Chapter Twenty Eight

If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.” - Genesis 4:7

* * * *

Whilst Yuri was facing her past, Selina was facing hers too.

Sunny and Selina got separated when they were attacked by some of the minions of Raven’s Gate, and Selina had somehow ended up somewhere on the beach, in the northern part of the island.

And it was there where she currently faced Samuel Ng.

Selina clenched her hands into fists by her sides, not taking her eyes off of the guy.

“Sam…” she muttered.

Sam had a nonchalant look on his face as he met Selina’s eyes. “Hey Selina,” he said with a tone like he was talking about the weather. “I told you that we would see each other again.”

“Why are you here?” Selina demanded. “You should have been dead two years ago!”

Sam smirked, tilting his head slightly to one side. “You’ve underestimated Raven’s Gate,” he said. “Getting me out of that poorly guarded prison of Singapore’s on the day of my execution was a piece of cake for them.”

Selina narrowed her eyes, her mind running a hundred miles per minute.

If Sam had managed to cheat death, then what about that girl?

“So be it.” Selina stated, flexing the fingers on her right hand, readying Vigrid as she does so. “I’ll kill you myself right here.” Selina narrowed her eyes. “En garde!”

Sam smirked. “Fine by me,” he said, drawing out a pair of silver daggers with dragon carvings on the hilt, from the holsters by his sides, twirling them in between his fingers. “Let’s end this! Right here and right now!”

Selina closed her eyes for a brief moment before opening them again. “Do you really hate me that much, Sam?” she asked, and it is that look of hate in the eyes of the guy standing right across from her that answered her question. “Why do you hate me that much?”

Sam’s eyes flashed with anger. “You should know the reason why!” he snarled.

Selina didn’t take her eyes off of Sam as she readied Vigrid, a sad smile twitching at the edges of her lips. ‘Sorry Yuri,’ she thought. ‘It might seem that I’m not going to be able to fulfill my promise to you now. Sam is my mistake. And I’m going to correct it right here! Even if I have to die to do so, I will right this mistake! Take Raven’s Gate down!’

Selina then moved towards Sam, not taking her eyes off of him. Out of the corner of her eye, Selina noted that the dagger in Sam’s right hand was heading almost in slow motion towards her chest as she directed the claw-like structure of Vigrid towards Sam’s chest.

Selina knew that she might die here today, especially since she had some understanding of Sam’s skills from the previous two occasions when she had faced him.

But she didn’t feel afraid at all.

Quite the contrary, in fact.

She’s tired. Tired of it all. Selina is tired of this life.

If Sam ends this cursed life, then Selina is ready to accept it. But she isn’t about to go alone.

She understands Hati’s duty in this world, and the reason behind their existence.

But that doesn’t mean that she has to like what she must do.

Selina took great pleasure in seeing Sam’s shocked face when she didn’t dodge his dagger, and it slipped into her chest like butter, almost like there was already a groove in there. Selina ignored the pain that immediately seared through her body.

She had been through worse pain than this after all.

With a shaking left hand, she grabbed onto Sam’s wrist so that he couldn’t move, and clenched her right hand into a fist, before thrusting the claw-like structure of Vigrid into Sam’s chest, aiming straight for the heart.

There was a moment of silence after that.

Sam grinned weakly, blood trailing from the ends of his lips as his white shirt was stained red with his blood, releasing his grasp on the dagger in Selina’s chest.

“It is over,” he choked, coughing up some blood, stumbling backwards several steps, clutching at his chest as he did so. “This is the end. So be it.”

Sam then collapsed onto the ground, his blood pooling around his body.

Selina looked at the blood staining Vigrid before she let herself go with the pain, and let herself fall to the ground. She was finding it difficult to even breathe at this point as she looked at Vigrid, her weapon that had been with her ever since she had chosen to walk this path.

Just what had she done up till now in her life?

Just how many people have died at her hands?

She doesn’t want to live at all if she has to continue taking the lives of others in order to do so.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

And if Sam had ever said one right thing in his life, it is what he had said earlier.

This is the end.

This is indeed the end.

And this is the sight that Yuri Yagami came across as she made her way towards the mansion.

The smell of blood immediately filled her nostrils as the wind blew towards her, and Yuri’s eyes widened with both shock and horror when she saw Selina lying in a pool of her own blood on the beach of Terror Island.

“Selina!” Yuri called out as she reached Selina’s body, kneeling by her side. Her hands trembled slightly as she had absolutely no idea what to do. She daren’t move Selina’s body as she might aggravate her injuries, which were serious enough. “Good Lord…”

Her tears fell onto her hand just then, surprising Yuri.

Why is this happening?

Yuri tried to stop a straggled sob from escaping, but failed.

She didn’t know what to do to save Selina.

She couldn’t save her.

Yuri looked at Selina, at the knife wound in her chest where blood was pooling from it like a fountain, staining her snow-white coat red as Selina coughed, her life slowly seeping away from her.

No.

Yuri shook Selina slowly, laying one hand on a cool forehead that would soon have no warmth left, and her voice almost cracked as she spoke.

“Selina. Wake up.” Tears fell onto Selina’s face as Yuri bent over her, trying her hardest to stop her tears from flowing, but failed. A sob tore from her throat. “Please…”

It isn’t fair.

This can’t be happening.

Not Selina.

Not her.

Selina’s eyes fluttered opened weakly, revealing slightly glazed over and unfocused pupils, seemingly seeing nothing for several moments.

“Yuri?” she rasped weakly, crimson blood spilling over her lips with each spoken word. “Is that you?”

“Yeah.” Yuri said, trying to keep her voice from shaking. She has to keep it steady. She just has to. She has to keep Selina calm and alive. She squeezed Selina’s left hand that was slowly growing colder by the minute. “I’m…I’m here.” Yuri choked back a sob in her throat. “Everything is going to be okay.” Her lips trembled with emotion. “Everything…everything is going to be just fine.”

Selina managed a weak smile, her voice softer than what Yuri had remembered. “Is Sam…dead? Is it over?”

Yuri glanced over at the other body on the beach before turning towards Selina, choking back a sob as she smoothed Selina’s hair back, brushing the fringe out of her eyes. “Yeah. He’s dead. You…did great. It’s all over.” Yuri’s lips twitched into a small and weary smile. “It’s over, Selina.”

“Good.” Selina said weakly. Every single word that she spoke seemed to have the spontaneous effect of harming her more. Her coat was turning red fast, and Yuri could no longer tell that Selina’s coat was once snow-white in colour. “I…finally understand. I finally understand the reason behind Hati’s existence. We’re…a necessary evil.” Selina coughed harshly, her blood spilling out from the corners of her lips. “It’s been a great time so far. I managed to see my best friend for the last time…even though he became an enemy. And I managed to go the way that I’ve wanted to. It’s been one hell of a day.”

“Selina…”

Selina managed a weak smile. “I can hear the waves,” she said. “I’m glad…that I can get to hear them for the last time. I’ve…always loved them. I’ve always loved the sea. I’m glad…that I can see them again for the last time.”

Yuri looked up and saw the sight of the waves crashing against the shores of the island, with the afternoon sun beaming with its rays, the sunlight reflecting off the waves. It did indeed create a beautiful picture.

“They’re beautiful.” Yuri forced herself to say it, smiling down at Selina with a strained smile. It is the least that she could do, to give comfort and reassurance to a girl who was dying. “They’re…really beautiful. It’s…a wonderful sight, Selina.”

Selina smiled, slowly dissolving into coughs. “I have a last request, Yuri. Will you listen?” she rasped.

Yuri nodded and leaned forward so that Selina can whisper into her ear without having to strain her voice, and Yuri’s eyes widened slightly at the request that Selina had asked of her.

“I’m sure…that she is still alive.” Selina rasped, hacking up blood. “If Sam is still alive, then she is too.” She took in a sharp breath, trying to breathe properly. “Finish my job for me, Yuri.” She then smiled weakly. “Jackie…Jaslin…Emily… They’re waiting for me…” She coughed harshly.

“Selina…”

Selina smiled weakly up at Yuri. “Don’t go soft on me now. You still have a much more important job to do, don’t you? I’m sorry that I can’t fulfill my promise to you and the others. Take Raven’s Gate down. Make sure that you beat Kami. You can’t fail.”

Tears were spilling freely from Yuri’s eyes now.

“No. Oh, God…” Yuri never felt so helpless before in her life. She couldn’t do anything but to hold Selina’s hand as she slipped from this world to the next. Yuri tried to comfort her dying friend, to give her some peace of mind. “Please.” Yuri’s vision was blurring because of the onslaught of her tears. “Please, Selina…don’t die.”

Selina’s continuous coughs had subsided by now, and Yuri wasn’t sure if that was a bad or a good thing.

“Is…this Death?” Selina asked, her words slurred by the crimson blood leaking from the sides of her lips. “If Death is this peaceful…then I’m no longer afraid.” She coughed slightly. “Looks like…the God of Death is coming to get me. I wonder…what Hell is like? Bet…it’s fun.”

Yuri wiped her tears away with the back of her left hand. “May you have a safe journey, my friend,” she said, trying to prevent her voice from cracking. “And may the Gods guide you on your way.”

“I’m tired…” Selina slurred. “I’m so sleepy… I’d like to sleep now.”

No…

Yuri bit on her lower lip, choking back the sob in her throat.

“Then go to sleep,” she said, forcing the words out, feeling like something had just stabbed her heart with every word. “Go to sleep then, Selina. I’ll see you once you wake up.”

Selina smiled a small smile. “You’re such a liar, Yuri,” she rasped, her left hand going to the choker with the silver dagger-like pendant around her neck, pressing the object into Yuri’s hand. “It’s…game over for me.”

Selina stared up at Yuri for several moments, taking in several rasping breaths as she did so. Yuri didn’t look away; she couldn’t afford to. She stared into those eyes filled with both pain and understanding.

Then slowly, Selina’s eyelids shut, the up-and-down breathing motions of her chest stilled completely as she stopped breathing.

The sounds of the gulls crying sounded throughout the air then, and a single white feather from overhead fell from the sky, and fluttered through the air before landing onto Selina’s still chest. Yuri choked back a strangled sob as she stared at Selina’s face, willing for the girl to open her eyes and tell her that she was alright.

But that is all just a dream, isn’t it?

Yuri stared, but nothing happened.

Selina did not open her eyes again.

* * * *

After burying Selina not too far from the beach on Terror Island, Yuri made her way towards the mansion. A mound was all that identified the gravesite, and within years, it would probably be forgotten.

The grave of a girl who had given her all to protect Japan.

The mansion was eerily silent as Yuri walked through the halls. Probably, every single member of Raven’s Gate is out there still, facing the Phantoms. Two out of the four Apostles are now down. That only leaves Ren and Tohya to handle Hugin, as Yuri hadn’t seen the final Apostle around yet.

Hopefully, that final Apostle isn’t even present on Terror Island in the first place.

As Yuri walked up the carpeted stairs to the room where Kami will most probably be in, all her memories of the past year when she tried to track down Kami’s true identity came rising to the surface of her mind.

She recalled the contents of her mother’s letter when Hitomi Yagami had written to her brother, informing Kenji Yagami of the truth behind Kami’s true identity. And she also recalled the contents of the letter that her mother had written to her.

Please, Yuri-chan. The only one who can stop that man who calls himself your father…is you alone…!

Yuri also recalled the file that she had came across in the computer when she was on the mission when Ren was ill, and she had made the mistake of not checking to make sure that her target was indeed dead.

Kami is Ryuou Kitagawa.

Yuri remembered Miki’s message in the database of that CD that she had left behind. In it, Miki had stated there clearly the true identity of Kami, and how he actually concerns Yuri.

Kami is Ryuou Kitagawa. Your father!

Finally, Yuri found herself standing outside a pair of elaborate looking doors, golden in colour with silver edges, and it even had silver lion head knockers on it. Yuri stared at the door for several moments without moving.

“The last door…” she muttered to herself. “If I step through these doors, will I leave my past behind?”

And then, Yuri could have sworn that she heard Miki’s voice sounding in her head, making her wonder for a brief moment if she hadn’t suddenly gone crazy.

“It isn’t like you to hesitate. What are you waiting for, Yuri?”

Yuri closed her eyes. “Nothing, I guess,” she mused.

Miki’s light laughter echoed through her head. “Then go through these doors. You’ve managed up to this day, depending on your own power alone. You want to know the truth, don’t you?”

“That’s true.” Yuri nodded to herself. “I’ve waited for this day for a long time.” She pressed one hand against the door. “Let’s go.”

And she then pulled opened one of the doors and stepped through it.