Chapter 09: 'The Resonance of the Shield or the Gritty Ensemble of Trust'
5 a.m. The time for the operation to begin.
What cuts through the silence of the Royal Magic Academy is only the sound of the cruel countdown ticking in my chest.
『88 days 07 hours 05 minutes』
The red light leaking from the pocket watch-type control device casts blood-like shadows on the dim walls of my room.
「……Aria. Just as in the preliminary simulation‚ your biological circuits are already showing signs of meltdown.」
Kotone‚ who had deployed the final analysis monitor in the air in my room‚ narrowed her eyes sharply behind her silver-rimmed glasses.
I raise my right hand. The golden highlights mixed in my deep navy blue hair glow eerily under the red light of the control device.
But what is even more unusual is my fingertips.
They have abandoned human skin color and are white and translucent like glasswork sunk at the bottom of a winter ice cave.
The overload (overkill) forced in the fourth training ground the other day—the 'Absolute Zero Combustion' that fueled Iris's life—is still gnawing at the neural network like frostbite.
The terrifying residual chill of death from the 'White Singularity' that will eventually activate in earnest.
「……I reject the stop command. This is the optimized 'tempo' to maintain her time.」
「If you're aware and shaving away your soul (hardware)‚ I won't say any more. Prove that 0.03% bug I discovered perfectly with those white fingertips of yours.」
The moment I was about to nod to Kotone's cold cheer‚ my vision was blocked by violent steam.
「Here‚ final boost before departure!
The limit-break version where I raised the salt concentration to the lethal limit after staying up all night!
Before your brain freezes‚ I'll wake you up directly from your stomach!」
An insulated thermos emitting a strong 'miso' aroma. It's Rinne.
She forcibly poured the now-muddy 'high-viscosity black hole' into a cup to the brim and jammed it into my mouth.
「……High-concentration sodium is forcibly sparking neurotransmitters. It's hacking the pain sensation.」
「Never mind the logic!
Being alive is all about that 'saltiness'!」
Her warm fingers pressing the hot cup against me touch my frozen hands.
The raw human body heat transmitted from there forcibly pulls my frozen thought circuits back to the gritty reality.
「Haha! Good spirit‚ Aria!
My latissimus dorsi muscles are also roaring in soul (muscle) with that dark matter aroma!」
「……Are the olfactory organs dependent on muscles? Illogical.
……Liam‚ the deployment of the vanguard's physical barrier is」
「Perfect‚ Lady Aria!
In the underground darkness‚ let's open the path with the light bounced by my shield!」
Liam‚ carrying the huge 'bell shield' on his back‚ and Cross‚ shouldering a greatsword‚ nod powerfully.
We silently slip out of the room and begin moving through the long midnight corridors‚ melting into the shadows.
The sealed hidden staircase leading to the old-style magic testing ground.
In the depths of the darkness‚ there was a presence as if someone was "waiting" for this discord.
The cold stagnant ozone smell and the presence of high-concentration residue caress my cheek.
The faint scent of five-fold miso drifting from Rinne's back‚ who walks ahead‚ connects my translucent fingertips‚ about to fall into absolute zero combustion‚ to the thin thread of the real world (real).
「……We're here. From here on is the entrance to the 'disposal area (trash can)' that Lady Reina abandoned.」
With Kotone's whisper‚ the heavy metal door slowly opens with a discordant sound.
「……This air‚ my lungs feel like they're freezing.」
Kotone shuddered her shoulders and adjusted the collar of her lab coat.
Her fingers operate the magic terminal to hide the trembling‚ projecting a pale blue 3D map into the darkness.
「Lady Aria‚ the path is open! …But this is」
Liam‚ who was ahead‚ stopped with his huge shield at the ready.
Ahead in his gaze‚ ancient magic circuits‚ which should be processed as 'error' in modern magic theory‚ are tangled disorderly like discarded iron scraps‚ blinking red-black‚ densely filling the entire wall in layers.
「……Ancient defense mechanisms. If you try to unlock with correct logic‚ it will reverse-trace our spell and set up a fatal overload.」
Kotone pushes up her glasses and states the despairing predicted value.
「Then‚ we'll pry it open with 'mass' not logic!
My soul (my soul)… take it!!」
Cross draws his silver claymore and kicks the ground.
A warrior's rough vitality with no room for muscle jokes.
A theory-ignoring physical shockwave—'soul wave' literally "punches" the delicate magic circuits.
「G-Gigigi…!?」
The ancient spell itself creaks into an ear-piercing 'discord (noise)' due to the unexpected physical mass.
But the defense system immediately responds by spitting out errors‚ and countless high-voltage lightning strikes rush toward Cross.
「Cross‚ back! Liam!」
「Roger!
With my 'bell'‚ I'll reflect all the noise!!」
Liam slams the shield into the ground.
GOOOOOOON!!
The heavy bell sound becomes a physical shockwave‚ forcibly canceling the waveform of the lightning.
「……Ah. Rebuild. This incomplete old circuit.」
I begin to tap a dry rhythm (rhythm) 'ton ton' in the air with the white fingertips of my right hand.
No chant‚ multiple deployment.
With abnormal concentration brought by whitening nerves‚ I forcibly stitch together the holes in the missing theory.
「……System override. Shortest route secured…」
My voice had lost temperature to the point where even I was surprised‚ taking on a cold mechanical tone.
The moment my vision was about to be repainted with golden sheet music.
From the depths of the ancient circuit‚ a huge defense noise far surpassing my calculations surged back as a muddy torrent.
The golden sheet music tied to my vision is cruelly shattered by intense discord.
「——This density…! The computer (logic) is screaming!」
With Kotone's cry‚ the pale analysis monitor scatters violent sparks.
Approaching from the depths of the testing ground are countless magic chains spat out by the ancient defense mechanism.
It has physical mass and is a violent torrent of discord that directly burns out the magic circuits of those it touches.
「Aria! I can't endure any more! The chains are coming to bind the soul directly!!」
Cross sweeps the chains with his silver claymore‚ but eerie noise scatters 'gray' sparks on his steel-like arms.
「Cross‚ don't push back with force!
I want to say match the waveform… but my 'rhythm (ton ton)' is being painted over by external noise…!」
I grit my teeth.
At the edge of my vision‚ I see the red remaining life counter decreasing at abnormal speed.
『88 days 06 hours 42 minutes』
『88 days 06 hours 35 minutes』…!
Iris's life (resource) is being shaved away second by second by this unreasonable defense mechanism.
My fingertips tremble with impatience‚ and the rhythm I tap becomes terribly disordered as if stuck in mud.
「Lady Aria! Don't waver!
I… my this shield will become the wall that defends your 'sound' to the death!!」
Liam leaps forward.
He holds the huge shield polished like a mirror vertically and slams his own magic power into its core.
GOOOOOOOOOOON!!
The heavy tone like a temple bell physically "tunes" the air filled with discord.
The low-frequency reverberation waves from Liam's shield forcibly bundle Cross's wild impacts and Kotone's precise analysis into my disordered rhythm.
「Survival probability up 0.2%!
Aria‚ use Liam's 'bell sound' as the metronome!
In that gap‚ the 0.03% bug is opening its mouth!」
Kotone's fingers tap the monitor madly.
But my consciousness was about to be completely swallowed into the accelerating abyss of magic power.
Deep in my ears‚ Iris's 'powan' golden whisper is about to be crushed by the despairing noise.
My fingertips have completely lost sensation‚ and death-like 'white' is crawling up to my wrists.
「……Reverse flow of biological magic power. Consciousness resolution is decreasing.
……Iris‚ your echo is far…」
「I said I wouldn't let you escape‚ you big idiot!!」
From behind‚ violent 'heat of reality' embraces me.
It's Rinne.
She grabs my tattered sleeve cuffs with both hands forcefully and pulls me closer.
Her raw body heat‚ and the five-fold miso soup smell hitting my nose.
The gritty‚ salty‚ warm mass of everyday life that never exists in the magic abyss (theory).
The body heat that was repelled earlier now bites into my frozen circuits.
「Rinne… you…」
「No matter how 'white' you become‚ I'll pin you to the ground with these hands!
Sewing‚ miso soup‚ they're all chains to bind you to the real world (real)!!」
Her painful prayer forcibly restarts my frozen magic circuits.
Rinne as the 'physical anchor'.
As long as she holds my hand‚ I can't go to the other side of the sky (world of death).
「……Confirmed forced reboot of biological functions.
Seriously… a highly salty‚ illogical chain.」
Absolute calculation-completed conductor (system)'s cold light dwells in my frozen eyes.
The rhythm tapped by my white translucent fingertips completely synchronizes with Liam's bell sound and Rinne's heartbeat.
「Kotone‚ spatially lock the bug's coordinates.
……Cross‚ I won't lend power. I'll completely control your 'mass' with my score.」
「Haha! That's what I intended from the start‚ conductor!!」
Our discordant sounds‚ which were scattered‚ are instantly woven into one ferocious 'score'.
The gritty ensemble of trust to pulverize theory‚ silence‚ despair.
「——Full override‚ here we go.」
「——All personnel‚ stop thinking. From now on‚ delegate the command rights (baton) of all circuits to me.」
What leaked from my mouth was an inorganic voice like iron creaking‚ so mechanical that even I got chills.
Unnecessary information like color peels off from my vision‚ and instead the world is repainted into a 'score' composed of golden lines and equations.
This is the ultimate concentration state reached by borrowing her life in advance—the 'White Singularity'.
「A-Aria…? Your eyes… and your fingertips…!」
Rinne‚ who was supporting me beside‚ raises a voice close to a scream and lets go of my hand.
Her trembling hands that clawed at the air lose their place and grip the hem of her own clothes painfully tight.
The 'living anchor' that was supposed to bind me to the real world is blown away to the absolute zero domain where even five-fold miso heat doesn't reach‚ and can only stand there helplessly.
No wonder. My fingertips now have completely lost the blood color of a living human from the tips of the nails to the wrists.
It is translucent‚ yet covered in absolute zero frost‚ a 'white' that rejects life activities.
「Lady Aria! The magic waveform… is sharpening to an unmeasurable degree!
At this rate‚ your body won't endure!!」
Liam‚ looking back from behind the shield‚ opens his eyes in astonishment.
In his honest eyes‚ I might no longer look like a friend‚ but just an abnormal magic calculator.
Before I knew it‚ behind him stood the observer Nagi‚ drawn to the source of this huge discord.
Only at the moment Aria activates the singularity and fiercely burns Iris's life as fuel‚ the intense pain of 'world noise (blue blood)' burning her neck calms down.
She was watching with cold joy seeping into her jade-colored eyes the cruel pain relief (salvation) as her long-cherished 'tower key' approaches completion.
「Shut up. Don't mix in unnecessary noise.
Liam‚ waveform pattern gamma approaching from 3 o'clock. Reverse phase with the shield's 'bell' and knock it down.
……Cross‚ the output of organic mass (muscle) is insufficient. Forcefully pulverize the spell junction at 4 and 8 o'clock with that physical impact.」
「Ha‚ haha! The orders are detailed‚ conductor!
But that coldness… I don't hate it!
My latissimus dorsi is tightening to the limit with the cold air!!」
Cross spins his silver claymore and leaps with a warrior's roar.
The moment they blow away the noise‚ in my brain resounds the 'golden echo' that shouldn't be here now.
『……Ton ton‚ Aria.
It's okay… I'm by your side… powan』
（Iris…? Is it you…?）
Floating in my mind is her smiling face that should be sleeping.
Golden particles gently envelop my about-to-burn-out magic circuits and forcibly tune them at the brink of meltdown.
It was as if two players in the vast universe were sharing the soul's score.
「Kotone‚ I've spatially locked the system's vulnerability.
Pour my rhythm into the 0.03% gap. …Synchronize.」
「……Understood. I'll devote all my logic to your 'white' madness.」
Kotone taps at blood-seeping speed and writes the final coordinates into my 'score'.
My right hand swings down the invisible baton.
Golden light is released from the white translucent fingertips as a lethal torrent.
「——Ensemble‚ curtain call.」
DOOOOOOOOOOON!!
A soundless explosion blows away the deepest part of the testing ground.
The ancient defense mechanism vanishes into the golden light without even being allowed 'judgment'.
But I had no leisure to savor the joy of victory.
The pocket watch on my chest emits heat enough to burn the skin and rewrites the cruel numbers.
『87 days 12 hours 00 minutes』
With this one strike‚ 18 hours and 35 minutes—that much of her life spilled from the hourglass into nothingness.
My brain‚ cooled like a machine‚ accurately calculates that despairing loss down to the minute.
「……Gah… ha…」
My vision distorts intensely‚ and I collapse from my knees.
A chill as if all body heat was uprooted.
The white-dyed fingertips were so cold they didn't feel like my own.
Amidst the gunpowder smoke and ozone smell‚ the deepest part of the testing ground was enveloped in an ear-piercing silence.
The ancient discord that had raged so wildly has been burned away by Aria's 'white' flash and completely dissipated.
「……It's over‚ isn't it.」
Kotone adjusted her soot-covered glasses with trembling fingers.
Before her eyes‚ the once-invincible defense system lies silent as mere blackened iron scraps.
「Haha‚ look Aria!
My latissimus dorsi has achieved an unprecedented pump-up with that impact!!」
Cross laughs‚ showing his scorched arm from the tattered uniform sleeve.
Next to him‚ Liam proudly yet carefully hugged the mirror-polished shield like his own child.
「……Lady Aria. My shield didn't let go of your 'rhythm' until the end.」
「……Ah. System all green. No… thank you‚ everyone.」
Still on my knees‚ I grabbed the 'ancient heart fragment' enshrined on the pedestal with my trembling right hand.
It is a catalyst to temporarily shoulder the burning of Iris's life.
Extremely cold‚ but the only hopeful mass for us.
「Come on‚ Aria. Don't sit there forever… ah‚ you're still 'white'!」
Rinne rushes over and presses her body close as if peering into my chest.
Her warm fingers forcibly loosen the collar of my shirt and begin checking up close for any residue erosion on the skin.
Her raw breath touches my neck‚ and the faint scent of five-fold miso brushes my nose.
My consciousness‚ exposed to the cold of the magic abyss (system)‚ is forcibly rebooted by that overwhelming "girl's temperature" and rapidly pulls back human pain sensation and emotions.
——But even so.
The 'white' cold clinging to my fingertips could not be completely wiped away even by her heat.
「……Rinne‚ I'm fine. More than that…」
I peered again into the pocket watch hot enough to burn the skin.
Inside the lens‚ blood-colored numbers cruelly flicker.
『87 days 12 hours 00 minutes』
18 hours and 35 minutes.
The heavy price my baton had shaved away.
「……The survival probability was 0.03%. But we are standing here.」
Kotone stands beside me and gazes at the exit of the dark testing ground.
「But‚ Aria. That 'white' of yours. …A price that cannot be measured by equations is surely accumulating on your body and her life.」
「……I know. But I have no regrets.」
I stand up and look around at my companions.
The ensemble members who played one "sound" muddily‚ discordantly‚ but surely.
In the shadow of the collapsed rubble.
Nagi was quietly watching us with her jade eyes.
The 'blue blood' vessels floating on her neck are slightly closer to transparent than before.
It is proof that the world has been purified—and at the same time‚ the indelible color of the sin that I burned Iris's life.
「……Let's go. To the place where Iris awaits.」
We left the underground abyss‚ aiming for the morning sun in the forest where colors were beginning to return.
My white-frozen fingertips‚ though clumsily‚ began tapping "ton ton" again‚ the rhythm toward the next hope.
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