A Strange Envelope
Eivo stood before everyone.
Jinsu stood directly behind him, restrained in the middle of the Council Hall, while the Council Leaders sat in their places, watching the scene with grim expressions.
But Eivo...
didn't seem interested in any of them.
His hands were in his pockets, and his relaxed posture was almost deliberately irritating, as though the entire matter meant nothing to him.
Silence lingered for several moments.
Then one of the Council Leaders broke it.
— "Eivo, is that right?"
Eivo didn't answer.
The leader raised an eyebrow, then continued in a tone filled with clear disapproval.
— "Since when do the Butchers defend Yami?"
Several people shifted uneasily.
— "Aren't you known for killing Yami more than any other organization? The world even gave you the name 'Butchers' because of it."
He paused, then stared directly at Eivo.
— "So why are you defending him now?"
Eivo didn't move.
He didn't even look at him.
Instead, he continued staring somewhere else.
The leader's eyes narrowed.
(Is this bastard ignoring me?)
He raised his head slightly, trying to figure out what Eivo was looking at.
Then he realized.
Eivo was staring directly at the Council Leader.
As if he were saying clearly:
I'm not talking to anyone but you.
Anger surged through the leader's chest.
(Is he... looking down on us?)
(We're the Council Leaders!)
He opened his mouth to respond, but another voice came before he could.
— "Eivo."
The entire hall fell still.
Eivo smiled slightly, then pulled one hand from his pocket.
— "Yes?"
The Council Leader spoke calmly.
— "Speak."
Eivo's smile widened slightly.
— "Of course, Leader!"
He gestured toward Jinsu with his thumb without even looking at him.
— "What I want to say is that you should drop the charges against this bastard."
Silence.
For one second.
Then...
The hall exploded.
— "What?!"
— "Eivo, are you insane?!"
— "Drop the charges?! Do you even know what you're saying?!"
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— "Have the Butchers rebelled against the organizations and joined the side of the Yami?!"
— "Who do you think you are to demand something like this from us?!"
The voices overlapped, filling the hall with anger.
As for Jinsu...
He slowly raised his head.
His eyes were fixed on Eivo.
The same person who had been beating him moments earlier...
was now standing before the Council, defending him.
Jinsu couldn't understand anything.
(What is he doing?)
(Why is he defending me?)
The Council Leader's voice thundered throughout the hall.
— "Silence!"
Everything stopped.
Only silence remained.
The Council Leader stared at Eivo for a long moment.
Then she said:
— "Eivo, justify your position."
Eivo raised his eyes toward her.
— "Leader, all I'm saying is that he doesn't deserve execution..."
He paused.
— "...nor sealing."
Several faces froze.
The Council Leader asked:
— "Why?"
Eivo was silent for a moment.
Then he smiled.
— "Because this is the will of the strongest person in the world."
The hall erupted again.
— "What?!"
— "You bastard, have you lost your mind?!"
— "Are you talking about Thalen?!"
— "Thalen is in a coma! How could this possibly be his will?!"
— "You can't possibly know what he wants!"
Eivo remained calm amid all the shouting.
But the Council Leader didn't shout.
She simply looked at him.
Then asked:
— "Is what you're saying true, Eivo?"
He didn't answer.
A strange silence descended.
Then...
Eivo disappeared from in front of Jinsu.
Jinsu's eyes widened.
— "What...?"
In the next instant, Eivo appeared above the fake leader.
He planted his foot on the man's head and pushed himself upward.
He jumped.
But that jump wasn't normal.
His body continued rising...
Then stopped.
In midair.
Directly before the Council Leader.
Everyone froze.
To the ordinary people in the hall, all they saw was Eivo standing in the air.
But the members of Gaya...
saw something else.
Something that drained the color from their faces.
There was something behind Eivo.
Something enormous.
Something that should never have been inside this hall.
Yurles spoke in horror, his eyes never leaving the entity.
— "What... is that thing?"
A smile appeared on Tsukiro's face.
He spoke calmly.
— "This?"
He raised his eyes toward the entity.
— "This is Eivo's Yami manifestation."
He paused.
— "And its name is..."
Tsukiro's smile widened.
— "Death."
A heavy silence filled the hall.
Even Yurles had nothing to say.
Shiroken finally spoke, genuine astonishment in his voice.
— "What a terrifying Yami..."
He narrowed his eyes.
— "Its name truly suits it."
He looked at Eivo.
— "But what truly amazes me..."
His gaze returned to the Yami.
— "How can a nineteen-year-old boy control a Yami with such overwhelming power and brutality?"
The Yami was completely black.
A deep, absolute black, as though it had been torn from an enraged night sky.
A red mark shaped like two horns was carved into its forehead, while its long black hair flowed behind it with the movement of the air.
Its body was enormous, and two massive white wings extended from its back.
Its eyes...
were purple.
They were not ordinary eyes.
They radiated an overwhelming sense of dread, as though merely looking into them was enough to understand the enormous difference between humanity and this creature.
And strangest of all...
The Yami was carrying Eivo without even touching him.
Eivo stood above it, completely relaxed, while the creature remained in place with its wings spread wide.
It didn't need to move.
Its mere presence was enough.
Eivo looked toward the Council Leader.
Then smiled.
— "Now that I'm looking at you up close..."
He paused.
— "You're actually beautiful."
Several eyebrows rose.
Eivo continued without hesitation.
— "You truly suit your position as the Council Leader."
Then he looked at the elevated chair where she sat.
— "Now I understand why you hide your face..."
He paused.
Then added with a smile:
— "And why your chair is higher than everyone else's."
One of the leaders erupted in anger.
— "You bastard!"
He stood from his seat.
— "Are you insulting the Leader now?! Do you want to die?!"
Eivo looked at him.
— "Insulting her?"
He tilted his head slightly.
— "Don't you think she's beautiful?"
An awkward silence filled the hall for a moment.
Eivo smiled.
— "Who's insulting her now?"
He paused.
— "Me..."
Then looked at the leader.
— "...or you?"
The leader opened his mouth, but couldn't find a response.
At that moment, the Council Leader raised one finger toward him.
He froze.
— "L-Leader?"
He looked at her in shock.
Anger burned inside him.
(This...)
(I'm the one defending her, and she's silencing me?)
But the Council Leader paid him no attention.
Her gaze returned to Eivo.
— "Then?"
Eivo slipped his hand into his pocket.
He pulled out something small.
A white envelope.
The Council Leader's expression changed the instant she saw it.
Eivo extended his hand.
— "This is an envelope."
Then he said:
— "Thalen wrote it himself."
The entire hall seemed to stop breathing.
Eivo continued:
— "And he wrote it for you."
He extended his hand farther, until the envelope was directly before the Council Leader.
She didn't move.
She didn't reach for it.
She simply stared at the envelope.
As for the other leaders...
Shock began appearing on their faces.
— "Thalen...?"
— "Did Thalen wake from his coma?!"
— "Has the strongest man in the world returned?!"
— "Has our protector returned?!"
The voices rose again.
But this time...
They weren't angry.
They were filled with fear.
Hope.
And disbelief.
As for Jinsu...
He continued staring at the envelope.
He didn't know what was inside.
But one thing was clear.
That envelope...
hadn't reached this hall by accident.
And the words Thalen had written inside it...
might change everything.