The voice rang out again, relentlessly repeating the horrifying fact that the her in the mirror was herself...
I'm dead?!
No, you're still alive.
It was like asking and answering herself, yet fear continued to ferment in her heart.
At that moment, Kiryu Aika suddenly collapsed to the ground.
Her heart had stopped beating!
Clutching her chest tightly, the once fairly strong heartbeat was like a stalled car engine, utterly motionless.
I'm dead!
You're alive!
It was as though they were deliberately contradicting each other, but the other self in her mind did not seem to be deceiving her.
Yet fear still lingered in her mind. Her body curled up uncontrollably, and her muscles seemed to relax as the clear sound of flowing water splashed endlessly.
Her freshly cleaned body was once again stained in another color.
Who are you?
I am you, another you!
Though her body was already beyond her control, her thoughts remained so calm.
Her mind and body seemed to have suffered some incomprehensible separation.
You're tired.
This was no longer a self-question and self-answer, but an active suggestion.
Give me your body and go rest!
The gentle voice made Kiryu Aika seem to see her mother through the haze.
"Mother..."
She murmured softly. Her once-bright eyes gradually lost their light and became vacant.
With a soft laugh, her vacant eyes instantly regained their clarity.
Her twisting limbs bent at angles beyond all reason, accompanied by the sounds of skin tearing and bones breaking.
Blood sprayed out, flowing across the floor.
The clean mirror instantly turned crimson.
The head twisted around three hundred and sixty degrees revealed an eerie smile toward the light overhead.
Ten minutes later, the door to Room 403 slowly opened, and a sloppily dressed man placed the trash in his hand outside the door.
The sound of the neighboring door opening caught the man's attention, but he did not pay it much mind.
He knew a girl lived next door, but he was no pervert. By the time he was thirty-two, he had already exhausted all his sexual desires.
Women could no longer stir his curiosity at all. Cute boys, perhaps, could.
Though he did not care, the corner of his eye still caught sight of the girl next door as he straightened up after putting down the trash.
Eh?
He seemed to have seen something.
The man vigorously rubbed his eyes and looked down the hallway.
The girl had already reached the stairs and was preparing to go down. Seeming to notice his gaze, she suddenly turned and gave him a faint smile.
At that moment, the man's eyes flew wide open. What he saw with his naked eyes made his heart suddenly stop beating, and his gradually stiffening body fell straight to the floor...
The weather was wonderful today, and the road to school was filled with laughter and cheerful voices.
But none of it belonged to Kiryu Aika, though she still wore a sweet smile.
The pink-rimmed glasses she usually wore had vanished somewhere, but that no longer mattered. For someone as indecent as her, such things were merely a burden.
On the way to school, some people recognized Kiryu Aika. Though she had no real friends at school, Kiryu Aika could still be considered a minor celebrity.
Acquaintances and friends had always been two entirely different words.
Since she was not wearing her glasses, quite a few people did not recognize Kiryu Aika at first glance.
Those distinctive pink-rimmed glasses were a special trait of the person called Kiryu Aika, proof of her existence in this time.
That sounded rather subtle.
But Kiryu Aika did not mind in the slightest. She maintained her smile throughout, like an ordinary girl who had encountered something delightful.
She had arrived at the classroom. The moment Kiryu Aika appeared, everyone's gaze fell upon her as if they had agreed on it beforehand.
"Good morning, everyone~"
With a sweet smile, she greeted them warmly. Everything about her made Kiryu Aika look like a cheerful, enthusiastic girl who loved to smile.
Their dazed gazes, their suddenly racing hearts, the lovely blushes appearing on the girls' pretty faces.
The boys' vacant stares vanished in an instant, replaced by something different in their eyes.
Everything seemed so wonderful.
A trace of eeriness hung on her upturned lips as she walked joyfully to her seat.
Her clear gaze looked toward the sky, yet that azure sky was not reflected in Kiryu Aika's eyes.
What reflected in her eyes was a blood-red and beautiful world.
That place was called... hell.
Within the Cave Heaven, Makima watched everything happening at the school with a smile.
The first devil of hell was a fairly decent one.
But she was only a tool.
As for herself?
She was indeed a devil, the Control Devil.
But as Sakura's devil, as her second heart, she did not belong to hell. She belonged to Sakura.
Her master controlled everything about her completely: her destination and her end. Nothing had been overlooked.
If she had to say it, only this body that could be toyed with at will had yet to be claimed by her.
If Sakura wanted it, she would be quite happy.
To her, that should count as some subtle form of acknowledgment.
After all, both this body and the name Makima existed because of Sakura.
Space tore apart, and two figures appeared within the Cave Heaven, right before Makima and Asama Chi.
The pure white maid dress was dyed a vivid red, while the small patches of exposed skin remained spotless.
Belfast maintained her elegance as a maid. Only her pure white dress and loose sleeves had been stained a brilliant red.
The other was even more straightforward and brutal.
The jet-black armor, like that of an evil spirit, was now entirely vivid red, as though it had been dyed another color.
After removing her armor, she revealed a cold face, while her golden hair remained as dazzling as ever.
"Welcome back."
Makima remained seated, but she snapped her fingers crisply.
In an instant, the blood vanished completely.
As the Control Devil, Makima controlled this space within her authority, then used space itself to clean away every trace of that vivid blood.
She liked vivid red, but that depended on whose red it was.
Other than Sakura's colors, she had no interest in any other red.
"Honestly, Miss Makima."
Belfast looked at her now-clean clothes. Rather than offering thanks, she only felt helpless.
"This is worse than letting Longo-Minyad and me take a bath."
"Perhaps dying once would be even simpler."
Makima propped up her cheek and spoke without joking.
"Die, then come back to life. You would not even need to bathe. How nice~"
"That won't do."
Belfast paid no mind to Makima's words. She smiled faintly, placing her right hand, covered by a white glove, gently against her flat abdomen.
"This body still bears Lord Sakura's scent and warmth. I do not want to casually discard it."
"Tch..."
Makima snorted and shrugged, saying nothing more afterward.
Longo-Minyad had already left to wash herself. She had the same habit as Belfast, though she had departed before Belfast could speak.
Though she had grown accustomed to this home, there were still things she was not used to.
For example, conversing at the pace of Belfast and Makima.
Though she was a cold god, their views and methods on certain matters had already exceeded what even she, as a god, found acceptable.
"Miss Belfast, I'll go with you."
Belfast's hand.
If she had to choose between Makima and Belfast, she would undoubtedly choose the latter.
"Let's go."
Belfast smiled faintly. She quite liked this new companion as well.
After all, she was a child Lord Sakura liked too.
But she really was enviable, that figure...
She looked at the body perfectly displayed by that seductive skintight suit.
Even certain intimate curves had not been spared, perfectly outlined by the unusual skintight outfit.
That stunning figure made even the maid feel somewhat jealous.
Even Ship Girls could hardly compare to such a figure.
No wonder even Sakura said this child had such an indecent body.
And was this really not some kind of erotic bodysuit?
Calling it combat attire was truly difficult to believe!
Seventy, a world fed by flesh and blood
The Underworld.
There was no such thing as hell in this world.
Even where devils resided was not hell, but the Demon Realm.
And now, the Underworld was in Sakura's hands.
Belfast and Longo-Minyad had already cleaned up the situation for her. There was no longer any life left in the entire Underworld.
Though something seemed to have been overlooked, that no longer mattered.
Looking at the bluish-gray sphere in her hand—the so-called Underworld—Sakura smiled faintly.
Immense power of space continuously poured into the Underworld in her hand with a thought. Fine sounds rang out without end; they were the Underworld's wails.
Before you continue