Winter Fall (I)

by Shūsuke Amagi

  "......Then I have no choice."

  Compared to Reverse whose entire body was covered with armor and resembled a block of metal, Lævateinn wore some kind of student uniform that he had never seen before.

  Fighting power didn't have any simple relation to clothing, and even if they didn't have the Queen as an example, everyone was still well aware of this. But the form of the girl in front of him and the oppressive feeling from her body were too different.

  Pushing down the confusion in his heart. Reverse focused his concentration on the hand that Lævateinn raised.

  Fury dropped from the sky.

  A blade sliced through the wind.

  It was Cauntia.

  His lover descended from the sky.

  "It's you! You people hindering us!"

  As she said this, she brandished the weapon in her hand.

  Her Dite had become a glaive, waving back and forth. The decorations on the blade stretched out, becoming light.

  Destructive Kei was condensed, becoming a flashing blade assaulting Lævateinn.

  The feeling was oppressive as if trying to cut the entire city into two, but Reverse wasn't panicked.

  Cauntia was also very clear that the she definitely couldn't hold back with the strike before her.

  Though it was only a moment, they felt as if this moment was extraordinarily drawn out.

  Reverse didn't move from his location, only watching Lævateinn's movement.

  The girl raised her head to look at the light that Cauntia had released, and opened her hand towards that light.

  Was she preparing to endure that strike, or was this perhaps a means of counterattack?

  Cauntia's attack wasn't that weak, Reverse naturally thought.

  That light had been condensed, and the length was about the same as Reverse's height. Cauntia had purposefully controlled it because she had considered him being there.

  The light that seemed as if it wanted to cut everything apart simply charged towards Lævateinn, and then......

  Collided with the hand that the girl had raised.

  The light swelled, and the destructive aftermath pushed Reverse back.

  After the ground beneath his feet furrowed slightly, Reverse's body stopped.

  His gaze was filled with dazzling light.

  "Wha-!"

  Though it was only a moment, it had been intense. He focused on something other than his vision in order to keep from losing track of Lævateinn.

  In the end, the girl still stood in the same position as before.

  She hadn't dodged?

  No......

  "Still alive?"

  Because he couldn't feel the girl's Kei, he had to rely on other methods to confirm. His vision was still a bit blurry even now, and his ears were filled with the sounds of explosions.

  Even if one wanted to feel the flow of the wind, the surrounding airflow was still in a chaotic state because of that attack.

  But that was only the situation for normal Military Artists.

  Even if it were an intense battle, Heaven's Blade successors could read all aspects of information at the same time.

  Of course, Reverse was the same.

  He realized that the figure standing in the midst of his blurry vision wasn't a distortion caused by the heatwave.

  In the sounds of the explosions, his ears picked up a hard-to-understand sound like flowing sand.

  His sense of touch felt the movement of the air, letting him know that in the center of the explosion there was something stopping the air from flowing in the correct direction.

  She still lived.

  "Tia!"

  When he reached this conclusion, it was a moment after the attack had exploded.

  Reverse leaped, arriving in a moment next to Cauntia who had dropped by the side because of the recoil of her technique. He took up a stance, using a shield that could cover his entire body to engage the things incoming.

  Internal Kei variation - Kongoukei.

  The iron will that could deflect any kind of object had been revealed.

  Incoming.

  He didn't know whether his body would be cut in two. He no longer knew how long it had been since he had this feeling...... Reverse realized that his concentration had disappeared for a moment.

  "Rever!"

  Cauntia called out from behind him.

  "Tia, use all your strength."

  Saying these short words already took all of his efforts.

  "She isn't an opponent that can be defeated so easily."

  It had been extremely thorny last time too, when the monster had attacked.

  However, that time had only felt dangerous. On the other hand, the feeling this time slowly became anxiety due to fear and being unable to parry.

  The returning feeling that had reappeared because of this girl made Reverse's back break out into a sweat.

  "Understood!"

  Cauntia replied. At that moment, the Kei behind him swelled up, pouring into an attack that seemed as if it could cut everything apart.

  What was next? What was the enemy doing?

  What was the girl doing?

  Reverse's jump should have already scattered the dust in Lævateinn's surroundings.

  However, there was something flowing around the girl.

  Something similar to sand, or perhaps tiny particles even smaller than sand, were currently gathering around the girl.

  The hand that Cauntia's attack had collided with was no longer there, and the portion all the way up to the arm had disappeared.

  However, there wasn't a drop of blood leaking out, as if there hadn't been an arm there from the start. There were no splatters of blood at all.

  "How......"

  Reverse swallowed his words.

  What was going on? There was no time for him to think about that.

  However, a thought suddenly flashed through his mind.

  But there really wasn't any time for him to continue thinking.

  "Rever!"

  "Nn!"

  Reverse responded to Cauntia's shout.

  The roaring, violent Kei bursting behind his back was condensed, collected into Cauntia's blade.

  Reverse also refined the Kei inside his body, leading it into the form that he desired.

  The great blade was swung.

  The condensed external Kei was released in a flash.

  Up to this, it was the same as before.

  But what came afterwards was different.

  The moment after the released Kei passed over Reverse's head, its shape changed.

  The flash that had been scattered out suddenly became a point rushing towards Lævateinn.

  Composite Kei art - Rending Diamond Mark.

  Using the deflective abilities of Kongoukei, he further condensed Cauntia's external Kei.

  The external Kei that had been compressed into a small sphere seemed as if it were being toyed around with by the wind, flying towards Lævateinn with an unstable trajectory.

  "............"

  As expected, the single-armed girl still didn't choose to evade it.

  The girl only quietly raised her remaining arm towards the compressed Kei.

  (What's going on!?)

  Reverse shouted out in his heart, but he currently didn't have the leisure to go check it out.

  He set his shield, once again spreading out Kongoukei.

  He hadn't clearly seen the form of the attack just now. He was also rather concerned about the numerous abnormal dust-like things. Why didn't she bleed? Why was there a strange flow in the air?

  Also, also......

  There were too many things he couldn't understand.

  Reverse was never negligent during battle. However, the battle this time required his attention more than any other battle before. Thinking of this, Reverse unfolded his power in front of him, spreading it out in front of Lævateinn.

  It hit.

  An explosion occurred.

  The Kei bullet exploded the moment it c
ame in contact with Lævateinn's hand, and light and dust swelled up in an instant, blurring out vision. The shock that could originally shake the entire city was annulled by Kongoukei.

  Reverse had spread out Kongoukei with all his power, in order to wait for this moment.

  Yes, he was waiting.

  He didn't understand a single thing about Lævateinn. About why she had come here, or what she wanted to do next.

  Or what she had done just now.

  There were many other things he was concerned about.

  What had Lævateinn done when she received Cauntia's first attacks?

  Other people might not have noticed this, but Reverse had absolute confidence in this.

  The technique of his beloved Cauntia, that explosion, that destructive power, couldn't only produce that much of an injury.

  Because of this, he had used all of his power to spread Kongoukei.

  There would definitely be some exchange after this.

  This was all Reverse was able to do in order to protect Cauntia.

  And his expectations were realized.

  He had guessed correctly.

  There was an abnormal flow in the airflow produced by the explosion. It wasn't scattering outwards, but it was as if it were being sucked inside.

  "It's the same as before."

  The moment Reverse was muttering this......

  Incoming.

  A dramatic impact.

  "Urgh......!!"

  His Kei was battered, and his body shook. The assault jarred his entire body and his consciousness. Reverse strongly clenched his teeth, withstanding the assault. The reflective ability of Kongoukei wasn't any use. Moreover, this wasn't the time to focus on counterattacking.

  However, he couldn't cower at this.

  Behind him was the woman he loved the most in this world, Cauntia.

  He definitely couldn't shrink back......

  "Re......Ver......."

  From behind him came a voice that made him despair.

  "........................Eh?"

  The back of his head, his neck, had been touched by something, and it wasn't Cauntia's hands.

  It was a warm, liquid feeling.

  His astonishment made his entire body shake, and Reverse slowly turned around.

  The air around him swirled intensely. The only place that maintained normalcy was the circle affected by Reverse's Kongoukei.

  That was also where Cauntia behind him was.

  And it was because of this, that the liquid dripped on Reverse's body.

  It was Cauntia's blood.

  "Tia?"

  Greeting Reverse's eyes was blood endlessly flowing from Cauntia's body like water spraying from a burst pipe.

  "Sor......ry......"

  An inconceivable apology drilled into his ears.

  Cauntia who had lost her strength slumped on his back.

  As if to support her body, Reverse moved. In that moment, he had already completely forgotten to maintain Kongoukei.

  And because of this, he was able to perceive everything.

  Even if he wanted to turn his body around, his left arm wasn't able to move like he wanted to, he finally realized.

  "Eh?"

  When he looked carefully, his left arm was already gone.

  Actually, Reverse's own blood had been mixed in with the blood spraying out that he had seen behind him.

  "Eh?"

  It was inconceivable. However, this was reality.

  Reverse's Kongoukei had been broken.

  It had been completely destroyed.

  "......I see."

  That moment, Reverse understood the situation in front of him.

  The second attack that Reverse had received.

  It was Cauntia's attack.

  No wonder he had felt it strange. Even if Cauntia's technique had been deflected, the damage to Lævateinn's surroundings had been too small. It would be too unlike Cauntia for her to have considered that Reverse was there and held back.

  Though he didn't know what had happened in the middle, the reality wouldn't change.

  Cauntia's Kei technique had been sent back.

  Both times were like this. The composite Kei art of Reverse and Cauntia had been completely reflected.

  Because of this, things had become like this.

  It had only penetrated Reverse's Kongoukei because it had been the combined technique of the two of them.

  "Sorry......"

  After Cauntia repeated the same word, she fell from Reverse's body.

  The sound of breaking bones came from her strengthless, falling body. Hearing the noise from inside her body, Reverse searched for something in his blood-red vision. His body already didn't feel any pain, and in his hazy consciousness, he could only urge on his body, looking for the target he yearned for.

  It was by his side.

  "......Tia."

  Cauntia didn't make the slightest response to his voice. Cauntia who had always reprimanded himself for being slow now lay silently by his side.

  Cauntia's hand reached out, as if to echo her most instinctive desire.

  Reaching out to Reverse.

  They lay there silently, both reaching out, their strength weakened to a drop, but they still reached out to their desires.

  When he gripped Cauntia's hand, a hard-to-describe feeling of tranquility came over Reverse. As his strength decreased with each breath, the scene dyed red with blood before him became more and more blurry.

  As his vision was disappearing, Reverse's angled gaze caught Lævateinn who was scattering some sort of particles.

  Though he no longer had any judgment ability, when he noticed the feet of some person appearing in front of him, Reverse raised his head.

  Standing before him was Lævateinn, gazing at him.

  Even in the tense situation just now, Reverse had always felt that she had a sort of indisposed attitude. But he hadn't been in time to ask, and he hadn't been able to defend against everything. Now he could only look at her. Regardless of whether it was fear of enemies or the courage he needed to overcome these fears, they were already all unnecessary. Everything had returned to nothing. All he needed to do now was grasp that hand, and everything else was meaningless.

  As his vision almost disappeared, Reverse didn't know why Lævateinn still looked at him like that.

  However, he had a feeling that made Reverse feel that Lævateinn was currently looking at his and Cauntia's hands that were clasped together.

  "You......"

  A weak voice.

  The answer appeared in his mind in a moment, but he no longer had the strength to form words. His momentarily clear-headed thinking once again slowly became muddled.

  His vision became even blurrier than before, so much that he couldn't even make out her figure anymore.

  As everything became unbearably hazy, Reverse protected the feeling of grasping that hand until the end.

  ◇

  (R, Reverse-sama and Cauntia-sama have been defeated.)

  The voice that came brought an unconcealed tremble.

  "Hmph."

  That was a natural thing.

  Alsheyra who was moving out of her room in the palace listened to the trembling voice ot Elsmau with a natural attitude.

  "What about the others?"

  (They have already taken action before contacting me.)

  "Good, then tell them to take action in order. Ah, right, though I've only seen that guy fight from the side so far, if he wants to take action himself, then let him."

  (Yes...... then what about Your Majesty?)

  "I already know the goal of the one in opposing us, so I'll go make the final defensive line. Or should I get rid of everyone else and go become the frontline?"

  (No, no, that's not the best choice.)

  "Really...... has the evacuation of the city's residents been carried out smoothly?"

  (Yes, In order to keep the commotion from spreading, we are currently leading the citizens to shelters smoothly.)<
br />
  "Right, right, are there any other people there?"

  (Military Artists other than the Heaven's Blades have stopped them. No, it would be more correct to say that we've been pinned down by them.)

  "Is that so. Though I don't want to be too wordy, what really is going on? Ah, whatever. Tell the Heaven's Blades to ignore them, and charge straight to the palace for the enemy's original body."

  (Understood, Your Majesty.)

  "Ah, I fear that we'll be in a pinch for a while."

  As soon as the conversation ended, Alsheyra spoke to herself. Elsmau might have also listened, but she didn't respond with anything.

  Alsheyra didn't really care about her not responding.

  Compared to that...... she gazed to the side.

  As if it were chasing after her, there was a figure walking behind her with a slightly slower speed.

  It was Leerin.

  "How is it? Can you keep up?"

  "Of course."

  Leerin nodded her head with a persevering expression, and looking at her would really make one feel a sort of stabbing pain in the heart. Alsheyra's expression distorted for a moment, but it was only a moment, and in the next second her expression changed back.

  By now, she couldn't tell Leerin to go back. that would only be an insult to her determination.

  More relevantly, her strength was necessary.

  "......Really..."

  "Nn?"

  "It's nothing."

  Alsheyra used a strong smile to mask the words that she had almost let slip out.

  She felt that this was another helpless thing.

  She had always thought so.

  It had been for all of this, for this day, that there was Alsheyra Almonise.

  That there was the Almonise Family.

  That there were the Three Royal Families of Grendan.

  The Heaven's Blade successors as well, the Lance Shelled City as well......

  They were all prepared for this day.

  Alsheyra had been born for the coming of this day.

  That was how it had originally been.

  But actually, what was it?

  Actually, the ultimate trump card hadn't fallen into her hands, it had crossed over her palms, and the purified blood had chosen an extremely mediocre girl.

  If there was truly such a thing as fate, how much of a tease was it, or perhaps why did it like to pester people this much.