The Cage of Love

In the ruins of the deserted village, the wind whistles through the broken walls.

Ubel tilted his head and a smile played on his lips.

"Did you hear that, Glasses Guy? According to this bandaged lady, something about 'she didn't say anything even when she was breathing his breath' --"

She dragged out her words, her voice carrying a clear hint of mockery.

"--You love me very much."

Lanto adjusted his glasses. His gaze, behind the lenses, calmly swept over Ubel's smiling face before turning to the eerie figure not far away, wrapped in bandages and with his hands clasped across his chest. He paused for two seconds before speaking, his voice devoid of emotion.

"Stop talking nonsense. This guy's a madman, and are you a madman too?"

"You guess?"

Ubel's smile deepened. She took half a step forward, her long green hair fluttering gently in the wind.

"Whether it's a caged beast or a madman, who knows? Alright, alright, anyway—"

She turned to look at Sirius. Her purple eyes reflected his exposed, fanatical purple left eye.

"You're here to fight, right?"

Sirius's hands, clasped together in front of her chest, tightened abruptly. Her bandaged fingertips dug deeply into the fabric of her robe sleeves, the chains rattling with the movement. Her left eye widened abruptly, the pupil shrinking to a pinpoint.

"How could this be? How could this be? How could this be...?"

Her voice suddenly rose, carrying a trembling excitement.

"Love...! I'm here to spread love! I'm a moderate in the Witch Cult! I'm an ambassador of love and peace! Thank you! Thank you for giving me this opportunity!"

She released one hand and stretched it out to the two of them, her fingers spread wide. Her fingertips, beneath the bandage, trembled slightly.

"I just want... I want you to understand! True love! Love that has stood the test of time! Not the perfunctory, superficial, untested kind you have now..."

Before Ubel could finish speaking, her figure blurred for a moment, and the next second she appeared to Sirius's left. Her staff drew a simple arc, carrying a heavy wind pressure, and slammed horizontally towards Sirius's ribs.

No magic was used. It was purely physical damage.

Sirius's words came to an abrupt halt. She didn't turn her head; her bare left eye remained fixed on the direction where Ubel had been standing, but her hands, which had been clasped in front of her chest, suddenly separated—her right arm swung outward!

Whoosh--!

The golden chains wrapped around the bandage on his right arm shot out like living things, straightened in the air, and struck the staff precisely!

Clang--!

A sharp clang of metal clashing exploded. Sparks flew from the point of impact between the chains and the staff.

Ubel used the force of the impact to drift back half a step and land. She flicked her wrist, the smile still lingering on her lips.

"A moderate? An envoy? He certainly knows how to swing those chains quite swiftly."

Before she finished speaking, she charged forward again. The staff in her hand became a blurry shadow, attacking Sirius from different angles. Thrust, sweep, flick, smash. Each strike was clean and swift, precise and efficient, yet she deliberately controlled the degree of force, as if testing him.

Sirius swung his arms alternately. His two bandaged arms drove the chains at their ends, drawing complex trajectories in the air. At times, the chains were taut like spears, parrying thrusts; at other times, they were flexible like whips, attempting to wrap around the middle of the staff; and at still other times, they spun rapidly, creating an interwoven metal net in front of him.

Clang! Clang! Clang--!

The clanging of metal echoed continuously through the ruins, sparks raining down. Ubel's figure weaved through the gaps in the chains, each collision of her staff with the chains causing her to slightly adjust her posture before launching her next attack.

Lanto didn't engage in close combat. He stood still, adjusted his glasses, and raised his right hand. Tiny blue sparks of electricity crackled from his fingertips. With a flick of his finger, a thumb-thick arc of electricity shot out, tearing through the air and heading straight for Sirius's back. The speed seemed slow, but the trajectory was almost deliberately straight, accompanied by a subtle popping sound.

Sirius did not turn around. She swung her left arm back, and another chain, as if it had eyes, emerged from under her armpit, flicked in the air, and struck the middle of the electric arc with precision.

Snap!

The electric arc was drawn out in mid-air, turning into tiny Sparks that drifted in all directions.

Lanto didn't pause. He raised his left hand as well, and with a series of light flicks of his fingers, five thinner, yet faster electric shocks, like living blue snakes, blocked Sirius's space to dodge left and right, shooting out in a crisscross pattern.

Sirius's right arm chain had just parried Ubel's downward slash, leaving her no time to defend. She swung her left arm back again, and the chain spun like a serpent, drawing a complete circle behind her. As the chain swept across, five bolts of lightning were struck in succession, exploding in mid-air and turning into five rapidly extinguishing balls of lightning.

A wave of heat hit her face, blowing the tattered hem of her robe and bandages.

Ubel seized the opportunity to charge forward. His staff swung upwards in a fierce upward strike, aiming straight for Sirius's chin.

Sirius tilted his head back, narrowly avoiding the attack. The chains returned to defend, wrapping around the middle of the staff.

Ubel flicked his wrist, and his staff slammed down, striking the opponent's shoulder.

Sirius raised his left arm horizontally, the chain taut in front of his arm.

Clang--!

Another solid impact. Both men took a step back.

A temporary silence fell over the ruins. Only the clatter of chains and the distant howling of the wind could be heard.

Sirius straightened up again. Her purple left eye darted back and forth between Ubel and Lanto, the pupil still small, swirling with a fanatical light. She took a deep breath, her chest heaving, and her chapped lips parted on her bandaged face.

"Did you see that... did you see that! That's teamwork! That's coordination! That's --"

She clenched her hands together abruptly in front of her chest, the chains rattling loudly from the violent movement.

"--The embryonic form of love!!"

Ubel picked at his ear with his free left hand, looking somewhat impatient.

"Alright, alright, I'm tired of hearing that same excuse."

She flicked her staff, the tip pointing diagonally at the ground.

"You're not really that skilled, except you're quite fast and not bad at using chains. But..."

A mocking smile curled at the corners of her lips.

Dealing with someone like you who clearly lacks common sense is far too easy.

Sirius's purple left eye suddenly widened. A strange light flashed deep within its pupil.

"Yeah..."

She spoke softly, her voice suddenly becoming gentle, with an unsettling sweetness.

"Is that so... is that so... is that so..."

Her clasped hands slowly loosened and fell to her sides. The chains dragged on the ground, making a soft scraping sound.

"Like..."

She raised her head, her left eye fixed intently on Ubel.

Love! Love! Love!

The last "love" suddenly rose to a shrill pitch, cracking with a sharp edge!

Almost simultaneously--

Lanto, who was standing a few steps behind Ubel, suddenly shuddered. His movement of pushing up his glasses froze in mid-air.

Then, he slowly lowered his hand.

Behind the lenses, the pupils were slightly dilated. His face was expressionless, but the corners of his mouth began to twitch uncontrollably, forming a stiff, empty, and bizarre expression that mirrored the fanatical smile on Sirius's face.

He opened his mouth.

"Like..."

The voice was a little dry, but very clear.

Ubel frowned. She turned her head to look at Lanto.

Lanto remained standing there, maintaining that stiff smile. He looked at Ubel, then at Sirius, and spoke again, his voice slightly smoother than before, yet still carrying an unnatural flatness. Finally, his tone gradually rose, tinged with the hollow fervor that resonated with Sirius:

Love... love... love!

He repeated it over and over, his voice growing louder and more fluent, and with each repetition, the fervent smile on his face deepened.

Ubel's brow furrowed even more. She turned back to look at Sirius.

A mad light gleamed in Sirius's purple left eye. She spread her arms wide, chains hanging at her sides, like a strange bird displaying its wings.

"See that? This is love! This is resonance! This is a connection of souls! Thank you! Thank you for letting me see this beauty! Thank you!!"

Ubel stopped wasting words. In a flash, she charged at her opponent again. This time, the magical energy emanating from the tip of her staff suddenly became clear and dangerous.

Sirius raised his left arm, and the chain lashed out like a whip, wrapping around the staff.

Ubel neither dodged nor evaded. The magic at the tip of his staff, Nothing Is Uncuttable, silently activated.

"Laugh".

The left forearm, wrapped in bandages, along with the chain at the end, was severed at the shoulder. The cut was smooth as a mirror, and dark red blood gushed out a moment later, tracing an arc in the air.

Sirius looked down at his empty left arm, then looked up at Ubel, a hint of surprise flashing in his purple left eye.

But the next second--

Ubel discovered that the clothing on Lanto's left arm had been torn open in a neat cut, perfectly corresponding to the location of Sirius's wound. The flesh beneath was rolled back, revealing the bone. Fresh blood quickly soaked his sleeve.

She turned back and looked at Sirius.

Sirius also saw the wound on Lanto's left arm. Her purple left eye blinked, the bewildered surprise quickly fading and replaced by a fanatical, twisted excitement.

"Ahhh... Did you see that! Did you see that!!"

Her body trembled slightly with excitement, but her voice was shrill and ecstatic.

"This is love! It's connection! It's sharing! We are one! We'll share the pain and the hurt! This is true, unconditional love—"

She screamed, her voice echoing through the ruins.

"--Love it!!"

Ubel stood there. She looked at Lanto, whose left arm was bleeding but who kept repeating "love" with a fanatical smile, and then at the bandaged monster not far away who had lost half an arm but was laughing more and more maniacally.

She remained silent for a few seconds.

Then, she slowly raised her hand and pressed her fingers against her temple. The calm, analytical light in her purple eyes gradually faded, replaced by a murky crimson that slowly and silently spread to the edges of the whites of her eyes.

The crimson wasn't intense; it merely seeped subtly into the edges of the whites of her eyes, making her pupils appear exceptionally deep.

She lowered her hand and looked at Sirius. The corners of her mouth slowly curved upwards, forming an empty and stiff arc that subtly resembled the fanatical smile on his face.

She opened her mouth, her voice very soft, carrying a hint of awkwardness and bewilderment, as if she had just learned a new word.

"... like."