"What do you want?"
"I don't know."
"But if possible, I would like a chance."
"The kind of chance where, even if I knew it would inevitably fall apart in the end, I could still experience a certain kind of life for just a little while."
"After all, there are some ways of living that I never got to experience before dying. It's only natural to feel a little regret over that, isn't it?"
"I know it would cause trouble, but..."
"Sometimes, you want to be selfish just once, don't you?"
"Whether human or yokai, everyone has thoughts like that."
"So—"
It was a sea of flames.
A sea of flames in the night, reflecting off the black lake and black mountains.
The black mountains and rivers resembled hunched spines, showing a tinge of bluish gray, like the lingering unwillingness of death.
Opening your eyes and looking at yourself in the lake's waters, was the reflection black hair?
Or white hair?
Rise to your feet. Place what is precious to you beneath the water. Stand upon the lake's surface. Stand within the world.
For the sake of something insignificant—
"Then why the hell is it always me!?"
The strange thing in Mash's arms let out a furious cry.
"Why am I always the one who gets hurt whenever something goes wrong!?"
"That brat Takasugi caused a whole bunch of messed-up trouble before, and I had no idea where my head had gone—now look! I'm nothing but a head!"
"L-Lady Nobunaga. In any case, please calm down first."
With an awkward smile on her face, Mash tried to comfort Oda Nobunaga.
"How am I supposed to calm down!? Nobukatsu has already disappeared!"
"This really is a headache..."
Standing to one side, Leonardo da Vinci helplessly pinched the bridge of her nose.