Chapter 1099: Though I Did Not Kill the Man, He Died Because of Me
"Okita Souji is that damn brat?"
Muramasa's brows furrowed tightly together, his expression clearly saying "you've got to be kidding me."
"That shouldn't be possible. My instruments show they're completely different Spirit Origin patterns. Although Okita Souji's Spirit Origin is somewhat ambiguous, isn't that because she has some deity or similar being stitched inside her?"
Little Da Vinci's face also scrunched up in confusion as she fiddled with the instrument in her hand, looking utterly incredulous.
She had always believed Okita Souji's existence was similar to Grimm's, which would also explain why Okita Souji was unreasonably powerful.
"Da Vinci-chan, you might be placing too much trust in data."
Mash gently reminded her.
"...Perhaps you're right."
Little Da Vinci was momentarily speechless.
"From your reactions, it seems you already knew?"
"Yes, after all, aside from Mr. Eiji, no one else would refer to Senpai as Gudako..."
"And that bastard didn't really try hard to hide it anyway, did he?"
Artoria spread her hands and laughed triumphantly.
After all, she was among them!
She could see through all lies - even if he wanted to hide it, it would definitely be impossible. That bastard was probably wary of her, which was why he hid it so half-heartedly!
The phantom Eiji flickered in the air for a moment before vanishing into thin air.
"I understand the reasoning now, and I thank you for protecting the Master and Miss Caster during this time!"
Tristan expressed his gratitude to Eiji with great seriousness, but then immediately changed his tone.
"However, I must still ask - why did you kill that female fairy earlier? And where did that thick scent of blood on you come from?"
He couldn't be blamed for being cautious.
The aura of "kill on sight" radiating from Eiji at this moment was too terrifying, giving Tristan the dreadful premonition that anyone approaching him would instantly lose their head!
"They were just some fairies. I killed them, so what? Do I need some special reason?"
Eiji laughed carelessly.
"Not just those fairies - even you all, I feel the urge to draw my sword right now!"
These words sounded exactly like something a major villain would say.
Tristan's expression changed involuntarily.
Although he didn't truly believe Eiji could be that kind of person deep down - because such a person would never be able to purify a reversed Holy Sword back into a true Holy Sword - his heart still sank at Eiji's words.
"I don't agree with that!"
Suddenly, a girl's voice rang out with firm conviction.
"Mr. Eiji is definitely not that kind of person - I would stake my life on it!"
The one who spoke these words was the shield-bearing girl with hidden hair.
She looked at Eiji more firmly than anyone else, and with more trust than anyone else.
"We barely know each other, why are you so certain?"
Eiji scratched the back of his head and gave her a troubled look.
"Do you really think you understand my true nature?"
Don't make me laugh.
Even Morgan couldn't say something like that!
"Then how do you explain your camera?"
Mash immediately retorted.
"..."
"Perhaps I truly haven't seen through Eiji-san's nature, but ever since Sheffield, I've known that Eiji-san would never be someone who could watch innocent lives perish without feeling anything. Not just because of your warnings to me, but more importantly because of that camera you always carry!"
"The survival competition between Proper Human History and the Lostbelt has nothing to do with justice or evil. If there must be an evil side, it would undoubtedly be our Proper Human History... Eiji-san should understand this too."
"You are indeed the clearest about the bigger picture, perhaps able to decisively choose which side to stand on and watch the other side perish without hesitation. But your heart is far from cold and unfeeling - that's why you've been capturing the scenery along the way with your camera, isn't it?"
Everyone watched silently as Mash poured out her feelings like a machine gun.
They couldn't help but feel somewhat ashamed.
Because they hadn't noticed this before.
Perhaps this was something only Mash - who had been rescued by Eiji from Sheffield, helped to regain her memories, and spent half a year with him in the past - could perceive.
Eiji didn't have the habit of taking photos.
Well, I mean, he didn't have the habit of taking landscape photos.
But after coming to this Lostbelt, he had been using his camera to record every place he visited along the way.
That certainly wasn't because he had changed his nature.
Rather, it was because he knew from the very beginning that he would ultimately become an accomplice in destroying this Lostbelt world.
Admittedly, survival competition has nothing to do with good or evil.
But precisely because there's no good or evil involved, Eiji understood that his actions lacked any justification, which is why he wanted to record everything destined to disappear in his heart.
He would record and destroy everything here.
"That cheeky eggplant sure has some nerve to say all that."
Eiji muttered under his breath.
Still, Mash's speculation was mostly accurate.
"Then what exactly is all this..."
Tristan was beginning to get confused.
"Because the fairies in this Camelot are sick in the head!"
Eiji sneered: "Earlier on the streets, I saw a human with both arms severed. Following his trail, I entered a mansion, and guess what I found?"
"In the basement, several, over a dozen human corpses, all male, without limbs, their reproductive organs removed too. All five limbs were finely chopped into mincemeat, the floor flowing with rivers of blood, yet the mansion's owner was only focused on praying."
"Five limbs, huh? When you hear five limbs, what comes to mind?"
What comes to mind?
For a moment, Fujimaru couldn't think of anything.
The others all wore similarly thoughtful expressions.
"It's Beryl."
Artoria, seeing this, spoke up to point out the key.
"Correct."
Eiji nodded.
"The same fate as Beryl, who I targeted during the welcoming banquet for me."
"I killed that fairy, then found a second mansion, and again saw humans with five severed limbs in the basement. I killed another fairy, then a third, a fourth."
"Fairies whose mansions didn't contain human corpses, I didn't lay a finger on them."
"It's just a pity."
Eiji let out a long sigh.
"Of the hundreds of fairies I found, not a single one's basement was free of human corpses."
He had even sent out dream clones.
And this was the result.
Killing every fairy he encountered.
Kill every fairy on sight.
Without the slightest hesitation.
Reasoning with them would only disgust Eiji!
It wasn't just because these fairies had slaughtered thousands of humans over the past month.
More importantly—
"Do you think that's your responsibility?"
Gudako suddenly realized.
She understood.
Da Vinci-chan and the others also caught on instantly.
And they were all chilled to the bone!
This was imitation.
A wretched imitation that revealed their depravity!
This was also a trend.
A vile, despicable trend!
Because Eiji had publicly severed Beryl's five limbs, the fairies of Camelot had temporarily adopted this method of human mutilation as a "trend!"