“. . . .”

  Light, Lily, Leonna, and Veint have experienced and received memories of both Sierra and Mari. Mari and Sierra have also finally understood each other’s feelings.

  Sierra is crying silently after finally directly feeling what Mari felt, losing all of her precious friends. Mari, on the other hand, became confused and felt heavily conflicted. She doesn’t know what to do with her hatred anymore.

  There is this thought in her head when Sierra told Ryuji that she loved all of them during the cold-blooded killing; that she was just lying to make things easier, and yet, her tears, her feelings, and her words were all genuine.

  The fact that she loves them? That’s real.

  The fact that she cares about them? That’s real.

  The fact that she was serious about wanting to kill them? That is also real.

  The fact that she genuinely thinks of them as her own family? That is real.

  The fact that she thought about selling their corpses? That is also real.

  The fact that she cares about Mari this whole time? That is real.

  The fact that she was worried about how Mari sees everything during the killing?? That is real.

  The fact that she regretted killing her friend afterward? That is also real.

  The fact that she also grieves for them? That is also real.

  But the fact that she still proceeded with her plan and executed everyone involved despite her feelings? That is also real.

  Light, Lily, Leonna, and Veint are all silent to one another. They have now realized how complicated this whole situation really is.

  “(I don’t see any way to resolve this properly. . .)” said Light.

  “(Kobayashi-san is too pitiful, but so is Pendrago-san. . .)” said Lily.

  “(Dear God, how on earth are we supposed to solve this?)” said Leonna.

  “(I am genuinely not sure that even if everyone in this stadium were to find out about them, they can add anything to resolve this properly. This is really difficult.)” said Veint.

  Mari stands up slowly and surely. She looked like she wanted to lash out at Sierra, but no words ever escaped her mouth. But then Sierra stands up and approaches Mari.

  “Mari-chan. . . Let’s talk. Just the two of us.”

  *!*

  “Hold on! Are you sure that’s wise, Pendrago-san?” said Light.

  “She might try to kill you as soon as you two are isolated! And that would not be beneficial for both sides!” adds Lily.

  “Kobayashi-san! Please don’t be consumed by your hatred! Vengeance is for the Lord, remember?” said Veint.

  “Mari-chan! Please! I don’t want you to kill anyone ever again.” said Eissen.

  “. . .”

  Mari looks at all of them and pays attention to each of their concerns. She thinks for a few seconds by herself, and then she looks towards Sierra.

  “Alright. Let’s talk!”

  Everyone notices that her tone is a lot different from before. She has calmed down by a large margin compared to previously.

  “I’ll make the room, Mari-chan.”

  “Do as you wish.”

  Sierra raised the ground beneath the two of them and lifted it up into the air, about 5 meters above the ground. She then enlarges the size of the ground below them. She also creates more ground all around them, and eventually, they are both trapped inside a giant cube of hard ground.

  “. . .”

  Mari couldn’t see anything in total darkness inside the ground cube.

  *GRRRK GRRRRK GRRRKKKK*

  Sierra lifts open the entire ceiling of the ground cube.

  “I apologize, Mari-chan. I forgot I can’t really create lighting.”

  “. . .”

  Mari looks to the left and right and notices where they are. Sierra has created a complete replica of Mari’s living room, minus the colors, obviously.

  “Please, sit down, Mari-chan.”

  “. . .”

  Sierra sits down on the ‘couch’, and Mari also sits down on a different sofa on the other side.

  “. . .”

  Mari does not utter a single word. She’s waiting for Sierra to speak, as she was the one who requested to have a talk after all. They both stayed silent for a few minutes until Sierra finally spoke.

  “I apologize, Mari-chan. I was gathering my courage.”

  “. . .”

  “Mari-chan. . . I apologize for everything I did to all of them.”

  Sierra bows her head while sitting on the couch.

  “. . .”

  Sierra keeps her head down for as long as Mari stays silent for a few minutes.

  “Lift your head up.”

  Sierra did as she was told, but then she suddenly saw that Mari was directly next to her, standing.

  *GRAB*

  Mari grabs and pulls up Sierra by her collar and forces her to stand.

  “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!” Mari suddenly shouts.

  *BAAAAAMMMM*

  She punches Sierra on her left cheek, and she is sent flying away to the wall of the living room, and falls to the floor.

  *pant pant pant*

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Mari is out of breath just after giving one punch, but this is purely because of how conflicted she feels after finding out Sierra’s true feelings. Though she punched her using her own physical strength alone, without activating her Vein Armor.

  “I don’t understand you. . .”

  Sierra slowly gets up and sits on the floor, leaning her back against the wall. Her left cheek became red and swollen.

  “WHAT IS IT THAT YOU’RE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH HERE?”

  “. . .”

  “ANSWER ME!! SI-CHAAAANNNNN!!!!”

  *!*

  Sierra was a bit shocked hearing Mari addressing her like she used to be, though her face remained neutral. She smiled to herself.

  “Thank you, Mari-chan.”

  “. . .”

  Hearing her gratitude somehow pisses off Mari even further. She walks towards Sierra with her right hand clenched really hard into a fist, that her veins are becoming visible on her right forearm.

  She kneels directly on top of Sierra. She raises her right fist upwards.

  *BAAM*

  “IF YOU REALLY LOVED THEM, WHY DID YOU KILL THEM??”

  *BAM*

  “IF YOU FOUND OUT THAT THEY ARE NOT DIRECTLY CONNECTED WITH THE FALL OF YOUR FAMILY, WHY DID YOU EVEN KILL THEM?”

  *BAM*

  “IF YOU STILL SAY THAT YOU LOVED THEM AS YOU KILLED THEM ALL IN COLD BLOOD, THEN WHY DID YOU EVEN THINK OF SELLING THEIR BODIES TO THE UNDERWORLD??”

  *BAAM*

  “EVERYTHING YOU DID!! I DON’T UNDERSTAND ANY OF IT!!”

  *BAAM*

  “EVERYTHING YOU FELT IN YOUR HEART DOESN’T MATCH THE ACTIONS THAT YOU DECIDED TO TAKE!!”

  *BAAM*

  “WHEN YOU GRIEVED FOR THEM, WHY DID YOU EVEN DENY YOUR FEELINGS SO STRONGLY?”

  *BAAAM*

  As Mari kept punching Sierra on her face with the same hand after each sentence, her true feelings began to crawl to the surface. She also starts shedding tears as she keeps punching Sierra.

  “WHY DID YOU MAKE ME WATCH YOU KILL ALL OF THEM?”

  *BAAAMM*

  “WHY DID YOU TRAP ME IN THAT ROOM SO I COULD FEEL POWERLESS THE ENTIRE TIME??”

  *BAAAMM*

  “I THOUGHT I HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH ANY OF THESE. WHY DID YOU EVEN INVOLVE ME?”

  *BAAAAMMM*

  “WHY DID YOU PLANT THIS HATRED TOWARDS YOU IN THE FIRST PLACE?”

  *BAM*

  “WHY *sobs* DID YOU SET ME UP TO EVENTUALLY TAKE YOUR LIFE?”

  *sobs sobs*

  “WHY? YOU THINK JUST BECAUSE YOU’LL DIE BY MY OWN HANDS WILL MAKE EVERYTHING RIGHT?”

  *sobs sobs*

  “KILLING YOUUUUUUUUU---”

  Mari raises her right fist up above.

  “----DOESN’T BRING EVERYONE BAAAAAAAAAAAAACCCCCCCKKKKKK!!!!”

  *BAAAAMMM*

  *drip drip*

  She punches the wall next to Sierra’s head so hard that her fist starts bleeding. Even though Mari kept punching Sierra on the face, the damage done was very minimal, as it was all purely from her physical strength.

  “. . .”

  Sierra is at a loss for words, hearing Mari’s frustration. She finally realized what’s been keeping Mari restrained from her pain and suffering.

  “WHY? *sobs* WHY DID YOU GIVE ME THE ROLE OF SOMEONE WHO AVENGES EVERYONE?”

  “Mari-chan. . .”

  Sierra also starts crying silently.

  “DO YOU THINK EVERYTHING FINALLY GOES WELL JUST BECAUSE I KILL YOU OFF??”

  *sobs sobs*

  “I DON’T WANT ANY OF THIS RESPONSIBILITY!!!”

  Mari screams her lungs out that it’s hurting her.

  “THANKS TO YOU, I BECAME A BELIEVER!! SOMETHING THAT I NEVER WISHED TO HAPPEN TO ME!!”

  *sobs sobs*

  “AND THEN I WAS CHOSEN TO BE A JUDGE!! SOMETHING THAT I NEVER WISHED TO HAPPEN TO ME!!!”

  “Mari-chan. . . *sobs sobs*”

  “BEING A JUDGE SUCKS!! I KEEP SAVING PEOPLE I COULDN'T CARE LESS ABOUT!! THIS IS A RESPONSIBILITY THAT I NEVER ASKED FOR!!”

  *sobs sobs*

  “AND THEN I CARRIED ALL THESE MEMORIES FROM THE PEOPLE I SAVED!!! I CANNOT FORGET ABOUT ANY OF THEM!! THEY ALL KEPT HAUNTING ME EVERY DAY!!”

  *sobs sobs*

  “SI-CHAN!! I AM BEGGING YOU TO LOOK AT ME FOR WHO I AM!!!”

  Sierra looks towards Mari as tears kept rolling down her face.

  “I AM JUST A LONELY HIGH SCHOOL GIRL WHO WISHES TO HAVE FRIENDS THAT I CAN SPEND THE REST OF MY LIFE WITH!!”

  *sobs sobs*

  “I DON’T WANT TO BECOME EVERYTHING THAT I HAVE BECOME TODAAAAAAAAYYYYY!!!!”

  *pant pant pant*

  Mari screamed so much that she lost her breath. Sierra’s tears are rolling down even harder than before. She finally finds out what has truly been hurting Mari.

  “Si-chan. *sobs* Why did you want me to become a murderer?”

  After that sentence, Sierra immediately rushes to Mari and hugs her.

  “I’m sorry *sobs* Mari-chan!”

  Sierra hugs Mari tighter.

  “I’ve been really selfish to you.”

  *sobs sobs*

  “I’ve never asked you to agree to everything that I put you through.”

  *sobs sobs*

  “I selfishly placed you to play the role of a hero who avenges everyone.”

  *sobs sobs*

  “I have never once thought of it from your perspective.”

  *sobs sobs*

  “I was completely oblivious of who you truly are!”

  *sobs sobs*

  “I’m sorry, Mari-chan! *sobs* I’m sorry!”

  Sierra kept crying harder as she kept apologizing. Slowly and surely, Mari also hugs Sierra back.

  “Si-chan. . .”

  And they both cried in each other’s arms.

  *sobs sobs*

  After crying to each other for a few minutes, they both were startled because they felt the presence of 6 other people in the room with her.

  *!!!*

  They both open their eyes and let go of their hugs, but then they saw all of their friends surrounding them in a circle.

  “E-Everyone. . .”

  They all held hands with each other and smiled at the two of them. And then they all put their hands on each of their shoulders, and their heads, and they are patting them multiple times.

  Before they started crying again, they saw someone really big, high in the sky. Though the sky they saw was very different from the normal sky, as it was golden, and there was a person with holes in both of his hands, opening them wide open towards the two of them. His face was so bright that they could not make out what He looked like.

  They don’t understand anything that they saw. It felt like all of their frustrations, heartaches, despair, sufferings, and sorrow were slowly being taken away from them.

  Shortly after, both of them passed out on the floor.

  *GRRRKK GRRK GRRRKKK*

  The entirety of the cube's ground cracks and crumbles into thin air, and both of them fall freely towards the ground.

  *!!!*

  Light, Lily, Veint, Leonna, and Eissen react properly. Leonna spreads her golden wings and flies high above and catching Sierra in her arms, while Eissen activates his Vein Armor to jump high into the sky and catches Mari in her arms.

  They both safely landed on the ground with the two passed-out individuals. Light, Lily, and Veint run and approach them.

  “W-What happened?” asked Light.

  “I have no clue. I just saw the cube above beginning to crumble and reacted in time.” said Leonna.

  “Couldn’t you have reacted as well, Lily-san?” said Veint.

  “Yes, of course, but I saw her face, and it shows that she really wants to catch the girl.” said Lily, pointing to Leonna.

  “Eh? Is that true, Darling?” said Veint.

  “Honey, I’m sorry, but we both came from wealthy families, so I sort of understood her actions given her position, though I am not saying I agree with what she did.” said Leonna as she half smiled at Sierra.

  “Is that so, Darling?” said Veint with a smile, understanding his girlfriend.

  None of them commented about Sierra’s face because all of her wounds were mysteriously gone.

  “Divalo-san, is she okay?” asks Light.

  “Yeah. You know how a Support can feel what the Judge feels?”

  “Yes, I do.”

  “During the entire time we infiltrated this tournament. I felt that she was feeling so restless that she could hardly calm down, but now, I feel nothing but relief. It seems like something happened up there. But I have no idea of knowing.”

  “I’m glad to hear that.” said Lily.

  “Alright, I think I know how to resolve this.” said Light.

  “Really? How?” asks Lily.

  “It’s going to involve you and your Faith power, Lily!”

  “Hm? Alright, what should I do?”

  “Okay, here’s what you’ll do.”

  As Light was explaining his plan to everyone, Mari suddenly woke up. She immediately overheard everything, and she suggested something to him.

  .

  .

  .

  “Urkh. . .”

  Sierra opens her eyes, and she sees the blue sky above.

  “Where am I. . .?”

  She gets up and sits. She looks to her left and right and realizes that she is on top of a rooftop, far away from the stadium, and Mari is also with her.

  “Mari-chan. . .”

  “. . .”

  “What happened to us?”

  “. . . I have no idea. But I recognized that big Man above the sky.”

  “Who was He?”

  “God. His name is Iesu. I think He’s more globally known as either Jesus or Yesus.”

  “What kind of God was He?”

  “The One True God. The God who created everything.”

  “You know Him?”

  “He showed up to me when I buried everyone. That was the second time I ever saw Him.”

  “I see. What happens to the tournament?”

  “The Queen of Time took care of everything. She reverted the memories of everyone in the world to before the final match began. She also reverted the state of the entire planet as well, so no recordings or internet history will have any records of what just happened.”

  “That’s amazing. I’ve heard her name multiple times back at HQ. That was the first time I ever saw her.”

  “. . . .”

  “What are you going to do now, Mari-chan?”

  “I’m going to continue to be the Judge of Greed. I feel like I have a more profound purpose now.”

  “I see. That’s great. I’m going to continue helping the world in my position as the 8th Strongest Believer in the world.”

  “I see. . .”

  Mari stands up, activates her Vein Armor, and is ready to leave.

  “Si-chan. . .”

  “Yes?”

  “Our friendship ended back then. From now on, we’re total strangers who have never met each other previously. You got that?”

  “(I see. So, this is her decision.)”

  “I understand. Hope we meet again, Mari-chan.”

  “. . .I hope we don’t.”

  “That’s okay, too. Ah, before you leave, is it right if I visit everyone’s grave? I already know the location from your memory.”

  “. . .sure.”

  “Thank you, Mari-chan.”

  “. . .”

  Mari immediately takes a pose to jump away, but then she halts her position.

  *?*

  “Mari-chan?”

  “Farewell, Si-chan. You were truly my best friend.”

  *BWWOOOOSSSHHHH*

  And then she immediately jumps away from the rooftop.

  “. . .”

  Sierra smiles as she keeps staring at Mari until she can no longer be seen in the distance.

  “Farewell, Mari-chan. You are truly my best friend. . .”