Back at his post, Sands sat still and slowly closed his eyes. Unfortunately, as Sands had hoped, the deaths hadn't made the child give up. Instead of making him give up, they only made him more eager for the challenge. Given the last words the child had muttered before dying, it was almost certain that this time he would kill every monster in the ruins. Sands sighed heavily.
I'm sorry, ma'am. I'm afraid you're going to die because of me. From now on....
Sandz mentally offered his condolences to his joke friend. She lowered the hand that had been covering her face and clenched her jaw instead. If the damned kid came out with more LOVE, would she be able to stop him?
The answer didn't take long to come. "No.
The kid didn't realize it, but by the time I nailed him to the tree, Sands was on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion. His face was hard to read, and it was a good thing he didn't show any outward signs of the cold Snowdyne.
If the child had noticed, if he had rewound time again and charged, Sands would have been dead. It wouldn't have been a one-and-done thing, but that wasn't the point. I could picture her pacing the basement, wondering if there were any other monsters behaving strangely besides Sands, wondering what had triggered it. Sands muttered grimly.
"I feel like I've been dumped into a pit of despair."
What can I do, how can I stop the demons from rising from that ruin? Sands recalled a strange experience he'd had during the battle with the child. Each time the child died and time rewound, an unknown force would imbue her body with a power that would disappear like a mirage when time was fully reversed. Each time, her love would rise and then fall again. I could have dismissed it as an illusion or a coincidence, but after experiencing it dozens of times, I can't say for sure. It was the effect of LOVE, even if I didn't want to admit it.
A road made of dust, maybe it's the only solution.
At the moment of her unwelcome judgment, Sands felt an unexpected chill and shivered. She had never felt cold in Snowdene before.
After sitting and contemplating for a while, Sands made his way to the Waterfall's lamp puzzle before Papyrus reached the lookout. Here, no one would know.
Sands' eyes darkened with the sinfulness of what he was about to do.
The Waterfall, a dank swamp, was darker than the rest of the underground. The only light here came from the starlike luminescent stones embedded in the ceiling and the plants that emitted a bluish glow to make themselves known in the darkness. In the depths of the Waterfall, there were places where there were no such luminescent stones or plants, and the only way to get around was to light the way with magical lanterns. A place where no one would know if you died.
Sands stepped into the darkness. With no magic lanterns activated, pitch blackness greeted her. It was deathly still, far from the waterfalls that dotted the Waterfall. Deciding what to do, but needing time to form the resolve to act, Sands squeezed her eyes shut and repeated to herself.
I must. I must. It's the only way to stop the humans. We must protect the Papyrus. If we can save all the other monsters by sacrificing a few, they'll understand.
...Do you really think so?
Of course, I knew they wouldn't understand, because who the hell would agree to 'kill you to save the others,' but I had to think so, otherwise I wouldn't be able to endure what I was about to do in my right mind.
A few slow breaths in, a few slow breaths out, and eventually Sands opened her eyes.
As she wandered the deserted streets of Waterfall, the first monster she encountered was Aaron. He spotted her from a distance and greeted her with a wink.
