Editing CubexCursedxCurious:Volume14 Epilogue (section)

===Part 2===

After Satsuko and Un Izoey's groups departed the scene&mdash;

Haruaki and Konoha were gazing at each other. Currently, she had already picked up and wore the kimono she had dropped. Because it was only one piece of clothing, there was a sense of vulnerability but at least it was better than being naked.

For some reason, Haruaki could feel a very oppressive pressure coming from Konoha's eyes and could not look away.

"Although she deceived you into believing that sword was poisoned, Haruaki-kun, did you really have the resolve to kill Nirushaaki?"

Lying was not permitted. He answered honestly.

"&mdash;Yeah."

Konoha's eyes wavered for an instant, as though losing strength, as though she could cry any moment.

"Haruaki-kun... You must absolutely not be cursed. Because you are... our goal."

"I'm... not that special, okay."

"You are very special. Compared to us... you are absolutely not the same!"

Konoha added more pressure to her tone of voice then quietly looked down at her hand. The hand that had pierced Haruaki's shoulder.

"We... have sinned. The sin called a curse. We... are already cursed&mdash;all covered by curses, cursed all over..."

"That's..."

"Not only that! I-I also have this curse of an unattainable wish. Actually, I really, really, really want to lift this curse...!"

I've never seen Konoha this emotional before, Haruaki thought. The reason was definitely the hand she was staring at. The hand that had nearly taken his life, still with lingering traces of red right now.

"Although I don't quite understand everything, if you want to lift a curse, I'm willing to do anything to help. I've already said this before and I'll continue to say it. I will always stand by your side, all of you."

Despite Haruaki saying that, Konoha still hung her head for a while as though enduring something.

"I have done something irrevocable. This has brought me to realize once again how close I actually am to curses. I still remember the sensations on my hands, the taste of the blood splashing into my mouth, the screams entering my ears. I have no wish to know them at all. If only I could forget them, if only I could pretend none of that ever happened!"

Murmuring emphatically, her words instantly turned into a screaming tone of voice.

But then she continued quietly.

"Even so&mdash;They still won't disappear. These memories will hassle me incessantly, I will be helplessly crushed by them. No, I am thinking to myself, hurry and be crushed. This is my rightful punishment for excessively ugly sins. This is the malevolence I harbor towards myself. It's the curse I have cast upon myself. Already... I have no choice but to curse myself...!"

Haruaki felt that she seemed to be exerting force on her hand.

"...It's no good already. I can't... keep relying on what you said about standing by my side. Because I cannot forgive myself, to an uncontrollable extent. To pretend not to see, to suppress and endure&mdash;I absolutely cannot do that. So..."

Then she looked up with a smile resembling despair and resignation.

Meanwhile, she was giving off unusual vibes&mdash;

Raising her hand, she aimed her knife hand at her own neck.

"I want to... end all this&mdash;"

Seeing that, everyone gasped in surprise. No way. Impossible.

"Wait... K-Konoha!"

"Konoha-kun! Don't do something foolish!"

"Kono-san, hold on, wait first! Reconsider this!"

Rather than surprised, Fear seemed more angry than anything. Frowning intensely, she leaned forward.

"Cow Tits...! You great big dummy! What the heck are you thinking!?"

Fear was tightly clutching the chains of cubes extending from her palms. Because they were still being used to restrain the unconscious Kotetsu, she was unable to use the Rubik's cubes. She could only glare at Konoha and say:

"You are the first fellow cursed tool that I met&mdash;like a rival competitor. The sight of you pisses me off. Yeah, that's right, the sight of you pisses me off a lot. But exactly because of that, I want to win against you. That's why, in order not to lose to you, I'm trying hard to do beneficial things for people&mdash;"

Her words were probably failing to keep up with her changing emotions. At this time, Fear swallowed her voice back into the depths of her throat.

"But in spite of that... You want to run away on your own instead! You're going to give up first!?"

Fear screamed from her heart. Her intense emotions could be felt. The words of her true and definite feelings.


&mdash;But in spite of that... Even with Fear's words...

The swing of Konoha's hand, chopping at herself, still could not be stopped.