act18side

Correct.

I can't tell you what I did when I was an agent, and you don't need to know.

All you need to know is that I was the agent who found the Witch King's Remains that had been researching the Voice of Mundane.

By the time we found them, they had already experimented on Kreide and failed. It's why his body is the way it is now.

You didn't plan to save him, right?

How'd you know?

From what I know, when the Twin Empresses ascended to the throne, they issued an edict that forbade all Witch King era research, and the Voice of Mundane research obviously fell into that category.

But if the Voice of Mundane is really that amazing, I can't imagine that not a single person has turned his attention to it in the twenty years since the Witch King was overthrown.

What's more... 'The Witch King left his mark within.' 'The Witch King weaved his power into the melody.' The Witch King himself is the core of these ideas.

Deep down, their pursuit of the Voice of Mundane might actually be nothing more than worshipping the Witch King himself.

And given the way that Mr. Biegler does things, I'd say a spy's principles lie with serving the Twin Empresses.

In other words, to spies like you, the Voice of Mundane doesn't further the Twin Empresses' interests in any way.

Junge Frau, until I saw how reckless you were, I took you for a fool.

And now, it seems you just didn't know how to put your wits to use.

Uhh.

You're goddamned right. Here, I brought the research plan along. There's no point in hiding any of this anymore.

The Voice of Mundane is unique. It's undoubtedly the Witch King's lingering echoes in the world, and there is definitely some power hidden within.

But the Witch King's fervent followers truly believed that the Witch King left behind his avatar within it.

The power the Voice of Mundane holds is too unique. It will never see widespread use.

At the very least, the current court casters see research on the Voice of Mundane as a futile and pointless pursuit.

And that's why the handling of Ebenholz and Kreide became a problem.

Was Ebenholz chosen because he was considered safer?

Yes, we had to announce the plan's failure, and Ebenholz was naturally the best choice as there was nothing wrong with his body.

On the contrary, as there were already problems with Kreide's body... he had no choice... Death awaited him.

But he finally got away from the Witch King's Remains! And yet he had to die... That's too cruel!

Perhaps, in your eyes, our methods are inhumane.

But once you've witnessed countless tragedies, especially ones caused by those who are not inhumane, you'll come to realize that—

You can't let your feelings get in the way of everything.

You probably think Biegler is a pretty heartless man, don't you.

Yeah, I do think so.

But what you don't know is he's lived in the Afterglow and spent time with its residents day after day for more than a dozen years. His feelings for this place is no less genuine than anyone else.

There's no one who wants to skin Gertrude alive more than him, but he can't.

Do you think you're the angriest person to ever talk to him?

Mr. Biegler... he...

Besides, Kreide's condition endangers those around him, too. He has no way to get too close to anyone, and his past destined him to never live the life of a normal man.

He truly didn't have a choice.

But you let your feelings get in the way with him. You offered him a choice other than death.

Is that really a choice? He had to wander the world with an old man who's half dead. He learned how to play the cello, and yet he rarely had a chance to even touch one.

He can't make friends. He can't even get too close with anyone. Can you really call that a proper life?

But he lived.

Perhaps.

Having seen how he trembled back then, I can still feel a sharp pain in my arms, even now.

The Witch King... The Witch King.

I, Kreide, those who got infected inadvertently, and those who were forcefully infected...

The wounds that the Witch King left on Leithanien have yet to heal, but now there are those who thirst for his return, and there are even nobles who are sheltering his remnants and facilitating their research.

Oh, how I dread...

I dread I won't live to see the day they all meet justice.

*Cough*, *cough* *cough*...

You will live.

No need to comfort me, Junge Frau.

I've lived with him for all these years. It's a miracle that I'm still alive today.

He is like a real grandson to me.

I brought him here because I was actually thinking of introducing him to Biegler and setting him up with a job as an agent.

That way, I would at least get to die knowing he's in good hands.

But now... It doesn't really to me so much anymore.

I always thought... it was my fate to give my life to Their Majesties as an agent, but it seems... that's not really all there is, heh...

Sir...

Crash.

A tremendous noise comes from inside.

Go, let this old grandpa sit here a little longer. Go help them.

If you don't feel well, be sure to call my name!

The Voice of Mundane did not have a name, at first.

The melody was abandoned by the Witch King, after all.

It was a melody improvised by him on the spur of the moment and transcribed by his court musicians.

If the Witch King's complete pieces are howls from a deep abyss, then these fragments are indeed still melodies of the mortal realm.

And thus, these fragments were named the Voice of Mundane.

Be that as it may, the Witch King's power is still immensely terrifying.

Ebenholz, I may have asked you to show your purist form in music, but now—

I want you to think back to your life the past two dozen-or-so years. Let your resentfulness pour out.

Music is a portraiture of your life. It's the steps you take, the eyes you peer into the world with!

Don't let your emotions cloud you, but don't betray your emotions either! Explore, vent, and drag your melody out from the deepest parts of your soul!

I... I found it...

Right, that's it! That's exactly what I want!

That's the melody that was carved into your brain... It's the melody of destruction, and it is a ravaging one.

And you, Kreide, I need the opposite from you. I need you to constrain yourself.

You are too unreserved. You encompass everything that you've experienced. Do you know that your kindness is your greatest weakness?

Are you reconciling? Why are you reconciling? Why should you reconcile? Who has the right to ask you to reconcile?

Everyone thinks you deserve better. The idea has crossed your mind too, hasn't it?!

I...

You still aren't willing to change the way you think, huh?

Fine. Fine.

This is enough.

I can feel your melody too—

A void. A void that swallows everything whole.

Hngh...

Urgh...

Bear with it!

The energies of two wildly different Originium Arts begin to entangle with one another inside the room as anguished expressions start to appear on the two young men's faces.

Czerny knows it is time for him to join in.

Keep playing. Do not fret. If you feel something's wrong with your body, stop immediately.

But If you do feel something's off, and you're not the one to blame——

Then leave it to me.

Czerny sits in front of the piano, takes a deep breath, and starts playing as well.

However, when he attempts to sort out the two totally different surges of energy, he realizes just how much he overestimated his abilities.

The melody is strong, full of anger, terrifying, solemn, bloody—

Above all, it's a melody that fully immerses its listeners.

One moment, he's suddenly filled with hatred toward the Witch King. The next second, he has a heartfelt admiration for him.

One moment, he feels as though he is a newborn child, but he immediately feels the passage of time and its effects on his body. The very next second, he is as old as the hills.

He forces himself to keep his appearance intact with what little sanity he has left, but he feels as though he is walking in a boundless desert. The sandstorm is too powerful, and he cannot open his eyes.

He tries his best to shake the sand off. Then, he sees a towering wall that reaches even the sky. There is nothing on the wall. No pain, no anger, and no death.