The corners of Reiko's mouth lifted again, revealing a sincere smile tinged with endless bitterness.
"You admitted it so calmly. You admitted you saw him, admitted that you chose to leave him to die because he stole your credit and put you in danger... You even said you didn't regret it."
"You said... you weren't a saint, that not wanting to save someone who had harmed you was only human."
Reiko's chest began to heave violently, a sign of her final rally before death. Her voice suddenly grew a little louder, echoing in Rokuya's ears.
"In that moment, Rokuya... the moment you admitted without hesitation that you were 'selfish,' I suddenly felt like a ridiculous clown!"
"Your honesty was like a knife, shattering the shell I used to disguise myself."
Reiko's tears flowed harder and harder. She looked at the dark dome overhead and murmured to herself.
"Yes... this so-called moral trial was never... a trial of you in the first place. From beginning to end, the one forced into the defendant's seat was me."
"To avenge a deserter, to satisfy my own pathetic need for comfort, I actually colluded with a man-eating demon and caused the deaths of so many innocent villagers... I'm the most hypocritical, most vicious devil, the one who deserves hell most of all!"
"I've done so many utterly unconscionable things... I should have died long ago... long ago..."
Reiko grew agitated. She stared fixedly at Rokuya, a trace of pleading in her eyes.
"The only reason I had to live in this world was to take revenge on you... But your honesty robbed me of even my reason to hate you."
"If I can't even hate you... how can I have the face to go on living?"
"Lady Kanae is innocent... She's so gentle. She