I burned the tree.
I burned the people.
Even as I moved forward, setting everything in front of me ablaze, the flames clinging to my body never extinguished.
The flames ignited by those who cried out for revenge after betraying my trust refused to go out.
My flesh burned continuously, yet renewed itself, resulting in endless pain.
Hating the world that inflicted this torture upon me, I yearned to return that pain to it.
Aaaah-!!!
As I filled with the desire for revenge and began to ignite the world with my own hands, I heard the sound of a pained scream.
Surely the world that was burning was suffering the same torment as I was.
Thus, the scream should have been sweet to my ears.
However, for some reason, I felt no emotion from that scream.
Only the raging flames whispered to me to burn everything in front of me, prompting me to burn and burn again.
Burn it.
Whenever the flames whispered to me like that, I heard the scream.
Burn it.
When the flames pressed me, I heard the scream.
The forest, once full of the cherished green, was now filled with black soot.
When I had burned everything that held such precious memories, I suddenly glanced back at the path I had walked.
I saw the path, now covered in soot, with nothing left unburned.
Only then did I realize.
In the end, at the end of revenge, there was ultimately nothing left.
I recognized that revenge was indeed a futile endeavor.

Perhaps, I might have known this from the very beginning.
That such actions should not have been taken.
Aaaah-
Upon realizing this, I found that I had been crying out loudly for some time.
Aaaah-
The sound coming from my throat resembled the screams I had long been hearing.
Aaaaah-!!!
No, perhaps it was I who had been screaming from the beginning.

I tried to stop myself.
However, it was impossible.
The flames ignited by my desire for revenge would not extinguish until my vengeance was fulfilled.
No matter how much I wished to stop, as long as the fire of revenge consumed my body, the voice within me that yearned to burn everything would not cease.
Perhaps that’s why.
That moment when my breath was cut off by another’s hand felt so fortunate.
At the end of my life, I fervently wished.
That in my next life, I would not have to live a life filled with such regrets.
I wished for that with all my heart.

However, when I regained consciousness,
I felt it.
The flame within me had still not extinguished.
Not even death could snuff out that flame.
Once this flame consumes me and all the innocent children,
I will again move to set the world ablaze.
And so, all that remains for me now is despair.
.
.
.
*
When I awakened, I was unknowingly shedding tears.
Huh, why am I crying…?
I… don’t quite understand, but I feel like I had a very sad dream.
Yet, since I can’t recall what the dream was about, perhaps I saved some world somewhere.
Muttering nonsensical thoughts to myself in my sleepy state, I got up.
To clear my mind, I slowly turned my neck to the side for a stretch.
And then,
“…Hiiik?!”
There sat Yoon Si-woo right next to my bed.
It was a little embarrassing since I seemed to have made a strange sound, but this was unavoidable.
Who wouldn’t be startled when waking up to someone looking intensely serious beside them?
More importantly, what was he doing here, staring at me with such a grave expression while I was sleeping?
I thought a ghost had appeared or something…
As I internally muttered and calmed my startled heart, I began to understand why Yoon Si-woo was here.
Given how much he worries, he must have been watching over me while I was sick.
Peeking toward the window, I saw sunlight streaming in between the blackout curtains.
It had definitely been nighttime before I fell asleep.
…Could it be that he stayed up all night, worried about me?
If that’s the case, I would feel quite sorry for him…
In any case, I felt much better than when I fell asleep, perhaps thanks to him.
I figured I should at least thank him.
Just as I was thinking that, Yoon Si-woo, who had been staring at me intently, muttered with a serious expression.
“…Scarlet, is it you?”
“…?”
I think I unintentionally made a dumbfounded expression at that question.
Wondering if I had heard it correctly, I was taken aback by how absurd it was.
Receiving the question “Are you human?” on the Internet was the only thing that could top the absurdity of this.
But since he asked me, I felt I had to answer, so I carefully responded after deep contemplation on the existential aspect.
“…It is Scarlet.”
“…I’m relieved. You look okay.”
Even I thought that was a pretty dumb answer.
But that response seemed to ease the serious look on Yoon Si-woo’s face just a bit.
From his reaction, it seemed he wanted to ask if I was well.
After all the worry he had put into caring for me all night, his words were likely a little muddled from fatigue.
Thinking that, I felt even more guilty toward Yoon Si-woo.
So, just as I was considering preparing breakfast for the hard-working Yoon Si-woo, his phone rang, as if he had received a message.
I wondered if it was some bad news.
Yoon Si-woo’s expression briefly crumpled as he checked his phone.
After looking back and forth between his phone and me for a moment, he scowled and muttered.
“…Sorry, Scarlet. I should be by your side, but it seems something has come up.”
Saying this, Yoon Si-woo looked incredibly, incredibly sorry, yet there was an anxious look on his face.
I thought it might be an expression that would not pale even in comparison to a parent who had left their child near water.
Just how worried had he been about my illness that he had to rush out now?
To alleviate Yoon Si-woo’s anxiety, I exaggerated my gestures more than usual and affirmed that I was okay.
“Hey, no worries. If something’s come up, you should go. If you’re worried about me, then don’t! Look, thanks to your care, I’m completely back to normal. So don’t mind me, just go.”
“But…”
Seeing him continue to express concern even though I insisted I was fine made me feel pity for him.
While I appreciated his concern, it felt excessive.
“I’m really okay! You know my body is pretty sturdy. What’s there to worry about? Did something big happen that I don’t know about?”
As I spoke playfully, Yoon Si-woo flinched and shivered.
His odd reaction caught me off guard as well.
…Eh, what? I was just joking!
Did something truly happen while I was asleep?
If so, then I could understand why Yoon Si-woo was reacting like that.
So I waited for an answer, curious if something indeed occurred, and after a moment of silence, Yoon Si-woo murmured.
“…No, nothing happened. It’s something you don’t need to worry about. I just think I might have been a bit overprotective.”
“…What? Is that all? I thought you were hiding something from me. Well, considering we both share the big secret of being witches, there shouldn’t be anything to hide.”
Thinking that it was needless worry, I laughed and said this, and Yoon Si-woo nodded with a smile.
For some reason, he looked slightly strained while smiling.
Had he not been able to rest while taking care of me?
“…Hey, you haven’t been able to rest because you were taking care of me, right? Don’t overdo it.”
Seeing my concern, Yoon Si-woo seemed to dismiss it.
“Overdoing it? No way. It’s just like always; I’m just doing what I can.”
As he stood up, he smiled at me before leaving the room.
“So, Scarlet, you really don’t have to worry about anything.”
He still looked as if he was pushing himself too hard.
*
After Yoon Si-woo left the house, feeling better, I informed Teacher Eve that I was fully recovered.
When I asked about class, she mentioned that due to the major incident, they couldn’t hold classes, so they were substituting with cleanup work and field practice for a while.
It seemed they were short-staffed, as the other kids also appeared to be hard at work helping where assistance was needed.
Now that I felt better, I couldn’t just sit around, so I decided to support wherever I was needed.
The area most in need of help was the disposal of the corpses of the lesser demonic beasts scattered throughout the city.
If left unattended and allowed to decay, they could release magical energy and pose a risk to the citizens, so staff from the disposal company were working to move them safely.
As I received directions and made my way to where I would be working,
I noticed a familiar girl with blue hair crouched in front of the hospital.
I turned my steps momentarily and approached her, who had buried her face in her knees.
“…Marin.”
“…Scarlet.”
Seeing Marin lift her head weakly, I gently wrapped my arms around her shoulders instead of greeting her.
She was the strongest girl above all else.
When her father was gravely injured, she stood up to fight, believing that a hero must smile even through hardship.
But no matter what adjectives may describe her, she was still just a young girl.
“…Ugh, hic…”
Nobody could blame her for holding back her cries, stifling her tears.