Five minutes ago, many had smiles outside the supreme court. Human Law advocates picketed for Hayato’s justice. Charter head Amy hugged and wished him good luck more than ever. All had raised fists to cheer.

Tokino smiled and bowed. “I suppose I’m polarizing to your cause instead?” She expressed deep regret for her recent slaughter. Estimates totaled 250+ brigade mages dead.

“You sure are, ma’am,” she held her shoulder. “But our cause still stands. Be better.”

Yukino hugged her brother next for more luck. Yet neither of her other siblings had smiles. She found it all displeasing as Kenkо̄ muttered, “The future’s uncertain. The future’s uncertain.” Kakunо̄ rubbed her back but to no avail. Smile fading, she turned to her uncle.

Hokori led the way inside, hands in his pockets. “Ain’t no pessimist, kiddo. Though she had a point.”

Guards opened the double doors to the courtroom. She had last entered, confused by her uncle’s words. Luckily, her parents lent a hand. Smiles returned for the three, yet fortune never came. It took twenty steps for all to see even more confusion.

The family had sat together again. Jurors now showed not an ounce of malice. Some even wondered if their son would win. The deity statue’s scale still lowered to the red fire of guilty. Hope could show up, many more wondered. But none had expected a quick answer—gasps echoed.

The clock ticked to 6:59. Grausames fixed his tie and turned to the defense from afar. “Please be professional this time, Mr. Udemaeno. I’d rather neck myself to wish victory for the other side. But again, as a father of two, Hayato must—” His eyes widened alongside everyone.

For a moment, Tokino thought her eldest brother had saved the day. Her sweat went down faster than her joy. Hokori tilted the statue’s thumb at its lowest for all to see. The red fire of its scale flared bright enough to snuff the blue. Innocence died in Yukino’s soul, crying for her little brother.

The judge already knew of such impossible feats. Yet to think it was for the opposite. Guilty? he looked above the statue, then Hokori. “I-I-I don’t understand. Even with yesterday’s performance, this—”

He raised an arm to end the commotion; the Minagawa couple stopped in their tracks, distressed. He walked toward his nephew. “Sorry, man. Ain’t gon’ give the dipshit ‘nother trial.” His spear had aimed at the chest in one timeframe. The couple’s eyes closed upon red splatter—floor stained.

Tokino heard every drip and gasped. “Hayato!” she shouted alongside her husband. Despite the confusion, they flash-stepped for his aid. Both had no time to wonder what their brother did. Sadly, a dome of minuscule runes blocked their path. They had even less time to use their swords. Then, the most beloved ruler walked down.

“Don’t try it,” said Harald, seeing them punch to no end. “We’ve shed enough blood for now. All it takes is just one tomorrow.”

Only Tokino understood his words. Foresight had shown her the most painful verdict. At that point, she cared not for her doubts. “You bastard!” she turned, eyes narrowed. The dome vanished, but guards restrained the two.

Hokori heard a thousand screams, as expected. Many stood up and clogged the exit in a rush. What annoyed him was neither their fear nor his family’s despair. He stomped the marble floor, fissuring twenty meters around. All had turned to him with more fear. Either way, he pointed at the pale body below.

Hayato shook violently. His skin returned to color faster than a blink. After his shirt, the missing chest cavity healed. Blood had floated back to the area, and he grinned. His feet were off the ground upon standing up. He slowly landed with the same face.

“My, my, child…” he smirked, walking to Hokori. “Didn’t you learn years ago? No one can create or destroy matter.” He stripped every tissue of his arm to the bone. It reverted even faster. Now closer, he clapped. “It’s not always perfect. My Newton Sacrilege has a fixed time limit—” His eyes widened.

Hokori moved his fist deep until the whole forearm. So does you, dipshit, he glared, soaked in his red crusade. Unexpectedly, he caught his nephew’s fall.

Far away, Kakunо̄ and Kenkо̄ held their sister from running. She yelled in place over and over. Her nearby parents grunted as guards failed to pin both. Every struggle had cracked the floor even more. At that moment, her doubts changed for the worst. Virtue was nowhere and impossible.

On the other hand, doubts from the jury had bolstered. In fact, it was correct all along. The most painful verdict had brought about the ever-most evil monster. “Open the Original Guillotine!” one shouted. “The boy must die!”, “Saint mage or not, no God shall forgive him!”

Hokori cared not for their yells or his doubts. His eyes never lied, nestling not a broken bird—but gladful. “Sorry, man,” he hugged Hayato, eyes closed. “I sided with the truth.”

His heart got mended in both ways, letting go. He sniffled and dried his eyes. “I know. But I don’t hate you. Never.” Guards cuffed him from behind and walked among the crowd. His parents’ screams went silent, eyes closed on the floor. He last heard Yukino’s faraway cries for him.

The dusk shone darker than those two days before. At home, Yukino stayed in her bedroom to bawl. Her siblings could do nothing against the sorrow. Kenkо̄ excused herself to quell the anxiety. She hated how right it was, yet it stayed.

Shouts from two had no end in the living room. Still, Haruto tried reaching out to his wife. She believed slaps were never enough, flinging Hokori around. Half the couches broke into splinters and cotton. The wooden boards were even smaller fragments.

Hokori slowly stood up from a demolished kitchen counter. He walked, feeling nothing of the shards beneath. His sister had more tears and threw another jab at his gut. The shockwave made every plate fall, yet still nothing. Even when he got up again, no retaliation occurred.

Tokino despised such an unmoved face. Panting with clenched teeth, she finally decided to aim at his cheek. “Fuck you…” she breathed louder. “Fuck you to hell and back!” She threw the knife used for their blood vow. The word sibling turned meaningless.

He sighed and looked down. “I told ya, kid. Ya forgot to say broth—”

“Why should I!” she spat on his eye and grabbed his shirt with both. Her teeth had clenched more. “You’re now nothing to me… forever till the end. Give me a reason, Hokori Udemaeno. Try it!” She raised a fist as a final warning. Calling for her daughter upstairs, she packed their luggage. Haruto stood by the door.

She kneeled and rubbed Yukino’s back. “No, no, honey. You can still keep in touch. We won’t stop you.” Alas, the waterworks flowed more.

It took Haruto eight minutes to convince her otherwise; the sun turned golden. She requested one last hug from her siblings. Hokori got none, but she urged no hatred within. “Thanks for everything, Uncle. I’d love to know more about you.” She held her parents’ hands.

Kakunо̄ rubbed Kenkо̄’s back as well. However, he knew a different cause. He hoped his eldest brother would persist tomorrow like nothing. Vetus representatives were a dime a dozen lately. Sadly, the latter walked with heavy steps.

He unexpectedly chuckled. Tokino stopped in her tracks, veins popping. “That’s funny, kiddo…” he walked closer. “You know your parents well, no contest. But then, you don’t. Why?” He held his chest with both. “Cuz I’m here! Eyes never lie.”

She grunted and stopped her daughter from asking questions. Her hand was ready for another shirt grab. “Don’t you fucking—” She felt a sharp sting in the cheek. Red from her scratch rolled down the fingers. Rage flared more, but she felt his overwhelming pressure.

He lowered his hand and glared. “Give me a reason, kid. Why should I not side with the truth again? Huh!?”

She grunted once more and pushed him. “What do you fucking mean!” She stopped herself from doing another slap. Exhaustion followed after so much yelling. She clutched his chest, head lowered. “You were the one who taught me to enjoy a battle. You were the one who called me sister.

The waterworks turned on upon memories. “You were the one who made me recall our ties.” Her eyes narrowed, looking up. “You were the one who saved my Hayato! Another in the family that you gave up on!” She muttered how it was all his fault seven times.

The sun turned yellow that afternoon. She let go and stood dignified. “Reap what you sow, brother. Be grateful you still are.” She held her daughter’s hand again.

Hokori still had an unmoved look. Or at least his other siblings thought. Out of nowhere, he cackled softly. Haruto found it eerily similar and sweated bullets. It had gone louder by the second. His family stopped to see him once more.

He inhaled deep, looking above the ceiling. “Hahahahahahaha!” More seconds in, he turned to the three. They saw a few tears down his cheeks. “Perfect, kid. Now I know you’d choose to stack bodies in the future.

“But hey, who doesn’t love year-round community service!?” His arms raised in a T toward his siblings, smiling. Tokino walked closer, but he shoved her hand away. “Don’t fucking touch me, kid. Ain’t a fan of apologists.

“Your daughter had every right to know. She was a ‘Big Sis,’ after all. Three years ago, we fought an ugly monster. You know what happens. Period!”

Memories appeared within Tokino again but of horror. Her daughter now had even more questions. She panted faster and dried her eyes. “Listen to yourself! The ‘truth’ only served to appease—”

“What? Appease a billion lives? I’d do it tenfold.” He stopped her from talking with a stomp. Another shockwave made books fall. “Open your eyes, kid! They never lie, and they ain’t my rules.” He had pointed over and over.

The sun faded from the clouds, now a dim blue sky. She now felt like a child with the scolding of a lifetime. No end in tears, and she despised finding no blame. She finally felt Yukino tugging her sleeve—and hugged with louder sorrow.

Haruto dried his eye with a thumb. “Let’s all have a seat,” he stood at the center. Helping Kakunō dust the debris, he felt he outgrew pain long ago. Still, his eyes had frowned for his wife.

The sky dimmed more after an hour of storytime. Yukino had shed nothing, terrified; doomsday would do the word no justice. Even so, she did not feel her uncle did the right thing.

“Mama…” she sat closer. “Is the truth really this bad?” She revealed having no denial.

Tokino sniffled, now with the twentieth napkin. “Yes, honey. Very much so. Ted Manson made six clones in his life. Hayato included.

She performed dogeza before Hokori. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, brother. I’d say it a trillion times.” The floor soaked wet. “Looking back, I didn’t spit on you. But on your parents and Leuchten.” She sobbed softly.

He looked beyond the living room window. Being a Y-crested grebe never seemed so free. “I mean that in spades, kid. No more problems and all.” He sighed longingly. “Tell me, why hide the truth… when there’s no reason?”

She stood but without dignity, eyes lowered. Seconds in, she chuckled faintly. “That’s funny because….” Memories of biting blizzard resurfaced. Yet it was not her past, so it was worse. Then, she recalled every life she took for her son. At that point, she dried no sorrow. “No… Nothing’s funny.

“I thought… that if I saved my Yukino, I’d have no problem doing it again.”

His lips lowered with whatever calm in his heart left. It chose a world in favor of all despite disgust. Now, he had one that overshadowed any other. He shook his head and tsked. “Childish naiveties.”

She gasped with more rolling down her cheeks. “I know it is!” she walked, eyes dried again. “But I want to turn the other way. I have to! Otherwise, I’ll regret everything!

“I’ll regret doing that accursed mission! I’ll regret stepping into that abandoned wasteland. I’ll regret ever seeing my Hayato’s face!” Her head lowered. “I’ll regret… I’ll regret—”

“Shut up!” exclaimed Hokori in his native tongue. Dusk had faded, yet the lights were off. The rest backed away as he walked past them. “What’re ya gon’ say next? That you’ll regret living in this city, meeting us?

He held her shoulder. “Sure, go ahead. Can’t control people, as I said. It’s why I’d let ya leave. But with all this drama, Hayato’s still gettin’ the ax.” He turned on the dimmer switch. “Thanks anyway, Tokino. If we didn’t fight, my heart would’ve sunk.”

Hokori cast blood runes around the house—all clean. He sat and read the third Captain Underpants book. Still, it was harder to enjoy it alone. Yukino gladly joined in. However, her siblings remained saddened.

It did not help that Tokino bawled on her husband’s chest to no end. “It’s okay,” he massaged her shoulders. “My pain had nothing to do with you.” Sadly, she loudly insisted on being weak all those years. The monster would not have escaped.

Yukino’s lips frowned. “Sorry, Uncle. Thanks for the read.” She called her siblings upstairs.

Hokori licked his finger the tenth time, yawning. He never knew boredom and tragedy went hand-in-hand. “Hey, boy,” he turned to his brother, who listened intently. “We’ll never save anyone again… forever till the end.”

He had not expected to hear that phrase two times. Tears welling up, he nodded and opened The Every Hub. Their mission catalog changed that day.

Two days ago, Hokori’s family believed in hope. He had told them about going out for some fresh air. Perhaps a better excuse before the case was nowhere. Either way, he sat atop the middle fingertip of the hand statue.

Upon his holoscreen, he texted to the default messenger for minutes. His nephew sounded more joyful than usual. He asked why, then his own regret settled. Hayato agreed to the ultimatum in forty-six words:

“sorry for ur loss, uncle. i have Ted’s memories. Leuchten was so sweet!

“i know the ones before me. they change, point of no return

“so if i stay, i’ll be the next most evil monster anyway

“but thnx so much! pls tell them all too”

He closed the screen and covered his face, unable to see the sky. Teeth clenched, a waterfall flowed for an hour. Every gasp, a long bawl followed. He wished the day was never bright. Then, another bawl, louder.