Kamijou looked at Aureolus’s eyes; they made him think of gun barrels. Those eyes were
serious. He moved his right hand in urgency. No, he tried to. If he didn’t stop this, then
Aureolus would definitely get Himegami involved. Little by little, inch by inch, he forced
his right hand to come up off the floor and pulled it to his face. He touched his index
finger of his ultimate right hand to his tooth and bit down on it.
It sounded like all his bones had broken, with it returned his body’s freedom. This was
his chance. Kamijou got up. Now he had to push Himegami out of the way and make
Aureol—
“—Die.”
In that moment, his words made time stop.
Stabbed to death. Strangled to death. Poisoned to death. Shot to death, sliced to death,
bashed to death, publicly executed, crucified, incinerated, suffocated, crushed, run over,
frozen, drowned, bombed. He compared it to every single way of killing he knew, and yet
it didn’t give him any insight as to the cause of Himegami’s death.
There were no wounds. There was no blood loss. There clearly wasn’t sickness.
She just died.
It was just like her batteries had run out. If such a thing as a soul really existed, it was
like it had been removed from her body, leaving an empty shell.
She didn’t even scream.
Her body swayed heavily. It leaned backward, faceup—as if to show Kamijou her face—
and she started to fall. Slowly. Slowly. Himegami’s face began to come into sight.
Himegami’s face was wrinkled and twisted into a smile.
One that seemed about to burst into tears even now, yet never showing a single drop. It
wasn’t from sudden surprise or shock. That smile said that she was prepared for this,
but she wasn’t able to change the outcome.
Himegami Aisa understood from the start that standing before Aureolus would bring
this about.
But she had still clung to one last hope, smaller even than a ray, and tried to stop him.
No one had wanted her, and she was treated like an object until the very end.
In the same way the alchemist wasn’t able to become the hero, the death of Deep Blood,
Himegami Aisa, was decided simply, as if removing a piece of humanoid scenery.
There was no way...he could just watch this silently.
(Don’t you...)
With the alchemist no longer in his sights, Kamijou darted toward the falling Himegami
Aisa without a second thought. He didn’t have a reason. It just felt like if she hit the floor,
that magical death would come into reality and never again be changed.
“—Don’t you ******* give me that!”
Somehow, he was able to grab her body with both hands just before she crumpled to the
ground. Her body was extremely light...like something very important had fallen out of
it.
In his arms was the girl’s body, strangely soft.
But though weak, a pulse could definitely be felt...through the right hand he caught her
with.
“Wha...has your right hand annulled my Ars Magna?” The alchemist’s eyes froze.
“Impossible. I have surely decided the death of Himegami Aisa. Does that right hand
incorporate some heavenly mysteries!?”
- OT 2, chapter 3, part 5
