The Hope They Left Behind (Premium)

by Sakon Kaidou

  Dr. Mario took off his glasses, illuminated the text, and began reading it. Once again, I couldn’t help but feel that his eye color was much like the countess’s.

  “You can read without your glasses?” I asked.

  “Ah, si,” he replied. “In fact, they-a get in the way whenever I try to read something too close.”

  So they’re not for nearsightedness, huh?

  “I’ve read it. Here’s what it says,” he said, then began reading the text aloud. “‘The day the Incarnation of Beasts devastated our four infantry divisions is still fresh in my mind. It overwhelmed the horizon, and we matched it in neither quantity nor quality. Are we finally lost? Nay — it is not over yet. There is still hope. Here, within this facility, we will complete the... mass-production of the Prism Soldiers, and one day defeat the countless Incarnations of Beasts. With that oath in my heart, I chose to depict our defeat.’”

  His voice was fluent, and there was no sign of his usual speech quirks.

  “That is what the painting says,” he concluded. “It is a sort of monument.”

  “One depicting their defeat, huh?” I muttered.

  Ieyasu Tokugawa had left a picture of himself to commemorate his defeat against Shingen Takeda in the Battle of Mikatagahara, so this wasn’t all that odd.

  What was odd, however...

  “‘Countless Incarnations of Beasts’...?” I muttered.

  “Oh? Anything wrong with that?”

  “Well, I just felt that the number has grown a bit since my friend told me about them,” I said, as I remembered Hugo’s words from the Gouz-Maise Gang’s hideout. “He said that the pre-ancient civilization was so scientifically advanced that the people became arrogant and incurred the wrath of some god and his thirteen servants, who then went on to destroy them all.”

  Then, yesterday, B3 had told me that the ancient civilization had disappeared at about the same time, so I was pretty lost about the history of it all.

  “Oh, that’s just the mainstream interpretation,” said Dr. Mario. “It involves elements from the religions that came afterwards. That’s what a lot of the post-collapse texts say about these events.”

  “Religions?”

  “Yes. Uh, si. Speaking of which, do you know what the kingdom’s religion is about?”

  “About healing people using Priest powers. It’s built around the job, right?”

  “Yes. It’s assumed that there were god-worshiping religions prior to the collapse, but now, it’s believed that they either don’t exist or are exclusively gods of retribution. Besides that, there’s also the ‘The One’ series of jobs.”

  I could understand the idea that gods didn’t exist and the thing about “The One” jobs, but...

  “Gods of retribution?” I asked.

  “Si, si! Like you mentioned, many believe that the destruction of the pre-ancient civilization was divine punishment — that-a it was a tale of retribution.”

  I was silent.

  Hugo had mentioned that countries besides Dryfe and Granvaloa purposely avoided technology to avoid incurring the gods’ divine wrath again. Mind you, the kingdom was also dabbling in it to get out of their dire situation.

  Anyway, gods of retribution, huh...? I pondered that. Nemesis is based on one, isn’t she?

  “But again, that-a is the religious take on it,” Dr. Mario continued. “Reading historical documents written during the collapse itself gives you a, how you say... different perspective. Have you heard that both the pre-ancient and the ancient civilization collapsed at the same time?”

  “I did,” I nodded.

  “According to the documents from that time, the two civilizations in question developed on different continents.”

  Different... continents?

  “There’s another continent?” I asked him.

  “There was another continent, rather. It somehow sunk, leaving only a solo flying ship... and that’s what we call the ‘ancient civilization.’ The texts often mention an ‘Extra-Continental Vessel,’ you see.”

  “‘Extra-Continental Vessel’...” I murmured. A continent had vanished, and all that had remained of it was a single ship...

  “They arrived at this continent, but the prosperous civilization that was already here didn’t accept them. In fact, the countries at the east of the continent began attacking the vessel for its technology, which sparked a war between it and the entire continent. Countries in the west — the Zweier Imperium and the like — must have been truly bothered by this.”

  So it was an unfortunate clash between civilizations from across the sea, huh? That kinda stuff happened all the time back on Earth.

  “Of course, the ancient civilization retaliated,” Dr. Mario continued. “Their numbers were low, but they had these powerful creatures called ‘Incarnations.’”

  “How powerful, exactly?”

  “Absurdly. If the texts are true, they were as strong as — if not stronger than — Gloria. Si, I mean that Gloria.”

  He was obviously talking about the SUBM, Tri-Zenith Dragon, Gloria. It was the strongest monster the kingdom had ever faced. Beating it had required the combined powers of Shu, Figaro, Miss Aberration, and her Lunar Society. Shu had been the only one left standing when it was all over, which said everything you needed to know about the thing’s fearsomeness.

  “The Incarnations are said to have been like UBMs or Embryos in that they wielded various unique powers,” he said.

  Then he went on to describe those unique powers.

  One could blot out the Sun with the weapons it pulled out of empty space.

  Another was a beast that could multiply and bury the horizon in itself.

  Another could consume countless boats along with the very sea they were in.

  Another was an orb-like entity that could use thousands of unknown powers.

  The ancient civilization’s ship had contained these beings with extraordinary powers. The Incarnation of Beasts depicted in the portrait was one of them. The Incarnations numbered thirteen... fourteen if you included their so-called “god,” the Extra-Continental Vessel.

  It seemed like a meager number, yet it had been enough to crush the entire continent.

  “The pre-ancient civilization stood no chance. It collapsed in no time,” Dr. Mario continued. “And that’s the reason why we have no details about what happened to the ancient civilization. It seems to have just... disappeared after the clash. Both of them were gone, and that’s it.”

  Thus, he ended his history lesson.

  It gave me a lot to think about, answered a few of my questions... and gave me a bunch of new ones, like, “If the ancient civilization was so powerful, why didn’t they contact the pre-ancient civilization earlier?”

  With all the power of the Extra-Continental Vessel and the Incarnations, crossing the sea should’ve been child’s play.

  “A keen observation,” Dr. Mario said. “Many scholars argue this, as well. The fact that there was only one vessel leads many to assume they had some obscure, yet powerful, reasons for that — perhaps religious, perhaps geopolitical. We can’t know for sure unless we discover some ancient civilization ruins or something, but all their civilization had was a ship, so all we ever find are pre-ancient ones. Still, I do hear that Granvaloa is exploring the sea floor for the continent that sunk.”

  “Do you think they’ll find it?” I asked.

  “Who knows? There should be traces of it somewhere, if you ask me. After all, if it didn’t exist, where else could they have come from?”

  Well, I can’t argue with that, I thought. But wait, he said the pre-ancient civilization’s ship was flying, right? Then... couldn’t it have come from outer space...?

  ...Nah, there’s no way.

  Thinking of this reminded me of Franklin’s words from the Pandemonium:

  “Anyone who thinks this is just a game is either retarded or a child who believes everything he’s told.”

  “I have no idea what all of this actually is. I�
�d assume it’s the human experimentation phase for the creation of a nation... no, world-wide virtual reality, but...”

  Even if this world was aligned with his words, the devs couldn’t have made this world extend all the way out to far space. There was just no point in having done that.

  He’d also said something else back then... What was it, again...?

  “I have a question for you, as well,” Dr. Mario said. “May I?”

  “Sure. What do you want to know?”

  “Do you know anything about the Prism Soldiers mentioned here?”

  “We saw some machine-armor constructs both in and out the ruins. They’re set to capture monsters and tians and use them as fuel. Pretty sure it’s those things.”

  “Hmm... Autonomous weapons that use creatures as pseudo MP tanks, eh?” he pondered, looking disturbed.

  “Hm?” Is it just me, has he been acting a little different for most of this conversation?

  “They-a sound a lot like Dryfe’s Magingears,” he spoke again, his demeanor back to normal. “Well-a, those-a don’t have autopilot systems, but still.”

  “Yeah. The system is dangerous, though. We’ll destroy all the running units and stop the factory as early as tomorrow morning.”

  “Si, si! I’ve heard the guild is working on it. How unfortunate. Che sfortuna. At least everyone’s gained-a something from this,” he beamed.

  Dr. Mario still had his glasses off. The lantern was lighting up his face, giving me a good look of the tired look in his blue eyes. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that the color in one eye was slightly different, but not enough to stray from “blue.”

  My gaze made him curious. “Qualcosa non va? What’s the matter?”

  “Do you have Altarian noble blood?” I went ahead and asked him.

  “Why would you assume that?”

  “Countess Quartierlatin has eye color that’s much like yours. She said it runs in her family.”

  She was also heterochromic — her right eye was blue, while left was green.

  Azurite had said she also had Quartierlatin blood. Her eyes were much like the countess’s right, and the same could be said about Dr. Mario.

  “I understand,” he nodded. “Si, it’s true — I have Altarian noble blood. And I’ve been told-a that some of it is Quartierlatin. Though my generation has already lost the, ah... how you say? Status.”

  “So... you have Altarian nobility in your ancestry, but the family split, and your branch isn’t noble anymore?”

  “Si.”

  That explained his visit to the countess’s mansion today. He must’ve been curious about his ancestors’ home. The words he’d said as he left also made more sense now.

  ...Still, something didn’t feel right.

  His reaction to the cookie was still on my mind, too.

  “I’m quite sure I’d find being a noble to be uncomfortable, in any case,” he said. “I very much prefer field work like this — it takes away the weariness from desk work.”

  “Desk work?”

  “Yes. By that, I mean the nonstop glaring at draft budgets, applications... things like that. I’m far better suited to act on my own... I find that being important is tiring.”

  “Is that so?”

  “It is.”

  The way he put it made it likely he was a professor or a director in some academy somewhere. And again, I couldn’t help but notice his speech slip.

  That reminded me that he hadn’t told me where he was from.

  I had a rough idea, though, so I just went ahead and asked.

  “You’re from Dryfe, aren’t you?”

  Chapter Eight: Freedom

  Prism Rider, Ray Starling

  Dr. Mario answered my question with another one. “How do you know that?”

  He didn’t pretend I was wrong or try to silence me — he just stared at me with his blue eyes, curious about what had given it away.

  “I’ve had a hunch since our talk yesterday,” I said.

  “Yesterday?”

  “You knew about Jade, didn’t you? They found that Prism Steed in Dryfe. I know someone who knows a lot about stuff like that. Just yesterday, she told me about the Prism Steeds she’d heard of, and Jade wasn’t among them. Someone who knew about it before she did has to have strong ties to the place where it was found.”

  “There’s more than that, surely,” he said.

  “Yes,” I nodded. “These days, the only countries looking into the pre-ancient civilization are Dryfe and Granvaloa, right? Well, you said your research involves official desk work, so it’s pretty likely that you’re from either of those places.”

  That was two reasons out of the way, and I also had a third.

  “You also said that you have Altarian noble blood. Altar and Dryfe might be at war right now, but I hear they used to be great allies. Consider that, and it’s not all that weird that a Dryfean has Altarian nobility in his ancestry.”

  I also had another reason I didn’t feel like saying out loud. Azurite was extremely wary of him — a mere scholar. And she was an operative working for someone in the kingdom’s upper echelon.

  As such, she might be acting with the assumption that Dryfe, too, had sent someone to investigate the ruins.

  “A+,” he said. “Your conjecture is correct.”

  Can’t say I expected to be graded, but okay.

  “I certainly am from Dryfe,” he continued. “I came here to investigate the ruins. Whatever is hidden inside could have a great impact on our country.”

  “And...? What’s the conclusion?”

  “The imperium will surely deem the Prism Soldiers unnecessary.” He showed no intention of trying to hide Dryfe’s plans from me.

  “Why?” I raised an eyebrow.

  “Because we already have something similar. I know you’re well-acquainted with Mr. Franklin and his Triangle of Wisdom. Surely you’ve heard of their Marshal IIs.”

  “Ah.”

  “Of course, Prism Soldiers have the autopilot system. That is a great advantage, but in the current climate, it will only provoke us more enemies. Acquiring the system would be time-consuming, not to mention that we would have to modify it, as well. The pre-ancient civilization’s programs are quite unlike ours, you see. We won’t manufacture decent amounts of the machines unless we port it, so it’s best to rely solely on the Marshal IIs we already have.”

  So, they wouldn’t see any need for the Prism Soldiers because they were much like Dryfe’s current war machines.

  “What if the kingdom gets them?” I asked. “Wouldn’t it be bad for you if we fixed the autopilot system?”

  “The kingdom knows nothing of technology. How many years would that take them?”

  “...Good point.”

  So Dryfe assumed the war would be over and the kingdom would be annexed before it could pull that off. Then, after things settled down, they would take over the project and take their time reprogramming the system themselves.

  “To Dryfe, these ruins would only matter if there were technology we didn’t know anything about or if they contained a finished weapon we couldn’t afford to let fall into the kingdom’s hands. Especially not before the war. This place has no significance to us otherwise. Do you understand, young lady?” He turned away from me and looked into the darkness some distance ahead.

  “Truth Discernment tells me you speak the truth,” the shadows replied in a familiar voice.

  “Azurite...” I said, surprised. I had no idea she’d even returned from the mansion, let alone that she was right here.

  “Truth Discernment makes this really simple, young lady,” said Dr. Mario, nodding. “Or should I say ‘Miss Altarian Spy’? Or perhaps, ‘the kingdom’s—’”

  “And what of you?” Azurite cut his words short. “You’re not a scholar, are you?”

  In a split-second, Azurite closed in on him and swung her blade so fast I couldn’t follow it.

  “Gh..!” I clenched my teeth as I pictured Dr. Mario being cleave
d in half.

  My imagination was completely off the mark, though — he jumped backwards and evaded it.

  Standing at a safe distance, he looked directly at us. His blue eyes contained a powerful glare. It felt as menacing as Shu or Figaro when they were serious.

  “That was very violent of you. Molto violento,” he said.

  “Perhaps,” Azurite agreed. “Now, if I may ask... how did a mere scholar dodge my blow?”

  Oh, so that was a preemptive attack to test Dr. Mario’s identity and... WAIT, NO, HOLD ON!

  “Whoa whoa whoa! Did you think this through?! What if he’d been the real deal?!” I yelled. He would’ve been split in half!

  “No need to worry,” she said. “This blade of mine cannot cut now. Unless I aimed for his head, he’d have only ended up with a few crushed bones.”

  “Goddamn, you’re such a meathead!”

  Not as bad as Figaro, though! That guy’d probably just shove a chain into his face and turn his head into mush!

  “You’re one of Dryfe’s special soldiers, I assume?” Azurite asked Dr. Mario.

  “Special soldiers?” I repeated. I wasn’t sure I understood what she meant.

  “Dryfe’s Special Mission Task Force, often called just ‘special soldiers,’” she explained. “It’s a group comprised entirely of fully-trained battle jobs or Superior Jobs, all specialized in single warfare... or infiltration, like what we have here.”

  A group of maxed-out high-ranks and Superior Jobs? I guess they’re like Dryfe’s version of the Royal Guard before their post-war decline.

  Dr. Mario nodded. “Si. That is correct.”

  “‘Mario’ isn’t your real name, I assume?” I asked. “Also, if you ask me, that manner of speech stands out far too much for an infiltration. Is there something else you’re hiding that makes it part of your camouflage?”

  “You aren’t wrong...” Dr. Mario slowly nodded. “Except about one thing — I really am a scholar with a doctorate in archeology. Mario may not be my real name, but it is my name as a scholar.”

  So even if it wasn’t his real name, he was still Dr. Mario.

  “Anyway, I’ve been found out, so I guess this is it... Oh, before I forget...”