After satisfying little Enju, the girl happily curled up in the blanket and drifted to sleep.
Now Tatsuki finally had time to deal with Talulah.
With only a towel wrapped around his waist, he sat beside her expressionless figure.
"You are indeed a sinner," he said calmly, "and perhaps someone who deserved death. But now you belong to me. As long as I don't allow it, you'll never die."
Talulah didn't even turn to look at him, her lifeless eyes fixed straight ahead.
He expected that. But his next words made her finally react.
"Alina…"
The moment he spoke that name, Talulah's head jerked toward him.
Tatsuki smiled faintly, teasing, "So there is someone you care about, huh?"
"Alina is dead."
"…"
At those words, her faintly stirred eyes fell back into silence. Yes—Alina was dead. That gentle Elephian girl would forever rest in that pale, hopeless tundra.
Yet Tatsuki continued in a playful tone, "Or maybe… not completely."
"…"
Talulah didn't believe him. She wasn't brain-dead—just consumed by guilt. She'd forced herself to drown in remorse so deeply that she stopped reacting to the world around her. But she still sensed everything—every motion, every breath.
She had heard and felt all that Tatsuki had done earlier with Enju.
And now, hearing that name—Alina—it stirred something painful and deep.
"You think I'm joking?" Tatsuki said softly.
He took Talulah's pale hand, gently lifting the lace-edged sleeve of her black outfit.
Beneath it was her slender arm—marred by black Originium crystals growing from within her flesh.
"Have you ever heard this phrase?" he asked. "Originium remembers."
His icy blue Mystic Eyes of Death Perception gleamed. "So what if Originium could also carry souls?"
Before she could respond, he gripped one of the crystals and—ripped it straight out.
Blood gushed from the torn flesh. The sheer force alone should've made her scream. Yet Talulah didn't even flinch.
Tatsuki held up the jagged, black crystal. Within his vision, countless black death lines wove across it—all threads that could annihilate it instantly. But one faint, green line shimmered faintly among them.
A life thread.
He channeled his primal energy into the crystal. The green line grew stronger—and a vision surged into his mind.
A snowfield. A column of Reunion soldiers. Talulah, dressed in military uniform, trudging through the frozen wind.
He felt her emotions vividly.
The battle was over when she overheard her men speaking—a teacher from an Infected settlement had gone missing while delivering food to another village.
Fear clenched Talulah's heart. She ran, desperate, following the trail through the blizzard—until she found the fallen Elephian girl.
The girl's limbs were gone. Her blood painted the snow.
"Alina…"
The dying teacher smiled faintly at her friend, whispering her final goodbye.
Talulah wept, screaming vengeance—but even as she swore to destroy the world that killed her, Alina pleaded weakly, "It wasn't the villagers… it was Ursus… punish the system, not the people."
Her words faded.
Talulah's tears froze on her cheeks as she carried Alina on her back through the endless white. The girl trembled, gasping faintly, until her heartbeat slowly faded.
When it stopped—Talulah broke.
The snow behind her blazed with unnatural fire. Flames consumed everything—except the endless white ahead, and the warmth of the body she carried.
That was the death of Talulah the warrior. And the birth of the Black Snake.
Alina—a simple Infected teacher—had been her last anchor. Her death shattered Talulah's sanity, allowing the Black Snake to seize her body.
"Is this what you wanted to show me?" Tatsuki said to the air, "To make me forgive her sins?"
"Well, relax. She's mine now. Guilty or not, she lives."
The moment his words fell, the black crystal in his hand glowed green. The light expanded—a shape took form—and slowly, a girl materialized from it.
Talulah's dull eyes widened; life returned to them. Her pupils dilated as she stared in disbelief.
That form… that face…
It was Alina.
A naked Alina descended gently from the air into Tatsuki's arms, warm and alive—a reborn soul, wrapped in divine radiance.
Just like Abe no Seimei, she existed now as a Redeemed Angel, her spirit revived by the power of faith.
Tatsuki had left Talulah's Originium crystals untouched for this very reason—he'd sensed a hidden life thread within. And now it was confirmed: Originium doesn't just remember—it can hold souls.
"Thank you, Mr. Tatsuki," Alina said softly, gratitude shimmering in her green eyes.
Though she had died, she'd remained faintly conscious within Talulah's crystals—forced to watch her friend's suffering, powerless to help.
Now, finally, she could speak again.
"Alina… is it really you?" Talulah's voice trembled. Her eyes welled with tears. She feared it was an illusion, a cruel dream that would vanish any moment.
Her trembling hand reached forward—yet she dared not touch.
"Talulah, it's me," Alina said, smiling gently, her voice just as soft and kind as before.
That voice—so familiar, so warm—broke the dam in Talulah's heart.
"Alina! My Alina!"
Talulah lunged forward—but Tatsuki suddenly rose, carrying Alina away in his arms.
"Alina!"
Her arms closed around empty air. Panic filled her eyes. Was it all just an illusion?
Then she saw Alina still in Tatsuki's arms —his face buried in her neck, inhaling her scent along her smooth skin.
"!!"
Alina blushed fiercely, covering her chest as if she were a startled fawn, unsure what to do.
Tatsuki smirked, meeting Talulah's horrified gaze. "Talulah, you seem mistaken. This Alina belongs to me."
"Alina's first kiss—belongs to me."
Before anyone could react, he pressed his lips to hers.
Alina's body trembled but didn't resist. She knew her current form—a Redeemed Angel—belonged entirely to Tatsuki. Her existence, her body, even Talulah's salvation, all tied to him.
"!!"
Talulah's expression shattered. Something deep inside her broke.
Tatsuki had done it deliberately. He wouldn't allow any lingering emotional bond that could rival him.
This was an extreme form of NTR—Tatsuki-style. No yuri, no exceptions—he would erase all "unstable factors" at the root.
Wings? They belonged only to him. Entanglement? Never in this lifetime.
Still… he couldn't deny the sensation of Alina's soft warmth against him—her faint fragrance, the trembling of her delicate body—and those lips, yielding and sweet beneath his.
Even Talulah could feel her world collapsing—and the trembling little deer behind him could sense it too.
"Ah…"
Poor Alina had never experienced such intimacy before. She'd sensed Tatsuki's passion earlier through the Originium link—and even then, it had terrified her.
So strong, so fierce, so overwhelming.
That… was her impression of him now.
...
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