Chapter 108 : Wisteria Flowers

The death of Uncle’s family came suddenly.

So much so that even the people smoking behind the funeral hall sighed deeply in regret.

“Haah… How did he get involved with a violent organization… to die in such a cruel way. I hear the young miss is completely missing.”

“…Hey, do you believe that?”

“What? He died because he got involved with foreign criminal organizations due to the pachinko business.”

“The young master who studied abroad would never do pachinko!”

The bald man who quickly stubbed out his cigarette spoke in a whisper.

“The young master opposed the large-scale merger and acquisition of the Fujimoto Group this time…!”

“Why? Fujimoto has successfully completed aggressive M&As and become a completely invincible family, right? Even the government has already sided with Fujimoto.”

“Idiot, then there’s no place for other companies to stand! The young master wanted Japan to become a free country! Not a Fujimoto dictatorship!”

“I-I don’t know much about politics or economics.”

“Geez. The young master had such a broad vision.”

They didn’t know that the small girl standing silently behind the smoking area had heard everything they said.

“That’s right. I killed him.”

“Wh-why, Father?!”

“Because he tried to divide Fujimoto. Because he was a traitor who secretly joined hands with those opposing Fujimoto.”

“Even so!”

“Sumire.”

“…”

“You, just listen to what I say.”

“…”

Eiji spoke one word at a time as he put his hand on Sumire’s shoulder.

It felt like the blood flowing from that hand had stained Sumire.

It felt like Sumire herself was already soaked in that blood.

She couldn’t say anything more.

She just believed that atonement was protecting as many people as possible within her abilities.

Until she saw a girl’s broadcast.

“Anna!!”

“Sister!!”

Clang―!!

Two blades clashing.

A blade imbued with lavender energy and a blade shining blood-red collided with a chilling sound and became entangled.

Dripping sticky blood-red energy from the tip, the blood-red blade seemed like it would greedily swallow the lavender blade as if licking it.

Anna approached with her eyes wide open, blood-red and reddish-brown chaotically intertwined in her pupils.

“Sister!!!”

Crunch

Sumire gradually pushed back.

Anna approaching while flicking her tongue.

The two sisters slowly pushed into the blood-red river, spilling sticky energy between their blades.

Splash!

A river made of blood.

Anna’s black clothes and Sumire’s kimono were completely soaked in blood, clinging to their bodies.

“Sister, sister, sister, sister, sister, sister, sister, sister, sister, sister!!!”

“Kugh?!”

“Don’t worry!! Let’s go to hell together!! To the hell where Mom and Dad are waiting!! Because now everyone that Fujimoto ruled over will die!!”

“I can’t… allow that!”

Sumire wanted to push Anna away with a big swing, but from the blood-red river domain deployed earlier, the more she attacked Anna, the more wounds appeared.

One damage dealt, two wounds returned.

A space where to attack Anna, one must endure twice the damage.

By the time the girls who had come running to save Sumire realized this, they had already been severely injured.

But Rena deployed a machine gun with her hands riddled with holes like a beehive and fired at Anna.

Ratatatatatatata!!

Squelch

Squelch

Squelch

For every bullet that hit, blood spurted and exploded from Rena’s other hand.

Rena, who could no longer raise both arms due to the returned damage, collapsed from the shock.

“Kuhuugh!!”

“Ahahaha!! Keep shooting!! Want to bet who dies first? How dare you interfere in Fujimoto’s affairs? Hahaha!”

Anna mocked Rena with eyes rolled back completely white.

‘At this rate, I’ll be completely pushed back by Anna… more people might get involved.’

Sumire looked at the salon members and Kaede who were continuing to check Anna while enduring wounds.

The moment they land even a small attack on Anna, she instantly recovers while wrapping herself in reddish-brown energy, and the person who attacked receives the damage in return.

[Boss!! It’s dangerous!!]

Bang―!!

When the armor spewed fire, the impact returned and it crumpled.

“Boss!!”

Vroom!!

When the bike approached leading starlight, it toppled over from that same impact.

“Miss!!”

Squelch!

When the ninja scattered throwing knives imbued with dark green energy, they stabbed into his own body.

Crumpled armor.

Toppled bike.

Collapsed ninja.

Despite how boldly they had shouted and charged in.

Everyone, including herself, was helplessly being defeated by Anna.

Sumire recalled the first appearance of the salon members and Kaede, with whom she had lived and worked closely for nearly a year.

Rena, Kohane, and Nanami who spewed out anger like children as soon as they gained power.

Kaede whose first realized emotion was ‘envy’.

And the Fujimoto heir who could have ruined everything.

‘They really are such losers.’

The girl who helped them help others.

The more they walked a new path following that girl, the more they interacted with numerous people and exchanged numerous emotions.

They went around handling things and incidents that Sumire could never have imagined in her lifetime.

Sumire’s world had now become incomparably broader than the world she had learned as a Fujimoto lady.

The fate of [Protection] approached in Sumire Fujimoto’s way, not the Fujimoto way.

A world where she lives together with all ordinary people as a guardian, not a ruler. There, Sumire was a magical girl no different from any ordinary magical girl.

A world she had seen and her sister had not.

“Sister!!! Die!!!”

Anna was still trapped in the Fujimoto world.

A girl obsessed with revenge was grinding her teeth inside the sea of blood and mountains of corpses that her father had ruthlessly cut down. That girl was now trying to drag in even innocent people, no longer satisfied with just herself and her father.

If they can’t stop the obelisk, soldiers will endlessly pour out.

If they can’t kill the guardian of the obelisk, they can’t destroy it.

“…”

Then as a sister, as [Protection], what must be done is.

A resolute will.

“Kohane!! I’ll stop Anna!! Please take care of destroying the obelisk!!”

[Boss?! What…?]

“Kaede!! Take care of everything else!!”

“Miss?!”

If what she wants is her death, she will gladly give it.

Even if she loses even the light of her lavender Glass Star to never revive again in the hell her sister has unleashed.

For the ordinary tomorrow of innocent people.

She sacrifices her ordinary life to protect.

Even if the Fujimoto blood cannot continue, those who try to protect ordinary people will continue to appear.

Sumire leaves behind the will of [Protection], not the Fujimoto name.

‘Even if it’s not me, it will definitely continue!’

Sumire embraced Anna and interlocked her fingers.

“Ugh?!”

“Then let’s go together, Anna!”

In the moment Anna was surprised by the sudden approach, Sumire threw herself into the blood-red river.

Splash!

‘Perhaps this is for the best.’

Like wisteria that kills living things with poison.

Like wisteria that can only live on walls.

The wisteria flower, Fujimoto, scattering lavender petals while ruling over others, completely disappears from today.

[Protection] Magical Girl’s Unique Skill

Thousand Spears, Ten Thousand Swords

Tsutsutsutsu!!

Countless lavender spears and swords entered the river, piercing through Sumire and Anna as they slowly sank.

Squelch!

Squelch!

Squelch!

For every wound Anna receives, Sumire receives two wounds.

Still, the lavender swords and spears pouring like rain did not stop.

They will not stop until both are completely pulverized and disappear.

“…!!!”

Sumire and Anna’s blood mixed chaotically in the blood-red river.

-I’ll kill you!! Fujimoto Eiji!!

-Everything ruled by Fujimoto!!

-Sister, why are you still so happy!!

-Daughter of a murderer!! Murderers!! I’ll kill you!!

-I’ll become a murderer too and pay you back!!

The blood-red river domain of the magical girl of [Revenge] was filled with Anna’s countless resentments and miseries.

Two giant skeletons in suits and elegant dresses approached from far away.

‘Uncle, Aunt…’

-Fujimoto Eiji!!

-Bring us back to life!! Evil ruler!!

Squelch!

Squelch!

Squelch!

Two huge blades pierced through Sumire’s chest.

Father’s karma came to Sumire as revenge.

‘I’m sorry.’

Tsutsutsutsu!

Sumire clung to her fading consciousness and poured out countless lavender blades.

Anna, watching Sumire, stabbed countless daggers into her own chest.

But the force behind the stabbing daggers gradually decreased.

Tsutsutsutsu!

Mixing blood, pouring swords, and swinging spears.

In the midst of it, the last two girls bearing the Fujimoto name were rushing towards death.

Sumire thought this was fortunate.

Because Anna’s revenge was solely directed at her, she didn’t even think of stopping the salon members left behind to stop the obelisk.

[Hypocrite!! How long are you going to pretend to be noble!! Die!!]

Swinging dagger

-Die, daughter of Fujimoto Eiji!!

-You lived well on our blood!!

Swoosh—

In the blood-red river, Sumire smiled unsteadily with her completely severed left arm and leg.

‘Thank goodness…’

No one else will be hurt in the name of Fujimoto.

Father died from his own karma, so next is Sumire herself.

From now on, Sumire alone just has to endure the coming pain.

[Anna.]

Sumire embraced her sister, who was endlessly stabbing her chest, with her one remaining arm.

Her sister, who she finally met but couldn’t control herself while harming innocent people.

Becoming her companion on the road to hell would be the minimum atonement.

[Die!! Hundreds, thousands of those who lived under the Fujimoto name will die!!]

[Then tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of those with the will of protection will save them.]

[…What?]

[Don’t drag other people into your revenge anymore. I’ll take it all.]

Sumire stroked Anna’s face with her one remaining hand.

Though she had matured, somehow she looked like the face she saw that day in the wisteria garden.

The two girls born under the wisteria flowers will now atone endlessly suffering in hell.

[I’m sorry.]

[…Don’t.]

[I’m sorry I didn’t understand.]

[I said don’t!!]

[Let’s die together.]

[…]

[I’ll die with you.]

[…]

[You were lonely.]

[…]

[I’m sorry.]

Before they knew it, they had sunk to the darkest bottom of the river.

The two girls, battered by the countless swords and spears that had poured from above, could only weakly overlap their bodies.

Beyond her slowly closing eyes, Sumire saw some lavender flowers.

Violets.

Violets with the same name as herself.

Humility

Sincerity

Ordinariness

‘I wanted to be… like a violet, not a wisteria flower.’

[Sister.]

[Yes?]

[Didn’t you know?]

[No. I knew. But I was too scared to do anything.]

[…]

Scared of Father.

Scared of the world outside Fujimoto.

Just doing as told.

[Are you not scared now?]

[No, I’m scared. I’m so scared of the world I don’t know.]

[I see.]

An answer that came out honestly because she lived as Sumire… something she would never have done as a Fujimoto. Hearing that, Anna stabbed down with her dagger one last time, cutting off the arm Sumire was embracing her with.

Sumire, numbed by countless experiences of pain, opened her eyes wide in surprise at that action.

[Then this is my last revenge.]

[What… is this?]

Sumire, with her limbs severed, rising helplessly to the surface, was terrified.

[If dying peacefully is easier, then live like that for the rest of your life.]

[What? What do you mean!]

[Look at me. Remember everyone who died miserably under the Fujimoto name.]

Her blood-red eyes contained hatred, anger, and emptiness. The faintest light shining among them was love.

[Live in fear in nightmares forever while protecting a doomed world.]

Anna slit her own throat with the one remaining arm out of her four limbs.

A blood-red Glass Star rose from her limp body.

Goodbye.

Beloved sister.

Daughter of the person I hate most.

May you live in pain for the rest of your life.

As the world of the girl full of revenge ended beneath the dark river where Sumire was floating up.

Only after there was no one left to carry on the Fujimoto name.

Violets began to bloom in Sumire’s world.

Among the lavender violets blooming one by one.

She decided to live forever as ‘Sumire’, not Fujimoto… as the magical girl of [Protection].

Uncle

Aunt

Father

Sister

A world where everyone has died and disappeared.

A world where only Sumire remains.

Along with emptiness, the true fate of [Protection] bloomed.

-Boss!! Grab my hand!!

-Boss!!

-Bo-Boss!!!

-Miss!!

In the river of emptiness, Sumire could only rise helplessly and cry.