The President stood before a stunned Momo and began listing Michikatsu's sins in detail.
He explained how, under the banner of protecting society and national interests, the Hero Public Safety Commission had used him to ruthlessly eliminate countless Heroes, Villains, and even civilians deemed "dangerous elements." He spoke with twisted fervor, arms wide, explaining that because Michikatsu had killed so many people—comparable to the Black Death that wiped out over half of Europe—they had bestowed upon him the terrifying Hero Name: Kokushibo.
As he spoke, Momo's expression grew increasingly rigid. Seeing this, the President felt even more triumphant.
"Husband... Is what this man is saying... the truth?"
"..........It is."
After a long silence, Michikatsu confirmed it. Momo fell silent.
"What do you think now, Yaoyorozu? Are you disillusioned? He's filthy and repulsive, isn't he!"
"You're the repulsive one here! You were the one who issued the orders!" Nagant shouted with raw bitterness. To her, the one who held the authority, designated the targets, and demanded the executions was the real monster.
The President had been the one to command the killings; he held the ultimate power over life and death.
"And yet, it was your hands that did the killing, wasn't it? Did you have to follow through? Honestly, trying to shift the blame to me! How selfish and lowly can you get!"
"You... piece of trash..." Nagant ground out. The President's hypocrisy was nauseating. She wanted nothing more than to put a bullet through his head right then and there, but with Momo held hostage, she was powerless to act.
"Ha... ha... haha... I really was a fool..."
"Indeed. No one would blame you for being disappointed! After all, no matter what orders came from the top, a person who actually kills just because they were told—"
The President laughed as if he'd lost his mind, watching Momo laugh self-deprecatingly. He was convinced his plan had succeeded and continued to belittle Michikatsu, waiting for her to finally snap in despair.
"...To think my Husband's heart was in such pain, and I failed to notice it."
"Huh?" The President let out a dumbfounded sound, unable to understand what he had just heard. Momo ignored him and looked at Michikatsu through her tears.
"While you were carrying such a heavy burden all by yourself, Husband, I was just enjoying my life... I am so pathetic. Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because... someone like you, who is like the bright sun... didn't need to know. Even if it was for the sake of peace... the act of killing... I didn't want you to be stained by it."
"Husband... did you truly believe that knowing you had killed would make me turn away in disgust or hate you?"
"Is that... not only natural?"
"You've underestimated me. Do you remember? The kidnappers who took me... the ones you killed without mercy."
Michikatsu averted his eyes but gave a slight nod. "I remember... I have no excuse."
"I don't say this to reproach you for that day, or for anything else. I only feel a sense of sorrow that you didn't trust me enough to share your burden. If I were still the same 'greenhouse flower' I once was, perhaps I would have been horrified. But I... I have seen the ugliness of humanity. I saw those men who kidnapped me and wanted to violate me... who talked about selling me as a sex slave to foreign royalty like I was just a piece of merchandise. That gaze they had... I still remember it. Even now, it's a trauma for me. In that moment, I wished for them to die. I wanted them to vanish."
Momo had harbored a dark, murderous intent toward those who had tried to violate her. In another world—one where she hadn't experienced such horror—she might have remained a staunch advocate for the sanctity of life, even for criminals.
But the Momo of this world was different. She believed that if a criminal committed such unspeakable acts, they deserved an equally horrific end.
"Did you think I would be disappointed in you? No, not at all! My heart only aches because you had to carry that weight in silence, with nowhere to voice your grief!"
The President and Nagant—and even Michikatsu himself—were stunned by the infinite trust and faint hint of madness in Momo's eyes.
"You... you useless brat!"
Thuck!
Realizing his attempt to break her spirit had utterly failed, the President lashed out in a fit of rage. He drove his knife into Momo's neck.
"!!!!! MOMO!!!!!!!!!"
At that sight, something inside Michikatsu's mind snapped with an audible sound. The last shred of his reason evaporated. He could no longer think.
"Useless tools should be disposed of... You guys, finish off Nagant and Kokushibo—"
"Hoooooooo... Moon Breathing, Third Form: Loathsome Moon, Chains."
The President moved to toss Momo aside to his guards, intending to order the execution of the others. But before the words could fully leave his mouth, Michikatsu swung his blade in two massive, intersecting arcs. The President's neck was severed instantly, his head rolling across the dirt.
But Michikatsu didn't stop. Driven by a primal, berserk rage, he began to butcher the remains. He hacked and slashed without technique, without mercy, tearing the flesh apart like a wild beast rending its prey. Within seconds, the man was reduced to a thousand scattered pieces of meat on the forest floor.
"Stop it, Kokushibo! He's already dead!"
"Haah... haah... haah..."
Heaving with fury, Michikatsu turned a terrifying, blood-red gaze toward Nagant. She flinched under the intensity of that monstrous stare, but quickly pointed toward the ground.
"I'm calling the emergency services! Just... do something for her!"
Michikatsu ignored Nagant's frantic movements. He knelt beside Momo, tears finally falling as he looked at her. Even as her life faded and her vision blurred, she managed a faint, bittersweet smile.
"....Momo... do not forgive me."
He drove his nails into her neck and injected his own blood directly into her.
"What are you doing?!!!" Nagant cried out, pressing her rifle against his head. To her, it looked as though Michikatsu had lost his mind and was attacking his dying fiancée. But her horror turned to pure confusion as she watched.
The more blood he injected, the faster the bleeding stopped. The jagged wound on Momo's neck began to knit together, closing perfectly.
"What on earth...?"
Momo's eyes snapped open. Deep within her irises, the kanji for 'Upper Rank' (上弦) and 'Two' (弐) became etched in dark ink.
She had become a Demon.
"What you have witnessed here... keep it silent."
"I think you owe me an explanation first."
"Momo's safety... is the only priority."
Michikatsu lifted Momo into a bridal carry, preparing to leave.
"Wait, Kokushibo!" Nagant called out. "Are you... are you even human?"
There was a brief silence. Then, Michikatsu answered.
"I am... a Demon."