Yandere? Menhera? Bring It On, If You're Confident That I'll love You For Who You Are - Chapter 33

The One Who Laughs Last

“Welcome back, Onii-san!”

It was the sincere, beaming smile of my blood-splattered sister.

Now, with Kanade bleeding out and Hina unable to even move, it was a clear solo victory. No, it might not have even been a contest.

Having lost every advantage and yet still relentlessly striving, my sister was smiled upon by the goddess of victory.

If the last one standing on the battlefield is the winner, then my sister, who entered after everyone else had fallen, was the ultimate victor.

It was a cruel, merciless reality.

“(Is this the weight of sin…?)”

In the face of the brutal scene, my mind was clear.

Perhaps I had sensed somewhere in my heart that such a day would come.

The tragedy that had occurred without warning.

It was an event destined to happen, and the twisted “love” directed at me by the girl who continued to bleed before my eyes.

That’s why I should have been determined.

A self-inflicted loser, whose daily life was irrevocably shattered by a love too pure and too earnest.

This is the just punishment for irresponsibly reaching out and saving them…

“(But you know…)”

I mustered my last strength to stand.

There’s no turning back. I can’t turn back. I don’t want to turn back.

From the day I ended my uncle and his wife, I had prepared myself for this.

That’s why I chose the path to become stronger.

If I had unbeatable power, I wouldn’t have had any expectations from the start…

Even if fate, the devil itself, continues to mock me.

Let’s enjoy this madness.

Until the very last moment of my life.

“…Are you serious, Onii-san?”

“Yeah. I never thought this day would come either.”

I picked up the stun gun that had fallen from Kanade and pressed it against Rio’s neck. Rio didn’t turn around.

Kanade is hardly in a state to speak, but she is conscious.

If she could be treated, she would likely survive.

Now that it’s come to this, there’s no turning back. But I can still prevent the worst-case scenario.

For that alone, I decided to temporarily take away my sister’s consciousness.

If I left Rio unchecked, she would surely kill Kanade──and Hina.

With no strength left to stop Rio’s rampage, this was the only choice I had.

“If you save Kanade-chan here, this woman will just do the same thing again. Wouldn’t it be a wise decision to eliminate the problem at its root?”

“When that time comes, I’ll just break through the wall again. It was quite comfortable, you know? There are still plenty of games I haven’t finished.”

Rio didn’t turn around, but I could tell her shoulders were shaking.

However, that too would soon come to a stop.

“…There won’t be a next time.”

“Yeah, I agree. But that’s for you guys.”

With those words, I turned on the stun gun. As Rio’s body collapsed, I no longer had the strength to hold the stun gun.

Eventually, it slipped from my grasp and I tumbled to the ground.

“(Boy, this was a bit of a strain this time, wasn’t it…)”

My consciousness faded completely…

◆

“Kuh…!”

As Minato and Rio fell, Hina crawled toward the center like an inchworm.

Around her were Kanade lying on her back, the man with sunglasses taken down by Minato, and the figures of Rio and Minato lying face down.

Her leg bones were completely broken, but now she was the only one conscious at the scene.

The conclusion has not yet been reached.

“(I’ll… save them.)”

Hina aimed for the bloodied fruit knife next to Rio. Cleaning up afterward? Collecting evidence? Those things didn’t matter.

Right now, his sister was lying defenseless before her.

So, she’ll finish it off.

This time for sure, she’ll make him look only at her…

“My, what a spectacle we have here.”

“!?”

An unexpected voice echoed. Hina turned around in surprise, hearing an unfamiliar voice for the first time.

“As expected of the Princess of the Asagami Group. Capturing Kurogane-kun and dealing with her love rival, all under the pressure of a life that could end at any step. I respect the initiative you’ve taken from your first defeat, but perhaps due to your privileged financial power… you lacked consideration.”

Hina couldn’t catch up with the girl’s──Amano Mio’s──words as she looked around the site with curiosity, but eventually, her gaze shifted to Hina.

“Even so, hehe… Kurogane-kun never ceases to amaze me. If I were in the opposite position, at best I could’ve only avoided that person at first. At least I wouldn’t have thought of something as bold as breaking down a room’s wall. Right, Saotome Hina?”

“What are you saying…”

Hina was on guard, while Mio smiled at her familiarly.

Hina couldn’t understand the true nature of Mio before her, but the answer would soon be revealed by the person in front of her.

While Hina was still confused, Mio picked up several photos that had fallen to the ground. It goes without saying what they were.

“How unsightly. A foolish loser, drowned in the overwhelming advantage of information. But I truly thank you all. Thanks to you, I was able to take down the most troublesome senior, Asagami.”

“!?”

Mio smirked provocatively, looking down on others.

Now Hina understood the words clearly.

Anger peaked within her. Was it this woman who had sent those photos? Like Rio and Kanade, was she another target to be eliminated?

──Was I manipulated by this woman right from the start?

“Don’t tell me… you…!?”

Hina tried to stand up, but her body wouldn’t respond. Mio turned her back on Hina, smiling meaningfully.

“You’ve been very helpful, but your role as the opening act ends here. In due time, a car I arranged will arrive here. Until then, I hope you come up with a good excuse.”

Hina thrashed around madly, but Mio continued to walk away without a care. Minato lay there, face down.

“(Don’t worry. I won’t kill you.)”

Mio whispered this and quietly knelt down.

“(If I killed them here and now, you would be sad, right? That’s why “I” won’t kill them.)”

She lifted the prone body of Minato, stroking his defenseless head.

“(However, it might end up that way, because…)”

Amano Mio took his lips. Just as he had once done to Hina, she slipped her tongue between his lips, engraving her existence onto him.

The kiss was certainly one-sided, but it almost looked like a deep, passionate kiss between lovers.

As their lips parted with a slight thread, Mio gazed at him from a mere 10 centimeters away.

“(Because──to truly save you…)”

Before she knew it, the sky had darkened, and droplets began to fall around her.

They connected directly to Kanade’s blood, flowing as red liquid towards Mio.

Just a little more. When she defeats the “last bastion” that stands in her way, it will come to fruition.

Then no one will be sad.

Both she and he can obtain the greatest and utmost happiness.

“Pfft… Ahahaha!”

Just imagining that fact made Amano Mio laugh.

“Ahahahaha!! Ahahahaha!!! AhahahahahahahahahaAhahahahahahahahahahaha!!”

She continued to laugh with a maddened, ecstatic expression.