The Villain’s Ending

Chapter 41

Afterimage (3)

Estelle ran her hands over Seraphina's body.

All her fingertips felt was the texture of skin.

It was damp with sweat, and trembling faintly.

The face was invisible.

It was like a scribble hastily drawn with a black crayon.

Where eyes, nose, and mouth should have been, only incomprehensible lines were wildly intertwined.

Levina stood beside her.

Her face was also invisible.

There were no people in the world.It had been like that ever since Lavin died.

Before this, they were at least faintly visible.

Enough to distinguish one person from another.

And then Lavin's face became incredibly distinct, perhaps because it had taken all the surrounding colors.

After Lavin died, nothing was visible.

Just something in human form.

Only that remained in the world.

After Lavin died, she had once visited her parents.

They, too, had black whirlpools where their faces should have been.

The Church seemed to believe that the Saintess deeply loved her parents.

They must have thought I would grieve when they died.

Those who, when Étoile died, said it was God's will and nothing could be done.

Those ugly humans who rejoiced, thinking they could now get rich when I became the Saintess.

Of course, she did love them.

Because they were her parents.

Every time I killed a priest, the Church sent people to warn me.

That they would kill my parents.

My father died first, and a week later, my mother was found dead.

The Church Order announced that I had fallen into madness and killed them.

It didn't matter.

Even if the Church was divided into those who wanted to protect me and those who wanted to kill me.

Estelle slowly caressed Seraphina's cheek.

Over the scribbled face, her fingers slid down.

Since Estelle couldn't see the face, she relied on her fingers.

"Hey."

Estelle's voice was light.

As if bringing up a conversation about the weather.

"We know each other, don't we? We caught a demon together before. So, I guess we can call ourselves friends, right?"

Climbing atop Seraphina, she whispered, embracing her in a somewhat suggestive posture.

Their bodies pressed together without a gap.

"So, here's the thing. I have a question: why did Lavin like you?"

Estelle tilted her head, as if genuinely curious.

"I really don't get it. Truly. No matter how much I search, I still don't understand."

Estelle's fingers slowly traced Seraphina's lips, nose, and the skin around her eyes.

Nothing was felt other than the texture of skin.

"You're not even that pretty, are you? Your skin is rough, and your face doesn't seem as beautifully balanced as mine. Your lips are so parched, you look like a stray dog abandoned on the street and starved for days."

Estelle chuckled.

"Compared to that, how about me? Everyone looks at me and reveres me as Saintess, Saintess. Objectively speaking, aren't I much more beautiful? Why was it you? Huh?"

She grabbed a handful of Seraphina's hair.

The disheveled, dull hair slipped through her fingers.

"From a mediocre family, with magic skills that are quite impressive but still common. You even kicked away the fact that you were engaged. What on earth did Lavin see in you?"

Estelle's voice grew colder and colder.

Beneath her seemingly cheerful voice, there was an unsettling, sticky undertone.

"I'm different. The world says it loves me, doesn't it? Isn't that right? And I, who am so loved, loved Lavin, but Lavin still liked you even in front of me."

Estelle paused for a moment.

She leaned closer, peering into Seraphina's face.

"Being a girl from a noble family, you must have lived somewhat suppressed. Forming a party with a pretty capable guy, like something out of a fairy tale, and going to hunt monsters must have been quite fun. Honestly, I don't really know. Levina told me that."

Still, nothing was visible.

Only black, messy scribbles.

"When you completely ignored Lavin, and hung out with those pathetic brats, I was by Lavin's side. When he smoked, I smoked with him. When you abandoned him, I comforted him."

Now, she hated the night streets she had once loved so much.

"Levina, that idiotic bitch is just like you! Hanging out with commoners like some slut! These damn high-and-mighty people who wouldn't even look when my brother was dying, but that fucking Kyle, that fuuuuck... haa."

She hated herself for taking Lavin out every night.

She had tried to love herself, but it wasn't easy, so she tried to find someone who would love her.

And it seemed she had finally found that person.

It felt like she could finally grasp it.

"When you all threatened Lavin, I was the one who held him dearly."

Upon hearing that, Levina tried to retort, but Estelle looked at her, brought her index finger to her lips, and shushed her.

Then, Estelle's hand gripped Seraphina's chin.

She forced Seraphina's head up.

"What did you do? What on earth did you do for him to still love you even after your engagement was broken? I just can't understand it. Why something like this?"

"Well, Lavin, he..."

Seraphina barely managed to squeeze out her voice.

It was at that very moment she tried to retort.

Estelle's hand moved to Seraphina's already crushed left shoulder.

And without hesitation, she gripped it tightly.

Crunch.

The sound of bone and flesh being crushed was heard with horrifying clarity.

It was a chillingly clear sound.

"Mmmph!"

A scream tried to burst from Seraphina's lips.

But Estelle's other hand quickly covered her mouth.

The sound could not escape outside and was crushed within her throat.

Her vision went white from the excruciating pain that pierced her entire body.

Her consciousness grew dim.

Her body convulsed, tearing at the bedsheets.

"I don't want to hear it. Just listen to me."

Estelle looked down at Seraphina, who was writhing in pain, with an expressionless face.

Her hand was still gripping Seraphina's shoulder as if to crush it.

"I really don't know. I was just a worm-like commoner, and then suddenly I became the great Saintess. I simply can't understand how you nobles live, or what you think."

Seraphina couldn't answer.

Her mouth was covered, and her whole body was screaming in pain.

There was nothing she could do but shake her head and twist her body.

"Oh, you can't answer. My apologies."

Estelle said with a voice that held no trace of apology.

"But here's the thing. When I came back, fuck, I never even heard him say he liked me, and then he died. But he told you hundreds of times, didn't he? To you..."

Estelle's hand moved to Seraphina's neck.

Cold fingers wrapped around her slender neck.

And slowly, began to apply pressure.

"Choke... guh... gasp..."

She choked.

The air in her lungs rapidly escaped, and her vision gradually darkened.

Seraphina thrashed desperately, trying to grab Estelle's arm.

But her hands had no strength.

Her fingernails scraped weakly at Estelle's arm.

Before long, the bedsheets grew damp.

As if sensing it, the pressure in Estelle's hand suddenly released.

She let out a short sigh.

"Choke, choke! Cough! Cough!"

Seraphina gasped for breath, like a fish thrown onto the floor.

Tears, saliva, and snot mingled, making her face a mess.

The sensation of oxygen rushing into her lungs was, paradoxically, painful like a blade.

Estelle got off the bed and looked down at Seraphina, who lay sprawled in a mess.

Her face still held no expression.

"......"

Levina, who had been standing in the corner of the room, opened her mouth.

"Not killing her?"

Levina asked.

"I don't know."

Estelle replied curtly.

As if no longer interested in Seraphina, she walked to the window.

As she pulled back the thick curtains, faint moonlight seeped into the room.

Estelle stared blankly out the window.

The dark city landscape was silent, like death.

"......I miss him."

Estelle murmured softly.

Her voice was so small that it merely lingered in her own ears before fading away.

She took a cigarette from her pocket and put it in her mouth.

Then she took out a match and struck it.

Hiss-

A small flame bloomed in the darkness.

The moment she saw the orange flame, something welled up inside her.

Estelle dropped the match and gagged.

She pulled the cigarette from her mouth and crushed it in her hand.

Finely crushed tobacco leaves scattered onto the floor.

"Levina."

"Hm."

"Couldn't you have stopped it?"

Estelle's voice was tinged with faint resentment.

"Where were you, then?"

At those words, Estelle seemed about to get angry.

Her face distorted for a moment.

But soon, her shoulders slumped.

Lavin died because she had foolishly left his side.

Lavin died because she had taken him around, spent happy times with him, and spent every night in the same building.

She had overlaid him with her deceased younger brother, Étoile, and in an attempt to erase that superimposed image, she went around killing priests.

Because she wanted to see Lavin clearly.

Even though he was already visible so clearly.

She wanted to blame someone.

But there weren't many people she could blame.

Not only had she failed to save her family, but the person she loved had been burned to death alive.

Perhaps it was because she had killed too many.

She had burned heretics alive, claiming they weren't human, and went around killing people, spouting things like 'in God's name' and so on.

But she didn't want to believe it was all her fault.

She just didn't want to think.

Because every time she couldn't see a person's face, every time she saw a street lamp, she was reminded of Lavin burning.

Now, she hated the night.

Suddenly, something brushed past, leaving a scratch on her right arm.

Estelle wiped the blood flowing from her arm, then glanced at Seraphina, who was gasping and crying, before asking Levina.

"Who else did you say there was, besides her, earlier?"

Levina looked at Estelle without answering.

After a long silence, Levina's low voice cut through the air in the room.