~Shion
I remember now what you said then.
You told me that I was entirely like a demon—...

(Mahumi bursts into Shion’s apartment.)

Mahumi
Shion!
Shion!!
!

(He looks around. The place is trashed.)

—No one’s here.
But it looks like a storm passed through this room...!
There was a fight here—

(He touches a bloodstain on the wall.)

Oh...
—Shion.—
Could it be that he’s already—
...dead...!
No, it can’t be.

Uriel, flashback
This is your last chance!

Mahumi
—No...no...!
Even so...even if that’s true...I can’t, Uriel.
I can’t kill him.
I...

Shion...

I...
Will protect Shion...!
Even if they are my companions of old, I will protect Shion, so—
So please be alive...
—somehow, please be alive...Shion...!

Shion
—dizzy—
This is...not good.
I’ve lost too much blood.
I no longer have the power to maintain this shape.
If this goes on, I’ll turn back to my original form.
My original form...?

Mikael
I know. You have wings too, don’t you? Like us.
The only thing you inherited from Lucifer.
Why don’t you show me?

Shion
—the only thing...
How ironic. Those wings I hated so much.
If not for them, Mahumi and I would probably never have met.

A voice
What are you dallying around for?

Mikael
!
Raphael!

Raphael
Why are you taking your time with a guy like that, Mikael?
Did you become weak when you became a woman?
You have bad taste.

Mikael
Shut up! What are you doing here, anyway, Lord Monsignor? This is my part!

(Raphael completely ignores Mikael.)

Raphael
—It looks like your wound from that time still hasn’t healed, hmm?
I told you, didn’t I? Wounds from the Sword of Flame are special.
If it were an ordinary wound, you demons would heal within the day, but wounds from the Sword of Flame are different.
It would probably take a month.
Haven’t you seen changes in your body?
For example, your wings.
The wound from the sword is not limited to the wound on your body.
Rather, it is a sword with exorcises impurity.
It hurts when the poison gushes out from your body, doesn’t it?

Shion
—He knows...

Raphael
In any case, I must congratulate you on this second meeting.

Mikael
Wait a minute, Raphael!
Are you just going to ignore me?

(Light bursts around Shion, and the roof crumbles beneath him. He falls.)

Shion
—Mahumi...!

Mahumi
Shion...?

The roof—...
I heard voices from above just now.
Are they—...on the roof?

Mikael
Wait a minute! Raphael, I said wait!!
What are you doing?! If you go on like that—

(Shion is hanging from the roof ledge by one hand.)

If you kill him before Mahumi gets here, everything will be meaningless!

Raphael
It’s okay. I have no intention of killing him right now.
That’s going to be up to the person himself.
Beneath you is hard concrete. Even you will die if you fall from this high up.
Since you have wings like us angels, why don’t you use them?
I know why.
You don’t want to show Mahumi those black wings on your back, do you?
—You are a fool.
Just a little nudge is enough to push some things off-balance.
Mahumi’s feelings for you are like that.
You saw it at the church, didn’t you?

Mahumi, flashback
You are entirely like a demon!

Raphael
Killing a single demon has stained your wings, hasn’t it?
That must be it.
Each mark of Mahumi’s purification will brand itself into you.
The Sword of Flame’s effect is a bit more than I planned for. It looks like I was somewhat hasty.

Shion
Hasty?

Raphael
The number of demons Mahumi must destroy is not just 999. In truth, 1000 demons are necessary.

Shion
1000 demons?

Raphael
Yes.
—and the last is you, Shion...!

(Raphael slashes down with the Sword of Flame, and Shion falls.)

Mikael
!
Raphael!

Raphael
I know.
See?
The prince has arrived.

(Mahumi bursts through the rooftop door.)

Mahumi
...!

...Shion!

(Shion spreads his wings. They are jet-black.)

...!

Black wings...!

(Shion looks back.)

Shion
...Mahumi...

Mahumi
Sh...

Why does Shion have...?
—it couldn’t be...!

Shion...?
Shio...

(He reaches out a hand towards Shion, but Shion draws back from him.)

...!
Th...that’s right, isn’t it.
I made you suffer so much...it’s natural that you wouldn’t forgive me.

Shion
No...!
It’s only that I never wanted to show you this form.

Mahumi
I’m so selfish, aren’t I?

Shion
I thought that you would hate it...!

Ma—...

(Raphael puts a hand on Mahumi’s shoulder.)

Raphael
Mahumi.

(Mahumi jumps back from Raphael.)

Mahumi
Don’t touch me!

Raphael
My, my.

Mahumi
You liar!
You deceived me, didn’t you!
Even though I liked you...!
That’s so cruel...!

Raphael
Your crying face is cute, too.

Shion
Wh...!

Raphael
Sheesh...

I like you very much.
So why do you think I lied to you?
In order to save you.

Lucifer has become so cute.

Look at him.
That is his true form.
Abominable black wings...

I feel a little like it would be a waste to have him return to his original self.

He is the source of your sins...
Killing only 999 demons is not enough.
—If you don’t kill him, you will never be able to return to Heaven.
—Are you really okay with that?

(Shion, looking at Raphael and Mahumi, clenches his teeth.)

Shion
Yeesh.
You’re such a fool.
Don’t you understand even after seeing this?

Mahumi
Shion...?

Shion
What you see now is my natural form.
The white wings were a lie.
The truth is, from the beginning I’ve been acting the part of your companion to put you at ease so that you would drop your guard...
—because I planned to eat you...!
—you...
You said it, didn’t you?

Mahumi
Oh...

Shion
In that church. That I was entirely like a demon.

I remember now what you said to me at the end.
Ah, yes.

I am not “like.” I truly am...a demon...!

—that is what you said...!

Mahumi
...!

You...
You’re lying...!
That’s a lie!!

Shion
It’s not a lie!
Anyway, I’ve always hated children!

(He attacks Mahumi with a ball of energy.)

Mahumi
!

(Mahumi’s pendant breaks off its thread, and a flying piece of rubble leaves a bloody streak across his cheek.)

Mikael
Are you okay? Mahumi!!

Mahumi
Shion...
I came to save you...!
So...why...

Raphael
Attacking even Mahumi...! How cruel!
That’s why I told you not to trust him.
Now he’s showing his true colors...!

Mahumi
—why...
—why—

Mikael
You...—damned demon...!!

Mahumi
—Shion?!

Mahumi, flashback
“—Why 999, I wonder—?”

Shion, flashback
—What is?

Mahumi, flashback
Don’t you think it’s incomplete? That number.

(Mahumi is sitting on a bunch of cushions, playing a video game.)

None of this bunch is responding.
I think there should always be 1000 really strong guys.

Shion, flashback
Hmm...?

Mahumi, flashback
And when I’ve cleared everything, my wish will come true.
It’s interesting—just like a game, right?

Shion, flashback
Your wish?

Mahumi, flashback
You know! I’m always saying it! Haven’t you been listening?
I want to return to being an angel, with beautiful wings like yours.

(Shion is imagining Mahumi in child form with tiny wings and a halo.)

Shion, flashback
Mahumi...they wouldn’t fit.

Shion, flashback
I guess that’s “originally an angel”.

(Arrow pointing to Shion: meanie)

Mahumi, flashback
Oh, that’s right.
What about you, Shion?

Shion, flashback
Hm?

Mahumi, flashback
Heheh.
If I go back to being an angel, isn’t there anything I can do to thank you for helping me?
So tell me now.
What do you want?
If it’s something I can do, I’ll do it.
So? What is it?

(Shion stares at Mahumi.)

Shion, flashback
...!

—I
My wish is—...

Mikael
Mahumi! Here!
Do you remember? It’s the Sword of Flame.
The holy sword created to burn away all demons...!

Shion
Yes.

Mikael
If you defeat the thousandth demon with this, you can get everything back.

Shion
You should expel all doubt from your heart.
You are kind, so you must be hesitating because of these injuries.
But—
If I had betrayed you from the start, it should be easy for you to kill me. Right...?
Mahumi...my wish is—
—to grant all of your wishes, so...!
—so—...

(Mahumi holds the sword before him, pointed at Shion, but he is trembling.)

Mahumi
Shion...
Something like this...happened before, too.
That time...

Shion, flashback
You don’t trust me...!

Mahumi
Those words...
He was asking me...to believe in him.
Yes, Shion—is asking me to trust him.
Yes—
—...He said so, didn’t he...?

...!

Then—

(Mahumi runs into Shion’s arms. The Sword clatters to the ground.)

I...
I loved your white wings.

I really am a fool.

But—
I would love any color.
Because—
Because they’re your wings.
Even if they’re black...

I was going to repeat the same mistakes over again—...!

I don’t care...!

Shion
...!

Mahumi
I...I...don’t care if I don’t return to Heaven.
I don’t know if you’re still willing to listen to me, but—
I don’t want to go anywhere.
Because...
The place I most want to be—

Shion
The words that most wound me...
The words that I most wanted to hear...

Mahumi
Is here...!

Shion
You’ve given all of them to me—
Is this okay?
To be told like this, I...
I will never be able to let you go.
—I will never let you go.
—never...

(Uriel is feeding seagulls wheeling above his head. Raphael walks up to him.)

Raphael
—We’ve failed.
Even though my plan was flawless.

Uriel
Liar.
In any case, you failed in your poor tricks, so now your words become more and more obfuscating.
It isn’t in my brother’s personality to cast Shion away under these circumstances.

Raphael
Strange, isn’t it. My plans shouldn’t have ended up that way. Whose fault was that?

Uriel
No...
It would have turned out the same.
There are no circumstances under which my brother would eventually have come to kill him.
Don’t you think that’s true?
Since they were originally one person.
—No one would truly come to hate themselves that much.

(Mahumi is running through a train station. He gets on a train with Shion.)

Mahumi
—Say...
Is it really okay for you to remain here?
You could have returned to the demon world...

(Shion smiles.)

Shion
...Yes, it’s okay.
In any case, I don’t have any family.
And besides...

Mahumi
And besides?

Shion
—My wish is to make your wishes come true.

END