When he opened the rear door, Firo was struck by an odd sense of wrongness.

Even before he'd located the source of the feeling, he hastily leaped backward, bumping into Charlie, who was right on his heels.

The next moment— Something swept past him, right in front of his nose, like the blade of a guillotine.

It took him several seconds to realize tha it had been the heel of a leg, raised high. Up until then, his attention was focused on the leg's owner.

"You're..."

"Someone you know?" asked Charlie.

Firo knew that face. Or rather, those clothes.

"From yesterday..."

"You're the..."

Realizing she recognized her opponent's face, Ennis halted her attack.

It was the guy from the knowledge she'd gotten from Barnes, via Szilard. The guy who'd been going around looking for her. That was all she knew about him, but in spite of herself, she paused.

Szilard had told her to detain Maiza if he fled out the back door, so she'd launched a surprise attack the moment the door opened... But apparently the shadow of her leg falling across his face had given her away. Not only that, but to this man, of all people.

Looking past Firo, she saw that a girl was behind him. She had never seen this girl before and didn't know anything about her... But if she was with this guy, she must be another one of Maiza's comrades. Or maybe she had been tricked like Isaac and Miria.

After giving it a little thought, Ennis decided to reopen her attack. She wasn't sure about the girl, but this guy was probably Szilard's enemy as well. If she let him go, she might lose her own life.

However, on the other hand, Isaac's and Miria's faces flickered through her mind. 'If Szilard ordered me to kill them, what on earth would I do?'

"Waugh, hold it!"

After a few seconds' pause, the woman in front of him launched another kick.

Charlie quickly moved aside and stood close to the wall to give Firo more room to maneuver. She wanted to help, but unfortunately she had only recently begun to learn hand-to-hand combat, so Charlie was no match for the other woman, and she knew this.

Moving carelessly would only cause trouble for Firo. She had been taught enough by Mr. Ronny to give her passible skills with a knife, but she had lost hers the moment she threw it at Szilard.

He manage to evade the first attack, but the second kick, propelled by a spin with the opposite leg, sank neatly into the top of Firo's shoulder.

The impact was greater than he'd expected, and it sent him staggering into Charlie, who became sandwiched between him and the wall behind them. The same time Firo felt a light shock from the attack, Charlie felt the cold of the bricks upon her back.

"Firo!"

"Ghk... Careless..."


Without pausing, Ennis sent a fist his way.

'Huh. That looks like the Oriental martial arts I'm learning from Yaguruma.' At that conclusion, Firo natuarlly slipped into the motions he'd practiced with his primo voto.

"I..."

Using his own right hand, he grabbed the right wrist Ennis had thrust out. It was moving pretty fast, but compared to Yaguruma's jabs, he'd been able to follow it with his eyes... and since her wrist was thinner than a man's, he was able to stop it fairly easily.

Ennis's eyes widened slightly.

"... said..."

Then he raised his left hand high, turning his back to Ennis as he pulled her closer. Firo's body slipped past Ennis's side, almost as if they were dancing... and for a moment, the two of them were parallel with each other.

"... Wait, all right?"

Then, while he was wrestling to keep a hold on her wrists, Charlie caught his eye and used her leg to force Ennis's already leaning body towards the floor. The result was that Firo was bending down... facing Ennis, whose back was lightly touching the ground.

Not only that, but Firo was still holding her right wrist. From this point on, no matter what move she tried to make, she'd lose the initiative to the boy in front of her. Without more "knowledge" than her mind currently held, there was nothing Ennis could do. This boy seemed to have combat training she didn't possess.

"Go! I've got this—go get Mr. Molsa and Mr. Ronny."

Hearing Firo's words and seeing the same look in his eyes they had just seen in Mr. Maiza's, Charlie slipped past them and ran off to find the boss and the secretary and get help.

She ran and ran with all her might, but upon turning one corner she found herself face to face with Dallas and his men. She was surprised and alarmed when she saw the submachine guns in their hands.

"Hey... wasn't this dame with the Gandors before?"

Realizing they intended her harm, Charlie quickly ducked low as she charged forward, aiming to break through a gap between two of the men to escape. She managed to make it through, but then she heard the roar of a machine gun. She felt searing pain in her back as she fell in a spray of blood.

"Ha-ha-haaa! Stupid bitch..."

Dallas laughed and gave her corpse a good kick. It served her right for hanging around with that Gandor trash.

Meanwhile, Firo asked the woman a question. His expression was quiet.

"... Explain this, would you? You got anything to do with that old guy in there? Why is he here, and why doesn't getting shot kill him? And most importantly... Who are you?"

On hearing this, Ennis was a bit startled. This guy din't know anything about her. Not only that, he didn't even know about Maiza and Szilard... In which case, why had he been looking for her?

"Listen. Please... I don't know a thing, and I'm the only one. If things stay this way, I'll look like an idiot."

Doesn't know a thing... That was exactly the way she'd been, once. The world as it had been before she'd "eaten" the alchemist rose again inside Ennis. Herself, given only the bare minimum of knowledge. The memories of that time made her feel nauseated, even though it was herself she was remembering. After she'd learned everything, she'd felt, and continued to feel, the pain of not knowing.

"...... You won't regret it?"

"... Huh?"


"Once you know... you may not be able to go back. Do you still want to know... even so?"

For the space of a few breaths, there was silence. After thinking briefly, Firo spoke.

"You know... They said something similar to me at the ritual last night."

"... Pardon?"

"Tell me. I might regret it, but I'm good at forgetting stuff. ... I'm no genius."

With that, he let go of Ennis's right arm and stood.

For a moment, Ennis looked blank. Then she followed suit, a mystified expression on her face.

"... You don't think I'll run away?"

Her eyes were fixed steadily on Firo's.

After another short pause, Firo answered. If the situation hadn't been what it was... If the two of them had met normally, he might have blushed a bit.

"Don't worry about it. I'm just dumb, that's all."

"You really are a dull-witted man, Maiza."

Szilard gave Maiza a pitying look.

The smell of blood filled the speakeasy. The only ones standing were Szilard and Maiza.

"I'm not as dumb as you are."

At this point, both Maiza's polite tone and the smile that put people at ease were gone.

"Back then... When you managed to summon the demon on the ship, I should have stolen the privilege from you, even if I had to kill you to do it."

In contrast, Szilard preserved a persistent calm. Though facing another immortal, he didn't seem to doubt his absolute advantage.

Even as the terrible scene around him inspired white-hot rage, Maiza squashed it down and spoke, casting about for a way to break out of the situation as he did so.

"That demon... If I'd died, no doubt he would have gone straight home. He's rather conscientious about things like that."

"Ha! You speak as if you and the demon are friends. You, who'd researched alchemy, ultimately betrayed the way of science by turning your hand to magic, and then, not satisfied with even that, summoned a demon. And in front of our band of thirty companions, the demon said, 'I'll give you knowledge'!"

Almost like the narrator of a silent film, Szilard began to speak in a tone that made it sound as if he was watching that long-ago scene.

"You, a companion... Don't make me laugh."

"You said, 'I want to know about eternal life.' We were given a cup of the elixir that resembled liquor, and we all drank, sharing it among ourselves. ... That was where our current lives began. And you learned the method for preparing this elixir of immortality! In other words, you also obtained the right to spread immortality around the world!"

He spoke loudly, commending Maiza's achievement. Then he changed completely, shaking his head and lowering his voice.

"... But... The very next day, you began to spout nonsense about sealing the elixir's production method. I will have you explain yourself now, Maiza. At first, I thought you were planning to monopolize the method... but you seem to have a loathing for immortality itself."

Slowly and clearly, Maiza answered the question that had been tossed at him.

"One reason... is that there is a flow in this immortality."

"A flaw?"

"Our immortality... ends when an immortal is 'eaten' by someone who has the same power."

"Hmm... But the demon said that was a system he'd created out of kindness, did he not?"

"No. It truly is a 'demonic' system. It can provoke murder not only among those who hate, but even among those who love each other. Think about it: Even you want to dispose of those who could kill you... myself and our other comrades. That's what I mean. Even those who've overcome death by old age fear dying more than ever before. We each try to become 'the last one.' If even one other such person appears, inevitably we see danger where none exists, and immortals begin slaughtering one another."

"........."

"Even those who love each other... At some point in the midst of eternity, they may think they want to know everything about the other... whether their partner truly loves them, for example. There is one sure way 'to know everything about the other'... By 'eating' them, one can unlock the deepest secrets of another's heart. If they are unable to resist this temptation..."

"People that foolish should consume one another and die."

"I wonder. The thought may be foolish now. However, if immortality were to spread... If it permeated the world, the world's ethics, religions, and laws would change completely. Before long, thoughts like this would no doubt surface: 'If you take all the other's knowledge into yourself, it can be said that that person live on in you.' If, in the future, the world naturally evolves into that sort of world, I don't mind. However, I don't want to be the one to create it. I like this world, you see."

"... Hmph. In that case, you may rest easy. Giving this power to the thickheaded masses isn't my inten—"

"And the greatest reason is—"

Maiza spoke firmly, interrupting Szilard.

"—because people like you exist."

"In order to increase his own knowledge, Master Szilard began to 'eat' the alchemists on the ship, those who had been his companions. Maiza;s younger brother was 'eaten' as well, because my master mistook him for Maiza. Immediately afterward, the survivors surrounded Master Szilard, and he threw himself into the ocean. The surviving alchemists drifted to New York. Master Szilard also reached the American continent without succumbing to death."

Firo was captivated by Ennis's story. He'd never heard of this "alchemy" field before, and then, on top of that, there was the business about immortality. It sounded completely crazy, but after seeing Szilard riddled with holes and still smiling, he had no choice but to believe it.

Come to think of it, that must have been why Maiza's bloodstain had disappeared the previous night. As various things clicked into place, Firo listened attentively.

"... Look, don't call a jerk like him master, all right? What are you to him?"

Darker shadows crossed Ennis's face.

"... I'm... You might say I am Szilard himself."

"And anyway... Why do you want to know how to make the elixir of immortality? You'll only increase the number of people who can kill you."

Maiza asked a perfectly natural question. As he did so, he kept a regular distance between himself and Szilard.

"... Paracelsus's homunculus could not survive outside its flask."

".....?"

Maiza had heard Paracelsus's name before. Homunculi were beings made bu human hands. Paracelsus, the world-famous alchemist, was said to have created one. It had been a little person, small enough to fit inside a flask, and had been unable to leave that prison.

That said, after the death of Paracelsus, the homunculus had vanished as well, or so the story went.

"A perfect homunculus, born of knowledge, is in possession of all knowledge from the time of its birth. Originally, we attempted to create artificial life in the hopes of gaining that perfect knowledge. ... This isn't youe field, but you di know that much, correct?"

In contrast to Maiza, Szilard remained obviously relaxed as he spoke.

"It was outside my field as well, to begin with, but... Some of the knowledge I 'ate' had made significant headway in that research, and so I put it to use."

Maiza hadn't known that one of the alchemists on the ship had progressed that far in his studies.

In any case, more than that, Maiza couldn't forgive the fact that that knowledge—or rather, the life of the comrade who had that knowledge—had been consumed by a man like Szilard.

Disregarding the hatred in Maiza's eyes, Sszilard cheerfully continued his explanation:

"A homunculus: a tiny, artificial life, born inside a flask. Not only that, but if not provided with a steady supply of human blood, it dies. It sounds like a very fragile creature, does it not? And so, as I am quite merciful, I had an idea: I would give these fragile beings the power of immortality."

Abruptly, a leg fell off a mutilated chair. At the clatter, Szilard's gaze shifted slightly.

Taking advantage of the opening, Maiza closed the distance in one sprint, thrusting his right hand out.

"Simple-minded fool."

As if he'd anticipated the move, Szilard quickly twisted around. He was still holding the machine gun. Maiza's right arm was caught up in that rotation... and a sound not often heard in everyday life echoed through the room.

Snnnap.

"Among the knowledge Szilard acquired was information related to homunculi... To artificial life. In simple terms, it's, um... the creation of a person without intercourse between a man and a woman. Two types of cells were used as catalysts in my creation: Szilard's own immortal cells... and cells from a woman. Apparently he kidnapped one about my own age. It seems to have been quite different from the original production method the man called Paracelsus used..."

At that point, Ennis paused for breath. She turned to Firo and went on:

"Technically, those cells should have returned to Szilard immediately, but... Possibly because he used the failed product as my culture liquid when he created me, I grew to the same age as my 'mother' inside the cultivation tank. Then, as my physical nature was the same as Szilard's, I stopped growing."

"... Uh... In other words?"

"As an independent mobile colony, I am able to receive knowledge from Szilard. Conversely, Szilard can separate the composite elements from the woman's cells inside my own cells from the composite elements of his immortal cells—"

"Wait, wait, wait. I'm not a smart guy... Use short words, all right?" Firo begged, putting his hands to his head.

"If Szilard is the company's main store, I am a branch store. Think of each colony's intellect as the managers of those respective stores. The main store can fire my intellect, the manager of the branch store, at any time."

"... Meaning... what?"

"... Meaning, if Szilard wills it, I'll die very easily."

At that, for the first time, anger flashed across Firo's face.

"What's up with that? That's to most selfish thing I ever heard!"

"I think I'm something like a daughter as far as Szilard is concerned."

"What kind of parent can kill his daughter anytime and uses that as a threat to work her like a slave?! Don't worry, you're way too pretty to be the daughter of a crafty old guy like him. You don't look a thing like him. I'll vouch for that... Well, anyway, don't worry."

"Huh? ... But..."

"It's fine, just don't worry! Besides, Maiza and the other guys are probably beating that geezer like a rug right about now..."

At that point, their conversation trailed off.

"Wow. Dating in broad daylight... Punks sure do things differently these days."

When Firo and Ennis turned, they saw a familiar face.

"Oh... You're from yesterday..."

"Dallas... Why are you here?"

Like Firo, Ennis also seemed surprised.

"Well, well... You're here, too, huh, doll? ... That's great. Real convenient."

When they looked, the two behind Dallas were holding tommy guns at the ready.

"... What the hell?"

"That should be pretty obvious. They're machine guns. "Ha! Ha-ha..."

The two gunmen beside Dallas smiled wryly.

"Well, uh, just so's you know, doll: We're cutting ties with that guy Szilard. And as our last big event in this town, we came to rub out that punk... Only, you did a real number on us, too, remember? So we'll plug you while we're at it."

Dallas's group had heard that Ennis was immortal as well, but they decided that as long as they made their getaway before she regenerated, it wouldn't be a problem.

"Got any last words, punk?"

"I'm curious as to how you gentlemen got those guns... Dallas."

It wasn't Firo who spoke.

When Dallas turned, cautiously, toward the voice behind him, he found a gun pressed to his head. Keith and Berga had their pieces trained on the other two cronies. Berga was also cradling Charlie's bloody body in one arm.

Though it was too late to save her, they couldn't bring themselves to just leave her there alone in dirt like that.

Firo's eyes were wide with shock when he saw the state she was in. He had heard the faint echo of gunfire when she was shot by Dallas's crew, but it had sounded so far away, that he had been hoping it had nothing to do with any of them...

Luck wanted to pull the trigger right then and there, and he would have, but he wanted to be absolutely certain he really had caught Charlie's killer. He couldn't bear the thought of the bastard who'd murdered her so cruelly escaping punishment.

"Uh... Hey, c'mon... Luck... Gimme a break, mister."

"Just answer the question if you would."

Luck's gun dug into Dallas's forehead, right between his eyes.

What were they doing here? Without the slightest suspicion that it might be because they'd killed four of their men, Dallas desperately tried to think of a way to break out of the situation. If he got blown away here, Ennis might fetch Szilard while he was regenerating. That meant his advantage of immortality might as well not exist. But the Gandors had already found the girl they'd just killed, so...

"The guns were... That Firo punk over there was hiding them. We found them."

On the spur of the moment, Dallas decided to lie. He went on, talking fast, so that Ennis wouldn't have time to deny it.

"Th-they were near that dame's corpse... I swear, she was already like that when we found her... To tell you the truth, we were watching that kid last night, planning to hit him with a surprise attack... and the punk headed over to your place with a machine gun! After that, we heard all this gunfore from your hideout..."

Dallas was trying to pin last night's massacre and Charlie's death on Firo. They'd catch onto the lie right away, of course, but all he had to do was distract his opponent for an instant. If he could get that muzzle to shift down slightly... If he got shot in the head, things would get nasty, but he could probably take a shot to the body without passing out. If he grabbed that chance to slash the other guy's throat with his knife...

"... How do you know about the incident last night? It hasn't been in the papers yet..."

"Huh? L-like I said, we followed Firo over there to..."

"... Are you under the impression that we're on bad terms with the Martillos?"

"Huh?"

"Last night... the three of us were with Firo."

"Wha...?"

"We grew up in the same tenement. Our precious sworn brother was being promoted, so we attended the celebration. ... That's right, until quite late... While Mike and the others were getting killed!" There was no doubt in Luck's mind that he had killed Charlie, too.

A shot rang out, and part of Dallas's head was blown away. Immediately afterward, Keith and Berga also fired. The remaining two crumpled to the ground, heads blown off, Thompsons still in their hands.

"We're not letting you shoulder that on your own."

"........."

As his two older brothers grinned at him, the youngest spoke, sounding troubled:

"I'm sorry, Berga, Keith... I was the least calm of any of us..."

"... Don't worry about it."

Keith used his vocal chords for the first time in about a day.

Firo, who'd been watching, spoke to the three of them:

"Thanks. You saved us."

"No... We heard machine gun fire, and when we came around back, we found Charlie, and..."

Luck paused when his voice caught in his throat, and his brothers and Firo lowered their heads. They couldn't believe Charlie of all people had been...

Luck was beginning to feel that an instant death was too good for Dallas.

"Firo... We have no idea what's going on here. Could you please explain what happened?"

"I absolutely will, but later. Right now, I've got to go find my boss, and... this..."

When he'd gotten that far, Firo realized he didn't know her name yet.

Meanwhile, Ennis wasn't sure what to do. Who were these three? Should she tell them about the regenerating bodies? In the first place, Giro was an enemy, too, and yet...

... Ennis was already unable to think of him as an enemy.

"Hey, Keith. How're we gonna hide these bodies? ... Hold it... Say, Luck, these guys have machine guns. Couldn't we call it straight-up self-defense?"

"Wait, please! ... First tie up those men on the ground..."

Without thinking, her mouth went on ahead of her.

Firo and the others looked at her curiously.

"They're also... They're imperect, but they are immortals."

"... What?"

"? Hey, what's the dame saying? These guys are perfectly dead..."

As he spoke, Berga looked over at the corpses. Then his face tensed.

"... What the...?"

The head he'd blown away had been neatly repaired.

... And its eyes were wide open.

"Wha...?"

The next instant, a huge shudder ran through Berga's body. A storm of bullets blasted up from below, punching through him.

"Uooooh... ou..."

Gushing blood from his bullet-riddled torso, he crashed to the ground.

"Berga...?"

"... Berga!"

No one—not the other two brothers, not Firo, not even Ennis—understood what had happened.

"Why...? How can they have regenerated so quickly...?"

Ennis didn't know it, but they'd already had their heads destroyed once, and their bodies had gotten proportionately used to regenerating. In addition, it was also possible that since their bodies were younger than the old men Ennis was used to seeing, the basic sped of regeneration was faster for them.

Maybe because they hadn't had time to shut down the fuses in their brains (even tough their heads had been cleanly blown off), Dallas and the others were conscious as soon as they regenerated.

Without the luxury of smiling, Dallas's group turned the weapons they held on the remaining four.

A deafening roar echoed through the alley.

"You're weak... Is that all you've managed in two hundred years?"

Maiza lay on the floor. His broken arm was quietly regenerating.

"You seem to have trained on your own. I used a more rational method. I gave powerful men the failed product... Ah, which is something I made based on the half of the production method you told your brother. In any case, if you give it to someone, they'll still age, but they won't die. And here's the important part..."

He took one step, then another, drawing nearer to Maiza, who hadn't yet finished regenerating.

"... They can be 'eaten.' Only by those of us who drank the finished product; it doesn't work the other way around... In other words, I give that to someone powerful, and then I 'eat' him. Could any training method be faster or more reliable? Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!"

Szilard opened the crate that sat on the table, checking to make sure the amount of liquor inside hadn't gone down.

"So you really hadn't given it to anyone..."

"...? What are you talking about?"

"... Oho, didn't you know? This... is the elixir of immortality, the same one we once drank. I finally managed to complete it on my own."

The blender he'd hired had been the one who'd actually completed it, but Szilard declared he'd done it himself anyway.

"... That's impossible!"

"I don't know how you got this case, but I suppose I'll find put when I 'eat' you. Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha..."

Laughing mechanically, Szilard looked down at Maiza, lying at his feet.

"Still... They were quite a pack of fools here, weren't they."

He looked around at the corpses of the Executives that littered the area.

"Or did you ask the demon and manipulate their souls?"

"... You'll... probably never understand it..."

"No, I will. In a moment, after I 'eat' you, I'll understand it as a matter of course."

Szilard bent down, slowly stretching his right hand toward Maiza's head.

Just then, he heard a deafening roar from outside.

"What's that...?"

He didn't recall giving Ennis a machine gun. He'd heard three gunshots a moment ago, but he'd assumed the boy or his companions had fired them. Had reinforcements arrived, bearing machine guns?"

For one brief moment, Szilard was distracted by what was happening outside.

Taking hold of the chance, Maiza grabbed both of Szilard's ankles and simultaneously jumped to his feet. It had been sudden, and Szilard's body made a half turn, crashing to the floor.

Maiza found himself face-to-face with his enemy's moment of vulnerability, but he calculated he wouldn't be able to grab Szilard's head. Instead, using a nearby table as a step stool, he broke a window that was rather high up and leaped through it. At night, when they brought the liquor out, it was closed with a shutter, but during the day, the glass was the only barrier.

A transparent shattering sound. Maiza escaped from the speakeasy in the midst of a blizzard of glass fragments.

"You won't get away!

Szilard followed him, leaping out through the window.

... And was hit by a car.

"Ha-ha-ha! That was a cinch... Let's beat it before the dame regenerates."

Thinking that the main street would probably be in an uproar over the gunfire, Dallas's group decided to slip out through the back of the alley.

"... Nn?"

When they'd turned the first corner and gone a little ways, they heard a noise from the far end of the alley. It sounded rather like a motor running, and something else, as if a massive object was hitting a wall.

"What's that...?"

The source if the sound appeared around the next corner.

"You've gotta be kidding me..."

It was a black passenger car, so large that it barely fit into the alley.

"I-I-I-Isaac! W-w-w-we're slamming against the waaall!"

The sound of the car's side scraping against the bricks set Miria's eardrums trembling violently.

"A-a-a-and anyway, Isaac, I didn't know you could drive cars this big."

"D-d-d-d-don't worry! I watch my old man drive all the time, and the b-b-b-basics seem j-j-j-just like a s-s-s-s-small c-c-c-car!"

"I-i-i-i-is that right! That's a relief-f-f-f!"

As they chased after Dallas's group, the two of them had spotted the car that hit them. It was actually Ennis's car, nut of course they didn't realize that. Well, and it really was the car that had hit them... But in any case.

Isaac had fiddled with the auto and gotten the engine started. They'd stolen small cars to use in getaways countless times, and their skills were truly excellent. Taking the Genoard house into consideration, it was apparently safe to say that their thieving techniques—and only their thieving techniques—were top-shelf.

"We can beat those machine guns if we hit 'em with a car!"

"We sure can!"

They felt absolutely no guilt whatsoever about stealing the car that had hit them. The only trouble was that, although they'd gotten in, they'd lost track of Dallas and the others.

At that point, they'd heard the thunder of machine guns from a nearby alley.

"Found 'em, found 'em, found 'em!"

"Yes, that's them!"

They sped up, plowing into the three in front of them.

Panicking, Dallas's group tried to run, but they were struck the instant they turned their backs. Their momentum sent them tumbling from the hood up over the roof and around the sides, where they fell behind the car.

"We did it!"

"Isaac! The road! Watch the road!"

Maiza had suddenly appeared in their path.

"Waaaaaaaugh!"

Hastily, he slammed on the brakes. Maiza noticed instantly and took to his heels, so they'd somehow managed to not hit him, but...

... they sent the old man who'd jumped down right after him flying.

As a result, they accomplished their revenge for the hit-and-run, too.

Isaac and Miria hastily backed up.

They ran right up over Dallas and the others, who'd fallen behind the car, and then they were stuck.

"Uunh..."

Fully regenerated, Ennis slowly got to her feet.

"... Ah... Why...? How could this...?"

They'd been shot by Dallas's group, and only she had survived...

Not sure what to think, she gazed at the prone corpses of Firo and the others.

And then——

When Ennis rounded the corner in pursuit of Dallas's group, she was confronted with an odd—but, to her, appalling—sight.

Her own car was stopped farther down the narrow alley. Before it, Szilard had a knife to Isaac's throat. Slightly closer, Miria stood stock-still, glaring at Szilard.

"Ah, Ennis. Excellent timing."

"Oh! Ennis!"

"Enniiis! Save Isaac!"

The three of them called her name at once.

"... What? Ennis, what is the meaning of this? Why do these two know your name?"

This was a problem. Looking disconcerted, Ennis passed by Maiza. He didn't try to move. He only glowered at her quietly.

Apparently, Szilard had taken Isaac hostage and was keeping Maiza at bay. ... Although she didn't understand why Isaac and Miria were there.

"Ennis. I'll hear your explanation later. ... Take over for me here, until I've finished 'eating' Maiza. If Maiza tries to resist, kill him."

"H-hey... Ennis?"

"Ennis?"

The two of them were watching her uneasily. Shoving her agitation into the depths of her heart, Ennis spoke:

"... You don't really need to take a hostage, do you...?"

"Ah, you know how it is. Just in case."

"......"

Wordlessly, Ennis took the knife, then restrained Isaac.

"Waugh! Ennis, you're kidding, right?"

"E- Ennis-—!"

Watching Isaac and Miria panic out the corner of his eye, Szilard approached Maiza, preparing to complete his eagerly anticipated ritual.

The machine gun had broken when he'd been hit by the car, so he drew a gun from his coat and shot Maiza through both knees.

"Gagh..."

With the joints destroyed, Maiza fell to his knees. This put his head at the perfect height to be consumed.

"Keh-keh... You value the lives of those two? How droll. No, no, I understand emotions like love and friendship myself, and I know humans can die or show strength for their sake."

Beaming, he took another step closer.

"It's just that, personally, I can't stand them."

As she watched Szilard walk away, Ennis spoke to Isaac and Miria in a whisper.

"... When that old man touches Maiza, hurry and run away from here."

"E-Ennis...? Oh, what a relief... I knew you were really Ennis!"

"Yes, she's Ennis!"

The pair responded, also in whispers.

'But they don't know anything about me...' Once again, Ennis's feelings were bittersweet.

"Oh... But we can't.... We have to save Maiza..."

"Have to save him!"

"... Why...?!"

"Because he treated us to dinner yesterday. He's a good guy, Ennis! I don't know who that old guy is, but save him, all right!?"

"Save him! We'll do our best, too!"

Ennis wasn't able to hide her bewilderment, but she asked the two of them anyway, desperately calming herself down:

"... Did you... come to save that man?"

"No, we came to save you!"

"Huh?"

Her confusion deepened.

"Well, uh... You know! Those guys you took to the police yesterday broke out of jail and were walking around with machine guns! ... So we thought you'd be killed..."

"But don't worry! We hit them with the car!"

And they were currently under it.

"....."

An indescribable feeling came over Ennis. Had they known the enemy had machine guns and come anyway, not fearing even death? ... Just to save her?

For the space of a breath, she contemplated. It felt long, but in terms of time, it was only three and a half seconds. She'd never thought so seriously and come to a resolution about anything before, not since she was born.

"... Isaac. Miria."

"... Hmm?"

"What?"

Her parting words were brief.

"I'm sorry... Thank you. I'm really glad I was able to talk to you, at the end. If you'll let me make one selfish request..."

Ennis smiled sadly, quietly lowered the knife and released Isaac.

"Please don't forget me."

Without giving Isaac and Miria time to respond, Ennis broke into a run, knife in hand.

... Toward her master and "main body," Szilard.

"To continue our earlier conversation... The girl in the suit is the homunculus I created. Well, since she's the same size as a human, the term homonculus—'little man'—doesn't really apply. In addition, creating her from both male and female cells wasn't quite the proper way to do it, but even so..."

Szilard stopped, looking down at Maiza, his expression filed with superiority. He had a gun in his left hand, and despair in his right.

"I don't know whether it was because I used the failed product to cultivate her or whether the fundamental method was wrong, but Ennis—that girl—was born with no knowledge whatsoever. She's useless. Once I've 'eaten' you, I may use the finished product as culture liquid... Or, no, I'll have your knowledge anyway: I can simply summon the demon and ask him."

After he'd conceitedly wrapped up the matter for himself, Szilard's right hand reached for Maiza's forehead.

"Goodbye, Maiza. And... Welcome."

In the very moment his right hand touched his prey's forehead...

"Gakh...?"

There was a strong impact at his back, and he felt something enter his body. His sense of pain was already gone, so all that came to him was an odd undulation in the neighborhood of his skin.

When Szilard turned, there was Ennis, quiet, a sorrowful expression on her face.

The blade of the knife she held was buried deep in Szilard's spine.

"... Ennis... What is the meaning of this? ... No, never mind. The time for explanations is past."

At the same moment, a shout went up from the corner of the alley:

"Maiza!"

Firo, who should have been dead, yelled and came running.

"Wha... What happened...?"

Charlie opened her eyes and sat up and looked around, confused to find herself alive and uninjured.

For a moment, she thought the whole thing had been a dream, but there were what looked like bullet holes in her dress.

She, of course, wasn't aware of this, but she had actually been shot twice. Her front had been caught by the some stray bullets from when Berga was shot while holding her.

And then, her eyes fell on his body strewn on the ground beside her and those of his brothers.

"... the hell?"

She couldn't believe what she was seeing.

The impossible was happening right before her eyes.