Editing City Series:Volume2 Chapter 6 (section)

===Part 4===

A barrier closed behind Amon as he ran out of the hotel’s back entrance.

“What!?”

He turned around and reached out a hand, but it was knocked back as if struck. His fingers and nails went numb. It was a powerful barrier.

“…!”

He grimaced a bit and stared past the invisible wall. The door at the other end of the hall had closed, so there was no way to know what was happening.

He just about gave a shout, but closed his mouth and stopped.

He turned his back on the hotel.

“I need to get to Westminster Cathedral.”

He sounded like he was trying to convince himself and he walked over to the cart he had arrived on.

It belonged to Jonathan’s brewery and he had to pursue Valeath with it.

As he approached the cart he needed to ride, he noticed something.

…''?

He sensed an odd presence and Overrode his surroundings. He saw someone standing in front of the cart’s front seat. He saw a girl standing in the darkness.

It was of course Klausl.

…''!

Amon’s mouth hung open for an instant, a number of expressions appeared in his mind, and he finally settled on a reaction.

“Y-you idiot! Why are you here!?”

He snapped at her, but she did not flinch back.

Despite his blatant rejection, she took a step toward him.

“The Inspector told me to check on the situation after you went inside and to provide support if anything happened.”

“Him again.”

He frowned and pointed at the hotel behind him.

“You can tell a barrier was put up, right? They’re trapped inside.”

“Yes, so I sent out a clairvoyant letter a moment ago. Reinforcements will arrive soon.”

“You sure are calm.”

Amon sighed and seemed to remember what he needed to do. He walked past Klausl in order to board the cart.

“Please wait!”

She stopped him.

“Where are you going, Amon!?”

“If I tell you, you’ll come with me.”

She fell silent at that.

He placed a hand on her head and rubbed her soft blonde hair.

“I’ve sworn to take revenge. …And my old friends are calling for me.”

At that very moment, he sensed something.

“…”

He heard something.

“Eh?”

He thought he heard Klausl speak. He had definitely heard something so quiet it barely qualified as a voice.

What had she said?

He looked down at her and saw her biting her lower lip, frowning, and hanging her head. There was no way she could have spoken like that.

He could definitely hear a voice, but he was not hearing it with his ears. These words seemed to Task him more directly. They were a cry of someone’s will.

They were Open Words.

…''You don’t understand!

That was what her will said to him. She then shook her head to push aside his hand.

“You don’t understand anything!”

The look on her face must have surprised him because he took a step back.

He put up his guard a little and stared at her.

“What don’t I understand?”

It was a quiet question and she did not answer it.

Instead, she placed a hand on her chest and took a deep breath. She seemed to be applying Verbal Self Control. She firmly received his gaze and asked him a question.

“Why do you refer to yourself as Death Wish Amon?”

It was a simple question and Amon smiled bitterly as if it were a silly thing to ask.

“You read the Yard’s data on me, right? Someone around me always dies. And they drive me onward by saying they wouldn’t have died if it hadn’t been for me.”

He took a breath and hesitated, but ultimately continued.

“And I agree with them! If I weren’t here, if I hadn’t been born a demon, and if I’d never been here, things would be so much better!”

He looked to Klausl’s face as he shouted at her.

She did not give a look of pity or sadness, but she did give him a look he could not quite put to words.

“…”

His expression briefly twisted when he saw that look, but…

“I understand. I really do! That’s why I’m Death Wish Amon! That’s what everyone wants! It’s what Jonathan wants, what my mother wants, what Eilen wants-…!”

He stopped shouting there.

He was stopped by a strike to the cheek.

A sharp tone filled the night air. Like a wedge, it tore a hole in the mood filling that place.

And that hole took the form of silence.

“…”

Amon subconsciously brought a hand to his cheek and Klausl Tasked him.

…''You don’t understand!

“Why do you see it that way!? At the very least, I…I…”

She took a breath.

“I don’t want you to die!”

She hung her head and clenched her fists, but Amon opposed that idea.

“D-don’t be stupid!”

“I don’t care if it’s stupid! I’m used to being called that!”

She tilted her head.

“And it isn’t just me. Fir, the Inspector, and everyone else don’t want to see you die either! So why do you insist on finding a place to die!?”

“As long as I keep living, someone else is going to die. And yet I have an infinite lifespan as a demon. …So many people have died because I’m alive!”

Klausl looked up at that.

She brought her hands to her chest to create a dividing line and to gather her resolve.

“I am a Sein Frau, so I didn’t die.”

Amon gasped and she continued.

“You’ve accepted that I really am alive.”

“…”

“So I’m glad that I’m a Sein Frau! Because I’m not a normal person and because I won’t die, I can keep living forever and ever!”

She did not cry, but she did hang her head to hide her expression from him.

“…!”

He quickly looked away from her, Closed off all of his emotions, and stared up into the sky.

There was no fog this night.

However, the sky was cloudy. The clouds were lit by the city’s lights and glowed white from below.

As he looked up at them, some words escaped his lips.

“I can’t see it.”

Was he looking for the moon? With a look of resignation, he looked back down and spoke to Klausl’s downturned face.

“Anything you say is useless.”

“Eh?”

She looked up, but he was not looking at her.

His gaze had dropped to the ground.

“No matter what I do, death is the only option. Are you sure you want to see that?”

She took his hand in hers.

“It will be okay.”

Her words were not directed at anyone in particular.

Amon’s expression changed as if that had been a sign. He gave a bitter smile.

“Sorry.”

She frowned at that word.

“That is a bad habit of yours. …So where are you headed?”

She pulled on his hand and climbed onto the cart’s front seat. Amon’s bitter smile deepened as he answered.

“Westminster Cathedral. We need to hurry!”