novelVolume 1, Stage 02 - The Rabbit is Alice's Guide (1)
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Volume 1, Stage 02: The Rabbit is Alice's Guide (1)
"Milady."
"Yes, let's get started."
(Stage 02 Open 04/15 00:30)
The Rabbit is Alice's Guide
Government Award 930, Golden Luxury.
Her real name was Azalea Magentarain. The girl seemed too delicate even for her young age of fourteen. She had smooth white skin, transparently blue eyes, and extremely long reddish blonde hair. Her ringlet curls were long enough to reach her waist.
She wore what looked like a business suit with a tight skirt, but it also had frills and lace in places. It was of course custom made. She would never be allowed to touch a premade product that could have been soaked with any number of strange chemicals.
She elegantly crossed her legs in the cargo space of a mid-sized vibration wing craft known as a Hornet.
A Hornet was an armored weapon meant for ground attacks and personnel transport in place of helicopters. It was fifteen meters long and it went without saying what its silicon shell was shaped to resemble. It was of course more than a hobby item. It used various deception weapons and its four rapidly vibrating wings created unique lifelike movements. It had achieved overwhelming results in tests, only being hit by one of fifty surface-to-air missiles and by zero of fifty air-to-air missiles.
Recently, Repliglass had been used for more than just military and construction purposes. A giant one hundred meter silicon core had been closed in a concrete box for a new type of power plant. It only consumed water and earth (or silicon waste like glass and silicone), so it was being touted as an environmentally friendly energy source. The lights decorating Toy Dream 35's night came from the massive energy produced by that Repliglass core.
Inside that cutting-edge weapon, the girl held several colorful disks two centimeters thick and ten centimeters in diameter.
They were reels of silk ribbon.
"What do you think? If I want high speeds and am expecting a long match, then I think it would be best to shift the Blood-Sign's center of gravity a little farther forward than normal and to make it a little thinner. I think #6 would be best."
Her dignified voice resembled a Buddhist monk's bell used to drive out impurities and its loveliness overwrote the surrounding atmosphere.
A single person was listening.
Due to its lifelike movements, the Hornet shook quite a bit, yet the old man in a suit stood perfectly straight.
He was her vessel and his name was Fractal Leskins.
Normally, vessels wore handcuffs, a collar, or other tools that bound them in order to avoid summoning something "unnecessary" beyond what their summoner ordered of them, but this old man wore nothing of the sort. Or rather, his suit itself was the symbol of the servitude binding him. It had grown that way over many long years.
"If you wish to suppress his movements with a series of swift attacks, I would suggest the thick, short, and heavy #5. Or if you would prefer to attack from outside his field of vision by avoiding obstacles with a spin, then what about #12?"
"No, if I'm going up against him, it's going to be a frenetic battle from extreme close range. There will be no easy victory here. So don't you think it would be best to take the time to build up the ideal form?"
"Ha ha. My aging eyes are no match for your discerning vision. Then I suppose #6 would be best."
Azalea and Fractal could achieve a certain level of results in any environment, but they still had their preferences. They preferred a high speed battle in an urban environment. That was their territory.
The girl re-crossed her legs and did not even glance at the old man who respectfully lowered his head. This was nothing special. In Azalea Magentarain's life, this was no different from drinking water or breathing oxygen. She did not think much of it, but she would be in trouble without it. That was who he was to her.
"Freedom Award 902, Alice (with) Rabbit, is it?"
"We only have a report from the men down below, so it could be a fake, " said Azalea while grabbing the pink reel labelled #6."Still, it would be wise to be careful. And if it really is him, nothing could be better. It's been so long since I had a satisfying battle."
When using an Incense Grenade, summoners and vessels could not be seen by mechanical cameras and sensors. Precision GPS-guided bombs and cruise missiles could not be used for a surprise attack. That was why no unmanned devices were being used as the summoners' eyes and ears. They were forced to rely on hearsay from their subordinates and they had to assume their target could vanish from the monitor at any moment.
However, Government's infantry were not normal soldiers. They were all new summoners who had been late to acquire a vessel. A lot of them died before being promoted, but those that fought through a true battlefield without a vessel gained quite a bit of power. Those who knew fear and had conquered it were strong.
Tentatively deciding to trust the reports from those novices still going through their baptism of blood, Azalea brought the radio mic to her mouth.
She spoke to the Hornet's pilot.
"What is the hold up? When are we going to reach the location in the report?"
"Our ETA is ten minutes from now."
"Make it five. If you don't, the five units in Block R will be wiped out."
"B-but..."
She switched off the radio without waiting for the response and she spoke to the old man next to her.
"What is the meaning of this? I personally designed this Hornet and its speed and mobility are its selling points. Is it malfunctioning?"
"I am sorry to say it, but I believe they are worried that shaking the craft too much could harm you."
"Ridiculous, " spat out Azalea Magentarain.
The old man gently continued.
"Four groups of Government Elites from Award 501 to 780 were deployed. Don't you think they have enough pride to fulfill their roles?"
"You say that, but you don't actually think they can win, do you?"
Azalea and Fractal were not simply looking down on their subordinates. She had more going for her than being from a wealthy family and being a high Award summoner.
Quad Motors was the world's greatest defense contractor that supplied cutting-edge weaponry for all four branches of the American military. These two were deeply involved in the core of that corporation. They did not design tanks using the knowhow of the automobile industry. They designed them as weapons from the ground up.
Most of her family had intentionally left themselves at around Award 50 so they would not vanish from normal society while also properly perceiving summoners. High Award summoners like Azalea were an extreme exception for her family.
On top of that, her family was not technically an American power. Quad Motors had ruled the defense industry in place of the big names of the domestic automobile and aviation industries who had lost the ability to compete, but they were in fact a Trojan Horse sent by the Round Table, a European alliance of nobility, because they were unwilling to let those "newcomers" of the New World hold the position of the world police.
They were a family of unrepatriated golden birds of prey who had sharply honed military knowledge, development skills, and financial knowhow yet possessed the iron will needed to cast aside their position of nobility to secure American citizenship as immigrants, infiltrate the field of national defense, acquire political power, and achieve their goal.
For that reason, their opinions were surprisingly cold yet accurate.
"Award 501, Perfect Game. Award 590, Tricky AAA. Award 719, Diabolos. Award 780, Bloodbath Rhapsody....They're all useless. Especially 501. Is that supposed to be a joke? He probably only has a perfect record because he only ever finishes off the losers that another summoner let live. Can't he at least die here?"
"We will arrive in ten minutes, but the units deployed there will be wiped out. So what should we do?"
"Hand it over."
The old man immediately complied with the girl's brief instruction. That summed up just how long the two had known each other.
The butler held out a giant tube made of layered plastic. It was 130 centimeters long and the bottom surface was equipped with a cushion for the shoulder.
Azalea did not hesitate to rest it on her shoulder and Fractal forcefully slid open the cargo door on the Hornet's side.
A chilly night wind struck the girl's delicate body, but she did not even flinch. In fact, she gained a challenging look of fierce joy.
She stared at one point of the night scenery and spoke to the pilot over the radio.
"Sorry, but it looks like I will have to make up for everyone's incompetence."
The giant tube was in fact an 80mm grenade launcher.
And if a summoner was going to put all of her trust in a single projectile, it could only be one thing.
She rested the launcher on her shoulder and smoothly whispered under her breath.
"Oh, White Queen who guides us to victory in extraordinary battles, please save this fragile human soul."
In the courtyard of the Block R high school that Shiroyama Kyousuke attended on weekdays, everything looked like death to Meinokawa Higan.
Repliglass weapons were partially or entirely modeled on insects and other animals. They were the armored weapons of a new age and they had drawn a clear line between themselves and all previously existing weapons. Regenerative medicine was used to create all-purpose silicon cells which could be rearranged to form any kind of muscle, bone, nerves, blood vessels, internal organs, or sensory organs. Simply put, anyone wearing that armor took on the role of an intelligent beast that did not exist anywhere on earth.
And those weapons were commanded by four summoner-vessel pairs. Their summoning ceremony could summon life forms not of this world on a limited basis, so they could ignore even the laws of physics and in some cases achieve results not even a great Repliglass army could....Including incidents involving paranormal phenomena that traditional military might was helpless against.
And yet Meinokawa Higan heard a loud noise.
With his long Blood-Sign in hand, Shiroyama Kyousuke left her behind and took a large step toward the enemy.
The nearest summoner responded by throwing something like a can of coffee toward him. Needless to say, it was an Incense Grenade. At the same time, the Repliglass soldiers moved back. Once a battle between summoners began, normal bullets would be useless. Leaving the fight to the summoner was the standard tactic and that was how they distributed their duties here.
Finally, two summoners would wield the paranormal to fight.
But in that moment, Higan saw something unbelievable.
Freedom Award 902, Alice (with) Rabbit, held up his Blood-Sign like a baseball bat.
With a solid metallic clang, he swung the Blood-Sign and scored a homerun with the Incense Grenade. In just an instant, it vanished in the dark sea beyond the large high school campus.
And...
"Ah."
While watching the grenade disappear, the summoner seemed to belatedly realize what that meant.
When an Incense Grenade detonated, the summoner and vessel who had used it were carried to the center of the Artificial Sacred Ground.
"Bfgrfeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!???"
As if they were connected to a passenger jet by an elastic cord, the summoner and vessel became two stars in the night sky.
The boy ran further forward and spoke coolly.
"Award 501: defeated."
"You...!!"
The female summoner he turned to as his next target dropped an Incense Grenade at her feet. He could not hope for another homerun from this distance and he only had three to five seconds until it detonated.
But by that time, Shiroyama Kyousuke had already moved right up to his next target.
However, that target was not the female summoner.
He suddenly changed direction and moved right up to one of the bizarre Repliglass soldiers that had grasshopper-like legs added near the waist to help with jumping. The soldier was a sturdy armored weapon, but the carbine he held was a standard model. Kyousuke made a spear-like jab with the tip of his 180 cm stick to tear off the high-powered military light attached on the bottom.
At the same time, the counterattack began. The enemy selected the face out of the many vitals available and threw a frightening kick with its silicon leg. This rear leg held the strength needed to send the soldier himself flying ten to twenty meters or to crush a traditional armored truck like a steamed bun.
Shiroyama Kyousuke swung his upper body to avoid it by a hair's breadth.
A few of his own hairs flew through the air.
His entire body was noticeably emitting extreme tension.
His cheeks twitched as he moved his Blood-Sign. Swinging it down like a hammer would not harm the pilot soldier contained inside the silicon muscles and armor, but he was not foolish enough to think he could destroy that armored weapon like that.
He was targeting something else.
The carbine in the bizarre weapon's hand had been made as small as possible while completely ignoring the recoil of firing. The powerful military light that had been torn from the bottom used a honeycomb pattern of bright LEDs and it was meant to blind an opponent rather than provide illumination.
Kyousuke caught the rotating light on the tip of his Blood-Sign, pulled it back toward him, grabbed it, and switched it on.
"Oh, no..." muttered the female summoner preparing for battle with her Blood-Sign held up like a spear.
Incense Grenades are only effective when the target can be seen with the naked eye.
Despite the muffled explosion, no Artificial Sacred Ground appeared. The flashlight was as bright as a strobe light and it had blinded her. She could not summon a Material into her vessel like this.
That brief opening was all Kyousuke needed.
He threw aside the light and stuck a hand into his pocket. He pulled out a metal can as heavy as a can of hair spray: an Incense Grenade. He threw it to the side, but not to fight like normal. He was trying to break the female summoner's nose with the three hundred gram mass.
Caught off guard, she was unable to evade or defend.
After a metallic sound of impact, the blow hit her square in the face and she collapsed onto her back.
The grim reaper whispered his next statement.
"Award 719: defeated."
(Not good...)
Finally, the surrounding Repliglass soldiers changed their way of thinking.
(The normal distribution of duties won't work here. Leaving this to the summoners will only get us defeated!!)
They too would be his prey if they left this to the experts. Fortunately, this target had yet to use a summoning ceremony. Unless he activated the protective circle created from the Material's power, he was no different from any other human. Normal bullets would fill him with holes like normal.
Their expected victory had crumbled before their eyes, they had restrained their confusion, they had swapped out their way of thinking, and they had begun to take action. All in all, it had taken four seconds.
Everyone there accurately aimed their guns and pulled the trigger.
Those battlefield soldiers recovered and reacted with extraordinary speed.
However, they had forgotten something.
The projectile used to break the summoner's nose had not been a mere weight; it had been an Incense Grenade.
The slight explosion drowned out all else.
Gunfire rang from the Repliglass soldiers at almost the exact same moment as the Alice (with) Rabbit boy used his Blood-Sign to hit the white sphere - a White Thorn - in front of him.
The deluge of noise seemed to continue without end, but not even one of the bullets tore into Kyousuke's body.
He and Higan had been automatically taken to the location of the detonating Incense Grenade.
The Repliglass soldiers quickly corrected their aim, but it was too late.
The Rose pieces floating in the air were knocked about, a middle sound Petal was accurately sucked into a Spot, and Higan's body changed form with a sticky sound. She became a three meter mass of a translucent green sticky liquid. That Material contained the girl's body at its center.
At the cost of one middle sound, it was one of the weakest Materials, the Original Green (k).
But even if it was one of the weakest, a Material was still a Material. A protective circle that eliminated all attacks was immediately constructed around the summoner and that defended against the countless bullets.
And of course, at the same time...
"Higan! Take out the Repliglass soldiers!! They don't stand a chance now!!"
~Wow...~
Higan moved with her body transformed into a giant sticky Material.
With the roar reminiscent of sandbags being hit by a barrage of blows, the soldiers were easily swept away. Higan freely controlled the seven hundred liters of her body. Despite being liquid, each strike was as flexible as the human fist yet filled with an impact rivalling a car accident. She understood that she was the one doing this, but she started to lose her awareness of that fact.
~I always thought summoning ceremonies were about who could summon the more powerful Material with the more effective sound range... This Original series only costs one sound, so, um, I thought it was just a starting point with no real use. ~
She went on a rampage inside the Artificial Sacred Ground field where she could use her occult power to its fullest. As she accurately knocked the cutting-edge armored soldiers unconscious, she felt a strange feeling running through that body that was not hers.
~But I was wrong. He even knows, um, how to fight with the weakest Material. No, did this battle begin b-before even summoning the first Material!?~
Yes. That was right.
When Higan had been separated from Renge in that harbor region, Kyousuke had saved her from the Guard of Honor pursuers.
But he would not have had a vessel with him then. So how had he protected her from those members of a professional summoner's organization?
~Th-this must be...the answer. ~
He could get involved in the world of summoning ceremonies and yet return alive without summoning a single Material. He could return with at least a single person in his arms. And he did not have the muscular strength of some ferocious beast, he was not a kung fu master living deep in the mountains, and he was not using the world's greatest prototype weapon that a stranger had given him.
Then again, he was not the same as Lu Niang Lan who was feared as the Perfect Dragon. He was not an expert in slaughtering veteran summoners using only his own body and hidden weapons instead of Materials.
But when in a bind, he knew enough about this small field to put together a workable strategy on the fly that would let him fight without a Material.
It could be written off as a series of adlibs, but he did not bring about the optimum result by gambling. He simply had enough useful experience to instantly search for the relevant information in any given situation. He may have been physically using his arms and legs, but his true weapon was his intellect as a summoner.
That had been enough to save a girl from that hellish harbor, so he would not lose here.
Shiroyama Kyousuke could gain the upper hand against Guard of Honor with a handicap, so there was no way he would lose when he had Meinokawa Higan as his vessel and could use his full power.
"Higan, focus on weight more than speed! Repliglass is a mass of silicon muscle fibers, so they won't be able to move if you press down on them enough to snap them. You don't even need to knock them out. Destroy the outer shell and they'll be trapped in their own armor!!"
Shiroyama Kyousuke ran all across the Artificial Sacred Ground and Higan swung her giant Material body around based on his instructions. Repliglass soldiers were the main players of modern warfare and they were a symbol of fear for the guerillas and terrorists being wiped out around the world, but she easily swept them all away.
They were gone in no time at all. Things were progressing almost too smoothly.
She felt like she was watching an example video, so the victory did not feel like hers.
"Dammit!!!!"
Two summoners remained. Someone with devastatingly slow reaction speed quickly raised their Blood-Sign and struck a White Thorn. To Higan, the movement was slow, like someone moving underwater.
And Kyousuke did not just sit idly by.
He took a powerful step forward and charged toward the enemy summoner. By this point, Higan had caught on that even that step had a meaning. If he had only been swinging around his Blood-Sign randomly, he would have been shot up by the Repliglass soldiers before the Incense Grenade could detonate. His movements also had the psychological effect of creating a gap and throwing off one's timing.
If someone who could easily jump to either side instead charged straight toward the large truck driving their way, anyone watching would be briefly paralyzed with shock.
A baseball would sometimes slip between two infielders who could have easily caught it.
This was the same.
He seemed almost supernaturally skilled at binding the enemy's body with a stimulus that they could not fight with their rational mind.
He took a short breath, shot forward like a bullet, and literally collided with the enemy summoner.
Both of them were guarded by the protective circles powered by their Materials, so they did not actually come into contact.
With a solid sound of impact, Kyousuke's charge was obstructed at extreme close range. Both of their protective circles had decided allowing him in range would bring death.
But...
"Kh...!? Wh-what...? You're in the way..."
"You can't see the world behind me, can you? And when we're this close, you can't swing your 180 cm Blood-Sign like you want to. Isn't that right?"
A summoner could freely build up their Material by gaining an accurate understanding of the vast Artificial Sacred Ground and using their glowing White Thorns to knock the Petals of low, middle, high, and lowest sounds into the Spots. The pressure tactics that Shiroyama Kyousuke was using with his own body produced a simple yet devastating effect.
"B-but neither can...!"
The summoner trailed off as he finally noticed the sound of something whipping through the wind.
Kyousuke had reached both hands behind his back and spun his Blood-Sign like a baton.
With a top-class summoner's spatial awareness, one did not always need to rely on sight. He could manipulate his Blood-Sign behind his back to accomplish the exceedingly precise summoning ceremony.
The tip struck a White Thorn with enough frightening speed to sense the absolute confidence behind it.
With several hard sounds of reflection, it collided with several Petals and knocked them into Spots. The crimson trails of light and the dance of a broken song filled that small world.
He did not even bother to check on the result.
"........................................................................................................................................................................"
The poor summoner looked up at something with a blank look in his eyes.
A giant Material towered behind Shiroyama Kyousuke. The giant squid monster had gold eyes and ten thick chains that could probably squeeze a tank. It was the DEC Tentacle (nu - o - re - a - btv - ag - y).
The summoner currently had a human-sized Material with green eyes known as the Sharp Mermaid (nal - cb a - pl), but the difference in cost was too great and the matchup between sound range could not have been worse.
It would be killed in a single blow.
The Silhouette at the mermaid's core that contained the vessel's mind would be destroyed.
Unpleasant sweat poured from the summoner's body and the grim reaper's quiet voice slipped into his ears.
"Award 780: defeated."
The giant Hornet tore through the night sky that was filled with city lights.
The side cargo door was fully open and Azalea Magentarain had finally spotted her target with her "naked eye" through the optical sight of the 80mm grenade launcher on her shoulder.
He was a few kilometers away and he was only a tiny speck even through the multiple lenses.
"Freedom Award 902, Alice (with) Rabbit. Confirmed."
A school had become a battlefield.
She had expected it, but not even disastrous was enough to describe the situation. The four summoner groups had already been defeated and the soldiers wearing Repliglass equipment supplied by Quad Motors had been wiped out. And they had all been incapacitated without spilling a single drop of blood.
The girl felt a little faint at the fact that the enemy had showed mercy. She could feel the noble blood stirring inside her delicate body.
"Alice (with) Rabbit... Even if they were grunts, he has the nerve to mock their resolve to die if necessary!?"
"Milady, everything is prepared. You may begin at any time."
The elderly butler knew Azalea better than anyone and his words cooled her boiling head. No, perhaps it would be more accurate to say they lowered it from an intense burn to a calmer burn.
They did not particularly care who the master was and which one was in control.
The girl did not hesitate to pull the trigger on her company's own device.
With the deep sound of incendiary gas bursting out, a large explosive flew accurately to the courtyard of a high school in Block R.
According to their rules, when an Incense Grenade detonated, the summoner and vessel who had used it were carried to the center of the Artificial Sacred Ground.
Shiroyama Kyousuke had sensed that presence.
It was a stinging tension and a dense premonition of death that nearly left one unable to control their body. Yet it contradictorily stirred up the combat instincts that wanted to give in to that feeling. He had detected this great presence not with his five senses, but with a sixth sense only held by those who had spent a long time on the battlefield.
That was why he ran across the courtyard at full speed.
He ran to the edge of the three hundred meter Artificial Sacred Ground and he immediately gave his instructions.
"Higan!! Destroy the ground! Hurry!!"
~Eh? Eh!?~
"Don't question it!!"
The time loss may not have added up to a full second, but it was enough for Kyousuke to lose sight of his victory. The odds were dragged down to 50/50.
Finally, the DEC Tentacle's thick chains swung down with tremendous force and smashed half the artificial ground - the courtyard that included one end of the square campus - like it was made of tofu.
They were currently in the chain state that began after defeating a target.
They had the special privilege of free movement during that time and they used it to fall straight down. This was Toy Dream 35, the giant amusement park city located over the ocean. The ground had been intentionally flooded and the transportation network had bene built up above using several layers of giant bridges.
So what was it that awaited them down below?
In the frustrating but short time needed for the arrival and detonation of the fired Incense Grenade, Azalea Magentarain saw the truth through the lenses of the optical sight.
"Below them is...a reverse bungee!? Honestly, this is the problem with entertainment for the masses!!"
A reverse bungee was the opposite of a bungee jump in that it launched people upwards. A seat was fixed at the center of a thick piece of rubber that was attached on either end to a metal pole. It might be simpler to think of it as a giant slingshot with a seatbelt attached. The sides of the metal poles were engraved with the high school's name, so it may have actually been a school event. Anything was possible in this amusement park city.
Of course, it was blatantly obvious what would happen if it was used without the safety harness.
Azalea clenched her teeth as her Incense Grenade finally landed on the outer edge just short of the destroyed part of the ground. It immediately detonated.
(Make it. )
The user of an Incense Grenade was automatically taken to the center of the created Artificial Sacred Ground. If she could arrive on the scene before her target left, she could deal with the rest herself.
(Make it!!)
As soon as the distant Incense Grenade detonated, Azalea Magentarain and Fractal Leskins of the Golden Luxury team were launched from the aircraft with tremendous force. Rather than fall, they sliced through the air. They ignored gravity and air resistance while slipping between buildings like precision guided missiles.
Their shaken vision finally stabilized, but Azalea's brow wrinkled in displeasure.
Alice (with) Rabbit had been slightly faster.
He and his Material had fallen into the six-person party seat of the large reverse bungee. The DEC Tentacle's great weight caused the entire device to bend and one of its ten chains slithered out like a living creature to smash the safety hook. The great force built up in the thick rubber was released and they were launched diagonally upward. To provide a greater thrill, they shot toward the ocean which contained height differences thanks to the giant bridges on the lowest level.
They were not captured by Azalea's Artificial Sacred Ground.
At the same time, the giant squid Material was replaced by a girl in a shrine maiden outfit. Shiroyama Kyousuke had chosen to end his chain that could last up to ninety seconds, so their Artificial Sacred Ground vanished.
There was an obvious reason for that.
For only a brief instant, Alice (with) Rabbit and Golden Luxury passed by within a few centimeters of each other.
If he had let his Artificial Sacred Ground remain, Azalea would have been caught in his field and the battle would have continued. That was exactly what the girl wanted, but the boy refused.
"Curse you..."
Time seemed to stop and their eyes met.
There was a small but unmistakable smile in Shiroyama Kyousuke's eyes. His goal was not to win this battle; it was to retrieve Meinokawa Higan and escape.
Such a powerful foe was within arm's reach and yet the match would end before she could fight him.
However, this would not qualify as a draw. Given the situation, he was quitting while he was ahead.
How great was the humiliation and regret of being defeated without crossing swords even once?
The girl's noble blood boiled over.
"Curse yoooooooooooooooouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!!!!!"
Their intersection came to an end.
The speed of time returned to normal. Azalea Magentarain and her elderly butler slipped down to land on the edge of the school's smashed artificial ground while Shiroyama Kyousuke and Meinokawa Higan vanished into the dark sea far in the distance.
The girl's Blood-Sign was made of wrapped pink ribbons and she slammed it down at her feet. Fractal Leskins gave a respectful bow and made a suggestion.
"We have the Water Striders on the ocean surface and the Bottlenose Dolphins inside the ocean. If you order them to search for..."
"It's no use. Do you really think they would find anything?"
Azalea stared at the dark sea and spoke the words like she was spitting on the coward who had fled from her.
Having lost sight of her target, that golden bird of prey said one thing more.
"I know you're wandering around the hunting grounds, wild rabbit. You had better entertain me next time."
"Oh, dear. So that's why you're shivering from the cold, " said Lu Niang Lan of Illegal with a light of both exasperation and admiration in her blue eyes.
She stood behind the counter of a used goods store in the large Chinatown of Block C.
The store was dimly-lit, it smelled of sweet incense, and the walls and columns were red. It was so red that one had to wonder if buildings in China were really quite that red. That was hardly surprising given this Chinatown had not developed naturally. The entire Block had been constructed as a film set for the kung fu movies distributed by the Toy Dream Company. In other words, it was the unrealistic image of China that Westerners pictured in their heads.
Incidentally, those movies included one with a shirtless muscular protagonist chaining two shotguns together like nunchucks and swinging them around while shooting in every direction. That should give you a good idea of how unrealistic this Chinatown was.
"..."
"..."
Shiroyama Kyousuke and Meinokawa Higan were shivering with chilly water dripping from their hair.
After landing in the ocean near the school in Block R, they had boarded his cruiser home that he had secretly moored nearby. From there, they had used the canals to reach Block C. They had showered and changed clothes on the way, but that had not fully rid them of the chill that had soaked them to the bone.
They had come to this store for two reasons.
First, to stock up on equipment such as Incense Grenades. The contents of an Incense Grenade had to be delicately mixed for the specific summoner who would use it, so they could not use one stolen from an enemy. A summoner either made their own or relied on a specialist.
The second was to gather information.
"Your hair is wet, Kyousuke-chan, but why are your clothes the same as always?"
"I have several pairs of the same clothes."
"And why is Higan-chan wearing a maid outfit? And a miniskirt one at that."
"Because the only girl's clothing I had were the ones you forced on me when you were drunk a while back! Why did you even give a guy a miniskirt maid outfit!?"
Even if the cruiser was equipped for daily life, it did not have a washing machine or dryer. They would use too much water and power. Her wet shrine maiden outfit was soaking in a tub of water, but they needed to visit a laundromat before long. Otherwise, it would stiffen up from the seawater.
However, that revelation led the beauty in a modified China dress to lean over the counter.
"That was the only girl's clothing you had? Then! Does that mean what I think it means!?"
"What?"
"Holy Shrine Maiden Higan-chan isn't wearing anything under there!?"
"Tch!! I was doing my best not to think about that, so why did you have to be so blunt about it!?"
Anyone would have noticed at a glance, but Meinokawa Higan was blushing, holding down the maid outfit's miniskirt with one hand, and fidgeting her legs. Someone who did not know the situation would have assumed she needed to use the restroom.
"(Oh, Wh-White Queen. Give me the noble heart needed to endure this extreme humili-hyah! I-I bit my tongue...!!)"
The sexy oriental beauty seemed to overflow with energy when she saw the shrine maiden muttering under her breath again.
"Th-this is some high level stuff. You're this girl's only chance at survival, but not only do you order her to wear a maid outfit, you don't let her wear any underwear and then take her for a walk around Chinatown in the middle of the night. How high level can you get, Kyousuke-chan!?"
"Please stop smiling like that! Forcing her to wear my boxers would be pretty perverted too, wouldn't it!? I-I had no choice! What else was I supposed to do!?"
Meinokawa Higan could not get a word in as the other two argued.
Was this really the Alice (with) Rabbit who had ruled that battlefield not long before?
The difference was so great that she was not sure how to approach him from now on and she began panicking a little.
Lu Niang Lan must have seen through that because she grinned and asked Higan a question.
"Are you worried because you can't get a read on Kyousuke-chan's character?"
"Eh? Um..."
"The answer is that everything you see there is a part of him. Show him your cleavage and he'll grow flustered. Give him a teary upturned look and he'll do most anything you say. Remember that because it'll be on the test. And the clincher is 'Help..."
"Please stop telling her more than she needs to know!!"
Kyousuke loudly and quickly cut her off.
The modified China dress woman worked at cooling herself down and spoke to Higan again.
"Anyway, Higan-chan, don't worry. Based on what I've heard, there's nothing to worry about for the moment."
"Eh? Um, uh, what do you mean?"
"Now that you've teamed up with Kyousuke-chan, the two of you have been registered as the new Freedom Award 902, Alice (with) Rabbit. That means you're no longer the kind of wandering asset that Government sees as a threat."
"B-but, um, will they really accept it that easily?"
"Not normally, no. But while Illegal is legitimately their enemy, Government actually works with and hires summoners from Freedom....They could eventually kill Alice (with) Rabbit, but it's more efficient to tame you than to accept the many sacrifices it would take to defeat you. Government as a whole gains very little by forcing the two of you to fight. They're also indebted to a certain someone☆"
"Anyway, " added Shiroyama Kyousuke as if to urge caution."That's really only wishful thinking, so don't get too optimistic. That may be true of Government as a whole, but there's still a decent chance Golden Luxury will attack as an individual. After all, we picked a fight with her, threw sand in her face, and ran off....She's got to be pissed right now."
Higan let out a trembling groan.
That summoner was skilled enough for even Kyousuke to decide fleeing was the best plan. It scared her to have a monster like that know her name and face.
"A-and she specializes in the White Queen. That's the White Queen, isn't it?"
Her face had gone completely pale and Kyousuke sounded a little annoyed as he answered.
"Yes. It's that queen you love so much....And she doesn't just pray to her. She wields her power as a deadly weapon."
Higan's face only grew paler.
The noble being ruling her mind would now bare her fangs as an enemy. Merely imagining that scene was probably enough to nearly faint, but that was the world of summoners.
"The Unexplored-class are beyond all of the Regulation and Divine-class Materials and she stands at the peak of even the Unexplored-class... W-we even worship her as, um, our shrine's unofficial second god."
"Well, she is the most popular." Lu Niang Lan laughed while resting her elbow on the counter."Even in this store, the White Queen sculptures and plates sell the best. Government, Illegal, and Freedom each have a contract with one of the Three to receive their Awards, but in truth, all of them think the White Queen is the strongest."
"A-and we've made enemies of someone who summons her to fight?"
"In the world of summoning ceremonies, the lowest rookie and the most skilled expert have an equal chance of summoning any Material. You can't measure someone's strength based on what they can summon."
Kyousuke and Lu Niang Lan were both carefree.
Could experience really change someone that much?
"But now it looks like you can focus on the main issue here. Based on what you've said, this new organization called Guard of Honor attacked you and your twin sister, separating the two of you. You want to meet up with your missing sister before she's killed and the time limit would be...two days now that it's past midnight. That was your original goal, right?"
"Lu-san... Um, I'd heard Guard of Honor is a dangerous new organization that's been gathering a lot of strength in Illegal lately."
"Hmm. But I've never heard of them."
The altered China dress woman sounded indifferent. She felt no obligation just because she was also part of Illegal. The Russian mafia would feel no responsibility if a South American drug cocktail was being misused, so this was probably a similar way of looking at it. Illegal had their own issues to deal with.
"You twins got your information from Government, right? Can you really trust that? And..."
"And?"
"If this is an unregistered group using the Illegal name without permission...don't you think a legit Illegal member like me would be able to tell at a glance?"
Shiroyama Kyousuke could not believe his eyes.
This was due to a fifty-by-fifty centimeter cardboard box about fifteen centimeters tall. It was stuffed full of Incense Grenades just like an industrial box of drink cans.
"Lu-san, this is way too many. How am I supposed to carry all these!?"
"Divide the extras up between your cruiser and coin lockers. It'll be a pain coming back here every time you run out, won't it? More importantly, how about you replace your Blood-Sign's tip? You don't want to complain about poor maintenance if you're attacked without warning."
Lu Niang Lan messed with the laptop on the used goods store counter while recommending him all sorts of equipment. That included a short-bladed knife for handicraft work, fine waterproofed sandpaper, and instant glue.
Meinokawa Higan's eyes opened wide when she saw it all. They all looked like tools for home carpentry or summer projects, so she could not imagine how they could help in a summoning ceremony that could reach even the ancient gods.
"U-um, that..."
"Yes?"
Kyousuke pulled his Blood-Sign from his back, placed the knife blade a few centimeters from the front, and pressed down with his body weight. After a dull popping sound, the entire tip came off.
A piece of wood as soft as cork rolled along the floor. They were generally made from valuable sacred trees, but something of that level could be grown in a greenhouse if one knew how.
"That Repliglass Blood-Sign...i-it's for practice, n-not combat, right? Um, they use them in Government, don't they?"
"I think it's officially known as a Quad Motors Phosphorus. It's for beginners, so it doesn't have any outstanding features yet is still better than average overall. Adding my own customizations on top of it is the most effective method. Plus, a custom-made one using rare materials is a lot harder to replace if it gets damaged."
Kyousuke answered her while carving off the bits of the tip still stuck to the Blood-Sign. Then he used the instant glue to attach a new piece of wood. He traced the blade across the side of the Blood-Sign to get rid of the glue that oozed out and the wood that stuck out too far.
Just seeing his practiced motions was enough to give Higan the general idea that he had been doing this for a long time.
Then Lu Niang Lan spoke up while operating the laptop.
"Oh, there we go, there we go. Found it. This looks fishy to me."
"You found something, Lu-san?" asked Kyousuke while rounding off the surface of the newly-attached tip with the fine sandpaper.
The China dress beauty removed the laptop screen and held it out toward him. He took it and Higan peered in from the side.
"U-um, is this...an occult site?"
"It's a collection of urban legends, " said Lu Niang Lan."You can't take these things too lightly."
Higan did not seem to know how to respond and Kyousuke asked a question.
"Do you not use the internet much?"
"Well...my sister told me this is what, um, stole our god's place in the world."
Higan may not have been entirely wrong there.
"Isn't it more accurate to say people assumed gods could appear in or descend to our world whenever they wanted, but it turned out the conditions and locations were quite limited?"
Shiroyama Kyousuke and his fellow summoners used an Incense Grenade to create an Artificial Sacred Ground before performing the summoning ceremony. That implied the existence of natural sacred grounds that did not require the "artificial" clarifier.
They could be unexplored regions like deep valleys or thick rainforests and they could be temples, sanctuaries, or cathedrals designed by human hands. It had to be more than someplace hidden from human eyes where people were forbidden to enter. They had to naturally fill people with a desire to stay out. Someone could easily peek inside one if they could, but they would never think to do so. People would decide they would be happier not knowing if the alternative was exploring somewhere like that. It was in those places the gods would appear.
"Well, the internet is certainly convenient, but being too convenient can be a problem, " said Lu Niang Lan."You can easily search for satellite photos and you can freely explore 3D models of the pyramids. That'll have really limited the number of beds the gods like so much."
"Although if they're really one of the mystical locations spoken of in our field, people will avoid digitizing them or viewing that data even if they have the technical capabilities, " said Kyousuke."What really happened is we revealed just how few true sacred grounds there were in the first place."
"There are a fair number of partial ones, but in those, the exit gets clogged up and it turns into a haunted spot. Although if monsters like the Kuchisake-Onna show up, that gives us more work to do."
People no longer feared the darkness.
Or rather, they had forgotten the darkness existed.
That was a dry fact, but it meant they had no choice but to use whatever was available to them.
"Summoners and vessels aren't perceived properly by normal people and you can even trick cameras and sensors in some situations, " said the modified China dress beauty."But that will sometimes leave behind incomplete witness data."
Shiroyama Kyousuke scrolled through the page and saw a list of various rumors.
There was supposedly a giant server for an online casino below the amusement park and anyone would be able to add in some malware if they located it. There was supposedly a human trafficking organization walking boldly through the crowds by mixing in with the official costumed characters. Like that, most of the rumors were the standard fare.
But he frowned when he saw one of them.
~The Carnivore Girl~
In an accident at Block Z's zoo, a girl fell into the lion's cage. She died and the lion was shot by the zookeeper, but she continues to wander this world in search of the person who pushed her in so she can feed them to the lion's ghost."
"Um, isn't this talking about Aika? She generally holes up in her apartment, but she apparently goes out late at night to go for walks or bathe in the moonlight with that wild animal of hers."
"I really wish she would stop calling herself a shut-in when she can go to the convenience store on her own. But you understand now, don't you? Summoners and vessels aren't properly perceived by normal people, but they can't control how that perception shifts out of place. That's why partial information like that will pop up from time to time."
Lu Niang Lan tapped at one point on the screen and the text enlarged.
"But this is different. Someone's been spreading information for damage control. And on a pretty large scale. This is on the level of the Cyber Force's high-speed parallel servers."
"??? Um, uh, wh-what do you mean?"
The modified China dress beauty smiled and answered Meinokawa Higan's question.
"It means there's a rumor containing some kind of dangerous truth that warrants this. Not that just anyone could tell by looking at this screen☆"
Lu Niang Lan belonged to Illegal, which was (according to Government Middleman Aika) a collection of criminal organizations. That was why she could acquire anything one might need. And that included the software or specialized groups needed to accurately analyze the "flow of data" on the internet that could not be fully grasped even by a company worth billions of yen that managed both the advertisement and search business.
"When Illegal is manipulating stock prices or dabbling in the kind of land speculation that doesn't require any violence, then we'll purposefully spread rumors online like this. But this one has nothing to do with us. And yet it has a very Illegal smell to it. Guard of Honor might be doing something while making it look like our doing."
Shiroyama Kyousuke and Meinokawa Higan looked to the screen again and read the rumor in question.
~Terror of the Part-Time Empire~
Toy Dream 35 is a city of adults' hopes and children's dreams, but it is apparently putting a lot of effort into training its part-timers. If a part-timer treats a guest poorly and ruins the dream, their superiors will take them away. Recently, a black-haired girl in a shrine maiden outfit was seen being chased by men in work uniforms."
"U-um, is this, um..."
Higan grew flustered and Kyousuke spoke for her.
"This is a city of costumes, so the shrine maiden outfit alone isn't a sure thing. But since it matches your sister's description, I think it's worth pursuing."
"By the way, this rumor has been blocked three times in just the past few hours. That is, from eleven at night to one in the morning. Where the 'shrine maiden part-timer girl' appears has been all over the place, though."
"Wait. You mean...?"
"Yes, she's being seen more often. Almost as if she's purposefully making appearances."
"Hm, " said Kyousuke as he stopped to think for a moment.
He did not know what route she was using, but Meinokawa Renge had apparently safely escaped the harbor area and was traveling between blocks. She should have been able to hide if she had a secret route like that, but she was purposefully showing herself from time to time.
If Guard of Honor was trying to block the information, then the information on her location was reaching them each time she appeared.
Why would she do something so dangerous?
After some thought, Kyousuke looked over at Higan who was staring at the laptop screen.
"Eh? Eh? Um, do you need something?"
"No, " was all he said.
Meinokawa Renge was putting herself in danger to draw Guard of Honor's attention toward her and away from her sister Higan.
"Lu-san, I get that Meinokawa Renge is purposefully letting people see her, but is there a pattern to where and when she shows up? To put it more bluntly, where will she show up next?"
"Eight next morning in Block G."
"Eh? Wait... Um, how do you know that?"
"Well, I'll admit three data points is too little information to say for sure, but this city has twenty-six blocks from A to Z. If you convert the letters to number, compare them to her past appearances, and do a biiit of calculation, a simple pattern shows itself."
"Material is summoned by spelling out the name with the Blood-Sign... I guess that is a summoner-esque dying message."
Kyousuke tapped at the edge of the flat screen where the time and date were displayed.
"It would be difficult to get to the current point from here, so we'll just have to wait until eight in the morning."
"With that much time, the odds are good Guard of Honor will notice the pattern too."
"U-um, uh, what does that mean?"
Higan was almost in tears and Kyousuke gave a simple answer.
"It'll be a race to reach her first, like a game of beach flags."
They had the necessary equipment and they had some information to base their next move on.
Just as Shiroyama Kyousuke prepared to leave the store, Lu Niang Lan called out to him while leaning on the counter.
"Oh, right. Kyousuke-chan, why not take a side arm with you?"
"I think I'd be better off without one. It seems I'm Alice (with) Rabbit, after all."
With that quick response, he stepped out the door. Meinokawa Higan seemed puzzled by that exchange but started to follow Kyousuke while worrying about the short skirt of her maid outfit.
"That's fine. Higan-chan, take this just in case. Don't let Kyousuke-chan know, though."
She placed a military knife with a twenty centimeter blade on the counter. It was the kind with a jagged back often seen in movies. However, the grip was strange. It did not hold the blade equally on both sides. One side was longer.
"That's a trick knife that also works as a gun. It has two shots inside. When firing, align the tip with the center line of your target's body and press the button on the grip. But assume you can't hit from more than ten meters away. It's essentially a replacement for a blade that's fired by a spring."
"Eh? Eh? Wait, um...!?"
Higan was confused. She belonged to the world of the insane fights to the death known as summoning ceremonies, but the term "gun" filled her with an entirely different sense of rejection. It was strange, but a part of her still saw herself as existing within this country's laws.
Her mind subconsciously searched for an excuse to not take it.
"Um, uh, I thought normal weapons didn't work on a summoner inside the Material's protective circle."
"That's true. But let me tell you something that I've already accepted."
"?"
"Long ago, I killed a summoner with this. At the time, they were Government Award 1000."
That was enough to shock Higan.
Not only a summoner, but a Thousand Eater who held the greatest power of one of the three groups. Their affiliation would supposedly shift from this world to the other world and they would create new legends as a resident of the other side. Higan and her sister could never hope to defeat someone like that at their best, but this woman had killed them with nothing more than a modified handgun?
The modified China dress beauty laughed.
"To be blunt, I was forced to be their vessel. It was pretty awful. I really was living in a cage with a collar around my neck. I was sick of that life, so at the very, very end, I saw an opening, killed them, and ran off."
Lu Niang Lan belonged to Illegal.
According to Government, that was a collection of criminal organizations.
"That's why I don't believe in the assumption that only summoners can kill summoners. You'll find plenty of opportunities depending on the methods you're using. I may be an exception known as the Perfect Dragon, but that isn't something only I can do. It's best to be on your guard."
"..."
"Especially with high Award summoners like Kyousuke-kun, you'll often find yourself relying on him no matter what. So you take that. You aren't a customer or a guest anymore; you're half of Alice (with) Rabbit. You need to compensate for the things he can't do."
The woman gave a thin smile.
Meinokawa Higan thought she had a point, but her hand still wandered hesitantly through the air.
"And there's also the circumstances for tonight in particular. You might find yourself in need of some simple self-defense."
"?"
"Kyousuke-chan lives alone in a cruiser, but where do you think you're going to end up sleeping tonight? And with nothing underneath that miniskirt maid outfit, no less."
Higan grabbed the trick knife so quickly she nearly set it off right there.
Toy Dream 35 was a metropolis bordering the ocean. Its nightscape encroached on the dark sea as well as the land. This was due to the many ships. The small ones were boats meant to transport personnel and equipment or cruisers used as villas. The large ones were tankers and luxury cruise ships that could circumnavigate the globe.
One of the ships was especially large.
It was the Princess Azalea.
It was said the capacity of a CD had been decided because it could hold the entirety of one of Beethoven's symphonies, but something similar could be said about this cruise ship. The bridges of major port cities around the world - New York, Shanghai, Sydney, Copenhagen, Kobe, Singapore, etc. - had been modified so this ship could just barely pass through. It had begun operation ten years before to celebrate the high society debut of a single mysterious girl, but it was well known that even the water gates of the Panama Canal had been widened for the appearance of the ship.
That legend summed up the influence of the world-famous American defense contractor Quad Motors.
However...
"Milady, " said the gentle voice of an old butler.
Azalea Magentarain sat next to a convenience store trashcan munching on Whitefish Night's Fried Fish, a popular hot snack. With the exception of the character illustration on the cardboard packaging, there was no creativity whatsoever in the product. If the maids waiting back on the cruise ship had seen this, they might have fainted.
"If you are hungry, shouldn't we return to the ship?"
"No, thanks. Everyone's too strict there."
She tossed the cardboard packaging in the plastic bag and pulled out a cheap spring roll instead.
"Seventy-eight yen each and made with entirely unknown ingredients. No lengthy menu and no bragging chef. Ahh, now this is the ultimate thrill. I could never eat something like this back home."
"You are incorrigible, milady."
"Just to make sure, you are going to keep this a secret, aren't you? If my family found out about this, they'd punish me with a detailed medical examination that very day, " said Azalea as her small tongue licked up the grease on her thumb."Any word on Freedom Award 902?"
"I apologize. We are putting in every possible effort to gather information, but..."
"Well, yelling at you isn't going to make them appear."
Even the old butler's eyes sharpened when he saw Azalea's slender hand reach for the plastic bottle of soda sitting directly on the ground, but Azalea was clearly enjoying that reaction as she gulped down the drink.
"Rather than chasing after them, we should chase after what they want. I received a report on Meinokawa Higan when she was brought under Government's protection."
"It seems Guard of Honor is also taking action concerning them..."
"Then this is business as usual. Either way, a summoner can't reveal their true value without beginning a battle. As I defeat enemy after enemy after enemy after enemy after enemy, I'll come across Alice (with) Rabbit eventually."
She held the fizzing bottle up in front of her eyes and pictured an imaginary image inside the translucent liquid.
"Doesn't that seem like the first worthwhile target in a while?"
She desired a powerful target, but she gave no real thought to the target itself.
There was something else that excited her.
"The peak of the Unexplored-class...the White Queen. It's been so long since I came across a delicious target that won't be crushed before I can summon her."
Beyond the Regulation-class and Divine-class was the Unexplored-class.
A certain Material was said to be the most powerful of that class and thus her popularity approached the level of worship.
She was known as the White Queen.
As the summoners of Government, Illegal, and Freedom honed their skills to crush each other, they had ironically cast aside the Three at the peaks of the low, middle, and high sounds and instead named her the most powerful.
When it came down to it, a battle was not a one-on-one affair to Azalea.
It was a stage on which she alone would shine.
And the most wonderful performance of all was to dance with the beautiful White Queen.
That inhuman beauty would complete that one-night-only performance in a way that could never be captured by a painting or sculpture. That was Golden Luxury's reason for existing in this world.
"Really, that is your biggest bad habit."
"Call it the true essence of the summoning ceremony. It's obvious why our combat-focused techniques can summon the gods and the Unexplored-class beyond them: combat is beautiful enough to draw them to us. Isn't that right?"
That was why she spent so much money and used so many personnel and yet never left the conclusion to her subordinates. In a game of chess, she would have been the king, but she would charge right into the enemy lines.
It was all to stage the most beautiful battle.
No matter how much risk it entailed, she would choose to stand before an enemy powerful enough to rival her.
"I am truly, truly hoping you can last long enough for me to reach the White Queen, Alice (with) Rabbit."
The next morning arrived.
"................................................................................................................................................................................."
"Why aren't you sleeping? And after I let you have the bed, too."
Shiroyama Kyousuke had tried to get what sleep he could by placing the kitchen table's chairs next to each other. He asked his question while cracking his back, but Meinokawa Higan did not answer him.
She was filling her cupped hands with tap water and washing her face that still looked discouraged. On a cruiser, fresh water was fairly valuable. Basically, mineral water was pumped into a tank. Although there were reports saying Toy Dream 35's tap water taken from a Repliglass bacteria pool was of higher quality than commercial water bottles.
"Next up is our 'Trend Catcher!!' section where we discuss cutting-edge technology and the latest products. Today, we will be discussing the Logical Cables everyone has been talking about lately. Have any of you ever had trouble with your electric cords getting all tangled up at home? But prepare to be amazed! These Logical Cables will untangle themselves even if they're as tangled as an afro!!"
"But Tomcat-chan, aren't these made from Repliglass!? That was originally a military product, so surely it has to be expensive....Huh? It's this cheap???"
(Honestly, that stuff is showing up everywhere these days. )
Kyousuke listened to the cat costume and the female announcer (he could not remember her nickname) on the TV as he poured cereal and milk into two large bowls and prepared a salad from the ingredients in the fridge.
"We have at most two more days. After eating this, let's pursue that rumor about the 'part-time girl' that's probably your sister."
"R-right. We need to find her as soon as we can."
Higan clenched her small fists.
"And you need rice and miso soup for a proper breakfast."
"Yeah, well cereal and damp bread is all I've got."
"B-but I didn't expect a legendary summoner to, um, buy Tomcat-chan cereal."
"This is Toy Dream 35. Everything from toilet paper to molester-repellent spray is branded with some kind of character or another. It's harder to find something without an illustration on it."
| ← Ch. 004 | Ch. 006 → |