Kaito turned her down and snapped his fingers. Azure petals and black darkness danced in the air around them. The blood and tears were broken down into fine particles, then vanished. Hina's wound closed, too. It wasn't the flashiest spell ever. However, it was unclear if Elisabeth or Vlad in his heyday could have pulled it off so smoothly. Hina blinked in surprise. Kaito bashfully asked her a question. "By the way, did you notice me secretly gulping down that blood, too?" "Of course, I did." "And when I was taking down those hidden underlings?" "I can't say I noticed every instance, but...probably eighty percent of the time, I was aware." "Man, this wife of mine... Nothing gets past you, huh?" "I've heard it's a time-honored tradition for wives to be dependable, after all." Hina grinned. Once again, the two of them were eye to eye. Their faces drifted closer. Spontaneously, their lips met. After exchanging a kiss so long and deep that it left them craving air, Hina murmured: "Mm... Master Kaito, if I may..." "What is it?" "Well, um, even if we aren't making a child, I still think it might perhaps be nice to have something to remember the end of our date by." Once again, her face went red. Without needing to think, Kaito reached out his hand and rubbed her soft cheeks. She gave a small squeak as he played with her face. Once he'd had his fill, he kissed her flushed skin. Over and over again, his lips traveled down her body. Right as he was about to start nibbling her ear, she frantically raised her voice. "Er, Master Kaito, uh, you haven't answeredâ€” Hwah, hwah-ha-ha-ha!" "What other answer could there be?" Kaito drew his lips toward the reddened nape of her neck. After loosening her uniform's collar a little, he gently nipped at her clavicle. Hina's entire body shivered. As she did, Kaito brought his voice down and whispered slowly in her ear. "If you're going to tempt me, my beloved, I'll gladly accept." "O-overload." "Wait, don't go all weak on me." With an excited sigh, Hina started to fall over backward. Kaito frantically propped up her back. They exchanged another glance and smiled at each other. And with that, they pressed their lips together. Holding your beloved in your arms. That had to be one of the purest forms that happiness came in, Kaito Sena mused. She's warm, she's lovely, and I don't want to let go of her. For if we separate, I will surely die. And he was sure Hina felt the same way. The two of them were nuzzled up next to each other, the very symbol of all the happiness the world had to offer. Warm smiles were spread across their faces, and they were both adrift in blissful slumber. Eventually, though, the morning arrived. The final hours were upon them all. Kaito slowly opened his eyes. Hina was still asleep. Or to be more precise, she was automatically replicating a human's sleep. She was as defenseless as a baby. Kaito poked one of her white cheeks. Her lips faintly parted, and a few words spilled out from them. Perhaps she was dreaming an automaton dream. About her beloved. However, Kaito didn't catch what she'd said. He silently slipped out of the bed. As he stood atop the cold, stone floor, he snapped his fingers. Azure petals and black feathers enveloped his thin body. Then they burst, and he was adorned in his black, military-like uniform once more. He clutched his glass, blood-filled orb tightly. Without saying a word, he began sending his transmission. "Attention, all troops. "It's just as Izabella Vicker told you all from the Capital last night. "After releasing the fifth wave, the Diablo pillar's activities will temporarily slow as it readies the sixth. And the troops of the sixth wave will be unbound from the shackles of the laws that bind this world. We, the living, will be powerless to oppose them. "Thus, we have to end things before the sixth wave is released." "After the fifth wave is annihilated, I ask that the surviving troops all gather before the God and Diablo pillars at the World's End." For his final request, Kaito quietly voiced it out loud. In truth, he didn't know if the three races would assemble in accordance with his request. In particular, the demi-humans would want to keep their focus on defending the pureblood sectors. And the Royal Knights aside, suspicion of him had taken root in the paladins. However, he still needed to gather as many people as he could. It's just like Valisisa saidâ€”right now, everyone I can get my hands on is a pawn. And the more pawns I have, the better. It was a ruthless way of thinking, but it was also true. His opponent's board was empty. Instead, two massive pillars towered above it. He needed to cram the board with as many pieces as possible in order to thwart his enemy's plan. They'd surpassed the realm of drawing opposite lines of pawns and sending them to fight each other. Many people were probably going to die. With the help of a vanguard, though, they would finally be able to reach God and Diablo. And once they'd weathered the attacks from those in their way, Kaito would be able to call the shots on his own. He was the only person in the world powerful enough to topple those pillars. If anyone doesn't want to come, that's fine, too. They can go ahead and pick where they want to die. Their current situation had been brought about by the blooming of the flower of sin that all three races had shared a hand in raising. The punishment for their sloth and ignorance had finally caught up with them. If they averted their eyes, they would eventually end up paying with their lives. If they didn't want to die, they had no choice but to fight back. That was the final duty that had been imposed upon the living. It was the one allowance remaining to them in this box of despair. Kaito abruptly opened his mouth, then bluntly laid out his thoughts. "Our enemies this time are God and Diablo. And the battle we're trying to fight is an act of blasphemy that not even the old world could carry out. But even so, if we want the world to be filled with happiness, if we choose to believe in our future, then this is the only path we can take." For a moment, Kaito paused. His thoughts suddenly raced. This was a world in which people would kill innocents in order to save themselves. Was it really worth believing happiness could come? However, he didn't have time to worry about that. The end had long since arrived on their doorsteps. "We must take our swords in hand and reject the new world." They were stupid, their lives were short, and all they could do was fight. Yet even knowing how foolish it was, God and Diablo's creatures were rebelling against them. "Everyone who lives will one day die." That was precisely why they had things they refused to give up. The decision they'd made was arrogant and sacrilegious in the extreme. And someday, those same people who'd chosen to slay God and Diablo together would undoubtedly draw their swords and begin killing one another. Tragic as it was, Kaito knew that. But so what. He cast his hesitation away. Then he boldly encouraged the living for the choice they were making. "There's no need to be ashamed. Take up your swords and ready your spears. Our mission is to murder God, and to murder Diablo. Prayers won't bring us salvation; screams won't bring us mercy. The only thing we have to rely on is our own strength." "Intriguing... Intriguing, I say! You roar well, for a human!" All of a sudden, a different voice cut into the transmission. Kaito narrowed his eyes. The boisterous, laughing voice belonged to Valisisa Ula Forstlast. Due to the beastfolk's low proficiency with magic, her voice was interspersed with static. The voices of her subordinates rushing around behind her were audible as well. But none of that seemed to concern her, and she went on. "Very well, Mad King! You possess a rebel's greatest weapon: madnessâ€”that double-edged sword so desperately needed to fight back! I yield to you! Countless will die in this battle! So go forth and lead us into hell!" "That's the plan. All right, everyone..." Kaito took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. He closed his eyes. At that moment, he felt as though his entire body had been buffeted by a fierce gale. However, the sensation hadn't been caused by the wind. Innumerable people were listening to his words. The strength of their gazes was striking him like an arrow. Lute was kneeling, Aguina was adjusting his glasses, the Kaiser was snorting, Vlad was smiling sweetly, Vyade was looking down, Valisisa was smirking, La Christoph was crossing his arms, and the human king was blinking back tears. And countless soldiers were hanging on to his every word. His next few words would no doubt lead many of them to their deaths. Even so, he had no regrets. And so the Mad King made his fearless declaration. "This here will be our daybreak. Let Ragnarok begin." 10 Ragnarok The enemies from the fifth wave were just as repulsive as their predecessors. However, they weren't any worse than the fourth wave had been. And what's more, the Mad King and his bride performed a high-speed patrol of all the various fronts. As a result, they were able to clean up the fifth wave as fast as humanly possible. Immediately thereafter, massive teleportation circles with shared coordinates were carved in the human lands, beastfolk lands, and demi-human lands simultaneously. While the current treaty had maintained a tenuous peace among their peoples, the deep-seated grudges they held against one another made it hard to believe such a thing could ever happen. Furthermore, every troop advancing on the World's End had volunteered to go. After all, the battle they were embarking on was truly unprecedented. The troops hadn't been able to get hard information from the Saint on how the old world had ended. For the people living in the current one, they were treading into completely unknown territory. And being able to keep one's sanity when faced with the prospect of the world dying was no mean feat. Forcibly enlisting people who didn't want to go would only result in chaos, and possibly even friendly fire. "That's rightâ€”from here on out, we don't need losers in our ranks. Remember, the moment you all took up your swords, you became victors." As the dignified voice filled the air, the ground split loudly. A blade had been plunged deep into the ice. Valisisa had driven her sword into the land made of snow and water, wind and mana. Then she proudly placed her palms atop its hilt. An army of beastfolk thousands strong stood before her. Among them were some civilians who'd joined as militia. Anyone who wasn't experienced in combat was likely going to their death. However, the first imperial princess had still loudly hailed them as victors. "What have we lived for?! What did you take up your swords for?! To take back the day! To end death's black sway!" As she stood majestically atop the silver ground, Valisisa shouted out words of encouragement to her army. The mana-dense ice they were lined up on was dimly glowing, making it look almost blue. Snowflakes so large that they could make out each individual shape were piled up like handicrafts. However, several of them were stained bloodred and twisted into grotesque displays. Body parts of the three racesâ€”toes, ears, eyesâ€”were intermingled with them without any rhyme or reason. And the sky overhead was burning black. It wasn't because