novelApproaching an Ending that No One Wants
| ← Ch.66 | Ch.68 → |
"A meteor large enough to destroy the empire?"
Yoshie had finished telepathically explaining the situation to Akuto.
He was having difficulty making sense of all the information and the situation only continued to grow more confusing.
The empire was losing to the Republic thanks to the Formless Power, Kento had interrupted just before Hiroshi defeated Kei, The One had stolen the Jewel Branch of Hourai, and now a meteor was approaching the empire.
It seemed searching for the cause of each of those incidents led back to a common mystery: an extra-universal God and the Formless Power.
"That meteor is just too convenient for the Republic, " said Akuto.
Yoshie trailed off, so Akuto finished for her.
"A product of the Formless Power."
That was what it meant for the meteor to be so convenient for the Republic. It would likely destroy the empire, but the Republic would likely escape destruction. If the meteor strike cooled the surface of the earth and caused a long winter, it might not last in the long run, though.
"It would not surprise me if the general populace called in this meteor, " agreed Marine.
"Then what do we do?" asked Akuto.
He had yet to fully eliminate his negative feelings.
"Calm down. This almost certainly goes along with what The One was saying. In which case, this may be his plan to destroy the world."
Marine turned toward Akuto, but Akuto shook his head.
"Even if it is, the Formless Power is the key, right? In that case, we should focus on stopping it."
The boy had a point, so Marine thought for a moment and then nodded.
"Then I will stop the fighting. I should be able to do that and it should restrain the use of the Formless Power at least for the moment."
"That would be wonderful, " said Akuto sarcastically.
"Try to improve your attitude. Will you be pursuing the Jewel Branch of Hourai?"
"Yes. If I can defeat The One and retrieve it, the Formless Power can be fully controlled."
"Then we could determine where that meteor came from and perhaps even stop it with the Formless Power."
Marine nodded.
"Then let's split up." Akuto turned toward Keena."Keena."
"Sure, " she agreed while sounding confused.
"What is it?" he asked upon noticing her behavior.
"Um...but..." she mumbled.
"But?"
"I-it's nothing. I'm just a little worried."
She shook her head.
"If something is bothering you, please tell me, " he said."There's something I need you to do."
"Eh?"
"Do you have something that would show us the way to the Robe of the Fire Rat that Etou-san was investigating?"
Keena gave an odd look, but it quickly changed to one of realization and she pulled out a pendant hanging from her neck. It was Peterhausen's fang. In this case, it could be called the Dragon Neck Jewel.
"I see. Come to think of it, there's a good chance The One is also after the Robe of the Fire Rat, " said Korone."And if he was not after the Dragon Neck Jewel, he likely knows where it is."
She then turned to Marine.
"We will pursue The One and acquire both the Jewel Branch of Hourai and the Robe of the Fire Rat."
"He probably wants to get those before us. Who knows what he wants to do with them, though."
Akuto and Marine exchanged a glance, but quickly parted ways.
"Okay, let's go."
Akuto took Keena's hand.
"Let us go as well."
Marine and Nonimora flew up into the sky.
asked Fujiko.
Akuto turned toward Keena, but she had a somehow blank look.
"Really, what's the matter?"
"Well... You're scary right now, A-chan. You aren't listening to what I say and I think what you're doing is somehow wrong."
"How is it wrong?"
"I don't know how to say it, but I feel like you're doing something wrong."
She tried to continue, but Peterhausen's fang suddenly began to glow. Just as it had before, a beam of light extended from it and indicated a point in the distance.
"That way."
Akuto narrowed his eyes in the direction of the light. He could not actually see it, but he was comparing it to the map information he received from his link with the Gods.
"That's even further than the Merlai village."
Fujiko reacted to that comment.
"Ahead of us?"
"I see. In that case, please do. And be careful."
Akuto sent the location to her.
In his current state, he could gather energy in the surrounding mana and move that mana and energy along with him, but he could not perform a magical transfer without a proper supply of mana and energy. In that case, Fujiko would indeed arrive ahead of him.
she assured.
"Let's hurry, " Akuto urged Keena.
"Sure..."
Keena hesitantly agreed.
"I will be going."
Fujiko turned toward Yoshie and Yuuko.
Yoshie nodded and replied.
"Be careful. The One is probably on his way there."
"Either way, it exists in an area where magic cannot be used. It will not be a problem."
She then flipped through a memo pad she used to take notes.
Two transfers from the black magician village would take her to the laboratory she had found the journal in. Another transfer from there and she would arrive at what seemed to be the Robe of the Fire Rat's location.
She had referred to that chain of transfer circles as the black magician's network and it seemed various laboratories had been located around the Merlai village.
"The problem is that we still do not know why the black magicians disappeared, " she muttered.
The current black magicians had merely fulfilled the role of sealing those places.
—So what happened to the originators of the black magicians and the people who created Akuto?
She thought about that while walking around the small building in the jungle. A special transfer circle had been placed there.
After the final transfer, she found herself near a small fortress.
Several entrances had been opened in a giant vertical cliff wall. It looked like either a fortress or castle and it appeared to have been created by modifying a natural cave.
"I can only think this was created as a shelter."
She approached the nearest opening and entered, but there was no illumination inside. She turned on the flashlight she had brought with her and the cold light showed a corridor with exposed earth.
She walked down the corridor that looked like something from a mine or bomb shelter. Further in, the path split apart like a labyrinth and she made her way towards the deepest area while taking notes.
Footsteps echoed through the dark corridor.
She suddenly stopped because she had heard more than just her own footsteps.
Silence enveloped the area, but once she began walking again, she once more heard someone else's footsteps.
"I'm being followed."
She drew her incantation gun. The magic bullets could not be used without mana, but she had loaded it with normal bullets. In other words, it was currently a normal handgun.
She continued carefully and passed by parts of the fortress much like those below Constant Magic Academy: barracks, armory, headquarters, etc.
The footsteps never grew any closer or farther.
Finally, she arrived at the metal door to what seemed to be the deepest room.
She placed a hand on the door, it opened to either side with a weighty noise, and the darkness within was exposed.
She pointed her light into the room and revealed a transparent case containing a black sheet shaped like a parabolic antenna.
"Is this it?" she muttered.
She approached the case and carefully observed the sheet under the light.
It reacted to the light by glittering a rainbow color, much like it had been covered in oil. She could instinctually tell it was still functioning despite being left alone for so long.
"Now then."
She turned around and shined her light back into the corridor.
Something cut by low to the ground.
It was a sluggish, four-legged creature. Namely, a dog with long fur.
"You are The One, aren't you?" she said.
"That's right, " replied the dog."As you probably know, I followed you."
"Why me?" she asked probingly.
"Because I intercepted your transmission. I had already arrived, so it was not difficult. After all, I too am after the Robe of the Fire Rat."
"I see."
She kept the incantation gun aimed squarely on him.
"Do you know what this is?"
"If I did not, I would not be after it."
"But it seems to be a pass to the world of the afterlife."
She tried to trick him into revealing more about his plan, but he evasively shook his head.
"Whatever the case, it is not something we have any need for."
"Based on what has happened so far, I assume only Akuto-sama or Keena would be able to use it."
"What a pain. I tried to say as little as possible, but it seems the information still managed to leak out. That's right. If you know that, I assume you also know why I am here."
"Do you plan to destroy it?"
"Of course I do. Since you understand, how about you move out of the way?"
"Do you really think I will after hearing that?"
She grinned.
"No, I don't. I simply hope to avoid unnecessary fighting if possible."
He sounded confident as he approached her.
"Do not move. Can't you see this?"
She indicated the incantation gun and The One nodded.
"I can. It's a gun, isn't it? How troublesome. The odds are low, but there is still a chance I will be shot."
"If you understand, then stay where you are."
The large dog with long fur did so.
"Just to be clear, I have stopped to give you a chance to rethink this. If you insist on a fight, you will almost certainly die."
He spoke as calmly and steadily as if he were reading off a list of facts, but she only sneered.
"Don't be ridiculous. You can't use magic here and I have a gun. Do you understand what that means?'
"I do. It is you who does not understand what it means to be unable to use magic."
"What?" she asked with a mocking smile.
But his attitude did not change.
"First, you have no assistance for your muscle strength. With magic, you subconsciously strengthen your muscles. At the moment, you will be unable to control the gun's recoil. You are unlikely to hit me."
"You're bluffing!" she shouted back.
However, his voice remained calm.
"Second, my body is currently that of a dog. You do not know how a dog fights. Its physical strength, claws, and teeth are all highly dangerous to a human. Even if you hit me with a single handgun bullet, I can still take you down with me."
"So what are you saying?"
She had started to tremble now.
"As I said before, move out of the way. Even the best possible result for you is to injure me at the cost of your life. In the worst case, you will die without accomplishing anything."
The One was very persuasive, but Fujiko still did not back down.
"I can't let that happen."
She held out her left hand and held the incantation gun in her right.
"That would be a decent stance for a normal dog. You sacrifice your left hand to a bite and then shoot through the head with the handgun. But that only works if the dog is of normal intelligence."
"I can still get a single shot in!"
She fired the incantation gun and the deafening gunshot reverberated throughout the cave.
However, nothing happened to The One. From Fujiko's perspective, he ran diagonally.
"Kh!"
She aimed the gun again, but her hand was still numb from the recoil and she had not realized targeting with a gun was so difficult.
And then...
"A gunshot? Etou-san? Was that you?"
Akuto's voice arrived from the distance.
"Akuto-sama!" she shouted.
"Tch. I need to hurry!"
The One barked and leaped.
Another gunshot rang out.
A gunshot.
Barking.
A scream.
Those sounds blurred together as Akuto ran.
The mana surrounding his body filled with energy, glowed, and supplied him with plenty of speed. There was no map of the cave, but he sent mana ahead of him so he did not get lost.
He turned a corner and would arrive at the site of the gunshot after two more corridors.
As he turned the first of those corners, the barking and screaming continued.
He turned the next corner and the scream vanished.
"Fujiko!"
For once, he shouted her given name.
The sight before him filled him with despair.
Fujiko was collapsed and The One stood atop her. Blood was flowing from between them.
The One turned around and his mouth was covered in blood.
"damn you!"
Akuto charged forward and The One ran forward while laughing.
"Ha ha ha! That girl did quite well! She successfully kept me from my objective! She just wouldn't die!"
Akuto could feel intense anger heating his body, but healing her came before pursuing The One.
He helped her up.
"I'll heal you."
He injected mana into her body and the tissue was healed from within.
"Please answer me. I'll heal you right away."
Her torn throat and the arteries in her arms and legs returned to normal. Akuto became covered in blood as he felt across her body healing every part of her.
But her consciousness did not return.
He had almost used up the mana and energy surrounding him.
"Wait. This isn't right. There shouldn't be a wound I can't heal."
He shook her body, but she remained completely limp.
He was left completely speechless and he could not grasp the situation.
Nevertheless, a sob escaped his throat and he placed her body on the ground.
—It can't be...
Junko had not died before his eyes, but this was different. Death itself bore down on him and its weight left him unable to move.
Even so, he had to find out why it was she had died.
He stepped through the door on unsteady legs and saw the Robe of the Fire Rat inside.
—It was for this...?
He stared blankly at it and, at least for the moment, was unable to view it as that valuable.
"What is this?" he muttered aloud.
Keena had caught up with him, but she merely stood in place without speaking.
He turned toward her and spoke once more.
"What is this? Where did we go wrong?"
"They need the resolve to bear the people's mistakes, " said Marine.
He had answered a question of Nonimora's while flying over the ocean.
"So that is what you view as the qualification for being a king."
Nonimora nodded but did not seem to agree.
"But that thinking may not bring an end to this conflict."
"Perhaps not, but I have a way of taking responsibility if it comes to that."
They could see Kei and Brave fighting ahead of them.
No, it was not just Kei and Brave. The situation had grown extremely complicated. Brave was fighting Kento who stood in his way, Kei and Kento were also fighting, and Kei was continuing to fight the Republic.
Marine and Nonimora immediately grasped how chaotic the situation was.
"Why are you protecting Kei now!?" shouted Brave.
"The situation has changed! I know what The One is after now! He's trying to return mankind to nothingness!"
Kento was desperately trying to persuade Brave to stop, but he also had to persuade someone else.
"This doesn't change the fact that you betrayed me! You used Brave to try to kill me!"
Kei had grown emotional.
Brave was trying to attack Kei, but Kento was blocking the way with his own body.
Kei was repeatedly attacking Kento while limiting himself to nonlethal damage.
Lastly, the Republic's warships were sending a stream of intense attacks toward Kei because they saw this as their chance.
"What is going on?"
Question marks filled Nonimora's head.
"I don't know, but this may be a good opportunity to stop the conflict."
Marine flew high into the sky and began calling out to the Republic's warships.
"Wise citizens of the Republic!"
The attacks from the warships ceased.
"Our objective was not the defeat of the empire, " he continued."We have already obtained the Formless Power, so we must find peace immediately!"
A voice from a warship answered him. A mana screen opened over the sea and displayed a beautiful girl with dark skin. She bore a resemblance to Marine.
She wore elegant clothing and she made large gestures with her hands as she shouted at her older brother.
"We must stop this conflict even if it means departing from that!" he shouted back.
The girl shook her head.
Her face was flushed and a hint of intoxication could be seen in her voice.
"Why can you not see that was a mistake!?" he shouted in irritation."We have done nothing more than bring death to innocent people!"
His sister's speech sounded like a perfectly reasonable argument to Marine. And even if it had not, it would certainly have rung true to the Republic's people.
His sister then continued to push him on.
—No, it isn't!
He wanted to yell that aloud and he did not think the people had overcome their personal interests to make a just decision, but pointing out that mistake and arguing his point would not lead to the proper result here.
"Then remain just through to the end! I will create enough time to see whether that is truly the just decision!"
He made up his mind and charged toward Kei.
Kei, Marine, Kento, and Brave began fighting a four-way battle in midair.
Kento looked surprised and created a mana field, but Marine easily broke through it.
Kei evaded Marine and fled higher into the sky.
Brave attempted to pursue, but Kento cut him off.
Kei fired a mana sphere and Marine deflected it.
Mana light, the light of the Formless Power, and the glow of Brave's nuclear power all formed lines in midair and those lines crashed into each other.
"Marine! Are you really okay with this!?" shouted Nonimora while staying out of the battle and watching on from midair.
"This is my resolve!" he answered."My people were mistaken, so I must bear that mistake!"
"This won't stop the war!"
"I know! But it will buy enough time to find a way to bring peace!"
That was Marine's idea.
Meanwhile...
"Did you hear?" asked Brave."Whatever the case may be, killing Kei will change this!"
"No! Distracting us was The One's plan!" shouted Kento."That meteor is what he's truly after! He sowed the seeds of chaos to decrease our means of opposing it!"
"That has nothing to do with defeating Kei! This is about your personal feelings!"
"I'm saying that killing him is meaningless!"
"You were the one who said he should be killed as long as he could not oppose The One!"
"Fighting The One is hopeless now!"
"Then why not shut down my suit!? Surely you can do that!"
"I can't because it would be a problem if you died."
"Are you going to have me fight the real demon king instead of Kei!? Why do you think you can make me do whatever you want!?"
Brave fired a laser warning shot toward Kento.
Kento felt a cold sweat as the laser flew right by him.
Also...
"You were trying to use me!?" shouted Kei."You are amazingly weak! You may be a genius, but you can't accomplish anything with that weak mind! That's the problem with you!"
He fired a mana sphere at Kento while rebuking him, but he restricted the power.
Even with the handicap of an injured arm, Kento was able to easily block it.
"And yet I've coordinated so much and taken action to save the world!"
"That isn't what I meant! Also, coordination and scheming aren't for the average person! The One outdid you in both of those things!"
Various desires spiraled and danced through the air. No progress was being made and Marine and Brave stood back to back in midair.
"Can I kill that man?" asked Marine.
Brave shook his head.
"He has the suit's controller. We have to get it away from him first."
"Understood. I will determine what the controller is and take it from him. You take care of the demon king while I handle him."
"Splitting up the work, huh? Got it."
Brave moved to the right and Marine to the left. They then approached Kei and Kento from either side.
"Oh, no."
Kento was more worried now because the two of them working together made a great difference. He began to panic.
He made up his mind and moved back to back with Kei.
"We need to work together as well."
"I suppose I have to agree..." Kei glared harshly at Kento."By the way, why don't you switch off Brave?"
"Because I still need him. I can't have him dying."
"You're still going to take use someone for your own ends?"
"That isn't what I mean!"
Kento shouted out, but he did not seem to know how to express his own feelings.
"Then switch off Brave right now! Are you saying it's okay if I die?"
"No!"
"Yes, you are. It's an issue of priorities! Switch him off and I can defeat Brave and the Republic's prince! But you won't!"
"Calm down! Let's work together to stop The One! He's trying to utterly destroy mankind using that meteor! So work with me and..."
"I can defeat that dog on my own! So..."
"You have an implant!"
"I know those can be removed! So..."
Kei trailed off as Brave and Marine attacked from either side.
He and Kento remained back to back as they rotated and ascended to evade.
"So!" continued Kei."Switch off Brave and say three simple words! Just say 'I love you'! Do that and everything will be resolved!"
"Kei!"
Kento was at a loss for words.
He had not spoken those words before. He knew better than anyone that Kei's motivations were nothing more than that and he had used that fact.
But could he truly say he loved Kei here?
"Stop, Kei! This isn't the time for that!"
"Of course this is the time! This comes down to choosing me or Brave!"
"Please wait."
Kento hesitated and Kei shouted angrily.
"Answer me! I won't wait longer than another three seconds!"
His intensity showed just how serious he was.
"Three."
But Kento's mouth would not open.
"Two."
His inability to make up his mind here may indeed have shown his weakness.
"One."
A low sound filled the air.
"Kei, " groaned Kento.
Kei's arm had stabbed deep into his chest.
"This is why you couldn't become anyone important."
Blood trailed down Kei's arm. He pulled his arm and Kento's body toward himself and kissed him on the lips.
Kento coughed up blood and Kei's mouth was dyed red.
Kei pulled out his blood-soaked arm, quickly pulled a small control device from the inner pocket of Kento's suit, and switched it off.
The Brave suit ceased to function.
Brave fell.
Kento fell.
"Farewell, " muttered Kei.
Marine accelerated toward Brave and Kento as they fell. He grabbed Kento in his arms and then ascended.
"...!"
Kei was shocked and that shock was Marine's intent.
Using Kento's corpse as a shield, he charged straight toward the boy.
"What are you doing!?" roared Kei.
He fired mana toward the corpse. He fired enough mana to instantly vaporize the corpse.
The corpse did indeed burst into dust and scatter beautifully into the wind.
Marine used that dust as a smokescreen and approached Kei.
Kei managed to evade at the last second, but Marine had not actually been targeting him.
"Oh, no!"
Brave's controller slipped from his hand because Marine had knocked it from his grasp.
Marine rotated around in midair and caught it.
"I don't like desecrating the dead, but I did so after noticing your obsession with beauty. You wouldn't be satisfied unless you gave him a beautiful death, would you?"
He switched on the controller and a light lit up in the ocean. After falling, Brave had regained his strength.
"damn you!"
Kei paled and randomly fired mana spheres at Marine, but Marine was powerful enough to match him. Or at least, he could block using mana.
"Waaaaaah!"
But Kei ignored that and continued attacking him.
He had no way left to oppose Marine and Brave who rose from the sea.
"It's time you regret that slaughter of yours!"
Brave approached in anti-demon king mode.
"I won't feel any regret even if I die!"
Kei raised both hands in a stance of resistance. Of course, the mana in those hands vanished as Brave approached, but he still did not try to escape.
"Are you ready, Kei!?"
Brave surrounded himself in high-temperature plasma balls.
"No, I'm not!" Kei spread his raised arms."But I'll fight and be defeated instead of doing something as ugly as running!"
He threw a slap toward Brave's face.
Naturally, the action was completely meaningless. His mana had vanished and his unassisted physical strength was below average.
Even so, it resounded heavily to Brave...to Hiroshi.
In that moment, a plasma ball instantly vaporized Kei's body.
He disappeared and not even dust remained.
"It almost feels like...he managed to escape in some way."
The plasma balls vanished and nothing remained in Brave's hands. Nothing but horribly still and cool air lay before him.
He turned toward cheers coming from behind.
The Republic's people were leaning out of the warships, clapping, and cheering.
Hearing that reminded Hiroshi of what he had just done.
He had led the Republic to victory.
What was right and what was wrong had not mattered. The fight would certainly continue toward the empire's destruction.
"All I did was defeat a mass murderer, " he muttered.
"It is not wrong to enter a fight without the proper resolve, but it will lead to fate toying with you."
Marine lined up next to Brave.
"There are also people and things in the empire that I want to protect."
"I will stop this conflict somehow or other, " said Marine."There must be a good way of making peace with the empire."
"I already explained this. A fight and a war are not the same thing."
Lily Shiraishi did not sound happy.
She was complaining to the three student council officers while preparing a flying ship in her home's yard.
The ship was a small one owned by her family and it was no larger than a small yacht. She was currently checking the fuel and other things in the engine room.
"But president, the empire is going to lose, gya, " said Kamiyama Kanna while watching a mana screen.
"What will happen if we lose, arinsu?"
"Guga."
Ootake Michie and Arnoul were concerned, but they sat in the flying ship's seats and did nothing. Their idle behavior irritated Lily, but she could not complain too much as she knew there was nothing they could do.
"I'm willing to head out for a fight, but there are times when you can't let yourself fight as a soldier."
"But there's nothing we can do if the empire loses, arinsu."
"I know that and that's why I'm preparing this ship during this dangerous time."
"You're heading out to war, gya?"
"No. We have some information from dealing with that dog and we've gotten more data from Kita Yoshie, so we can strike at a weakness."
"A weakness?"
"The Formless Power is likely stored in that ship to the star. In that case, we just have to cut off their access to that power."
She closed the engine box as she spoke.
"Now then. Let's head for the Merlai village."
She sat in the pilot's seat and had the flying ship take off.
Suddenly, Kanna spoke while watching her mana screen.
"President, this isn't good, gya!"
"It's a war, so of course it isn't good. Just calm down and don't panic. I have my hands full piloting."
Lily did not turn around as she spoke.
"Then I'll just play the sounds for you, gya!"
Kanna raised the mana screen's volume.
A great number of people were shouting.
Lily turned around once the ship ascended and stabilized.
"A protest!?"
The footage showed a crowd gathered around the palace and criticizing the government.
"It wasn't that long ago they were speaking out against the demon king. They sure are busy."
Lily's face twisted in displeasure.
"So what's so bad about this?" she asked Kanna.
"Don't you think a certain someone is likely to appear in response to all this, gya?"
"That idiot won't do that. He always does what he thinks is right rather than what the people want. Although that could be a problem if someone manipulates him using that fact."
"A problem?"
"If it were me, I'd try to have him face the Republic's prince. The proper bait is out there, so it'd be possible."
Lily grinned.
"Now that's the kind of cruelty I expect from you, gya."
Kanna smiled innocently and Lily extended an arm to slap her.
"Don't say things like that. If someone with as refreshing a personality as me can come up with that idea, there's no way a real bad guy wouldn't."
"Refreshing? Well, anyway, gya. I hope that doesn't happen, gya."
"Of course, but unfortunately, we have to predict the kind of endings that no one wants."
Lily felt as if she were speaking of a friend's misfortune.
| ← Ch. 66 | Ch. 68 → |