The Curtain Falls

His hand hovered directly before her, a silent question about her willingness to accept.

Yina found herself paralyzed, uncertain which path would spare her from future regret. How could she choose between her beloved and her kin?

“Miss,” Kanzaki Ieyasu’s voice cut through the air, “Tianyi died at Dancer’s hands. Do you truly not wish to avenge him?”

He continued, “She has also brought countless families to ruin. If you return, we pledge that your every word will guide our way.”

Kanzaki Ieyasu reiterated his plea, his gaze unwavering as he met Yina’s eyes. The sincerity in their depths assured her he spoke the truth.

“No, no…”

Yina clutched her head, her eyes squeezed shut, as if desperately trying to escape the confronting reality.

Within her, a fierce conflict raged: the profound grief and anger battling against her deep-seated desire for atonement.

‘Why?’ a voice screamed inside her. ‘She murdered your lover, the one you cherished most! She slaughtered countless family members, harming countless innocents. She is nothing short of a demon!’

‘No, that’s wrong!’ another voice countered. ‘Her revenge stemmed from the family’s experiments. She has saved homeless children, proving her inherent kindness! There must be more to Tianyi’s death!’

‘Do you truly believe your most loyal retainer would deceive you?’

‘Loyalty does not equate to honesty!’

These two opposing thoughts began a relentless standoff, neither able to sway the other. Both sides represented individuals of immense importance to her.

She remembered Tianyi, his constant playful antics filling her childhood with vibrant joy. He was, in essence, the sole person who had ever been willing to sacrifice everything for her.

Then there was Yisha, the one for whom Yina had dedicated half her life to atonement. Had it not been for Yina, how would Yisha have fallen to her current plight, forced to fight with every fiber of her being?

“Why… why must it be like this?”

The young woman suddenly felt utterly lost. She could no longer discern which side held the truth, which was right, and which was wrong.

When had she taken the wrong stance? Perhaps it was when Yisha began her revenge against the Kanzaki family and Yina didn’t stop her. Or perhaps it was when she saved Yisha but failed to reveal that the root cause lay with herself. Perhaps their very encounter was a mistake.

‘If they had never met,’ she wondered, ‘would I still be so agonizingly conflicted?’

Yina posed the question to herself, the answer already clear in her mind.

‘Of course not.’

‘Are all of Sister’s actions to this day correct?’

‘It remains unclear. Whenever matters touched upon the darker side, she always made me attend to something else.’

‘Could she be an enemy?’

‘Unknown.’

‘Tianyi’s death is real, and Ieyasu didn’t lie. Is Sister someone I must confront?’

‘I don’t know.’

‘Then…’

Unable to pursue her questions further, Yina slowly released her grip, her gaze falling upon Kanzaki Ieyasu. He remained kneeling, his hand still extended high, a silent plea for her to take it.

The young woman’s hand trembled as she reached out, intending to grasp his aged palm. She was about to choose the path she had always believed wrong, to align herself against Yisha.

But just as their hands were about to meet, her movement abruptly halted.

She was embraced by someone, and her outstretched hand was gently restrained.

It was someone who, in theory, should only exist within the Origin of All Things.

“You cannot take his hand,” a soft voice murmured. “Think carefully. Not outright deceiving doesn’t mean they can’t use limited facts to lure you into weaving your own false illusion.”

The figure, clad in a black evening gown, whispered these words, simultaneously delivering a swift kick to Kanzaki Ieyasu, who had sensed her presence and attempted to dispel her.

Yina trusted that ‘they’ would not offer useless information. Thus, she forced herself to calm down and ponder Kanzaki Ieyasu’s words. Observing the young woman’s thoughtful expression, Destruction’s lips curved into a faint smile.

“Who are you?” Kanzaki Ieyasu shrieked, like a cat whose tail had been trodden upon. “Do you believe I can make you die without a burial place?”

His fury, however, dissipated instantly. Upon recognizing Destruction’s chilling countenance, he felt as though a bucket of ice water had been dumped over him, bringing an abrupt calm.

“Oh, so you recognize me?” Destruction sneered. “Any other questions? If not, get lost!”

She delivered another kick. Though Kanzaki Ieyasu was already at least ten meters away from her due to the previous blow, his body still flew backward as if directly struck.

“Girl,” she advised, “only by staying calm can you advance steadily and be victorious in every battle. Losing your composure and letting emotions cloud your mind will only lead to lifelong regret.”

With her words delivered, her body dissolved into a myriad of light particles. Yina knew these particles—no, she was intimately familiar with them.

“Calamity…?”

The scattered light particles, deprived of sufficient spiritual energy, swiftly vanished. As Yina watched them disappear, Kanzaki Ieyasu returned, his thrusters and defensive spells fully engaged.

His already foul expression, comparable to a toilet stone, darkened even further upon meeting Yina’s clear, resolute eyes.

As a retainer who had witnessed Yina’s growth for six years, he knew that in this moment, she had pieced everything together.

“Ieyasu,” Yina stated, “I never imagined you would deliberately mislead me, all to bring me back and achieve the God-Slayer Project.”

The girl’s icy tone sent a shiver down his spine.

“You only presented me with Tianyi’s last words and photos, withholding the full context,” Yina continued. “Based solely on his dying wishes, final message, and images, anyone would likely assume Sister’s opposition to the Kanzaki family led her to kill Tianyi.”

She added, “Coupled with your position as the recipient of his dying wish, and your previous statements, nearly everyone would conclude that Sister is an unadulterated murderer, and that the family made necessary sacrifices for the sake of the world.”

Yina slowly articulated her previous thoughts. Upon hearing this, Ieyasu understood that his attempts to sway the young lady and compel her return were now futile.

“But what is the truth?”

Yina strode purposefully toward Ieyasu, confronting him. Her clenched fists eloquently conveyed the intensity of her current emotions.

“Tianyi might have entrusted his last wishes to Sister,” Yina declared, her voice rising. “And she ended his life to free him from suffering. Shattering Tianxing’s limbs was meant to incapacitate him, preventing him from posing a threat.”

She paused, then continued, “Yet, she ultimately softened, choosing not to completely cripple Tianxing. She could have killed Tianxing outright, but Tianyi’s wish stayed her hand from delivering a fatal blow. Am I correct, Ieyasu?”

The old man remained silent, his lowered head serving as his undeniable answer.

Yina suppressed the urge to punch him squarely in the face, choosing instead to continue articulating her deductions.

“Every experiment might indeed claim to be for saving the world,” Yina asserted. “But which experiment are you referring to—God-Slayer or Mech-Soldier? The Eurasian Great Disaster was a consequence of her battle with the Origin Spirit. The scale of their combat’s aftermath is hardly surprising.”

She trailed off, then added, “As for Night City…”

“That place is a global den of vice,” Ieyasu interrupted, his voice tight. “What you perceive are mere illusions. In truth, some individuals there survive by feigning kindness to deceive unsuspecting outsiders.”

Ieyasu vocalized the very conclusion Yina had reached, though she had found it almost unbelievable. It was, indeed, the truth.

“The inhabitants there are fugitives from every corner of the world,” he elaborated. “While children may be born within its confines, survival there dictates that you must cross certain lines.”

A biting gust of wind swept through, causing the airborne blood to blossom into mesmerizing, vibrant flowers, subsequently staining the young woman’s clothes a deep crimson.

“Kanzaki Ieyasu, are you running a pyramid scheme or attempting brainwashing?” Yisha scoffed from a distance. “My Yina isn’t listening to any of it.”

Wielding her own massive blade, Yisha spoke with disdain to Kanzaki Ieyasu, whose abdomen had been sliced open, still far away.

Ieyasu pressed one hand against the wound, using his Territory for urgent treatment. With his other hand, he raised Tianyi’s massive blade, pointing it directly at Yisha.

“Yina, what are you doing?” Yisha chided softly. “Speaking with the enemy on a battlefield is a grave taboo. Besides, this old geezer excels only at spouting nonsense to confuse. In that particular art, he is truly a master.”

She lightly tapped Yina’s head, her eyes fixed on Ieyasu, ever vigilant against a sudden attack.

The faint pain on her forehead brought Yina an inexplicable sense of peace. It was as if this gesture from Yisha inherently promised safety.

“I… I just wanted to listen,” Yina mumbled. “What if, just what if, someone had a change of heart?”

Yina deflected Yisha’s question, subtly shifting her position to stand behind her.

“Even if someone did,” Yisha retorted, “it would never be him!”

“It seems you harbor significant prejudice against me, Shimazaki Yisha,” Kanzaki Ieyasu’s voice drifted from the distance.

His words indicated his continued presence, to which Yisha responded with a decisive blast from her cannon.

“Hurry, let’s go! A new Mech-Soldier has arrived; I can’t hold it back.”

With that, Yisha swiftly departed using Calamity, while Yina followed closely, aided by Michael.

Kanzaki Ieyasu emerged from the crater left by the explosion, his gaze fixed on their retreating figures. His thoughts remained unreadable.

“Dancer has been expelled. Please issue your commands.”

The Divine Machine arrived belatedly. Unlike its initial, demonic appearance, its armor was now more than half-damaged, with horrifying penetrating wounds across its limbs and torso.

“Destroying the magic control unit, then binding its limbs, causing magic to run wild while also abolishing its ability to regulate magic with Eight Extremities Heaven,” Kanzaki Ieyasu mused, observing the damage. “Truly a terrifying enemy.”

After assessing the Divine Machine’s wounds, Kanzaki Ieyasu shook his head and departed in the direction of the skyscraper.