Saving Izumi Kyōka was actually quite simple.
The root of this girl's torment came from her runaway Ability killing her parents—something no different from her having slain them with her own hands.
Unable to accept this truth, the girl had sealed away her emotions, abandoned thought, and lived like a doll without a heart.
Then, Akutagawa Ryūnosuke forced his own beliefs onto her, twisting the knife deeper into the inherently kind-hearted Izumi Kyōka.
And so, she could only trudge further down this thorny path of bloodshed.
Until death.
But Tokisaki Kurumi knew—Izumi Kyōka's suffering was meaningless.
Literally, meaningless.
Because it wasn't Kyōka's ability that killed her parents.
All this time, she had misunderstood the truth of their deaths.
Izumi Kyōka had been doted on by her parents since childhood, living carefree in what she believed was an ordinary life.
A happy home, a loving family—the kind every household dreamed of.
What she didn't know, however, was her parents' hidden identities.
They were government assassins.
That's right. Izumi Kyōka's parents weren't ordinary people. They were covert operatives working for the government, a renowned assassin couple in the underworld.
Demon Snow wasn't Kyōka's ability—it was her mother's.
During a previous mission, her parents had failed to properly clean up the scene, accidentally exposing their identities.
For assassins, exposure was no different from a death sentence.
And so, this couple was inevitably hunted down by their enemies, becoming the origin of all tragedy.
That night, a vengeful ability user exploited their momentary carelessness, using a control-type ability to seize their bodies. Once fully dominated, they would be unable to resist any command.
Refusing to become puppets—and to protect Kyōka—her mother summoned Demon Snow and ordered it to kill both herself and her husband. Then, using a secret technique, she transferred Demon Snow to her blood relative: her daughter, Izumi Kyōka.
But Kyōka didn't know her parents were assassins. She didn't know her mother had an ability. She didn't even know someone had come for revenge that night.
In her eyes, Demon Snow had simply appeared out of nowhere, slaughtered her parents, and then latched onto her.
She assumed Demon Snow was her own awakened ability—and thus, blamed herself for her parents' deaths.
Her out-of-control ability had killed them. And as its wielder, she was the murderer.
That was what Izumi Kyōka had believed all this time.
To truly save her, she had to learn the truth—to be freed from the curse of patricide.
With that in mind, Tokisaki Kurumi asked, "Kyōka, if I told you that you didn't kill your parents… would you believe me?"
Kyōka shook her head without hesitation. "Demon Snow is my ability. I saw it kill them with my own eyes. My Ability murdered them… It was me."
"What you see isn't always the truth," Kurumi replied. "Demon Snow was actually your mother's ability. Your parents were world-famous assassins—they just never told you."
Kyōka stared at Kurumi in disbelief, her eyes brimming with doubt.
Her parents… famous assassins?
Impossible.
Her mother's smile had always been so gentle. Her father's hands had always been so warm. How could people like them be cold-blooded killers, just like her?
Ignoring Kyōka's reaction, Kurumi continued, "That night, your parents' enemy found them. They used their ability to control them. To protect you, your mother summoned Demon Snow—something she'd never shown you before—and ordered it to kill them both before they could fall into their enemy's hands. Then, through some method, Demon Snow was transferred to you. You might see it as a curse… but it was your mother's final gift to you."
"..."
"Think about it, Kyōka," Kurumi pressed. "Didn't your parents always skillfully dodge questions about work? Didn't they tell you to take care of yourself whenever they left for long trips? Didn't they treasure every moment with you when they returned?"
Kurumi's words pried open long-sealed memories.
The happier those recollections were, the more they hurt now.
That was why Kyōka had refused to revisit them.
And why she'd never noticed her parents' odd behavior.
After half a year in the Port Mafia, she was far more mature now—her perspective sharper.
As she dredged up those buried memories, she began noticing the inconsistencies in her parents' lives.
Maybe… they had been hiding something from her.
"My parents… were hiding something?" she murmured. "They were assassins?"
"Yes. But unlike you, they worked directly for the government," Kurumi said. "Their ties to the authorities were faint, though—to avoid detection, they rarely made contact. So when they died, the government didn't know immediately. By the time they realized and came looking for you… it was too late. You'd already been taken by Akutagawa and brought into the Port Mafia."
"Proof," Kyōka demanded, her gaze sharp. "I need proof."
Kurumi smirked. A massive clock materialized behind her as she raised her flintlock. "This is Zafkiel—my ability. Each of the twelve numbers represents a different power. The Tenth Bullet, 'Yud,' allows the target to experience the past memories of whoever or whatever it hits."
Kyouka didn't fully grasp what Zafkiel was, nor why an ability could have twelve different functions—but she understood Kurumi's point.
"If I shoot you and Demon Snow with Yud, you'll see who its true owner was… and all of their memories."
Kyōka took a deep breath.
She didn't think Kurumi was lying.
After all… what reason did she have to?
Wordlessly, Kyōka handed over the phone hanging from her neck. "Demon Snow only obeys voices from this phone. Please."
"Leave it to me."
After saving Kyōka's number, Kurumi dialed.
"Manifest—Demon Snow."
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