Chapter 11: "Accelerating Dissonance or the Gale That Tears Through Silence"
"...It's cold. Theoretically‚ the temperature in this room should be optimally maintained."
I gazed at the pre-dawn wind tapping against the window and exhaled a white‚ cloudy breath.
My gaze dropped to my own right hand‚ which had already lost the color of a "living human." From the tips of my nails to my wrist‚ it was a translucent absolute-zero 'white' that rejected the pulse of life.
The sensation in those fingertips felt as if they were being sharply yet dully scraped away from the inside by blades of ice.
It was the lingering chill from the underground mission the other day—the overkill I had unleashed by burning Iris's life as fuel in the disposal zone that Solan had scornfully called the "trash bin."
"Tap‚ tap‚ tap‚ tap..."
The rhythm my fingertips tapped out on my knee grew slightly shrill‚ dragged along by my impatience.
On the desk‚ the pocket-watch-shaped control device displayed merciless digital numbers the color of blood.
'87 days 07 hours 12 minutes'
"Aria! You're making that ghost-like face and staring at the clock again! Here‚ drink this and wake your insides up!"
The door was kicked open roughly‚ and the violently pungent aroma of "miso" assaulted my nose and overran the room.
Rinne slammed a mug of her special soup—now having lost all dignity as a liquid and turned into a 'high-viscosity black hole'—onto the desk.
"Rinne‚ right now I'm in the middle of calculating our next operation—"
"Calculation comes after salt intake! Look‚ your fingertips are turning translucent again. Come on‚ take off your jacket!"
Without waiting for a reply‚ she stripped off my jacket‚ pulled a chair right up beside me.
Muttering "Geez‚ seriously‚" she threaded a new 'anti-magic fiber' through the needle.
"...Rinne‚ wouldn't it be fine to do this with the shirt on...?"
"Stay still. The cold from you is leaking out through the lining on the inside of your shirt's chest area. ...Excuse me for a second."
Rinne leaned in close to my chest‚ so near that I could feel the heat of her skin‚ and began running the anti-magic thread along the shirt's lining.
...She was close.
Her soft hair brushed against my cheek‚ and her slightly flushed breath from concentration brushed against the nape of my neck with a faint puff. The warmth of her body pressed against mine transmitted a definite mass through the fabric.
The thick scent of five-fold miso mixed with Rinne's own clean‚ soap-like fragrance‚ forcibly anchoring my chilled brain back to "the muddy reality."
"...Rinne‚ I still think you're way too close."
"...Shut up. If I don't do this‚ it feels like you'll fly off into the void (abyss) any second‚ and that scares me. ...Is my body heat reaching you properly?"
The moment her warm fingertips touched my collarbone‚ my skin—cold as if in rigor mortis—trembled‚ rejecting her heat.
But she ignored that tremor and pressed her own body temperature against my body. A physical mass supporting a survival probability of 0.04%‚ something magic's logic could never measure.
"...Ahh. Is it the smell of miso‚ or your tears...? It's salty‚ but really warm."
"Wha... I'm not crying! That saltiness is proof that you're still here!"
Rinne finished the last stitch and bit the thread off with a snap. I grabbed the flickering 'heart fragment' on the desk‚ quickly slipped on the jacket that still held her body heat‚ and fastened the front. The exposed 'white' was hidden behind her warm chain‚ and my thoughts switched back to "conductor" mode.
'...Aria. ...Tap tap‚ I can hear it... powan.'
In my mind‚ the golden whisper of the still-sleeping Iris echoed.
At the same time‚ the amber crystal on the desk—the 'ancient heart fragment (catalyst)' I had picked up from the trash bin—began flickering violently in resonance.
(...The heart fragment is reacting? This wedge that's supposed to suppress the whitening—it's detecting an unknown vibration approaching from outside as 'necessary noise'...?)
"...Iris? Is something coming?"
'...The emerald (green) wind. ...It's really fast‚ and lonely. Because your white is increasing again... It makes me sad‚ Aria... powan.'
Outside the window‚ from beyond the dense boundary line of residual fog‚ a sharp scraping sound tore through Solan's 'silence.'
It was the harbinger of a single gale that had torn up the perfect score and started running.
"...Aria‚ we don't have time to space out! That was the boundary line's alarm spell screaming!"
Rinne shot up from her chair like a spring and pierced the view outside the window—the direction of the old training ground where the residual fog hung thick and stagnant.
"I know. ...Iris said something was 'fast‚' too."
I gripped the collar of my jacket‚ which still held Rinne's body heat‚ and poured strength into my pure-white right hand.
I dashed out of the room and through the corridor‚ where the members of the 'incomplete ensemble' had already gathered.
"Lady Aria! We have been waiting! An unprecedented waveform variant magical beast has invaded the first defense line!"
Liam ran alongside me‚ holding up his massive 'bell shield.' The golden highlights mixed into his navy-blue hair flickered sharply with tension.
"It's not just the waveform. Look at this."
Kotone pushed up her silver-rimmed glasses with her fingertips while running and deployed several hologram monitors. They displayed calculation results where red noise raged wildly.
"Residual pollution concentration is three times normal. Estimated enemy count: thirty. ...And their movement speed. My calculation circuits keep spitting out 'measurement errors.' It's accelerating as if ignoring the theoretical friction coefficient."
"Haha! Save the logic for later‚ Kotone! My lats are dying to throw a hot welcome party!!"
The moment he kicked open the heavy doors of the training ground‚ Cross spun his silver claymore and roared.
Beyond the doors—it was a realm of death where gray-tinged fog eroded everything.
"...Gigi‚ gigigi!!"
From the depths of the fog‚ variant magical beasts called 'scavengers' with scythe-like limbs burst out at speeds that left afterimages.
"Liam‚ anchor the shield! Cross‚ don't chase them recklessly—focus on interception!"
At my order‚ Cross immediately readjusted his greatsword—or so I thought‚ but he let out a low growl like a beast eyeing its prey.
"Huh!? 'Wait' for my muscles? My soul is all about charging in and smashing through‚ Aria!"
"No! Their movement vectors are deviating from the predicted lines. At your current speed‚ the moment you swing‚ they'll get behind you. —Switch to 'receiving' and strike the instant their axis wavers!"
"...Tch‚ so an efficient 'charge-up‚' huh. Got it‚ Conductor!"
Cross grinned fearlessly and held his claymore at eye level. I tapped out a 'rhythm (tap tap)' in the air with my white fingertips and deployed multiple silent-cast spells. My white nerves creaked‚ and a sharp numbness like being gouged by ice blades assaulted my fingertips.
"Understood!! I will deploy the 'unfalling sanctuary' that won't let a single note of our sound escape!!"
Liam slammed his shield into the ground‚ ringing out a heavy bell tone. The physical shockwave cleared the fog and caught the magical beasts' charge at the water's edge.
"Alright! It's my soul's... counter!!"
Cross swung his greatsword down. The blow that could shatter rock tore through the air—but.
"...Eh?"
Just before Cross's sword could catch the beast's outline‚ the enemy 'refracted' in midair at an angle that ignored physical laws‚ dodging the strike by a hair's breadth.
"Cross‚ watch out! Right side!"
Rinne shouted‚ swinging her water bottle filled with special soup like a blunt weapon to hold them back.
"Dammit‚ they're too fast!? These guys... they're completely erasing the 'predicted lines' of attacks‚ just like Solan's silence! My muscles... are screaming as they cut through empty air!"
"Never mind your muscles screaming! Aria‚ our magic isn't landing! They 'accelerate' only the instant our attacks are about to hit!"
Kotone hammered her magic terminal at incredible speed‚ but her expression was bitter.
"...Calculated effective strike probability is 1.2 percent. No‚ it's approaching zero percent. Aria‚ this is bad. Our ensemble's 'tempo' is overwhelmingly too slow. At our current speed‚ we can barely even chase their afterimages...!"
"...I know. But if I push these 'white' nerves any further and exceed the overload limit‚ Iris will..."
I stared at the pocket watch with its blood-colored numbers.
One step short. We were missing the piece needed to 'accelerate' our ensemble beyond the limits of theory.
The fog trembled‚ and a silence as if the air had frozen for an instant enveloped the battlefield.
That was when it happened.
"—Hey now. If you keep dawdling‚ you'll turn into gray trash along with that super-salty 'five-fold miso' smell‚ you know?"
On the training ground's roof‚ atop a crumbling beam‚ a boy with viridian-ash hair fluttering in the wind sat with a fearless grin.
Emerald sparks crackled from his magic boots 'Gale.'
"...Mark!? Why are you here...!?"
Rinne let out a startled cry while still holding her water bottle. Beside her‚ Liam readjusted his shield and turned eyes mixed with caution and surprise toward the shadow on the beam.
The 'bell shield (core)' Liam held began resonating with the unknown rhythm Mark emitted‚ starting to vibrate uncontrollably.
"Hey. You're still making that ear-piercingly good 'dissonance‚' as usual‚ you guys."
Mark leaned forward on the beam and roughly ran his fingers through his viridian-ash hair.
In that instant‚ sparks flew crackling from his magic boots 'Gale.' It wasn't the inorganic pale blue Solan favored‚ but a somehow poisonous yet life-filled neon-mint glow.
"Gigi... gigigi!!"
The magical beasts responded to the appearance of new prey and leaped all at once toward the beam.
They took the shortest theoretical path‚ as if 'canceling' the movement process‚ resulting in discontinuous jumps through coordinates.
"Mark‚ watch out! They're aiming for the shortest distance!"
The moment I shouted‚ Mark snorted.
"Shortest distance? —Hah‚ I already tore up and threw away a boring score like that ages ago!"
The air exploded.
The air screamed‚ and a sharp scraping sound created the illusion of a momentary "reverse playback" that dominated the battlefield.
Mark slid across the beam as if gliding‚ and just before the magical beast's fangs reached him‚ he deliberately added a "useless" spin before leaping over its head. The tremendous centrifugal force from that rotation added brutal destructive power to his kicking leg.
(...He's forcing open and trampling their 'canceled' movement processes with physical heat and mass...?)
"...Haha‚ this is it! This is the 'fanfare' I wanted!!"
DOOOOOOON!!
Mark's spinning kick smashed straight into the magical beast's crown‚ slamming its massive body to the floor.
"Wha... What speed is that!? My shield can't keep up with his tempo and won't stop ringing...! But with this...!"
Liam gripped his shield tighter‚ his eyes shining with battle excitement. Beside him‚ Cross shouted‚ "My muscles got left behind by the wind pressure alone!" while baring his competitive spirit as a percussionist.
Mark forcibly canceled the landing impact with sparks from his magic boots and shrugged his shoulders as he turned back toward me.
"...Hey‚ Aria. When you're inside the president's 'absolute-zero silence‚' even your own heartbeat starts sounding like 'useless noise‚' and it feels like you'll suffocate. ...Compared to that‚ your sounds are the noisiest‚ the muddiest... and above all‚ that 'powan' reverberation from the girl Iris physically shook my boots."
Mark glanced at the 'white' fingertips of my right hand‚ then lowered his gaze to the pocket watch on my chest.
"...You want to save her‚ right? Then I'll take on the role of the 'accelerator' that tears through this stagnant air."
"...Mark. If I take up your baton‚ it means I'll turn your speed into an even more chaotic‚ worst-case gospel with my 'dissonance.'"
My white nerves creaked‚ and the fist I clenched went numb for an instant like rigor mortis. As I grimaced from the pain‚ Mark held out his right hand‚ scattering neon-mint sparks.
The fog trembled‚ and the battlefield froze for a single moment.
I stared back at that heated hand with my white fingertips‚ which were losing sensation.
If I took this hand‚ there would be no turning back. I would fall into the role of a mad conductor‚ using Iris's life as fuel.
I placed my own 'white' hand over Mark's hot one.
In that instant‚ the neon-mint heat overflowing from his palm flowed backward into my frozen magic circuits‚ sending a shock like my frozen nerves were being forcibly burned through.
"...Another weird one joined‚ huh."
Behind me‚ Rinne let out a sigh that sounded exasperated yet somehow reassuring.
The fastest piece had clicked into place in the incomplete ensemble.
"...Fine. The shortest path (correct answer) is way too boring for us now."
I gripped Mark's hot hand tightly with my white fingertips‚ which were losing sensation.
In that moment‚ the neon-mint heat overflowing from his palm surged into my chilled magic circuits‚ and an impact like forcibly burning through my frozen nerves ran through me.
"Ah... gah...!"
"Heh‚ nice reaction. I'll melt those 'white' fingers of yours with my speed (noise)‚ Conductor!"
As Mark grinned fearlessly‚ I flicked open the lid of the pocket watch.
Inside the lens‚ the blood-colored digital numbers flickered madly. It was the forced activation of the 'white singularity'—burning Iris's life fiercely and boosting my thought rotation to the extreme.
"...All units‚ cease thinking. From now on‚ cede all circuit conducting rights (baton) to me."
All emotion vanished from my voice‚ replaced by an inorganic ring like creaking iron.
My white nerves let out a sharp scream as if freezing‚ and my clenched fist shook with a clatter. My field of vision was repainted with a golden score‚ and the magical beasts' movements broke down into stopped frames.
"Kotone‚ exclude Mark's 'friction coefficient' from calculations. ...Liam‚ 'phase-reverse' the impact from the three o'clock direction with your shield and make it a foothold for Mark's acceleration (axel)!"
"Y-Yes!! I humbly accept Lady Aria's unreasonable request!!"
Liam slammed his shield into the ground‚ and the heavy bell sound became a physical 'wave' that uplifted the earth.
Mark didn't even glance at the clod of earth that would normally throw off his balance; he sprayed sparks from his magic boots and leaped onto it.
"Hyahaa! This is it—these 'crazy scores' are the best!!"
Mark refracted in midair and closed in on the magical beast's neck from an angle that was "impossible" in Solan's theory.
An abnormal scraping sound that seemed to reverse-play the air gouged at the ears. It wasn't the shortest distance. Yet it reached the target faster than anyone—the 'fastest' bullet that mocked theory.
"Cross! At eight o'clock‚ place a 'physical impact' at Mark's passing point! Launch him even further ahead!"
"You got it!! My soul's... billiards!!"
Cross slammed his greatsword into the floor‚ generating tremendous wind pressure.
Mark deliberately took the shockwave on his back and re-accelerated at a speed that physically trampled the law of inertia.
"...Unmeasurable. Solan‚ this is the true nature of the 'rejected' error domain you discarded! The theoretical limit value... physically trampled in 0.05 seconds!"
Kotone's cry. The hologram monitors scattered sparks from overload.
"...Ahh‚ I can see it. Just mixing in this 'emerald' noise makes the world so noisy...!"
My fingertips were already dyed 'white' up to my wrist‚ translucent.
The 'golden reverberation' of Iris‚ being scraped away and screaming‚ anchored me to the real world‚ while Mark's 'gale' pushed my baton further into the abyss ahead.
"—Mark! Pause for one beat—there‚ that's the coordinate for the finale!"
"Got it!! Listen to my fanfare from the best seat!!"
Mark came to an abrupt stop in the center of the magical beast pack.
The fog trembled‚ and the battlefield froze for a single moment.
The enormous kinetic energy accumulated from super-acceleration had nowhere to go and physically heated (sparked) the atmosphere. If Solan—who approved only of 'silence' with not a single off-note—saw this‚ he would instantly "reject" it as far too wasteful‚ far too violent‚ and yet—.
"...Beautiful."
With my murmur‚ Mark's spinning kick exploded.
Neon-mint sparks mixed with golden rhythm‚ and a shockwave like tearing through vacuum swept away the magical beasts‚ turning them to dust.
Mark turned back to me from within the landing smoke‚ breathing roughly.
His face overflowed with genuine‚ human-like joy—the kind he had never shown in Solan's training ground.
"...Haha‚ that was the best. Aria‚ your conducting is suffocatingly good... but it lets me 'breathe' like nothing else."
Mark's amber eyes narrowed as they looked at my white fingertips.
We had physically overtaken Solan's "perfect silence" by a single step.
The lingering roar that had dominated the training ground slowly dissipated along with the rising gray dust cloud.
The swarm of variant magical beasts that had so relentlessly cornered us had vanished without a trace.
"...Haa‚ haa. ...Hey‚ Aria. What the hell was that. My magic boots are so hot they're about to melt."
Mark dropped to one knee‚ sweat dripping from his viridian-ash hair. Neon-mint sparks still leaked from his magic boots.
"...It was a session. The result of my score accepting the 'noise' that is you."
I gently lowered my right hand‚ which had lost all sensation. From fingertips to wrist‚ the translucent 'white' that rejected life activity clung to it. The chill of the debt paid with Iris's life stroked my nerves backward‚ as if trying to freeze even my heartbeat.
"A session‚ huh. ...Hmph‚ a conductor who waves such a crazy baton is probably the only one in the whole academy."
The moment Mark snorted in exasperation‚ Liam and Cross's "hot-blooded physical (trust and muscle)" welcome began. Mark‚ who had only just come from Solan's cage‚ was overwhelmed by their heat that ignored logic circuits and staggered backward.
"Alright‚ that's enough! After a fight‚ it's time for fuel replenishment. ...Come on‚ newbie‚ open your mouth!"
Rinne thrust a soup that carried the violently pungent aroma of 'miso' right under Mark's nose.
"...What the hell is this black sludge. ...Poison?"
"Rude! It's my special 'Cheer-Up Special—Five-Fold Miso Edition'!"
"...Just give up‚ Mark. That's the 'baptism' for officially joining this team."
Mark steeled himself and took a sip of the soup. In an instant‚ his expression filled with shock.
"...!!?? The violent saltiness punches straight through my brain...! What is this—it's hot‚ but... my body feels like it's burning from the inside...!"
"See! I forcibly thawed the nerves you had frozen in Solan's 'silence' with my miso!"
Rinne snorted proudly.
Mark's eyes watered‚ but he stared at his own hand as if seeing something unbelievable.
The muddy‚ hot‚ yet undeniable 'sense of living fulfillment' that could never be obtained inside Solan's "perfect theory."
'...Aria. The emerald wind guy is really warm and muddy... hehe‚ powan.'
The reverberation of Iris echoing in my mind‚ though hoarse from the pain of her life being shaved away‚ gently celebrated the addition of the new comrade.
In that moment‚ the 'tap tap' rhythm I tapped on my knee became calmer and stronger than ever before‚ overlapping with the sounds of my comrades. It wasn't forced synchronization. The scattered dissonance had‚ for the first time‚ become a single continuous score inside me—a single 'ensemble.'
"...Survival probability‚ 0.04 percent. ...No. With this 'accelerator' added‚ it's time to rewrite the equation itself."
Kotone closed her monitor with satisfaction. I gripped the 'ancient heart fragment' that was warming in my pocket tightly again.
"Aria. Earlier in the room‚ I sewed a new lining (pocket) onto the inside of your left chest."
Rinne pointed seriously at the position of my heart.
"...I told you I wouldn't let your life fly off into the void so easily. Keep that 'weight of practicality' in there."
I nodded and slipped the heart fragment into the chest pocket she had sewn. Kotone had found it‚ I had used it‚ and it settled into the spot Rinne had sewn—it was a clumsy‚ warm chain to anchor me‚ the conductor‚ to the real world.
"...It's a good ensemble. Aria‚ your 'key' has finally taken shape."
At some point‚ Nagi had perched on the high window frame of the training ground. The gun smoke from the fierce battle didn't stain her pure-white robes; she simply wore a cruelly beautiful silence. The more I burned Iris's life‚ the more her 'blue blood' became cruelly transparent and clear‚ and the pain (noise) eased.
"...Nagi. We will no longer yield to Solan's silence (shin...)"
"I'm looking forward to it. ...Until the tournament finals‚ the remaining time is just the last grain of sand in the hourglass."
The pocket watch emitted heat hot enough to burn my skin and ticked out numbers with a cruel sound.
In just a few minutes of the first session that exceeded the limit‚ Iris's life had turned to ash and vanished by "seven hours."
'86 days 23 hours 59 minutes'
Iris. These imperfect yet strongest comrades I gained by shaving away your time.
I strongly felt the 'heart fragment' and 'Rinne's body heat' overlapping on my left chest as I savored the salty yet warm mass of reality.
And toward the 'perfect silence' beyond the night sky‚ I carved out a definite rhythm of rebellion.
|