𝕯𝖎𝖆𝖇𝖔𝖑𝖎𝖐 𝕷𝖔𝖛𝖊𝖗𝖘: 𝕯𝖆𝖗𝖐 𝕱𝖆𝖙𝖊

Chapter 37

Azuza felt the shockwave rip through the building as he climbed the stairs to the roof. He'd felt Justin talk to him, telling him not to go up, but he chalked it up to him being paranoid. His body prickled up with gooseflesh, coming closer, walking up the stairs, hearing the commotion going up above him. He knotted up his eyebrows in confusion, the magenta light filtering through the crack in the door. He looked through the splint, his eye straining to spot only Eve down on her back, some weird gunk flowing from beneath her body, but it did not smell like blood. It smelled more like the strange concoction of demon-world's lava and the strange smell he had just detected on that Kino's musk. This was weird. He was soon blocked by Laito, who leaned easily against the door, as the smelly liquid started to emit strange noises, as though it were bubbling.

He then heard a distinct fleshy sound, something he had imprinted into his mind.

The slipping of a knife into delicate human skin.

He was shocked out of his senses, as he felt her body become still. He could even hear the pained screams of Subaru, going in a crescendo. This wasn't happening. This couldn't be. Yui wasn't dead. There was no way she was dead. He could never imagine her just going like that. His hands balled up into fists, his hat slipping from his head, flopping onto the ground beneath him. The huge French window shined the moonlight directly onto him.

This wasn't fair.

Laito's shadow disappeared, leaving Azuza to watch his precious Eve take her last breath. Her hands were tied at her back, the will to hold on slipping away from her.

He silently slipped into the commotion, where now Reiji started to talk to Shu about something, Yuma's name dropping naturally into the conversation.

"Reiji, you said Yuma was to be spared, then where is he?" Shu asked, his voice urgent.

"You do not have to worry about him," Reiji insisted, trying to calm Shu down. "We just need to complete the ritual first."

"I don't believe you, brother."

"Nii san! You cannot doubt my capabilities!"

Azuza was largely left unnoticed, barring Kou's weird stare at him as he tip toed into the disturbance. By Kou's side, Subaru bawled in mourning of Eve's loss. Even Azuza was shocked with the events enough that he didn't notice when Reiji started to bicker with Shu, while Shu became increasingly frustrated.

Azuza could see Ayato's dead stare bore holes into him, as he slipped in beside him. He'd broken a piece of rib on his left hand side. Other than that, he looked pretty fine. He looked at Subaru and Ayato, and silently unhooked both of them from the wall. Subaru went still at the action, his pink eyes glowing in the night, staring at the boy with tears brimming on the edge. "Azuza?"

The entire Sakamaki clans turned towards Subaru, and then towards Azuza.

Azuza blinked and lazily leaned against the wall. "Don't mind me."

Reiji was the first to be aware of the gravity of the situation. "What in the world is he doing here?"

"Hey," Azuza drawled, shaking Ayato up, breaking him from his death haze. "See what happened to Eve."

Laito hooked his arm around the boy, as Kanato seethed in fury at the boy. By the looks of it, Kanato wasn't really happy with Azuza on the scene. "Azuza kun! What a pleasant surprise!" Tugging him away from Ayato, Kou and Subaru, he said, "Sorry, but we were practising some witchcraft over here. You like witchcraft?"

"I don't... know magic." Azuza didn't like being pushed around by the pervert.

"Laito!" Reiji screeched at him. "Why are you having peculiar conversations with the masochist?"