by Kamiya Yuu
She paused,
“I absolutely refuse to destroy you.”
Her eyes narrowed, and she continued to declare to the still silent AnchoR.
“As your older sister, and as my Master’s servant, I will save you. For that reason, you need to fight too, AnchoR. Not for anyone else, but for your own will; you have to protect your own will.”
AnchoR did not answer.
But the cube dangling in front of the chest fell from the chain and silently floated.
RyuZU took on the challenge, and made a step forward.
“I’m going.”
—The voice came out.
It was not the usual carefree, melodic voice.
The professional, robotic voice that came with RyuZU’s words—or rather, the declaration,
“Defining Declaration—Initial-Y series Unit 1 ‘Yourslave’ RyuZU.”
Immediately afterwards,
AnchoR, who had been silent till this point, finally let out a voice,
“Defining Declaration—Initial-Y series Unit 4 ‘Trishula’ AnchoR.”
The transformations began.
With Naoto and Marie watching, the two Initial-Y series unit barged into the territory the humans living in this world definitely could not know of.
“Inherent function—Imaginary Time (Mute Scream)…beginning activation sequence.”
“Inherent function—Ten Thousand Flowers Fragrance Box (Power Reservoir)…beginning transformation sequence.”
Those were the insistence of resistance for those two.
And at this instance—they clearly stated their intents to break the laws of Physics
Naoto gasped.
The otherworldly logic hidden within RyuZU’s body was beginning to show itself.
At the same time, the gnashing of the gears echoed, and with a snap, like dominoes falling, RyuZU’s black dress became a different color and make. It became a translucent veil revealing the white skin, a pearl-colored wedding dress wrapping the slender body tightly.
The golden eyes had a ruby glint in them.
“–Beginning shift from 1st clock ‘Real Time’ to 2nd clock ‘Imaginary Time’.”
“Threat level, Category Two’—difference loop, 12th Shift.”
You’re kidding Marie gulped.
Did—AnchoR just say 12th?
Marie did not know anything about AnchoR’s Inherent Functions. Unlike Naoto, she could not grasp that instinctively, but she was able to at least deduce.
When they first met at Mie, she remembered AnchoR saying 3rd. That should have been the case. Assuming that it meant the Imaginary energy output or a limiter, the 12th would be—
While Marie was terrified, the girl’s appeared gradually changed.
The cube floating at her chest twisted, and began to spin at near light speed levels.
The radiant black hair was dyed a bloody crimson. The pure white armor expanded ominously, and the glowing red lines covered the now black armor psychotically.
The angelic halo spinning above the head became a demonic horn.
The black mask covering the girl’s face gave a cracking sound.
“Activating (Chrono Hook)—jumping from real movement to imaginary movement.”
“Activating (Chrono Hook)—beginning Imaginary Output from Perpetual Gear, emerge.
RyuZU and AnchoR took a step forward at the same time.
Those actions were not just a physical change in position; it signified the mutations formed in those two units this world would not allow.
Imaginary time ran wild, and an infinite amount of heat accelerated, causing despair in the current universe.
AnchoR raised her voice plainly,
“Execute command…declaration, target in the front ‘RyuZU’—target to be destroyed.”
In response, RyuZU smiled.
“Bring it on, ‘AnchoR’, I shall etch the pride of an older sister on you.”
Both sisters called each other by name, facing each other again, and then—
RyuZU raised the hems of her skirt slightly.
While AnchoR got on her limbs, sprawled on the ground like a beat.
Like a marriage declaration.
Like a yell of lament.
Both of them said the final words that were radical and heretical to the world.
“—Relative Mobility (Mute Scream)—”
“—Absolute Mobility (Bloody Murder)—”
And so, the two legends clashed.
Naoto and Marie were unable grasp what happened afterwards.
● ● ●
RyuZU raced through this imaginary time.
And in the time where reality stood still indefinitely—a fraction of a second, she subjugated this place.
That was an imaginary space that could not possibly exist in this universe.
A space of paradox where the laws of physics were subjected to fallacy.
As long as she remained in this state, nobody would be able to hurt her, and nobody could escape from her blades through any means.
However—
The little sister facing off against her too was an extraordinary existence that defied this world.
Nobody would be able to detect RyuZU’s attacks in this imaginary time, yet AnchoR jumped to dodge it.
The bloody crimson hair let out an arch.
And at the same time, AnchoR stepped on the empty space, swinging her right hand.
The massive hand equipped with a claw was intending to rip RyuZU along with the imaginary time.
“—”
RyuZU did not show any surprise on her face. With leisurely, elegant movements, she dodged the claw, and pulled her distance.
This was to be expected at least—no, anticipated.
Even if RyuZu could break through the limits of time and take action, AnchoR was able to catch up through brute force. The infinite heat caused a derailment in the universe, and wrenched open the gap in space.
In this still world, RyuZU danced elegantly.
AnchoR in turn violently invaded the change in space.
Both automatas defied conventional ‘time’ through their drastically different processes.
RyuZU raised her hand.
The Initial-Y series Unit 1 ‘Yourslave’ RyuZU.”
She, expected to be a follower, had two black scythes pointing out from her skirt as her weapons. She is rather lacking compared to AnchoR, who was expected to be weapon with a countless number of weapons in her.
For that reason, RyuZU proclaimed herself to be the weakest, that she was the unit least suited for fighting amongst the sisters.
However—
“That—does not mean defeat in any way.”
The black scythes obeyed RyuZU’s will as they swung at an incoming AnchoR from left and right.
The slashes were quick and precise.
These two elegant, otherworldly knives remained steady as they continued to slash at anything indiscriminately, dissecting everything to bits.
However,the sharp blades got blocked by something, and let out a crisp sound.
“…!?”
RyuZU shifted her center of gravity, and skipped lightly as she turned around.
Using the momentum, AnchoR attacked.
RyuZU affirmed it; there seemed to be a ripple waving about at the empty space where the scythes got parried.
And the cube floating above AnchoR’s head twisted as it transformed.
“Space manipulation…!”
That was the basic ability of AnchoR’s weapon. Against RyuZU’s scythes, she timed the attacks and contorted small spaces to form shields.
RyuZU’s scythes did not have the ability to break through contorted space.
“…”
RyuZU again swung her scythes, prioritizing speed as she increased the attacks and swung wildly, this time anticipating that the enemy would block.
“—!”
But they got parried away.
Ripples appeared in the air along with AnchoR
’s voiceless sounds, ripples appeared in the air, taking down RyuZU’s slashes completely.
While RyuZU was feeling anxious, AnchoR gave pursuit.
Both sides were well matched in speed—correction, RyuZU was a little faster.
This Imaginary time granted RyuZU an advantage.
No matter how much AnchoR accelerated and gave pursuit, her ability, the manipulation of space, would cause a little lag. The proof was that she did not use the countless weapons that should have been stored in her, and manipulated space only to defend.
In other words—AnchoR had to personally kill RyuZU personally.
However,
“—!”
AnchoR swung her claw. RyuZU managed to jump to the right and dodge this attack at the last moment.
The claw however swung through the space, and caused an intense quake in the space.
At the same time, the car behind RyuZU vanished.
It was reduced to dust, leaving nothing behind.
The heat AnchoR had was enough energy to open time ruptures, and it was gathered generously in her right hook.
—As long as a single claw grazed by, RyuZU’s body would be ripped apart before she could even resist.
Yes. Alone? Sealing the weapons was not considered a handicap; the main issue was that RyuZU’s attacks could not break through AnchoR’s defenses. Even if RyuZU could act a little faster, her functions would cease sooner or laster when the energy in the spring was used up. Perhaps even before that, she would be caught and crushed into dust.
That was the conclusion—the outcome of this battle that would soon happen.
However—
“Things are as I expected—no, just as planned.”
RyuZU muttered this as as she dodged the claw that ripped through space with utmost conviction.
Her face showed no fear. That was something she already understood beforehand.
—3 days ago.
During the strategic meeting, Naoto and RyuZU had this conversation.
“If I am to fight AnchoR head on, my chances of winning is zero.”
RyuZU concluded, and Naoto looked distraught, saying,
“It’s not like you have to win though? As long as you’re able to break that mask—”
“It means the same thing, Master Naoto. There exists a difference in combat abilities between AnchoR and me that I cannot hope to overcome.”
“…Even if you use your inherent function?”
“Yes. Even if I do activate the Imaginary Time, AnchoR will catch up to me through brute force. That girl has the infinite heat to achieve this.”
“In that case, there’s only one answer.”
Upon seeing her master nod, RyuZU asked,
“And that is?”
It’s simple, Noto answered.
“—Just use me as a shield.”
“That is unacceptable.”
RyuZU immediately dismissed this, and stared at Naoto,
“There is no worth considering it. Do you really understand what you just proposed?”
“But there’s no other way.”
“There is. That is to avoid the battle.”
RyuZU’s stare was beyond freezing point as she declared,
“If I may bluntly say so, AnchoR’s imprisonment is simply a trivial issue compared to endangering you, Master Naoto. Even if Tokyo is to collapse and millions, billions of humans inferior to mitochondria are to fall to the bottom of the planet, I do not care—”
Yes, that was the one bottom line RyuZU definitely would not cross.
“—”
RyuZU jumped.
With the scythes hooking to the pipes at the ceiling, she swung her body.
Because of this action, she again dodged AnchoR’s claw at the last moment, avoiding destruction.
At the same time, she looked behind. The silhouette of her little sister kept attacking. The massive amount of heat stored in the latter’s body was contorting the surrounding space just by being there.
It was like fire, ominously engulfing AnchoR’s body.
RyuZU turned her body around, and kicked the ceiling.
The 2 scythes and legs activated the 3 dimensions in the sealed space—she moved in like a pinball towards AnchoR’s range—
But AnchoR remained unfazed.
The cube transformed into a non-Euclidean geometry.
“—!?”
A large scale contortion occurred, and the web of space attacked RyuZU.
One of the extended scythes got caught by that web, and an intense tremor shook the body. Like paper scraps, the caught scythe was crushed, and her center of gravity was tilted, before she was thrown out.
Right at the moment her body was about to be thrown to the wall, RyuZU used the remaining scythe to cut off the damaged scythe, for it was useless, merely a hindrance.
Now freed in her posture, she landed directly on the wall—and immediately jumped all.
At that instance, the wall she used as footing was blown to smithereens.
—She recalled.
“And please do pardon my impudence here, Master Naoto, but you sacrificing your life will not solve anything. A human body cannot even form an obstacle in the face of AnchoR’s might.”
RyuZU then lowered her head, whispering,
“Master Naoto. Do you think it is fine even if you do die?”
“Hm? Why do you ask?”
Naoto merely chuckled lightheartedly, and answered,
“That’s not it, RyuZU. I’m betting my life here, but I don’t want to die at all. I don’t intend to sacrific your life, RyuZU, and I don’t intend to abandon AnchoR>’
The golden eyes looked down, and RyuZU sighed,
She shook her head.
“That is an impossible luxury. Honestly put, it is a foolish, reckless act.”
“Well, maybe that’s true. For some reason however, I don’t think I’ll fail.”
The gray eyes blinked a few times, and Naoto declared,
“Yeah—I won’t die. AnchoR won’t kill me, and also, I believe that you’ll definitely do it. Besides—”
She lost a weapon.
That meant that she had fewer options left. Lowered were the number of attacks, choices of evading, and minimum limit of damage allowed—in other words, RyuZU chances of survival.
But even so—
“There is no—problem.”
RyuZU lit her red eyes as she spun the clock.
She got faster, speedy, quicker—and more nimble!
She controlled her body. She dominated time and space. She managed how the battle went. She was able to do all that, and she understood that she would win if she could do those.
Thanks to the massive interference in space, she lost a weapon, but managed to gain distance.
It was merely a small amount of time, less than a fraction in this imaginary time—but even so, that was undoubtedly a chance.
RyuZU looked at AnchoR, and jumped back. The latter continued to give chase.
It was meaningless to consider the capabilities or differences in combat ability.
For her master, for Naoto said that she could do it.
For Naoto said that he believed in RyuZU’s abilities, so RyuZU believed in herself.
And more than anyone else, RyuZU herself believed in her little sister.
—Her master did say.
“But—AnchoR can’t kill humans. Isn’t that right?”
RyuZU could not deny those words.
She merely asked without changing her expression.
“…But that child is currently being controlled”
“But she’s still trying her best to resist.”
With unfaltering eyes, Naoto stared at RyuZU’s eyes, and concluded.
“The proof is that Anchor didn’t attack Marie or me in the underground. She was always attacking you and uncle Halter.”
“She probably prioritized those of a higher threat level.”
“That may be true.”
Naoto heartily agreed, but he immediately shook his head,
“But I don’t think that’s a case. I’m confident about that. To prove that, I’m willing to bet my life to save AnchoR.”
And besides Naoto continued,
“That kid did say that she wants her big sister to save her.”
“—”
“AnchoR can’t hurt humans, so if you use me as a shield to create an opening, you’ll definitely be able to use that opportunity to destroy that mask, right?”
Now that he asked this…RyuZU did not reply.
Based on logical thinking, RyuZU was unable to accept Naoto’s plan as it was too risky. However, she could not lie and say that it was impossible.
That was why she was silent.
And Naoto smiled, seemingly having expected that, and said to RyuZU,
“Hm, well—this is an order, RyuZU. We’re to use me as a shield to save your little sister.”
—At this point, it was meaningless for her to hesitate.
She gauged the distance.
And affirmed herself, behind her, the still pursuing AnchoR, and the timing.
The latter, giving chase as she ripped through the contorted space, was just like a little comet.
“AnchoR.”
RyuZU called out,
“I believe in you.”
She could not see the face of her little sister, covered by the mask.
Only the silhouette, now the embodiment of destruction, closing in.
The simulation was complete. She had the plan drawn up.
RyuZU smiled, and slowed down slightly.
That alone caused her to be within AnchoR’s striking distance, and the latter raised the massive right claw.
The one hit that could destroy anything came swinging.
At that moment—RyuZU jumped up.
It was not actually a dodge; at this distance and timing, where time still stood, the one swing woul have crushed RyuZU’s body completely.
However—that would be if AnchoR had continued to maintain her acceleration.
The instance RyuZU jumped up, AnchoR saw the thing behind her, and immediately froze.