Most tragedies begin with a single mistake.

A bullet fired at the wrong person at the wrong time sparks a massive conflict. A human error or a natural disturbance creates a deadly accident. One wrong step easily leads to a person’s death.

As for my experience with Subject 79, or Blake as he wants to be known now, it began with one as well.

A foolish choice, made by a desperate mother who wanted to make a better life for herself in a land of Paradise.

“Paradise again…”

Yes, I’m sure you’ve heard of it. As I’m sure you probably know as well, it doesn’t have a particularly good reputation either. Rumors of corruption, murders and lies are definitely very common, especially when you start up something that claims to be the perfect ‘utopia’.

However, even if it’s not all roses and peaches under the surface, no one can deny the allure of the promised land, especially if they are desperate. Such an offer in this harsh world could be easily seen as one of the miracles sent down by God himself.

Such was the case with many new families, especially when they had nothing to support the lives they didn’t intend to bring into the world. Their unwanted children.

If supporting themselves was bad enough, they now had one more mouth to feed, one more burden they had to support. Even some of those who had wanted them at first would grow weary and tired of it after a while.

So, they made a deal with the angel.

One life for another chance. A sacrifice for an invitation. That was the deal they came to.

Lives were traded freely, just like that, and the ones who were being traded often did not know a single thing about it.

As you may no doubt have figured out, Blake was one of the traded children, and he, alongside many other boys and girls of different ages, took part in an experiment started by the military leaders of Paradise.

You see, the angel had big plans to create an army that would guard and protect Paradise from any threats. If ever she was not around, they would step up and take over her job of looking after the citizens of the land. If she was in danger, they would make sure she was safe at all costs.

It was a no brainer that the stronger the soldiers were, the more powerful she could be. That was why for the experiment, she generously donated one of the most powerful weapons she had in her arsenal that had the potential to create them.

They called it the Strength Particle.

The Worthy who could wield it would gain tremendous strength, resilience, and speed from extended contact with it, while the Unworthy would wind up being irreparably damaged or killed merely by touching it. That was how strong the weapon was.

The leaders used the first stage of the experiment to test that ability out on the children. Those who were Worthy would pass and move on, while the others were quickly disposed of without a second thought.

“Jesus…”

The second stage was where I came in, as while the Worthy children could withstand the power of the Particle, it often came at a heavy cost for them.

Simply put, the human body was not meant to receive that much power. There were a few rare exceptions, but much like those who were Unworthy, prolonged exposure to the Particle’s powers would eventually cause severe physical and mental problems for most of them.

Brain hemorrhages, heart failure, permanent paralysis. The list of potential problems was big, and the military leaders weren’t about to let their prized weapons die so easily to a human condition.

I was part of a team of researchers dedicated to solving that issue for them. In hindsight, it was obviously wrong, but at the time, we were all drawn in by the potential, by the sheer power that the Worthy children could bring to the world, so we did not hesitate in trying to fix that problem.

Eventually, I was able to create a prototype that could withstand the Particle’s effects on the bodies by employing a certain restriction: It would control the power output emitted by them, effectively limiting the Particle’s negative impacts, and allowing them to live longer.

It was quickly put into use and inserted into everyone who had passed the first stage, but… most of them didn’t survive, and they were also thrown into the trash, just like the Unworthy.

To make matters worse, my prototype did not completely erase the Particle’s effects either. As long as the user overused their powers, they would still suffer the same physical and mental consequences as the ones that came before them.

Once I saw what they were making their subjects go through for the second stage, I was horrified, but somehow, for some reason, I kept doing it. I was still attracted to the promise of seeing the next generation of humans.

I was a fool.

After the third stage began, I realized what I had done. All my beliefs, all my morals, had been thrown down the drain for all of this.

At that moment, I knew that the horrific sights I saw, the blood and violence, were all caused by my invention.

I knew I could not take it anymore, so I fled. I ran like a coward, leaving all my research behind for them to keep using for their own purposes, leaving the poor test subjects to continue suffering.

“Umm… sorry to interrupt, but what exactly was the third stage?”

Huh? Uh... well… mmm… the simplest way I could put it was like a death match. A tournament, where whoever could kill the most would pass the stage and be invited to the high rankings. That was the most surefire way to be the best soldier.

They were held in ‘fair’ duels, but just because they held the same weapons did not mean that they had the same advantages in skill. They were still essentially being trained to kill.

It wasn’t just rivals that fought each other either, there were close friends, best buddies who had known each other for years, all forced to do it. And they were only children. I can’t imagine what that could do for someone so young.

“And… what about Mister Blake?”

He… he was one of the strongest there. The predictions we had about him didn’t lie. He was on track to become the strongest soldier the Paradise leaders could ever have had when I left.

When I saw the look on his face last night, I recognized it from when he was forced to participate in those death matches. I knew there and then that he hated me, and he most likely hated everyone who trained him to kill. He wanted revenge.

“But… why do you think he’s here now?”

I’m not sure. Maybe my location was finally leaked, and the Paradise leaders wanted to tie up loose ends, but I believe I know the real reason why.

I think… he got away.

**********************

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“Hah… hah… shit…”

Standing inside a small, cramped bathroom in an unknown location, far away from the town he had fled from, Blake cursed as he tried his best to treat his heavy injuries.

“Those… motherfuckers…”

His shoulder was still hurt from the strange arrow that had pierced him, and even though he had stopped the bleeding with the help of his increased resilience, it still stung badly for him.

There were also numerous small burns all over his body from when he was attacking the four-arms devil, but those were minor inconveniences compared to the most brutal injury he had sustained from the entire fight.

“What the fuck… was with that girl?”

His hands, which he had used to punch the strange orb in the girl’s chest, had been severely damaged by the unexpected rebound of power he received from it, and despite his best efforts to treat them, he had still been forced to bandage the both of them up to prevent any more unnecessary injury to them.

Wincing a little as he placed his now-wrapped hands by the grimy sink edge, he angrily bit his lip and glared at his reflection in the mirror.

“They will pay… they will all pay for what they did…”

He had sworn that resolution from the bottom of his heart ever since he had started his hunt, and the pain that he had been forced to experience a few hours ago had not changed it in the slightest.

He hated the man who destroyed his body. He hated the strange beings who seemed to be his bodyguards. He wanted to kill them all.

“… gack!”

A bout of coughing and hacking interrupted his moment of hatred as blood dripped out of his mouth, quickly coating the sink with red.

“Damn it, not now…” he covered his bleeding mouth and grumbled hoarsely, “I need to get it together. It’s not over yet.”

However, as he stared at the blood-stained sink, he suddenly stopped as he realized it.

“…”

He was looking at his own blood, not anyone else’s. He had known that fact since the beginning, but now, for some reason, he felt strange seeing that sight before him.

“No… this is not right…”

Even when he had come so far, even when he had already ticked off many names on his ‘killing list’, even when he was sure he would keep going until it was all over, he still seemed to be having reservations about it.

“He wanted to talk to me… and they just wanted to know more… should I really do it? Should I… kill them?”

“Yes, you do.”

Right as that doubt entered his mind, another voice came out, loud and clear. In the mirror, he could see a person standing behind him, a girl that he once knew, and he was forced to acknowledge her.

“L… Lucy…”

“Remember what you promised me. That you would take care of it.”

“I… I do, but…”

“You can leave the strange beings alone; I don’t like your chances against them. But you must kill the researcher. He deserves it for what he did to us. How he prolonged our lives for more pain.”

“Shouldn’t we… give him a chance?”

The voice sighed.

“Do you not remember?”

“…”

“Do you not remember what you did?”

“Y… yes…”

The dingy state of the arena, surrounded by flames.

The cold sensation of the blood-soaked blade in his hand.

The former laughter and the smell of alcohol and smoke from the higher-ups that had been replaced by screams and shouts of angry terror.

And… the dead bodies that were piled up in front of him. The remains of his former friends. The corpse of the girl he once loved.

“Yes… I do…”

“Then… you must finish what you started. You must destroy it all.”

At her urging, he took a deep breath before looking at his reflection again.

“You’re right, Lucy.”

Picking up one of his hair ties that had been placed on the sink, he redid his hair into the ponytail style he was used to before straightening his stained and loose eyepatch.

“I need to finish this, no matter what happens.”

“… that’s the spirit.”

The girl named Lucy smiled at his declaration and gave him a supportive pat on his back before disappearing from his sight again.

“I will. For all of you,” he pledged as he stepped away from the sink before turning around and leaving the bathroom.

The time for recovery was over. He had to be ready for him.

**********************

“So, that’s it?”

“Yes,” Julian nodded as he wrapped up his story before watching as Dauma and Anten began to discuss it with each other in hushed tones.

“… I don’t…”

“… him…”

“… how…”

“Are you guys alright?”

“It’s nothing,” Anten lifted her head up and reassured him before elbowing Dauma in the chest to get him to look up as well, “it’s just… a lot to take in, that’s all.”

“Ok, look.”

Julian stood up from his chair and began to walk around the room, with the two pairs of eyes following him as he spoke to them.

“I admit that I have been keeping secrets from you two, and I feel bad about it, but you have to understand that I didn’t want to tell my story for a reason. Now, you two have gotten caught up in this messy situation, and—”

“… messy situation?” Dauma interrupted, “I don’t think so. In fact, I think you helped us more than you thought.”

“Ah. Well, that was not my intention.”

“Regardless,” Anten chimed in as she leaned forward, her hands clasped together on top on her lap, “your story has only brought up an even bigger problem. One that we must solve immediately.”

“What is it?”

“We have to confront Mister Blake.”

“No.”

Julian quickly shot down the suggestion as he abruptly stopped pacing before looking at her with a grim expression on his face.

“This is my problem, not yours. I was the one who ran away and hid. For your female companion, her injuries were a result of my actions. You cannot stop this. I must do it myself.”

“… you know where he is.”

“…”

He did not respond to Anten’s statement, so she tried again.

“If you know where he is, you should tell us. We’ll make sure you two can hash your problems out with no one getting hurt or killed. That’s the least we can do.”

“…”

“Come on, ple—”

“You don’t understand!” he suddenly shouted, startling her in the middle of her pleading, “this is on me! It’s always been on me! Whatever Blake wants to do to me, I have to take it! I owe him that much, after all!”

“But… what about your town? What about Edelweiss?”

“Edelweiss? Ha!” he let out a dry laugh before returning to his normal volume, “what about it? I don’t belong here, after all.”

“You’re the mayor! How could you say things like that? You—" Anten began to loudly object, but Dauma suddenly laid a hand on her shoulder and spoke softly in her ear.

“I’ll handle this.”

“What? Please don’t tell me you’re going to threaten him.”

“Trust me.”

Julian stared suspiciously at the devil as he got up and began to walk slowly towards him, his four arms rising to his chest level and staying there.

“What are you—”

Even though he did not know what his intentions were, Julian did not move or attempt to react to the approaching threat. Instead, he remained still as Dauma eventually stopped right in front of him before extending one of his hands out.

“Huh?”

“I respect your decision, mayor. You’re right, we shouldn’t mess with your personal matters, so we’ll keep a wide distance away from you and Blake.”

“Dauma!” Anten shouted in horror.

“Really? I honestly thought that… never mind,” Julian remarked in surprise at his decision as he lifted his own hand, and the two of them shook hands.

“Ouch!”

“Ah, sorry. Guess it must be my claws, they’re very sharp,” Dauma smiled and pulled his hand away as Julian recoiled and held his own, a small trickle running down his palm. At the same time, a mysterious sharp pain ran through his body as though a spark of static had hit him.

“… noted,” he replied, though he still kept a wary eye on the devil.

“Anyway, as soon as Yuu recovers, we’ll go, and you’ll never see us again. That was what you wanted from the start, right?”

“Well… yes, of course!”

“Then we’ll leave you—”

“Hang on a minute!” Anten stomped her foot and exclaimed, “I didn’t agree to any of this at all! What are you doing, Dauma? We have to save him, not encourage him!”

“Anten…”

“If you aren’t going to do anything, I’ll do it myself! Don’t try and stop me!”

“Listen…”

“You said it yourself, I will get the truth out, and that means the location of where Mister Blake is!”

“… I guess you leave me no choice then,” Julian sighed.

In an instant, he stepped forward and promptly made eye contact with her.

“I figured it out earlier, but just to confirm, you two are an angel and a devil, is that correct?”

“Oh, err… yes?” she paused and replied in confusion, stumped by the sudden question.

“Perfect. Then this makes it easier for me.”

“What…”

Before they could get any explanation as to why he had asked that question, he had grabbed a ball-shaped object that they had never noticed was inside his pocket before flinging it down to the ground. As soon as it made contact, it immediately exploded into a cloud of black gas that rapidly engulfed the room.

“… are you talking… aboutttttttttttt…”

Anten’s speech quickly became slurred as the gas reached her, and she slowly slumped over in her chair, her eyes shutting on their own accord.

“Wait… this issssssssssssss…”

Dauma had already recognized the gas from the color and odor, but he could do nothing as he accidentally inhaled a bunch of it, and his speech began to falter as well.

“I don’t think I can take any risks… so… sorry, but you… rest now.”

Julian’s voice became more and more distorted and choppy as both of their consciousnesses faded away, before they finally collapsed on the floor.

…

…

“… ugh, my head… huh?”

When the both of them finally woke up again, they were alone, and he was already long gone from the house.