Angel

Tsugumi returned to Reaper, and within seconds, the remaining demons were no more.

"Good job, angel-girl. That was the last of them. At long last, victory is ours."

"I'm not sure we can really call this a victory. What I meant was: Cydonia managed to escape—alongside another Sin. So not all of them were eliminated."

"Escaped with another Sin? Then this wasn’t all her doing?"

"No... I still believe she orchestrated everything. What I meant was: if the other one had been fully involved, the damage would’ve been far worse."

"That’s troubling... So even powerful demons can work together?"

"Pandemonium. Have you heard that name before? What I meant is: there’s a group that goes by that title. We’ve confirmed Cydonia as one of their members, and the other one... Caravan, I think? Probably a member too."

"Pandemonium... Looks like even the Guild has a dark counterpart. Well, when I think about high-level demons having developed intellects, it actually makes perfect sense."

"Anyway, how are those three? I believe we still have something unresolved. What I meant was: they're what’s unresolved."

"Oh, no need to worry. Mi Giulietta is taking care of them inside my shadow, helping the couple get rid of that disgusting sludge. The other one’s still recovering, I think."

"I'm telling you they’re what’s unresolved. And what I mean now is: why is there a necromancer and two hybrids here?"

"Wait, wait. I know the whole necromancer thing is taboo for you folks, but the girl—she’s on our side! Even Undertaker Jack gave her the permission! Though, from what I understand, she has to join the Mercenary Guild for it to be official..."

"I can accept that if it was Jack’s call... but you still haven’t explained everything. What I meant was: what about the other two?"

"The other two? What do you mean..." That’s when it finally clicked. "You called them hybrids... Wait, what are you saying?"

"Ugh... Even when I go out of my way to explain things clearly, you still don’t get it. What I meant now was: never mind. Doesn’t look like you’re gonna have an answer anyway."

"...I admit, now I’m curious about those answers too."

"When I felt your presence, I thought you were fighting all four of them alone. I was caught off guard when I realized it was a demon doing the fighting.
If everything you’ve said is true, then the three of them are simply... unconventional allies. What I meant was: bring them out. We’ve got a lot to discuss."

"Alright... but please promise you won’t hurt them."

"I won’t."

Tsugumi gave her halberd one last spin, letting it dissolve into thin air. With a flick of her hands, she gathered the two metal spheres, their magic ceasing completely.

"Whoa, so your angel wings are artificial?"

"Angel, huh?" Tsugumi shot Reaper a cold glance. "What I meant was: most people just call me bird-girl."

"Hmm... Well, I’ll bring them back." Reaper reached out to Magdalena telepathically. "(Mag, everything alright in there?)"

"(Yes, but the fire boy’s still unconscious. I’m sending the other two out anyway.)"

“Uwaaaahhh!”

Edward and Arya were ejected from the shadow dimension without warning.

They landed hard, Edward hitting the ground on his back, Arya landing squarely on top of him.

“Ow, ow...”

As they got to their feet, they realized someone was missing.

“Where’s Peter?”

“I left him resting inside. He’s not in danger, but we should find a proper place for him to recover.”

Tsugumi knelt down, approaching the pair cautiously.

“Seems like you two were also fighting on humanity’s side. What are your titles? What I meant was: nice to meet you—what are your names?”

“I’m Edward.”

“My name is Arya…”

The two knelt side by side, sneaking in a bit of whispered gossip.

“Edward, is she what you called an angel?”

“Not sure… but yeah, I guess she is. She’s the one who saved us.”

“Wow… A real angel…”

Tsugumi didn’t reply immediately. Her eyes, however, said plenty.

And then, in her usual eccentric tone, she turned and gestured for them to follow.

“You said you needed a place for Peter-kun to rest, right? I’ll take you to one. But I’d like the three of you to answer some questions—if you don’t mind. What I meant was: follow me.”

“What kind of questions?”

“Oh, nothing serious. I’m no interrogator. I just want to clear up a few things in my head. What I meant was: you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to!”

“She kinda talks like you, Reaper.”

“What are you talking about? I don’t have a weird quirk at the end of my sentences.”

“I don't have such a thing!”

“Oh hey, she talks normally now.”

“Then why do you talk like that?”

“Well…”

Tsugumi’s ponytail suddenly began to sway, moving on its own, swirling until it formed the shape of a question mark.

“I think it all started when I began awakening my magic. I was blessed by Mors with an overwhelming amount of spiritual energy.
Because that energy flows so intensely through my body all the time, I started adapting—developing something like a sixth sense for spiritual energy.
As another side effect, I can see people’s souls… and because of that, I tend to accidentally glimpse into their Soul Palace.
When I was younger, this caused all kinds of misunderstandings, so I got into the habit of always being super clear about what I meant when I talked.”

The group listened silently, letting the flood of strange information wash over them. But something in particular stood out.

"You can see inside someone’s Soul Palace?"

"Wait, doesn’t that mean she could..."

"Help someone recover their memories?" Edward and Arya said in unison.

They looked at Tsugumi, hopeful for a positive answer.

"What you're asking for is impossible. You can’t just go around tampering with someone else’s Soul Palace."

"I can do that," Magdalena said casually, mostly to show off.

"A normal human can’t do something like that."

The spark of excitement had already begun to fade from Edward and Arya’s eyes.

“...But if what you’re looking for is a way to recover someone’s memories, I know a spell that might help.”

“Huh? So you really...?”

“Yes. What I mean is: I can help you with that.”

(...)

Peter's consciousness finally managed to push past his body’s exhaustion, and at last, his eyes slowly opened.

“Where… am I?”

He found himself lying on a small bed inside what looked like a makeshift tent.

Still feeling weak all over, he pushed himself upright, sitting on the bed.

“Oh, you’re finally awake!”

A white-haired boy dressed in black sat near the tent’s entrance.

“Who are you?”

“My name’s Yasuyuki Tetsuo. Tsugumi asked me to keep watch while you were out cold.”

“Where are Edward and Arya? Are they safe?”

“I assume you’re talking about the couple who brought you here, right? They’re fine. Last I saw, they were outside talking to Tsugumi about some ritual.”

“A ritual? What are they planning now?”

“That, I’m not too sure about… Want to go find them?”

“Yes…”

Yasuyuki helped Peter to his feet, letting the boy lean on his shoulder for support.

As Peter stepped outside the tent, he was taken by surprise.

All around him, people were moving through the ruined city—dozens, maybe hundreds.

Tending to the wounded, comforting children, building makeshift shelters, repairing damaged homes, distributing supplies… Every single person seemed busy trying to rebuild what had been lost.

Peter couldn’t help but feel puzzled at the sight of so many people. He had thought the entire city had either been killed or corrupted by Cydonia.

“Who are all these people?”

“Hmm? Some of them are passengers from the Floating Moonlight Express who stopped to help. But most of them… they’re survivors from Krahen Nest.”

“Survivors…”

“Yeah. From what I heard, they were told to take shelter in the railway station, hoping to escape on the express.
In the end, I guess we got lucky—Tsugumi was on board. Once we arrived, she managed to finish cleaning up the city in just a few minutes.”

“...”

Peter stayed quiet, lost in his own thoughts.

He remembered the horrors he had witnessed back in the village—visions that would haunt his nightmares for years to come.

The feeling that all his efforts couldn’t save a single soul.

“Of course, credit goes to the Mercenary Guild members who gave their lives to protect the civilians. And from what I’ve heard, you and your friends were part of that too.”

Yasuyuki extended a hand toward Peter in gratitude.

“Thank you. If it weren’t for all of you… this city might’ve been lost completely.”

Yasuyuki’s sincerity wrapped gently around Peter’s heart.

“...No, I should be the one thanking you for those words.”

Peter couldn’t hold his emotions back anymore… and tears began to fall.

The tears that rolled down his face carried with them all the joy and relief that had been locked away.

“I’m just… happy. That I was finally able to help someone.”

(...)

Away from the crowd, Tsugumi and Reaper were having a more private conversation.

“What is it?”

“I’ve got to deal with your friends soon, but before that, there’s something I want to check. What I mean is: This time, I’m talking to you.”

"(She better not pull anything weird again…)"

"(Same. That necromancer left me traumatized.)"

“Remember what I told you before? I can sense people’s souls…” Tsugumi let out a small sigh. “And there’s no mistaking it—someone’s hiding inside your shadow.”

She stared directly at Reaper’s shadow, as if truly seeing someone there.

“Oh, that? Of course. That’s Magdalena, the Mors fragment I’m bound to by oath. My shadow acts as a gateway to the Black Parade, a pocket dimension made of shadows. You saw me use it earlier to rescue the couple—"

“Stop trying to mislead me. I know shadow manipulation is one of Mors’ gifts, but you know that’s not what I’m talking about… Who’s the girl in purple?”

"(Bingo. Someone finally noticed that parasite.)"

“I have no idea what you’re talking about…”

“Don’t pretend you haven’t noticed. I’m talking about the witch hiding in your real shadow—not this Black Parade thing.”

Magdalena took that moment to step out of the Black Parade.

“Haha, you must mean her, right? That’s my dear Mag. But she’s not wearing anything purple…”

“Mi Romeo, she already knows. There’s no point hiding it anymore.”

“Damn it…”

“You know, bird-girl… Back then, I was the only one who could access his shadows! But one day, that so-called childhood friend of his showed up and started using a similar technique to dwell in there.”

“Is there any special reason she’s hiding inside?”

“No. She’s just using her magic to anchor herself to my shadow so we can communicate whenever necessary. It’s not like she’s always in there.”

Reaper glanced at his shadow, unsure if Purple could hear any of this.

“Interesting…”

“That’s it. No need to make a big deal out of it. If possible, just forget you know about her.”

“You’re the one making it sound like a big deal.”

“Can we leave now?”

“No. I haven’t said the most important part yet.”

“...Go ahead.”

“Mr. Reaper, I noticed something ever since I first met you all. Aside from being a rather unusual group, you use some peculiar words.”

“Such as?”

“‘Angel.’ Since the moment you saw me, you’ve been calling me ‘angel-girl.’ It’s not like I’ve never heard the word before, but I’m far more used to ‘bird-girl,’ like your fragment called me.”

“What’s wrong with that? Wings can mean angel or bird.”

“There’s no such thing as angels in our world. Seeing me as one… is something you assumed based on your world. It’s a concept that comes from Earth.”

“...Earth?”

“What I mean is: You’re from the other world, aren’t you?”