What was originally her chosen, dramatic background music now felt like the coldest, sharpest irony, repeatedly scourging the ruthlessness of reality.
"Glass shatters to ash, yet insists on piercing the night~"
Chinatsu lay weakly in her own warm pool of blood, the stain still slowly expanding, the dark red liquid quietly spreading its borders with slow, steady persistence.
It soaked through the tattered, dimly glowing blue and white spirit dress she wore, and completely dyed the cold, rough ground beneath her red.
Her long blue hair, which had once been as gorgeous as an ice crystal waterfall, shining with the luster of life, now seemed drained of all vitality, becoming dry, dull, and lifeless, scattered messily and stickily across her cheeks, neck, and into the pool of blood.
It completely obscured the eyes that always sparkled with cunning, revealing only the lower half of her face, which was so pale it was almost transparent, devoid of any color.
Her lips parted slightly as she gasped shallowly and with extreme difficulty; every weak inhalation seemed to consume all her strength, causing her broken body to tremble uncontrollably.
And with every exhalation, more bloody froth bubbled from the corners of her lips, trickled down her jawline, and dripped into the blood pool beneath her, creating faint, almost imperceptible ripples.
However, when Shido's figure blocked some of the light above her, and his shadow fell upon her—it seemed she sensed his proximity and recognized his familiar, helpless scent—
—the weak yet persistent gasping, which signified her struggle for life, gradually, and very noticeably... ceased.
"Sink this world, the doomsday carnival never ends~"
An indescribable, extremely complex emotion silently spread across her face, which was completely obscured by messy strands of hair.
Even without seeing her eyes, Shido could clearly feel the aura that was almost solidifying—it was a deep, bone-deep humiliation, as if her most wretched, most pathetic, and most vulnerable side had been laid bare for the one person she least wanted to see it.
It was a chilling sorrow—for the hope that had been abruptly cut short, and for her irreversible, destined demise.
And it was, furthermore, a boundless despair—a hatred for her own weakness and powerlessness, a profound disgust at her inability to control power or change anything, and a final, silent accusation against this cruel fate.
She bit her teeth together tightly, her jawline taut, as if enduring a mental torment a thousand times more intense than the tearing of her body.
This humiliation and despair—whether it stemmed from Shido seeing her in such a miserable state, or from a deep hatred of her own inability to control power and change the outcome—was overwhelming.
Shido watched the scene, his heart shattering, and hot tears instantly broke the dam of his eyes, blurring his vision, dropping in heavy streams to mix with the bloodstains on the ground.
He reached out his hands tremblingly, holding them suspended in the air, wanting to touch her, to offer some comfort or support, but then pulled them back as if burned, terrified that any small movement of his might exacerbate the pain she was currently enduring.
"Chinatsu-san... hold on... you have to hold on... you'll be okay... someone will definitely come to save you..."
He comforted her incoherently, his voice hoarse and choked, even though he himself knew with absolute clarity how utterly futile his words were, and that the cruelty of reality was like a cold iron wall, shutting off all hope.
Just then, another change occurred.
Chinatsu's tightly clenched jaw slowly relaxed. The expression shrouded in humiliation, sorrow, and despair began to change, like melting ice and snow.
A twisted, familiar curve once again crept onto her blood-stained lips.
The curve grew wider, finally transforming into an unmistakably clear, arrogant smile—one laced with madness and mockery.
Although her face was ghost-pale, although her life was rapidly draining away, and although she lay in a pool of blood, she once again displayed that fierce, insane grin, as if she controlled everything and scorned the world!
She even let out a low, labored laugh, like a broken bellows, mixed with bloody froth: "Hah... hah hah..."
"Until old memories close my eyes~"
This smile formed an incredibly bizarre and glaring contrast with the misery before them. It was as if, in her final moments, she chose not to weep or beg, but instead, in the most frenzied manner,
mocked all the pain inflicted upon her, mocked the world that stood by indifferently, mocked the powerless savior, and mocked... her own insignificant self, who ultimately failed to break free from the script of fate.
Shido was completely stunned, watching that familiar yet utterly alien mad grin reappear in this hellish scene.
An indescribable chill, mixed with fear, heartache, and immense confusion, shot up his spine from his tailbone to the crown of his head, leaving his entire body cold.
(Why... why, even at a time like this... can you still...)
Ellen Mathers, hovering in the air, looked down indifferently at the "touching" scene below, watching the girl who was laughing maniacally despite lying in a pool of blood, and the boy kneeling beside her, tear-streaked and overwhelmed. There was no emotion in her eyes, only a trace of barely perceptible annoyance.
(A boring farce.)
She slowly raised the light sword in her hand, aiming it at Shido and Chinatsu below.
And Chinatsu, in her final moments, maintained that fierce grin, as if silently declaring:
Even in destruction, I will not bow my head.
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