The Knight of the Sinful God

by Gakuto Mikumo

  “As for how, I’m used to this kind of thing in my line of work.”

  Gajou rotated his now free ankle joints as he spoke in a carefree tone.

  Shio stared dumbfounded at Gajou as she insisted, “A-aren’t you supposed to be an archeologist?!”

  “I do field work all over the place, so all sorts of things happen…,” Gajou replied in a lighthearted tone before looking above his head. “Well, damn…! Shio, above you!”

  “Eh?!”

  Reacting to Gajou’s shout, Shio shifted her gaze toward the sky. That instant decided whether Shio lived or died. A glimmering, steel-colored creature broke through the storehouse’s ceiling, right above Shio’s head.

  “What’s…that?!”

  The creature was three or four meters in length. It was a bizarre monster with a head like a hornet, the body of a snake, and dragon wings. The same moment it detected Shio’s presence, it opened its maw, attacking without a moment’s pause.

  If Gajou hadn’t warned her, the creature would have doubtlessly torn Shio limb from limb without her even lifting a finger…

  “Resonate—!”

  Shio shouted as she fished out every spell scroll she had in the breast pocket of her school uniform. With ritual magic poured into them, the spell scrolls transformed into countless birds of prey that assaulted the monster.

  The specialty of Shamanic War Dancers of the Lion King Agency was offensive ritual magic using shikigami. Though the monster easily struck down the first, second, and even the third shikigami attacking it, countless more surrounded it, dulling its movements, finally causing it to crash to the ground.

  She finally managed to stop the steel monster in its tracks by using every spell scroll on hand. Shio had no room to see that for herself; she tottered forward on the spot.

  Shio had used seventeen shikigami for the purpose of counterattacking against a single monster. Shio was something of an honors student at High God Forest, but she lacked the monstrous talent in spellcraft possessed by her old classmate, Sayaka Kirasaka.

  Ordinarily, the steel creature was an enemy on a level beyond Shio’s ability to fight alone. It was sheer luck that she’d barely managed to bring it down.

  However, there was no time to rest easy, for Gajou heard new wingbeats above Shio’s head.

  Creatures greatly resembling the one from before were heading for the storehouse. Furthermore, it wasn’t one or two: There were over twelve, and that was just what he could see. They practically filled the sky in their approach.

  “Such numbers…”

  Shio’s face went pale with despair. No matter how you sliced it, the enemy’s numbers were simply too great. She had no spell scrolls left with which to create shikigami, nor did she have any time to prepare a wide-area ritual spell.

  If only Yuiri were here…, thought Shio, biting her lip.

  With a Sword Shaman skilled in close combat drawing off the creatures and playing for time, even Shio had a card to play: the trump card belonging only to the Shamanic War Dancers of the Lion King Agency—

  “Get down!”

  Shio stood rooted to the spot as a harsh voice rang out from right behind her. The voice spurred Shio to lower her posture without thinking. After she did, the lead creature of the swarm swooped down to attack her.

  Shio was resigned to death as the huge, steel creature seemed to writhe during its descent.

  Then her eardrums trembled from the metallic roar that shook the very air.

  The creature that had appeared right before Shio’s eyes was sent flying from a blow to its side. The exploding flames unleashed by the blow contained concentrated, high-density ritual energy.

  It was an attack from a spell gun, the ritual energy sealed using a bullet made from precious metals.

  “Gajou Akatsuki?! Where did you get a gun from…?!”

  Gajou Akatsuki was standing inside the cell in a shooting stance, a sawed-off shotgun in his hands. The round he’d fired had blasted the steel creature apart, saving Shio’s life.

  The shotgun was surrounded by thin gun smoke as Gajou reloaded it and walked toward the cell’s iron-barred gate. Then Gajou exited the cell, slipping past the bars as if he were a mirage.

  “Physical transmission…?! No…not that… What kind of ability is that…?!” Shio shouted in bewilderment as she watched Gajou casually walk out of the cell.

  Physical transmission was a super-difficult magic on par with spatial manipulation. However, the technique Gajou had used differed somewhat from the usual ritual for transmission. She didn’t sense him using magical energy. It almost felt like…the human being called Gajou Akatsuki was never in the cell to begin with.

  “About twenty years ago, I got lost in a weird ruin in central Asia, y’see…”

  Gajou sent a listless smile the confused Shio’s way. His shotgun spewed fire once more, destroying a third creature.

  “The ruin survey team with me was all wiped out. I was the only survivor, but half my body is on ‘the other side,’ even now.”

  “I see… You returned from death… The Death Returnee, Gajou Akatsuki…!”

  Shio recalled Gajou’s nickname. He was the man who had returned from the Land of the Dead, a being who should not exist in their world—and ever since, his body straddled the boundary between this world and the next.

  Gajou Akatsuki had both been inside the cell…and nowhere in the human world at all. No matter how stout an iron-barred gate, it could not hold a being who had not truly been there in the first place.

  “It came at a pretty high cost, but thanks to that, I can hide things on me…like this.”

  Without warning, Gajou tossed his empty shotgun aside and opened both arms wide. An oversize weapon appeared in both hands, seemingly out of thin air. Across time and space, he materialized the weapons stored in his armory in the Land of the Dead.

  “A—a machine gun?!”

  “Picking ’em off one by one isn’t gonna cut it, so—”

  Gajou then raked the swarm of creatures with automatic fire from the large-caliber army machine gun. It didn’t have the same power as the spell gun, but the density of the barrage—over six hundred rounds a minute—was overwhelming. The powerful bullets, specialized for taking down demon beasts, were highly effective, riddling the approaching creatures with holes.

  “Shio, your demon-quelling bow! Burn them all away!”

  “I—I don’t need you to tell me that…!”

  Shio reached a hand toward the silver recurve bow she kept on a holster behind her hip. Gajou was keeping the creatures busy, giving her what was probably the best possible chance to use her bow.

  “Certify request! Freikugel Plus Proto Three—unlock!”

  Shio lifted up the folded recurve bow as she intoned the activation command. Recognizing Shio’s ritual energy coursing into it, the metallic recurve bow greatly expanded. The safety had been disengaged.

  “Registered archer, Shio Hikawa, confirmed. Freikugel Plus, active.”

  Seeing that the demon-quelling bow had activated, Shio nocked a metallic arrow from the holster on her thigh.

  For an instant, she closed her eyes, burning into the back of her mind the positions of the thirty-odd creatures. Shio’s personal specialty was multi-locking on sorcerous targets. Even if she couldn’t hold a candle to Sayaka Kirasaka’s inborn talent with spellcraft, she was confident that she’d trained every bit as extensively as that girl had.

  Furthermore, Freikugel Plus was the holy armament that had been redesigned to take full advantage of Shio’s abilities.

  “I, Dancer of the Lion, Archer of the High God, beseech thee! Let there be light—!”

  The silver arrow Shio unleashed soared through the sky, tracing multilayered magic circles in its wake. The whistle on the tip of the ritual arrow was able to generate incantations at a density and great volume impossible for human lungs, creating a large-area spell.

  Countless blasts of wind swirled about.

  Shio had generated
ritual energy blades resembling thunderbolts. These poured toward the surface with the speed of lightning, unerring in their aim as they impaled each and every one of the steel-colored creatures.

  “…Ohh, nice. That’s a Lion King Agency Shamanic War Dancer for you.”

  Having used up her ritual energy, Shio tottered and slumped forward, whereupon Gajou held her steadily from behind.

  Shio’s attack had swept away the entire swarm of creatures.

  Freikugel Plus was the completed form of the area-suppression weapon the Lion King Agency had continued developing in secret. It was the sheer power of that demon-purging bow that allowed it to overwhelm the horde of creatures.

  As a result, the noncombatants remaining at the temple were spared the danger of being attacked by the creatures, at least for the time being. Perhaps Hisano had left Shio behind because she’d foreseen that possibility from the beginning.

  “That said, this ain’t good. If creatures managed to penetrate even the temple’s ward, does that mean the unit surrounding Kannawa Lake was wiped out…?”

  Gajou twisted his lips as he glared at Kannawa Lake, which was submerged in white mist.

  The interference of dense, cold air infused with demonic energy in the surroundings of the man-made dam meant he couldn’t blithely approach.

  There was no mistaking that the SDF unit observing the lake had become caught up in the incident. Hisano had to be acting in concert with them.

  So, too, had Nagisa Akatsuki been caught in the middle. And so, too, had Yuiri Haba.

  “Yuiri…!”

  Shio’s frail murmur echoed into the mist and vanished.

  Gajou’s expression remained blank as he continued glaring at the lake without a word.

  6

  Asagi Aiba and Lydianne Didier were flying at about three thousand meters over the Tangiwa Mountains. They were inside Pandion—a tilt-rotor cargo plane from Didier Heavy Industries.

  Pursued by the Island Guard, they had more or less fled from Itogami Island only the afternoon of the day before. Arriving at the mainland afterward, Asagi and Lydianne spent the night hidden in a Didier Heavy Industries warehouse located in Yokohama, stocking up on weapons, ammunition, and fuel in the meantime.

  Then, fully prepared for what may come, they headed for Kannawa Lake to search for the missing Nagisa Akatsuki.

  It was quite a ruckus for so early after New Year’s Day.

  At first, Asagi had only meant to help with a little light info gathering. She’d never dreamed that it would evolve into such a major incident.

  However, her circumstances changed drastically when the Island Guard came after her at the airport.

  Apparently, the disappearance of Nagisa Akatsuki involved crucial secrets at the national level. The fact Asagi had searched for Nagisa meant she had already become involved. At that rate, worst case, she’d be handcuffed and sent to rot in jail, no questions asked. Asagi needed a leg up on resolving the incident; she couldn’t return to Itogami Island until she had information she could use as a bargaining chip to strike a deal with the government.

  Why is this happening to me? she bemoaned, but the search for Nagisa came first. At any rate, she needed to get her hands on information. Nagisa was her only lead.

  “Very good. The docking of the multi-seat unit for Hizamaru is complete.”

  Heedless of Asagi’s anguish, Lydianne frolicked about the cramped cargo hold with a miniature console for fine-tuning machines. Asagi estimated her age at twelve years old, give or take. She was a foreign girl with bright red hair.

  Her favorite mount, a red micro-robot tank, had just received a major overhaul, and its appearance had significantly changed. Much of its equipment had been swapped and was now geared for open-field warfare, not urban combat…and a copilot’s seat had been added so that Asagi could ride in it.

  The charming, rounded look remained the same, but various modifications made it appear somewhat humorous, like a cartoon mascot from a slapstick comedy outfitted with instruments of war.

  For her part, Lydianne seemed quite satisfied, even under the forced circumstances.

  “The energy pack upgrade gives it a dramatic boost to operating time, and the firepower hath been greatly, greatly enhanced. Also, to make up for the loss of agility, side thrusters were added, but I knoweth not how well they shall perform.”

  “That’s all fine, Tanker. It’s just… Can’t you do something about this outfit…?”

  Asagi glared at Lydianne, hiding her chest as she put on the pilot suit that had been arranged for her.

  It was a protective suit just like Lydianne’s, skintight and designed like a competition swimsuit. On top of dramatically playing up her body lines, the word box sewn onto the chest had ASAGI AIBA written on it in black marker. It came complete with gloves that reached her upper arms and tights that covered everything down from her hips. When combined with Asagi’s own showy hairstyle, it made her painfully look like she was wearing a costume.

  However, the girl called Tanker tilted her head, blinking with a questioning look that seemed to say I really don’t understand what the problem is.

  “It doth suit you, Lady Empress.”

  “Umm, whether I look good in it or not isn’t the issue here…!”

  “Nevertheless, it is a cutting-edge pilot suit, Didier Heavy Industries’ pride and joy. On top of heavy resistance to water pressure, ballistics, blades, and blunt force trauma, it is also hydrophobic and breathable. What’s more, it is completely machine washable, and even effective as an antibacterial deodorant.”

  “No matter how you look at it, it still looks like a school swimsuit. What kind of interests do the engineers in your corporation have anyway…?”

  Asagi slumped against the armor of the tank.

  Certainly, it was dangerous to wear a loose outfit in the cramped confines of the robot tank’s cockpit—it wasn’t like she didn’t understand that logic. If someone explained writing the name in the space on the chest as a way to identify casualties in the event of an unfortunate incident, she couldn’t strongly object to that, either.

  “More importantly, Lady Empress, it is finally time to embark Hizamaru. We shall soon reach the projected landing point,” Lydianne said as she entered the robot tank.

  The tilt-rotor cargo plane Pandion was an AI-controlled unmanned aircraft. Lydianne was setting the flight altitude, direction, and everything else via her robot tank.

  Lydianne’s sudden announcement of their destination took Asagi by surprise.

  “Projected landing point? What the heck? Don’t tell me you’re going to land all of a sudden?”

  “This plane is a tilt-rotor, so it is indeed capable of a vertical landing. It is better to land and search there to obtain detailed information rather than gaze from afar in the sky, is it not?”

  “Well, that might be the case, but…”

  Asagi sank into thought, bewildered. Certainly, if they were serious about searching for Nagisa’s whereabouts then they would have to land at some point…

  “But the area around Kannawa Lake is sealed off by the Self-Defense Forces, isn’t it? Can we really just land without a care? They’re not going to shoot us down, are they?”

  “Ha-ha, ye need not be concerned. Spare not the slightest bit of concern for an attack helicopter or two. I shall make a spectacle of striking them down.”

  “No, you won’t!! If you shoot down SDF aircrafts, then what?!” Asagi shouted. “Are you trying to start a war?!”

  However, Lydianne had closed the hatch long before. Asagi could do nothing but slip into the copilot’s seat.

  The multi-seat unit of the robot tank Hizamaru was a simple piece of add-on gear. The two pilot seats were completely independent, and no communication was possible between them without use of a transmitter. It had its inconveniences, but it wasn’t a bad setup when considering privacy concerns.

  The seat was cramped and surrounded by electronic devices on four sides, but once she was completel
y settled in, it was surprisingly comfortable. Thanks to the inside of the cockpit hatch doubling as an external monitor, it didn’t feel especially claustrophobic.

  But all of a sudden, the entire giant monitor displayed a badly sewn mascot character in CG, and even Asagi was taken by surprise. The AI avatar, which could be called Asagi’s partner, spoke to her at a painfully loud volume.

  “It’s me, li’l miss. You can hear me, right?”

  “Mogwai?! What are you doing here, out of the blue?! And your voice is too loud! It’s annoying!”

  Asagi struggled with the unfamiliar control panel as she lowered the voice-chat volume. Mogwai paid no heed to Asagi’s suffering as he continued the conversation on his own.

  “Sheesh, I finally got through to you. Not being able to use your cell phone is a huge inconvenience.”

  “Well, I’m on the run, so it can’t be helped. More importantly, what did you want?”

  “Mm, ahhh… I wasn’t sure I should convey this info to you, but it looks like a bunch of things have gotten troublesome, so I thought I’d better tell you now, just in case—”

  “Wha—? You’re creeping me out. If you’re going to say it, just say it already!” Asagi, irritated, shot back.

  Mogwai put both hands together in front of his own head as he said, “Sorry. I’ve lost that Kojou guy’s location data.”

  “Huh? The heck? You mean Kojou’s gone missing?”

  “Well, that about sums it up.”

  Asagi’s hand stopped controlling the electronic devices as she glared at Mogwai. First the little sister goes missing, then the big brother? What’s with those siblings? she grumbled internally.

  “What about Himeragi? Wasn’t she with Kojou?”

  “The spear-using li’l lady is missing, too. Apparently, they fought an enemy using some weird sorcery, and all the surveillance cameras in the area were wiped out. The only things remaining are leftovers from some pretty spectacular fighting.”

  “Wait a… What do you mean, fighting?! Kojou has my spare phone, doesn’t he?!”

  “Er, about that… He kinda fell into the sea… He’s been out of range ever since.”