After they left the sewer, Ryuuto and Manaka walked through Tokyo's bustling streets late at night.
Ryuuto had managed to find a blanket somewhere and wrapped it around their bodies since they didn't have any clothes.
With just their heads poking out from the blanket and leaning against each other, they walked hand in hand as they made their way home.
From a distance, they looked like some kind of hermit wearing a cloak—completely out of place in the modern city.
As a beast who had taken on a human appearance, Ryuuto now looked like a young child. He was a beautiful boy, about 150cm tall, with skin as pale as moonlight, short black hair that fell in delicate strands across his forehead, and cold, depthless black eyes that gave off a strange sense of detachment.
"Why would you do something so reckless?" Ryuuto asked, his voice carrying a hint of criticism. "If I hadn't spit you out in time and rebuilt your body, you would've died by now."
"Reckless? No, this was my plan from the beginning." Resting her head on his shoulder, Manaka gave a slight shake of her head, her damp hair brushing against his cheek. "From the very start, I wanted you to eat me, to eat my world."
…
Ryuuto's creator, Manaka Sajyou, was a girl who embodied truth itself.
She was someone who could accomplish absolutely anything.
If she wished for life, life would suddenly spring into existence.
If she whispered of death, death would spread everywhere.
You could say the world was connected to her, and she was connected to the world.
A girl with unlimited knowledge and power.
She could manipulate, achieve, or destroy anything she wanted.
But since she couldn't find any real joy in this, she set just one rule for herself regarding her all-knowing ability: she would never look at her own future.
She, who was basically equivalent to the world itself, deliberately restricted herself.
Rules. Limitations. Shackles.
Without these boundaries, knowing everything would just be too boring.
In that sense, her approach worked. She managed to survive. But that was all she did—just exist.
Seeing through everything, owning everything, understanding everything.
At the end of this complete selflessness, she just sat on her throne, staring at what looked like a pure white purgatory. She was basically as close to being a god as anyone could get.
Besides existing like some kind of undead being, she really had no other options.
She had zero expectations for the future.
After all, this was a world where no prince would ever show up to save her.
Even though Manaka was technically the master of the entire world, she wasn't the main character of this story.
For Manaka, just being alive was endless torture.
Living while dying. Dying while living.
No pain, no hardship, no sorrow, and definitely no joy.
Day after day, she just went through the motions like some kind of walking corpse.
Eventually, her soul couldn't take it anymore.
That's when Manaka made a decision that basically cursed her entire family line.
To hell with this boring world.
Destroy everything, including the entire Human Order.
"And the result was you, my beloved child."
Manaka stopped walking, reached her hand out from beneath the blanket, and gently cupped Ryuuto's face.
"You are a beast, a disaster born from the corrupted Holy Grail."
According to the legend, there were actually two Holy Grails.
One was the true Holy Grail from legend that once held the Messiah's blood and could create miracles. The other was the cup of wealth which appeared alongside the Beast that represented human greed and arrogance.
They looked exactly the same; the only difference was what they contained. One held sacred blood, the other nothing but filth.
What the Holy Church actually had was this second cup—the false grail—which they'd collected thinking it was the real Grail.
Manaka stole this fake grail from them and placed it underneath Tokyo.
She used it as a catalyst to create a Demon King capable of destroying this boring world.
That's how Ryuuto, Beast VI, came to be.
What exactly is a Beast?
If Manaka was the princess who possessed the world, then Ryuuto was the monster who would destroy it.
She smiled, "Just your roar alone would make people cry out in terror and set cities on fire."
"The earth would split beneath your footsteps, and oceans would boil and turn to blood at your touch."
"With just one swallow, you could devour everything life has ever created or dreamed of creating. The world, its history, all dreams, all wishes... even time itself would collapse into your endless hunger."
With a beautiful face showing just a hint of happiness, the girl spoke with tears forming in her eyes.
"That's why I wanted you to eat me, to eat my entire world."
He raised his eyebrows, "...Wanted? You mean…"
"Yes, wanted," she nodded. "Now it's not necessary anymore. The world doesn't need destroying, and I don't need saving... none of that needs to happen now."
"…"
He fell silent, his eyes narrowing as he studied her face.
What exactly had happened to cause such a massive change in Manaka's thinking?
She'd been completely miserable about this world until just now.
"Did something good happen?" Ryuuto finally asked.
He thought to himself that maybe—and this might sound like he was just praising himself—it was because his appearance had made Manaka feel like this world wasn't a complete waste of time, or something along those lines.
He waited for her answer, listening carefully.
"Yes, something wonderful happened. Today isn't just any day—it's the most important day of all days."
She suddenly let go of his hand and danced away from him with light, bouncy steps. Spinning around and around.
"You're the precious one who captured my heart!"
"You're the hero who saved me when I needed it the most!"
In the dark alley lit only by the faint glow of distant city lights, Manaka danced with childlike joy and energy.
Her pure white, slender body moved so elegantly, so beautifully, it was almost blinding to watch.
"Happy birthday, Ryuuto!"
"Hey! Wait... don't run around like that! Put the blanket back on! What if someone sees you?"
Oh man, this Japanese girl was seriously too much. Ryuuto threw the blanket over her shoulders, capturing her mid-twirl as if he were gently snaring a wild, precious creature.
Manaka crawled around on the ground under the blanket, hunched over awkwardly, looking like some weird little moving hill.
He came up beside her, put his hands on his hips, and looked down at her. "Stop messing around, I really don't want to end up in jail for public indecency with my mom on my birthday."
"...Mmm, it's so dark in here. I can't see anything."
After a few seconds, she lifted up a corner of the blanket like a curious kitten, poking just her head out.
"I'm sorry, Ryuuto. I think I completely misunderstood what you truly are. You're not a harbinger of doom at all."
He smiled. "Is that so? Aren't I a Beast, the so-called Anti-Messiah?"
She looked up at him and shook her head gently. "No."
With her cheeks turning slightly pink, the girl said softly, "Ryuuto... you must be the Messiah who belongs only to Manaka."