"So, is this what Eu wanted?"
Sitting with Eu on a bench in the Shopping Mall corridor, Nakano Yu looked at Eu, who was holding a gigantic scythe beside him, and asked.
Although Eu's magical power had not yet fully returned to its peak, she appeared as calm as usual.
Nakano Yu could sense that Eu's mood was very poor; she was simply suppressing it and not showing it.
"Yu, my heart feels so heavy."
Hearing the young man's question, Eu placed a hand over her chest, holding her aching and burdened heart. Her tone was flat, but it carried a sense of sadness.
"Eu, you didn't do anything wrong. Birth, aging, sickness, and death are the rules by which this world operates. Immortality is not necessarily a good thing, and death... is also something that some people seek."
Gently pulling the girl into his embrace, Nakano Yu's voice was soft as it fell into Eu's ears and gradually calmed her restless heart.
Nakano Yu actually could not say much about such matters; he had his own understanding of them. Nakano Yu could ruthlessly plunder the lives of others and even use them as sacrifices to summon a Heretic God.
But if it were Eu, would she do such a thing?
Nakano Yu could answer with certainty: No!
Although Eu was a necromancer, she particularly resisted death because she understood very clearly that death was extremely painful. With her gentle nature, she was unwilling to watch anyone die in front of her.
From Nakano Yu's perspective, that idea was too subjective. Not to mention that everything had two sides, good and bad, even death was no exception. Simply interfering with the lives and deaths of others was truly not a good thing.
Eu acted out of kindness, not wanting to see anyone die painfully, but the eternal life that resulted from it was also a form of torture.
If this experience could make Eu understand that death was not only pain but also a form of release, then in a way it would be beneficial.
That kind of gradual guidance would only lead Eu into internal contradictions; it was better to let her experience it directly.
Thinking about that, Nakano Yu stood up, looked at the girl whose mood had become somewhat gloomy, extended his hand, and invited her:
"Eu, would you like to come with me and see something?"
"See? What..."
Faced with the young man's sudden invitation, Eu was somewhat confused, and even more bewilderment appeared in her eyes.
"To show Eu the meaning of death."
Nakano Yu sighed softly, then glanced at the moonlight outside the window from the corner of his eye. With a wave of his hand, it seemed as though the moonlight had a will of its own and was drawn toward him.
As soon as the moonlight fell upon Nakano Yu and the girl, their figures disappeared in the next moment, reappearing in front of a hospital room.
"Eu... This is..."
The sudden change in surroundings made Eu look around uneasily, and she quickly realized that they had arrived at a hospital.
"Eu, you must understand that death is not meaningless; it makes people understand many things."
However, Nakano Yu did not explain why he had brought Eu to the hospital. Instead, he stood in front of the room, his gaze directed toward an elderly man lying on a hospital bed inside, surrounded by weeping relatives.
Seeing that scene, Eu felt pain in her heart. Feeling the old man's vital signs becoming weaker and weaker, she wanted to wait until he died and then revive him as a zombie.
Nakano Yu naturally saw through Eu's thoughts. Gently patting her on the head, he said in a deep voice:
"This old man was admitted to this hospital a long time ago. Previously, only his youngest daughter stayed by his side. Only in this final moment of his life did those children, who claimed to be busy, remember to return to his side."
"It's quite ironic. 'Filial piety' actually requires death for people to understand it. If this old man had not reached this final moment today, there would never have been so many people gathered around him."
Hearing that, Eu froze. Looking at the crying people in the room, her heart was filled with mixed emotions. But just then, the girl noticed that there was actually a smile on the old man's face.
Why? He was about to die, so why was he still smiling?
Why, at a moment like this, could he still smile?
Shouldn't death be painful?
Looking at the old man, a trace of confusion appeared in Eu's eyes, as if she were troubled, as if she were bewildered, but more than anything, she doubted herself.
At this moment, Eu wondered, was death really painful?
Seeing the expression of the girl beside him, Nakano Yu let out a sigh of relief. Originally, he had thought that Eu would stubbornly cling to her views, but he had not expected her to accept them rather easily.
In Nakano Yu's opinion, death was divided into many kinds. Death caused by suicide was despairing and painful, but it could also be a form of release. Death from illness and suffering was painful, but for patients who wanted to live, it was by no means a release—it was failure, defeat before disease.
The concept of death had never been unchanging. Whether it was pain or release depended only on one's thoughts.
Death could be a cold night or a bottomless black hole.
That was the principle Nakano Yu wanted Eu to understand.
"Eu, that old man... is smiling. Why?"
Unable to escape her confusion for a long time, Eu looked at the old man on the bed with complicated emotions in her eyes and asked.
"Because death is a release for him. Because of death, he can once again be surrounded by his loved ones, even if that moment is fleeting."
Nakano Yu sighed softly. As soon as his words fell, Eu nodded as though she understood, and at that very moment, the quiet sobbing inside the hospital room suddenly became sharp and loud, accompanied by cries, while the old man's electrocardiogram became a flat line.
Watching that scene, Eu's heart was filled with mixed emotions.
The old man had passed away, but the smile still remained on his face, causing Eu, who had originally wanted to revive him as a zombie, to hesitate.
She did not know what the old man would face if he were revived, but inexplicably, she felt that things were actually right as they were.
"It's time to go, Eu."
Seeing that the girl had fallen silent while her eyes flickered, Nakano Yu gently patted Eu on the shoulder at the right moment, bringing her back to her senses.
"Yu..."
Coming back to herself, Eu looked at the young man beside her with a complicated expression.
"Eu didn't do anything wrong; she had her reasons too, but... that doesn't apply to everyone. Let's go. It's time to head back. Nino probably baked a cake today, right?"
Nakano Yu spoiledly rubbed Eu's head, then drew in the moonlight once again, sending Eu back.
Just as Nakano Yu was about to leave, his peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of an exhausted blonde girl at the end of the corridor.
Seeing the girl, Nakano Yu paused, clearly not expecting to meet her here.
"Seriously, have I been with Eu for too long and become a little too soft-hearted?"
Shaking his head slightly, the young man muttered, while his eyes shone with an emerald glow.
Looking once more at the pale-faced girl, Nakano Yu waved his hand, using Severance to cut away the illness that was tormenting her.
After waving his hand, Nakano Yu did not linger.
He was not planning to return home yet; after all, a beautiful girl was waiting for him on their date at the Shopping Mall!
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