No matter how many times she witnessed the scene before her, Twilight still felt the urge to complain—what kind of bizarre thought process could lead someone to design a mode of transportation in such an outrageous form?
Not only was the bus itself ugly, but the way it picked up passengers was insane—giving them a heart-stopping stab, and after chilling them to the bone, exploding them into a puddle of water scattered everywhere...
It was no wonder Caelus couldn't react; any normal person would be stunned, even the experienced Acheron failed to recognize "Something Unto Death" [Lit. Dormancy-Death-Sleepy] as a harmless transport vehicle.
Who would believe this wasn't a monster murdering someone, but just a bus operating normally?
Only Twilight would believe it.
[Something Unto Death] was an existence created within the dreamscape by the fictional historian Gallagher. Under the dual influence of Mystery and Memory, it was impossible for ordinary people to discern its true nature.
But Twilight possessed perceptions belonging to [Mystery] and [Memory].
Therefore, although [Something Unto Death] looked terrifying, to Twilight, it held no aggression whatsoever, like an overly enthusiastic but ugly dog... In contrast, although Acheron and Firefly looked beautiful, they were far more worthy of Twilight's caution.
When [Something Unto Death] rushed over and impaled Firefly moments ago, it was undoubtedly a psychotic murder in Caelus's eyes. But in Twilight's view, it was simply the bus driver pulling Firefly onto the bus to head to the next stop.
Although Firefly didn't seem particularly willing, it posed no danger to her. From Twilight's perspective, given Firefly's hidden strength, killing [Something Unto Death] would be effortless if she truly wanted to.
If she genuinely didn't want to go, [Something Unto Death] couldn't possibly have taken her.
Since that was the case, why should she intervene?
Besides, she already disliked Firefly, this person hiding her identity and strength, lurking around Caelus with unknown intentions.
So, her watching coldly was perfectly normal, and she saw no problem with it.
However, for Caelus, who didn't know the truth, the problem must seem immense~
Caelus remained kneeling on the ground, stunned. He looked at the blue liquid splattered on his hands and the floor—seemingly the last trace Firefly left behind.
"This is... a dream, right?"
"Caelus, what's wrong?"
Seeing the distraught Caelus, Twilight's face showed obvious confusion.
She didn't understand why Caelus became so utterly devastated just because Firefly took a bus out of this dreamscape. But this didn't affect her actions; no matter what saddened Caelus, she always had to comfort him.
She walked over, knelt beside Caelus, and reached out, trying to touch his cheek. "Did someone bully Caelus? I'll go teach them a lesson—"
Twilight's voice caught.
She stared blankly at her hand hovering in mid-air. The hand that should have touched Caelus hadn't reached its intended place.
Caelus had dodged her touch.
"Caelus...?"
"Why..." Caelus kept his head down, not looking directly at Twilight. His bangs obscured his eyes, but his stern voice still resonated with anger. "Why did you just watch, Twilight?!"
Caelus's low roar seemed to startle Twilight, making her jump back reflexively. She withdrew her hand, her eyes filled with unease.
Looking at this agitated Caelus, who seemed so unfamiliar, perhaps out of fear, Twilight hunched her shoulders, her eyes wide with panic and confusion.
"Caelus, did I... did I do something wrong?"
"Do something wrong?"
Hearing this, a chill ran down Caelus's spine. What was he hearing? After watching someone die right in front of her due to her indifference, Twilight was actually asking him what she did wrong?
What kind of cold-blooded person could utter such words...
Caelus had never killed anyone. Even during his time acting high and mighty in Belobog, he never dealt a lethal blow to those who attacked him. Taking another's life seemed like a distant concept to Caelus.
Of course, he wasn't naive. If faced with truly vicious criminals, he would only applaud those who eliminated such villains.
But Firefly—she was just an innocent girl! A kind girl who, even without much money in her pocket, was willing to treat him to snacks...
And in Twilight's eyes, the death of such a girl seemed utterly insignificant, to the point where she didn't even know what she had done wrong.
Hadn't she been taught properly? But Caelus couldn't understand. He and Twilight had awakened around the same time.
Although Twilight knew far less about worldly common sense compared to him, the Express crew had been teaching her for months.
Could she really not understand that her indifference allowed a life to be extinguished?
Or perhaps... she just didn't care... or even did it intentionally?
"...Twilight, why did you just watch?"
Caelus desperately tried to calm himself, but the vivid scene of an acquaintance being impaled before his eyes made it difficult to remain calm. He could only repeat the question, his voice slightly stiff.
"She was deceiving Caelus... She's really strong!" Caelus's attitude clearly flustered Twilight. Already poor with words, she desperately tried to organize her thoughts, but only sounded clumsier. "The dark-dark thing couldn't hurt her—"
"Couldn't hurt her...? She's already dead! Twilight, Firefly is dead!"
"Dead...?" Caelus's fierce reaction made Twilight even more agitated. She fidgeted nervously. "But, but I die too... Doesn't everyone die?"
Caelus was rendered speechless. Right, what was he even trying to tell Twilight?
She didn't even know what death meant... Perhaps that's why she could watch others die so easily.
This must be what they mean by the innocent being the cruelest.
"Everything is over for Firefly, Twilight. No one will talk to her again, no one will accompany her anymore... Death takes everything from a person."
Caelus felt only coldness and detachment. He waved his hand wearily, not wanting to speak further.
Twilight subconsciously reached out to grab his sleeve but missed again. Caelus didn't look at her, just stood silently to the side, withdrawn, leaving Twilight standing there helplessly.
Tsk tsk, making such a fuss over someone dying in a dreamscape, it's not like she's really dead... Good thing Black Swan isn't here, otherwise if she gave Caelus a buff to calm him down, I probably wouldn't be able to cash in on so many golden coins.
This is the good thing about protagonists—young, hot-headed, inexperienced. Just off one or two of his friends—even temporarily—and the emotional turmoil will immediately fuel him for 300 rounds against the enemy. If you sacrifice his waifu, the resulting power boost could let the protagonist blast the Demon King to smithereens.
And for Twilight, how much power despair granted wasn't important; how deep the despair felt was what mattered—that could all be converted into glittering energy points.
Caelus hadn't experienced much yet, so his emotional fluctuations in such situations were even greater... Just from the resentment Caelus felt towards her for letting Firefly die, the energy she had harvested was already a full 100,000 points.
She couldn't imagine how much he'd burst forth when she really died in front of him.
Anyway, Twilight was definitely going to drain his energy reserves dry because... this guy actually dared to yell at her!
Even my own father never yelled at me! — though she didn't have a father.
But Twilight was extremely petty.
Back then, Kevin Kaslana had made her spend hundreds of thousands extra energy points to conquer him, and Unit Three remembered it until the very end. How could she, Twilight, not retaliate fiercely?
Although Twilight looked aggrieved on the surface, inwardly, she was already sharpening her knives.
Seeing that Caelus only showed her his back, clearly having no intention of speaking to her further, Twilight lowered her head somewhat blankly.
Then, as if having made a decision, her body vanished from the spot.
Twilight.png (this real, i forgot add the image before)