by Yuu Kamiya
“—Wha…?!”
But that laugh, which lied that seconds were an eternity, made Fiel’s thoughts cloud over. The scene had once more been the underground hall, but now, far from underground, they were high in the sky, plunging…
“I thank you for your kindnesss. But please don’t worry about my feelings! Let’s see what you really have to offerrr. ”
As she watched Plum descend with them, merrily beating his little wings, Fiel gasped in astonishment.
—Impossible! He’d recompiled and redeployed the magic she’d dispelled faster than she could cast? His casting speed transcended Elf? It couldn’t be…… But Plum had been waiting for her to get there.
“Did you fiiinally figure it ouuut? Your memory, too, is so breathtakingly pathetic! ”
The comment came not from the Dhampir before her—
“Let’s think back carrrefully! I believe I told you—this!!”
—but from what she touched with her fingers—her own mouth. She realized this only as—snap—the scene shattered again.
“‘Please believe that you will be able to use at least one spell against meee!!’”
Still in a patchwork space of indeterminate location, Plum recounted.
“‘That will make crowing over you as you waken to reality even more enjoyyyable!’ And nowww…”
Fiel’s fists trembled in anger when she saw him reclining on a sofa, sipping tea.
“How many spells have you caaast? The answer, for your information, is zerooo! Ah-ha-haaa! ”
She hadn’t even pulled off the omit cast. He’d made her think she had. Plum had the enraged Fiel twisted around his finger like a baby, and—
“Oh, Mr. Inooo? It’s time I gave you some new target dataaa!”
In the game—the one persistent image within that swirling madness—
“Very well, Sir Plum! I trust it will serve me well!!”
“Hey, Fi?! These assholes are blatantly announcing they’re interfering with the game!”
—Ino received data from Plum as Chlammy protested.
“…Interfering? Why, I can’t demonstrate the presence of a rite…!”
“Ah-ha-haaa, it breaks my heaaart. I can scarcely hold back tears watching your futile toiiil! ”
……
Outside the game, Plum and Fiel were engaged in an unhinged magical battle. Inside the game, Ino and Chlammy were engaged in…what one might call an unhinged physical battle.
“Die, Soraaa!” “I’ll smash you into pieces, you monkey bastard!” Their voices volleyed back and forth as NPCs that looked like Sora flew through the air, one after the other. Meanwhile, watching this spectacle unfold—
“Hey, what do they think they’re doing to my daaarling?! What’s going on?!”
—and furiously making a ruckus in her water bowl was the queen of Siren, Laila. Somehow managing to force a strained smile was a redheaded girl—
—Stephanie Dola. What was going on? Laila asked. Steph answered the question in her head: It all started seven hours ago…
It was when the island of Kannagari was flickering under the roaring shock from the Old Deus’s game board. Laila had popped out of the bulky backpack, along with a splash of water, but everyone instead gaped at the figure delivering—well, carrying her, we should say. No wonder the bag had looked so heavy. But wasn’t she still supposed to be in the Old Deus’s game—?
“Pant… Pant… I relied too much…on the Eastern Union’s infrastructure…its power…”
A red-haired Immanity girl sank to the floor in exhaustion.
“—M-Miss Stephanie—! Why are you here?!”
“P-pardon?! I’ve merely brought over Miss Laila and a letter!” Steph snapped back, misinterpreting Ino’s outburst as censure.
“A l-letter, you say?”
“Y-yes… The King and Queen of Elkia… I mean, Sora and Shiro— Eek!”
“Yesssss! My daaarling!!! Hey, are you just gonna ignore me?! The only one allowed to humiliate me is my beloved daaarling… Oh… Oh, goodness, my heart… It hurts…”
Laila noisily interrupted Steph with a few good slaps of her tail only to swiftly grow weaker—and smile brightly. “……Oh… Is this—? Surely this is what they call…love…?”
“Gyaaaaaah—! Ah, no, that’s not iiit! You’re just out of water and dyiiing!!” Plum shrieked to see Laila, a Siren, incapable of living without water, had spilled the water from the bag as she leaped out and now looked to be on the verge of passing on, dying with a peaceful smile…
A moment later.
“Y-Your Majesty, wh-what do you think will happen to us if you d-diiie?!”
Out of nowhere—skipping the intermediate process—Plum put Laila back in a bowl as he wailed. Despite his spectral state and unlimited access to his magic, Plum was exhausted. Only Fiel understood: He must have disguised time to keep it still as he desperately hunted for a bowl of water and carried it over. She shot him an icy glare. But Ino couldn’t have known this. No—Ino didn’t give a shit and roared in confusion.
“M-Miss Stephanie, weren’t you over there—in the game of the Old Deus?!”
Then who the hell was that—or was this…?!
“Oh, you werrre the fake. Phew… I was scared out of my wiiits…”
“—The…fake?” Ino howled, but Plum answered casually.
“Oh, but of couuurse, a traitor who hadn’t lost their memories? That’s impooossible.”
Impossible. Ino mulled over Plum’s strident declaration. Back in the bath, Sora had been saying something about impossible lengths for a cheap trick…
“For one alone to get aheaaad, holding on to memories no one else possesses, would anyone agree to thaaat? Nooo one woullld… I know IIII wouldn’t. So then, it’s simpllle. ”
00b: —Among the die-bearers is one traitor whose memory hath not been collected.
A traitor whose memory…hath not been collected…
“You can’t collect a memory that was never there to begin with, can youuu? ”
So she was a fake—a fabrication of the Old Deus. Ino wondered: If the Steph up there was a fake, then why would Sora and Shiro—?
“I meaaan, look at it… Even if you count King Sora and Queen Shiro as one, that still makes six players in total. There are only five Race Pieces—so one of them wouldn’t logically be playing, would theyyy?”
But— Plum continued, cutting Ino’s thoughts short.
…………Wait.
“So at least one who shouldn’t be there was theeere… Personally, I figured it must be Miss Stephanie or Miss Izunaaa… Wasn’t sure which ooone. ”
—Wait. Wait, wait—wait!
What was this son of a bitch…? What was Plum saying?
Race Pieces?
“…Wait, what are you…? Y-you couldn’t mean…”
Now then, calm down, Ino told himself. He asked, his voice trembling, “…th-that the players—must each wager Race Pieces?”
Tell me it’s not so. Tell me I’ve misunderstood, he prayed in vain.
“Oh, is that not so? That’s what Sora told me. That’s why I brought this letter—”
Steph’s quizzical answer made Ino reel.
…Ha-ha-ha… Wait just one moment, now. Don’t be ridiculous. That couldn’t be, certainly not, not in this world. It must be a joke or, failing that, a dream. Ino’s head—well, technically, as a specter, he didn’t have a head—managed to withstand the phantom pain, and he persisted.
“W-well, now… If you could please pause for a moment. Even given these premises, wouldn’t they be one Race Piece short?”
It was true the players were all VIPs of their respective races.
Sora and Shiro of Immanity could bet The Immanity Piece.
Plum of Dhampir could bet the Dhampir Piece.
Let’s say Jibril, a Flügel councilor, could bet the Flügel Piece.
The Holy Shrine Maiden, agent plenipotentiary of Werebeast, could bet The Werebeast Piece. Suppose either Ino or Izun
a had been entrusted with it.
Stephanie— All right, she had to have been a fake.
But, then, still—we were talking about Ino or Izuna! Even if you counted Sora and Shiro as one person and discounted Steph, there were still five players and four Race Pieces… It didn’t add up!!
As Ino refused to face the harsh reality, he was interrupted by an incessantly cheery voice. Under normal circumstances, someone speaking with such intoxicating allure would have been enough to enrapture him.
“Oh, oh, guess what! My beloved darling said he’d step on me if I lent him the Siren Piece! He called me an ‘important trump card’! Squeeee! ”
But under these circumstances, it elicited only rage and cut him off mercilessly.
“So where’s my darling?! He promised he’d step on me and kick me and tie me up—”
Well, then. Ino nodded and accepted reality.
The bimbo plenipotentiary of Siren could bet…the Siren Piece.
Ino’s eyes went dead, and everyone looked at him…with pity.
“…What’s the poiiint of the Old Deus taking our liiives?”
“…Seriously? You really didn’t see it?”
“Why, Chlammy, you mustn’t expect too much of the big ol’ puppy dog. Don’t be mean! ”
Chlammy then repeated the condition she and Fiel had set down.
“…We demanded all the territory of the Eastern Union and everything on it, didn’t we?”
Indeed. “All the territory of the Eastern Union and all the personnel and resources in it.”
“Even if Sora’s bunch loses, they’ll become Fi’s property. So even if she takes our Pieces… We have insurance, see?”
In other words, if somehow they all lost, then their five Race Pieces would be lost. But in that worst-case scenario, Fiel, whose Race Piece would not be lost, would still secure everything in the Eastern Union—including personnel.
“…Well, of course our main goal was to win and teach those jerks a lesson. However…”
They also could prepare for a comeback from the far-removed prospect of disaster, she added. Meanwhile—
“…Uh, um… Mr. Ino…?”
As if Plum, Chlammy, and Fiel were not enough…
“Did you…really not think we put in enough for the Old Deus to play?”
!!!
As if to illustrate Ino’s state of mind, a shock that rattled heaven and earth once again took out the lights, casting darkness over Kannagari.
…Even Miss Stephanie was embarrassed for him. An indescribable mental shock made Ino feel as if his soul would melt away any moment.
“Oh, cooome. There’s no need to fuss over details like thaaat. ”
But no one paid much mind to the fluorescent meathead, who began fading like a dying glow stick.
“Now you see why we need to hurry up and take the Eastern Union… When will these accursed shocks stop—? Hey, Fi?! Are you drunk again?!”
“Whuuut? Why, Chlammy, you’re quite small-minded, toooo… I’m not drunk! ”
“—‘Too’?! What do you mean, ‘too’? Small-minded and small-what-else? Why don’t you say it?!”
“Huhhh? Obviously she means small-chested, Miss Board. Tee-hee! ”
“You wanna talk boards? I’ll throw you onto the chopping board and make a fillet out of you, fish-girl! What kind of moron would give up her Race Piece to get stepped on? You should feed your brain before you feed your ches— Come to think of it, Stephanie Dola!”
Tears in her eyes, Chlammy screamed at Fiel and Laila, possessors of racks that brooked no argument.
Then she turned her glare to a fellow member of the unfairly endowed class.
“What are you even here for?! Did you just come to flauuuunt it like these bitches?! Do you only care about your boobs?! Is it so wrong to live modestly? Is it a sin?!”
Steph screamed back, at the latest victim of Chlammy’s indiscriminate rage. “I said I came to deliver a letter! Won’t anyone listen to me?!”
…But no one seemed interested enough to do so. Steph looked up at the ceiling as a single tear rolled down her cheek.
Nope, no one was listening. Ino, for his part, wasn’t ready to listen to anything. The sound didn’t even enter his ears; he was about to dissolve into ash—or rather, ectoplasm, the spectral meathead. As he gazed out the window at the coiled sky, he became lost in thought.
…So all the players in that game had not merely bet their lives. They’d put their entire races—and their fates—on the table…? Though their memories might have been erased, they’d all agreed, even the Holy Shrine Maiden and Ino himself. Why? How could everyone—how could he—take that kind of risk?!
Ah… Holy Shrine Maiden. You had faith in Sora and Shiro, faith that they would betray each other and win. All without a single sacrifice… Ino had thought he’d had faith in the Holy Shrine Maiden’s convictions. Yet all it had come to was killing—not just that, but destruction, this spectacle of doom. O Holy Shrine Maiden, what did those siblings see, what did they plan when they bet our Race Pieces? Where is the plot? Where is the scenario in which no one will be sacrificed?
And then someone answered Ino’s silent plea.
“……Oh, forget it. I’m just going to read the letter, all right?!”
This was by no means according to the plan of the resigned reader…
“I shall follow the script Sora has set for me—a-all right? These are not my words, all right?!”
…but exactly according to the plan of those speaking through her.
“My dear muscle-bound abomination and all you fine n00bs.”
.
Steph read—no, was forced to read—that opener. It was enough to cast a pall of silence over the boisterous scene as Ino’s thoughts were brought back from beyond. Amidst a torrent of piercing gazes, Steph braved on.
“If Chlammy and Fiel lose, Blank will humbly accept the pot.”
“What? …Wh-what the hell is she—?”
“Oh dear… Why? Is she going to cherry-pick all the best parts?”
The second line. Chlammy listened suspiciously; Fiel was still drunk. The pot: one state of Elven Gard, their persons, the rite of hacking, etc., etc.—all that had just been bait. The one who had exploited it to close off their escape had been Plum. And Plum, who now held the reins in this game, would hardly accept such—
—or so Ino thought, but the recitation continued, snatching away Plum’s reins.
“And to Chlammy and Fiel’s demands: we’re adding Laila, so be good to her!”
“Ohhh, Darling, I would do anything for youuu! I swear by the Covenants!!”
“—Hey… Um— Wh-whaaaaat?!”
The third line. Laila listened with hearts in her eyes while Plum wailed and Ino remained fixedly silent. Plum had been in charge precisely because he didn’t care if Ino lost. But now if that happened, if Laila was taken—Dhampir had the noose around their necks…
“So now, if Ino loses, there’s about one little d00d whose race’s fate is gonna hang in the balance—”
Everyone listened to the fourth sentence quietly, as if in a trance. Yes…that one little tweak was enough to reverse Plum’s position completely. Ino could just say, “Who needs Plum’s help?! I’ll kick your asses by myself.”
“As such, you can laugh off his pathetic demands. Work his ass for free! ”
And Plum would have no choice, even if all his demands were rejected. He had to ensure Ino won. Even if Chlammy and Fiel refused, he’d have to cut off their escape, just as he’d originally planned. And so……silence. The collective silence answered Ino’s questions. Whose plot was this? Where was the scenario in which no one would be sacrificed?
It was their plot. That scenario was right here, right now.
They’d sent Laila along with a little message. That was all. It was enough to sweep aside everyone else’s plans, exploit them, and block their exit. It was unbelievable, enough to give them all chills. Everyone was silent. And so the siblings—
through their speaker—continued.
“A-and then… Ummm! Before I read the last part, there’s this.”
In the darkness of the blacked-out reception chamber, no one could see the others’ expressions. Only silence, wordless, heavy, weighed over the suffocating space.
“It’s an appeal addressed to Miss Chlammy and Miss Fiel… They say the rest of you can read it as well.”
Steph mustered up every bit of courage—and finally held it out.
“……”
Fiel shone a light, which illuminated Chlammy’s creepily insipid face as well as the equally creepy object that Steph proffered: a tube. Decked in snakeskin, decorated tastefully, yet sufficiently for anyone to recognize its dignity, it was clearly the work of a master. When the official-looking tube was opened, inside—was a slip of paper. Chlammy and Fiel peered inside using the light, as did Ino and Plum. It was a formal diplomatic document.
It bore the seal of the Commonwealth of Elkia as well as that of the Kingdom of Elkia. It even included the signatures of Their Majesties the King and Queen of Elkia. A proper national missive.
The handwriting was orderly, as magnificent as could be. And it read…as follows…
My dear friends Miss Chlammy Zell and Miss Fiel Nirvalen:
We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your trouble in wending all this way from a distant land when surely you must be pressed for time. We cannot but appreciate the immense effort and struggle it must have taken to prepare for this assault in such a brief period. Though it may be presumptuous, even impertinent, we are compelled to use these words to express our wish for continued deep friendship and our boundless appreciation—
Suckahhhz! LOL
With love,
Sora and Shiro
The 205th Monarch of the Kingdom of Elkia
Steph then fulfilled her duty by reading aloud the end of the letter:
“I knew you’d all betray us. Love you guys!”
“…Good job, everyone… Or, as we say—GG! ”
A hush enveloped the world. Contrasted with a stillness as if time had forgotten to flow, the glow of dawn peeked through the long night. The world slowly brightened. Ah, daybreak… It was a long, long time coming. The chirping of birds, the rustling of leaves, and the roaring of waves reverberated throughout the chamber.