Chapter 309 - 308: Tragedy

Chapter 309: Chapter 308: Tragedy

A week had passed, but the explosive events of Code Geass Episode 22 remained the burning center of conversation among fans. Over the course of those seven days, frantic anime enthusiasts left hundreds of thousands of comments on Haruto’s creator profile.

The title Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion dominated the top of every major social media trending list in Japan for five consecutive days.

Given the sheer scale of the anime market and the millions of households tuned in, the number of fans across the country had reached staggering proportions. Even the hype surrounding Haruto’s other two massive hits, Sword Art Online and Hunter x Hunter, was completely eclipsed by the shadow of Lelouch this week.

Naturally, with such immense fame came both high praise from the media and sharp criticism from nitpickers. Looking at the series as a whole, Code Geass certainly had its share of plot holes. As the show’s popularity peaked, haters began to seize upon these inconsistencies, aggressively spreading critiques to dampen the mood.

However, the vast majority of fans ignored them. Most people watched anime for the experience and the emotional journey, not to dissect it like a rigid piece of academic literature. Even legendary epics were riddled with plot holes and logical leaps that didn’t hold up to intense scrutiny, yet that never hindered their status as timeless masterpieces.

Finally, another weekend arrived.

Across Japan, millions of fans felt a surge of adrenaline starting as early as Saturday afternoon. On fan forums and social media servers, the number of active users and the volume of messages tripled compared to the previous days.

"It’s already 6:30 PM. Only an hour and a half to go. The hype is real!"

"I am begging! Please don’t kill off her. I’ll sacrifice 67 years of my roommate’s lifespan to make it happen."

"If Euphie survives today, I’ll give up watching porn for a month."

"If Haruto doesn’t kill Euphie today, I swear I’ll give up fishing for a whole month."

"To the guy above, I’d believe you if you said you were going celibate, but giving up fishing? Who are you trying to kid?"

"Alright, stop joking around. Haruto is only this ruthless because we spoil him. We should all band together. If he actually kills Euphemia, it’s unrealistic to ask everyone to drop the show, but we can at least agree to stop buying the merchandise, right?"

"Oh, so we all stop buying it, and then you can swoop in and grab the limited edition figures at retail price without dealing with the Out of Stock messages? Is that the plan?"

"It’s not just Japan anymore. International fans are just as obsessed. If you can get your hands on a figure right now, why wouldn’t you?"

"Sigh, we can talk all we want, but deep down, we know the truth. The odds are that she’s going to die this week, isn’t she?"

"Don’t panic yet. Until the episode actually airs, anything is possible. Euphie’s popularity is breathing down C.C.’s neck right now, and her figure pre-orders are through the roof. Even if Haruto doesn’t care about our feelings, surely he cares about the money."

As the sun dipped below the horizon, exhausted fans returned to their homes and switched on their televisions.

Tonight, Tokyo TV1 was pushing the envelope even further than usual. Immediately after the 7:30 PM weather report, they aired an emergency special program focused entirely on Code Geass.

As was his custom, Haruto didn’t have the patience for these fluff pieces. He had simply provided a few minutes of pre-recorded footage. Yet, the station used the hook of "Creator Haruto reveals exclusive behind-the-scenes secrets and foreshadowing" to drive viewership ratings above 4.5% before the actual anime even started.

Fans watched the program while trashing the station online for its blatant money-grabbing tactics.

Tsubame was among them, complaining loudly about how the station had just wasted twenty minutes of her life. Her best friend, Masuyo, who was watching with her, couldn’t help but laugh.

"You actually believed the Tokyo TV1 hype? They do this every single time. But that short clip wasn’t totally useless. Didn’t Haruto say in the video that Code Geass would ultimately have a peaceful, happy ending where everyone finds happiness?"

"You actually trust that demon? If even thirty percent of what he says is true, I’d be shocked. A peaceful, happy ending? You should probably assume the exact opposite is going to happen." Tsubame talked tough, but she was secretly clinging to the hope offered in that interview.

She lived for happy endings.

Usually, she preferred to watch shows alone, but after the emotional trauma of last week, she had summoned her friend to provide emotional support in case things took a turn for the worse.

After the talk show, there was a five-minute infomercial for Code Geass merchandise. By then, the viewership ratings had skyrocketed to 5.97%. Then, at 8:00 PM sharp, the commercials were cut off mid-sentence. The familiar opening theme of Code Geass began to play.

"Can’t they change the opening song? We’re over twenty episodes in and it’s still the same one," Masuyo grumbled.

"They’re putting the budget where it counts. Why waste money on a new song? Unless they want to sell more music CDs, it doesn’t really matter," Tsubame replied while snacking on a cream puff.

As the two girls chatted, the song ended, and the screen transitioned to the start of Episode 23. The title appeared.

At Least with Sorrow.

The titles in this series were often dead giveaways.

Last week’s Bloodstained Euphie had been devastating. This week’s title sent a chill through both Masuyo and Tsubame. They shared a look of pure dread. Was the tragedy really about to be finalized?

The episode picked up exactly where the last one left off. After fleeing the plaza, Lelouch boarded his Knightmare Frame, piloted by C.C. Following a heavy conversation with her, he steeled his heart. He decided that he had to kill Euphemia.

Meanwhile, Suzaku was tearing through the chaos of the massacre. The area around the plaza had descended into a war zone. The Britannian military was ruthlessly slaughtering civilians, while revolutionaries and resistance cells across the country, fueled by the horror they saw on TV, were consumed by a burning hatred for Euphemia. Everyone was looking for her, wanting her head as payment for the blood of their countrymen.

The Black Knights, under Lelouch’s command, joined forces with other Japanese resistance groups to engage the Britannian forces in open combat. In the heart of the city, Euphemia continued to fire her submachine gun at fleeing civilians. Because Haruto had allocated a massive budget for this arc, the visuals were harrowing. The clashing of Knightmares, the spray of blood, the whistle of bullets, the screams of the dying... it was a vivid portrayal of hell on earth.

Even though it was just an animation, millions of fans found themselves hoping that such a nightmare would never touch the real world.

"Lelouch has really done it this time. This is a sin he can’t wash away," Masuyo sighed.

"If you look at it from another perspective, I don’t think the hatred between these two nations would have just vanished because of a treaty."

"Eventually, Britannia and Japan were going to clash again. The peace talks would have only delayed the inevitable for a few years," Tsubame argued.

"The trigger could have been anything, but in the context of the story, Lelouch was the one who pulled it. That Geass of his is a curse."

"Only Haruto could get away with this. Any other writer would be dragged through the mud by the fans for a plot like this."

As they spoke, Kallen located Euphemia and prepared to kill her to avenge her people.

But Lelouch arrived first. His massive black Knightmare descended from the sky.

"Japanese people!" Euphemia shrieked, her voice sharp and distorted, as she opened fire on Lelouch’s machine. Lelouch opened the cockpit, revealing his caped figure and his iconic mask. Euphemia stopped instantly.

"Lelouch! It’s you... not the Japanese." The look of pure relief on her face made Tsubame’s heart ache. At her core, Euphemia’s soul was weeping, but her body and mind were hijacked by a command she couldn’t resist. She was forced to follow Lelouch’s accidental Geass order to kill the Japanese. Unless they were all dead, she could never wake up. Such was the terrifying nature of his power.

Lelouch stepped out of the safety of his cockpit. Wearing his mask, he walked toward her step by step.

"Lelouch... I thought it was more Japanese. I was thinking... about the proposal for the Special Zone..." Euphemia’s voice trailed off, her expression shifting to one of confusion and pain. "The Special Zone..."

"What was that?" she whispered.

"Yeah... if only things could have been that way," Lelouch said. Underneath the mask, his voice was heavy with the weight of a young man in agony. "With you."

Lelouch turned, and a hidden pistol appeared in his hand. The cold steel of the barrel pointed directly at Euphemia’s chest. At this range, even an unathletic student like Lelouch couldn’t miss. At that exact moment, Suzaku’s Lancelot picked up her signal. His face lit up with joy as he rushed toward her position.

BANG!

The loud report of the gunshot made both Masuyo and Tsubame jump. They physically recoiled from the screen.

"Why... Lelouch?" Euphemia gasped, her eyes full of confusion as she collapsed backward.

On her chest, a flower of crimson blood bloomed, staining the beautiful dress she had worn specifically for the ceremony with Zero.

"Goodbye, Euphie." Lelouch’s voice broke with pain, but his hand did not tremble.

The look on Euphemia’s face as she fell sent a sharp pang through the two girls. He actually did it. Lelouch personally pulled the trigger and killed her.

In the ensuing chaos, a frantic Suzaku arrived and managed to snatch Euphemia’s bloodied body away from Lelouch and Kallen. He sped away, taking her to the most advanced Britannian medical facility.

The scene shifted back to the plaza. The enraged Japanese people and the resistance fighters were now united as one. All barriers between them had vanished as they drove off the remaining Britannian forces. Hundreds of thousands of ordinary citizens, alerted by the news, began to converge on the site.

Lelouch stood before them, clad in his black cape and mask. He appeared as Zero, the savior who had defeated the Britannian army and executed the "Evil Princess" Euphemia.

The anime used a split-perspective technique to tell the final part of the story. In the plaza, Lelouch gave a rousing, fiery speech, denouncing the atrocities of the Britannian Empire. Meanwhile, in the emergency room, the dying Euphemia finally began to slip from the grasp of the Geass as her life faded away.

"Suzaku... you’re Japanese, right? No... no, I shouldn’t think like that." A faint, weak Euphemia looked at Suzaku. For a second, a flicker of murderous intent appeared in her eyes before she forcibly suppressed it with her last ounce of will.

"Suzaku... the ceremony... what happened to the Special Zone?"

The most heartbreaking line of the series had arrived.

Tears immediately welled up in Tsubame’s eyes. Euphemia wasn’t suffering from amnesia; she likely had a hazy memory of giving the order to kill the people. Now, on the brink of death, she asked that question.

"Does she just not want to believe it’s true? That she was the one who ruined it all?" Masuyo’s voice was thick with suppressed emotion.

On the screen, Euphemia managed a strained, nervous smile, her eyes locked onto her knight, Suzaku.

"Euphie... don’t you remember?" Suzaku’s face was a mask of grief.

The perspective cut back to the massacre site. Lelouch stood on a stage, surrounded by cheering crowds.

"To all the people oppressed by the Britannian Empire! I have waited, correcting their mistakes in the shadows, waiting for them to reflect on their own. But they betrayed our hopes with this massacre!" Lelouch’s speech was electric.

"Is everyone... in Japan... happy?" Euphie’s breath was shallow. she clung to Suzaku like a lifeline, desperate for him to tell her that it had all been a nightmare.

The contrast was brutal. The Japanese public and people all over the world were cursing her name, calling her a monster and a murderer. Lelouch was being hailed as a hero for killing her. And there she was, in her final moments, worrying about the safety of the Japanese people and the success of the peace treaty.

"Yes... Euphemia is the very symbol of Britannian hypocrisy. In truth, she is nothing but a murderer!" Lelouch declared to the world’s cameras.

"Did I... do it right?" Euphie asked one last time.

"Yes, Euphie. The Special Zone... was a huge success." Suzaku, tears streaming down his face, chose to give her a final, beautiful lie.

"I’m so glad. But, Suzaku... I can’t see your face anymore. I’m sorry... you have to go to school, okay? I can’t... go with you after all." Euphie reached out and took Suzaku’s hand, leaving him with one last smile.

"Suzaku... meeting you was truly..."

Whatever Euphemia wanted to say last remained unspoken. her hand slipped from Suzaku’s grasp, falling limp.

Suzaku wailed, calling her name over and over, begging her to stay. But the steady drone of the heart monitor signaled the end. The scene cut back and forth between the flatline in the hospital and the cheering crowds at the plaza celebrating the birth of a new nation.

People everywhere hailed Zero and spat on the memory of the "Massacre Princess." The irony and the tragedy were laid bare, absolute and suffocating.

Masuyo and Tsubame leaned back against the sofa, their eyes red and swollen. Euphemia’s end was too cruel. This was far worse than anyone on the internet had predicted. Death was one thing, but to have your ideals, your life’s work, and your very soul negated and dragged through the dirt, that was a fate worse than death.

A kind girl who only wanted peace was now etched into history as a genocidal tyrant.

She had died protecting the very people who now cursed her, comforted only by a lie as her entire existence was erased. It was a devastating conclusion.

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