Allen awoke in a hospital bed—and the instant he tried to move, a searing agony tore through his legs, forcing a choked breath out of him.
Barely shifting, he opened his right hand. A blue crystal stone materialized in his palm, glowing with a soft, aqueous light. He closed his fingers around it, and clear water began to flow from the gem. He drank a sip.
"This is going to hurt."
Seconds later, his stomach tightened—and the white sheets covering his legs rapidly stained red. Allen removed the sheets, then immediately buried his face in the pillow.
The doctors had placed both legs in casts, but now the plaster split open, cracking apart as fragments of bone pushed through, accompanied by thin streams of blood.
Minutes crawled by. The pain slowly receded.
"Expelling the damaged bones was the hard part," Allen muttered, exhaling in relief. "Now they simply need to regrow."
He straightened himself, feeling a faint tingling in his legs. He stared at the blue stone with a somber expression.
"You're awake already?"
Allen tightened his grip around the sapphire and glanced toward the window. A man stood there—bearing a resemblance to Shinobi, though he wore an all-red outfit. In his left hand he held several papers.
"It's rather rude to enter through a window, sir," Allen said dryly.
The man chuckled, pulled a chair beside the bed, and sat down.
"Guilty as charged. But if I used the door, police and an entire hero squad would storm in. I would prefer not to set off alarms. I only came here to talk."
"And what is it you want from me? I'd offer you something, but a hospital isn't exactly ideal for hospitality."
"Let's begin with introductions. I am—"
"Crimson Shadow," Allen interrupted. "Villain, Rank A. Archnemesis of Shinobi. Roughly fifty clashes against him. Escaped Federation traps ten times… or so the media claims."
Crimson Shadow nodded, unfolding the documents in his hand and skimming through them.
"Correct. And you, my friend, have caused quite the stir with the Lost-Control case. No one would believe you're F-Rank."
Allen smiled faintly, rolling the blue stone between his fingers. Crimson Shadow did not miss the motion.
"Be honest with me," the villain said. "If you are, I will be honest in return."
"That depends on the question, Mr. Villain."
Crimson Shadow slid a photograph from the pile and handed it to him.
Allen's expression hardened instantly.
"I want to ask about the Gigax Leo incident. The man in the yellow suit—that's you. But there's something I cannot understand. You were the only one who witnessed the monster's appearance. You defeated it. And no spatial rift was detected. What was it? A Lost-Control case?"
Allen sighed. The moonlight illuminated the blue stone in his hand.
"Let me ask you something. Do you believe in fairies—the ones in children's tales? Do you think there is a princess locked away, waiting to be saved from a wicked witch or a mighty dragon?"
Crimson Shadow shook his head.
"Stories. Reality is far harsher."
"Incorrect. Every tale is rooted in something real—something that once happened. But tell me this, Crimson Shadow: do you believe knights exist?"
Another shake of the head, but Allen continued.
"To this day, I try to forget what happened with Gigax Leo. Why? The answer is already in the questions I've asked—you simply did not listen closely enough."
Allen tossed the blue stone upward. Four more gems materialized around it: the Emotion Prism, the Ruby of Passion, a green crystal, and a yellow one.
"These are my powers. The red crystal is the Ruby of Passion. The blue is the Sapphire of Honesty. The green, the Emerald of Truth. The transparent one is the Emotion Prism. And the one I used against Gigax Leo—the yellow crystal—is the Topaz of Will."
Aside from the prism, the stones were unmistakably precious gems of exceptional purity. Crimson Shadow's focus sharpened.
"The prism is a conduit," Allen explained. "The others are power-projectors. In simple terms, the prism is the vessel that contains the strength of the four."
"And where are you going with this, Allen?"
Allen's gaze softened as the stones cast colored lights across the room.
"They are the crystallization of a knight's conduct: the passion one must possess, the truth one must protect, the honesty with which one must speak, and the will with which one must act."
Crimson Shadow finally understood the intent behind Allen's earlier riddles.
"Then you're the knight. Who, then, are the princess, the witch, and the dragon?"
"The witch—no, the warlock—is Calibur. As for the princess, there never truly was one. Only someone who lost control. And the dragon… that one has become untouchable."
Crimson Shadow's hands trembled. If Allen's implication was accurate, those words alone were enough to imprison Calibur for life.
"What are you trying to say?"
"Gigax Leo—that was the name they gave her. But to me, she was always Seira."
Allen lifted a hand toward the floating stones.
"A knight must never make a woman cry. And that day… when she became Gigax Leo, her roars were nothing but endless weeping. A plea—begging me to do what had to be done."
Crimson Shadow remained silent, absorbing every word.
"What ability did Seira possess, to reach Category 5 levels of power?"
Allen exhaled softly.
"Her ability was unique. She could make people smile when they were hurting. She could make you forget your burdens with a single expression. And above all… she had a pure, untainted heart."
Crimson Shadow stood, glancing between Allen and the papers he held.
"A strange ability… almost like she was an ordinary human."
"Humanity remains ordinary—even when gifted with a power," Allen said quietly. "Allow me one request, Crimson Shadow: do not trust the Federation."
Without answering, Crimson Shadow walked to the window and leapt through it, vanishing into the night.
Allen looked at the stones floating above him, thousands of thoughts weaving through his mind.
"Gigax Leo… They still fixate on the incident without searching deeper. Shinobi and Crimson Shadow found nothing… not even traces of the truth."
He caught the stones in his hand. They glowed softly, like distant stars.