Tragedy always smells of blood.
Ah, this delicious chill of life draining from the body.
I sank into the pool of blood and folded my hands together, as if in prayer.
"Please. Kill me with your own hands."
Between my clasped fingers, the cold muzzle of a gun pressed in.
A lovely little hole — the kind that made my stomach flutter just from looking at it.
I brought that arrow pointing toward death to my forehead.
The man gripping the handle — his face crumpled all at once.
"What are you saying?! How could I ever…!"
I suppose asking him to shoot my pretty face was too tall an order.
Understandable. Even I lose myself staring in the mirror sometimes.
Then let's do it this way — so the face stays intact.
I brought the muzzle to my lips, like a kiss.
"If it's you who kills me, I have no complaints."
…Oh, now that I think about it. Isn't this a little obscene?
Taking a hot, hard rod into my mouth — that's exactly what it is!
Feeling just a touch naughty, I secretly gave the muzzle a little lick.
Ptoo. It had just been fired, so all I tasted was gunpowder.
"No, it's too soon to give up! There has to be a way — a way for both of us to survive! So… so…!"
But the man was relentless.
Even in this situation, where everyone had died in the most horrible ways, he was still searching for hope.
As if something like that could possibly exist. This is clearly a defeat ending.
I die here. You die here. That's all there is to it.
Honestly, throwing a tantrum like this — what a handful.
If you still have regrets, I'll cut through them cleanly for you.
I pressed the muzzle beneath my chin and performed grief.
"That's… impossible."
"Wh— why…."
"The truth is, I can't see anymore. I've already gone blind. I'd only drag you down like this. So please… grant me mercy."
"Ugh, I… I can't just…."
A lie, of course. I can see every single hair on his face just fine.
But if I don't go this far, he'll never let go.
Now. This was the climax.
How much had I worked for this moment.
I gave the man teetering at the edge of the cliff one small, gentle push.
"Commander. I've been in love with you."
"Ah… aah… aaaaaah—!"
It was a despair deeper than the very bottom of the mud.
Ah. That solid, dependable man — crumbling apart.
The tragedy of having to kill with his own hands the one who had been his last hope!
At the supreme delicacy laid out before my eyes, a deep ache pulsed through my belly.
Yes. This. This is what I wanted to see.
Your suffering and despair — that is my happiness.
Thank you for giving me a reason to live.
Ah, but don't misunderstand. My confession was sincere.
I truly like you. More than anyone else in this world, I'm sure.
So no matter how many times the world repeats, I'll stay by your side.
*See you in the next loop, Commander.*
I shed tears of joy and closed my eyes.
And I carefully, tenderly took the muzzle between my lips.
Click.
The trigger is pulled.
Crack.
Something important is crushed.