Keisuke Ito's Parting ~ Farewell
I stare at the red and black horn, the part which would have widened at the center of Drew’s head ending in an abrupt, sharply-cut line.
The Guildmaster himself had delivered it to me, with the news that Drew was, in fact, dead, and the other half would not be recovered.
He had told me to “ensure as much survival as possible and to hide the others’ bodies so the Federation doesn’t investigate us.”
Who could I choose? Could I even make the choice? I weighed my options carefully.
The Chivalric Code would dictate that I purge the world of sin, letting all seven perish from exhaustion.
But that was also unjust in its own way, and I then considered saving the lesser sins instead, as I could not bring myself to save none. Which ones would that, therefore, include?
According to the Code, Lust was the least infernal of all the sins, but quite frankly if I’d rather see any sin go, it’d be her. Nonetheless, it is her very nature, and can that truly be helped?
Next would be Gluttony, but he unfortunately takes up a full horn due to his massive size, and if I am to save as many as possible it would be necessary to exclude him.
Thus, Avarice would be next, and I am loathe to admit to myself that he I would be happy to save.
Is that it? If I follow the Code and save only the least profane, that would be all…
My mind flashed to Envy. Could I pick and choose my favorites, even if she was the most base second to Pride himself? What of Wrath and Sloth? Well, while Wrath incessantly bites at me and curses, can it be helped? And poor Sloth simply sleeps whenever he can.
I steel myself. No, who am I to play the role of God? I am no better than the heptad when it comes to my own misgivings, even if they are quite literally the embodiment of sin.
I turn back around and look at the shut door to my Alchemy Workshop, the seven sleepless dreepy awaiting me. I must allow them to decide their own fates, if possible.
I push open the door with my body, struggling somewhat as both my hands are holding up what remains of Drew and the hinges are old and in need of attendance.
The dreepy, scattered all across the room, all look up at me, then look at the horn I hold in my hand. They all start to get up, even Sloth, and slowly float their way over.
They are silent as they slowly analyze it. Some touch it carefully with their little claws, others merely stare. Pride looks at it for a long while, and when he turns back to me with his eyes, surprisingly, full of tears. His mouth is wavering.
I think he knows what this means.
Envy floats to me and I see her say, cautiously, “where is Drew?”
I choke as I try to speak. “He- he is dead. A- and I am afraid that the other half of the horn was not recovered…”
At this they all look at each other, their eyes all brimming with varied emotions.
I believe they know what this means, but as much as I would hate to say these words, to make them a reality, I must, for their sake.
“I- you… you seven must decide who can remain here. I… I do not believe it is my place to determine who has the right to survive and who cannot. I swear to you that I will provide the rest of you a proper burial, with full rites…”
At this they collectively turn towards me, and so many thoughts race through my head.
Who will they choose?
Should I even hope that Envy would survive?
I really wouldn’t mind seeing Lust go.
Is… is Pride going to speak?
His mouth ceases to waver as he looks at me with his eyes bearing such an intensity of emotion, tears on the verge of streaming down his triangular face as his mouth forms into a…
I cannot help but cock my head. Smile?
The other dreepy begin to dart around the room excitedly – even Sloth has become an ardent blur of light and dark green – until one floats around me, bobbing up and down in some sort of celebratory draconic dance.
Then one more follows suit, and another, until all Seven Sins – including Pride – are all darting around me in some unknown celebration.
Needless to say, I am awash with confusion. “Wh- why are you celebrating?! Envy, would you care to explain?!”
Envy appears before me, the tears in her eyes streaming down steadily as she in vain wipes them away with her claws, an immense smile plastered across her face. “Drew is dead!”
“B-but what of your inability to sleep? I thought you were suffering from melancholy and were on the verge of death? I was under the impression you could not survive long without Drew’s horn!”
Envy giggles with sheer delight. “What made you think that, Ikarus? We seemed ‘melancholic’ since we were worried Drew might’ve amounted to something. Without us!”
“I… I don’t understand. You are elated that Drew is dead? You seven were not on the verge of returning to Hell?”
“Ikarus! Imagine how difficult it would be for you to sleep with the idea of Drew actually doing something good with his life.”
“I can stomach that notion.”
“Well we can’t! I mean, I was pretty sure Pride would’ve commited suicide if Drew actually made it. I can’t imagine how Pride could live with himself feeling an ounce of respect towards Drew of all pokemon. ”
I look at Pride, who pauses his dance around me and looks at me with a smile and joyous blink. That is the first time I have not seen a look of disdain on his face.
I look back at Envy who cheers. “We were right!!! Drew accomplished nothing! We’re free!”
The dreepy fly around me faster, even happier.
“‘Free?’ Are you going to leave? Disappear?”
“L-leave? Hehehe, no, of course not! We feed off of sin! And now that we're no longer by some really annoying instinct tied to Drew, we can wander around here! After all, now that we can bask in sin from anyone, what better place to be than the Clover Guild?” Envy says with a smile that is far too bright.
“If what you said is true, wouldn’t Pride feed off, well, pride? Why wouldn’t he want to be proud of Drew so he might be nourished?”
“Pride has been starving since we arrived. Would you rather eat shit – or in Pride’s case feed off the most undeserving individual of pride – or starve?”
My feelings are now extremely mixed; I am glad they are alive and well, but I seem to have forgotten that they are, indeed, the manifestation of sin. Envy, however, seems to take notice.
“Don’t worry Ikarus! Now that Drew is gone forever, I don’t think we’ll be as ‘bad’ as you think.”
Seeing that I am still unsure, Envy adds, “well also stay here to help you with your alchemy… you can’t let the other alchemists of this world be better than you~”
I smile. Well, she's certainly Envy.
“Alright then, but if you misbehave I am going to exile you from here… Wrath.”
I catch him already about to knock over a flask, and I see him grumble as he rights it, but not before he upturns his claw at me in what I presume to be an attempt at "giving me the finger."
“And Lust, should you attempt to try to ‘know me’ for the hundredth time, I will send you to Cyndaquil.”
She straightens up almost immediately. “Oh, no, he’s too much even for me. If I am a demon of Lust, then he’s, like, the devil of of Lust. If I tried to feed off him I'd probably overdose.”
I cannot help but let out a chuckle. “Well then, welcome officially unto my Alchemy Workshop, dreepy! Might we uncover the mysteries of the universe and undergo great adventures!”
The dreepy all to cheer save for Pride, who merely looks at me and blinks but, although still he says nothing, he does let out a small smile.
That smile promptly disappeared several hours later when I concocted a liquid coating which would ease the tension of the door hinges. While this would allow it to open easier, Lust felt it necessary to proudly declare to a duo gathering supplies from the basement – a grass-hedgehog and an armless water-salamander – that I made a “very fine lube.”
The horrified faces the two made – especially the eternal smile on the salamander-creature turning into an aghast frown – informed me that I was likely to have no salvation from the reputation that still haunted me.