Part 175: Kiryuu Moeka feels the sting of timeline convergence

Nae keeps laughing as she throws away the knife and leaves the place. Her small body quickly leaves my sight. I hear the sound of her gleefully running down the staircase - tap tap tap. Before long, they stop.

"What... the hell... was that? A demon? Was she... possessed?"

My fingers are still trembling. My body really won't listen to what I say.

"No, mo-more importantly, Moeka..."



Blood. Moeka was stabbed.

"Calm down...!"

Kurisu yells for me to come to my senses, and then gets her phone out.

"Check Kiryuu's condition! I'll call an ambulance... Ah, wait. Wait... Maybe you should send the D-mail before that."

Kurisu's calm even in these circumstances. That calmness irritates me a little.

No, wait. Kurisu's right. If I send the D-mail, this world line will be undone. I know that, but I still rush over to Moeka.





"Moeka...!"

She is the enemy.

"Hang in there! Hey!"

She is the enemy, who killed Mayuri over and over.

"Can you hear me?! Moeka!"

I won't show her any sympathy.

I won't forgive her for killing Mayuri.

And yet, I can't help but call out to her. Because, in a sense, she's a victim, too.



Those eyes have already lost their luminance.

"...I...ed...our..."

She starts muttering something in a hoarse voice. I put my ear close to her lips.

"...I... killed... the... one... important... to you... so..."

Right. You did. Many times. Not in this world line, but in others.

"This is... punishment..."

That's the fate the world chose.

"I'm... sorry... I'm... so...rry..."

I silently grasp Moeka's hand, but Moeka doesn't grasp back. She no longer has the strength.



"The only... place... where I... belong... To protect it... I killed... It's natural... to bear a grudge... I'm... so... rry..."

"I forgive you."

Before I notice, that's what I answer. In the first place, she hasn't killed Mayuri in this world line. Even if she were to kill her, that would happen tomorrow. So, the Moeka here and now has nothing to apologize for. And yet, at the very end, she keeps apologizing. That's why I had to answer.

"I forgive you."

Those were surely words of fantasy. That I'd forgive Moeka. That Moeka would perish here.

Nae probably holds a grudge against Moeka and me. Did I really forgive her, or was that a lie just for here? I don't know myself. But even so, didn’t Kurisu say it earlier? That my goal is to save Mayuri, not to exact revenge. That's why, at least for here...

"You are forgiven."

As if relieved, Moeka faintly loosens her expression, and slowly closes her eyes. Teardrops start streaming. Moeka's hand slips from my grasp.



I bite my lip, laying Moeka down on top of the tatami mat. I place that purple phone in her hands.

"...Okabe."

Kurisu timidly calls out to me.

"I think you should send the D-mail. Everything's already set."

"Yeah..."

Even if Moeka's dead. Even if FB is dead. We haven't avoided Mayuri's death, because the world wishes for it.

"Hey, Cristina."



"If you consider the Attractor Field Theory you told me about, if Divergence exceeds 1%, then the likelihood she'll live is higher."
"...Sorry. I can't help but talk inconsiderately like that."

"No, it's fine."

I stand up. Moeka's blood clings to my hands. Even if I wipe it with a tissue, it won't come off. I give up and take out FB's phone, and nod to Kurisu. Kurisu calls Daru at the lab to activate the Microwave Ophone (Temp).



(Hey look, it's a choice point! Despite appearances, this doesn't route us off to another side ending. However, there's some fairly significant content hidden behind it.)

I fully realize the dreadful mystery of cause and effect. At first, Mayuri was killed by Moeka. But now, Moeka died first, while Mayuri still lives. The result of changing the past with the Microwave Ophone (Temp).

Moeka, if you're going to apologize for a sin you didn't commit, then I need to apologize as well, because I am the one responsible for warping the laws of cause and effect.

...Am I the one responsible for warping Tennouji Nae's cause and effect? That innocent girl's life was derailed. That girl would innocently follow Mayuri and Suzuha. Is it okay to just leave her alone like this?

Of course, if I send a D-mail now, this world line will be undone. Basically, Tennouji Nae's derailed cause and effect will vanish. It's useless to just worry about it. I should just think about Mayuri. I shouldn't burden myself with any more problems.

...Is this really okay?



I'm sending the D-mail. That's all I should be doing...

Will I let this wavering move my fingers differently from my will? Now, there's only one thing I should do...! And yet...!

"...Okabe?"



"That girl... you mean Nae?"

I nod.

"...She was almost like a different person."

"What does she mean, she'll kill me in fifteen years?"

It bothers me. Does this girl know something? What was she implying?

"Okabe, don't worry about it. Send the D-mail right now. That'll solve everything."

I put FB's phone in my pocket.

"I can't do it without seeing something."

I'm partly responsible for that girl becoming a murderer. Also, I want to find out what she meant by "kill me in fifteen years".

"I'm time leaping. Back to the lab."

Kurisu faintly sighs, but I pretend not to hear it.