Epilogue: Palladion That Tears Through Time (1/2)

Oh, my... The little bird that flew away returns to my loving embrace. Mmm, what a delightful turn of events.

Like a moth to the flame... Or perhaps you simply couldn't get me out of your head? Hehe...

If so, I'll open myself to you all you wish...

...Over and again until your hearts shatter and your passions wither.

But...be warned: I may not look the part, but I am positively ITCHING for some action.

I'm afraid I may clench myself around you so hard you burst!

You never do seem to stop blathering on, do you? What's wrong? Forget how to shut your mouth in your old age?

Meltryllis...

Why do you help Fujimaru? Try as I might, I cannot for the life of me understand.

Your unpleasantness has become...grating. Mmm, I will take my sweet time in tending to your destruction.

Hmmm... Decisions, decisions... Your legs are the only part of you that is worthwhile...

Ah, of course! I'll begin by smashing those pathetic hands of yours first. You don't need those anyway, do you?

Go ahead and try.

Oh I can't wait to see the regret on your face. That will go a long way to making my day better.

All you'll be thinking is, "If only I'd started with her legs, this never would have happened. I should have saved the hands for last..."

...? What in the world are you...?

My, my, look who's found his spine. Do you imagine you can protect her, then?

Or...is it that you have something you'd like to say? It is not too late to join with me instead.

Ngh! How would you know how old I am!?

Looks can be deceiving! I don't appreciate unfounded assumptions like that!

There are teenagers who look to be in their twenties, are there not? I would say the reverse is just as true!

Oh, I know I know! There are also teens who look like they're in their thirties!

Would you shut up, you baby-faced brat!? I have been treated like an old woman since I was a child! You cannot imagine what that is like!

...Let's get back on topic. Why did you decide to become a Beast, anyway?

Why, you ask...? Hm, well...

...What's this? And here I was thinking we could have so much fun together.

Why, you ask...? Well... Heehee.

？！

...Because I was envious.

It was so unfair, you see...

Could there have been anything more incredible? The experience of Zepar's memories...

The battle at the Temple of Time played out for me like a dream.

Zepar, Goetia... Everything from that time...

It all seemed so...delightful. So much so that I found myself desperate to feel the same before long.

I wanted to FEEL that punishment, that pain. I wanted to experience death at the hands of countless Heroic Spirits.

But I could not make that dream a reality simply as a human, or a Demon God.

So, I was certain that my only choice was to become a Beast.

？！

I understand your shock, but that's just the kind of person Kiara is.

That she would become a Beast just for something like that is what makes her so terrifying.

At first, she had all the qualities you'd look for in a savior. But she forsook them for her own self-indulgence.

Her abundant love, her healing words, her beautiful devotion... She used them all for her own benefit.

Her saintlike appearance had everyone around her fooled. They all misunderstood.

Isn't that right, Kiara. You said you loved humans and wanted to save them.

But...

But, in your world, the only human...was you.

That's why you love "humans" more than anyone else. And you'll expend all other life to save "them."

As far as you're concerned, you're the only human! Everyone else is just a collection of walking, talking toys that exist only for your amusement!

...

It's true! You're an embodiment of narcissism. You're far more repulsive than Alter Egos like us who were born from emotion.

A monster that loves humanity more selfishly than anyone else! That's what you really are! Isn't that right, Beast III!

...And your point is...?

I am the only real person in this world. The rest of "humanity" is no more than a pack of wild beasts.

That's how I was raised. That's the world I lived in.

It was so rare for anyone to think of me as evil. And those who did...

Well, they were shunned by society, regarded as wicked sinners, just like that pathetic, lost Archer.

Those who tried to bring wicked people like me to justice were reviled as not serving society's best interests.

Can you truly call such beasts human? If you could, such nameless heroes would go unrewarded for their efforts.

No, I am the only human. So long as that is true, all is well. If it were not, this world would be beyond saving.

...Does that answer your question? Good. Enough of this lover's spat. Let's pick up where we left off.

I want to use pleasure as my stepping stones. More and more... I want to be a receptacle of pleasure.

Why, you ask? That should be obvious. I wish to be worshipped as a god.

I have become the god of pleasure, an all-consuming nirvana. All life will be plucked from the vine and savored like fruit.

All right, darlings. The day of salvation has come. Off to the heavens with you.

What's this!? The effect of my Black Thread of Skhanda has been neutralized!?

Thaaaaaat's riiiiiight! Try acting like some kind of bodhisattva now, Beast III!

Sight... Hearing... Smell... Taste... Touch...

You tempt all five senses, when even captivating one is enough to convert an opponent into a fervent follower...

It's a cheat skill worthy of the name Devilish Bodhisattva. But it won't work for another five minutes!

This is the secret weapon I made with the KPthe Kiara PunishersI collected following Melt's report!

I call it the Anti-R-18 Field: Wisdom Hold Intelligence Powered!

Melt's Death "WHIP," for short! It's a love whip on par with the...umm...wilderness of death!

For the next five minutes, all of the erotic magical energy on SE.RA.PH has been reduced through the enactment of an anti-libido rule!

Nice job, BB! But we're REALLY going to have to revisit that name when this is over!

...Have you no sense of romance at all? Denying yourselves true pleasure...

But... Heehee. It's okay. I was getting bored of playing the goddess anyway.

The Black Thread of Skhanda was merely foreplay. I'll show you the true nature of a Beast.

Mmm, please, come on in, my adorable little Master. I'll face your conceit head-on.

You face a being born from the sea of pleasure.

...A being that consumed a Demon God even as it tried to possess her.

A great calamity that itself became a Singularity and must soon emerge from its chrysalis...as a Beast.

Beast III Rapture. God of pleasure and endless bliss. I will drown you in ecstasies your feeble brains cannot possibly fathom.