convinced that something awaited them beyond the crevice, Kaito turned to look up. The fissure extended farther and farther. Little by little, it grew wider and deeper. Beside it, a new fissure stretched out its distant arm as well. They continued on like a pair of wide rivers. Eventually, they met up and converged on a colossal hole. The pit resembled a volcano's crater with its gaping maw. Suddenly, a strange conviction assailed Kaito. Let's say hypothetically that all the ice in the World's End melted. What would happen? The water probably wouldn't reach the sea. Regardless of whatever differences in height there may be, every drop of it would flow into that hole. Yet, even so, the void would remain. Even if it swallowed up everything else, nothing could ever fill that abyss. And at the same time, Kaito remembered something he'd once heard. Someone once said that the world has no end. The world is round, they proclaimed, and as such it has no terminus. Someone once said that the world has an end. It's like a waterfall, they proclaimed, one that swallows up anything and everything. Someone once said that the world has an end. For God created that place, they proclaimed, and designated it "the World's End." "...The World's End." Kaito mumbled that phrase once more. Unlike the world he'd come from, in this one, there was a real chance that all three stories about the World's End were true. The world was round, and it had no terminus. But it did have an End, one that God had designated. And therein lay a waterfall that swallowed up anything and everything. As those thoughts rattled around in his head, Kaito's vision wandered. Given that the whelp had disappeared, this was no doubt the "answer" they'd been searching for. "Master Kaito, over there." "Ah, there, huh?" After looking to where Hina was pointing, Kaito nodded. A narrow path just barely lay between the two crevices. And someone was standing at its end. The figure was black, and it was standing alone before the pit. In a way, it looked lonely. As though it had been waiting a long, long time for someone who had never come. "...The Butcher." A brief murmur escaped Elisabeth's lips. Kaito was about to break out in a run, but then he heard something. "Ah, what an excellent job you all did finding him! Now, at long last, I've finally reached a complete understanding!" A loud voice called out from behind him. Lodged within it was an unfathomable amount of joy. Goose bumps rose all across Kaito's flesh. Horrified from the bottom of his heart, he felt his face stiffen as he turned around to look. "Blessings on you, and blessings on me! Everything is just as you will it!" Standing behind him was exactly who he'd expected to find. Her snowflake-covered crimson cloak fluttered, and she was flanked on all sides by grotesque, transfigured paladins. The image of the giant men protecting an adorable little girl was almost picturesque, like a painting of a maiden surrounded by monsters. But in reality, it was the girl who was the monster, not the transformed men. It was the living symbol of zealotry, the Grave Keeper. As she looked down upon Kaito and the others, a smile dripping with affection spread across her face. 7 Her First Love "You all were perfectly able to pursue me. Thus, the converse should be true as well, no? I find it truly, truly sorrowful, you know, that we should meet again in such a way." The Grave Keeper launched into a sudden monologue. Words came pouring from her mouth with no preamble or introduction. Her face was dark beneath her scarlet hood, yet her white cheeks were tinged red like those of a maiden in love. "It was said that the rights would be granted impartially. Equally, to all races, to all peoples. Yet, that was never anything more than a sweet little white lie. The Apostle made his choice back at the very beginning, he did." Kaito's brows involuntarily furrowed. The Grave Keeper was clearly agitated about something, but he couldn't for the life of him figure out what it was that had set her off. Impartial rights... Is she talking about the letter the Butcher sent out? But this thing about the Apostle making his choice back at the start...what's that about? "It was simple once I put my mind to it. The fact that the whelp served as a guide was proof. The fact that he sought 'two' was proof. And if that is the case, then it's hardly my place to raise objections. It's only right that the number of people who receive blessings be limited. Only a few shall bear witness to her sacred awakening. For that, verily, is providence, is it not?" The Grave Keeper's tone began gradually shifting. It started to sound like she herself was the one she was trying to convince. An indescribable sense of unease washed over Kaito. Lute's reaction seemed no different. Elisabeth and Jeanne, on the other hand, appeared wholly unfazed. It seemed that the two Torture Princesses had anticipated a showdown with the Grave Keeper. Even so, though, Elisabeth raised an eyebrow. "...Just what exactly are you going on about?" Kaito was taken aback. Apparently, not even Elisabeth knew the reason behind the Grave Keeper's confusion. Jeanne's expression was as blank as always, and her rose-colored gaze was steely. Instinctively, Kaito grabbed on to the jewel within his pocket. Heat emanated from the stone by means of a response. Letting Vlad out here might be a good idea. As the Kaiser would have it, Vlad was "He Who Rears Hell Within His Mind." His disposition was fundamentally calm, but his nature was twisted and mad. There was a good chance that he'd be able to interpret the Grave Keeper's ramblings for them. But calling Vlad out here would raise problems of its own. Standing around the Grave Keeper was a group of gigantic, transfigured paladins. Their stiff armor was spread out over their engorged muscles like caramel. Their limbs were elongated as well, knees, elbows, and all. However, their transformations were just slight enough that they still counted as "human." They were no doubt