I feel humbled.

I don't understand who these two are. I don't understand, and yet... I know. As a man of love, I know.

As surely as I believe in the love of Krauss and Natsuhi, of Eva and Hideyoshi, of Rosa and her daughter, of George and Shannon, of Jessica and Kanon, of Battler and his family... I know these characters I've written are true and real, even if I don't know how they got there. Beatrice was made to love Ushiromiya Battler, and in the end, they loved each other. That's... got to be it...

I fell to my knees, understanding now I was seeing something most Witch Hunters could only dream of... Quaking with the realization of how shallow my story of love was and withering in the golden light they cast... I felt so warm, and yet, I felt fear.

I looked up, then cast my eyes between them. This... is the end of me, isn't it? I'll die now, and because my story will not continue, I'll die for real. The love between these two is something I can't deny... Without denying their love, I can't defile their story... Without defiling their story, I can't continue my own...

Beatrice cleared her throat awkwardly, then made an effort to summon her classic dignity as a witch. "Rise, human."

I did so, preparing to be wiped out once and for all.

"Just as you cannot defile my story, I will not defile yours. Even in this twisted work of yours, there is entertainment to be found, and, sometimes, even love. I have no intention of putting a stop to it. Do you, Battler?"

"Nah. Why should I? Player, you created this story yourself. Don't take this the wrong way, but I don't have anything to do with it, and I don't want anyone thinking this has anything to do with me! Ihihi... So... You keep on doing what you're doing, if it makes you happy. Beatrice and I will be keeping on watching to see if we get any more ideas for the bedroo-"

The witch stepped on his shoe with her heel and a loud crunch, blushing red as she clapped a hand over his mouth. "We'll be watching from time to time! Don't get too carried away and make us embarassed for you, okaaay? Even if it's just a copy of my board, I'll lose face with the other witches if you write something too disgusting!"

I... already wrote a parallel storyline... where Battler fucks his aunt...

Beatrice held her smile uneasily, then glanced over at Battler nervously. "Battler, is it really okay for him to-"

The man nodded, although he now seemed motivated to wrap this up more quickly. "None of our business. Now, Player, we'll send you back on your way. The other witches tend to get pretty jealous when they see the two of us enjoying a happy ending like this, so I'd feel kind of bad if I let you wander out into the dark and, uh, 'return' whatever way they felt like."

"Consider this a parting gift... <The Gift of the Golden Witch,> if you will," Beatrice spoke to me with a soft smile, touching her pointing finger to my forehead.

As she did, I felt the light grow from that point. I knew that a wound had appeared there, but without blood. A perfect, magical ****... I passed on without pain.