Who Was the Monster?

Even after the engine's roar faded into silence, Ifrit could no longer hold it in.

"Sniff... sob..."

Like a wounded little beast, her sobs came in fits and starts, then grew louder and louder until they became uncontrollable wails.

"Waaah—Silence—Saria—sob—"

The girl's heart-rending cries echoed through the deathly silent street, piercing and desolate.

Against the backdrop of her crying, countless eyes that had hidden behind the tightly shut doors and windows on either side of the street emerged once more.

Those gazes no longer turned toward the lava troll that had left, an enemy they were powerless to fight.

Instead, they all focused on the Sarkaz girl left alone amid the ruins, crying without end.

(Ifrit was Savra, but after being modified, she really did look a lot like a Sarkaz.)

The cowering fear they had felt before absolute power was gone from their eyes, replaced by a mixture of displaced anger, fear, rejection, and twisted hatred.

They did not dare vent their violence on the troll that could destroy them.

Yet they could unburden themselves by pouring all that crushing pressure onto this child, who bore the name "Flame Demon" as well, but was now utterly fragile and helpless.

Invisible, icy violence wrapped tightly around Ifrit like winter fog, silently leaving her chilled to the bone and unable to breathe.

She hugged herself tightly and buried her face in her knees, trying to shut out those gazes.

But those silent stares were like needlepoints, piercing through every physical barrier and stabbing into her young heart.

She really... was all alone now.

Seeing Ifrit's reaction, those stares became even more hostile. Someone had already begun to curse under their breath.

"Damn mon—"

"ROAR—!!!"

A thunderous roar filled with menace suddenly erupted, instantly shattering both the suffocating silence of the street and Ifrit's despairing sobs!

The malicious gazes pouring down on Ifrit recoiled in terror as though they had been scalded!

Curtains behind the windows were yanked shut, and the shadows behind door cracks vanished. In an instant, the entire street seemed to die all over again.

Startled by the sudden roar, Ifrit shuddered all over and stopped crying. Dazed and confused, she slowly raised her head.

Then, she saw it.

The lava troll that had supposedly left had somehow returned and was standing right in front of her.

Its enormous, blazing body leaned forward slightly, shielding her firmly beneath its shadow and cutting off the cold, malicious stares coming from every direction.

Its burning eyes swept across the surrounding buildings. Though it made no further move, its silent pressure was more intimidating than any words.

[Mental Chat Group] (A short while earlier, while Boss was leaving)

[Boss: What the hell happened?! Why did that car drive off on its own? They left that kid there by herself?!]

[Second: Fourth, explain the situation. Why was that child left behind alone?]

[Fourth: Uh... she was probably misunderstood.]

[Third: Misunderstood?]

[Fourth: Mm... Ifrit does have Flame Demon power inside her body, but it's only a fragment, and it's very unstable.]

[The scene where the fragment inside her was frightened back by Boss, and where Boss stopped instead of attacking her... was probably interpreted the wrong way by the others...]

[Boss: So...]

[Second: So, in those stupid bystanders' eyes, this child is on the same side as the "Flame Demon," perhaps even the fuse or accomplice behind this disaster?]

[Second: Fuck! A bunch of cowards! They don't dare fight the real threat, so they dump all their malice and fear onto a child who can't fight back?!]

[Fourth: Sigh... it couldn't be helped. In the original plot, Ifrit was a Rhine Lab test subject, and the Flame Demon fragment within her went out of control many times...]

[That terrifying image has probably been deeply etched into the memories of many people who knew about it.]

[Once prejudice takes root, it's hard to erase...]

[Boss: What did you say?! A test subject?!]

[Third: Such a small child? They experimented on children?!]

[Fourth: ...Although Arknights was a fun game, I have to admit... the world it depicted was cruel at its core.]

[Suffering has never ceased upon this land. And children without the strength to protect themselves often endure... the most malice.]

The link fell into brief silence as wordless fury spread through it.

[Boss: ...I'm going back.]

[Second: ...Go do what you want to do.]

[Third: Yeah!]

[Fourth: Boss is awesome! Show those people who only pick on the weak what you're made of!]

Ifrit looked up at the enormous, warm—in the literal sense—lava body before her, which had shielded her from all that malice.

The fear was still there, but an indescribable sense of safety quietly took root within her.

She stopped crying and only stared blankly, as if trying to confirm whether this was real or merely an illusion born from despair.

Boss lowered his head, his burning eyes meeting Ifrit's bewildered gaze.

He could not comfort her with words. He could only restrain his heat and oppressive presence as much as possible, looking at her with the gentlest gaze he could manage.

Boss raised one massive hand. Rather than touching Ifrit, he gently stroked the empty air above her head.

The movement was clumsy, even a little comical.

But his intention came through clearly.

Don't be afraid. I'm here.

Feeling that scorching warmth, Ifrit's taut nerves seemed to finally find something they could relax against.

She did not speak, but her faintly trembling body slowly, gradually calmed down.

Boss looked around, and his gaze fell on something not far away—

It was one of Saria's calcification crystals. One piece was relatively intact, like an irregular white stone platform.

He picked it up and gently placed it before Ifrit like a small step.

Ifrit raised her head, her eyes brimming with tears as she looked at the silent troll before her.

"Are you... taking me with you?"

"Roar..."

Instinctively, Ifrit turned to look in the direction where the vehicle had disappeared. There was no one there anymore.

Silence had told her to wait here.

But...

It was so cold here, and those gazes were so terrifying...

She looked again at the lava troll before her, radiating a gentle warmth.

He was frightening, but his roar had driven away those malicious gazes. And now... he seemed to want to take her away from this place.

Her inner struggle lasted only a fleeting moment. The loneliness of having long been an "outsider," the sting of having just been abandoned by her "own kind," and her instinctive longing for warmth and safety ultimately overwhelmed her hesitation.

She raised her small face, streaked with tears and dust.

"I'll cause you trouble..."

Boss did not answer, nor could he answer with words.

He merely looked at her quietly with those burning eyes, his enormous palm still steadily holding the crystal as he waited.

Ifrit took a deep breath and stepped forward, carefully climbing onto the white crystal platform.

The moment she found her footing, Boss's massive lava hand steadily lifted both the crystal and her off the ground, raising them to a height convenient for him to carry.

Standing on the crystal, Ifrit took one final look down at the ruins of Rhine Lab, which had given her countless pains and fleeting warmth, and at the direction where Silence had disappeared.

In a low murmur like a farewell, she spoke both to the departed Silence and to herself:

"Silence..."

Ifrit turned around and looked toward the unknown darkness beyond the city.

"They were right... monsters... should be with monsters..."

One large and one small, two "outsiders" and "monsters" feared and rejected by the mainstream world, walked beneath countless frightened gazes.

Without looking back, they slowly but resolutely headed beyond Trimmounts, toward the unknown darkness untouched by the city's lights.

Their figures gradually melted into the night, as though swallowed by this indifferent land.

Behind them remained only the deathly silent ruins and countless wordless gazes that could not be said to hold relief, fear, or guilt.

The street remained deathly quiet. The malice had not disappeared.

But at least in that moment, a child abandoned by the world had found a harbor willing to shield her from the storm.

The Trimmounts Arc: End