"Master Nanashi... what's happening to them?"
One of the guards blinked rapidly, panic plain in his expression despite being frozen in place.
Nanashi had made himself comfortable in the very seat Seitenshi had just vacated. With a lazy gesture, Kayo floated gently to his lap.
Resting his head on her shoulder, he said calmly, "I've taken control of their bodies. They can't move."
"Now, let's hear what they truly think."
He turned his cold gaze toward the immobilized guards.
"Tell me what you think of the Cursed Children."
"They're monsters."
"They're not human."
"Damn monsters, every one of them."
The responses came quickly, without hesitation.
The room turned deathly still—eerily surreal.
Seitenshi's face went pale.
Not just because of the supernatural phenomenon playing out before him…
But because of their words.
Each one is like a knife.
They truly believed the Cursed Children were monsters—creatures better off dead.
Kayo's expression darkened, sorrow in her eyes.
Nanashi gently stroked her head in comfort.
"Don't worry. You're no monster in my eyes. You're a beautiful girl, Kayo."
"…Thank you, Brother Nanashi," she whispered, her cheeks warming as she pressed her face lightly against his.
Nanashi smiled, sensing her growing affection.
Then, casually glancing back at the guards, he asked:
"How many Cursed Children have you deliberately killed or tortured to death?"
"...One."
"Three."
"Seven."
"Five…"
One by one, they confessed.
Seitenshi's expression crumbled.
Shock gave way to horror, then fury.
Her guards—every one of them—had blood on their hands.
These were not accidents.
They were cold, deliberate executions.
Finally, it was Takuto Yasuwaki's turn.
What he said shattered the last of Seitenshi's composure.
"I've lost count. Maybe hundreds."
Nanashi raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Go on."
Takuto Yasuwaki adjusted his glasses slowly, a wicked smile creeping across his twisted features.
"I love killing those monsters. Hearing them scream as bullets rip through their bodies… it's bliss."
It started as a twisted confession.
Then spiraled into madness.
"Ahh… that feeling... it's like holding Seitenshi's body and ravaging her—it feels that good!"
The room froze.
Seitenshi's face turned an ashen gray, fury burning in her eyes.
Kayo's fists clenched, her gaze sharp with righteous rage.
Nanashi tapped the table rhythmically.
And just like that, the guards regained control of their bodies.
Terror spread across their faces.
They collapsed to their knees, begging for forgiveness.
"Your Holiness! Please, forgive us!"
All but Takuto Yasuwaki.
His expression remained grotesquely twisted as he pointed at Nanashi with trembling fingers.
"He made me say those things! Lies! All lies! Please, Your Holiness—you must believe me!"
"Enough! Not another word!"
Seitenshi's voice thundered through the chamber—more furious and deafening than it had ever been.
Takuto Yasuwaki still refused to yield. He staggered toward Seitenshi, desperate to explain himself.
Nanashi curled his lip in disdain.
"Tsk, how disgusting."
He tapped the table with a finger.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
A series of sharp explosions followed.
Takuto Yasuwaki's body—the captain of the guard—was torn apart in a spray of blood and flesh.
But the grotesque mess never touched anyone. The gore froze midair about a meter away, suspended for a moment in time—then fell harmlessly to the ground.
Not a single drop reached them.
Nanashi studied Seitenshi's shifting expressions with interest.
"So... now you see how twisted, how dark the hearts of humans truly are?"
For a long while, Seitenshi stood frozen.
Then she gave a broken, bitter smile—still beautiful, but full of sorrow.
"Master Nanashi… perhaps I've been too naïve…"
She had never imagined such cruelty, not from her own guards. Murderers, every one of them.
But Nanashi wasn't finished.
A smirk curled at the edge of his lips.
Kayo saw the look on his face and knew—Brother Nanashi was about to stir more trouble.
"Your naivety goes far deeper than that," he said.
"Eh…?" Seitenshi blinked, puzzled by his words.
"Do you remember Kikunojou Tendo?"
"My assistant?" she answered without hesitation.
"I was listening in during your meeting earlier," Nanashi said casually. "He seemed very supportive of your new law."
"Yes. He's my most trusted aide."
That thought alone brought her a brief moment of comfort. Everyone else had stood against her—everyone but him.
Nanashi noticed the softness in her expression.
So innocent.
So pure.
He felt a strange thrill—an urge to taint that purity, to drag her into the same filth she'd tried to fight.
"Oh, really?" he scoffed. "Because when I peeked into his mind, I found something... interesting. Turns out he's actually the one most vehemently against you."
"What? That's absurd!" she snapped, her voice trembling. "That's impossible!"
"Don't believe me?" Nanashi raised an eyebrow. "Want to call him here and ask him yourself?"
Seitenshi bit her lip and nodded.
"…Fine."
Knock, knock.
"Enter," Seitenshi called.
The door opened.
Kikunojou Tendo stepped inside—only to be met with the overwhelming scent of blood and the gruesome sight of scattered body parts.
In Seitenshi's seat lounged a man he'd never seen before.
And resting calmly in the man's lap, a girl.
Seitenshi stood quietly to the side—submissive, as if powerless.
Kikunojou's pupils shrank. He opened his mouth to speak—
But his body didn't respond.
Without meaning to, he stepped inside and closed the door behind him.
He walked forward, crossing the bloodstained floor until he stood just short of the desk—before those piercing, golden starlit eyes.
It felt like gazing up at a god.
He couldn't resist. Couldn't even blink.
Nanashi turned to Seitenshi.
"Ask him anything. He'll answer honestly."
Seitenshi hesitated.
Then, lips trembling, she asked the one question that burned most deeply in her heart.
"…Do you support my New Gastrula Law?"
Kikunojou Tendo replied without pause.
"I oppose it, from the bottom of my heart."
The words shattered her.
Her knees buckled.
She began to fall—but Nanashi caught her, one hand reaching out to steady her by her soft, delicate waist.
He could've used his powers.
But he liked the feeling of being helpful.
Seitenshi didn't even react to the intimate contact. Her heart was already drowning in sorrow.
Even he... Even Kikunojou Tendo… had betrayed her.
She finally began to believe Nanashi's words.
This world… truly was hopeless.
Darkness festered everywhere.
"You're asking the wrong questions," Nanashi said, shaking his head despite the satisfying softness under his hand. "Let me ask instead."
He turned back to Kikunojou.
"Do you want to kill all the Cursed Children?"
"Yes."
"How much do you want to?"
"I want them all dead—every last one of them, along with the Protogastrics."
"You ordered Kagetane Hiruko to steal the inheritance, didn't you?"
"I did."
"For what purpose?"
"To summon the Phase V Gastrea—Scorpius—and destroy the Tokyo District. To wipe out every single Cursed Child here."
Nanashi clapped his hands lightly. "Alright. I'm done. You can wake up now."
Kikunojou Tendo blinked slowly, awareness returning to his eyes.
He stared silently at Nanashi.
He knew exactly what had happened.
Still, he remained unusually calm.
"Kikunojou Tendo…" Seitenshi whispered. "Everything you said… was it true?"
"…Yes. All of it."
There was no point in denying it. Not when his mind had been laid bare.
Nanashi had shown her everything.
Seitenshi stood in stunned silence.
Take the Seven Stat inheritance… summon Scorpius… destroy Tokyo… just to kill all the Cursed Children?
The cold swept through her body like a blizzard, rising from her feet to the top of her head.
Only one spot still held warmth.
A small patch of warmth on her backside—where Nanashi's hand remained.
"This guy… is terrifying…"
Kayo's body trembled uncontrollably.
Just how deep must one's hatred for the Cursed Children run to go to such extremes?
Nanashi could feel Seitenshi completely stiffen in his arms.
She was starting to become difficult to hold, so he simply shifted her into his lap and wrapped an arm around her waist.
She didn't resist at all.
Kikunojou Tendo remained still, silently staring upward.
Nanashi tilted his head slightly, voice casual.
"Old man, let me tell you something. I really like those Cursed Children. Honestly, I wouldn't mind being the big brother to all of them."
"I believe most of the Cursed Children in this world are purer than ninety percent of the human race."
His eyes sharpened.
"So… do you get what I'm saying?"
"Are you going to kill me?" Kikunojou Tendo asked calmly.
"It's too late for that," he replied with a smirk. "The plan is already in motion. Scorpio is descending. The Tokyo Area is doomed."
Nanashi chuckled, brushing him off.
"Please. With me here, Scorpio's just a big ugly bug."
Then his voice turned playful.
"But as for you… do I plan to kill you? Not yet. You're wrong if you think that. The one who'll kill you is Kisara."
"Kisara…"
At that name, a flicker of emotion crossed Kikunojou's face.
He had arranged the death of Kisara's parents—sacrificed them for power and position.
And now he smiled faintly, like it was nothing.
"Fitting… A little revenge before I die."
He didn't believe Nanashi had any chance of defeating Scorpio.
That monster was a world-ending threat.
In his mind, Nanashi was probably some kind of ultra-advanced cyborg, developed in secret with terrifying capabilities.
But no cyborg—no matter how advanced—could kill a Stage V Zodiac-class Gastrea like Scorpio.
Gastrea Regeneration Classifications:
Regeneration Level 1: Can be killed with ordinary iron weapons. Most Gastrea and Initiators fall into this category.
Level 2: Resistant to regular weapons. Must be decapitated or burned to death.
Level 3 (1.8): Severed limbs can regenerate or reattach. Individual cells respond to each other.
Level 4: Can survive even after losing most internal organs. Requires total obliteration to kill.
Level 5: Can regenerate even after exposure to extreme environments—sub-zero temperatures, vacuum, even magma. This is regeneration at the molecular level. Current science has no physical means to kill it.
Gastrea Stage Classifications:
Stage I–IV: Each stage adds a genetic factor and drastically improves combat capability.
Stage V: Zodiac-Class. The pinnacle of Gastrea evolution.
Only eleven Stage V Gastrea have ever been discovered. They are named after the twelve signs of the Zodiac—excluding Cancer.
Each of them once brought humanity to the brink of extinction.
They are massive, covered in impenetrable armor, regenerate at the molecular level, and are unaffected by the magnetic field created by the Monoliths.
Missiles and torpedoes barely scratch them—and even then, the wounds heal in seconds.
No cyborg could defeat such a being.
Only one thing could.
Ladder of Heaven.