Butcher Demon

Yasmin tried to escape, crawling on the floor.

Garnier stands between her and me.

“I’ve been thinking about it ever since we met in the Underground Haven.”

Garnier put away his revolver at his hip and pulled out a glowing knife.

“Those moves are the ones I taught you. It is an ancient fighting technique that has been handed down in our tribe. On top of that, you added your own touches to it. A move that no one else could imitate.”

With that, Garnier cuts the conversation short.

“—- Nigel.”

“I understand that you killed me?”

“Yes. I’m the one who stabbed you.”

“Why —- no, What exactly had happened back then?”

I changed the question.

Garnier lowered his gaze to his hand and looked at it. Clutching the knife in his hand.

“Don’t you remember……. that day?”

“Unfortunately, I forgot all about it, about you too.”

Fox was listening intently. The four girls are also remaining quiet with serious expressions on their faces, probably because Natsuki who is linked with them through channeling is providing the translation.

“…… I see…… I still didn’t make it in time…….”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“On that retreat day, you received an urgent mission to rescue the remaining scientists and technicians in 89.—- It was a top-secret team that had been working on Translinger, these were Yasmin’s henchmen, they were having trouble eliminating the evidence and research data, so their escape was delayed.”

“I vaguely remember the whole thing about going back to the 89 alone.”

“They were supposed to get rid of all the experiment subjects and prototypes then escape. Unfortunately, they couldn’t stand the stress of Fort 89 being completely surrounded, so they took one of the Translinger experiments with them, thinking that they might be able to use it as a weapon to help themselves escape. And so, they dragged an entire container with them.”

“……”

“Ironically, it slowed them down, and got caught by the opposing raiding party. And it was a tough one too, the wraith Coronzon, also known as the arm of the Demon King Narus. It seemed that he was dispatched because the invasion that time was so important to Elysium.”

“Wraith…… so it’s that black armored knight.”

“You bravely fought back, but you were quickly overwhelmed. Even with your gun, the odds were against you when you are using bullets to fight that Armor. When I arrived, you are already covered with wounds all over your body. After seeing you slowly being cornered, the scientist activated the Translinger out of fear.”

“Ha”

“A failed magical beast broke through the container and from inside. It was Eggleston.”

“Eggleston….”

“He was your old partner for many years. You were good friends with him since you were a kid. Supposedly, he was killed in the previous mission, but he was actually brought back from the brink of death and experimented on as a Translinger test subject in 89. All Fox’s members, including the dead bodies, are used in the experiment by Yasmin.”

“I see. So Yasmin’s thinking is so very much like that of an alien.”

“Eggleston saw you right before his very last moment. And then, with his crumbling consciousness, he told you the truth, About what happened in 89 and 88, What is Yasmin working on. As soon as he finished telling you, Eggleston turned into a mutated monster right in front of you.”

“……”

“Whether it was a blessing or a curse, Eggleston became the most capable magic beast in combat that we have ever seen. Probably, the rate of compatibility was higher than Yasmin had expected. The monster that once was Eggleston attacked everyone. Including Coronzon and you. From there, it became a three-way battle between you, the Wraith, and Eggleton. All the scientists and technicians fell victim to Eggleston. It was such an aggressive attack that adult men were instantly reduced to pieces of meat. And that’s when I join.”

“…..You mean you’ve been watching the whole time? “

“That’s right. I was originally infiltrated to rescue some important people in 89 who know the whole ordeal in 89. I can’t be seen. However, that all changed when Nigel heard all the truth from Eggleston….”

After a pause, Garnier continued.

“You are marked as a target.”

“Did Yasmin tell you to assassinate me?”

“No.”

Garnier shook his head.

“I received an order to protect you and bring you back. The idea was to use you for experiments as soon as you returned to 88. Nigel was, in Yasmin’s eyes, an asset that was too valuable to merely eliminate. Eggleston who was close to you has turned out better than she expected. It made Yasmine hope for something that was not in her calculations – the existence of an unknown factor that she didn’t know.”

“……”

“A bizarre joint battle followed, with me, you, and even the Wraith joining forces, and the beast that was Eggleston finally fell. The fight continued with the wraith, but I happened to have a knife made of vibraton. It was one of the few tools in Miforsis that can cut through his armor. It was also an invention of Yasmin and her brother, Desmond.”

“That glowing knife.”

Nodding his head, he continues.

“By definition, a spirit is a powerful opponent that even I cannot fight. But miracles happened. The chaos brought by Eggleston gave me the chance to injure him using my own techniques. And another miracle is that you happened to be a woman.”

“……”

“For unknown reasons, only a woman can kill a wraith. In the crack in the armor I made, you jammed the severed gun barrel into it and shot all of the remaining bullets, Then it fell silent.”

“—-And?”

“After you finished off the monster, you took a moment to catch your breath, and I stabbed you in the chest from behind —- with this knife.”

Garnier stared at the knife in his hand.

The same knife that jutted out of the chest of the lucky rabbit. That scene flashed in my mind, replacing the lucky rabbit with myself.

“Still, the story isn’t making any sense. I thought you were ordered to protect me. Why did you stab me?”

“You handled it well. You pulled the gun from my waist even with your failing heart, and then, with only the faintest hint of strength left in your nearly stopped beating heart, you blew my arm off with it.”

“Don’t try to evade it.”

At my word, Garnier shut his mouth.

“…… Are you trying to be merciful?”

“I don’t know. I asked myself that questions a lot while I was in solitary confinement, but I couldn’t figure it out myself–“

With a small shake of his head, he looked at me.

“It seems that too much time has passed since I got this body since I lost myself.”

“You are still loyal to Yasmin after all that time?”

“Yes, I am…… but I’m thinking about something else right now.”

Slouching down, Garnier looked me straight in the eye and raised his knife.

“——–I never imagined that……. my choice…..my hesitation…..have put you in such an absurd predicament.”

I extended my fingernails.

“Nigel. I’m going to end your nightmare for real, this time.”

“—-I’m counting on you.”

It reminded me that I only have one arm left.