LXIV

Licht

"SHIT!" Dai screamed as he jerked hard on the wheel, fighting to keep the car under control he managed to narrowly avoid the huge chunks of debris that would have otherwise crushed the car. "WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON HERE!?"

The whole situation had gone from bad to worse just shortly after he had left the area, first there had been the explosion which seemed to have wiped out the upper half of the tower on Enoshima island but that was only a prelude to what was to come. Where could he even begin to explain the freak storm that washed across the city leaving nothing but death and destruction its wake?

Communications with command were almost non-existent as whatever was causing this phenomenon was making a mess of the radio network as well, the sight of what appeared to by a hurricane surrounding the tower gave him bad feelings but even still he didn't know what it was.

That was until the storm subsided for a moment and radio traffic came back in and only then did he get and explanation for what had caused the mess. A brief message that told all who could hear it that Lucy was at the tower.

To think that a mere diclonius carried such overwhelming power, he had seen what vector could do but the sheer scale of destruction that had been inflicted on the city was of an entirely different level, it more appeared like the judgment of god had been brought down on them. With such power at their disposal he once and for all understood why people should fear the diclonius, now it made sense to what he along with Bando and Dreachon had figured out what the chief had been planning to do with the virus.

If this was the work of even a single diclonius then he could not imagine the effect of hundreds or even thousands of them spread across the globe, it could no longer be considered a war but rather an extermination of an entire species.

And yet it all fell so different than what he had seen with the girls so far, they did not harbor this desire to destroy although one of them had gotten pretty damn close, what could it have been that had caused Lucy to have carried out such a violent attack on the city?

Something must have happened up there but given the nature of Saseba and its beliefs when it came to horned girls it did not take him long to figure out the most likeliest cause; some idiot had attacked her first and acting like any cornered person or animal she had attacked.

"FUCK NOT AGAIN!" The car nearly crashed into a building as he had to evade a jetfighter than came crashing down towards him, razor hot fragments of the plane smashed into the car but other than a few minor cuts it seemed he had managed to get away from it unscathed.

He was getting worried about Yuka, Mako and all of the girls, god knew how bad it must for them right now but with not being able to help them he could only pray that they had taken shelter the moment this nightmare had started.

"FOR GOD SAKE!" Hitting the brakes as hard he could the car almost got stuck in a spin, luckily it just came to a grinding halt mere meters before he would have crashed into some pedestrians. "GET YOURSELF OFF THE STREETS! YOU IDIOTS WANT TO FUCKING DIE!?" It didn't seem they needed to be lecture by him for long and without even saying a word they ran off, leaving him again alone of the streets. It would be for the best if people stayed out of his, switching the gears he floored the gas pedal again and planned his course towards the tower, if anything it was the place where he might be able to make a difference.

"Everybody just stay safe, god just me get there in time…" He sighed as it began again.

"Kouta" Both Nyu and Kaede said un unison as they looked down upon him, they gave each other a quick glance before telling him what was going on but overcome by the delight of seeing them again Kouta didn't gave them the time or the chance for it.

"Nyu! Kaede! Thank god you are both okay! I-."

"No!" Nyu answered him, the happy smiles that nearly always graced her face being present. "Neither of us is okay, what you see here is nothing more than a psychic manifestation of our consciousness, we are not real. Neither alive nor death, mere manifestations or illusions of our minds you could say. We are working hard so that what is left within the remains of our former body cannot attack or hurt you."

He felt confused, what where they telling him. Manifestations or illusions of their conscious mind, what did they mean with those words?

Kaede called him back to listen carefully. "But we are growing weaker by the second, we can only protect this little spot and we cannot keep protecting it for long."

"Illusions?" He gasped as the reality of their words began to sink within him, that didn't make any sense. How was this even possible, surely there had to be some kind of explanation for all of this? There simply had to be. It had to.

"That is right, you are the only one who can see and hear us." Nyu pointed at the others behind him cowering and keeping their heads low in an effort to avoid getting hit. "They cannot see us nor can they hear us. The only person we have left is you, there is something you have to do for us. You are the only person who can do this for us, please Kouta?"

For a second time Kaede took over as this was something that only she should ask and not Nyu, this was her responsibility after all. "Kouta, do you remember? A long time ago. Something that I asked you to do for me eight years ago, when we had that ride on the bus going home. If I were to ever start killing a lot of innocent people…" She stopped at that as his memories came back to that particular point in his past. He could see her back in front of him when she was still this little girl with the wooly hat over her head.

"Kouta…" The girl whispered towards him. "Then please kill me…" Horrified he pulled back from his thoughts and gazed at the two faces of Nyu and Kaede staring back at him, they were both serious about this request and it left no doubt what they wanted for him to do.

"What the hell are you two talking about? Do you have any idea what you are asking of me? How can you expect me to kill two of the people I love the most in the whole world?"

"A world that will end unless we die… please Kouta you must understand that this isn't easy for us either… but as long as we remain alive… more people will end up suffering and dying… we can only interfere with the remains of our own boy… we cannot even kill it ourselves or we would have… Kouta… my love… please kill us…"

No that was madness, he could not bring himself to kill them. Even if he had said those words to Kaede earlier being confronted with it for real he could not do it. His head hanging low he felt lost, right now he could do with somebody else telling him what the right thing to do would be right now. Taking a deep breath he lifted his head again but he was in for yet another cruel twist of fate, the forms of both Nyu and Kaede started to shimmer before their outlines began fading away.

"Please Kouta… before we are gone for good…"

His head spun around until he was taking to a place that he had been many times now and yet it felt like he was there for the very first time in his life, it all felt so unreal to him and yet more real than anything else at the same time. Next to him was a very familiar face.

Sitting there next to him on the rock overlooking the wide open ocean was Kaede but not as he knew her now but rather when they had just met over eight years ago. The beach felt empty except for the two of them sitting here, it was quiet and only sound that accompanied them was the noise made by the ocean itself, the stars shined bright against the dark sky.

It was a rather peaceful setting and one he had actually hoped to experience together with Nyu but the way things had been going that seemed like a fleeting dream now, as he tried to turn his head he noticed much to his own dismay that his body would not move for the time being, somehow in this dream or vision he had control over his body.

The little girl just looked at him, smiling with an expression born from the happiness at getting to meet a long lost person. Her smile felt warm, the look in her eyes betraying her happiness, she had never looked more innocent than she had now and yet he also saw the sadness behind her eyes.

Giving up on moving after several frustrated attempts Kouta decided that perhaps he would just let her do the talking, if she had brought or summoned him then there would be a reason.

What could be going through her mind if she had gone through this kind of effort, surely it had be rather important to her or something she did not want others to know because as far as he could tell it seemed to just be the two of them on this remote piece of beach.

"We had always wanted to play with you Kouta and live with everyone at the Maple Inn but now we know that is longer possible for us…" She began to cry and although every part of his being screamed to move over and comfort her his body refused to respond.

"Because we have killed a lot of people already. We have to die because we no longer want to kill, we no longer want to continue with this wretched life of mine. But we still want to be with you Kouta so…"

He didn't want to have her ask him that question again, no matter how hard he tried his body didn't move, he just wanted to block his ears so he did not have to hear but for some reason he could not escape from it. In the end it seemed there would be no escape from her request, even so it did not take away that it was the worst possible thing she could have ever asked him to do.

She was going to have him kill people he considered family, how could she even think how it would affect him? This would haunt him for the rest of his life, the guilt would eat him.

"That is why… we want for you Kouta to kill us, if so, if so we can die without regrets…"

"I won't." He refused, it were for now the only words he could get across his own lips, he wanted to say so much more to her, to explain why he could not do what they were asking of him but the words simply did not come out.

"…Kouta…" She seemed to blush at him saying that, what was going through her mind as well. "Do you still remember the place where we first met when we were little, there is a big block of stone. Please go to it on the last day of the summer festival, we will be waiting for you there, we will always be waiting for you to come and see us."

"Really!?" He couldn't believe his ears, was it really true what she was telling him? Was there still a chance for all of them to come together in the end, fervently he hoped that it was true? But could it actually be, how would that be possible for them? Still it did not make him question his decision on not shooting them, he simply could not do it even if he had made a promise to her back all those years ago.

"Even when you grow older and marry someone, have kids and become a grandfather. And everyone gets along and lives happily… even if you have forgotten about us… we will still remember you… we will always be waiting for you…"

No he would never forget about them, he vowed then and there that he would never lose his memories of Nyu and Kaede, that he would always cherish them and the time they had gotten to spent together.

"We will always remember you Kouta, we will always be waiting for you at that place, we will always keep loving and cherishing you. If some day we were to be reborn, then we promise that the both of us will be good girls when that time comes. And it would be great if we could then stay at your side forever… so please… kill us…?"

The image or the memory or whatever it had been that they had been using to have their little conversation with him vanished, opening his eyes he found himself back at the tower. In front of him the shallow shape of them both could barely be seen, it seemed that what they had warned him about was happening.

"K-Kouta… it seems that our time has come… look our consciousness is starting to disappear… we can… no longer protect… you and your family… from anymore attacks… from here on… please hurry… Kouta! Please be quick about it… please kill our body…?"

In the corner of his eyes he saw a pistol lying there on the floor, he didn't know to whom it had belonged or how it had gotten here but it was lying there. Holding it in his hand it felt deceptively heavy, funny how this was the second time in his life that he had a gun in his hand, it felt terrifying to him that he had it aimed at a member of his family.

Even though the body had becomes hideous as whatever was causing it's decay had continued in the short time he had been absent, it couldn't move on its own anymore, it's torso was nearly entirely gone. Bones and other tissue could be scene protruding from the ruptured skin.

He asked himself how it was going to feel when he pressed that trigger, it would mark him forever as a person who had taken another's life, even if it meant that countless others could be saved he would have taken a life that did not belong to him.

Even then her one remaining eye was staring right back at him, all of the hatred and malice contained within there for him to see, it made him question how it could have let itself be consumed by it. How could any being exist purely by living on such malevolence?

"SO PAINFUL… SO PAINFUL… MUST END… THIS SUFFERING… MUST…END…!"

Gazing in awe from the more secure confines of the vectorcraft Arakawa kept watch. The city seemed to be in ruins and she could not begin to even do the math or make an educated guess on how many people had been killed. Yet this had confirmed her theory that the vectors were not meant at all for spreading the virus or transferring it to another host, rather they appeared to be more of a physical power used for a multitude of tasks though their primary one seemed for causing destruction.

The destruction that had been inflicted on the DRI had already been a sight to behold but this attack, this was of an entirely different nature, it simply dwarfed the previous attack in scale and sheer intensity.

Though it was hazardous for her to stay where she was her curiosity as a scientist got the better of her as she wanted to study this, this might be the only chance she was ever going to get in her life to get an insight to the true power that a diclonius could unleash.

It was both fascinating and terrifying that such power belonged to a living being, it did raise the question with her once more to what diclonius really were. Just a small mutation that had gone astray or was it just like the chief had believed that they represent a new species, then again there was every reason to assume that they could possible represent a possible next stage in the evolution of mankind.

Nearly swept of her feet as the ship was rocked by the waves she grabbed the nearest object she could lay her hands on so as not get fall down, from where she was standing it was still a good drop to the stamping deck of the ship, three meters perhaps give or take but without the ladder that was even for her a dangerous fall to make. That would be downright disappointing if she were to slip here and break her neck when she fell down, she wasn't planning on dying but another powerful wave slammed into the ship nearly making it happen.

Letting out a sigh of relief as she fell back inside the vectorcraft she offered a small prayer to god for still looking over her, she would need to remind herself to thank him later provided that she could survive this day. A horrible groan erupted from the either the vectorcraft or the ship itself and another wave impacted against them, she just hoped that neither of these rust buckets were going to fall apart.

Sparks and flashes created by the vectors colliding with the canceller field drew up her head, she gazed at it hoping that despite the beating it must have taking that it could still keep on working for just a bit longer. Every now and then she had heard a curse coming from inside and under the circumstances she could well relate to what these curses meant.

She was going to take one hell of a bath after all of this was over, with everything that been going on she felt like she had nearly doubled in age. Dealing with horned girls wasn't good for one's health it seemed but it was already far too late for her to get away from it.

It noticed him as well as he pointed the gun at it. "YOU BASTARD… MAKE… PAY… UNFORGIVABLE… UNFORGIVABLE!" Even then despite its fury and the anger within the voice it did not seem to be able to do much else, how he had wished there had been a different way for them both, a way that would have allowed for both of them to live on.

Taking a deep breath Kouta sighed as he steadied his grip on the pistol. "I am sorry, Nyu, Kaede please forgive for me…" Closing his eye his finger started to pull back on the trigger, even with his eyes closed he knew that he could not miss not did he want see the bullet killing her. Just by looking at it he could feel the intense hatred that this thing felt for him.

How could a being come to carry so much hatred within itself, was this the madness that Kaede had been exposed to for so long?

With a loud clang is scattered across the floor as he let it drop. "I can't… I just can't shoot… I am so sorry… but I can't do this… I can't…" He cried even harder than before, he could not gather the strength in his heart to pull the trigger, he could not bring himself to fire that gun and kill them both.

"K-KOUTA…!?" It was one last cry from both Nyu and Kaede, one last message from them for him. "W-WHA-WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? AT T-THIS RATE… EVERYONE W-WILL…D-DIE… KOU…TA…!"

Vectors flashed by his face, making deep cuts in his cheeks, raising his arm to try and protect himself it was a feeble gesture nonetheless. "SO PAINFUL… SO PAINFUL… CAN'T DEFLECT… CAN KILL… WILL END… SUFFERING…KILL…!" Coming at high speed he could see one vector coming towards him, this was going to be it. He was going to die because of the choice he had made, faintly he could hear somebody screaming his name but who it was screaming was lost on him.

Closing his eyes he readied himself for the inevitable, there would be no point in running, the only regret that existed was for not having been able to protect his family in the end. What a lousy man that made him to be but it could no longer be helped.

Drawing breath it was likely going to be his last anyway.

All was quiet, so quiet that at first he thought he had died but then the warm rays of the sun touched his face and he understood that he was still alive. No idea how or why he lowered his head and looked at the cause, with tears in his eyes he saw she was lying there on the ground. A single vector was there to see as it kept something for him to take, it was the gun, why had this person or thing not killed him when it had the chance.

The answer came quickly as he could barely hear it whispering for him to kill it, apparently the pain had become too great to bear even for this. Somewhere in his heart he felt pity for it.

"Painful… painful… painnn…" He could hear it sigh, so that was going to be it. Now after having resisted it own death for so long it now almost begged for him to kill it and put it out of its misery, even now he was feeling hesitant to accept the gun. Didn't matter if this thing had caused so many deaths, every time he looked at the malformed face he could only see she the warm smiles of Nyu looking back at him. He didn't want to kill them, he didn't want to lose them. He couldn't bear the thought of losing another member of his family again, losing Nyu and Kade was not what he wanted. He longed for them, he wanted them to be with him.

"End… sufferinnnn… painnnn… to… much… painnnn…" It coughed or stuttered for a lack of a better word as if it was trying to rally the lasts of its reserve, even from this it seemed that the body could no longer continue to use the power as more skin kept falling off, hissing steam rose up from between the exposed ribs he could see. Tissue melted away, boils across it blistered skin erupted, spilling disgusting ooze across the body.

His hands clearly shaking he took a hold of the gun, once more the heavy weight of it felt uncomfortable to him, looking down at its molten form he made a prayer as he removed the safety and took aim. He couldn't do this, how much he wanted to stop this.

Behind him he could clearly hear the cries and the whimpering of the others, he just hoped that after all this was over they could find it in their hearts to forgive him for what he was going to do next, trembling he held it with both hands as he now placed the muzzle against the head. Just one shot to end all of her suffering, taking a deep breath he cried as he screamed…

"… And that was when I killed both Nyu and Kaede, it still haunts me to this very day even if my memories of that day are less than stellar. It seems that for the most part I am suffering from the same illness that has plagued me since the death of Kanae-chan and father. Still I don't want to forget, I don't want to lose my memories of them, even if the last moments I had with them both were some of the most painful yet I will prefer to keep the painful memories over not having any memories at all…

… Often I still find myself crying or waking up covered in sweat from having to relive that experience but I cannot allow their memory to go to waste, sure it is hard on me but I can count myself fortunate that I have people that I can rely on to comfort me and provide me with the support I need to pull through this. Yuka and the others I can thank for that as I need them as hard if not harder than they need me, we all need to grief for the loss of Nyu-chan.

I haven't told them about Kaede, I do not think they would understand either way and perhaps this is for the better for them. I would hate for their pleasant memories of Nyu to be tarnished by that knowledge…

…To be honest I don't even remember on how we manage to get away from that place after I fired the gun, yet the details of the shot are crystal clear me to; the heaviness of the trigger, the deafening boom when it went off, the punishing back blow from the recoil.

My mind was such a mess after that but then who wouldn't be after being forced to kill a person they love…

… From what Yuka has told me it was Dai-san who had come to get us out of there, it seemed that I was in such a shock from when it happened that I couldn't even move on my own. He had to carry me all the way back down towards to the car, yet I could not leave and just letting her remains lie there, luckily for me Nana-chan and Saeko-chan were kind enough grab those remains of her though because of our hurry they couldn't get everything…

… Times since that day have been very turbulent as in the aftermath of her attack and the destruction brought on by it the government expanded their anti-diclonius policy though it was kept hidden from the general population, the damage was explained by a heavy storm that appeared out of nowhere and experts have been brought in to verify that. People are buying into it even when they have likely seen with their own eyes that it was something else.

It is clear to me now that the government wants to cover this all up but how that is going to affect us remains to be seen, Dai-san and Mako-san are already taking precautionary steps to make sure the girls stay safe, right now it is best for them to keep hiding until the worst has passed over…

… It has been several months now, to be honest I have kind of lost track as for how long but I hope that soon I can leave the hospital. The days seem to go by much to slow for me as there is little that I can do while my bodies recovers from the gunshots, according to the doctors I have been very lucky to have survived the first one let alone the second shot. I know that I wasn't lucky at all but that somebody else was very unlucky as they had to give up their lives for my sake, I feel guilty about that. I really mean that, I am partly to blame for their deaths.

The doctors seem to have good hope and my recovery is going well, already I am looking forward to going home though it is going to feel different now that she is no longer there…

… Yuka and the others have been hard at work in getting the inn repaired over the last few months, to think that it is now starting to almost be summer. Wish I could be there to help them but the doctors won't allow me to leave. I am getting impatient as with the increasing better weather I really start to long for going back home, so anxious to see their faces all again…

Still not everything is going well sadly from what I have heard, there has been no word from either Bando-san or Dreachon-san after all this time, I fear that they have died trying to help us, I've never come to really like either of them but they were men of their word and they likely did what they could…

… The government seems to be still on the hunt for any diclonius that might have survived but I know that with having the right help that we can keep the girls safe. It won't be an easy task for us and I am not going to fool myself with any false hope but we are not just going to hand them over like that, they are now part of our families.

With the five girls we have taken in it seems they are all that remain of their species, somehow it feels odd that whenever I say diclonius from now on it will only refer to these remaining five.

We are no longer alone in this fight, we are lucky to have others helping us and even if there are only a few of them it is far better than when it where just the three of us but even so it will remain an uphill battle as we want to give them the best chances at a long and happy future.

School might become an option for them as well and I know that Nana-chan would love to be in the same class as Mayu-chan though I hope she won't find it is boring as when she went with me and Yuka…

For now from what I have been told the girls are holding out in these uncertain times for them, Nana-chan remains strong and as optimistic as she always is but the twins have been taken aback, I can't imagine how it must feel to be the last ones of your race but as long as they are with people that care for who they are they should be able to pull through.

They are with good people and I know in my heart that neither Dai-san or Mako-san is going to let them down, they will treat them as their own.

The only one that has me worried is Saeko-chan, she has not taken well with regards with no news coming to what happened to Dreachon-san. If he really has died than I fear that she is going to breakdown, already she has become more timid. And then that leaves the new girl, we sadly don't know her name and even now after these months she appears to be stuck in her coma, she is getting the best treatment we can give her but it is difficult without being able to use the hospital. Luckily her body seems to be recovering by itself but we don't know when or if ever she is going to wake up, still Saeko-chan seems to focus on helping this girl and for now it appears to be the only thing that is keeping her from collapsing but from what Yuka told me she might be losing the will to live. That has really gotten me worried…

… Sadly I might need to redo this year on school due to my absence, ah well perhaps my counselor will understand my situation and allow me to retake some of the exams that I have missed. Hopefully it won't be during the summer period as I really want to get some rest when I go home, the summer festival is one thing I am looking forward to both with anxious excitement and painful dread. If what Kaede said is true then we might all just be able to meet again on that very last day, I promise that I will be there no matter what…

… No matter how much effort it will take me, no matter if I need even need to get there in a wheelchair or be carried in this bed but I will be at that place on the last day, I made that promise and this is one I will never break. I want to see them both again, really badly and against my better judgment I am praying each day that we will see each other…

… Please be there… both of you… I really want to see… and hold you again…"

DAS ENDE

Author's note: And with this we have come to the end of Herald of Damnation,I can only hope that you all have enjoyed this story as much as I have enjoyed writing it and if you have than I would kindly ask you leave to a comment or review and let me know, I will really mean a lot to me to hear your thoughts on the story now that it is finished.

When I started writing this story and thinking of what was going to come I had no idea that it would eventually grow to this size which in itself is both gratifying and yet also somewhat scary for me when I look at it now. I've had plenty of mood swings when writing this story going from depression to outright ecstasy but enough of that rambling.

I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for having taken the time and giving this story a try, what surprised me the post was the sheer number of different countries that you all come from. Seeing people from across the corners of the world read something that you have created yourself makes it rather special.

There are a number of people that I want to thank; either because they helped me directly with the story or simple because their great works inspired me to keep on writing. If you are following their works then there is no further need for me to explain, if you haven't however than I highly recommend that you get started.

First and foremost comes Rocci who has been with me from the start with advice, tips, inspiration through his own works and off course kind words of encouragement when I needed them the most. The "Pinpoint" saga is a great read.

Then comes keithallen who has been another great source of inspiration and though sadly I haven't gotten a chance to talk to him I do really enjoy his stories and in particular his stunning "Favor" saga.

Also another author worth mentioning is Seraphobia and in particular for his absolutely mind blowing story "What is Written in Blood" which simply has to be one of the best if not the best fanfic story in the Elfen Lied section.

There are a number of other people that really do deserve to be mentioned as well but I do feel somewhat ashamed of myself for having to admit that I have sadly forgotten your names, I'm truly sorry for that and I can only apologize for having been so lax.

I really enjoyed talking to you people who left reviews, favs or subscribed and those of you who simply wanted to know more, it was a lot of fun talking with you people and I do wish that it could have continued with the story just a little longer but like all good things it too must come to an end.

Now while this is the end of the story, it is not the end of the tale. Hopefully I can welcome all of you who have enjoyed this story to come and join me once more in its continuation "Progeny of Sorrows" which by now already has its first 5 chapters post. I will be looking forward getting to see all of you again there as we will be going for another long journey as we get to take a look at the world that Kouta, his family and the few surviving diclonius will live in following the aftermath of the lighthouse incident. Take care people and I hope to see you soon again.