a rainbow sheen hung in the milky-white sky. The sky had no sun, nor did it have a moon. It was beautiful, but there was nothing there, making its beauty hollow. Delicate snowflakes fell from the sky and piled upon the ground. Two toppled pillars of ivy sat atop the snow. She was at the World's End. The pillars rested in that pure world, corpses of giants lying on top of each other and propping the other up. There was a shrine-like cave where the two pillars met, decorated by the azure and crimson roses that yet dotted the ivy. And that cave was precisely where Elisabeth was sitting. Upon realizing that she was leaning against the crystal, Elisabeth let out a small breath. "...Ah, I see." Even without turning to look, she already knewâ€”there were two people sleeping inside that crystal. Their faces no doubt bore the same wordless smiles as always. This was reality. The crystal was cold and hard. The distance that its clear walls separated was slim, yet it was farther than the World's End. Inside, Kaito Sena was slumbering with his bride, bearing the burden of a world that, by all rights, he should have had nothing to do with. Elisabeth reviewed the situation. Mankind had committed a grave sin. Countless people had let themselves be bystanders, and now the mixed-race folk were taking their revenge. The imperial princess had died a noble death, the demi-human had betrayed everything for the people he loved, and the saints' representative had died while still believing in everything and in God. As a result, the living were descending into fear and suspicion, and a new battle was cresting the horizon. This was where Elisabeth had come before the fighting began in earnest. As she sat with her back to the crystal, she must have nodded off. And when she did, she dreamed. It was a long, long dream. She thought back on the words she'd said just before falling asleep. "Would it not be better for a world such as this simply to end?" "Yet even so..." The words slipped from her mouth. She wasn't going to turn back. And so she whispered to those she'd seen in her dreamâ€” â€”and to the smiles long since lost. "Yet even so." She clenched her fists tight. Then she glared forward, her eyes gleaming like rubies. The battle to determine the world's destiny was beginning. The one that would determine if everyone deserved to liveâ€” â€”or if everyone deserved to die. A short while later, the bell rang, and the curtain rose. A Message from the Saint (Final) I've been thinking about atonement. Up until now, it was a topic that never even crossed my mind. No, it would be more accurate to say I decided to forget about it. You see, long ago, I chose to reconstruct the world in order to make up for my sins. However, I was never able to forgive the innocent masses for theirs. I wasn't able to bear the weight of having to shoulder everything alone. And so I destroyed everything. But now, having survived, I realize something. I was in the wrong. And not only that, but I've also always known I was. What a terrifying thing that is to realize. People died. Countless throngs of them, savagely butchered. Corpses piled up thousands high, and in the end, even the world itself broke. Tens of thousands of sobbing voices filled the air. Some died trying to save others. Some died trying to save themselves. But they died all the same. And it was my fault. Mine, and mine alone. The Mad King told me something. "Lucky you," he said. "You got everything you ever wished for." And so I did. But you see, that wasn't it. I wanted everything to be destroyed. But I never wanted this. I'm well aware how contradictory that is. But no matter how many times I reconsider my answer, it never changes. You...you, who's been listening to my message all this time. I told you, didn't I? I never loved you peopleâ€” â€”and certainly not enough to want to leave you with my words. Those were my true feelings; they really were. That was my wish. I cursed you. A curse on everything, and a curse on you. But I never wanted to soil my hands. I never wanted to cause you such profound pain. I never wanted to wrench your chests open and gaze upon your still-beating hearts. And I swear, I never wanted to kill you. I didn't want to hear your laughterâ€” â€”but I didn't want to hear your screams, either. That was the long and short of it. That was how I truly felt. I know it seems late for me to be realizing that now. But that's the way things are. By the way, the Mad King told me something else, too. He told me that I "chose" to be alone. I needed to understand what he meant by that. I needed to learn about this person who he said he liked. But in doing so, I came to realize something else. I was ignorant. I should have known everything, yet I let so many things slip between the cracks. Will you...hear me out? O ye who never once replied? I hated you. I cursed you. I told you to go die. And yetâ€” And yet, even so... Hearing this from me now probably won't do you any good. But these are my true feelings, so I beg you to lend me your ear. Please survive. Please survive as long as you can. Even once the next ugly war takes this fragile little world in its grasp. And thank you for listening to my message. I waited and waited and waited, but no answer ever came. Yet even so, the fact that I had someone listening to me was what saved me. This will be my final message. To you, and to all others who bear lifeâ€” â€”may you suffer my curseâ€” â€”and may you find blessings enough that it will not break you. And thank youâ€” â€”for being born unto this world I reconstructedâ€” â€”and for fighting back against my hatred. Good-bye. Epilogue Two people slumbered in a crystal at the World's End. Before that crystal, the Torture Princess awoke. She stared up at the sky. In that moment, the Saint's consciousness rose from the depths of her dream as well. While the Torture Princess slept, the Saint had been in the fabricated world along with her, watching over the events within as the master of the transient castle. Although the Saint no longer had access to the massive amount of magical power she did when she had contracts with God and Diablo, a certain technique of hers allowed her to tap into bottomless reserves of mana all the same. Furthermore, she had been a peerless mage since before the world's reconstruction, and all her skills were still intact. Imitating the ability of a decomposing demon was child's play for her. Normally, the world that the Saint wove would have lasted a little longer. However, Elisabeth's malaise had hastened its destruction, forcing it to rebuild itself over and over again until the constant rejection caused it to lose its form for good and shatter completely. Like a sandcastle, getting struck by progressively larger and larger waves. And now the child playing in the sand had left the beach entirely. "The path you've chosen is a harsh, solitary one indeed." Giving her that dream had been the Saint's expression of pity. For she knew better than anyone the agony of bearing a foolish world on one's shoulders. Fighting in solitude ate away at a person's heart and could even make them forget the things they once thought were beautiful. Elisabeth Le Fanu had the right to flee before she came to despise everything. Nobody could deny her that. But the Torture Princess had said, "Yet even so." Yet even so. And as such, there was nothing more for the Saint to say to her. As Elisabeth glared off into space, the Saint made her move before Elisabeth could spot her. Garbed in a completely different outfit than the one she had worn long ago, the Saint pulled her hood down over her eyes, then quickly left the ivy-entwined corpses behind. Snowflakes crunched under her feet, and she gazed up at the sky. Its rainbow film was the same as ever, but far away, declarations of malice, hatred, and violence echoed through the distant sky. "Then I, too, will go." The Torture Princess had chosen to fight, so she, too, had a duty to carry out. For the people she once cursedâ€” â€”and for the things she once discardedâ€” the Saint herself was going to fight. And with that, the encounter between the Saint and the Torture Princessâ€” â€”came to a quiet end. It all took place a little while beforeâ€” â€”the final battle of those who loathed the world. Afterword Hello, Keishi Ayasato here. As you can tell, Volume 7.5 was a series of short stories. I wanted to make sure everyone got a chance to read these before you all headed into Volume 8, so I'm really glad I was able to get these tales compiled like this. Now, there's no page count to stop me, so it's time to dive into some backstory on each of the sections! Kaito Sena's Daily Routine (Front Side/Back Side) Chronologically, this story takes place right after the battle against the Knight. At this point, Kaito hasn't met Neue yet. Back when these short stories were being released as a web serial, this was the very first one I wrote. It was also where the idea of having a front side and a back side written from different points of view started out. What is a daily routine anyway? Incidentally, this was also the story that I needed to rewrite the most extensively for this compilation. I hope you enjoyed it. Elisabeth's Daily Routine (Front Side/Back Side) Chronologically, this story takes place before Volume 2 and after Animal-Ear Capriccio, the side story about the Grand Governor's defeat. Out of all the short stories, this one was definitely the most "Torture Princess-y" of the bunch. Although Duke of Exeter's Daughter doesn't show up in the main story, it's a personal favorite of the torture devices I've written into the story. I've also always wanted to try having Hina and the Butcher team up, so it was a lot of fun writing those bits. When those two get together, no straight man can possibly keep up. Hina's Daily Routine (Front Side/Back Side) This one also takes place before Volume 2, but even further after Animal-Ear Capriccioâ€”in fact, it takes place after the special edition of Role-Swap Rondo and a Kiss for Sleeping Beauty. This story definitely skewed heavier on comedy than the others. When I was writing a story based around Hina, it was nice getting to come up with something that would let her spend the plot happily working away. The New Content As you could probably tell from reading this story, it takes place immediately following Volume 7. It was designed as a series of highlights to reminisce on where we've come and how we got here before we get into Volume 8 and the meat of Part 2, so I borrowed a lot of bits and pieces from several different volumes for the various scenes. It might be interesting to go reread it and see what you can find. The setup afforded me a lot of freedom in how I structured and wrote the story, so I had a lot of fun working with it. With this, we're ready to head into Volume 8. I really hope you enjoyed everyone's final party. A Message from the Saint When this was part of the web serial, it only went as far as A Message from