by Akira Kareno
“What, you were watching? How embarrassing.”
“No need to play dumb about it. You certainly are exasperat— Oh—”
Willem suddenly lost consciousness. The strength in his knees evaporated, and he started toppling in the direction of the hole in the wall. Just as he was about to soar through the air after the Beast, Rhantolk grabbed him, wrapped her arms around him, and collapsed back onto (what used to be) the corridor floor.
“Sorry.” Willem’s consciousness came right back. “You seriously saved me there.”
“I certainly did. You should at least thank me. Can you stand?”
He checked himself. The answer was no—he had no strength left in his knees.
“Oh well. I suppose we’ll take a little break. I’m a little tired, too, anyway,” Rhantolk said as she straightened her posture.
She snuggled up to him, practically cradling his head in her bosom.
“H-hey!”
He was at a loss. Compared to Nephren, who always snuggled up to him in a similar fashion, Rhantolk’s physique was just a little more on the— “I hope you’re not having naughty thoughts.” Quit reading my mind.
“Ha. You think I get excited over every kid I see?” He snorted, his question also acting as a means to convince himself.
“I see. I won’t pursue the question of whether you actually mean that or if it’s the result of self-control, but I appreciate it either way,” she said as though seeing through his schemes, and she tightened her arms around him.
His ear was pressed hard against her slight chest. He could hear the sound of her heartbeat clear as day.
“…Your pulse is all over the place.”
“I wasn’t as reckless as you, but I did push myself a little too much earlier.”
Venenum used the heart’s power to spark. The reaction to such ferocity immediately manifested itself as an agitated heartbeat and blood flow. There was no questioning that this kind of intense arrhythmia was the result of the constant burning of venenum for battle without any regard for the future.
“You wouldn’t happen to be able to use that odd technique of yours to fix it now, would you?”
No. Willem, who’d only really dabbled in it on the battlefield before, couldn’t pull off dazzling feats like directly curing abnormalities in the heart with his treatment technique. He shook his head.
“You’re more useless than I thought.”
“…Than you thought? That means you were expecting more of me, huh?”
“Not at a—” She cut herself off to think for a moment. “…Actually, perhaps I was. I don’t consider you trustworthy or reliable, but somewhere deep down, I was expecting something from you.”
She sounded like a lizard he knew once. That didn’t make him happy.
“Do you know how the battle’s going? How are Nopht and Nephren doing?”
“I don’t know exactly how many enemies there were, but there must be about ten or so left. I saw Nopht a little while ago from far away, and she seemed fine, but she was pushing herself as hard as I had been. I haven’t seen Nephren yet, but she must be fighting down near the cargo hold.”
“Okay.”
He thought for a moment. The battle was clearly going poorly. The faeries were powerful, and there was no way they would fall behind in a one-on-one with these little grain-like Beasts. But the faeries were outnumbered and couldn’t catch breaks when they wanted, so the longer the battle went on, the more at a disadvantage they would be.
“…I guess I—”
“Overruled.”
The words he began to murmur were immediately stamped out.
“I haven’t said anything yet.”
“You looked like you were about to say something utterly nonsensical. I know what you’re thinking. Since this isn’t a situation where opening the gates to the faerie homeland won’t solve anything, you would sacrifice yourself, become stone, and solve everything nicely. That way, there would be the least amount of losses—that’s what you were thinking, wasn’t it?”
I thought I told you not to read my mind.
“If not, then that wouldn’t explain that big, happy grin on your face.”
…
Oh. Guess that’s the kind of face I was making.
“But for you, wouldn’t it be a bit of a relief without me around?”
“I won’t deny that. But I am not very fond of the thought of someone using their friends as an excuse to commit suicide.”
Chtholly wasn’t waking up. Willem was trying to throw himself into a desperate fight. It seemed that these two things were pretty obviously connected, even when viewed from the outside.
“Yeah, guess you’re right.”
He placed the palm of his hand on Rhantolk’s head as she sat propping herself up. A disgusted look crossed her face, and she swatted him away. Well, of course she would.
“The number of enemies is dwindling. You should take a little rest. I’m gonna go check on the hold.”
“Is that an order?”
“Take it as you like,” Willem responded and ran off.
The clock’s hands pointed to six and fifty-one.
“Gah!!”
With a powerful blow, Nopht went flying. She ricocheted off the walls and ceiling as she ripped pipes from their fixtures, rolled all the way to the end of the corridor, then finally stopped.
“Ngh…”
She’d just barely managed to give herself protection with her magic. She didn’t have any obvious wounds on her. But the impact left her right arm numb, and she could no longer move it.
“Ah-ha…ha-ha. Man, this is pretty bad.”
She fixed her gaze on the Beast as it slowly approached, standing with shaky legs.
Keeping one’s venenum constantly activated without any breaks was almost like running at full speed for the same amount of time. So the time Nopht was being forced straight into one battle after another was pushing her very close and very quickly to her limit.
But it was worth it. The number of enemies was waning. It wouldn’t be very long before this grueling battle would be over. They would make it be over.
It would be done, and they would win—then what would happen?
The clock’s hands pointed to six and fifty-ni—
A large hole opened up through the layers of steel plating plastered on the wall of the ship’s hull.
The ship reeled.
The clock slipped from the wall. With a small crack, the clock face split.
The broken clock would never count the hours again.
Anyone would immediately be able to tell that Nephren’s movements were slowing.
All the noncombatant personnel—basically, everyone besides the faeries—were taking shelter in the hold. The Beasts were gathering one after another to kill them. She was going to stop them and chase them away.
Her battle was one of endurance, staying in one place.
All elements of the location were working against her. Small-framed Nephren had very little stamina, and she never had the experience of maintaining concentration in a battle of one-on-many for an extended period of time. Since the main playing field ended up being in an enclosed space, she couldn’t use her small frame or wings for mobility. Her sword, Insania, was large and heavy, but regardless, it was still inferior to the reach that the Beasts’ tentacles had. Whenever she went to take her enemy’s life, all she could do was slowly grind away at her own strength and concentration as she threw herself at it.
As time passed, the vitality in Nephren’s actions dwindled, and the Beasts’ numbers and drive grew. The line of battle had regressed, and they were now pushed back almost to the center of the hold. Then—
“If ya can’t fly, you better grab on to somethin’ quick—!”
Glick yelled over the announcement system from the control room, and as he pulled down several position-control tubes, he cut off the steering wheel. Being forced into an impossible action, the body of the ship gave a shrill cry. The bow of th
e ship tilted upward. The stern drooped downward.
All the Timere that had gathered in the hold in pursuit of living creatures silently slid down across the floor. In time with their movements, Nephren smashed out the large service door in the hold with her sword. All the things stuffed inside—rations for the trip home and spoils from the surface—flew out into space one after the other. The Beasts each transformed their tentacles and tried to cling onto the floor and walls, but the falling boxes pushed them out, and they, too, began falling to the ground.
One split its body into two as it fell. One half became a spring, and the other half made a huge leap off it. Its claw extended, about to grab onto Nephren, who lost balance.
“No way!”
One of the crew members threw a barrel of oil that had caught onto one of the beams. It was probably meant to be nothing more than a feint, but it luckily made a direct hit on the Beast, splattering a low-viscosity cooking oil everywhere. The claw was about to pierce Nephren’s stomach, but it missed its mark and ended up only hitting the back of her head lightly. The Beast transformed its tentacles into that of a thorny crustacean and tried to cling to the floor. But it was slick with oil, and the Beast couldn’t support its own weight. Soon, that Beast, too, joined its brethren and was flung out into the open sky. All the crew members cheered.
“You did it, little missy!”
Someone sent a cheer of appreciation Nephren’s way. At that moment—
Slip.
Nephren’s body began to slide across the tilted floor.
She had breached her limits. She had been fighting on willpower alone. The last blow she received from the Beast and the relief that she’d successfully kept the hold safe for now was enough to snip the last thread of her willpower.
“No!!”
Several crew members raised their voices in a cry. Some of them crawled along the floor to get closer, but Nephren gazed up at them with a hazy look.
“…Stay…away.”
Her body was burning. But, at the same time, cold as ice.
She’d burned up too much of her venenum. She’d overused the power, born from turning her back to her life and taking a step closer to death without thinking about what would come after. And so, there was only one destination waiting for her after this.
Overdrive. Then, the rampaging waves of energy would blow away anything and everything around it. It was an overwhelming yet absolute display of power, strong enough to easily render even the largest of Timere to nothing.
“Just wait, I’ll be right there!”
A frogger crew member plastered his fingers against the floor, moving slowly toward her.
She couldn’t let this happen. She couldn’t let them save her. It was that thought alone that put her body into motion.
“What are you doing?!”
She lightly pushed off from the floor.
Nephren jumped into the wide-open sky that connected them to the ground—and fell.
From the corner of his eye and beyond the rip in the outer wall, Willem saw an unconscious Nephren falling.
“Wha…?”
His mind went blank. In the next moment, he was already flying through the roaring, whirling wind.
His eyes were screaming in pain, but he forced them open and followed Nephren’s figure. She was falling backward, Insania no longer in her hands, unable to make any movement of her own.
Then, her surroundings. The Beasts that must’ve fallen from the ship before Nephren were awkwardly trying to ride the wind to get closer to her.
This isn’t funny.
With that one thought, he decided to give up on everything.
He used the Nightingale Sweep. He kicked off the air and flew to Insania’s hilt. He activated his venenum. He clenched his jaw to ignore the shocks of pain that ran all throughout his body as he tried to wake the Carillon through its hilt. He couldn’t. Willem Kmetsch didn’t have the skill to use high-level Carillon.
That didn’t discourage him. Because he’d known that from the very beginning.
Fighting against the ferocity of the storm-like wind resistance, he reached up with his left hand to the center of the blade.
“Initialize…adjustment…!!”
Insania’s blade split into pieces. The cracks widened, and light filled the gaps between them.
In its splintered state, Willem reached out to the crystal fragment that made up Insania’s core and forcefully pulled it toward him. The veins of enchantment ripped and frayed. The spinal root was no longer able to circulate the power, and it began to heat up, unable to stand against the pressure inside it.
The Carillon Insania was already gone. All that remained was a raging clump of power that once used to be a Carillon.
“Leave her—”
There were thirteen Beasts in total after Nephren.
And in a few more seconds, they would impact with the ground and die.
“—the hell…alone…!!”
He performed a second Nightingale Sweep, then the draconic festering. He let loose a monstrous roar and attacked the horde of Beasts.
4. The Happiest Girl in the World
By the time she realized it, the girl stood in a dark ruin.
Before her stood a child, one she felt like she’d seen somewhere before, tears welling in her eyes.
—What’s wrong, Elq?
The girl’s memory was hazy, but she somehow remembered the child’s name.
Did you have a bad dream?
Elq’s body shivered.
“…Chtholly…”
Elq looked up at the girl and murmured someone’s name. Whose name was it? It sounded familiar. She thought for a moment.
Ah, right. That was “my” name. The girl accepted the name, feeling as though she was seeing an old friend for the first time in a long time. Now that she was hearing it again, it was a weird name. It was hard to remember, hard to say, and not very cute.
“I’m sorry.”
Why are you apologizing?
“I knew this would happen. I knew there were so many bad things.”
Now that I think about it, that’s right. It’s okay.
Actually, I should thank you. It’s thanks to you, thanks to how you closed your eyes for me, that I could keep my promises. I could go home to where I wanted.
It seems like I lost a lot along the way, though.
“…Chtholly?”
I do have one request.
But this is probably my last.
“But…”
I can’t really remember the details, but there’s someone I want to help.
There are feelings I want to express. So please.
“No matter what?”
No matter what.
“You won’t come back this time, Chtholly.”
I’m almost completely gone anyway.
And—I finally understand. Was that what “I” really was in the first place?
Is that the real reason why Seniorious chose me?
“…”
I understand everything. That is why I’m asking you.
Please— Just one last time. Let me go back.
She slowly pushed herself up.
The girl with long red hair got up from bed.
“Umm…”
Where was she? Who was she?
As though her mind were enshrouded in mist—no, completely covered in mud—she couldn’t remember a thing.
There was a deep vibrating sound, and the world shook. She could hear the loud sounds of metal clashing against metal from far away. She thought absently to herself—this must be some kind of battlefield.
She found the door and wandered out of the room. She came to a cramped and narrow corridor.
She walked around the area without any particular destination. She finally came across a spot with a strangely nice view. Most of the wall had been pulled off, and outside she could see a wide blue sky as the sun set.
The deep cerulean changed to a light purple, slowly being taken ove
r by red.
“Chtholly…?”
There was a groaning voice, and she turned around.
A girl was collapsed in the dingy corridor, her arms and legs splayed out in all directions. Her entire body was injured so badly she couldn’t move, despite how extremely agitated her venenum seemed.
“You idiot, it’s dangerous out here… Now that you’re awake, you needa go hide somewhere.”
Is she an acquaintance? she thought.
It sounded like this girl knew who she was. But she couldn’t remember who the girl was at all. That piece of her heart had already vanished.
But there were more important things to think about. The sky spread wide before her on the other side of the large hole in the wall.
There she saw a silhouette, one that seemed on the verge of disappearing.
“Ah—”
She remembered. It was him. She couldn’t recall his name, but he must have been someone so important to her.
It was just a hunch, but she had the feeling that he was the type to load unnecessary burden onto himself. But still, even so, why was he out there in a free fall? She had a feeling he wasn’t the type of creature that had wings, so if he hit the ground with that much force, he would die.
“I suppose I’ve got no choice, do I?”
She stepped over the wrecked wall and jumped off, too—but not yet. There was a nice-looking sword on the ground next to her, and she picked it up. Its name was engraved on the hilt: Desperatio. Interesting— “Severed Hope” was the bluff in its name.
“No, don’t go,” the collapsed girl moaned. “Don’t fight anymore. Don’t end up a casualty here. We’ll fight your share of the battle. That’s why”—she paused to give a loud cough, perhaps from the lung damage—“if you don’t have to fight, then don’t. If you can find happiness, then be happy. None of us would accept it if you didn’t.” The girl’s wandering gaze finally fixed on her, and she begged her. Her consciousness was probably hazy because of the overuse of venenum.