Dang⌠Full context or not, this is a heavy take that Sissel has brought up. Battler knew ever since the Halloween Party that Yomiel had a side to that would creep out most people. But to think that would extend to such a dark path of life⌠Or death, in this case.
He doesnât reply immediately. Instead, he takes his time to ponder about everything that Sissel said. âŚHe can definitely where Sissel is coming from in terms of picking the girls over Yomiel. They are innocent in regards to Yomielâs fate. You could make an argument about the two cops, but those girls had no agency in terms of means to hurt the guy. And hurting innocent is something that does piss him off. A younger him might have given up on the guy here over his actions, and fully take the stance of stopping him at any cost.
âŚBut what would that accomplish? Especially in a city like this, where true death doesnât exist, simply treating Yomiel like a criminal would just keep him stagnant on this cycle of vengeance and hatred, more and more isolated. All that would accomplish is to eas him into more and more atrocious acts, as his sense of humanity erodes for good.
And besides that pure practical angle of how unfruitful thatâd be for the goal of protecting Lynne and Kamilla⌠Well, how about Yomielâs own pain and suffering? How about his own suffering heart? âŚOr the suffering his lack of one causes? He underwent 10 years of undeath. 10 years of not being able to sleep, or eat, or feel anything. Even during his stay at the hell that was the Logic Error, at least Battler had kept his senses.
Truth is, he cares about Yomiel. Even though he doesnât have the same degree of intimacy with the guy as Sissel⌠He canât bring himself to hate him, even after hearing such terrifying revelations about the guy. The guy is a hurt soul who came to pick terrible life choices because of that hurt. What happened in the past canât be changed (at least in this world).
But⌠if Battler has a chance of changing the future⌠If he can use his âmagicâ to truly revive Yomiel in the most real way possible, not just his body⌠Heh. That would be taking a chip out of Angeâs Witch of Ressurection grimoire, no?
He moves towards Sissel⌠then takes the cat on his arms, caressing the felineâs back. Rationally, he knows that Sissel is probably incapable of feeling the warmth the gesture brings⌠but maybe it will comfort him anyway.
ââŚâŚThank you for trusting me, Sissel. I understand.â He says with a gentle voice, hoping to soothe the cat.
Then, his tone becomes more emphatic. âI promise you. Iâll do my best to help all four of you. Iâll help you, help Lynne, help Kamilla⌠and most important of all, Iâll help Yomiel. I cannot promise you that Iâll be able of changing his heart. But Iâll willing to help him heal.â
Even if the kitten canât feel, the gesture is really appreciated. Sissel leans into Battler, purring softly. Heâs glad he understands and he is glad to let it out of him. The kitten was only suffering more and more the longer he stayed in the island, being unable to help the person he loved most like he did in his own timeline. And now, how he wished Battlerâs arms were Yomielâs arms! He wanted nothing more to have his friend back again, for Yomiel to hug him and forgive him. He just wanted his best friend back.
If cats could cry, Sissel would be crying silently, but since he couldnât he was just quietly resting in Battlers arms, letting all his feelings out so he could put himself back together. Sissel now understands what pure sadness is and what Yomiel must be going through right now. The kitten had made a terrible mistake in hissing at him.Â
When Sissel finally feels better to speak, he raises his small feline head to look at Battler with his big yellow eyes.
âThank you. Thank you for listening to me. Iâll need any help I can... Iâm glad to know I can count on you.â
He purrs softly and rubs his head against Battler in a friendly gesture.
âMaybe I should talk to him again... Before he hurts them. He is hurt... He is probably thinking I betrayed him, but thatâs not true. I know I said Iâd stay by the girls, but... I donât know if I would ever be capable of turning my back on him, even knowing itâs the âright thingâ... He is the one who took me in and took care of me for ten years... I love him more than anything else and I just want to see him happy too. Seeing him sad and suffering... makes me feel miserable. Makes me feel useless.â