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suzuran777 · 2 months

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Lamento Beyond the Void: Glossary

Since I've been slowly replaying Lamento, I wanted to create my own glossary to link back to my Lamento Expiatio translation posts! I'm sure there's already a lot of information online about Lamento's worldbuilding and the terms they use in the game, however since some pages of the wikia are a bit empty and I'm having trouble finding some older Tumblr blog posts, I decided to make one too.

Most of this is translated directly from the official website, the World Guidebook, and Lamento Green Notes. I tried to keep it consistent with some of the commonly used fan-translation terms, but I also included the Japanese words in case anyone's curious what the original term in the game is.

Shisa/Sisa (祇沙): An island nation surrounded by a yellow ocean. Blocked by coral reefs, the inhabitants of Shisa don't interact a lot with surrounding nations. Officially, the nation's leader is the lord of Ransen, but each village has a strong sense of autonomy. According to the legend, Shisa's sun fell into the sea a long time ago, which dyed the ocean a yellow color.

Moon of Light (陽の月) and Shadow (陰の月) : The Moon of Light rises during daytime, while the Moon of Shadow rises at night. Both moons generate almost no heat, that's why it's said that Shisa's weather feels like spring all year round.

Ribika (リビカ): The inhabitants of Shisa, characterized by their cat ears and tails. They can be divided into two different species, large species and small species. While larger species have stronger bodies and have great fighting abilities, smaller species are more flexible and agile. Smaller species usually larger ears and longer tails compared to bigger species. Even though Ribika don't have the best eyesight, they have excellent hearing abilities and can rotate their ears to determine the location where sound is coming from. When they get angry or excited, their pupils become thin and narrow. Their sense of smell is also very strong. Not only do their tails help them with balance, it's also possible to guess what emotions they're feeling by looking at the movement of their tails. They are natural hunters, therefore their staple food is mostly meat, but they also eat fruits and nuts (such as the Kuim fruit). Most Ribika aren't super interested in food and can easily last several days without eating.

✧General terms✧

Two Canes/Futatsuzue (二つ杖): A race that according to Shisa's legends, once inhabited Shisa. They left their civilization behind, and many can only speculate why they disappeared. It is believed that Two Canes were in fact the humans Razel talked about.

Touga (闘牙): Touga is a term used to describe skilled fighters. They often work together with Sanga as a pair. Unlike Sanga who are born with their abilities, anyone can train to become a Touga. A Touga without a Sanga has no chance of beating a Touga and Sanga pair in battle.

Sanga (賛牙): Sanga are born with a special ability to support others with the power of song, boosting the other person's fighting ability. A Sanga doesn't actually use their voice to sing, the "song" is usually a melody. Because of their special abilities, they are highly sought after.

Sangachou (賛牙長): Literally translates to "Chief Sanga". They are guardian cats who serve the families of Shisa's feudal lords. Sanga are often requested to play a supporting role in the country's national affairs and are sometimes in charge of politics on behalf of their feudal lords.

Devil (悪魔): Ribika aren't the only inhabitants of Shisa, there are also more dangerous beings such as monsters and devils. Devils can be recognized by their horns and tails. It's said that they can make any wish come true, as long as you give them what they want.

The Void/Utsuro (虚ろ): A mysterious phenomenon which has been slowly affecting different areas of Shisa. It consumes all living beings, and the spread of it has made it difficult to hunt for food, often leading to food shortages and starvation.

The Sickness/Shikku (失躯): A deadly disease which leads to pain, fever and the sudden loss of limbs and other body parts. Female Ribika are much more likely to get the disease, which is why they have become very rare.

Black cats: Black cats are considered a symbol of misfortune. It's said that when many black cats are spotted in Shisa, abnormal weather conditions and natural disasters become more common. Because of this stigma, Ribika from villages like Kira do not interact with the outside world.

✧Locations✧

Ransen (藍閃): Shisa's capital, located in the center of the country. This city was built on top of the ruins of the Two Canes, and is characterized by its square-shaped buildings. Ransen is also the city where the country's most important individuals live, such as the feudal lords and their Sanga. The library is also located here, which was the legacy of the Two Canes. It has a large collection of books that describe the history and legends of Shisa. Under normal circumstances, entry is prohibited, but on the last day of winter it becomes a venue for a costume ball and anyone participating can enter the building. Big festivals also take place in this city which attract visitors from all over the country, such as the spring festival and the dark winter festival.

Karou (火楼): A small village located in the southwestern part of Shisa, and also the place where Konoe's house is located. The town is inhabited by a very cautious race of warriors, who learn combat techniques at an early age. They are not very fond of strangers and people rarely leave their houses. It's one of the villages where isolation has become a serious problem due to the Void, and in recent years the extreme food shortages gave them no choice but to resort to cannibalism.

Kira (吉良): A village located deep inside of the secluded valley. A cursed tribe is rumored to live here, whose ears and tails are black, and their bodies covered in strange markings. As a result of these rumors and its hard to find location, even merchants avoid Kira.

Meigi (冥戲): Kira's rival tribe. Its inhabitants are known to be devil worshippers and because of this, they are even more infamous than those who live in Kira.

Setsura (刹羅): A village located in the northern part of Ransen, where large species of Ribika live. Because of their strength and great fighting abilities, many of them become bodyguards or bounty hunters.

Lost Forest/Mayoi no Mori (迷いの森): A vast forest located between Ransen and Karou. The thick branches of the trees and leaves block most of the light, making it an easy place to get lost, even during daytime. Some merchants developed special techniques to navigate the forest, which is why Tokino can travel to Karou without getting lost. Recently, the Void has affected large parts of the forest, eroding its surroundings at an abnormally fast rate, which is why some also refer to it as the Void Forest.

Secluded Valley/Yukoku no Tani (幽刻の谷): Located somewhere inside the Lost Forest. A place covered in a dark, thick fog, where plants and trees wither. It's rumored that the village of Kira is located somewhere in this valley. Most living beings, including animals, avoid this place.

Mirror Lake/Kagami-ko (カガミ湖): A mysterious lake located northeast of Ransen, which is considered one of the biggest mysteries of Shisa. Even though the sound of waves can be heard when approaching the lake, the surface appears to be calm, resembling a mirror. For some reason the surface of the lake is impenetrable, so even walking on it is possible. There is also a cave near the lake, but it cannot be entered under normal circumstances.

✧Mythology✧

Song of the Beginning: According to the legends, Ribika was a goddess and also the wife of Two Canes/Futatsuzue. It is said that she created Shisa after laying a rainbow egg that fell to the earth and shattered, which awakened life. The song Ribika sang while this happened is referred to as "The Song of the Beginning".

Ribika (god): To protect life of those who inhabited Shisa, she took the form of a cat and lived among them. However, in this form she was not able to support the sun any longer, which fell into the sea. She then split the moon into two, the moon of light and the moon of shadow.

Some extra fun facts I wasn't sure where to add in this list:

Konoe and Asato would be considered small species of cats even though Asato's the same height as Bardo, so appearance-wise it seems like only the ears and tails look different.

I think it's pretty obvious that Bardo's supposed to be a tiger and for Rai's a snow leopard, but they just describe Konoe's design as ''milk tea color''.

The books mentions that Ribika are covered in a thin layer of invisible hair which they like to keep clean, which is why they groom themselves, and yes their tongues are similar to real cats.

The reason why Ribika (the species) refer to themselves as ''cats'' is because the cats that appeared in old literature shared the same traits as them (ears and a tail).

For some reason, there are no remaining pictures of what Two Canes looked like, though Razel does confirm they were in fact the same as humans. It's pretty much unknown where humanity went and why all traces of them in the books were erased.

The webcomic has shown some things that were only mentioned in text before in the game, such as designs of what the monsters look like (they kind of look like feline creatures with horns) and human Razel.

In the interviews they mention that they were inspired by Celtic culture and music, specifically Ireland. Shisa isn't supposed to be an existing country, but you do see some inspirations in the game like the Celtic knot patterns.

#lamento #lamento beyond the void #nitro+chiral #blvninfo #visualnovel

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suzuran777 · 2 months

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Lamento stageplay news + visuals

Just one more day left until the live performancs of the Lamento stageplay start! The stageplay was of course already announced last year, but as they finally started tweeting the countdown pictures, I wanted to write a blog post about the visuals and information they've released so far, comparing some of the stageplay visuals to the official game illustrations!

Similar to the DRAMAtical Murder (DMMd) and sweet pool stageplays, the Lamento stageplay will also have different routes for each main character, Asato, Bardo and Rai. I'm going to assume that the first half of the stageplay will be some kind of common route, while the second half focuses on the route of each different character. Something that is new is that this time the stageplay will have "musical elements" as well, so I'm not sure if I should call it a stageplay or a musical (I'm just using "stageplay" this time as the official account also seems to call it that). Even though in the game Konoe's song is just a melody, the actors did tweet about singing, so I am curious what they will do!

Ohyama Yoh, who composed 19 of the 37 songs of the Lamento original soundtrack also tweeted that there will be 11 new songs (+ addictional background music). I think it's super cool that they're working together with the original composer again to create new songs for the stageplay! I remember the DMMd stageplay also had a new song by GOATBED, which they even performed live a few times at the end of the show. The previous stageplays were about two hours long, but this time they mentioned it will be at least 3 hours, which makes sense because Lamento is a lot longer than sweet pool and DMMd.

I'm really impressed by the costumes and wigs so far, the ears and tails also look so fluffy... I really wonder what they will look like in motion and what the battle scenes will look like. Most of the visuals of the individual characters they've released so far seem to be based on the in-game sprites, but what I found interesting is that Rai's, Asato's and Bardo's pictures seem to have the same pose as the Kotobukiya figurines! You can see the comparison below, the pictures of the figurines are from the Kotobukiya official website.

Another new visual which was released quite recently seems to resemble another official illustration, which I've seen in the artbooks before and which was also the cover of magazine B's Log, specifically the December 2006 issue. Some of the details are a bit different, for example Konoe is not holding Leaks' mask in his hand anymore, and this time they added Shui to the illustration as well, but some other things such as Bardo's pose make it quite obvious this picture was their inspiration. The way Shui and Leaks stand next to each other kind of reminds me of the Rhapsody to the Past drama CD as well? One thing I noticed is that they're not really trying to hide Leaks' face this time, which was actually quite a big reveal in the game.

Next are some of the other illustrations they recently showed us during a short livestream which was available on Twitter for a limited time. Luckily they also posted the pictures on the official account! These won't be sold as merchandise, but they're given away as a bonus for those who attend all three versions of the show. I guess one thing I never noticed before is how little promotional/extra art Bardo got back then, so in this case they had to use one of his in-game CGs. For the other characters they mostly seem to use some of the extra/promotional art. Anyway, you can see a comparison below! I think it's fun to see how they re-created the pictures with the actors.

The last picture they recently showed during the Twitter livestream uses the cover illustration of the official world guidebook! Unfortunately no Bardo in this one either. This is one of the items they are selling as merchandise, it seems to be some kind of booklet (they call it a "pamphlet" but it's 32 pages long). I really wish they would sell the merchandise online, but for now it's only accessible for those who have a ticket and who buy it inside the venue. Maybe if they have any extra stock they might sell it online?

Update: The stageplay will also be livestreamed on DMM TV! The ticket to watch all three routes is 10000 yen (about 66 USD, which is cheaper than the in-person tickets at least!) which also gives you some special bonus videos to watch. First is Bardo's route on February 24th, followed by Asato's and Rai's routes on February 25th. Be aware that it is region locked and not all VPNs work, so unfortunately I can't help much with that! For any further updates you can check the official Twitter account!

Cast list: Konoe: Maejima Yoh Rai: Kato Sho Asato: Hiraga Yusei Bardo: Seto Yusuke Razel: Kimisawa Yuki Kaltz: Okamoto Yuki Verg: Iwata Tomoki Froud: Muramatsu Koki Kagari: Asaba Maya Tokino: Fukuzawa Taiga Firi: Kita Tsutomu Kil: Yoshun Sakamoto Ul: Arai Yuya Shui: Osaki Natsuki Leaks: Matsui Yuho

#lamento #nitrochiral #nitro chiral #blvn #blvninfo #visualnovel

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suzuran777 · 3 months

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Review + Guide: Friendly lab - unlock(); (Tennenouji)

I was going to wait for the English translation of the PC version, but got a bit impatient and decided to play the Japanese version instead...! So here's my spoiler-free review in which I explain the gameplay mechanics and what the game's about. I also wrote a guide, as the Japanese one I found was a bit confusing sometimes.

In this game, you play the role of a researcher who's conducting a gentle experiment on two test subjects. The goal of the experiment is to measure what kind of impact the interference of the researcher has on the test subjects. The experiment must however be conducted safely, without harming the test subjects. A small locked room, two test subjects who suffer from memory loss. It's your goal to present a variety of items to them and to observe their reaction.

If you're here for the guide I recommend scrolling down a little bit! I'll start with a short summary of what the game is about and how to play it. This game was originally released as a mobile game in 2022 and I played a little bit of it, but I didn't reach any endings, so this was my first time completing the game. The gameplay of both versions is almost identical, but this time there are no in-game purchases and ads, which is nice! As the game's description mentions, you have to conduct experiments on the test subjects, Nishi and Higashi, and observe how they react to them. Both of them don't remember how they got there and also don't remember much of their past lives, so it's up to you to slowly make them remember. This game is unvoiced and there's also no background music, so it immediately makes the player feel a bit uneasy. The only sound you hear is the sound of the clock ticking.

Gameplay and story As the researcher, you can use 10 different sub-menus to interact with Nishi and Higashi: Voyeurism (1), Meal (2), Special Item (3), Accident (4), Entertainment (5), a safe which becomes the Cultivation Room later (6), Question cards (7), Paper and Pen (8), Bathing (9) and Sleep (10). At first the game does seem a bit confusing because you have to figure out which items trigger a reaction and it's a bit slow at first, but I did have fun slowly learning more about the characters! The goal is to gather as many keywords as possible, but you only have a limited numbers of actions each day, so use them wisely. For those reading this after the English version is released, I hope my translations aren't too different, but I think it should still be understandable!

Both characters have completely different personalities. They don't remember their real names so they use the Japanese words for East and West (Nishi and Higashi). Nishi knows a lot about many topics, such as plants, medicine, animals and likes sharing fun facts about items shown to him. Higashi on the other hand, seems to be struggling with a lot of things, slowly remembering his dark past when certain items are presented to him. Throughout the story, Nishi helps him to slowly regain memories of his past, which sometimes get rather dark.

Almost the entire plot of the game takes place in a single room, so the characters and their stories are the most important part of this game. Through their interactions, you slowly learn what happened to them, allowing you to theorize how they could have possibly ended up in a situation like this. Because of this, the gameplay sometimes feels a bit slow, but I recommend taking your time so you can slowly learn more about the characters. The game auto-saves the current experiment so you can close the game whenever you want. It takes a while to replay the game a few times too to unlock every ending, but I had a lot of fun testing each option to see what would happen next. The only downside is that you can't really save, so if the experiment fails it's over and you have to restart.

Spoiler-free guide The first playthrough never gives you an ending so the choices don't matter, but I recommend using the cultivation room which unlocks within the first days. By presenting question cards to the characters, you will receive cultivation water which you can use in this special menu. Make sure to complete the experiment, as it carries over to your next playthrough. After the first round, start a new game and follow the "route 3 hint" card, it will show a little lamp symbol next to the options you should pick. You can skip experiments you've done before by double clicking it, it's faster than pressing the skip button. A few more tips to get the endings:

Don't use all your daily turns immediately, as some options only show up throughout the day and some are only available for a limited amount of time, so you might miss them.

Make sure to carefully look at the experiments in order to not miss any of the recommended choices, as some of these are also only available on certain days (you need to scroll down sometimes to see them). You can still get the endings if you miss some of them though, no need to restart if one or two of them expired.

The bathing scene choices usually don't matter, so just pick the character you want. You have to replay the game at least 10 times to get all the endings, so you'll have plenty of time to pick each option.

The choices which display this pink handshake symbol next to them increases the affinity between both characters, which is necessary to unlock some CGs.

Ending 3 and 2: Follow the "ending 3" hints. At the end of the game you're presented with a choice, pick the option to not tell the truth for ending 3. Afterwards start a new game, follow the "ending 3" hints again and pick the other option for ending 2. In my case the skip button somehow skipped the entire choice, so if you replay to get ending 2, be careful to not use this too much near the end of the final day. Ending 4: Automatically unlocks at the same time as ending 3 if you've completed the cultivation room in your first playthrough. Ending 1: Follow the "ending 3" hints but purposely avoid all the experiments that give you any clues on day 10. I just did all the recommended experiments on other days (except maybe 1 or 2 of them) and on the final day, I only used the voyeurism option and picked experiments the game didn't recommend (the ones without the lightbulb icon).

Ending 7: Follow the "ending 3" hints once more and give the characters the "happiness gas" item 8 times, with this item you unlock some of the 18+ content in the game. You can obtain this item by just showing the characters the question cards every day, they'll hint that they want to do something (eating, entertainment etc.) and one of the sub-menu buttons will light up, hinting that you should pick one of these options next. The buttons either turn green, yellow or red and shows a timer how much time you have left to select an option to obtain the item. On the right side of the screen you can see how many of the items you have (the gas mask and the cup of coffee icons).

After unlocking ending 3, you can also follow the "ending 5" hint card which you'll have to use for the next endings. Ending 5: Follow the "ending 5" hints (which unlocks after finishing ending 3) but avoid question cards as much as possible. Pick the experiment which looks something like this "■□■■" in the "Accident" menu every time (there's multiple parts and it seems to show up randomly throughout the day sometimes). I'm not sure how they will translate this, so below you can see what it looks like.

Ending 6: Exactly the same as the previous ending but this time, make sure to use all of your question cards every day, the game ends after playing the final "■□■■" event. Ending 8 and 9: Follow the "ending 5" hints again, but make sure to use happiness café au lait 8 times (you unlock this the same way as the happiness gas mentioned above). Also make sure to play the "lump of ???" event, which is an experiment that sometimes shows up in "Special items" during the first days. Avoid the final "■□■■" event because that might trigger ending 5 or 6 instead. You can't always use the café au lait immediately, but just check the special menu item every now and then to see if it's there. After using this item 8 times, you can choose to give it to Nishi (East) which unlocks ending 10, or Higashi (West) which unlocks ending 9.

Ending 10: Unlocks after you've cleared many experiments in the game marked with ★. I accidentally got this ending when I was aiming for another ending while following the "ending 3 card" hints, so if you don't want this end, it's better to ignore those options!

Final impressions The gameplay of this game is something totally different from what I'm used to, but I had fun! It takes a while to complete so I recommend just taking it slowly. The mobile version is a bit different and has a lot more options, offering an in-game shop and some kind of gacha system. I personally enjoyed the PC version more because even though it was sometimes funny to unlock different items for the characters, it was difficult to take the story seriously when they were wearing wigs and all kinds of funny outfits lol, though that is optional too. There's no background music or voices in this game, so I can't really comment on that, but I thought the art was really nice. It was a bit different than Yura's usual art, but I think it really suits the game's setting, kind of gloomy and dark.

I will not spoil the plot of the game but I think it was good! The game gives you all these little hints and slowly but surely, you learn their backstories and what happened to them to end up in such a place. It's called ''friendly'' lab and while the experiments themselves don't directly harm them, I will say that some of the endings are anything but "friendly". I did grow quite fond of the characters after interacting with them for so many days so after playing all the endings, I miss them already... I might go back to the mobile version after all because there's quite some things that aren't in the PC version, for example instead of the usual 11 days, this version has 20+ days now (the app still updates every now and then) and introduces new experiments, and at some point even a new research subject. The romance between Nishi and Higashi also seems to develop a bit more in this version, so I wonder if they'll release an updated version of the PC version at some point, or a second game? I am satisfied with the content of the PC version alone though!

Anyway, I recommend playing the game without reading spoilers, because the whole point of the game is that you're slowly learning more about these characters, and giving any kind of hint ruins the purpose of the game (though at some point you can also ask the characters if they know Giancarlo, a reference to Luckydog1... which was quite funny).

Here's a bonus screenshot of the app version of the game playing a Candy Crush ad, which made me laugh because it does not suit the atmosphere of the game at all, though you can get free points for the in-game gacha if you watch the ads.

#friendlylab #tennenouji #visualnovel #blvn #vnreview #blvnreview #review #blreview

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suzuran777 · 4 months

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Revisiting Gakuen Handsome: Backstory + short review

I think every BL fan has seen something related to Gakuen Handsome at some point in their lives, it's a parody BL visual novel with quite the legacy. It was originally released in 2010 by Team YokkyuFuman and it also got its own OVA and anime adaptation in 2015 & 2016. The protagonist, who is an unnamed seventeen year old boy, moves back to the city after a seven year absence. He enrolls into Baramon High School, a prestigious all-boys school which takes pride in being the best of its prefecture. From now on, his life will be changed forever...

First of all, the developer team's backstory is probably one of the most unique ones. In 2008, eight film students from the Tohoku University of Art and Design formed Team YokkyuFuman (チーム欲求腐満). Their blog mentions that a year later, they attempted to submit the Gakuen Handsome opening movie to the 9th edition of the Niconico Film Festival (their submission was completely ignored). After that, the opening movie was uploaded on NicoNico Douga, where it was quite well received. The description of the video mentions “to be released in 20009”, as they originally probably had no intention to create a full game.

After it became a hot topic on NicoNico Douga, their university gave them permission to organize an official exhibition: Gakuen Handsome Matsuri (or just Gakuen Handsome Festival). Visitors could watch the opening movie, learn more about the characters and take pictures together with the life-sized cardboard cutouts. The exhibition also featured rare merch: A drama CD which would be released in "20009" and canned bread.

This exhibition was apparently not only held once, but many times according to their blog. The game was finally released in 2010 and many fans were happy to finally play it, supporting the team that created it. Togo Mito, who many of you know as the creator of (in)famous BL game Hadaka Shitsuji, also collaborated with them. These are some pictures I found on Togo Mito's old blog, Mizoguchi and Juro drawn by Togo Mito and the Hadaka Shitsuji cast drawn by Team YokkyuFuman.

Even after graduation, it seems like they would occasionally invite some of Gakuen Handsome's creators. In 2014, the university tweeted that they would not be able to host the exhibition that year due to renovations, but visitors could take pictures with the cardboard cutouts. There's also an interview from 2016 on the university's website, in which they talk about how things have been after graduation! I absolutely love how the university supported all of this.

Now about the game itself... Where to even start? You'll have to trust me, but the game is actually good. Many parody games can be quite a hit or miss, but this visual novel is something I still catch myself laughing at years later. The inconsistent art, pointy chins and strange jokes really create an experience unlike anything else. I don't think any commercial company would be able to create something like this, even if they tried. One detail that the anime adaptation doesn't really show is that many different artists worked on this, whose styles widely vary from each other, making absolutely no attempt to create one consistent artstyle. Most characters have at least 2 ~ 3 sprites that often look completely different from each other. For example, sometimes Saionji sensei looks like a clean-shaven teenager/young adult, but in the CGs he suddenly turn into an older looking man with a stubble.

Yes he's talking about eating paint in the screenshot above, why not. Anyway... the voice acting in this game is something else I wanted to talk about, because it adds so much to the game. Of course it's not professional, but I think that's what makes it amazing. You can sometimes hear the voice actors trying really hard not to laugh, and they will occasionally completely mess up their lines. Of course all of those lines are kept in the game and they didn't re-record them. I also loved it when they started swearing in English for seemingly no reason. Also, instead of just avoiding the name of the protagonist (who you can give any name you want) they pronounce it... by improvision. Just imagine how one would try to pronounce a "adfgdf" keysmash and you'll get an idea what it sounds like.

There are 6 characters in this game who you can romance. The protagonist's childhood friend Takuya, who is a bit obsessed with the protein bar Calorie Mate (which is censored in the new version of the game, so you just hear a BLEEP sound), outlaw teacher Saionji, school principal Juro who basically only functions as a save point, student council president Kagami, chuunibyou transfer student Shiga, and last but not least, the captain of the soccer team Mitsurugi, who also murders people with his chin sometimes. The protagonist's sister also has a (non-romantic) ending, which you need to play in order to unlock the extra scenario (which... is a ridiculous murder mystery story for some reason). I also could not find the guide I used a long time ago, so I just looked at some videos on NicoNico to see what others were doing and that worked pretty well...!

My favorite scene is probably still that one scene in Mitsurugi's route, in which he stabs people with his chin. It's also one of the scenes that gets referenced the most in fanart. The context makes it even more ridiculous, Mitsurugi gets really upset that some people like the chunky variant of red bean paste (tsubuan) and decides they should die. After stabbing his teammate and multiple other people he runs outside. The protagonist however, isn't safe either and also gets accused of being a "tsubuan supporter". If you survive though, you get a chance to marry Mitsurugi!

Honestly one of the reasons I wanted to write about this game is because many people only know the OVA and/or anime, but the game is so funny I think everyone should play it if they're interested. I also think the team behind it has such a funny backstory and I love seeing how supportive their university is. Right now the team is still active on their Twitter account and they sometimes create new content. Last year they released Gakuen Handsome Fighters, a short fighting game featuring the Gakuen Handsome characters.

If you are interested in purchasing it, I recommend getting the "Special" edition which can be purchased on DLsite! I couldn't find a working download link anymore of the older version, but I think the creators deserve the support, so I don't regret buying it (it was about 15 USD). It includes the original game and 5 shorter stories which were originally released as smartphone apps. While I think the original game is still the best one, it's fun to explore some of the extra scenarios as well. One of the shorter games takes place in an alternative universe in which the boys live in the Heian period, and for some reason some of the sprites are animated... yeah.

#gakuen handsome #blvn #blvnreview #visual novel

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suzuran777 · 5 months

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BLVN Review: Psychic Eclipse (C-Garden NEXT-B)

I finally decided to play this VN after seeing a lot of information about it in Cool-B magazine! It was released in 2021, by a BL visual novel company called C-Garden NEXT-B. It's their first visual novel, but the scenario writer and artist have both worked on some BLVN related projects in the past. I played the PC version, but it also has a Nintendo Switch port now.

The game takes place in the near future, in a world in which humans developed psychic abilities. It was believed that these new psychic abilities would lead humanity to a brighter future, however, one incident changed everything. "On that fateful day, the sky was stolen from us".

The protagonist of this story is Kei, a young man who lives together with his childhood friend Subaru. In this game, a person's psychic ability is ranked on a scale from 1 to 6, and Kei has a level 2 ability which is considered quite weak. His ability allows him to sometimes predict an event in the near future, but since he never knows if his visions will really come true, it sometimes causes more bad than good. After a certain incident, all humans started living in domes, controlled by an AI called Polaris. Six years ago, people suddenly started transforming into creatures called "eclipses", who are known for their aggressive nature. Once a person turns into an eclipse, it seems like they completely lose their humanity and it is unknown how the disease is transferred. Some theorize that it is contageous.

This game has three main routes and a fourth extra route, I recommend playing Subaru's route first because I think it doesn't go too deep into some of the plot elements yet. I played Licht's route first which kind of spoiled the other two routes, so I think it's better to pick Subaru or Sirius first. After playing all three of them, you unlock a fourth route, which focuses on some of the side characters (unfortunately no Mikage route but they pair him up with a side character who appears later).

Subaru is Kei's childhood friend, both of them lost their parents when they were younger and they currently live together because they don't really know anyone else. Subaru has this ability to control blue flames, though he rarely uses it because those living within the domes are told to not use their psychic abilities. He seems to know a lot about technology and Kei gets a bit suspicious why Subaru seems to be hiding certain things from him...

The second character who has his own route is Sirius, an AI who Subaru created. He has a cheerful personality, a male idol who enjoys singing. He talks to Kei through Kei's phone, but he often also shows up as a hologram. This made me wonder how the romance in Sirius's route would even develop since Kei can't touch him, but I kinda liked having a non-human love interest. I've played a lot of visual novels but the only AI/robot character I can remember right now is Clear (from DRAMAtical Murder), so I would love to see more of that.

Kei's first encounter with the other two characters, Licht and Mikage, happens one day after Kei finds a dead body of an eclipse at work. Licht immediately uses his psychic ability to stop him from moving (he's the only person alive who has a level psychic 6 ability, who can use psychokinesis) and later Mikage also threatens him, so Kei doesn't have the best first impression of these two. In his route, Licht actually turns out to be pretty nice, he just has no idea how to interact with people normally because he only talks to Mikage and his own father... One thing I should mention is that psychic abilities do come with certain side effects, they take a huge toll on the body of the user and if they use it too often, it can lead to permanent injury and eventually death, which is also a big theme in this route.

Each character has three kinds of endings: good, normal and dark. The normal ending is the one you'll most likely get first, though don't be fooled by the name because some dark stuff usually happens to the characters in these endings too...! The dark end is basically a mad end, but it's a bit more difficult to get. Luckily each route only has 3 different choices, so I figured it out with a bit of trial and error.

This game is technically "all-ages" but they do occasionally mention explicit topics and some...stuff happens during the human experiments, so I guess "all-ages" just means they won't show any explicit CGs. I think a 17/18+ rating would be better, as some of the endings also get really dark and some CGs can be a bit gorey (limb amputation, decapitation, etc.) I think it doesn't look too bad in this artstyle but it's probably good to be aware of it before playing!

This is the company's first game, so there's a couple of things that could be improved. For example, all side character models are silhouettes, which makes it hard getting attached to some of them, this includes the enemy robots/eclipses. The side characters & extra scenarios you unlock later also aren't voiced. I don't know if I misunderstood some of the endings, but I sometimes felt like all of the problems get solved a bit too easily and suddenly everyone's happy again (well except the characters who died...) but they might explain more of this in the fandisc, which they are currently working on. There's a lot of things about this game I did like though, the game was much darker than I expected and I really enjoyed seeing what would happen in the "normal" and dark endings. I also quite like the artstyle, and the game's OST is really good! Apparently the guy who composed the music used to work for Capcom and has created music for the Monster Hunter games in the past.

They recently tweeted that they would postpone the release date of the fandisc to 2024 because of the large number of scenarios they were adding to it. It seems like they're going to focus a bit more on two side characters I didn't mention before, who only appear in the final route: Licht's brother Kanade and Mikage's acquaintance Kousaka. I might check out the fandisc when they release it!

#psychic eclipse #blvnreview #vnreview #blvn #visualnovel #review

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suzuran777 · 5 months

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Re;quartz Reido English announcement!

On November 14th, B-Cluster's official twitter account tweeted that Re;quartz Reido would be available in English and Chinese in the future! The localization will be done by a new yuri and BL game company called "Chiffon Games". The scenario writer mentioned that they've been told that it would be difficult to release games in other languages, so they're glad that they found someone who can help them with the localization. More details will be posted soon, you can follow their Twitter account for any future updates.

I've actually written a full review of this game a year ago, which you can check out here! It doesn't mention any big spoilers. I've edited it a bit to add some more information. The game is "all-ages", but don't be fooled because the story gets quite dark.

This game focuses on protagonist Uni, who belongs to an organization of people with supernatural powers. These individuals are called 'savants' and they have this special ability which makes it impossible for them to die. There is only one exception, and that is by choosing to end their own life. Uni's nickname is "Miracle" and the organization has high hopes for him. One day he gets relocated from the European headquarters to the branch in the Far East, however, before he can even leave the ship, he is attacked by someone. When he wakes up again at midnight he tries to leave the ship again, but the same incident repeats itself. Yuni has to figure out how to get out of this timeloop and unravel who exactly this killer is.

#requartzreido #requartz #blvn #visual novel #blinfo

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suzuran777 · 6 months

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Review: Shingakkou -Noli me tangere- (PIL/SLASH)

This is a game I've been wanting to replay for a long time! It has been 10 years, so I had a fun time revisiting it.

The story focuses on protagonist Michael, who's enrolled into a seminary. Excited to finally reunite with his family, Michael and his twin brother Gabby return home during their Christmas holiday, only to find out that someone has killed their parents and sister. To make things even more strange, they find a mysterious mark on the wall, written in their father's blood. Upon returning to the seminary, Michael discovers that this mark belongs to a secret society that exists in his very own school.

It turns out that this secret society is a group of devil worshippers called "Akahebi no Tsuichi" (soil of the red snake). After receiving some hints about how to join, Michael joins their group to find out the true identity of its members. During their first meeting, some of the voices sound familiar to characters you meet earlier in the game... I will try to avoid mentioning any big spoilers in this review because it's more fun to experience it yourself!

The first three routes follow a kind of similar story, you can choose between Leonid, Cecil or Neil. I personally think it doesn't really matter, so I started with Leonid's route. I ended up really liking him. At first he seems like a very serious character who has a lot of responsibilities, but later you learn he also has a different side. Michael often has to help him clean his room because Leonid has a habit of not organizing anything (to put it lightly...). When he does try to organize his belongings, Michael ends up finding shoelaces in tea cans and shirts stuffed in drawers... He's voiced by Midorikawa Hikaru who is in a lot of older BL games, so maybe I'm biased.

I guess it's important to mention that it definitely feels more like a horror game than a mystery game, so after playing the first route you kinda know what to expect from the next routes already, but it's still interesting to see how each character reacts to everything that happens in the game imo! I played Neil's route next, followed by Cecil's route. I thought Neil's personality was really fun, he teases Michael a lot but he also has a serious and caring side. I must admit that Cecil wasn't really my type, but he's Michael's closest friend and I'm sure there's many people out there who do enjoy childhood friend characters.

After playing the first three routes... it was time for August's route. And oh boy this is where things get a lot worse for Michael! I like how you can still choose who tops and bottoms by the way, which you can do for every character in this game. I remember I somehow didn't expect August of all characters to bottom LOL... I actually quite liked the ending because it's so different than the previous three routes. Some very cool symbolism at the end of his route too which is hard not to appreciate! August's route unlocks Gabby's route, which is the final route of the game.

So, one thing you immediately notice in the first routes is that not many people seem to talk to Gabby, he mostly chats with Michael. When him and Michael get too close to the lake, which is kind of a prohibited area to visit, only Michael gets scolded for being there. One of the only exceptions is when August talks to them, who mentions both of them. I promise everything does make sense eventually and I actually really liked Gabby's route and ending... It was also fun to learn more about the side characters!

I think it was interesting to see how the game handled topics like religion. I remember I wasn't sure if I would like a game with these kind of themes, but it was actually quite good. Even though the seminary has very strict rules, many of the students have different interpretations of what religion should mean to someone. In the end it turns out Leonid is not very religious at all and wants to create a world in which same-sex marriage is accepted, and even Neil, who's revealed to be a pastor in his own route, thinks it's fine that people sometimes question if God really exists. At the end of the game Michael also mentions that maybe the god they believe in isn't the one that is literally described in the bible, but that he still believes that there is something out there.

I thought the horror in this game was pretty well done too, not super scary but it never failed to surprise me. As the route progresses, Michael starts having more and more nightmares and hallucinations. Demons, bugs, ghosts etc. Some scenes have these "jumpscares" but I wouldn't say they're too bad. What caught me off guard is whenever the faces of the other characters became weirdly distorted, which was quite creepy.

I guess my only "complaint" would be that it's one of these games in which every route doesn't really have a completely different story, therefore it can get a bit tedious when you have to complete Leonid, Cecil and Neil's route before you can play August's route, which unlocks Gabby's route. I always try to play every route though, so for me it was no big problem.

I was actually surprised there's a completed Shingakkou manga which focuses on Neil's route! I think it has also been fan-translated, so if you do want to get a feeling what the game is like before playing it, it might be an option to read that instead. Shingakkou hasn't been translated into English, but it's very easy nowadays to download a tool like Textractor and to play it using machine translation. I definitely recommend checking it out yourself!

#shingakkou #shingakkou noli me tangere #pil/slash #blvn #blvisualnovel #blvnreview #review

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suzuran777 · 7 months

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Slow Damage: Clean Dishes Epilogue 4, 5 & 6 Summary

It has been a while! I summarized the first three epilogues some time ago, but because I’ve been very busy I haven’t had much time lately to summarize the remaining three epilogues. Unlike the first ones, the other three are less dark and focus on the main characters spending time together and having fun. I thought it would be a good idea to write a few shorter summaries and combine them into one blog post.

Epilogue 4 It has been two years since the Hare’s Nest Incident. Shiro realizes it's Baku's birthday, but isn't sure how to celebrate it this year. Last year he bought him a birthday cake and they watched movies together, but this year he wants to do something more special. Baku however, doesn't care much about his own birthday and even forgets about it every year. This year is no different and Baku once again doesn't seem to care much, so Shiro decides to visit Roost. Shiro asks Kotarou, Mayu and Eiji birthday gift advice, but Mayu just mentions that he’s happy with merchandise of his favorite anime. Kotarou mentions liking alcohol and accessories, and Eiji, well… says that he’s fine with receiving anything he likes, so in the end Shiro’s still wondering what he should give to Baku...

He ends up taking him to Krishna (the restaurant you also visit in the main game) because they sell a lot of different kinds of beer, which Baku likes. After enjoying their food and drinks there together, they return home and Shiro gives Baku a book, featuring many illustrations by an artist Baku mentioned liking before. The game often hints that Baku is interested in art, but he usually looks at it online and doesn't usually buy things for himself. Shiro ends up telling him he asked Eiji and the others for advice, as he sometimes still doesn't know how to make people happy. In the past, he only used his body to make people happy, but now he's also trying to find other ways. As expected, Baku laughs and mentions how Shiro doesn’t really need to do anything special. Just being with Shiro is enough, but he’s happy that Shiro wanted to do something special for him.

Epilogue 5 Two years have passed since the Hare’s Nest Incident, and Shiro and Baku started living together. Before they started dating, Shiro hooked up with random men and didn’t return to his apartment often. Baku had been to his apartment once before, and said it looked more like a garbage storage room than a place where someone lived. After Shiro moved in with him, they slowly started learning more about each other’s hobbies. For example, Baku is interested in various art forms, such as special effect make-up and sculptures. Shiro likes collecting clothes and small, cute items. Shiro also likes singing, and Baku noticed he’s quite good at it too. While drinking coffee at a cafe one day, Baku suggests that Shiro could maybe even start his own band if he's interested. Shiro replies that he only wants to do it if Baku joins too, even though he has no experience playing an instrument. Shiro then suggests Ruu and Kimika also join his new band and invites them over. By the way, Kimika seems to have blonde hair again in this epilogue, but in the drama CD Ruu mentions he liked the blonde hair, so maybe he dyed it again? Anyway, seems like at least Kimika has some experience playing the guitar, but Ruu also has no experience. Shiro suggests they learn how to play an instrument and Ruu becomes the drummer and Baku the bassist. And that’s how their band activities started...

With the help of Kimika and Shiro, Baku and Ruu eventually learn some basic skills how to play these instruments. Eventually, they decide that they finally want to play some songs in front of an audience, but Shiro realizes he doesn’t really have any other friends he could invite… Luckily, Kimika suggests contacting the Roost manager, and maybe they could play some songs in front of the customers there.

Some weeks later, it's the day of the concert. They all bought some new outfits and Kimika also offers to do everyone's makeup. The concert ends up becoming quite the success and more than 30 people showed up. Eiji, Kotarou and Mayu are also impressed and share their positive feedback with the group.

I have to admit... that this is absolutely not what I expected to happen after the game’s ending, but it's quite interesting to learn more about their hobbies (?). They do mention that the concert is a one-time only kind of thing, but everyone did enjoy the experience, so who knows!

Epilogue 6 It has been six months since Kimika was released from prison, and all four of them continued woking at Sara-ya. With the death of the Takasato-gumi boss and many other incidents, Shinkoumi was in a state of chaos for a while, but things are slowly calming down. During one of their lunch breaks, the four of them started discussing the topic of vacation. It seems like Shiro and Baku usually stay indoors during summer, but Kimika and Ruu really want to travel to the mainland to visit the beach there. Baku and Shiro agree to join, even though Shiro has never been to the mainland before and Baku hasn’t been back there since he was a kid.

A month later, they finally prepare for their trip. Baku is a bit worried about Shiro because he has never left Shinkoumi before. After a one hour flight and a bus ride, they finally arrive at the inn where they will be staying for the next four days. They decide to drop off their luggage and then meet up with Ruu and Kimika near the beach. Shiro feels a little bit dizzy because of the heat, but he ends up having a great time playing in the water together with the others. They spend the next couple of days visiting shrines, climbing a mountain and all kinds of other activities they had never done before. This epilogue is probably the most light-hearted one of them all...! But it is nice seeing them have fun together.

At the end of their trip, Shiro starts teasing Ruu and Kimika again, wanting to know what kind of relationship they have now. Ruu claims there’s nothing going on and Kimika doesn't reply (those who listened to the drama CD know that’s a lie…). He then changes the topic and says he heard Baku and Shiro doing inappropriate things in the open-air bath. Both of them just nod "ah you found out..." and then the bus arrives to take them back to the airport. After that they return to Shinkoumi and the game mentions that this is the end of Clean Dishes's story for now. Shiro thinks that until Baku finally kills him, their life won't change much in the future.

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And that's the end! Not much to say about some of these because they are pretty short, but I am always happy to see Kimika and Ruu in these epilogues too. Of course there's also the drama CD content, which kind of takes place in-between some of these epilogues. Right now I don't have any plans of summarizing/translating it, but maybe someone will do this in the future. By the way, all three of these epilogues have a new r18 scene, so I suggest buying them if you want to see them! I'm not able to upload these anywhere.

#slow damage #slow damage clean dishes #nitro+chiral #summary #blvn

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suzuran777 · 7 months

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Review: Angel's Feather (Blue Impact)

Years after watching the Angel's Feather OVAs I finally decided to try the visual novel, and it's... pretty good, I wonder why I never tried playing it before? Angel's Feather was released in 2003 by Blue Impact, the BL branch of Studio e.go. There's also PS2 port, but this review is about the PC version only!

Synopsis

A clan of people with white wings lived in a land far away from the human world. Peaceful times suddenly came to an end when a mutation caused individuals with black wings to be born. Those with black wings were also able to use magic, which was eventually used to take over the kingdom of the white-winged clan, who didn't have the ability to use magic.

Meanwhile in the human world, Shou Hamura, the winner of the national kendo championship, is transferred to an all-boys private school. He soon realizes his younger twin brother Kai also studies there, though he doesn't seem to remember him. Soon after his enrollment, a series of strange events take place within the school, and black-winged individuals start attacking Shou and his friends.

Visual novel elements What is pretty unique about this game is that the visual novel parts of the game often let you pick which character you want to play as. At first you can only play as the protagonist Shou, but after that you can also pick Anri, Kurisu (…should I just call him Chris?) and eventually Kai. Because of this, it's also possible to pair up almost every character with whoever you want. Later two other characters, Shion and Sena also join the team.

Even though there are a lot of romance options, the game is very story-heavy and pretty much all romance is optional. I do think it's impossible to unlock all romance scenes in a single playthrough because even if you re-load your saves, some scenes later in the game won't unlock if your character hasn't previously interacted with them. To unlock all CGs, you probably need to re-play the game many times which might get a bit… tedious, so I recommend just picking a pairing you like in advance.

I do personally think it's not necessary to unlock all these scenes because most of them are short and the r18 scenes also aren't voiced. I'm not sure if that's always the case, but I applied the 18+ patch and those were the only scenes that weren't voiced (the game's all ages, but they did release an official patch which adds NSFW scenes).

Which reminds me... because the system is rather old, there really aren't a lot of save slots either. When you load your saves, they often make you replay the entire scene rather than the exact location you saved at. It wasn't a big problem, but it just surprised me a little bit.

RPG-like elements Like other older BL visual novels such as Ouji-sama Lv1 and Teikoku Sensenki, this game combines the usual visual novel gameplay with RPG elements. Occasionally you'll be able to walk around the school, but it's only limited to a few specific areas. Almost all enemies in the game are random encounters, making it impossible to avoid them unless you run away. I do recommend fighting them because they drop useful items and it's also easy to level up. Especially during the second part of the game, you'll spend a lot more time walking around and fighting enemies, so these items and experience points will be useful later.

The game doesn't really explain how the gems, elements, or even items work, but to be honest the gameplay was not super difficult so I didn't have much trouble finishing the game, even if I admittedly had no idea what I was doing sometimes. Also, most boss battles aren't ridiculously hard and they usually only know a few different attacks.

Plot and overall impression The game mostly focuses on battling the black winged characters and discovering why there's a conflict between the white winged clan and the black winged clan. There are not that many big plot twists, but it's a pretty fun fantasy story and I enjoyed playing it! Sometimes I was a bit confused if the main characters even knew they were part of the white winged clan, because they suddenly grew wings but didn't always… seem surprised by it?

There are several side characters in this game who have pretty well-developed personalities too, so I had fun trying all kinds of choices and talking to different characters. I'm also a big fan of older BL game artstyles, which is another reason why I wanted to try playing this game. When I looked at the artbook and some of the extra content the company released, I learned that all the art was originally hand-drawn and later scanned to turn them into the game CGs, which I thought was really cool.

I also had a bit of trouble with the in-game music because the noDVD patch somehow removed all of the background music. So if you can, I recommend not using this patch (you can either insert the DVD disc or use a tool like Daemon Tools to mount the ISO file before you play), because the soundtrack is also pretty good!

Kohaku no Hitomi The game also has a shorter sequel game, which takes place after the events of the main game. It's split into two different chapters, with the first one focusing on a new character called Kaoru, who's the child of the family that used to live next to Shou's family.

Chapter 1: This part mostly consists of the RPG-like gameplay style, until you beat the final boss. The battle system is mostly the same, but it does look a bit different this time. Instead of the pixel art they used in the first game, this time they used sprites for the main characters and the enemies. You can also only use 3 characters at the time, but you can switch them out anytime. All characters still gain experience points even if they're not in the team you're using. I must admit, the first part of this game is a bit... grindy, you have to visit 6 different areas and the level of the enemies increases quite drastically sometimes.

Chapter 2: After fighting the final boss of the story, the characters all return to their school. This part of the game is just normal visual novel gameplay and you can choose which characters you want to hang out with during the school festival. The plot isn't super serious, but I thought it was pretty fun! This time it's pretty easy to unlock all kinds of different scenes with all the characters, so it's easier to check out different pairings. There's some pretty funny scenes, for example the characters reenacting Romeo and Juliet, or a scene in which you can pick which character crossdresses.

In my opinion playing the second game is completely optional, the new character did have a lot of backstory but it's also nothing too different than what the characters in the first game experienced. The second part of the game was my favorite because there's a lot of funny scenes I enjoyed. There was actually also supposed to be a third Angel's Feather game, but unfortunately the staff left the company and no information about it was ever posted again.

Overall, I had lot of fun playing both games! I watched the OVAs a long time ago and had no idea what was going on, so it was really interesting to finally play the games 10 years later. The OVA added characters that aren't in the original game and also suddenly ends after only a few episodes, so I'm not surprised it made absolutely no sense to me back then. The games are unfortunately only available in Japanese, but you can use machine translation tools like Textractor if you really want to play!

#angel's feather #blue impact #visual novel #blvn #vnreview #review

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suzuran777 · 8 months

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Unreleased & cancelled BL visual novels

Recently I purchased some second-hand BL visual novel magazines, and while reading them, I realized just how many of these announced games were never actually released. I thought it could maybe be interesting to compile a list of these games. I will mention which games were officially cancelled, but the status of most of these games is completely unknown. Perhaps they will still be released one day, but some of these publishers also don't seem to exist anymore. The magazines I used to find most of this information are Binetsu Ouji, B's Log and Cool-B!

Ouka Otsu - Shinshuu Kikou Senki (【櫻華堕つ) Publisher: Fareastblade This story of this game was supposed to take place during the Second World War. A famous researcher called Dr. Kisaragi Akira made it possible for the Japanese empire to develop cyborgs with super human strength. However, the United States also developed cyborgs and their creator intends to destroy Kisagari's research. Kisaragi escapes and seeks the help of the few surviving cyborgs, who all have their own reasons for helping him even though they don't like him. Part of this game was released as an e-book and translations can be found here. I am surprised the developers stopped publishing information about this project because I frequently saw it in Cool-B. Back then they published a lot of information, CGs and even short stories. Their last blog update was posted in 2016 in which they explained how things have been difficult and they decided to temporarily suspend the project. However, they never returned to confirm when production would be resumed. Secretly, I still hope that this game will be released one day, there's so much content already and it all seems really promising, but the official website doesn't work anymore and the Twitter account was also deleted. Some of the staff who worked on the game did mention how they still wanted to complete the project one day, but it has also been some years since these tweets were posted,

Angel's Feather Onsen mono Publisher: Blue impact This was supposed to be the third, and final Angel's Feather game. Some Japanese websites mention that the game's staff left the company, which was probably the reason why this game was never released. The magazines mention how the name of this game was just a placeholder name at the time (literally Angel's Feather hot spring story) but I could not find if they ever announced the real title. Some CGs were published in magazines and it looks like it was supposed to be light-hearted fandisc, focusing on the characters spending time with each other and having fun at the hot springs.

White Shadow Publisher: Blue Impact According to the official website, which can still be accessed through Wayback Machine, the first information about this project was published in Binetsu Ouji in 2004. Similar to the third Angel's Feather game, there's not much hope that it will ever be released because the staff that originally worked on it quit. This means that sadly, Angel's Feather was Blue Impact's first and last BL visual novel series. It was supposed to be a post-apocalyptic story which takes place after a long-lasting war that destroyed most of the planet. Some humans survived, who clung to a small piece of land that had survived the disaster. The people who live could be classified into three types, normal humans without supernational powers, humans who have characteristics of other creatures (for example animal characteristics), and people with strong supernational powers. This game was also featured on the cover of Cool-B volume 2. The regular updates that were posted on the official website make it look like the game was almost finished before the employees quit, so it's really a shame it was never released.

Torus Zero/ 0 -Torus (トーラス・ZERO) Publisher: CORE This is another one of these games that is mentioned pretty often in older magazines and was also featured on the cover of Cool-B (volume 4). The publisher CORE, became quite well-known in the industry after releasing Messiah, but Torus Zero was the project they originally wanted to release first. Before Messiah was released, they also released another visual novel called Fanatica, which upon reaching the final ending, mentioned how the story would be continued in Torus Zero. Unfortunately some of CORE's staff officially announced that they couldn't continue their projects after a big earthquake struck Japan in 2011. Now there's actually a bit of hope for this project because a few weeks ago, the artist Carnelian, announced a completely new project called Tokyo Gentou/Tokyo Phantasmagoria. In the magazine article it was mentioned that similar to CORE, a new BL game branch called Procyon would be releasing this new game. In an interview published in Cool-B volume 111 they mentioned that they came up with some of these ideas a long time ago, so I do wonder if they will use some elements of Torus Zero in this new game. Originally, Torus Zero focused on protagonist Riku who somehow ended up in a world in which he was the only human.

Unnamed project Publisher: CORE This game was only slightly teased in magazines and according to old BL game info website BOY-S STREET, the images were only on the website for a short time before it seemed like the entire project was scrapped and replaced with Torus Zero. It was supposed to be a school setting, but the main character is actually a demon and has two personalities.

Tenrin no Guneval (天輪のグネーヴァル) Publisher: Madalabo/Claw Mark A sci-fi story in which shadow creatures attack earth. Humans with special abilities saved mankind from this crisis. These characters all have their own special ability, some use fire or wind to fight while others can distort space. Technology also advanced, and flying motorbikes called 'Guneval' are used. This game was announced in 2012 and surprisingly the website can still be accessed, however it has been removed from all upcoming game lists in magazines and the last update on the website was only 4 months after the game was originally announced. Other than the usual visual novel gameplay, it was also supposed to have battle scenes in which you could control the main character to fight enemies. I'm kind of sad they never released this game because it seemed pretty interesting! Madalabo is mostly known for their other game Hadaka Shitsuji which seemed to be...the complete opposite of the story described on this game's website. I also really like superhero themes and the art is nice, so it's really a shame it never got released.

Shokushu Densetsu (触手伝説) Publisher: Madalabo Another Madalabo project that never got released. The title means 'legend of the tentacles' so I think you can already guess what this game is about. In 2011 they released a short booklet with some of the game's concept art, the characters, and other ideas for different future games. You can actually still buy a digital version of the booklet on DLsite here! You might even recognize some of these early concepts, as some of them were eventually used to create Kanja S (Patient S).

Nihon ni Natta Yoru (2本になった夜) Publisher: HardG.Lab This is… a strange one, the protagonist Taki Naruse is an ordinary university student who's busy with his homework and assignments. One day when he's forced to do a large number of tasks he decides to go to his lecturer to complain, but Taki gets ignored and his lecturer suddenly decides this is a perfect opportunity to check the new drug he has been developing. Long story short, Taki suddenly grows another dick (yep...). His lecturer suggests Taki uses his body to sleep with other men to ''cure'' his condition. I think this game was announced somewhere in 2011 and they published some information about it in Cool-B, but the official social media accounts were all deleted eventually.

New World Order Publisher: Love Delivery (HolicWorks) "When you die, say hello to God for me". This game was announced in 2015 and takes place in the United Kingdom. It focuses on a young British man called Lyr who works as a pastor at a church. He’s good at material arts and also knows how to use a gun. Together with three of his fellow pastors, he’s on a mission to kill. These are not just normal pastors, they’re professional assassins. I made a separate blog post about this some time ago, so if you want to read more you can find it here! The project was unfortunately officially cancelled in November 2022.

Heimskringla Publisher: Tyrant (HolicWorks) A dystopian future in which people developed the ability to see when a dead person’s soul leaves their body. The world once fell apart, but was then revided once more. In this new distorted world, humans started adapting to the environment and refugees from all over the world drifted to this country. As a result of this, it became a melting pot of many different races and towns continue to develop their own individual cultures. Five people, with five completely different backgrounds and birthplaces, travel together towards a certain place. There is only one thing all of them are looking for. Death. This game was officially cancelled in 2018, but it's quite hard to find any traces of it because Tyrant's official Twitter account was also deleted. I also wrote a blog post about it which you can check out here.

Gekka Souei (月下双影) Publisher: NOEL Two childhood friends who became enemies due to unfortunate circumstances. This game was supposed to focus on protagonist Hayate and two groups of shinobi, taking place in a modern day setting. It was quite hard to find information about this game because even with Wayback Machine you can't find much on the website. I happened to find a pretty good image of it on Twitter, posted by a user who happened to save some of the wallpapers back then. A little bit of information about this game was published in B'sLOG and in Cool-B, but only in 2006. Looking at the little bit of information I was able to find on the website, it seems like they had quite a lot of plans and wanted to add roleplay elements to this game too, as well as a SFW and 18+ version of the game. The magazines introduced quite a lot of characters and the interview with the developers (in Cool-B volume 10) mentions that they had planned to create five routes. They didn't really specify which characters, but I assume it's the ones that can be seen in the main visual?

Psychedelic (サイケデリック) Publisher: LOVE&DESTROY Another game that is not officially cancelled, but the publisher is working on multiple new projects and the official website has not been updated since 2014. The game takes place in Shibuya, Japan and focuses on five good friends who always hang out together. Will these normal days last forever? They promoted this game as being ''all reverse'' so you could choose which character tops/bottoms which is pretty rare nowadays. In 2018 LOVE&DESTROY mentioned that the project was currently 'on-hold' and it's still unknown if they ever decide to create the game.

Tsukiiro Tanshikyoku (月色譚詩曲) Publisher: Adelta & MonstreCarameliser I think most BLVN fans immediately recognize Kurosawa Rinko's artstyle, who's well known for creating Hashihime and Uuultra C. This game is also not officially cancelled, but there hasn't been any news for years. It was announced in 2018 as a second collab between Adelta and MonstreCarameliser (a year before that they released the short game Umiiro Kyoushikyoku). The website still works, but it was only updated a few times in 2018 and once in 2020. The game focuses on Kaguya, a heir of a certain kingdom (probably some kind of god realm if I look at the names of the characters) who was only interested in women and spending his parents' money. His parents eventually give up on him and send him down to planet earth, in the form of a baby. A young shunga painter (shunga = erotic art) called Takemasu finds him and takes care of him. However, Kaguya grows much faster than the inhabitants of the planet and regains his adult body within a few days.

Hashihime Fandisc Publisher: Adelta Every time I mention this people ask me if they really announced it, but yes, two fandiscs even! A 'good end' and 'bad end' one. It was announced in 2018, but only mentioned once in a blog post and in Cool-B magazine. It is not officially cancelled but they haven't posted anything about it ever since. It's actually still in Cool-B's upcoming game list, however usually when a game gets cancelled it just one day disappears from the list, without any explanation, so I don't want to be too hopeful. I think it's very possible that it was announced because a lot of other games also have fandiscs so it seemed like a good idea at the time, but Adelta started working on Uuultra C after this and is currently working on their new game Ooe, as well as their original drama CD series.

No Thank You!! OVA Publisher: parade Not a game announcement, but I still decided to include it. One of the tweets announcing it can still be found here, and no it was not posted on April Fools'… I think it was mentioned again a few months after the original announcement, but it has already been 10 years and they haven't mentioned it ever since.

#blvn #ouka otsu #angel's feather #madalabo #visual novels #blinfo

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suzuran777 · 8 months

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Review: Fanatica (CORE)

I recently played Fanatica, a BL visual novel published by CORE in 2004! For some reason I had never heard of this game before even though it's the same company that created Messiah, a game that was often talked about on BL forums like Aarinfantasy. I'm a big fan of Carnelian's art which was one of the main reasons I played the game, and it was recently announced that Carnelian is also working on another BL game!

Synopsis This story focuses on protagonist Arshile, who has no memory of his past and travels around Europe together with his only acquintance, Cartis. One day, they are unexpectedly invited to a cruise ship called the Fanatica. Soon after their arrival, a mysterious man approaches Arshile and asks him why he still hasn't remembered anything. "Could it be that you still haven't found anyone who truly loves you?" Throughout the story Arshile learns about his mysterious past, the sins that were committed in the past and his deep love for a certain man.

This game also got a PS2 remake in 2008 with almost all CGs and spritework re-drawn called ''Gin no Eclipse'' which also features a new character (Feilong), who's Liwen's brother. I also played this version, but I liked the original a lot more because they changed a lot and basically all BL elements were removed, not just the 18+ content. So in this review, I'll only talk about the PC version.

First of all, the official website mentions that the protagonist of this game is Arshile, but his love interest Cartis plays a huge role in the story too and the dialogue often switches to his narrative. I have to say that CORE's games are a bit different than most other BL visual novels and usually, the main character only has two love interests who he can have a good ending with. Even though you can choose between these two, the game makes it quite clear that only one of these two characters is the 'true ending', I think those who played Messiah are familiar with this. In Fanatica the main pairing is Cartis/Arshile, though Arshile can get an ending together with Calme too.

Another thing I haven't seen often in newer visual novels is that the other characters can be paired up too. Souha/Liwen is one of the side pairings that have quite a lot of scenes together, although it is not the happiest 'romance' (if you can even call it that). Cartis and Souha also have an ending together, and in one of the other endings, you also get Souha/Arshile, Cartis/Liwen and Rodney/Calme. Even though the game doesn't call these endings ''bad'' ends, they definitely feel like bad ends.

Game mechanics Instead of choices, this game uses a completely different system I haven't seen before. There's a button in the corner of the screen which displays a butterfly icon, but when you click it, it transforms into a spider icon. During certain scenes, you need to change it to the spider icon, or else certain endings won't unlock. Also, sometimes the icon starts glowing, which gives you the opportunity to view flashbacks.

The protagonist has a split personality, the butterfly representing his current self and the spider representing his different personality (who has white hair and red eyes). Only white haired Arshile can end up together with Calme by the way, original Arshile only has a good ending together with Cartis.

Before I looked up a guide, I... completely missed that you can even view the flashbacks, so I had a bit of trouble unlocking the final ending. After that, I did quite enjoy this game! I liked slowly discovering what had happened in the past and the reason why some people on the cruise ship seemed hostile towards the main characters.

Also... the game sometimes breaks the fourth wall and the character who initially just seemed to be a mascot tells you which endings you still haven't unlocked yet. He also teases the player for getting an ending you already saw before lol.

Similar to Messiah, the game does have a status menu which shows what route you're on and how close you are to an ending, but because of the game's unique mechanics, knowing this information didn't really... help. Luckily it only has 6 different endings, but definitely use a guide if you want to play this!

So... In the final ending, the game hints that Liwen, Souha, and side character Arya will return in their next game, Torus Zero, which was unfortunately never released. I did find some magazine pictures in which both of them have different names, supposedly forgetting about their past lives in Fanatica and being reborn into the world of Torus Zero. However, instead of releasing Torus Zero, the company created Messiah next, which doesn't seem to have any connections to Fanatica.

To be honest I think that even without the lore of Torus Zero, most of the plot does get explained in Fanatica. The final ending also hints that the other characters somehow survived the incidents that happened on the ship and that they are still alive in the modern world, where Arshile and Cartis also live. The extra scenes in the remake (Gin no Eclipse) also support this theory.

The plot can sometimes get a little confusing because there are some pretty... strange fantasy elements, like half of the main characters being descendants of some kind of spider god (???), but despite that I still thought it was a pretty interesting visual novel to play. I liked the soundtrack and the cast was also good, featuring some well-knowns voice actors like Suwabe Junichi and Sugita Tomokazu (who voices Keisuke in Togainu no Chi).

After releasing Messiah's fandisc, the company stopped releasing new games and the website eventually stopped working too, so I'm glad to hear Carnelian is finally creating a new game in the year 2023. It has been a long time, but I'm curious to see how different it will be compared to their older BL visual novels.

#BLVN #CORE #Fanatica #visualnovel #visual novel review #blreview #review

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suzuran777 · 8 months

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Lamento Beyond the Void Expiatio Epilogue

This is the final chapter of the novel! It's only a few pages long. This also means that the novel is now fully translated. Enjoy!

[Prologue] [Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5] [Part 6] [Part 7] [Part 8] [Epilogue] [Glossary]

Finis

Winter came along again.

The city of Ransen was as busy as it was a year ago, no, it had already been more than a year ago. The laughter from other cats who were dressed up in costumes could be heard all around them. The lively atmosphere had retuned after Leaks’s defeat, and the Void and the Sickness had completely disappeared.

Konoe was looking around as if it was his first time joining the festival, and Rai was walking behind him. The Sun of Light had already set and the winter festival became even livelier as the light of the Moon of Shadow rose from the east.

Both Rai and Konoe became bounty hunters, as a pair. Rai's right eye would still hurt from time to time, and the memories of Leaks, which now resided in Konoe’s body, would sometimes torment him. Rai had no idea what these memories were like, however, he knew that it was painful. He wished that he could ease the pain even a little. That’s how he wanted to help Konoe, who had always supported him when his heart was engulfed in darkness, even now.

"Hurry up."

Rai called out to Konoe, who was walking behind him. He stopped moving after an unexpected smell reached his nose.

Catnip.

Rai remembered last year's festival. The catnip sold in a place like this must be of bad quality. What if Konoe didn't buy that incense back then? Rai assumed his life would have never changed.

"What are you doing?"

Hearing Konoe's words, Rai quickened his pace until he stood next to him.

"Are you satisfied?" Rai’s question made Konoe frown.

"Don't act like I was the only one who wanted to see the festival."

"Isn’t that the case?"

Rai said, while the corners of his mouth curled up into a grin. He wondered if Konoe was having a hard time replying to him. Konoe sighed.

"Whatever. Let’s go back to the inn soon. I'm sure Bardo is using his skills to prepare many delicious dishes."

"Right. " Rai replied, as he walked forward.

Whenever they came to Ransen, Rai and Konoe would stay at Bardo's inn. Sometimes Asato would also show up.

His long feud with Bardo was also a thing of the past. At times he felt helpless or annoyed when Bardo meddled with his life, however he didn't think it was all that unpleasant anymore. He had already forgiven him.

While they approached the inn, Rai suddenly stopped.

"Do you want to walk up straight?"

"Huh?" Konoe asked him.

Without waiting for Konoe's answer, Rai walked straight along the path. This path led to the river. Rai's body was feeling slightly hot. Was it because of the catnip, or because of the mating season? Either way, it didn't matter to him.

"Wait, that’s...."

"What’s over there?"

Rai turned to look at Konoe, who was slowly catching up to him. The Moon of Light had already set and their surroundings were dark. He couldn’t see any torches and there weren't that many other cats around. Konoe stopped, staring at Rai.

"What wrong?"

"This place, it’s…"

When he asked, Konoe took his gaze away from Rai. He seemed to remember what had happened here before. This was the place where Rai and Konoe’s bodies had touched each other for the first time, what made them closer to each other.

Rai pulled Konoe's arm.

"Wait!"

He hugged Konoe's body. and licked his ears.

"Not here..."

"Why?" He asked while slipping his hand up Konoe’s shirt.

Konoe didn't reply, not used to being suddenly touched like this. Usually, they progressed slowly from grooming to doing this sort of thing. Any other time, Konoe would strongly resist, but in the end he would always accept Rai.

Rai hugged Konoe, who was trying to escape, from his back.

“Are you in heat?”

“What are you talking about!“

If they went in heat around this time last year, it would probably happen again soon. However, Rai and Konoe didn’t show symptoms of it yet. If they did this sort of thing often, there was no need for them to go in heat after all.

"...konoe" Rai whispered.

"Nh..."

The scent of the wet grass overlapped with the smell of the river. He couldn't sense the smell of incense or the presence of any other cat. It was probably still early.

Rai took Konoe’s ear in his mouth.

"...ah..." Konoe let out a sweet voice.

He told himself he hell in love with Konoe that day because of the scent of the incense. It wasn’t wrong, he was certain that’s at least what started it. However, at times, Rai wondered if that was all there was to it.

He wasn’t completely wrong. No, he was pretty sure that's what started it. However, Rai wondered if there was more to it. Was what they did at the brothel really just because of the mating season?

Was it love, or something else? He didn’t truly know what love was, but if this was love, then he fell in love with Konoe that night when Konoe called his name at the brothel. And if this was what they called love, then that’s what connected both of them as a pair.

He decided he didn’t care about the meaning of these words, he just loved Konoe.

Rai locked lips with Konoe.

"Mhh…nh." Konoe let out a soft moan.

Rai sucked on his lips and looked at Konoe, his wet eyes staring back at him. Konoe touched Rai’s neck.

"Rai..."

He softly called his name.

They rarely called each other by their names. Other than the times they were doing it with each other, it was rare for them to call each other’s names like this.

"Konoe."

Rai called Konoe's name again.

The winter night was still young.

#lamento expiatio #lamento #lamento beyond the void #nitrochiral #nitro+chiral #translation

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suzuran777 · 8 months

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Lamento Beyond the Void Expiatio Chapter 8

Here's chapter 8! Please remember my native language isn't English so there might be some mistakes.

[Prologue] [Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5] [Part 6] [Part 7] [Part 8] [Epilogue] [Glossary]

Caput 8

"I'll tell you the truth." Rai could hear Froud’s voice coming from the dark void.

"The truth?" Rai asked. He wondered if Froud would really tell him.

"It's what shironeko chan wants to know, after all~."

While Froud replied to him, a distorted shape appeared in front of him. It was a dark cave, looking similar to the one in Lake Kagami. A sword appeared in front of him. It was a terribly worn-out sword, rusty and stained in red. It was in bad condition. However, no matter how worn-out the sword looked, it seemed unmistakably familiar.

He could clearly remember the feeling of the handle and its weight. It used to be his beloved sword, the one he used to hunt down his prey. He had lost it during the fight with that monster. How many years had it been?

He heard this story at the tavern he frequented. The story of the dragon that had taken the lives of many bounty hunters. He was fascinated by it.

Rai who had just left Setsura, already started feeling bored with his life as a bounty hunter. He rarely met any other bounty hunters who would share information with him. Thinking about it now, Rai realized that he was not recognized as a skilled bounty hunter back then, so it was only natural the informants did not tell him anything. When his skill was finally recognized, they finally told him about the dragon.

It was said that the dragon appeared in a small village, northeast of Ransen. The informant asked Rai if he could visit the town and ask the villagers about the details. After hearing this story, Rai immediately headed to Ransen that same day.

The village was located next to Lake Kagami. Rai noticed that it was unnaturally quiet. The air felt heavy. Rai had seen villages that were abandoned and destroyed by the Void, but it was the first time he visited a place with such a gloomy atmosphere, despite the presence of cats living there.

"Are you the new bounty hunter?"

When he headed to the designated house, an elderly individual approached Rai. He was probably the chief of the village. His hand stretched out, trembling, clasping Rai's hand.

"Please, please, please defeat that dragon."

Rai quietly withdrew his hand.

"Tell me everything about dragon."

"That dragon appeared just a few months ago." The village chief stuttered.

He told Rai that the dragon suddenly appeared in the village without any warning. This village used to be peaceful, still untouched by the Void and the Sickness. As a result of that, the number of individuals living there had also not drastically decreased. However, after the dragon appeared, many of its inhabitants were devoured by the dragon. The dragon had a preference for female cats. If they sacrificed a female cat once a week, the dragon would leave them alone. The villagers had no choice but to obey the dragon. The large number of female cats in this village turned their good fortune into extreme misfortune.

"Tonight, a female cat will be sacrificed again, and the dragon should make an appearance."

A young, female cat could be seen sitting near the entrance of the village, she was probably not from around here. She looked down and cried, talking to a few other cats, assumed to be her family members. Rai didn’t have much interest in talking to her, he was only interested in the dragon.

The dragon, who had killed many bounty hunters, was probably one of the strongest opponents Rai had ever fought. Just thinking about it made him excited. It could have been the instinctive joy of a bounty hunter, or maybe that of a Touga. It was said to be a huge dragon, he could probably bathe in its blood.

The ritual began. The female cat and the village chief began to walk. The lake was located west of the village. When they arrived, an opening appeared in the cave wall. The eyes of the female cat were covered with a cloth, and she was led into the cave.

After that, Rai quietly followed. The inside of the cave was filled with damp air, and it felt like the air was sticking to him. Uncomfortable. He could smell the scent of blood coming from somewhere in the cave. Visibility was very poor.

As his eyes began to adjust, he could barely see the female cat and the village chief leading her anymore. The village chief had most likely visited this cave many times. He didn’t hesitate and had a clear destination in mind. Rai thought it was strange that the female cat, who was about to be sacrificed, didn’t try to fight back at all, but it had nothing to do with him. The village chief left her behind in a narrow part of the cave and then turned around and left. Rai could see her entire body trembling.

At that moment, a roar could be heard from the depths of the cave. Rai's body shivered. A green wind-like flash arose.

"Eeeek!"

A female cat's scream could be heard, the impact sending her body flying. Then a giant dragon appeared. Its slimy body, covered in large scales, glowed in the darkness of the cave. It led out a loud, threatening roar.

Rai clutched the hilt of his sword.

This sword was the sword he bought with him when he left Setsura. He had been using it since he was a child, and was so familiar with it, it felt like it was almost part of his body.

The roars became even louder. Rai’s ears folded down and his tail puffed up. He started running toward the dragon and jumped. He thought the hard scales would deflect his sword, but they weren’t as tough as they looked. The sword gouged his flesh, and several scales flew into the air. One of them hit Rai’s cheek. The dragon defended itself with its claws.

"Ah…that’s…"

Rai knelt to the ground and smiled. Finally, he had met a worthy enemy who he could use his full strength against, stimulating his instincts as a Touga and warrior. He was no longer afraid of angry, he could only feel pure pleasure, fueled by his fighting spirit.

"Don't you remember that sword?"

He could hear someone whispering behind him. As he turned around, Froud was standing there.

“This place is very familiar to me, it makes me happy. “ Froud smiled.

"What about Konoe and others?" Rai asked.

"It's okay. Can't you see that there's nothing to worry about? After all, they’re going to see Leaks soon… Well, by now they might be experiencing some trouble already. "

Froud let out a sneaky laugh.

"But to me, it doesn't matter. Yeah. I've never been interested in Leaks from the beginning. It's a shame I couldn’t eat that other kitty, but my main dish is still here in front of me."

Froud happily looked at Rai's face.

"Hey shironeko chan. Are you still worried about that kitty even now?"

"He's my Sanga."

Froud’s body shook with laughter after hearing Rai’s words.

"Boring, but well, I guess it can't be helped."

Froud said while snapping his fingers. The space around them became distorted, like a black hole. Rai didn’t recognize this place. Suddenly he saw a projection of Konoe running in the distance.

"If you’re worried, this passage is connected to where that kitty is right now. However, before you can go there, you have to defeat me first."

Rai looked at Froud.

"Why is my sword here?"

"That's right. It's my treasure."

Froud said with a euphoric smile on his face, placing his hand on his chest.

"The sword you left there, I took good care of it. That hard, sharp feeling that gouged out my eyes. The intense pain and stimulation. Your uncontrollable anger and hatred."

Froud held his hands in front of his face. A green wind removed the mask covering Froud's head. His left and right eyes were completely closed, with scars running across them.

“…as I thought, it was you.”

Rai told him while he narrowed his eyes. Why did Froud contact him and try to get involved with him? His questions were immediately answered. He was his long time enemy. The monster that stole Rai's right eye. However, Rai's heart was calm standing in front of his nemesis.

"At that time… the last thing my eyes saw was your bloody face." Froud happily announced.

"You were laughing, weren't you? Intoxicated by the taste of blood and the temperature of warm flesh, you seemed truly happy. At that time, I realized that you had the same soul as me, we learned the joy of killing. "

Froud’s voice was full of joy and excitement.

"Hey, you... how did it feel to have your right eye gouged out by me? Painful? Just remembering it should make your body ache. Yes...we share the same joy. We are able to share that joy with each other~."

His right eye pulsated. The pain felt like he was going insane. Recalling the moment when Froud’s claws dug into Rai’s eye socket. He suddenly asked himself, to this day, he had been chasing his nemesis. But was it really all for revenge? Didn’t he just want to experience the joy of fighting this monster again? He wanted to deny it.

"I've been waiting for a long time. For the time when the darkness in your body would finally make you lose your mind. And once again, the day has come when we can experience that joy again together. "

"... are you trying to say that your wish has now come true?"

Rai mumbled. It was almost like he was asking himself that question. Wasn't he still chasing after the dragon to experience that kind of joy? And now his wish had come true.

"That's right." Smiling, Froud slowly offered his hand to Rai.

"Come on, let's kill each other one more time. That's my greatest joy, and I’m sure you want the same. Ahh, I’m looking forward to it!"

Froud shouted while spreading out his arms. A green wind enveloped his body. The outline gradually changed, and his body swelled up. It made a strange sound.

Now, standing in front of him was the figure of the monster he had seen in his nightmares countless of times. Rai’s right eye was pulsating and hot. He felt like the burning sensation made it difficult to think.

He felt a whirlwind of emotions, Konoe’s name, but also dark, black hatred.

"Come on, let's kill each other! Cut through flesh, spill blood and drag out the pleasure that lurks beyond the pain and fear!"

The dragon trembled from excitement. Rai grabbed his old sword, which was still deeply pierced into the ground. Once again, Rai would use this sword to slay the dragon. He slowly pulled the sword out of the ground. It should have been rusty, but it looked brand new, as if it had returned to life.

Rai started thrusting the tip of the sword into the body of the ferocious dragon. The dragon’s tail brushed against his cheek. Blood splattered everywhere, from his own body as well, it felt warm.

Red. His hands, his feet, his entire body, everything in this world was red. Wrapped in red warmth, it was everything he wanted, everything he longed for. It was finally there.

Whose blood was it? Who did the laughter he could hear belong to? It all made no sense anymore.

The number of slashes and wounds he inflicted on his opponents had already become countless. Everything was red and one of them would certainly collapse anytime soon.

But that doesn’t matter. Rai felt alive, his flesh and blood and that of his opponent. It was painful but pleasurable. It felt almost intoxicating.

More. He wanted more of it.

"Rai!"

He heard a voice. No, it was more like someone was calling out his name? Almost like a scream. Someone was calling him. It was a familiar voice.

His chest felt strange, and his hands were trembling. While losing control of his body, his sword hit the rock walls of the cave, snapping his sword in half.

Rai exhaled. He stared blankly at the sword in his hand. The sword was rusty and damaged. It had been a long time since he had last used this sword.

Right... This was just a fragment of the past. This already happened, it was like a bad dream.

The dragon roared. The curse, resentment, and confusion.

"...this is no longer my sword."

Rai muttered. He threw away the sword he was holding. A hollow sound could be heard of the sword falling to the ground.

"Are you quitting already? Not yet! It shouldn’t be over yet!"

The dragon shouted at Rai.

"I will defeat you." Rai replied.

He looked at his new sword. Fighting together with the power of Konoe’s song, he would never forget that feeling. The overwhelming power, that white light.

"I see... Perhaps you have finally found something more warm, but…"

Froud moved his giant body and shook his head menacingly. His eyes, filled with anger.

"That's a problem, I need you to finish this."

Thick and sharp claws aimed for Rai’s body. Parrying the blow, Rai stepped on top of Froud’s body. He pushed his sword in the blind spot right below the dragon’s neck. The sword pierced his lower jaw, closing the monster’s mouth.

Rai could hear that Froud was struggling. He thrusted his sword into the dragon’s head. It hit something hard.

With a load sound, Froud’s body collapsed. His body wriggled, as if he was trying to escape from this agony. The only thing that could be heard in the room was the sound of laughter.

"Fufu, fufu…hahahaha... This is it, this is it. This is what I've always wanted. This pain, this suffering."

Rai frowned without responding to Froud.

"Pain, suffering, fear, terror, the last moments of one’s life. Death is the greatest and greatest pleasure..."

Froud continued his words, gasping for air.

"But it’s no fun to kill yourself, it was my deepest desire to be killed by someone who had the same soul as me."

From the dragon’s mouth, a large amount of bubbly, reddish black blood overflowed.

“I have been waiting for this moment, right now I am extremely happy... I hope someday you’ll come to understand this happiness. I’ll be waiting for you. Until then, this is goodbye..."

Froud's breathing became even more rough. While vomiting blood, his body eventually stopped moving, followed by an unnatural silence.

Rai narrowed his eyes, staring at the fallen dragon with a complicated expression on his face that was neither sadness nor contempt.

"... I will never meet you again." Rai muttered.

Rai walked up to the dragon's corpse and pulled out the sword that was stuck in his body.

The space time passage Froud opened was still in the same place. On the other side of the shimmering surface, Konoe's figure, now looking weak, was clearly visible. With his sword and his dagger in hands, Rai started walking. He took a step forward and realized his body felt terribly fatigued. He was also still bleeding, but he had to go now. Rai jumped out of the space time passage and beyond the darkness, he could see Konoe.

Rai threw his dagger at Firi’s blade, which was about to be swung down at Konoe. At that moment, Konoe turned around and looked up. Rai landed beside him.

The ground covered in cobblestones seemed to be some kind of temple. Rai looked at Konoe.

"Were you going to die? You stupid cat."

Konoe slowly stood up after hearing those words.

"You..." Firi smiled and stepped back.

"How troublesome."

Rai saw a man whose face looked almost identical to Konoe’s. Was it Leaks? The mask that previously covered his face was gone. He didn’t know what happened, but he also didn’t care anymore now. He had to beat Leaks.

“Well now that is surprising."

Rai smiled after hearing Leaks’s words.

"I can't leave my Sanga behind."

His Sanga Konoe, he couldn’t leave him behind.

"It’s already too late. All of the darkness in the world has become my strength. The Void will destroy all of Shisa and the Sickness will devour the body of all cats living there. It will all be sacrificed today."

Leaks smiled. The blood running down his face blurred Rai’s vision The pain in his right eye also remained.

"Darkness has its own will. It’s a mighty power all demons and other dark beings use. To obtain this power, I signed a contract. The only condition being that I would sacrifice the light of this world, your "souls". The time is up, today I will obtain the total power of darkness. Everything in this world will be mine."

"What makes you go to such lengths...why do you hate this world so much...!!" .

Leaks looked at Konoe as if he had just asked him something terribly boring.

"Shisa was already headed for ruin. Just like the humans of the past. It would be better if the life that exists now is remade into a more ideal form. Feelings, emotions, we don’t need anything like that. Emotions are the cause of destruction. I will create a new world with superior lifeforms."

"…cut it out!" Konoe shouted.

"There is nothing unnecessary about being sad, angry, or loving someone! No one should deny how valuable these emotions are! Even if that person was a god... !"

Konoe's words touched Rai's heart. To be sad, to be angry, loving someone like Konoe. All of these things were important.

"Heh. Then, do you know what love is? In this world where love has already been lost, have you ever felt an emotion similar to love?"

Leaks continued talking.

"Bonds and relationships, those sort of things have no meaning. When ties are formed, other ties will always be broken. A good example is Sanga and Touga. You know the pain of losing something, don’t you?"

"...But still!" Konoe yelled.

"These words have no meaning. You can't trust anyone. You could be betrayed anytime, anywhere. It's foolish to let such uncertainties threaten you. We don't need it."

"No!... It’s ridiculous to say something like that!"

Konoe groaned while Leaks looked at him.

"...if you want to go that far, let's try it. The relationships and bonds you speak of. I wonder if such a thing really exists."

Leaks held out his hand. The tip of his finger pointing at Rai. When Rai prepared himself for battle, he could hear the sound of a song.

It was an evil song, the same he had heard before when they went to that village. Black flames enveloped Leaks’ body. This song was used to manipulate people and to fill the world with darkness. It was fundamentally different from a Sanga’s song, or Konoe’s song.

"…tch!"

His right eye felt hot. It was so hot and painful, it almost felt like something was coming out of it. His vision was blurry. A pitch black flame engulfed his body. What he saw in front of him seemed to be a fragment of the past.

"Rai! No, don't listen!"

He could hear someone’s voice, whose voice was it? When he opened his eyes he thought the world would be pitch black, but it turned out to be pure white.

He saw a little child crying. Oh, that was him. It was the moment when he held a sword for the first time. Setsura was a village of warriors and large species of cats. It was natural for children around him to use wooden swords to practise their swordsmanship. Rai was different however, the first sword that was given to him was not made of wood, but a real sword that was just as tall as him.

He practised swinging it many times until he finally mastered it. Then, he was immediately defeated by his father’s sword. Rai’s father was a talented swordsman who travelled to neighboring towns to compete with others.

He did not go easy on him just because he was a child. No, now he thought about it, he must have been taking it easy or else he would have been killed by his father’s sword. Young Rai of course didn’t know that. His father who would swing his sword at him, was someone who he was afraid of. He often cried, but even his mother wouldn’t console him. Naturally, at some point he just stopped crying. He had no choice but to wield his sword.

The first life he took was of a small animal. Whether it was a hare or a mouse, he wasn’t sure anymore. Did he fear taking the lives of living beings back then? All he remembers was the warm feeling he felt when he sliced open the small animal’s stomach. The little creature was warm, and the blood gushing out from its belly was even warmer.

He scooped out the blood and the creature’s insides, the smell of blood filling the air. It was the kind of warmth that Rai wanted. The childen standing in front of him were laughing.

"…."

Suddenly he heard the voice of Leaks.

"You must have sealed off this memory."

Rai stared at his past self.

"Don't you want to redo it? Such an abominable past?" Leaks whispered.

"…What?" Rai replied.

"At that time, if it hadn’t been for this kind of thing, I wouldn’t be where I am today. I’m sure everyone looks at their pasts and regrets some parts of it, but we have no other choice but to move on. If not, the past might haunt us forever. "

Did he have any regrets? What could he have regretted?

"You know... I can do it. I have the ability to turn back time. You can go back to that time and change the outcome. If you do that, you can change yourself as a result, erasing the darkness in your heart."

Rai closed his eyes. Even if Leaks gave him that power, where would he even start over? He didn’t know.

"Are you regretting it already? Your current self enjoys slaughter and taking the lives of others. Maybe you could have walked in the light instead of the shadows?"

"...what do you want in return?"

Rai knew that Leaks wouldn’t give it to him for free. Leaks smiled.

"You'll abandon this current timeline. Of course, you'll forget about Konoe. But losing memories of just one person doesn’t matter. If you want a Sanga, you can find another one. It is more important to get rid of the darkness in your heart. You don’t have much time left. Also, the previous contract you signed will also be terminated. In exchange for Konoe, I will receive all of your darkness."

His chest and right eye ached.

"It must be painful. You know that you don't have time, right?Defeating Froud may have cleared your own regrets, but the darkness can’t be stopped anymore. I can make it all go away."

It all sounded like a silly joke.

Rai asked another question.

“What happens when the contract is signed?”

"Everything will go according to my plan, until you forget about everything and start a new life."

Leaks laughed.

Rai wondered what would happen to Konoe. The dark fog in his head seemed to clear up. Rai looked up and stared at Leaks, who gave him a sly smile.

"It’s ridiculous. It’s too late already, no matter how much I struggled, this is who I am."

"…ohh?" Leaks raised his eyebrow.

"Looking back at the past and wanting to go back to change it is foolish. Denying the past that shaped you and your own path in life. I am who I am today because of these mistakes. If you erase my past, my current self wouldn’t exist anymore."

Starting over was pointless. Besides, it is not like his whole past was meaningless.

"Then, your other choice is to remain here and to be eaten by the darkness. Wouldn’t that also mean that you will disappear?"

"No matter how it ends, I choose to live as myself." Rai replied.

If he lost all of these memories, he would no longer be himself.

"Is that because Konoe is here?"

"…it’s not like that."

"Until now, your life has been dedicated to avenging your enemy, Froud. Is there anything left? If there’s anything, it has to be Konoe."

Rai shook his head. He thought it was all a big misunderstanding.

"This isn’t about him, these are my own problems."

"Should I protect you? Kukuku, a deep bond is beautiful, isn't it? Soon you will realize that you made a mistake, and you will regret it."

Leaks averted his gaze for a moment. And then, the white world in front of Rai’s eyes disappeared.

"I have received your answer..."

He could hear that song again. Leaks raised his hands, it looked like a green snake was curled around his hand. Was that the power of Froud? He could feel his right eye hurting, as if it was being pierced by something.

"... ugh...ah..!"

Rai fell to his knees, covering his right eye with his hand. The burning feeling was slowly taking away his consciousness. Heat, pain, and the curse.

"Did you forget? You thought you took your revenge, but the power I stole from Froud is still here."

He could hear Konoe's voice somewhere in the distance. However, it was drowned out by that evil song. He tried to stay conscious, Rai still wanted to be himself.

He growled loudly. Leaks’s song was suddenly cut off.

Silence.

Rai slowly lifted his head and stared at the creature standing next to him. Who was that again? He couldn’t think straight, the darkness was taking over his body.

"You're an idiot. You fell into my hands just to try to save someone. You’re just a vessel, nothing but a waste. "

Leaks looked at Konoe.

Suddenly Rai jumped at Konoe. Narrowly avoiding him, Konoe fell to his knees on the ground.

"Look at that happy face. I finally exposed his true desire. Even if he tries to kill you, will you still try to save this cat? Do you still consider him your partner?"

Leaks said with a smirk on his face.

Rai was being manipulated by that curse and the contract. Konoe turned around and pulled out his sword, glaring at Rai.

"..."

It happened in an instant. Konoe's sword pierced Rai's body. And at that very moment, Rai's sword also pierced through Konoe.

Rai looked at Konoe. His right eye no longer felt hot. No pain.

Oh... did Konoe keep his promise? Rai smiled. The promise they made when they went to Lake Kagami. Konoe promised that he would kill him if Rai lost his sanity. It was an important promise.

"...your wish won’t come true…all of this is foolish."

He could hear Leaks muttering something.

Rai felt warm. Konoe’s body temperature alwasy felt comfortable. His chest was also feeling hot, being pierced by Konoe’s sword.

Was this the end?

When both of them fell down, he heard a song. A song he had only heard once before, it was not Konoe’s song but someone else’s. However, the song was very similar to Konoe's song.

Consciousness started fading away... The world was enveloped in a bright white light. He felt no pain. The sword that pierced his chest just now disappeared as if it had melted. The pain in his chest disappeared. Even the wounds that were inflected by Froud were also gone. He opened his eyes.

"We’re…back?" Rai whispered.

He didn't know what had happened.

"Shui...! Struggling is pointless."

Leaks looked dissatisfied with something. His gazed turned to Firi, who was standing next to him.

"Firi."

"Yes?"

Firi’s body stiffened.

"Sing."

"Yes, Leaks-sama."

Firi's voice was trembling. A red light emitted from Firi's body. As his eyes closed, a song could be heard. A melody that sounded like a whistle. As he continued singing, Firi’s complexion turned pale.

Leaks absorbed the red light and the black fog that was emitted from Firi’s body.

"...I’ll stop you right now!"

Rai yelled, while approaching Firi with his sword in hand. He hit something that could only be described as an invisible wall. Rai jumped back, this time trying to swing his sword at Leaks, however the result was the same.

"...shit."

"It's pointless." Leaks laughed.

A black fog, still accompanied by the red light, was absorbed by his body. Rai felt like something terrible was going to happen, he had to stop it. He grabbed the hilt of his sword and turned to Konoe.

"Sing."

Konoe nodded.

They could still hear the sound of Firi’s song. It started changing the world around them. The colors, its scenery, the air, everything around them turned into the Void.

However, Konoe's song could be heard in the distance, slowly interrupting Firi’s song.

Konoe’s song… It was the first song he ever heard.

White light engulfed Rai’s body. It was a special song, sung at a special time. Rai felt powerful.

"...that song..." Leaks muttered.

Rai swung his sword at Leaks. Konoe, who was standing behind him, started shouting at him.

"...even if we can’t break this curse, even if the darkness in your heart won’t disappear, I’ll be with you! Forever!"

After hearing these words, Rai narrowed his eyes and a smile appeared on his lips.

"...of course, stupid cat!"

His body felt powerful. The white light turning into something that could only be described as a big wave, clashing with the darkness of the Void.

"You’ve been trying to use me for way too long... I’m sure you could easily end my life, but even if you killed me, you won’t be able to change my feelings. That alone is mine until the very end. You can’t!"

Konoe shouted

"...shut up!!!" Leaks bared his fangs.

"Now I know, Leaks, the deepest feelings you're hiding are anger and hatred. You're the one who has been swallowed up by your emotions. Leaks, as your ‘vessel of emotions’, I know."

"Shut up!" Leaks yelled.

The darkness surrounding Leaks increased.

"Don’t get carried away! Your soul and body will be consumed here, until not a single piece of it remains, and then you’ll disappear!"

The sound of Leaks's song became stronger, as the darkness surrounding them became even thicker. Before he knew it, Firi's body had disappeared.

Rai held his sword. He wouldn’t hesitate. As Konoe's song also became more powerful, Rai ran towards Leaks. His sword hit the invisible wall again, but this time he kept pushing.

He couldn’t stop in a place like this, he had the best Sanga in the world.

"Struggling is useless!"

Leaks held up his hand. Black flames started gathering in the palm of his hand while the invisible wall was still blocking Rai’s sword.

He couldn’t stop yet. He had the power of Konoe’s song. Dark flames danced through the sky.

Little by little, Rai's sword pushed through the invisible wall. Just a little bit more... The dark flames covered Rai's body and his arms felt numb.

Konoe... his Sanga. Only his song gave him strength. In that moment, Rai's sword broke through the invisible wall.

"Get lost!"

His sword pierced Leaks’s chest. At that time, the red, black and white lights all combined, creating a big explosion, swallowing everything and knocking them unconscious.

"..."

Where was he. It was so warm. This is… a bed. His mother sang a lullaby. He loved his mother who hugged him and sang for him. Warm. His mother’s arms were so warm.

"…hey!"

Rai slowly woke up. He could see a dazzling light. Rai blinked a few times. Konoe was sitting in front of him.

"This place…?" Rai asked while slowly standing up.

"Probably somewhere in the forest, north of Karou."

Rai slightly shook his head. The air in the forest was cool and pleasant. He looked at Konoe.

"…you."

"Eh…?"

"Your ears."

Konoe's ears had returned to their original color, and his tail too. Had the curse been lifted? While Konoe started removing his gauntlet, Rai looked at his own chest. The black marks were gone. Was it finally over?

"…what about Leaks." Rai muttered.

Konoe looked down.

"…Why"

Konoe had a strange look on his face.

"Uaaaah...!"

Holding his head, Konoe screamed.

"Hey, what happened!"

Konoe's breathing was rough. Could it be that the curse hadn't been fully lifted yet? Konoe slowly opened his eyes.

"… are you okay?"

When he asked, Konoe nodded. Then he quietly looked at his hands.

"...I understand everything."

"…what does that mean?"

He didn't understand what Konoe meant.

"Leaks has become part of me."

Just as he was about to ask for the meaning of those words, the space in front of them distorted and a yellow and red flame appeared. These were the flames of the devils. Konoe jumped up. Verg and Razel were suddenly standing in front of them.

"It's finally over!"

Verg laughed as he opened and closed his fists, lightning running through his hands.

"Ah, this is it... This overflowing feeling."

"Our powers have returned."

Verg and Razel spoke to each other while Konoe glared at them.

"Now that you’ve become like this, we’re not going to do anything to you anymore. "

"...eh?" Konoe replied.

"You have become one with Leaks." Razel said.

Rai didn’t understand what the devils and Konoe were talking about.

"Eating you is the same as eating Leaks."

Verg replied, looking disgusted while moving his body in an exaggerated manner.

"...and the other two?" Konoe asked.

Rai had already defeated Froud, but Konoe didn't know yet. They both owed each other some explanations later.

"I don't know...? It's not like we hang out with each other."

Verg said with a disinterested look. After that, yellow flames wrapped around his body.

"I feel like we wasted a lot of hard work and money. It's a pity I couldn't eat you, but well, see you..! Even if I don’t think we will ever meet again."

The two of them disappeared.

“They…disappeared?” Rai muttered and stared at Konoe.

Konoe looked up at Rai.

"What’s wrong?"

Konoe closed his eyes.

He then gently pressed his forehead against Rai’s shoulders. Rai could feel the warmth of Konoe’s body.

Their tails gently wrapped around each other's bodies. Even if the curse had disappeared, it didn’t mean that the darkness in their bodies had fully disappeared, but that was fine.

He would live together with Konoe. That’s all.

#lamento #lamento expiatio #lamento beyond the void #nitrochiral #nitro+chiral

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suzuran777 · 8 months

Text

Lamento Beyond the Void Expiatio Chapter 7

Here's chapter 7! Please remember that I'm not a professional translator or anything and my native language isn't English, so it might not be 100% perfect. I will post the final chapter and the epilogue tomorrow.

[Prologue] [Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5] [Part 6] [Part 7] [Part 8] [Epilogue] [Glossary]

Caput 7

The next morning. The sky was cloudy, and the air felt heavy and cold. It looked like it was about to snow. After getting dressed, Rai and Konoe went downstairs. The devils were waiting in the living room again. When they noticed Rai’s presence, the four of them stopped talking and turned around.

"Yo! I know where Leaks is." Verg started talking to them.

"Rather than finding his exact whereabouts, it would be more correct to say that we sensed his presence, somewhere south of Ransen. "

Razel continued.

Konoe turned around to see Rai's expression.

"South of Ransen?" Konoe muttered.

There was a forest south of Ransen that stretched all the way to Karou. Konoe turned around and headed for the exit of the inn. Rai called to stop him.

"...hey, wait. Where are you going?"

"I know that location, I'm going." Konoe replied.

Rai sighed, knowing Konoe wouldn’t be able to stay calm in a place like that.

"And what will you do there, are you going to starve after endlessly wandering around?"

Konoe casted his eyes downward.

"The white cat is right, we know that Leaks is somewhere there but we don't know the precise location."

Verg replied, as if he was agreeing with Rai.

"Then, when will we know?" Konoe muttered while staring at the floor.

"Soon."

Froud, who had been silent until then, opened his mouth with a faint smile.

"You'll find out soon. The end is near. "

Konoe anxiously listened to Froud.

"It's finally time for my touching reunion with Leaks. Ah, I'm looking forward to it. Once I've defeated him and regained my strength, we’ll have to decide which one of us will eat you. "

Verg smiled and turned his gaze to Konoe, making Konoe's body shiver.

"Well, maybe we'll look around a little more. See you."

The demons summoned their respective flames and disappeared. Rai watched the flames disappear and let out a sigh. Konoe swished his tail from side to side.

"We have to go too..."

Rai could tell Konoe was in a hurry, wanting to learn more about his own curse and the curse placed on Rai.

"I told you earlier. Don't do anything reckless."

"But..." Konoe lowered his head after hearing Rai's words.

"Calm down. We'll have to wait for now. Besides, Leaks will definitely show up. He will let you know where he is." Rai told Konoe, who didn’t reply.

Would this battle with Leaks really be the last one? There was no time left, Froud’s words last night were serious. Would his heart be controlled by darkness before they could even meet Leaks? Rai hoped that they would make it in time. At least until the fight with Leaks, he hoped that he could stay sane. But could they really beat Leaks? Maybe even a Sanga and a Touga pair couldn’t beat him. Their abilities work the best together when they have a special kind of bond, but he wasn’t sure if him and Konoe were that close to each other.

Rai didn’t know the real meaning of a ‘bond’. Suddenly he felt a strong desire to talk to Konoe, he had something he really wanted to say, while his mind was still intact. Rai looked at the sky and narrowed his eyes.

"Come here."

Rai whispered, while grabbing Konoe’s arm, dragging him out of the inn. Rai climbed on top of the roof while Konoe looked at him, his eyes widening in surprise. Konoe followed him, after Rai urged him to come up.

Rai sat down on the edge of the roof and stared absentmindedly into the depths of the forest. Konoe's hometown should be somewhere in the southern part of the forest, and Setsura is located on the other side.

The wind was cold, but not unpleasant. They were still in heat, so it felt rather nice and cooling, Konoe sat next to him. The clouds had disappeared.

"Do you want to go back to Karou?" Rai asked Konoe.

"Your parents are already passed away, yet, you still want to go back there?"

He felt like Konoe was confused. Rai himself also didn’t know what he was even trying to talk about. What did he want to tell Konoe? His eyes narrowed for a moment, then he opened his mouth as he looked into the distance.

"Even if Setsura is destroyed, it doesn't matter to me. I have no memories of it, nothing."

Rai absentmindedly told him. Konoe sat still without moving or saying anything.

"... but there's something about it. I didn't like Karou either, but after all, it is not like I only have bad memories of it." Konoe replied.

Konoe sounded a bit distant. Rai was trying to search for the right words to say.

"... my parents died right in front of me." Rai replied.

Would Konoe laugh at him if he admitted he didn't just intend to say that?

"… eh?"

"They were killed by bandits who broke in. But it was almost like they weren't my parents, seeing their corpses, I felt nothing. I just wondered why they weren't moving."

Thinking back about it now, Rai didn’t understand what sadness was at the time. Covered in their dark red blood, he felt happy. Rai didn’t know what family warmth was or if it even existed.

"They say blood ties are stronger than anything else, but I don't really understand. Bonds, family warmth. I don't understand any of it..."

Rai said while looking at Konoe. Ah, what the hell was he even trying to ask Konoe. He didn’t know. He looked at Konoe.

"Do you understand it? Can you confirm that such a thing exists?"

Did he want Konoe to tell him that there was a bond between him and Rai? He never thought it was difficult to live alone, or to fight alone. Rai did have a disadvantage when he was fighting against pairs, that’s why he thought that Konoe could help him when they first met. But even then, it’s not like he couldn’t survive on his own.

If Rai lost his mind, Konoe would kill him. He just didn’t know when, it could even happen tomorrow. Was that the real meaning of a ‘bond’? The promise that Konoe would pierce his chest with his sword? When he remembered the promise, he felt a warm and fuzzy feeling in his chest.

Somehow, he felt relieved that he wasn’t alone right now. Was that alright? Even though he could kill Konoe anytime? Rai started feeling anxious.

That moment, something warm touched his shoulder, Konoe gently pressed his forehead against him, purring. For cats, that was a sign of affection.

"Do you understand? Maybe tomorrow, I will…" Rai told him.

He could kill him any moment.

"…I know" Konoe answered, while closing his eyes.

Rai could smell Konoe’s scent.

"…really."

Rai replied with a small sigh and then fell silent. If Konoe allowed this, then it should be fine, he told himself. It must be a bond that was truly unique to both of them. He felt the gentle touch of the cold winter breeze on his face.

Suddenly, he felt like hearing Konoe’s song again.

"...your song" Rai whispered.

"Sing me a song"

"…a song?" Konoe raised his face.

"Any song that isn’t used in battle is fine. Can you sing?"

He stared at Konoe, who was looking at him with a puzzled look on his face.

"…try it."

Konoe nodded and closed his eyes. After a short moment of silence, he could hear it. It wasn’t a song used in battle. It was a peaceful song that felt light, soft, and most importantly, warm.

"...your voice is mysterious. It touches the hearts of those who hear it."

Rai lowered his eyes and listened to the song. Konoe’s singing voice, it was all his. He could hear the voice riding on the wind and slowly disappearing, as if it was being sucked into the winter sky. He didn’t know something warm like this existed.

When they returned to the inn, Bardo was staring at the guest book at the reception desk. Rai immediately headed to the stairs, as usual.

"Just a little moment." Konoe stopped at the reception desk.

Without worrying about it, Rai started climbing the stairs. Either he had been outside in the cold weather for too long, or he was just tired, his body felt very warm. It was better to get some rest immediately. He entered the room, took off his gear and threw himself onto the bed without opening the window. The cool bed was comfortable. He crossed his arms and drifted off to sleep.

After he woke up, Konoe had not come back yet. He wondered what he was talking about with Bardo, but he couldn't be bothered. For a second, Rai thought about his past when he spent time with Bardo. Back then, he probably felt some kind of warmth when Bardo was taking care of him too. Suddenly, Rai felt a bit feverish. His right eye started hurting again.

Rai touched his eyepatch with his fingers and hit something in the room, creating a loud thud. He could feel all the hairs of his body standing up. A black mass was spreading throughout his body.

He had trouble breathing. Not now... It was still too early for this,

He could hear the sound of the door opening. Rai clenched his teeth. He felt uneasy when he heard the sound of someone approaching him.

"...is it painful?"

He felt relieved when he heard Konoe's voice, not someone else’s. This was Konoe's voice. His consciousness was still there, the darkness had not taken over yet. It should be fine now.

He groaned, as he felt the pain spread through his body. In that instant, he lost consciousness.

Rai grabbed Konoe's arm and pushed him down onto the bed. He looked at Konoe and scratched his skin with his nails. Red marks were visible on Konoe’s skin. Just like that, Rai grabbed Konoe’s neck.

"Let go...!"

Konoe struggled to free the hand from his neck. Rai looked down at Konoe and smiled. The tips of his fingers were red, covered in Konoe’s blood. He slowly started licking the blood off his fingers.

"It's a beautiful color." Rai muttered, enchantedly.

His prey was in front of him once more. If he opened its belly, he could see an even more beautiful shade of red. His mouth twisted. While thinking about this, the prey started struggling. Rai didn't dislike the sound of someone struggling, seconds away from their death.

"Rai."

Rai... That was his name. And what was in front of him wasn’t his prey, it was Konoe. His body suddenly felt numb, as he retracted the hand that was touching Konoe’s neck. What was he doing?

"Guh!"

He could hear Konoe coughing violently. Rai’s chest hurt. Konoe tried to catch his breath.

Rai looked down. After all, he shouldn't be by his side anymore. He couldn’t even keep his promises.

"I’m sorry. " He muttered.

"Does it hurt?"

He knew the wound itself wouldn’t be a problem, but he didn’t know what else to say to Konoe.

Wounds aren't the problem. I know that. But I don't know how to tell Konoe

"...it doesn't matter, if I lick it, it will heal just fine. " Konoe replied.

"You shouldn't be by my side. You..." Rai tried to tell him.

"Don’t say that." Konoe interrupted Rai's words.

"Don't even try. No matter what you tell me, my feelings won't change."

Rai looks back at Konoe. Konoe's was staring at him. He understood Konoe’s expression, he didn’t sense any anger. Why? Was there darkness in Konoe’s heart too? Rai had his own reasons for being like this.

"Why do you have to go that far? Your goal is to be freed from that curse, isn't it?"

"It's the same for you."

"I am an existence that must disappear eventually. Even if I am killed by this curse, nothing will change. Listen to me."

Rai turned his gaze to the closed window.

"Of course, this side of me, it’s not something I ever wanted."

Rai began to speak while trying to find the right words.

"I became aware of it was when I went hunting for the first time. I hunted to test the sword skills that I had learned. It was a small hare. I thought it was warm.”

Rai still remembered how warm it felt. Warm… It was a warmth he had never felt before. Since then, every time he went hunting, he looked for that warmth he craved so much.

Rai looked down at his hand. He felt like the palm of his hand was permanently stained red.

"When I touch the flesh and blood of other beings, my heart feels deeply satisfied."

Back then, hunting alone was enough to satisfy his desires. However, this slowly started changing. Ever since that creature gouged out his right eye, his desire started growing stronger. Rai touched his eyepatch with his fingertips. His right eye continued to ache.

"And now my desire is turning into insanity, it’s taking over my whole body. I've always tried to be strong, both physically and mentally, to fight back, but…"

Rai stopped talking for a moment.

"I wonder if all this time, I only wanted to become strong so I could feel the warmth of flesh and blood."

It was not something he ever admitted, and he tried to not think about it. He was fighting for that flesh and blood he craved so much.

Rai hated this, the only thing that brought him joy was taking other’s lives. He thought that it would be better if he just ended his own life while he was still sane, rather than waiting for what would happen in the future. Rai looked at Konoe.

"Therefore, there is no reason, no obligation, no need for you to stick to me. You should think about yourself."

Rai didn’t feel connected to anyone, he had to be alone all this time.

Konoe averted his gaze from Rai. He did not know what he was thinking. If Konoe only thought about himself, it would be natural that he left Rai behind. It didn’t matter, there were other Touga out there, like Asato.

At that moment, Konoe looked up. Rai felt that Konoe was looking straight into his eyes.

"I told you the other day." Konoe slowly began talking to him.

“Have you ever thought about my feelings? Have you ever thought about asking me? That's why I'll tell you.“

Konoe took a deep breath.

As Konoe said, he never really talked to him. Rai could mention that a lot of things happened recently and that they simply had no time to talk to each other. But it was different. Rai thought there was no need to talk, no need to understand each other.

"When you found out about my curse, you said it was fine. I was really happy."

With a smile on his lips, Konoe shut his mouth for a moment.

Rai remembers that time. It was true, he didn’t care about the curse. The ability of a Sanga was more impressive than that.

"People around me didn’t like hearing anything about curses, so when you didn’t let go of me, even if it’s because we’re Sanga and Touga, I was happy. "

Konoe squeezed his hand tightly, while Rai sat there quietly.

“Ever since my parents died, I have been alone. Sadness, anger, and other emotions. If you use all those things as a strength, you will be able to survive."

Rai understood his feelings at that moment.

"But when I met you, I was so happy I could stay by your side."

Rai could feel a gentle warmth, similar to Konoe’s song.

"I think you're really strong. I'm not trying to be strong to kill you. I think you've already given in to your desires and try to deal with those. That's why I respect you."

"Also, I was happy when you put the lamp in our room."

Was he talking about the glowing leaves Rai gave him?

"That's why I thought you helped me a lot. Not only when I was sick, but in many ways, you said you didn't care about my curse. Even if something could happen, I don’t want to leave you."

Konoe's gazed at Rai.

"At that time, I will kill you. I told you so. That's why I can't leave. I don't want to leave."

Konoe's clenched his fists tightly.

"This is all I'm thinking. How do you feel? Not because I'm going to kill you, I want to know your true feelings."

After saying that, Konoe took a deep breath. Rai looked down and averted his gaze from Konoe. Real feelings. He never thought of it before.

There was nothing in this world he really cared about before. He didn't care about his own feelings. He listened to his parents and did what was expected of him.

His desire for blood wasn’t exactly a feeling, more like a desire he couldn’t control. Feelings were something he never thought about. When he was tired he slept, when he was hungry he ate, when he was in heat he did what was necessary to suppress it. Those were all things he simply had to do.

His own feelings… He thought that it would be dangerous for Konoe to stay by his side. However, he wanted Konoe to be the one to kill him after losing his sanity. He just didn’t understand anymore.

Rai pulled Konoe's arm and pressed him down on the bed. Konoe's wide-open eyes stared at him. He didn't know what to say.

"...I don't understand it well."

"…what?" Konoe asked, confused.

"I shouldn't have any feelings for you, I know that, but-…"

Rai knew he shouldn’t be by his side. Nevertheless…

"...those are your genuine feelings, that’s why you can’t let go. ".

Konoe said quietly. Rai averted his gaze from Konoe. Such a thing…

"…I forgot"

"...?"

"Just now, I forgot that you were a Sanga."

Rai looked at Konoe again.

Konoe, the person in front of him. The only person he would ever look at like this.

"It's true that I wanted to have the ability of Sanga, it's the same for everyone, including my opponents."

"With your strength, I’m sure other Sanga also want to work together with you."

Konoe said. Rai shook his head slightly.

"I can't imagine a song other than yours."

Rai closed his eyes for a moment. Whenever he closed his eyes, he could always remember Konoe's song. It was a gentle song.

"...because you've only heard my songs."

Konoe said in a somewhat gentle voice. Rai looked at Konoe, why would he say that?

"No, if it's not your song, I don’t need it."

Rai’s chest hurt. It was painful. Expressing his feelings was incredibly difficult.

"If it's not you... it's useless."

Konoe looked at him. Konoe told him he wouldn’t leave Rai, but…

Rai held his breath. He looked at Konoe. He didn’t know what to do when Konoe’s hand reached out and touched his cheek.

"...ah."

Not knowing what to do, his back stiffened up.

Konoe's hand wrapped around his neck and he hugged Rai’s body. His forehead hit Konoe's shoulder. He gradually started feeling Konoe’s body temperature. Not just his body temperature, but also his heartbeat. Everything felt warm.

It made his own body feel hot. Rai moved and put his lips to Konoe's neck.

"..."

Konoe held his breath. Feeling like Konoe was rejecting his feelings, Rai pulled his body away from him. However, Konoe tried to stop him

"...don't you hate it?"

Konoe frowned at Rai's question. He didn’t understand why Rai was asking him that.

"This kind of thing, don't you hate it?" He asked again.

"Hated it? When?" Konoe seemed to be serious.

"During that time when we were in heat."

Rai thought about the time when he touched Konoe.

"...come to think of it, you said that anyone would do." Konoe replied.

"I didn't mean it like that."

Rai thought how he shouldn’t have said that back then.

"I said that if you want to do it, it's okay. No matter who the other person is."

"That is what I meant."

Rai answered. If the desire was there, it would be foolish to reject it. Rai suddenly realized that there’s something he desired for so long. He wanted warmth, but he refused to look for it. Maybe he was the one who was stupid. And now…

That time when he kissed Konoe, and what happened at the brothel, he wanted it. Konoe. He wanted Konoe.

"During that time at the brothel, you told me to think about another cat..." Konoe repeated.

Rai definitely said that, but Konoe was mistaken.

"Because I thought you didn't want me to touch you."

"...why would I hate being touched by you?"

"You said it was because of the incense." Rai replied.

Rai recalled what happened when Konoe bought the incense, he thought Konoe hated it when he kissed him back then.

"I never hated it, but... it was true that it was also caused by the incense." Konoe replied.

"Lying now isn’t going to solve anything."

"I'm not lying, I thought you were the one who hated it.”

Could it be that both of them misunderstood something? If there had been no misunderstanding, everything would have been easier. He didn’t realize. He had longed for Konoe's warmth for such a long time.

Rai looked at Konoe, whose face turned red. He gently started nibbling Konoe’s ear.

"...so you don't hate it?" Rai whispered, to confirm his feelings.

Rai thought about what he wanted. He wanted Konoe.

He sat up and locked his lips with Konoe. He licked his lips and teeth, it felt warm. While kissing him, he grabbed Konoe’s shoulder and pushed him down.

"ah…!"

The recoil separated their lips. Rai put his own lips on top of Konoe’s slightly opened mouth again.

The warmth and passion that was slowly building up in his body felt much stronger than the darkness that resided within him. He wanted to touch Konoe even more.

"…mhh"

Konoe, who found it difficult to breathe, groaned. However, he opened Konoe’s lips with his tongue, as if he didn’t allow him to resist. Their tongues touched each other. Konoe’s tongue touched the back of Rai’s tongue. Rai licked the inside of his upper jaw.

"…ah!"

A soft sound escaped from Konoe’s mouth. Rai changed the angle and continued kissing Konoe, going deeper and deeper. Their fangs touched each other, and he sucked on Konoe’s tongue.

Konoe's body also started feeling hotter. After Rai let go of him, Konoe stared at him.

"…ah…ah.."

Rai remembered the time when they were in heat and when Konoe bought the incense. Back then, they were trying to get rid of the hot feeling, but now it was different.

He took off Konoe’s shirt, exposing his chest. He touched it with his hands. Konoe gasped as the fingers touched his chest.

"…ah!"

Konoe's embarrassed voice made Rai want to tease him.

"Can you feel it?"

Konoe opened his eyes and tried to get up.

"Enough. Take your hands off."

Konoe’s movement only brought Rai’s hands closer to his body.

"...!"

As a Touga, his hands were used to holding a sword and had a rough texture. Konoe averted his gaze and tried to hold back his voice. Rai wanted to hear more of Konoe's voice and licked Konoe’s chest with the tip of his tongue, aiming for one of his nipples.

"…ah!" A soft voice escaped from Konoe's mouth.

His hand grabbed Rai's shoulder as if he was trying to resist.

"...no, stop, mh!"

"If you don't like it, I'll stop." Rai stopped, while looking at Konoe.

He didn’t think Konoe was being too honest, that was obvious. However, until now, both had not been honest with each other. Rai never thought he had to be. His thoughts… he never told anyone what he was thinking.

Rai continued teasing one of Konoe’s nipples with the tip of his tongue.

"…mm."

Konoe covered his mouth with his hand, trying to hide the sounds he was making.

While licking Konoe’s chest, Rai’s hand moved down. As he untied his belt and reached between his legs.

"Wait...mm, ah..."

Rai slipped his hand in Konoe’s underwear and wrapped his hand around Konoe’s member.

"..."

Konoe looked at him impatiently. While their bodies were getting even hotter. Konoe had become even harder after Rai directly touched his member. Konoe's hand pressed against Rai’s shoulder. He raised his face and sweetly bit into Konoe’s collarbone.

"…ah!"

A moan escaped from Konoe's mouth. As he gently stimulated Konoe’s member, his voice and movements also increased. Konoe couldn’t hold in his moans anymore. Rai wanted to hear more of that. He licked his collarbone and the nape of his neck, waiting to see how Konoe would react. He could smell Konoe’s scent as he was slowly getting more sweaty. It was a bit different than Konoe’s usual scent.

He could see that the tip of Konoe’s member had become wet, overflowing with precum. Rai moved his hand and started touching Konoe’s tight opening. It was not the first time he had touched this place, but it was different from that time. It felt a lot tighter now.

"…n-no!"

Konoe moved his body and tried to get away from him. Rai kissed Konoe’s ears.

"Are you scared?"

Konoe did not answer.

Rai licked the inside of Konoe’s ear. The ears were a cat's sensitive spot.

"Ah...!"

"Shut up" Rai smiled.

That was a bit of a lie because he wanted to hear Konoe’s voice. He started touching Konoe’s member again.

"Mhh ..."

When Konoe let out a sweet voice, Rai tried slipping his finger into the tight opening. Even though there was a bit of resistance, Konoe’s body was a bit more relaxed now. He gently stroked the inside with the tip of his finger. Konoe’s body trembled. His insides felt as narrow and tight as last time, it slowly started swallowing Rai’s fingers. He was pleased with Konoe’s reaction, he liked knowing what Konoe wanted. His body reacted, no matter where he touched him. He wanted to take things a little further now.

When Rai suddenly stopped moving, Konoe looked at him with wet eyes. Konoe moved his body and Rai removed his fingers.

"…what?"

"…shut up." Konoe glared at him.

He suddenly stood up and placed his hand on top of Rai's lower leg. When Konoe started touching his belt, Rai tried to stop him.

"What are you doing?"

"Shut up." Konoe got off the bed and started kneeling beteween Rai’s legs.

"Hey!"

"I'm telling you to shut up."

Konoe grabbed Rai’s member and took it out of his clothes. He could feel the cool air touching it. A shiver ran down his spine. He touched Konoe’s hair while he was staring at what he was trying to do.

"...shut up!"

Just like that, Konoe took Rai’s member into his mouth. His mouth felt warm and wet.

"Hey, stop it!"

His member was not yet fully erect, however, the pleasure that he felt was intense. He grabbed Konoe’s shoulders and tried to stop it, but Konoe swallowed it even deeper. He could feel his tongue moving. It felt a bit awkward, and Rai started losing his patience.

Konoe’s head slowly started moving up and down.

"...this stupid cat..."

His voice was hoarse, he never thought Konoe would do something like this.

"Mmm, mm..."

Konoe moaned while licking it. Rai closed his eyes, while Konoe was licking the tip. He softly touched Konoe’s hair and clenched his teeth. Rai opened his eyes when he felt a dull pain. It was not the sweet stimulation of a tongue, was it the feeling of Konoe’s fangs?

"…tch"

"…ah"

Konoe raised his face as if Rai’s voice surprised him. His saliva dripped down the corner of his mouth. Konoe’s expression was terribly sensational. His eyes, wet and his cheeks completely red.

Rai started feeling a bit frustrated, he wanted more. He grabbed Konoe’s shoulder and pushed him down onto the cold floor. Konoe stared at him with frightened eyes.

"…sorry" Rai closed his eyes.

"…it’s not like that."

Rai replied while taking off Konoe’s clothes.

He was craving for the warmth that melted his body and thoughts. He grabbed Konoe’s leg. Rai wanted to expose everything and make it all his own.

He also took off his own clothes.

"Wait a minute… "

He grabbed the base of Konoe’s tale to stop him from resisting. After that, he grabbed Konoe's waist, who had stopped moving already, and pressed his own member against Konoe’s opening.

"Ah!" Konoe raised his voice.

Rai furrowed his brow and pushed his body forward.

"...ah, ha...mh!"

It felt hot and cramped inside, right rather than narrow.

"Ah… ha.. uh, uh..." Konoe winced.

Was he in pain?

"…relax."

Rai whispered. However, Konoe shook his head left and right, keeping his eyes tightly closed. He wanted it fast, he was sure Konoe felt the same way. However, it was meaningless if it wasn’t pleasurable for both of them. Rai stopped and grabbed Konoe's tail. He brought the hooked part to his mouth and nibbled on it.

"…ah"

While nibbling on his tail, Rai touched Konoe’s member gently with his other hand.

"…"

Konoe tried to talk, but his breathing seemed terribly painful. Rai kissed him and asked him a question.

"Is it painful?"

Instead of answering, Konoe put his arms around Rai's neck. The clinging arms told Rai that he wanted more. Rai kissed him and started moving again.

"Ah… ah! "

While entangling their tongues, Rai started slowly moving. He could feel Konoe’s insides twitching around him. If Rai’s member swelled up even more, it might become painful for Konoe, but he couldn’t help it.

Konoe’s arm clung to his back. Rai's arm caressed Konoe's body, touching the mark on Konoe's arm. Then, Konoe moved his hand and touched the mark on Rai's chest. Every time Konoe moved, Rai could feel his insides wriggling. He slowly started moving around, searching for a spot that would make him feel even better.

"…ah …mn?"

Konoe let out a loud moan. Rai looked at Konoe and then pushed the same spot again.

"Ah.. ha …ah!"

Konoe turned away his face and clenched his teeth, trying to hold his breath.

"Don't try to hide it."

Rai gently licked the corner of Konoe's stiffened eyes.

"N-no…ah!"

Every time he moved, Konoe's body twitched.

"Show me everything, Konoe."

He whispered in his ear. That time, at the brothel, Rai’s name was called for the first time. And now, for the first time, he called Konoe by his name.

"Leave it all to me."

Rai looked at Konoe. Konoe's stared back at Rai. Rai pushed his hips forward again.

"... uh, ah, ah, ah..."

Konoe gasped, clinging to his neck and leaning his head against Rai’s shoulder.

"... uh Rai! ah! "

A chill ran down his spine when Konoe called his name, he didn’t know what to say. He started moving a bit faster.

Konoe's member rubbed against his belly. He bit and licked Konoe's ear, while pushing deep inside him. Breathing was getting more difficult. The feeling of wanting to end it and the feeling of wanting to stay connected. As he grabbed Konoe’s member, Konoe’s body trembled.

Was this a desire or something else, Rai didn’t know. He still wasn’t sure what a bond was or what love was. But in this moment, he realized he loved Konoe. He wanted to touch him, pushing deeper and deeper into his body.

"...ah, ha,... uh, ah...ah!"

A white liquid spilled on Rai’s hands and belly, Konoe’s body tightening with every spasm. Rai then came inside of Konoe’s body.

"...mmm, ...ah!"

He moaned, slowly rocking his hips, letting everything out. After that Rai took a deep breath. Rai entrusted his body to Konoe, their breathing overlapping.

He removed himself from Konoe’s body and looked at him. Konoe wrapped his arms around his neck and kissed Rai.

Konoe was looking at him. Rai never thought that he would be spending his time together with someone like this. Konoe stretched out his hand and his fingertips touched Rai’s right eye. Noticing what he was trying to do, Rai flinched a little. He didn’t mind though, he thought to himself. It would probably be fine.

Konoe used his other hand to slowly remove Rai’s eyepatch. Not knowing how to react, he tried to turn away from Konoe. However, Konoe grabbed his head with both of his hands and kissed his right eye.

Konoe’s warmth… His body stiffened. Konoe gently traced the scar with the tip of his tongue. It felt warm, the tip of his tongue and his breath. After letting go, Konoe looked at him.

"...thank you."

It was a quiet voice. Rai gently stroked Konoe's leg with his tail.

"...you don’t have to say that."

Rai grabbed his eyepatch and got up. He grabbed Konoe’s arm, throwing him onto the bed. He looked down at him and wrapped his body in a blanket.

"Sleep." Rai sat next to him and looked at Konoe.

"...ah?"

For some reason, Konoe sounded confused.

"Go to sleep"

"…ah, …yeah.”

Konoe curled up in bed. Rai suddenly started thinking about something.

"...where did you learn that?"

Konoe looks puzzled for a moment, then blushed.

"...no... I just came up with the idea and did it, it’s not like I learned it anywhere. "

Thinking about something and suddenly doing it, that sounded exactly like something Konoe would do. Konoe grabbed his blanket and tried to get out of bed, but Rai grabbed him by the arm and wrapped Konoe's body in the blanket again.

"Don’t think about anything right now, you stupid cat."

"…annoying."

"Only do that for me" Saying this, Rai turned away from Konoe.

"…eh?" Konoe asked him.

"Those kinds of thoughtless actions."

Konoe looked confused.

"What? "

"…no, never mind. "

Konoe looked down. For some reason Rai really wanted to tease Konoe. When Konoe turned around, he suddenly started licking his ears. It was just grooming, what cats do. Konoe noticed and cleared his throat. His ears, cheeks, the nape of his neck, Rai cleaned it all. When Rai touched his back with the tip of his tongue, Konoe let out a small moan.

"Mn..."

His back was not a place he was able to groom himself, so it was only natural for Konoe to react like this. He was touching an unfamiliar place. After that Rai licked the base of his tail. He could feel Konoe’s body getting hot.

"...hey...!"

As expected, Konoe raised his voice. Rai continued to lick towards the tip of the tail, which was a sensitive area.

"Stop it!"

Konoe turns around and glared at him. While chewing on the crooked part of Konoe's tail, Rai looked at Konoe.

"... you're doing it on purpose, aren't you?" Konoe complained.

"Sleep." Rai answered, while licking Konoe’s tail.

"You...!"

Konoe took a deep breath.

"...for you that is fine, you have a splendid tail."

After hearing Konoe's words, Rai stopped and looked at Konoe's tail. The tip is crooked but it was still a beautiful tail.

"That's a pretty strange attitude. Don't you like your own tail?"

No answer from Konoe. Rai started grooming Konoe's tail again.

"...I don't hate it." Rai muttered.

"Eh?"

Hearing Konoe's tone of voice, he bit his tail.

"Ah…!"

"Sleep."

"...you!"

Ignoring Konoe's tantrum, Rai began licking the back of Konoe’s thigh. He ran his tongue over his thigh and moved his body to lick the inside. Konoe tried to close his legs in a hurry.

"…mhh"

Rai puts his face between Konoe’s legs, who was now lying on his back. He was going to lick every nook and cranny of his body. In the end, it was around dawn when Rai and Konoe fell asleep that night.

-----------

A presence outside the window woke Rai up. He was not feeling too well. Next to him, Konoe was sleeping peacefully. He wondered if Konoe pretended to be asleep, but it would only be natural for him to be tired.

He got out of bed and opened the window. It was dim and cloudy outside, but the sky clearly looked different than usual. He could see the dim light of the moon of light. Normally, the moon of light had a round shape, but it seemed distorted now.

After getting dressed, Rai grabbed Konoe’s tail and pinched it lightly.

"...!" Konoe jumped up.

"How long have you been sleeping? Get up quickly."

Konoe, who was suddenly woken up, glared at Rai. Trying to get up, his tail became puffy. His clothes were scattered across the room and he seemed to try remembering what happened last night.

"...hey,"

Konoe looked upset. Rai looked out of the window again and the moon of light was getting smaller and smaller. It seemed like they had to hurry.

"Hey?"

Rai called out to Konoe. Konoe seemed to have calmed down a bit after finding his clothes.

"…what?"

Konoe answered while putting on his shoes. The tone of his voice was harsh and cold.

"What is up with that attitude?"

"...Nothing really" That reaction was very like Konoe.

"Is it painful? Your body"

Konoe's body stiffened after hearing that. Rai folded his arms while looking at Konoe. From his cheeks to his ears, he could see that Konoe’s skin was turning a beautiful shade of red.

"Your face is red."

"You!" Konoe yelled at him.

but without saying any more, he sat down on the bed.

"There’s no need to be ashamed."

When he told Konoe that, he looked away and groaned.

"I’m not as bold as you. " Konoe sounded annoyed.

“At the end, you were moaning quite happily.”

"Shut up! Say no more!" Konoe let out a growl.

"It’s the truth, isn’t it?"

Konoe was at a loss for words. Rai continued teasing him.

"I wish you could have been that honest from the very beginning."

"…Don’t be ridiculous."

Even Konoe's displeased voice sounded good to Rai now. He looked at Konoe who continued putting his equipment on. When he looked out of the window, a voice could be heard from the roof. It seemed like the devils gathered there.

"Let’s go to the roof."

"…roof?" Konoe asked Rai.

"The others also gathered there."

"Did something happen?"

"Let’s go, you’ll understand soon."

Rai quickly left the room after responding to Konoe’s question. After that, Konoe hurriedly followed.

He could see that the sky was wrapped in darkness while heading to the roof. Konoe also seemed to have grasped the situation.

After climbing the tree which lead to the roof, he noticed the devils and Bardo were there, only Asato was missing.

"What happened?" Konoe asked the devils.

"Look at that." Verg replied.

The Moon of Light, which should normally be shining brightly at this time of the day, was losing its light. The light was getting weaker... no, it was almost like the entire moon was beginning to fade. It looked much worse than when Rai saw it just a moment ago.

"It’s fading quickly." Konoe muttered anxiously, while the Moon of Light was fading.

"...I see. An eclipse." Razel muttered unfamiliar words.

"Shocked?" Bardo continued talking while he stood behind Konoe.

"Haven’t you ever heard of it? If I remember correctly... There was a story about the Moon of Darkness, which can usually not be seen during daytime, rising at the same time as the Sun of Light, followed by an eclipse."

"You seem to know a lot for just an innkeeper cat."

Glancing at Verg who was teasing him, Bardo continued talking.

"It's said that eclipses were common in the old world which the Two Canes inhabited. "

"It's a phenomenon that apparently hasn't happened in Shisa during the past 200 years, so it's no surprise that most of us don't remember it."

Bardo looked at the sky.

Come to think of it, Rai vaguely remembered that Bardo was familiar with such legendary stories. No, it was mostly about witchcraft. All arts involving demons were supposed to require knowledge of magic. Bardo was investigating a forbidden technique, that is why he knew.

"During an eclipse, magical powers also become stronger. If Leaks was really up to something, now would be the perfect time."

"Well, you know. Wasn't that a secret passed down in Meigi?"

Froud said something speculative, which Kaltz replied to. In the meantime, the Moon of Light was steadily vanishing.

"I wonder if it will completely disappear."

Verg muttered, while the moon of darkness started completely covering the moon of light.

"...it's about to begin, the eclipse."

The moment Bardo said this, a ring of flames surrounded the Moon of Darkness, which was covering the Moon of Light. It looked like a blood red ring. The Moon of Darkness started looking like a black hole.

Did it feel unnerving because this shouldn’t be happening? A small flame arose from the center of the Moon of Darkness. The flickering flame almost looked like someone’s soul.

Screams could be heard in the distance, everyone who looked up at the sky was frightened by the strange sight.

"Finally."

Rai heard a familiar voice. Above the roof, he saw that clown Firi, who was wearing a red costume. Rai clutched the hilt of his sword.

"The time has come." Firi smiled.

"…you!" Konoe groaned, but Firi didn’t care.

He held out his hand.

"Even if you’re upset, it's okay because we'll meet again soon."

"... we will meet?" asked Konoe.

"Yes. We will~."

Firi looked at Konoe and he smiled loosely. Then he put one hand on his chest and lowered his head.

"Come. It’s an invitation."

His fingertips pointed at the eclipse.

"Look, the two moons have become one. The Moon of Light and the Moon of Darkness, lamenting, weeping and melting. The skies languish into an endless lunar lament. Red moon, red moon, underneath that moon he be waiting for you, that person. "

Firi's exaggerated his movements and then disappeared.

That person, he couldn’t think of anyone but Leaks. After Firi disappeared all that was left was a red sky and a gaping hole. Suddenly he heard a melody, it was a song. It was very unsettling, a sinister melody.

“This song, it couldn’t be…!”

Konoe looked at Rai. This song certainly sounded familiar. A wicked song that manipulated the bodies of the dead cats in the village. It was Leak’s song. At that moment, screams could be heard in the distance. They could see cats running away from the entrance of the city.

"Monsters! Monsters are coming from the forest...!"

Rai looked around and it certainly looked like a large group of cats were running away from something. But some of them were not normal, just like back then. Something was controlling the bodies of the cats that died in the forest.

No matter how powerful Leaks was, he was surprised that he could control so many of them.

"I have to stop that song..." Konoe muttered and clenched his fist.

"Where do you think that song came from?"

Konoe looked up at the sky and saw Verg. Next, Rai also stared at the sky. Bardo seemed to have noticed, too.

"... the moon? Are you saying the moon is singing..." Bardo’s voice was filled with despair.

"The magic that radiates from the eclipse moon is Leak’s magic. His song. Truly a terrifying magician, to use the moon to spread his song through Shisa. "

Kaltz said, while staring at the sky. Leak’s song is one that will end the world.

"Does that mean that Leaks wants to destroy us...?"

"It's a pointless question. You don't need to understand his motives or goals."

There are other things we must do.

"Now all we have to do is figure out how to locate him and kill him. "

Rai said while looking up at the moon.

"Hey white cat, don’t you think that will be difficult? How do we know where he is?"

Verg said while laughing.

"I wonder what all of this means…" Kaltz said.

"This song is a song of deep lamentation. And if Leaks is using the moon to boost the strength of the song, it means he's sending the signals from somewhere on the surface. Wouldn’t the Devil of Grief be able to sense where he is? Isn’t that what you’re trying to say, Kaltz?"

Razel said to Kaltz. who didn't respond and stared at the moon without moving. After a while, Kaltz finally opens his mouth.

"I can see it. It's somewhere south. This time I know the exact location."

Kaltz lowered his gaze and looked back at Rai and the others.

"Once we find him, we’ll pay our annual tributes to that bastard Leaks. "

Verg said with a smile on his lips.

Devils had the ability to move freely wherever they wanted. As long as they knew Leak’s location, it would be possible to go there. Rai wondered what to do next.

"…please take us too.” Konoe replied.

"Huh?" Verg frowned, displeased by Konoe's words.

"We'll fight Leaks too. Is it impossible for you to teleport while you're together with us?" Konoe said.

"Ugh, what a pain in the ass..." Verg said, looking displeased.

"There's no way it can't be done, right? Especially by someone who seems to be on par with Leaks." Rai muttered.

Verg's eyes widened, almost as if Rai tried to incite him.

"Obviously!! But transporting different creatures without rituals or magic circles without our full powers might be difficult. we can each probably only bring one other person."

"That’s fine, just take the two of us."

After observing them, Razel stepped up behind Rai and grabbed him by the shoulder.

"There is no more time. Kaltz, please guide us."

"Understood."

Kaltz’s whole body started emitting a dim, blue light. Next, Razel and Rai's bodies were enveloped in light that was the same color as Razel’s flame.

Rai was worried about leaving Konoe, but now he had no other choice. Along with a strange feeling, his vision distorted. Rai closed his eyes.

#lamento expiatio #lamento #lamento beyond the void #nitro+chiral #nitro chiral #blvn #visualnovel #vn #translation

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