Chapter 33: Poetry, Death, and the Priest
Hiss—
Rover continuously swung her long blade, repelling the charging Fractsidus members and protecting the two behind her.
Ciaccona supported the badly wounded Aeron, her fingers strumming the instrument strings to provide support for Rover while also trying to stabilize Aeron's critical condition.
"Enough, save your energy—I'm not that weak—"
"Stop talking! You're in serious condition right now, Aeron!"
Just as Aeron tried to push Ciaccona's hand away, she pressed down more firmly.
He was glad someone cared about him this much, but he wished it wasn't in this situation.
Even though he could summon Arsène to assist in battle, the Persona Mask was ultimately a projection of its user. The current "Arsène" was far from his peak—not only was his form flickering and unstable, but his movements were noticeably sluggish.
Yet, despite this, neither he nor Ciaccona stopped moving forward.
Ever since they had broken into this space earlier, Rover had been clearing the path ahead for them... Well, "clearing" wasn't quite accurate, since she was essentially mowing through the crowd with unstoppable force.
Aeron had noticed it before, but wasn't Rover's combat ability getting a bit too absurd?
Ahem...
"By the way, how did you two get in here?"
Aeron coughed twice, trying to change the subject while also wanting to know how these two girls had found this damned place.
"It was Ciaccona," Rover replied without turning her head, deflecting a sneak attack energy beam with a backhanded slash. "After we realized you were missing, she used her melody to locate you."
"You actually have the focus to respond... Have you all gotten unreasonably stronger or something?"
Was he actually the one who hadn't kept up with the power scaling?
"But... I can't identify weak points like I did before..."
Ciaccona tried to find a connection to the outside from within this space. The structure here was even more stable than before, and despite having placed anchors outside earlier, she couldn't easily escape.
Not far away, watching the three flee in disarray, Cristoforo maintained his signature smile, observing the distant trio with keen interest.
While Rover's arrival was unexpected, with Aeron here, he had no intention of letting any of them leave easily.
When they had burst in earlier, Rover's blade had been enveloped in a resonant force that wasn't hers—meaning the one who brought her here was undoubtedly that bard.
"Though it may be premature... allowing certain scenes to play out ahead of schedule... could prove rather entertaining."
Cristoforo's elegant voice cut clearly through the chaos of battle, reaching all three of them, but particularly directed at Ciaccona.
"Last survivor of the Toccata family. So desperate to save this... Priest? Have you never considered... that what you're protecting might be an accomplice in obscuring the truth?"
"!?"
Cristoforo's words made Ciaccona freeze momentarily, though her hands never stopped moving.
"?"
Aeron was baffled. What was this guy's deal? Wasn't he originally targeting him? Why suddenly drag Ciaccona into this, and with such accusations?
"That fire may have burned the poetry club's papers, but it could never burn away the melody seeking truth."
"Your family, your ancestors—why were they so determined to record the truth about the Sentinels? Why is the Order so terrified that they would burn everything to ashes, even exiling those who know the truth to the silent abyss? Miss Ciaccona, don't you wish to know what secret the Order of the Deep has so meticulously concealed behind the Ragunna Carnevale?"
"Will you willingly keep singing the pacifying hymns bestowed by the Order, or... do you have the courage to pluck the string that could unveil the truth?"
Cristoforo's words coiled like a venomous serpent, probing for cracks in Ciaccona's defenses.
Ciaccona glanced at Aeron beside her. Memories of the past flashed through her mind, solidifying her resolve.
"I... don't know how things are within the Order, but!"
♪~♪~♪~
Then, with a sweep of her fingers, she poured her determination into a cascade of notes.
"I know what kind of person Mr. Aeron is! He has never used underhanded means to harm others. Even if he usually acts frivolously, follows his own whims, speaks arrogantly and harshly, and always finds excuses—I still believe in him, because he always has the people of Ragunna in his heart!"
"...Was that meant to be a compliment?"
Aeron didn't know whether to feel embarrassed or annoyed. Why did these two arguing end up with all the insults directed at him?
"Hah..."
Cristoforo let out a long sigh at this unexpected response.
This time, he had miscalculated. He hadn't anticipated that Aeron, as a variable, would so profoundly disrupt his script.
"...It seems we cannot let you live."
After this whisper, the focus of all Fractsidus members present shifted. Every weapon was aimed at Aeron, who was in extremely poor condition.
The Rover's pressure multiplied. Her blade wove a silvery screen of light, yet some enemies slipped through the defense, reaching Arsène, the last line of protection.
"Guh...!"
Ciaccona swallowed hard at the sight of the growing number of foes, but she still shielded Aeron behind her.
"...Hey, little poet."
Aeron slowly pressed his hand over Ciaccona's, which was clutching his arm tightly, and gently moved it away, attempting to rise from the ground.
"Mr. Aeron! You can't—"
"Shh..."
He placed a finger before her lips, stopping her from continuing, and stepped forward alone.
"Mr. Aeron? What are you doing?!" A surge of intense unease washed over Ciaccona. She tried to pull him back, but Arsène moved to separate her from Aeron.
"It's fine. Leave it to me."
Instructing Arsène to protect Ciaccona, Aeron advanced alone to face the countless enemies.
And the Rover immediately understood his intent.
Swish—
After clearing the foes before her with another sweep of her blade, she instantly dashed in front of Aeron, blocking his path with her sword.
"...Don't you dare die in front of me."
"Sigh... I'd rather not, either."
Aeron looked into the Rover's eyes, filled with warning and disapproval, and managed a pale, wry smile. He understood her persistence—this burdened Rover seemed to harbor an extraordinary obsession with "loss."
But he couldn't care less about that.
"But sometimes, the optimal solution often looks most like a dead end." He spoke softly, yet his footsteps never halted. "Trust me, just this once. You can beat me up all you want afterward to vent.
Rover's blade remained unwavering, their gaze sharp as an eagle's, clearly not accepting this almost rogue guarantee. "There must be another wa—"
"To be honest, you're getting in my way."
Aeron's voice was quiet, yet carried an undeniable finality. The look he gave Rover held only icy coldness.
Seeing Aeron like this, Rover's blocking movement hesitated for an instant.
[Focus Fire, activate]
Aeron pulled Rover behind him while activating Focus Fire, drawing the attention of the enemies before them.
Immediately after, blades and bullets pierced through Aeron's body, blood splattering everywhere.
"!"
Rover swiftly swung their blade to clear all the enemies attracted by Aeron, but it was too late.
Aeron's body collapsed to the ground, mangled and broken.
"Aeron!!!"
Ciaccona's mind went blank, even forgetting the instrument in her hands, leaving only the frantic drumming of her heart. She stumbled through the gradually fading Arsène, her knees hitting the hard ground with a heavy thud.
"Mr. Aeron! Aeron! Wake up! Don't... don't joke like this!"
Her voice trembled with tears, her shaking hands futilely trying to stanch the terrible wounds gushing blood, the warm liquid quickly staining her fingers and sleeves.
The veins on Rover's sword-hand bulged violently. They stared fixedly at Aeron rapidly losing vitality on the ground, then sharply lifted their head to glare at the bewildered Fractsidus members ahead.
What's going on? Their orders were to capture alive—they never intended to harm Aeron! How did he just die?
Watching the scene, Cristoforo rested his pen-holding hand against his chin, contemplating what had just occurred.
He'd already learned from Phrolova that Aeron couldn't be killed, but he couldn't comprehend why he would charge forward alone to his death in this situation.
'And... why did all the attacks just now concentrate solely on him?'
However, he had little time to ponder this, as a new problem soon emerged before him.
The space he had created began to be overwritten in reverse, starting from Aeron's corpse.
[Cause of Death: Gunshot wounds, blade slashes, massive hemorrhage, etc...]
[Death Evaluation: S]
"Enough chatter. Ready to teach the riddler a lesson?"
[Understood, filtering rewards... Filtering complete]
[—Projection, initiating]
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