Outer Ragna: Volume 2

by Kasugamaru

  I bite my frozen lips, swallow my tears, and continue:

  “We are the last army of humanity.”

  It’s a chilling, obvious fact. At this point, we have no hope of establishing supply trains. We will eventually self-destruct. Once our reserves are all eaten through...

  We must hurry and settle this. We must fight, and we must win against the vampires, the demons, and the frightening Demon God that commands them.

  I smoothly draw my blade and point it into the rain. The tempered, polished white blade deflects the water and the cold. Within its sharp edge resides God’s blessing, miraculously clear. Beyond its tip, something translucent rises... Smoke. And not just one trail, either. They’re all over, battered by the wind, yet still rising. They linger and fade, only to be continuously replaced.

  At the base of each trail of smoke is life. Men and women, despite the horrors of war, are living proudly. And alongside them, fire, as well as prayers.

  “What the hell are you two doing? It’s pouring rain.”

  “...Odysson.”

  I can see the exasperation in his face as he stares at us from under his umbrella. I wipe my blade, then sheathe it.

  “Father, I thought you came to tell him the bath was ready? What’s the point in freezing to death together?”

  “Oh, you’re right! The view distracted me.”

  A bath, huh? Another part of human life. Speaking of which, my hands are screaming from the cold.

  “Remind me, who was it that said we should warm up on rainy days, huh?”

  “Yes, you’re quite right, quite right... Odysson, did you come all the way here to say that?”

  “There’s one more thing: Kuroi’s up.”

  “What? Truly?!”

  “Is she okay? How is she?”

  “Whoa, back off! Why don’t you go see for yourself? She’s eating some soup with Sira right now.”

  “Ah, so Sira is at her side?”

  “I’m thinking the smell of the soup she was trying to feed Kuroi woke her up.”

  As we descend the stone staircase, I remove my cloak and smile a bit. Inside, away from the wind and rain, the halls are lit with endless torches and filled with the sounds of life. And at the very center of all the noise is Kuroi. Bowls and utensils clink; she must be ordering more, though Ange is no longer here to bring her orders.

  Seated around a table, we can talk and share our thoughts. This is good; this is how it should be. Precious times like these are enough to make us strong, to give us the will to fight proudly until the very end. With my faith renewed, I make a silent proclamation:

  I say to you, Demon God, master of vampires and inciter of demons, avatar of fear, and threat to the entire world—we will see you soon. And we will defeat you.

  But for now, in this irreplaceable moment, I have frozen hands to warm up.

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  Copyright

  Outer Ragna: Volume 2

  by Kasugamaru

  Translated by Alexander Keller-Nelson

  Edited by Eric Bravo Górriz

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  Copyright © 2019 Kasugamaru

  Illustrations by NAMCOOo

  All rights reserved.

  First published in Japan in 2019 by Kodansha Ltd., Tokyo.

  Publication rights for this English edition arranged through Kodansha Ltd., Tokyo.

  All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property.

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  The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.

  Ebook edition 1.0: May 2020