Though part of Mephisto's "herd" had been dealt with, Revy's situation was far from resolved.
W still eyed him like a predator. The frost-wreathed Kjerag girl nearby was clearly not someone to underestimate. But the greatest threat of all was—
Talulah.
The leader of Reunion. A monster in the truest sense. Not even someone like Revy could overpower her.
"One last time—kneel to me, or become a corpse!"
This was the third time Talulah had tried to recruit him.
Perhaps W's words had swayed her thinking. For the first time, she saw Regulus Harvey, the Sarkaz man before her, as something more than just a Catastrophe Messenger—maybe something... greater.
W frowned slightly at Talulah's repeated offer, her lips twitching, but she said nothing.
"Tch. Did shooting at your feet not make my point clear enough?"
Revy smirked mockingly.
"...Maybe next time I should aim for your chest instead. That might get my message across."
"Then die!"
Talulah was completely enraged.
Her blade erupted in a wave of scorching heat, engulfing Revy's position in a wall of fire. The Kjerag girl behind her and W attacked simultaneously—ice shards and grenades surged forward alongside the wave of flame.
Revy leapt back instantly.
His twin pistols were already half-empty, and though he carried extra magazines, there was no time to reload. In this moment, every second he could buy mattered—so he made the choice to rely entirely on his movement to dodge Talulah's attacks.
"Think it'll be that easy?"
W's voice came just as a claymore mine activated behind Revy. She had planted it without him noticing—her Originium Arts specialized in weapon manipulation, and long-range mine placements were her specialty.
"You've underestimated me, W."
In a motion that defied physics, Revy suddenly broke his backward momentum and veered sideways at an impossible angle—avoiding the blast by just under three meters.
An instant later, the mine exploded inexplicably on its own.
"I don't just manipulate cells, you know."
"Tch!"
The Sarkaz girl growled and fired again, forcing Revy—who had planned to dodge right—to dive left.
"So what if you disarmed the mine? You still can't escape!"
"That's not certain. Who knows? Maybe I'll cheat death one more time."
But as Revy dodged, he found himself directly in the path of Talulah's flaming blade.
He reacted fast—firing both guns to push the blade off-course and propelling himself backward. He escaped the worst of the blast, but both his arms were now charred black, burned nearly to the bone.
"Still playing tough, huh? FrostNova!"
Called by name, the Kjerag girl launched an ice spike.
Revy twisted in midair, narrowly dodging it—only to be met with W's grenade at his heels.
Forced to leap forward, he charged straight into Talulah's waiting blade.
This time, he couldn't dodge.
(Damn it…)
The blade sliced forward.
No blood sprayed—his muscles had been burned through before the blade even cut. The scorched wound didn't bleed.
"Kh… cough… not bad…"
Severely injured, Revy staggered and barely stayed upright, eyeing the approaching Reunion members.
"You've done well, Revy," Talulah said, her voice almost praising. "To survive this long under our assault… that's impressive."
"A pity. Had you joined Reunion, you would've had a brilliant future."
"Hah… cough… cough…"
Revy tried to laugh but was wracked with a coughing fit. He didn't look at Talulah—instead, his eyes found W.
"...What's the matter? Isn't this your best chance? Aren't you going to kill me?"
W's smile faded. But she didn't raise her gun.
"Why are you protecting her?" she asked coldly.
Revy froze.
The question came so suddenly, it caught him completely off guard.
(Why… why am I trying to protect the Doctor? I shouldn't—)
"I… I don't know."
He hesitated, voice unsure. "I came here because it was part of the job."
But W wasn't satisfied.
"So not only do you refuse to kill the real murderer—you want to save her?"
Her voice trembled with resentment.
"You've lost it, Regulus Harvey."
Murderer?
Revy's expression changed.
Something in W's words shook him to his core.
Don't tell me…
He didn't respond immediately. His mind began to stir—a past long buried began surfacing. But the gaps in his memory made it hard to speak.
"No answer? Because you have nothing to say?"
W's voice dripped with disdain.
"Don't pretend you're some tragic martyr. Rhodes Island may not know the truth—but I do."
"I know what happened… because I saw it with my own eyes."
Her tone dropped to a whisper, as if peeling back years of agony:
"The Sarkaz assassin that night four years ago didn't succeed."
"The one who killed the Prince… was the one you all now call savior—the 'Doctor.'"
"And I saw it. I saw you."
"You were there. Beside the Prince."
"But you—"
"—Did!"
"Absolutely!"
"—Nothing!"
BOOM!
A thunderclap rang inside Revy's mind.
That night, four years ago—the one he'd locked away—was suddenly illuminated in horrifying clarity.
(So I didn't arrive too late…)(I… watched him die.)(The murderer… wasn't beside me—)(I was the real murderer… for doing nothing.)
"Hahahahahahahaha!"
Revy suddenly burst into laughter—loud, deranged, full of despair.
From behind him and over his body, a dark shadow began to rise.
Wings. Claws. A tail—taking shape along his spine.
A figure of nightmare. A demon stepping out from hell.
"Wenn das Licht in der engen Seite geboren wird, dunkelheit erwacht in den Augen…"("When light is born in a narrow place, darkness awakens in the eyes.")
Spoken in ancient Sarkaz tongue.
A dark crown appeared above his head.
His eyes opened—and were no longer his own.
Pupils black as ink, streaked with crimson.
He stared straight at W.
"That's right. I… am the original sin!"
"So—kill me."
"Or be killed by me!"