A few minutes after Ruka's parents spoke to Marin, a scream was heard from outside.
The hospital staff hurriedly ran towards the entrance.
Examinations were temporarily suspended, and the hospital immediately fell into an uproar.
Erika and the others didn't understand the situation at all, but a rumor spread from somewhere.
The wife of the president of the Hiyami Group had been murdered.
When that information reached Marin's ears, she hastily began to run toward the reception room where Ruka was.
However, before she could descend the stairs, the person herself appeared before her eyes.
Her eyes were red and swollen, and with a smile that lacked its usual energy, she said:
"What's wrong, in such a panic? It's as if someone died."
Marin understood.
Perhaps Ruka had known this would happen.
So, without saying anything, she embraced her.
"It's okay to cry at times like this. You should raise your voice and grieve! If you don't, no matter how much you're—"
"I cried. I grieved. I've already finished that ritual beforehand."
"How can you let it out like that!"
"My parents are special. We both understood that a reckoning would come eventually. It just happened to be now, right? By the way, who died, my father or my mother?"
"...It was Manami san."
"I see, right in front of Father's eyes... Surely, someone must have been saved by that."
"Ruka..."
Her voice sounded more like she was giving up, rather than separating her feelings or accepting it.
No matter how much it was Marin, Ruka had achieved enlightenment to a point where there was no room for her to interject.
That this was a necessary ritual, and rather, only by going through it could her parents be forgiven—
"It's okay, just you embracing me like this, Marin, makes my heart regain its heat. I just need to rest for a while and I'll be back to normal."
"I'll stay by your side forever."
"That won't do either, you have your own 'settlement'. The reception room is empty, you should use that room."
Ruka gently pulled away.
At the end of her gaze was the figure of Marin's family.
Indeed, as Ruka said, if she didn't settle her own affairs, she wouldn't be able to share in her suffering.
Turning around, she faced her father and mother.
"Father, Mother. Let's talk with Erika, about everything up until now, and everything from now on."
Hearing this, Erika bowed slightly to Rea and her father, and stood before her parents.
"There's a lot I want to talk about. Let's have a proper discussion about the past 16 years."
"I don't want to hear anything from you."
"That's right, just Marin is enough, isn't it? Erika, wait here."
"That won't do!"
Marin raised her voice.
Why was she defending Erika—her parents couldn't hide their surprise.
Towards those two, Marin declared resolutely:
"Erika might not be family to you, but she is my sister."
"Marin, what are you saying... There's no way this failure is your sister!"
Her mother boldly declared this, not just in front of her daughter, but in front of strangers as well.
The 16 years of time had made that her "normal."
Rea and Gii, who were watching the situation, couldn't hide their anger, but Erika herself was smiling.
Happily.
Yes, almost like when she was about to kill someone.
"Marin and I faced each other. Now it's Mother and Father's turn."
"Erika, you—"
"What did you do to Marin!"
Enraged, her father grabbed Erika by the collar.
However, being intimidated didn't make her flinch.
She had been in a world where death was commonplace.
With this level of violence, why would she falter now?
"What did I do? It's the opposite, I'm the one who's been having things done to me. It's a matter of needing to settle that score."
And Erika grabbed her father's wrist and lightly peeled it off.
Grabbed with unexpected strength, he groaned slightly in pain, "Ugh..."
"Oh, by the way, I properly consider you two to be my parents. Let's 'be a family', for the first time in 16 years. Okay?"
Being told that from close range, her father felt afraid and backed away.
It was different from the "empty" gaze he had directed at her within the household until now.
An overly deep darkness.
Happily, it was trying to prey on him.
His instinctual intuition as a living creature was telling him he shouldn't get close to this daughter.
But there was no escape.
Led by Marin, the four of them headed toward the reception room.
Just before leaving the hallway, Rea rushed over to Erika and squeezed her hand tightly.
Furthermore, Gii grabbed her other hand.
"Do your best."
"Have fun."
Whispered in her ears, Erika couldn't help but smile wryly at those words, which were in a sense polar opposites.
And, she responded with a positive smile.
"Thanks, I'll do my best to have fun."
◆◆◆
Erika and Marin sat side-by-side, with their parents seated across from them.
Perhaps it was the first time since their early childhood, before they were even old enough to remember, that the four members of this family had gathered in the same room and faced each other like this.
Even though no words had been spoken yet, a heavy atmosphere drifted.
Who would be the first to speak—as their father nervously darted his eyes around, Erika, the only one in a good mood, spoke up.
"What's wrong, Father, making such a frightened face. It's the moment of family harmony you've always wanted, isn't it?"
"It's out of the question to even talk the moment someone who isn't family is mixed in."
Her mother interjected.
She showed no sign of remorse whatsoever.
Just like before the academy vanished, she looked down on Erika with eyes as if looking at garbage.
"It's annoying enough that you came back alive, but what's your intention in feeding Marin unnecessary ideas?"
"Because we're sisters. Right?"
"That's right, Sister."
"Stop saying such gross things!"
Her mother stood up and yelled.
It had enough intensity to make her father beside her flinch in surprise.
"Are you threatening Marin? Or were you brainwashed inside the academy?! That's it, isn't it?!"
"Are you saying Marin is the kind of person who could be brainwashed by a failure like me?"
"No, of course not! To begin with, it's strange that you even have friends. Why are you chatting so happily with other girls? That in itself is abnormal!"
"Even I can make friends."
"Don't lie! I get it, you're planning to do the same to us, aren't you. Drugs? Hypnosis? Either way, you're definitely going to use some cowardly trick!"
"Now, now, Mother, calm down."
"How can I calm down! You tainted our precious daughter, our Marin!"
"If I had a way to control you, I would have killed you two a long time ago."
"..."
Her mother's verbal abuse stopped abruptly.
It seemed she was at least aware she had done enough to warrant being killed by her daughter.
"Mother, you're still alive. That's proof that I don't have that kind of power. First of all, why did the idea of brainwashing even come up? Was there someone who had that done to them?"
"Of course... not."
Suddenly losing her momentum, her mother sat back down.
Watching her, Erika desperately tried to hold back her laughter, but she couldn't stop her shoulders from shaking.
Also, Marin was completely displeased after hearing her mother's words.
"Mother, do you think that just by interacting with Erika, I become 'tainted'..."
"Of course I do. The difference in your quality is so vast it's hard to believe you're sisters. It's only natural to keep you apart so you don't receive a bad influence. Right, dear?"
"A-Ah... It's better to raise the exceptional Marin, who can learn and absorb anything immediately, than to raise the defective Erika. That way, when looking at the family as a whole, we can be happier. That's... what I thought."
"So you're saying you tossed me aside and poured everything into Marin."
"But there should be no need to call that a taint."
"It's Erika's fault for being born like that."
"So you didn't love me even the slightest bit."
"Of course not! I poured all that love into Marin!"
"Was it really me that you loved?"
"Wh-What are you saying? I treated you with so much affection!"
"That's right, Marin. You're being deceived by Erika. Get away from a woman like that immediately."
"Poor Father."
Erika said, sounding as if she truly pitied him.
Her father didn't understand the meaning, but turned red and grew indignant at those mocking words.
"What are you trying to say?"
"Eh? Exactly what it sounds like. Even though you don't know anything, you're such a coward that you can't even stand up to Mother, and just live your life doing as you're told. I think you're a pitiful person."
"How dare you say that to your father!"
"Then you should have lived your life acting like a father."
"Listen here, you're getting way too cocky just because you have a few more allies! I'll cut ties with you and throw you out! You can go wander the streets for all I care!"
"Eh, you're going to throw me away? You two are? I'm so happy, I can finally be free. It would have been fine if you just ignored me, but you kept dragging me down, and it was a real nuisance."
"I even took care of your high school! With your grades, there's no way you could have gotten into Hikarinomiya Academy! Are you going to forget even that favor just because you got caught up in an incident?!"
"I was waiting for that," Erika smiled, bearing her teeth.
Marin let out a small sigh, "She stepped right into it."
"Yes, that! Exactly that! Why did you put me in Hikarinomiya Academy? Ah, wait, I don't need any rebuttals. I know why you put me in there, Mother. I was a 'sacrifice,' wasn't I? A being meant to be bullied, subjected to violence, and finally offered as a sacrifice to God."
"Wh-What are you talking about..."
"I see... Erika has lost her mind. She must have gone through a terrible ordeal at that academy. That means we don't need to listen to her anymore."
"...You're right, it's foolish to even lend an ear."
"Then I don't mind speaking instead. I think this is a story Father especially needs to hear, though."
The parents tried to take a stance to escape, but with Marin involved, that wouldn't work.
The ridiculous excuse of "she was brainwashed" wouldn't fly anymore.
If the facts were stated from the mouth of their beloved Marin, they would have no way out.
"Why me?"
"Father, do you know the name Setaguchi Ataru?"
"That's—"
"Stop it, Marin! There's no point in talking about that!"
Her mother stood up again.
It was unmistakably an action for self-preservation.
Finally unable to hold back, Erika laughed out loud, "Hahahaha."
Marin, on the other hand, looked up at her mother with eyes full of contempt.
"Wh-What... Don't look at me with those eyes! Have you forgotten the debt you owe me for raising you?!"
"I'm grateful that you raised me. But this is a separate matter."
"Setaguchi is... a teacher at Hikarinomiya Academy, right? I recall you said he was an old friend of yours when he called out to us in town once..."
"Y-Yes, dear. He is, yes, an old classmate, and we just happened to bump into each other."
"Since I was little, Mother had been repeatedly having meals with Setaguchi, just the three of us."
"Marin! Stop it, don't say any more!"
"Setaguchi said to me. 'I am your true father.'"
"STOP ITTTTTTTTTTT!"
Her mother's shrill scream echoed.
It sounded almost like a death cry, and to Erika's ears, it sounded like pleasant, soothing music.
"True...?"
Her father tilted his head.
He still hadn't grasped the meaning of those words.
"In other words, I am the child of Mother and—"
"STOP IT, PLEASE!"
But before Marin could finish, her mother lunged at her.
And she reached out with both hands to strangle her.
However, Marin didn't budge an inch against that level of strength, merely staring at her with calmly detached eyes.
In front of her, her mother continued to scream like a madwoman.
"You promised you wouldn't tell! Marin, Marin, you're on Mama's side, right?! If you're on my side, keep quiet! There's no need to say something like that here!"
"Thanks to that, we almost died, so it's not like it's unrelated to me."
"Shut up, you worthless trash! I don't want to hear your voice!"
"Hahaha, what a vulgar voice and face. Well then, since Mother seems to want to hear my voice, I'll say the rest."
Erika, this time, delivered the truth to her father.
"Marin is the child born between Mother and Setaguchi. He wasn't an old friend; they were having an affair."
"Ah—"
"...Eh?"
Her mother froze with her mouth wide open.
Her father also froze, his head still tilted.
Those foolish figures were truly the symbol of collapse, a sight she wanted to capture in a photograph.
Erika applauded in her heart, This is what I wanted to see.
And as time began to move again, everything began to crumble and collapse.
"That's a lie... right, Shiori."
Come to think of it, Mother's name was Shiori, Erika recalled.
Even hearing her name for the first time in a long while at this exact timing was amusing right now.
Meanwhile, her mother's pupils dilated, cold sweat poured down her face, and she was panting like an animal, "Hah, hah."
It was practically a confession that it was true.
As if to back that up, Marin said:
"It's true. Mother was a believer of the Kaisei kyou. And by receiving the genes of Setaguchi, an executive, she intended to make me an executive of the Kaisei kyou."
"Genes...? Wait, then, Marin is..."
"Father's blood does not flow in me."
The reality he didn't want to face, stated clearly.
Her father must have surely felt dizzy.
He probably felt like heaven and earth had flipped, and he was falling from the ground up into the sky.
The blood visibly drained from his face.
And he looked toward his wife, as if clinging to her.
Deny it.
Show me something, anything, that can deny it, he seemed to pray.
In response to that—his mother answered in a way that betrayed his expectations.
"It couldn't be helped, could it."
It couldn't be helped.
That was her first sentence.
Erika couldn't contain her excitement.
"B-Because, because no matter how you look at it, Ataru san is more exceptional than you! His looks, his height, his intelligence, his athleticism, his personality, even our sex life! He's superior to you in every single way!"
"Shiori...? What are you saying, Shiori?!"
"It's only natural to want to give birth to a slightly better child! The one at fault is you! I'm not to blame! You, who are inferior and made me give birth to a child like Erika, are the one to blame!"
"Th... That, that's... Then, what have I been raising all this time..."
"Isn't it fine? Everyone thinks she's your child. Everyone thinks a wonderful child like Marin was born from your genes. Isn't that an honor?! Right?!"
"DON'T SCREW WITH MEEEEEEEE!"
Her father—that weak, pathetic father—raised his voice for the first time.
Even Marin and Erika couldn't hide their surprise at this.
Her father grabbed her mother, his eyes bloodshot as he spat words at her.
"You, you're the one who said it, Shiori! You said we should throw Erika away, and pour all our love into Marin! And yet, and yet, did you know back then?! That Marin wasn't my child?!"
"Of course I knew! That's why I named her Marin (True Love). Because the one I truly love is Ataru san, so I decided to pour my love only into Ataru san's child! That's why I gave her that name, it's your fault for not noticing!"
"My, my 15 years! What about the time I spent abusing my biological daughter and loving another man's daughter?!"
"How should I know! It's your fault for not noticing for such a long time! It's your fault for making me give birth to a worthless failure like Erika! If you're so frustrated, try being born as an exceptional human being like Ataru san!"
"Don't make excuses when you're the one brainwashed by a cult!"
"I'm not brainwashed, I'm perfectly sane! Marin is the one who's brainwashed, right?! Besides, thanks to me, even Erika was able to get into Hikarinomiya Academy! Aren't you glad? If I wasn't a believer, that girl couldn't have even gone to high school! I let your daughter go to high school! The daughter I don't even love!"
"Shioriiiiiiiii!"
Her father could no longer form coherent words.
Veins bulging on his temples, his face bright red, he merely displayed his anger.
Even so—he clenched his fists, but he couldn't hit her mother.
Erika muttered while watching the scene.
"I want popcorn."
Marin's cheeks twitched for a moment, but she immediately reconsidered.
"Are you put off?"
"No, in your position, Sister, that's a natural reaction."
Yes, it was only natural for Erika to feel that way.
Just as those parents hadn't loved Erika and hadn't even treated her as a human—to Erika, those two were like beasts forced to kill each other in a freak show.
If so, the correct way to enjoy it was to watch with a snack in one hand.
"I'm glad you understand, I'm glad we talked."
"Indeed. Thanks to that, I really feel like we're sisters."
"Oh, are you enjoying this too, Marin?"
"Only slightly, but I do have that feeling in my chest."
"We're family, huh."
"Yeah, we're family."
Sisters deepening their bond.
A married couple deepening their wounds.
Even though they were the same family, they were polar opposites.
But since she was getting a little bored, Erika decided to throw a stone into the pond.
"You say you got me into the academy, but you intended to kill me, you know. To make me a sacrifice for the Kaisei kyou's God."
"Kill—were you that, were you that disgusted by my child!"
"That's right! Just getting her into the academy should be enough, I fulfilled my role as a mother! Praise me for living in the same house with inferior genes!"
Taking the opportunity, Marin also dropped a bomb.
"By the way, Setaguchi died in there."
"Huh—?"
"H-Haha, died? The guy you were having an affair with? The secret lover died! He died! Ahahahaha, serves him right!"
"That's a lie, Ataru san dying is a lie, a lie, a liiiiiie!"
"Mother, you thought he was alive because his body hadn't been found yet, didn't you."
"Why?! Why in the world?!"
"I killed him."
Killed him.
The moment they heard that, both parents froze.
"Was that a bit too shocking?"
"A drastic medicine like that is just right for Mother right now."
Even though they were talking about a person's death, the sisters remained unfazed.
But the parents' minds were in turmoil.
Her most precious treasure, the crystallization of her love with the man she loved, killed the man she loved.
The daughter he had raised with love, even though they shared no blood, killed a person.
"Why..."
"Ah, why..."
"Hey, why did you—"
"Why did Marin have to go down the wrong path, instead of Erika!"
Her father was lamenting purely because his own life had been denied.
There wasn't a single shred of love for Erika in his words.
In the end, this married couple were two of a kind, perfectly matched no matter how far they went. They were forcefully shown that reality.
Erika also understood Marin's feelings very well.
No matter how much she didn't want to accept Setaguchi as her father, she probably didn't want to accept that these people were her parents, either.
But she couldn't run away.
If she couldn't accept it, she couldn't cut them off.
"Ever since I was born, I have constantly hurt you, Sister. Just like these two, I looked down on you as a failure and despised you."
"That is a natural right for you, because it's a fact!"
"Yes, I thought it was natural. In other words, at that point, I was not an 'exceptional daughter.' I realized it when you told me, Sister. I am undeniably the 'trash daughter' raised by you two. To accept that, Setaguchi, who claimed 'I am your father,' was in the way. He had to be erased."
Marin's fluent words carried the strength of someone who had "accepted" something.
The current her wasn't just putting up a front.
To walk alongside Ruka, she was trying to become strong on the inside as well.
"A failure whose outward appearance was the only thing that grew splendidly. That's me."
"A failure whose outward appearance didn't even grow. That's me."
"We are two of a kind, sisters."
"So rest assured, Father. Marin is undeniably your pathetic, unsightly daughter. Rest assured, Mother. I am undeniably your ugly daughter who lacks a human heart."
The sisters thrust the conclusion they found when they understood each other, the reality they couldn't avert their eyes from, at their parents.
Why was it necessary to do so?
It's the same as surgery.
If you don't know where the affected area is, you can't excise it.
Looking straight at it.
That was an essential condition.
"With that said, let me say this. As of today, we sisters—are cutting ties with our parents. We have no intention of returning to that house."
With a firm resolve, a parting.
So that trash can become human.
"I don't have a problem since I was told you were cutting ties before this."
"I—acknowledged that you two are my true parents. That's exactly why I thought that if I didn't leave, I would fall even further."
"I won't... I won't allow such a thing."
"Th-That's right. How does a girl still in high school plan to live alone! Society isn't that easy!"
Reacting to their daughters—no, Marin's declaration, the parents temporarily called a truce and pressed them.
"Even trash like you two can live, so it seems pretty easy, doesn't it?"
"Don't butt in on family matters!"
"I'm family too, you know?"
"Shut up!"
"There's no need to be quiet, Sister. Because this is a family matter."
"Marin... you really have been poisoned by Erika...!"
"Besides, is this really the time to be talking about family? Your affair was exposed, what are you going to do, Mother. Father hasn't forgiven you either, you know?"
"It's not about forgiving or not forgiving! Right, dear! It's a family crisis. Besides, it's like Marin said, birth doesn't matter. The parents who raised you are what's important!"
"That's..."
Anger still resided in her father's eyes.
It had merely been overwritten by "surprise," and once that peeled away, intense fury carrying murderous intent would show its face again.
"I cannot forgive you for deceiving me."
"D-Dear..."
"See, Father says so too. Even if we returned, the collapse of our family is inevitable. Isn't divorce certain?"
"I won't do such a thing! B-Because... look, dear, you've always forgiven me! You gently enveloped me! So, this time too... right?"
Setaguchi is gone.
Knowing that, her mother immediately began to curry favor with her father.
As a result, her father's distrust of her mother only strengthened, and he glared at her, grinding his teeth.
Kind, uncomplaining, convenient—seeing such a father direct hatred toward her, her mother seemed to realize the gravity of the situation.
"It was just a momentary impulse! I was anxious while pregnant with Erika, and I was recruited. And then there was a handsome man there—"
"Was it... since you were pregnant with Erika."
"Yes! That's why it couldn't be helped! I had no choice! I'm not to blame!"
"I... I thought I had loved you, Shiori. I respected you more than anyone, prioritized you above anything else."
"I know, you were a kind and wonderful person since college!"
"But... you cheated on me twice before we even got married."
"Eh...?"
"Maybe forgiving you back then was a mistake."
That was a story from the past, one even the daughters didn't know.
Erika thought while listening:
You were only "caught" twice, but you probably did it a lot more.
"To you, I was a convenient man. Because I was kind, because I forgave everything, even after we got married, I didn't restrict you and you could live freely... that's why you chose me...!"
"That's, not..."
"What is it, what is this, seriously! You're 100% to blame for cheating, but... u-ugh... why do I have to be told that it's my fault...!"
Her father finally began to cry.
Then, the expression completely vanished from her mother's face.
Seeing that pathetic face, her "switch" must have flipped again.
"That's right, you're the one to blame."
She's like a roller coaster, Erika thought.
Ultimately, she too is aware that what she's doing is wrong.
However, she doesn't want to admit that she's to blame.
So she repeats self-defense and lashing out, becoming increasingly emotionally unstable.
"Because you cry in such a gross way! Because you're that kind of man, you get a child like Erika, and you get cheated on! It can't be helped, there are plenty of men in the world more attractive than you!"
"Say, is Erika really my daughter? Having slept with so many men, maybe you don't even know yourself?!"
"Of course she's your daughter! She looks exactly like you!"
"...You, you're Erika's mother too! Isn't it partly your responsibility that she was born like that, huh!"
"Look at Marin and you'll see! It's not my fault, it's your fault! Since a person like you was able to marry me, you should just be glad and let me do what I want!"
"Shiori... because you're that kind of person, you're only treated as an affair partner, right? If you were truly a good woman, you would have been loved as his main squeeze!"
"Ataru san loved me!"
"Setaguchi seems to have lots of other children, too."
"Shut up, you worthless trash!"
"See! Someone as pathetic as me is the perfect match for you, Shiori!"
"Stop saying gross things, don't bring your face close to me, it irritates me just looking at you!"
Her mother shoved her father.
Tumbling off the sofa and landing on his rear, he looked unbelievably uncool.
Standing before him, her mother, hair sticking to her sweaty face, her shoulders heaving as she breathed, floated a thin smile and declared.
"Since we're at this point, I'll say it clearly. I have never loved you, not even once! Just like you said, I dated you and married you because you were convenient! And I made fun of you together with the other man I was seeing behind your back. We said there's no one funnier than you, completely oblivious while I'm blatantly cheating on you, mistakenly thinking you're loved! That was fun! Playing with y-you like that is fun, so—!"
"A... AAAAAAH...!"
"See, you can't say anything, can you? Even being made a fool of to this extent, you can't even utter a single complaint! You can't even slap my cheek! That's why I say you're pathetic! If you want a divorce, I'll give you one. But you know what? Doing that won't make you happy! You'll live the rest of your life as a loser loved by no one, as a person who treated his own biological daughter like trash! That's the perfect life for you!"
"Uwaaaaaah..., gu, uuuuugh...!"
Crying profusely, her father let out a groan.
Erika approached him, crouched down to his eye level, and spoke to him gently.
"Father."
"Eri, ka..."
Then she summoned Dreamer and lightly pressed it into his hand.
"This is the first and last present from your only daughter."
She had never given one.
She had never received one.
What Erika handed him was a single knife.
The blade bearing the name Dreamer, the blade that severs nightmares.
What is the nightmare for her father?
He raised his head and stared at his wife.
"Dear... what are you planning to do with that? It's dangerous, throw it away."
It was a strangely shaped knife, but even an amateur's eye could tell it harbored intense killing intent.
That's why her mother was frightened.
And her father stared intently at the blade, at his own face reflected in it, as if mesmerized.
"Well, then. Marin, we should probably get going."
"...Is this okay."
"It's bad to peek into marital affairs. Especially for a daughter, it'd be too awkward to watch."
"Yeah... understood."
Marin had decided to leave the final judgment to Erika.
She was a perpetrator, too.
She had no right to interject.
The two stood up and left the room, leaving only their parents behind.
One might think they would just walk away—but Erika leaned against the wall near the room, closed her eyes, and listened closely.
"Dear, stop. Please. Don't come closer!"
"Shiori... is to blame."
"I'll apologize! I was wrong! What I said just now was, um, just a spur of the moment thing! Look, you know it too, right? When I get excited, I can't control myself!"
"For how many years have you continued to betray me? Toyed with my life?"
"I admit it. Dear, you're manly. Wonderful. Because, look, no other man has ever pointed a knife at me like that. So, that's enough, right? I'll take back all the words I said until now!"
"I know you have no love for me, how could I possibly endure this anymore!"
"No, NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Screams could be heard from the room.
Her father finally attacked her mother, violently thrusting the blade of love given by his daughter.
He slashed again and again at her mother's arms as she tried to defend herself.
"It hurts, IT HURTS! Stop it, dear! I was wrong! Everything, it was me, it was me!"
"So what if you admit it! That won't bring back my, my life!"
"NOOOOOOOOOOOO! Agih, gaaah! Hurts, noooo! Someone, someone help! Marin, Mariiiiiin! Erika is fine too! He, lp, hiiiii!"
From here, she could hear not only the voices but also the sound of Dreamer tearing through her mother.
Because it was a partner she had used continuously until today, she could tell exactly how it was touching the human body just from the sound.
Ah, he just tore the muscle in her forearm.
Ah, he reached the bone, he must have severed about half of it.
He shaved the meat off the surface of her collarbone, sliced off her ear, sent her fingers flying, sank it into the soft part of her upper arm.
"Ha, aha, ahahahahahahaha."
Erika laughed.
Beside her, Marin had a pained expression, but Erika laughed.
With a pure smile completely devoid of sadness, hesitation, or suffering.
"Ahahahahahahahahaha!"
She opened her mouth wide and laughed so hard tears welled up in her eyes.
Of course she wasn't crying.
She laughed so much that tears overflowed.
"Shiori! SHIORIIIIIIII! How dare you, how dare you make a fool of meeeee!"
Surely, up until today, her father had endured a lot.
It overflowed as if a dam had broken, and he couldn't stop anymore.
"Agaaah! N-nooo, I don't wanna diiie, ahi, I don't wanna diiiie! O-gooh!"
Her mother's voice grew muddy, mixed with the sound of liquid, and she could guess that her throat was likely injured.
The blade had long since severed even the artery in her neck, and her body was sinking into a sea of blood.
"Die, just dieeeee! Give it back, give me back my life, give me back my daughter!"
"A, aga... gu, Ataru... sa, ... guuuuh..."
Eventually, even after her mother's voice could no longer be heard, her father's frantic screams continued to echo.
Naturally, the hospital staff noticed it too, and rushed over with pale faces.
Erika covered her laughing mouth with her hand.
"Hah, fufufu, nn... fu, kuh..."
She was currently laughing, but when she crouched down and closed her eyes, to the other party it apparently looked like she was crying.
The bizarre voices heard from inside.
The drifting smell of blood.
And the daughter collapsing in tears.
"Um, what in the world is happening in here..."
Marin averted her eyes from the nurse and muttered a reply.
"My father started acting violently... and it seems he stabbed my mother with a knife."
The nurse's expression stiffened, and she slowly looked toward the door of the reception room.
It would be too cruel to tell her to open it.
"Please call the police."
When Marin said that, the nurse frantically ran toward the nurses' station.
After she was out of sight, Erika thanked Marin.
"S-Sorry... hehe, thanks. Nnfufu."
"I'm glad you're happy."
"Yeah, this is how it should be when the person you want to kill dies. Haha, for the first time I'm glad Dad was my father. Ahaha..."
"..."
"Was it painful for you, Marin?"
"No, my heart didn't move as much as I thought it would. I'm a little shocked at my own coldness."
"Haha, it can't be helped, considering those two are our parents."
"I want to change, from this self of mine."
"If you're with Hiyami san, you'll be fine, won't you? With this, I'm... hehe, about eighty percent free, I guess."
"You still have twenty percent left?"
"There's Yumemi chan's parents, and the main body of the Kaisei kyou."
But it was a relief.
The majority of the curse for Erika had now vanished completely.
Her mother's voice was completely silent.
Her father's screams had also ceased, and now only sobbing could be heard from inside.
◆◆◆
A few minutes later, the police arrived.
Kuragane Shiori was confirmed dead at the scene.
Her husband, Kuragane Naoki, who was at the scene, was arrested on suspicion of murder, and confessed to the crime during later interrogation.
Furthermore, the suspect stated regarding the murder weapon, "I used the knife given to me by my daughter."
However, the murder weapon was not found, and no evidence whatsoever was left to indicate the daughter's involvement.
Naturally.
The father became enraged and killed the mother.
That was all there was to it.
It had nothing to do with Erika or Marin.
From now on—the two of them will live without being bound by the blood of Kuragane.
The first and last moment of family harmony was a necessary ritual for that.
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