Winter Fall (I)

by Shūsuke Amagi

  A warning?

  "That's really annoying~"

  Haia scratched his head.

  He hadn't been a Heaven's Blade successor for long.

  Even though Haia was like that, he could think of how the other Heaven's Blade successors would react after hearing this.

  "Compared to that......"

  Haia had become a Heaven's Blade successor, and a lot of that had been actually for his dead teacher. The strong desire that had been produced from jealousy.

  After becoming a Heaven's Blade successor, he didn't have any other targets anymore.

  So saying that he had no reason to fight should be a definite conclusion.

  "Speaking of which, the original Mercenary Gang didn't deal with these unprofitable battles~"

  However......

  "......But those words just now made me a bit mad~"

  What the fate of the world would be, he honestly still didn't understand after hearing that much. In the travels he had experienced with Karian, he had never gotten a feel for it even experiencing this kind of battle.

  So, this was a problem of price.

  A problem of whether he should be classified as a Military Artist.

  "So, I can't run~"

  He said calmly. It wasn't his style to let himself be controlled by anger.

  "What are you joking about, this bastard!"

  Ruimei roared.

  Right, in this kind of situation it would be fine just to allow someone with that kind of style to act.

  Haia walked forward.

  He didn't have to confirm whether there were people who wanted to flee. If they truly wanted to run, then let them go.

  No one ran.

  "......This is only a waste of time."

  It was unknown how Lævateinn had recognized the attitude of Haia and the others, but her expression stayed motionless like iron.

  "Then I can only rely on force."

  "Wait!"

  The one who shouted was Kanaris.

  But Lævateinn ignored her shout.

  The sound it made was quiet.

  Quietly, it began digging.

  "Hey, what's going on!?"

  Haia asked this of Elsmau on the other side.

  When had such a giant thing appeared and started digging down?

  (No good, Psychokinesis can't reach underground.)

  The voice of Elsmau that reached his ears was a bit fuzzy.

  "What!?"

  (The Psychokinesis surrounding the target is extremely chaotic, and gathering information is impossible.)

  "Understood."

  Haia ended the conversation with Elsmau.

  Other than Haia, the other Heaven's Blades already began impeding that thing from getting down.

  Not one was clear on the reasons, but the material that formed that monster of thorns was the rubble of the palace, and at the same time as this material was gathered, the entire monster continuously eroded.

  However, it was truly surprising that it could break through so easily.

  The monster of thorns ignored the harassment of the Heaven's Blades, continuing to move down.

  Perhaps the fact that its speed was this slow was due to the fact that the path to its goal wasn't wide enough.

  "For now, it won't be good if we don't think about how to stop her~"

  He spoke to himself.

  The others also thought about that.

  Haia who tried to pursue Lævateinn with a rising Kei pressure suddenly stopped his body.

  "What's going on?"

  Haia regained his posture that he had almost lost, widening his eyes and looking at the surrounding situation.

  Vibrations made the ground beneath his feet shake endlessly, and Lævateinn's descent stopped.

  "Nn?"

  There seemed to be some hidden light under the monster of thorns.

  "A thread?"

  There was something like that.

  Threads were lined up at equal intervals, forming a net that completely stopped the monster of thorns.

  "This is......"

  A person appeared in Haia's mind.

  "There's only one person who can do this kind of thing."

  Savaris who had retreated to Haia's side said this.

  Haia began searching for that person.

  Found him.

  There was a figure somewhat far away from Haia.

  He gulped.

  The person standing there was as he expected, but was a bit different.

  "What were you doing!?"

  Kanaris was the one who roared.

  "The things outside have already been tidied up."

  The one who was roared at was the person who had stopped Lævateinn's descent, Lintence, who replied with an unmoving face.

  "Wasn't that given to other people!"

  "If you think about what we have to do after this, those things would only become unnecessary annoyances."

  Haia became speechless from Lintence saying this directly.

  "Thinking that they will bring trouble, what a good person."

  Savaris who was by Haia's side said this.

  "Because the people who would die in the battle are too weak anyway, you went to resolve the things outside, is that what happened?"

  Haia said this, surprised.

  "So that's how it is~"

  He understood that way of thinking.

  However, there was still something he didn't understand.

  "......Then."

  Ruimei said this.

  "Why is that guy here?"

  Yes, it was that. Haia's gaze turned back.

  Haia who stood by Savaris cast his gaze to someone outside of the group.

  "I don't know, it was only a coincidence that I ran into him."

  Lintence spoke coldly.

  Why would he be here? Haia wanted to ask.

  The person who had been called 'that guy' showed a vicious gaze, looking downwards.

  Confirming the appearance of Lævateinn.

  "Hey!"

  The displeased Ruimei roared.

  "I'm here because I'm here. Please don't ask that kind of obvious question."

  From his appearance he looked simple, but when he used such a sharp gaze and said this kind of thing, he really made one feel that he was a normal youngster.

  "You little kid!"

  As expected, Ruimei's voice became even more impatient.

  "Isn't a Military Artist who can't use his full strength just a handicap?"

  Savaris said this.

  Haia looked at his hands, where he held a weapon of the same kind that he used in the Academy City.

  That was obvious.

  The weapon that had once belonged to him was now grasped in Haia's hands.

  Right.

  That guy was no longer a Heaven's Blade successor.

  A normal Military Artist who couldn't use his strength freely.

  But, that guy didn't waver a bit.

  "If you think that I'm in your way, isn't it enough to just ignore me? ......When did you become such tender people?"

  "Ha......Hahahahaha! It's truly as you said."

  The response of that guy made Savaris laugh loudly.

  "That's how it is, doesn't everyone think that rejecting someone who wants to join the battle is quite unnecessary?"

  Savaris' attitude made one feel as if he were acting, and it wasn't only Haia who believed this, right?

  ......However, the Heaven's Blade successors here had already accepted his existence, that was a fact.

  "Really......"

  It was really a bad joke.

  Layfon Alseif had appeared here, making Haia feel like it was a terrible joke.

  Chapter 2 - Burning City

  Not too long ago, inside Harpe.

  It had taken less time to reach Grendan than he had imagined.

  This showed how fast the speed of Harpe was as he flew through the sky. Layfon could only stare at the soundless, empty scene flying before his eyes.

 
; And then, they arrived.

  (If the battle is still being carried out inside the city, then according to the treaty, I will be unable to join the fight.)

  While listening to the echoing and reverberating voice of Harpe, Layfon looked at the scene of Grendan beneath his eyes.

  Grendan that he overlooked was a bit fuzzy from his position in the air.

  The reason the scene had become blurred was because there was a great deal of smoke floating around the surroundings of the air filter.

  Countless unshaped lights flashed, but these were not streetlights.

  In the center of the city, a battle unfolded inside the palace.

  "What do you mean by treaty?"

  Felli asked this.

  (That is a treaty with the Alchemy Master who created the foundations of the moving cities in the past. Regardless for what reason, we are unable to join battles occurring inside a moving city. This is because I who has not crossed paths with humans for long time may be thought of as an enemy by humankind.)

  Indeed, just from its outer appearance, Harpe truly resembled a filth monster.

  Speaking of which, in the area where Harpe had been, quite a few filth monsters had listened to its commands, so Harpe itself should count as a filth monster.

  (The Nano-Celluloid and Cloud-Cell copies that were spread apart in the first battle formed the basic substance of the filth monster. It's normal for humans to be unable to distinguish between us.)

  "......Indeed, if you dropped down on the city suddenly, it would definitely create a big panic."

  Felli's words made the surrounding atmosphere become cold all of a sudden, and it was unknown whether that feeling was just due to Layfon thinking too much.

  No, it wasn't.

  She definitely wanted to say it.

  Useless thing. [10]

  "............Ahaha."

  Layfon laughed slightly, and Felli reacted to this and looked over. Layfon could only pretend to be inspecting his Dite to evade Felli's gaze.

  "......Then, what are you preparing to do?"

  (I reckon that after Grendan is eliminated, it will be the final deciding hour between Lævateinn and I.)

  "That...... are you saying Grendan will lose?"

  He definitely couldn't let those words go.

  (The human-bred warriors. Certainly, they are very strong, but that does not prove that you are able to be victorious. Then I can only hold to my treaty while doing what I can.)

  "............"

  (Moreover, there is no reason to prove that everything will be fine after dealing with Lævateinn.)

  "What does that mean......?"

  (The battle has already started, you should go quickly.)

  There was no time to discuss the details with it.

  Because Harpe ended the talks very firmly.

  By using the method of letting the ground underneath Layfon and Felli suddenly disappear.

  (The distance I am currently at is already sufficient to count as a violation of the treaty.)

  These were the final words that the two of them heard. After Layfon held on to Felli next to him, he covered her nose and mouth.

  Breathing in this kind of place was extremely dangerous.

  The two of them escaped from the airspace around the filth monster in moments, and after experiencing the unique feeling of breaking through the air filter, they passed through the smoke-filled sky.

  "Puhaa!"

  After coming to a place where they could breathe, Layfon opened his mouth, removing his hand that covered Felli's.

  "Haaa!"

  It seemed that she also gasped for breath.

  Layfon was relieved, and the looked at the ground.

  Helped by the force of the wind, they fell near the palace.

  "Are you alright?"

  "Nn."

  "Great."

  The moment that they landed, a Psychokinesis flake drew near them.

  (How are you here?)

  The voice sounded extremely familiar.

  "You are......"

  Layfon looked at Felli, thinking of the successor who had replaced Delbone after the battle last time.

  "Then, you're indeed called Elsmau-san, right?"

  (Yes. Instead of this, how did the two of you come here?)

  Elsmau's words were filled with confusion.

  It seemed that she hadn't noticed Harpe in the sky.

  "Rather than that, how is the current situation?"

  Felli forcefully changed the topic.

  (The situation is extremely bad, please escape as fast as possible.)

  "We didn't come here to run away."

  Felli said resolutely.

  "We came here only to fight. I hope that we can obtain your cooperation like the last time."

  (That......)

  "Meaningless."

  Suddenly, another voice butted in.

  "Lintence-sama."

  Lintence appeared calmly in the shadow of a building, on the road to somewhere.

  "It's already over here, I'm finally getting to the main problem."

  Those words might be said to himself.

  Though it was only a quiet sentence, Layfon felt that Lintence was extremely happy.

  "Well, since this little girl said she wants to fight, isn't that good. Her power was already proved in the previous battle."

  (That...... though you say that...... still......)

  Lintence seemed not to care about the worried Elsmau.

  He currently looked at Layfon.

  "Then, what about you?"

  Lintence asked.

  "Did you come here to chase girls? What are you doing?"

  "......I came to fight."

  Letting Lintence's sharp gaze pierce through him, Layfon replied.

  "I also have reasons to fight."

  "......Huh, in battle, other than the fact that you're a Military Artist, other reasons are all superfluous."

  Saying this, Lintence walked out from in front of Layfon.

  "So, if you want to fight, I have no reason to stop you."

  "Yes!"

  Layfon replied loudly to Lintence's words.

  He couldn't help but think of the events from the time when he had just met Lintence.

  Later, they arrived at the battleground.

  "How are things over there?"

  (The preparations have already completed, but the condition of Psychokinesis really isn't very good.)

  "......Not knowing the true form of the enemy is truly troublesome."

  (I'm already gathering as much information about the enemy as I can.)

  "Good."

  The enemy's true form......

  Layfon replied to Felli while he looked at the opponent.

  The opponent also looked maliciously at Layfon.

  Every waving tendril of thorn was as thick as a big tree, and standing on top of the monster formed by those thorns, was a girl.

  Vati Len.

  No, Lævateinn.

  She was a bit different from the appearance that Layfon was familiar with.

  However, she was extremely similar to the being they had run into in the abandoned city.

  So, she was already Lævateinn.

  He feared that that was the situation.

  "......I really can't understand."

  Even if he wanted to think about things regarding Vati, to be honest, he didn't understand a single thing about her at all. Though some of her actions were indeed a bit strange, she should have been a girl who enjoyed learning and had a passion for discovery.

  However, Layfon had also always felt that she had the sensation of not wanting people to know her true self.

  Was that related to the situation in front of him now?

  How could he relate them?

  Layfon who was unable to smoothly sort out these things in his mind was plunged into disarray.

  "But......"

  There was no time to let him be in disarray.

  The battle had already started,
and sacrifices had already appeared.

  That couldn't be forgiven.

  And most importantly......

  "Felli......"

  (I just heard of Leerin's position from Elsmau-san, she's underground.)

  "Underground?"

  Speaking of which, he had heard before that there was a space underground that no one knew details about and that people were forbidden from entering.

  "Then......"

  (I believe that the person named 'Saya' is there.)

  The person who held the key to this battle was there.

  "Regardless of who she wants to encounter, that thing will be an obstacle." [11]

  Moreover, if she could defeat Lævateinn, then it could directly affect the outcome of the battle.

  It was definitely like that.

  (Do you feel scared?)

  "How could I."

  Layfon laughed wryly at Felli's merciless question.

  "If I got scared from this little even now, then what meaning would the hard work of mine have?"

  After he had lost the Heaven's Blade, in order to be able to fight, he had researched unique methods of refining Kei, battled Nina's great-grandfather, come to the abandoned city before this, and fought with the thing that looked exactly the same as Vati.

  "I got through everything to be able to come here."

  (That's true.)

  "If I turn back here, then how terrible would that be for Felli who accompanied me here the whole time?"

  (You don't need to think about those things.)

  "Eh?"

  (I myself decided to come here with you, so I'm saying that it's alright if you don't think about those things.)

  "Ah, sorry."

  (Nnn......)

  "Th......Thank you."

  (Good.)

  "Haha......"

  Though Layfon was carrying out a conversation with Felli, his eyes never moved from Lævateinn's body.

  The monster of thorns had already stopped digging. Lintence's steel threads had blocked the road ahead of it, and moreover had bound the movements of the giant creature.

  The shaking mass of thorns seemed hesitant over whether to dig forcefully like before.

  Lævateinn who stood there stared maliciously at Layfon.

  'Why are you here?'

  As if asking this.

  Not to say that her mouth moved, and not to say that her expression changed.

  He should have been in the abandoned city, but the area that Lævateinn wanted to ask about was not the fact that he was already here.

  No, however he thought, she wouldn't have any interest in that kind of problem.