Unaware that it was the foolish struggle of a stupid boy, trying to cover the sky with his palm.
"...Ugh."
And so I opened my eyes.
"Young Master Lishite...?"
"R-Raiden! Are you alright?!"
And ca face to face with the scarred reality I had tried so hard to ignore.
"..."
My blurry vision focuses on the five young n and won looking down at .
Behind them lay a scene of chaos.
The shattered front door.
The furniture overturned and pushed around.
Crimson bloodstains were everywhere, and pieces of bandages were scattered about.
It all felt terribly real.
Could this be a dream too?
...The thought wouldn't even form, so overwhelming was the sense of reality.
"Ah..."
A dazed sound escapes my parted lips.
Mixed within it is despair.
That was all there was.
I realized that all the scenes I had unconsciously watched.
Were all footprints of the life I had lived.
As soon as I realized it, the pain I had forgotten awakened once more.
Nausea that choked .
A headache that felt like it was crushing my brain.
It all consud .
"Ugh, ah... Aaaah...!!"
A mournful scream echoes through the air.
It felt as if my very being, as a human, was shattering without a trace.
I felt a sense of unfairness.
That the life filled with misfortune was mine, and mine alone.
That the happiness and love I had so desperately wished for were not given to .
"Gyaaaaaaaa!!!"
The deep despair burned into a scarlet hatred.
My heart, ugly and protruding in all directions, stretched out like hideous thorns.
I hated you, flickering before my eyes.
I hated the world.
I hated myself.
"Uwaaaaaaa!!"
"Raiden! Snap out of it!"
"Damn it! Tie him up tight so the ropes won't co loose!!"
"Saintess! Quickly, the treatnt...!"
My whole body itched.
Sadness, resentnt, hatred, all mixed together and writhed within .
A disgusting feeling stained my whole being.
I wanted to tear off all my skin.
Sharpening my broken nails, I reached for the bandage on my chest.
-Rippp!!
Rough hands scratched at my skin.
Following them, the carefully applied pieces of cloth fell away, along with chunks of my flesh.
Dark red blood drenched my fingertips.
"R-Raiden!!"
"Damn it, everyone hold him back! Grab his arms! His arms!!"
Panicked voices.
Blood splattering everywhere.
In the midst of the chaos, I lost consciousness once more, drowning in despair.
***
Even after that.
Raiden suffered dozens more seizures.
"Aaaaaahhhh!!!"
"Damn it! Tie the ropes tight!!"
"Saintess! The treatnt, quickly...!"
He would wake up, screaming and hurting himself.
Then, when he reached his limit, he would lose consciousness again, only to wake up and repeat the self-harm.
Hours passed like this.
Eventually, Raiden was restrained by the children and laid on the bed, his arms tied.
"Haa, haa... Is he going to be alright now?"
"At least we can stop him from hurting himself..."
"..."
Now that he was bound.
Raiden, who had been thrashing violently, beca noticeably quiet.
Perhaps he had completely lost his mind.
The boy stared blankly at the ceiling.
The children, each wiping beads of sweat from their foreheads, looked down at him.
"Lady Lorraine... how is his condition?"
"It's critical. It's a miracle he's not dead from the shock. He's been pushed to his absolute limit."
Ca Eivy's blunt reply.
Margaret bit her lip.
Her gaze was fixed on the boy's vacant eyes.
His black eyes were painted with jet black.
Looking into those eyes, filled with the emptiness of a winter forest, sent a pang through her chest.
'What have I... What have I done...'
She gripped her clothes, consud by guilt.
A heavy silence pressed down on her shoulders.
"..."
As silence descended upon the room once more.
A flurry of noise ca from beyond the broken front door.
-Thud! Thump, thump...
The children reacted to the sound echoing through the hallway.
"What's that...? I'm sure we cast an 'Access Restriction' spell on the entire hallway...?"
"...Soone broke through the barrier."
At Clara's murmur, the children's expressions hardened.
They turned their wary gazes towards the source of the sound.
-Crash! Thump, thump, thump...
The sound drew closer, and soon a figure appeared at the ruined entrance.
"Raiden! Are you in there?!"
"Brother!"
"Young Master!!"
Three girls rushed into the room.
Three girls, their hair a mix of gold, red, and brown.
"Ariel... and Your Highness...?"
Allen looked at the sudden appearance of Lucy and Ariel with surprise.
Of course, Ariel was just as bewildered.
"W-What's going on? Why are you all here...? Where's my brother?"
The redhead girl frowned.
"What were you all doing in my brother's room...?"
Ariel's question, laced with a threatening aura, was directed at the children.
But her words soon dissipated into the air.
"Bloodstains... in the room...?"
Her eyes fell upon the sight of the room's interior, a scene of utter chaos.
Her red eyes trembled slightly.
"...What in the world happened here?"
A dazed question escaped her lips, lost in the darkness.
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