Supplice 

That day, the girl woke up. All around her stretched an endless pitch-black void. It was the abysmal darkness of a chasm where not even a single ray of light could reach.
All she could hear was her own involuntary sigh and the increasingly rapid sound of her heartbeat.
The girl was drifting alone in the void.

"Where… is this?"
At that moment, the girl suddenly realized something.
"Huh? …My… name…? What was my name again!?"
It wasn’t just her name she couldn’t remember.
"Where… have I been until now? What have I been doing? What kind of life did I lead? …Who am I!?"
The girl had lost all memory of herself.

The only thing she was certain of was…
"This… is mine… right?"
The dull iron sword she held in her hand. A massive purple sword that looked terribly out of place in her delicate hands. It emitted an ominous, eerie glow, and it fit her hand perfectly… that was all.

"I have to remember… who I really am."
The girl desperately tried to trace her memories. But her head felt heavy, as if filled with sand, and her memories slipped through her fingers.
"…Why can't I remember anything?"

"…Calm down… Let's try to remember slowly."
The girl took a deep breath, as if to clear the fog from her mind. Then, a vivid image, unlike the noisy fragments she’d been seeing, came to mind.
It was the smile of a gentle-looking woman.
"…Mom? That’s it! That’s my mom!"
As she spoke those words, the girl recalled one memory after another of the time she spent with her mother.
The joy of her mother making her favorite dishes, the softness of her mother’s hand as they walked hand in hand, the earrings she was given for her birthday… and the blue sea where they always went for walks together.

In the empty void, the girl sobbed alone.
"Mom… where are you? Where did you go? Why am I all alone in a place like this…?"
Without even trying to wipe away her tears, the girl hugged her knees and trembled as another vivid image flashed through her mind.

"What is this…? My head… it hurts!"
An emotion as dark and murky as mud welled up from the depths of her heart, igniting a fire at the core of her being and spreading like a blaze that threatened to consume everything in an instant… It was a "desire for destruction" that a young girl should never possess.

"Haa… haa… W-what is this feeling? My body is going crazy…!"

Tormented by the surging longing for destruction, the girl writhed in agony, all alone.
She closed her eyes tightly, trying to suppress the impulse, but then another image surfaced.

Memories of destruction… Monstrous soldiers burning nature, towns, and people with weapons she had never seen before.
The adults put up a fight, and the girls and mothers fled in panic, but everyone was helpless, simply being trampled underfoot. The area was engulfed in infernal flames, even the night sky dyed a fiery red.

But then, a single beam of light descended from the sky. A messenger from heaven, with pure white wings and a great sword that shone brighter than any star in the night sky…

"Is that… an angel…? …Ugh!"
The girl, who had tried to recall her memories of the angel, was struck by a violent headache. It was as if someone were warning her not to remember what came after this…

"…But I realized one thing. If I meet that angel, maybe she’ll tell me who I am!"

It was the only hope she had found in the darkness. Seeking the angel she had seen that day, the girl resolved to set out on a journey alone.

The girl suddenly found herself in a park filled with greenery.

"…It’s such a nice day. …I feel like I used to take walks with Mom in a place like this on days like this."
As she let her thoughts drift to that hazy memory, a faint smile appeared on the girl’s face.

"…I wonder how I’m going to find that angel now? …Hm? This scent…"
As if drawn by the scent, the girl began to walk, and before long, a sea shimmering blue like jewels appeared before her eyes.
"This is… the sea… t-the sea…"

…At that moment, the girl’s memories plunged once more into pitch-black darkness. When she awoke again, she found herself wandering alone in the darkness once more.

"Huh!? W-where did everyone go!?"
No one answered the girl’s question.
But upon seeing the dull iron sword in her hand emitting an ominous purple glow, the girl realized.
"Could it be… that I… erased everything…? N-no way! That can’t be true, right!?"
Though she said it couldn't be true, the girl was certain.
That she had destroyed everything.
That this was who she was.

"…Someone! Please tell me it’s not true!"
…But, as before, no one answered the trembling girl’s plea.

The girl realized. The memories that should have been inside her were rapidly disappearing.

"No… Why? Mom… I’m scared…"
Unable to trust a single thing, the girl had no choice but to run away.

That day, too, the girl was walking through the back alleys of a town, as if afraid of being found by something. Then, she caught sight of a puppy being bullied by a group of young men up ahead. The girl tried to intervene, but at that moment, she felt an intense sense of unease in her chest and instinctively crouched down.

"Guh…! T-this feeling is…!"
It was the intensely sweet temptation toward destruction that sometimes visited her.

"Ugh, uuuugh…"
As the girl sat down, trying desperately to suppress it, a young boy ran past her.
"Stop it! Let that pup go!"

To save the puppy, the boy charged headlong at the young men, who were far larger than he was, without the slightest hesitation. The men redirected their violence toward the boy and began attacking him in a mob.

"That boy… how can he fight like that against people stronger than him?"
As she watched him, the girl realized that the dark impulse within her had subsided without her even noticing.

Having quelled the dark flame within her, the girl glanced at the young men and pointed the blunt iron sword she held straight at them.

"…Guys, let the boy and the puppy go. …Or else…"
The young men, who were used to subduing others through violence, instinctively realized that the frail girl standing before them was a beast capable of devouring them instantly if she so desired.

"E-eek!?"
The young men scattered like a swarm of spiders, leaving only the girl, the boy, and the puppy in the alley.

"…Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
"N-no… Thanks for saving me! You’re so cute, but you’re really strong. That surprised me… Hey, if you’d like it, will you be my friend?"
"Huh…? Friend…?"
"Yeah!"

Seeing the boy’s innocent, beaming smile, the girl nodded without thinking.
"So… what’s your name?"
"W-well… I forgot it. I’ll definitely remember it by the time we meet again! Will you wait for me until then?"
"You forgot your own name!? …You’re so funny! Hahaha!"
"Hehehe…"
For the first time since waking up, the girl was able to smile from the bottom of her heart.

The time she spent with the boy and the puppy had brought about a major change in the girl’s heart.
She could feel that within her heart, it wasn’t just a dark flame burning. A warm light of hope had also been kindled.

"If I stay with that boy, maybe I’ll be able to remember Mom and the happy memories from the past. …That’s it, tomorrow I’ll go play by the sea…"

…At that moment, the girl’s memory cut off, and her body, losing its balance, collapsed onto the side of the road.

"Hehehe… The sea, that sounds nice. The sea is beautiful, after all. I love it so much…"
As the girl slowly got to her feet, the expression on her face was that of an alluring, mature woman’s smirk.

"But… I want to see a view even more beautiful than the sea… Yes, the sight of everything being destroyed and shattered is just the best, isn’t it…"
The woman’s eyes, as she traced her lips with her bright red tongue, were as dark as a bottomless swamp.
Just as she raised the dull iron sword in her hand… she saw a streak of light descending from the sky.

"Oh my? Is it them again? They always interrupt me at the best part… How rude, isn’t it?"
With that sigh, the woman lowered her sword and walked away.

One day, the girl was being chased.
"…Why do I have to be attacked!?"

The girl was wounded, dragging her heavy body as she fled. Her face was a mess of blood, sweat, and tears.
She almost dropped to her knees, but her enemies showed no sign of letting up on their pursuit.

"…Why am I being targeted by the Angels!?"
Yes, the ones chasing her were warriors who bore a striking resemblance to the Angel she had been searching for.
They had launched a one-sided attack against her.

"…This is terrible. I didn’t do anything…"
At that moment, the girl faltered. Had she really done nothing at all?
The sweet impulse to destroy that occasionally took over her entire body. Her fading consciousness… and the dull iron sword she couldn’t let go of, as if it were a part of her own body.

The girl understood. The Angels were right, and her very existence was wrong.
Yet she didn’t want to admit it. She felt that if she did, everything would be over.

"Uuuuugh… Help me, Mo… Huh?… Who was I trying to ask for help?"

From the memories of a girl who had spent her days in battle, the memory of her beloved mother had already vanished…

The girl’s memories were slipping away like sand through her fingers. Her loved ones, her cherished memories… even those detested memories of destruction, she could feel them all fading away.

"I don’t want this… Help me… But where should I go? Who will save me?"

All that remained for the girl were fragments of memories of an angel, the sea… and her first friend.

"That’s it… I’ll go to him. He’ll definitely help me, won’t he?"

The girl leaped out of the darkness, heading toward a faint glimmer of light.

"…Please! Call me your friend again! Make me believe that I’m still okay!"
Only the desire to see her friend drove the wounded girl forward.

"…Found her! Target acquired!"

But her wish was in vain; the enemy angels had tracked her all the way to this place.

"Why me… Do you all want to be killed by me so badly?!"
At that moment, for the first time, she surrendered her heart to her destructive persona of her own volition.

The power of the girl, now a messenger of destruction, was overwhelming; she easily repelled the group of angels.

"It’s still a little too early for you to get in my way… Go ahead and shatter into pieces…"

The girl hugged the dull iron sword in her hands and kissed it tenderly.
At that moment, she sensed someone approaching from behind.

"You silly fool who didn’t run away in time… what a pity!"
The girl let out a cry of joy and, without a moment’s hesitation, swung her sword as she turned around. But…

(No! …Please, stop it!!)
The one who fell victim to the girl’s dull iron sword was not an angel, but the boy who had once called her a friend.

"W-why…"
The boy muttered those single words to the girl, then vanished into a shower of light.

"I-it can’t be… This isn’t real, is it? W-why…!? Someone! Tell me it’s a lie! NOOOOOO!!"

The girl screamed until her voice gave out, and after shedding tears… she lost the light in her heart forever.

Her dull iron sword, which buried everything with a single strike without the slightest hesitation, looked just like a guillotine beheading a criminal, which is why she was given this codename.

"Supplice…"

"Hmm. Supplice… I see. It’s a lovely name. Hehe. I like it."

"…Come to think of it, I feel like I was planning to tell someone once I got a name… but I’ve forgotten. Oh well, never mind."

"The me of the past was terrified of my power and horribly tormented… But it’s all right now. The me of the past has finally been saved."

"…All I remember now are memories of the sea and the angel… but I suppose I’ll forget even these soon, won’t I?"

Yet there was no trace of despair on the girl’s face. Rather, her radiant expression danced gracefully through the darkness.

"…Well then, where shall I bring the end next?"