Chapter 123 123: The End of Days (1)

With the chaotic amalgamation of raised voices, the witch-begotten squalling that resulted, and ever-ramping music heard by no ears but my own, everything was getting just a tad bit overwhelming. Still, despite all the time that I was at a loss as to what to do to move forward from this chaos, the world did not wait for me to catch up. The plot stopped for no one, after all. "Eighth Day, huh, Eighth Day... 『Thou shalt not commit adultery』, hmmm~? Due to the previous Sabbath Day, today would rather be to confess the Seventh Commandment as such, now wouldn't it? And, I don't think it needs to be stated which little piggy here committed a sin like thaaaaat, right~?" Never wiping the same devilish grin from her face, she turned to the two children, one wailing at his loss, the other hugging him from behind, a dark, almost petrified look adorning her face. With a cruel distortion of her eyebrows, the irreverent witch's already stretched-wide mouth parted further like a crevice in the earth, seemingly about ready to spew more verbal filth from the depths of her being. "Then, I suppose no one needs to confess for today, hm~? That stupid sow is already dead, after all, now right alongside the dogged ol' mule it yearned ooh, so desperately to embrace, to claim...! Ah, how perfect! Now, aren't those dirty folk united as one in Hell, Cici!" Donning a sadistic expression that appeared a twisted mix of ecstasy and boundless exhilaration, the witch raised her arms up and cried out, her silver-slickened voice echoing everywhere throughout the nave. She was probably going to continue for a while, monologuing as she evidently enjoyed and mocking everyone else. Frankly, I was getting sick of it. And maybe that's exactly the spark of change that was needed. Instead of simply standing idle, I finally forced my body to move―with quickened steps over to the two children that seemed too overwhelmed both by the current atmosphere and the recent losses to move, I knelt down next to them and placed a hand on each of their shoulders. "Come on, you two. Let's get going." Saying no more than that, I applied just a tiny bit of force to move their torsos forward a few inches, and as their bodies leaned with practically nil resistance, they subconsciously took one step. From that point, it was easy to continue pushing them gently towards the South Transept's door, where I herded them inside before closing it behind them. 'There. Now don't come out.' Kids being brought to this place and subjected to this madness was already fucked up as it was, not to mention the sorry sights that had already scarred them. For every extra second they continued to bear witness to the effect of these Trials, they would no doubt become that much more jaded by the time it was over. It wasn't my responsibility, but shouldn't I at least do something to help that? Even if they were residents of an unrelated world, they were still kids. In any case, returning swiftly to where the others remained, I approached "Thomas", the highschooler girl, who was still collapsed and on her knees, leaning her upper body on one of the frontmost pews. I could... sympathise with what she and the other kid must have felt, losing someone who she had become close to, though it wasn't quite the same in terms of circumstances. Even though it had only been a short time, it was exactly in dire times like this―times that placed you under severe stress―that people could establish connections remarkably quickly. That's why I wasn't surprised that suddenly losing "Matthew" was this devastating for her, especially considering the previous relief, and more importantly, the bond she must have felt between them after confessing on the Sixth, and as it appeared, confiding in him the truth of her sin after the fact. However, cruel it may be to hear, now was not the time to lament. Kneeling beside her, I gently patted her shoulder. "Hey. There are only three days left. Just hold on a bit longer and we'll make it out of here." Speaking in a low voice, I wasn't sure what words would be good to say in this sort of situation, but I just hoped that whatever I spewed would be enough. She didn't turn to face me or respond, only continuing to sob with her face buried in her arms. Still, slowly, I noticed the strained sound of sniffling begin to waver. "..." "Uh. What was that?" Then, I heard an imperceptible murmur come from that tucked head―my ears pricked up, leaning my torso slightly more forward as she repeated herself. "...'s gone... He's gone... Nobody's waiting for me... What's even... point..." A few words were incomprehensible through the filter of her obscured mouth and choked tears, but I got the gist of what she was saying. And as I understood, I momentarily felt that I was looking at something very familiar. 'Damn it...' Something caught in my throat for just an instant, but was quickly washed away with a single gulp. "Yeah. He's gone... but, don't you want to get back at who took him away?" Truth be told, even I felt that something about what I said resembled the tempting whispers of a devil speaking over the shoulder, but that didn't matter. It wasn't like my intentions were bad, and so long as she escaped this place alive, I'm sure she would be grateful even if the true mastermind also remained. Although, at that point, I suppose it wouldn't matter much either way. I didn't hear any response from her for a while after that, but it's not like everyone had nothing to say. "Excuuuuuuse meeee~? Are you not listeniiiiing~?" A melodious voice called from behind me like a singing bird, one so unforgettable I didn't even have to turn to know which face spat it out. Still, I did―facing the Protagonist who had seemingly found her lost voice after the quiet past few days, I spotted her and Cecilia both looking my way. On her face was the typical toothy grin, admittedly less severe than before. As for the latter, the Antagonist only watched on with apparent indifference. At that point, I belatedly realised the previous intense music had ceased at some point. Meeting her vibrant gaze, I calmed myself before opening my mouth. "What, did you say something?" Following that question, the Protagonist seemed to scoff, swiftly covering her mouth with a pale, dainty hand. "Goodness gracious. You are not the dullest, but you are certainly ill-mannered, aren't you, dear "Bartholomew"? Kihihihi, well... at this stage, it matters not, I suppose." 'What...?' Ignoring her remark on my attitude, my immediate thought was that she was acting strangely all of a sudden. I had completely tuned her and Cecilia out when I was moving the kids out of the hall, continuing that focus when I was checking on "Thomas", but could something really have happened between the two in that time for her tone to have shifted so drastically? The music had also stopped, so did that mean the 「scene」 was already over? Though, in this place, the music seemed to play and stop whenever it damn pleased, so I didn't think that was something to go by. As I thought this, staring blankly at the Protagonist's disgusting face, I watched as she sighed exaggeratedly, shrugging with her hands to the side before pointing a finger towards the apse's altar. Then, with a tone that sounded almost cheeky, she put on an undeniably false, yet somehow sweet-giving smile. "Oh, how I wonder what will happen once our time is up~ You lot better make your votes quickly, because there are only three days left! Ah, but I wouldn't bother convincing those poor kiddies in there, not if you consider yourself a responsible adult, yes? You know, the legal voting age is not quite that low, right? It would be very, very very VERY unprofessional, and incredibly illegal not to mention! And we all know how strict doing illegal stuff here is like, so just keep it in mind as a friendly warning, okay~? Make sure you don't forget~! Oh, and by the way, even if you all voted for me right now, nothing would happen, and nothing will happen even after the Eleventh Day, so don't even make a disgraceful attempt to bother, okay, because it won't work~" After the torrent of surprisingly benign language from the Protagonist, I blinked. 'Huh? What does she mean it... won't work...?' I hesitated, and at that moment, my heart grew weak.