New Chapter 18: “Incomplete Opening (Fanfare)‚ or Those Who Break the Boundary”
Mathematical formulas never lie.
In the chilled darkness of the Magical Analysis Room‚ countless pale-blue holograms alone flickered impassively‚ drawing cold lines of light across the silver rims of my glasses.
The faint ozone smell exhaled by the inorganic fans‚ and the driving sound of cooling water crawling beneath the floor. And every time the gray vessels rising on the back of my neck pulsed with a thick‚ unpleasant heat‚ tens of thousands of lines of system logs cascaded like a muddy torrent across the retinal UI.
The secret side mission that Solan-sama had given me in the strictest confidence.
It was the observation of residual concentration fluctuations around the Great Barrier‚ and one more thing—the biometric data analysis of the girl standing at his side‚ Zephyr (Z-0).
『Outside the boundary line. Theoretical values for biological maintenance in the high-concentration residual contamination zone—still no corresponding data.』
No matter how many times I re-ran the calculations‚ the solution that came out was the same. Survival probability: 0.01 percent.
According to current magical theory‚ her very existence was a miracle that had arisen in this world—no‚ a single enormous structural defect (bug).
She had crossed the sea of death that is the outer world‚ entered this “aquarium‚” and even now was still breathing without a doubt. Why had only she survived? What was the reason Solan-sama had picked her up and incorporated her as a “part” of the orchestra? Finding that answer and completing the perfect score—that should have been the duty imposed upon me.
—Piiing.
A high-pitched tone that stabbed sharply into my eardrums sliced through the darkness of my thoughts. In an instant‚ every UI on the main monitor was painted over in a blood-red warning color (alert).
『Warning. Undefined waveform collision detected in the Third Observation Zone at the northern end of the Great Barrier.』
『Physical impacts against the geometric barrier—occurring continuously.』
“……What could it be. A charge by high-concentration magical beasts? Or irregular noise?”
I pushed up the bridge of my glasses and instantly multi-layered (layer-down) the waveform data. Residual concentration‚ magical density‚ collision velocity‚ biological reaction. The multilayered analysis results floated up onto the screen one by one.
And then—I even forgot to blink.
What was displayed there was not a swarm of inorganic magical beasts.
Irregular‚ violently disordered‚ so weak it seemed about to break off at any moment—yet clearly pulsing with intent: the “waveforms of life.” With the sea of death of the outer world at their backs‚ they were repeatedly colliding as if clinging to the gate of the Great Barrier.
“……Biological reaction?”
My own voice trembled‚ surprisingly small.
“A biological approach from the outer side……!?”
My thought circuits completely stopped for just a fraction of a second.
Impossible. An absolute world of death where survival time is said to be three minutes. Cross it and you will be eroded by residuals; in five minutes your body will collapse. Reaching this boundary while maintaining intelligence was something that‚ by the common sense I had been taught‚ was utterly impossible.
Unconsciously I enlarged the analysis screen. The waveform was weak‚ but they were still alive. As if someone beyond the sea of death were desperately reaching a hand toward us.
I immediately opened a specially encrypted line.
“Zephyr. Come to the Central Calculation Room at once. ……I’ve detected waveform data related to your roots.”
Only a few seconds after cutting the communication.
—Shun.
With an exhaust sound as if the air were being sucked into a vacuum‚ the soundproof door opened and Zephyr appeared. Her right arm‚ transformed into heavy gray stone from the shoulder onward‚ she turned toward me those glass-marble eyes whose emotions could never be read‚ as usual.
But the moment she glanced at the waveforms dancing on the aerial monitor—for just an instant‚ the rise and fall of her chest stopped.
“……This‚ is……”
“You have an idea‚ don’t you‚ Zephyr.”
“……I know. This magical waveform…… a unique floating rhythm that slides through space. ……It’s an elf.”
“An elf…… a legendary race of the outer world……”
For the first time‚ a faint heat mixed into Zephyr’s flat voice.
“……The same as me. A survivor who slipped through the hell outside and reached here. ……If we don’t help‚ they will die.”
“Impossible.”
I answered coldly at once‚ and before being dragged by emotion I expanded the military’s behavioral prediction data.
“The Border Interception Unit is already deploying to the site. Under the Kingdom’s basic protocol‚ intruders from the outer world are immediately discarded as ‘impurities (residual infection sources).’ Even if you go‚ you cannot break through the military’s encirclement.”
In one corner of the screen‚ red numbers appeared.
Until interception begins—three minutes.
“We won’t make it.”
“……Even so‚ I’m going.”
Zephyr quietly took one step forward. In that instant‚ every sound around her vanished. The sound of air rubbing‚ the sound of clothes swaying. A ferocious presence of “vacuum” that discarded the very concept of friction.
“Zephyr‚ if the military finds you‚ your identity will also be exposed. If that happens‚ with Solan-sama absent now‚ the military will make you a disposal target as well. Will you still go?”
Zephyr did not answer; she merely gazed at the weakly pulsing waveform on the screen.
“……The voices of those who died outside are crying ‘Save us.’ Almost all of my memories have been lost. ……But if I don’t save them‚ the meaning (logic) of my being here disappears.”
Foolish emotionalism. Illogical judgment. I could simply cut it down as such. I had done so many times before‚ discarding the low-value ones and creating the perfect score.
Impact prediction‚ arrival speed‚ Zephyr’s possible travel distance. No matter how many times I recalculated‚ the result was the same. No matter how fast Zephyr was‚ the military’s bullets would arrive first. Rescue impossible. Processing complete. Interception.
The formulas clearly announced the answer.
And yet—I simply could not believe that conclusion was correct.
I slowly closed my eyelids.
If I stopped Zephyr here and continued to keep the lid of the aquarium closed‚ would that really be the 100% correct answer? Having lost Solan-sama‚ with Aria-kun now in first place‚ it was obvious that the Kingdom’s system itself‚ which continued to reject all salvation from outside‚ had already reached its limit.
The calculator inside me derived a single answer.
It was to choose the very thing I had most despised—“a bug outside the formulas (an uncertain element)”—as the sole breakthrough measure.
“……I’ll hack it.”
“……Else?”
I fiercely flicked the hologram at my chest and began the intrusion into the Kingdom’s central system. Border interception protocol‚ northern end of the Great Barrier‚ central shortest corridor. My fingertips broke through authentication layers one after another.
“Even with your ‘speed‚’ there isn’t enough time to reach the gate from here. The military’s bullets will be first. ……So we’ll borrow their power.”
Inside the academy. I forced an emergency encrypted communication into a specific individual’s terminal.
Pii…….
“—Kotone. An unpleasant error report.”
On the other side of the screen‚ Kotone’s confused face appeared.
“Else!? What’s this all of a sudden—right now we’re—”
“I grasp the situation. The biological reaction outside the gate of the Great Barrier…… that is an elf from the outer world. And at this rate‚ within twenty seconds they will be shot dead by the Border Interception Unit.”
“……! What did you say!?”
“Tell Aria-kun. Use the first-rank license to unlock the emergency seal on the ‘Central Shortest Corridor’ that connects to the Great Barrier. ……From now‚ we will slam our ‘Zephyr’ into it.”
I could see Kotone’s eyes widen.
“Zephyr!? —Yes. Indeed‚ if it’s her—”
“Nothing but her ‘vacuum (speed)’ can reach the girl faster than the military’s bullets. ……Hurry. Not even a 0.01-second delay is permitted.”
I opened the final authentication layer and unilaterally cut the communication. Then I turned back to Zephyr.
“Go‚ Zephyr. The shortest route will open soon. ……In your ‘frictionless world‚’ save that girl.”
“……Thank you‚ Else.”
—In an instant.
The “Central Shortest Corridor” that connected directly to the Great Barrier was opened.
Zephyr’s body vanished in a flash of afterimage of light. She disappeared before sound could arrive‚ and reached before light could catch up.
In the cold analysis room where no one remained‚ only the lingering echo of the exhaust sound stayed behind.
Suddenly‚ red letters floated up at the edge of the main monitor.
『Warning: Unauthorized intervention in Kingdom Border Protocol detected. Executor: Else』
『Detain the subject immediately.』
Alert sounds rang out fiercely‚ and warning messages floated up endlessly.
After gazing at them for a while‚ I removed my silver-rimmed glasses with a weary hand and pressed hard against the inner corners of my eyes.
“……Really now.”
In the cold darkness‚ bathed in the red flickering light‚ a small sigh fell.
“When I get involved with those discordant notes…… even my calculator goes mad.”
—Don!
A violent destructive sound that struck the eardrums.
The next instant‚ the stone floor of the corridor waved explosively.
Aria-kun’s right hand—only there was dyed in a translucent “white” as if it had discarded the colors of life. The first beat of “rhythm (ton-ton)” released from those fingertips was no mere sound. A wave of magic accompanied by physical mass raced across the stone floor‚ violently shook the stone walls‚ and slammed straight into the royal guards in front.
“Guaah—!”
“Wh-what is this power—!”
The heavily armored soldiers who had surrounded us were all flung high into the air and blown away in an unsightly manner. Armor crashed against the cold stone walls‚ and high metallic sounds echoed emptily throughout the corridor. It was as if incomplete physical calculations had all collapsed at once.
“Are you all insane!? Doing something like this will get you a court-martial! And……”
Before those words could continue‚ Nagi faintly trembled the atmosphere and in an instant reaped the consciousness of the soldiers.
“Fufu……”
I pushed up my slipped silver-rimmed glasses with a fingertip and couldn’t help but lift the corners of my mouth.
“Isn’t this the best. The systems of those well-behaved adults collapsing so easily from just a little discord (noise).”
We run. Down the long corridor of the Royal Magical Academy‚ racing side by side with Aria-kun.
“Kotone!”
Aria-kun shouted while keeping his eyes fixed ahead.
“Call Cross and the others! We’re heading to the ‘Gate of the Great Barrier’ at the northern end right away!”
“I don’t need to be told!”
While running‚ I expanded three holograms in the air. First—academy internal emergency communication. Second—location information of Cross and the others. Third—shortest route to the northern end of the Great Barrier.
“Now‚ parallel communication to everyone’s terminals—”
The moment my fingertip slid.
—Piiiiing!
The communication waveforms that had been dyed a fresh green were suddenly painted over in a blood-red warning color (alert).
“……Huh?”
My finger stopped dead in empty space.
Within this academy‚ the only person in the world who could override my encrypted circuits with such violent speed was—
『—Kotone. An unpleasant error report.』
What appeared on the other side of the monitor was the familiar cold silver-rimmed glasses. On the back of that neck‚ gray vessels pulsed quietly with heat.
“Else!?”
My voice cracked involuntarily.
“Weren’t you busy with ranking update paperwork and the aftermath of the tournament right now!?”
『I grasp the situation.』
As usual‚ a flat voice as if declaring our words outside the calculation.
『The biological reaction outside the gate of the Great Barrier. That is an elf from the outer world.』
“……An elf from the outer world?”
I do not stop my feet.
“Yes‚ we are heading there now as well. Aria-kun will open the gate—”
『We won’t make it.』
Else’s voice fell coldly like an ice razor.
『Until the interception unit completes deployment‚ two minutes left. Even if Aria-kun heads to the northern end at his speed from there‚ a delay (lag) of over thirty seconds will occur.』
“……!”
『In that time‚ that child will be reduced to charcoal by the military’s magical guns.』
Deep in my chest‚ a chill spreads coldly.
While running‚ I instantly expanded the retinal UI. Current location. Northern end. Great Barrier Observation Post. Aria-kun’s movement speed. Charge time of the military’s magical guns. Impact prediction. Calculation‚ recalculation—yet the numbers that came out only headed toward the worst convergence.
“……Damn it! Only formulas (routes) that won’t make it are coming out!”
『That’s why we’ll fire Zephyr in.』
“……Eh?”
Else stated it flatly‚ as if reading out established facts.
『With her “vacuum‚” she can reach the girl faster than the bullets.』
My eyes widened.
Zephyr—Solan-kun’s absolute pawn. A survivor from the outer world‚ and a girl whose very existence is designated as top secret by the Kingdom. That Else would move her solely to save a girl from the outer world.
“……Haha.”
A laugh leaked out involuntarily.
“You’re really crazy‚ you know.”
『I’ll take that as a compliment.』
“Deny it there!”
『There’s no time.』
“……I suppose not!”
I glared at the communication screen. Behind Else‚ heavy authentication codes were flowing at high speed.
『Tell Aria-kun.』
Else’s voice dropped even lower.
『Use the first-rank license to open the “Central Shortest Corridor” that connects directly to the Great Barrier. From now‚ we’ll send Zephyr through it.』
“……Understood!”
Laughing‚ I shouted to Aria-kun running beside me even before cutting the communication.
“Aria-kun! Take out the first-rank master key!”
“This!?”
“Yes! Use that to open the ‘Central Corridor’! We’ll send Zephyr through it!”
“Zephyr!?”
For just an instant‚ Aria-kun’s expression wavered. But—
“……Got it!”
In that voice that cut through hesitation‚ there was not a shred of reluctance left.
He thrust the silver-white license forward.
—Click. One.
—Click. Two.
—Click‚ click‚ click.
Ancient gears meshed heavily in the depths of the vast space. The air in the corridor warped with a gurgle‚ and a single crack ran through what should have been empty space. Giiii…… the invisible door slowly opened. Beyond it lay the darkness of the Kingdom’s most important confidential route leading to the Great Barrier.
“It opened……!”
The moment I caught my breath.
—Shun!!!
The world was sliced open from the side.
“—!?”
A tremendous wind pressure raced between me and Aria-kun. The smell of scorched ozone. A gray afterimage. And for just an instant‚ emotionless jade-colored eyes that brushed across my vision.
The girl whose right arm had been transformed into gray stone from the shoulder onward—Zephyr was there.
She was not running. She was not leaping either.
She was simply discarding (canceling) the concept of friction from the world. Even the air could not stop her‚ and distance itself lost its meaning.
Becoming a single streak of light‚ she was sucked into the depths of the Central Corridor in an instant—and the next moment she was already gone from sight.
For a while‚ my open mouth would not close.
Eventually I exhaled softly and clenched my fist.
“……Alright. With this‚ the worst ‘delete’ can be prevented.”
The despair that had been stuck deep in my chest loosened just a little. It’s not over yet. But the thread of possibility that we might make it was connected.
“Hurry‚ Aria-kun!”
“Yeah!”
I re-expanded the hologram keyboard in the air.
“I’ll send the coordinates to Cross-kun and the others. After that we join up and force our way through the military—”
My fingers were about to strike the keyboard—that was the moment.
—Piin.
As if driving a nail into the atmosphere‚ I plucked the string of the harp just a little.
A transparent waveform of wind was born. It was far too quiet to be called sound‚ yet with a clear will that would not allow rejection‚ it gently entangled itself around Kotone’s fingertips. The hologram communication circuits she had been fiercely expanding were silently and cleanly sewn shut at the root.
“……Wha—Nagi!?”
Kotone turned around with a changed expression.
“What are you doing!? Right now‚ the coordinates to Cross-kun and the others—”
“Stop‚ Kotone.”
I stepped one pace forward from the shadow of the window frame and quietly reflected the two confused figures in my jade-colored eyes.
The “blue blood” running along the back of my neck carved an eerie‚ stinging pain. The discord this world exhaled‚ the residuals surging from beyond the boundary‚ the first-class alarms that continued to sound in the distance. All of them layered complexly‚ as if stroking the underside of my skin with an ice razor.
“You mustn’t…… tell them anything.”
“Nagi……?”
Aria held his whitened right arm protectively and frowned as he looked at me. In those eyes‚ deeper confusion resided before any defiance.
“What do you mean. Are you saying we can’t call our comrades?”
It’s only natural. Until just a moment ago‚ we had been running in the same direction. To save the unknown girl who came from the outer world‚ to gather everyone’s strength for that—believing only in that so straightforwardly.
But.
“Calm down and think‚ both of you.”
I dropped my voice quietly.
“What you are about to do now is‚ for this Kingdom‚ a clear ‘act of national treason.’”
“……Treason.”
Kotone muttered in a hard voice.
“That’s right. The Central Army is trying to immediately eliminate intruders from the outer world as ‘impurities.’”
I gazed at the heavy shadow of the Great Barrier towering in the distant northern sky beyond the opened window. Then I raised a slender fingertip and held it up as if drawing a single drop of water in the air.
“And you see…… from the standpoint of managing this aquarium (terrarium)‚ the military’s judgment cannot necessarily be called wrong.”
“……What do you mean?”
Kotone’s brows furrowed unpleasantly.
“Imagine this crystal-clear aquarium. What happens if you drip just one drop of deadly poison into the transparent water from outside?”
A faint particle of light that fell from my fingertip drew quiet ripples in the air and eventually vanished into emptiness.
“At first it’s only a tiny change. But little by little‚ it will steadily erode everything. By the time you notice‚ the entire aquarium may be rotting. The military is trying to protect the peaceful ecosystem inside this box. Even if the true identity of that poison is…… a single girl who risked her life to reach the gate.”
Kotone fell silent. The eyes behind her silver-rimmed glasses swayed with a conflict that seemed to tear them apart.
“Therefore‚ saving that child is not simple help for a person. It means turning the entire enormous box that is this Kingdom into an enemy‚ and becoming permanently pursued.”
A heavy silence fell. But the cold formula (logic) that had to be thrust at them was not only that.
“Or—another one. What is more decisive than anything is the problem of ‘suitability.’”
I directed my gaze to Aria’s white‚ translucent right hand‚ then concentrated my awareness on the depths of my own chest—the blue circuits that ached from absorbing the world’s discord.
“Survival time: three minutes. That is the absolute limit for an ordinary human to keep breathing in that high-concentration residual of the outer world. So let me ask: how many people in this aquarium do you think can set foot into that sea of death and keep absorbing the sound of the self?”
“……Almost none.”
Kotone answered as if squeezing it out self-mockingly.
“That’s right. Those who have reached the first-rank domain and taken the world’s distortion into their bodies…… Aria‚ me‚ and Solan. And beyond that‚ only Zephyr‚ who has survived from the beginning by absorbing the outer world’s poison. ……Solan cannot move now due to the aftereffects of the battle with us. In other words‚ those who can go outside that cage are only us from the start.”
“……!”
Kotone’s shoulders trembled slightly. With a mind like hers‚ she should already have arrived at the cruel answer. Cross‚ Rinne‚ Liam‚ Mark—no matter how strong they are‚ no matter how passionate‚ before the physical absolute death that is the outer world‚ simply taking them along would mercilessly “kill” them.
“Kotone. You too…… stay here.”
“Wha……!? Me too!?”
“Your calculation ability is splendid. But your body cannot endure the outer world’s poison. ……And you see‚ there is an important role that only you can fulfill here.”
I quietly gazed in the direction of the office sleeping deep within the royal palace beyond the window.
“If Aria discards the first-rank license and flees to the outer world‚ the only ‘central core of the system’ the military will need next is one. ……They will try to drag the awakened Solan back underground once more as the management core (human pillar).”
I softened my tone just a little and looked straight into Kotone’s swaying eyes.
“So support him. ……The current Solan is no longer the cold ice statue he once was.”
Kotone bit her lip hard and swam her gaze resentfully. Eventually she laughed self-mockingly with a small “……Hah‚” and roughly pushed up her slipped glasses with a finger.
“Really‚ such selfish arguments. ……Fine. My pride isn’t so cheap that I’d become a speechless ornament in three minutes outside. ……I’ll take responsibility for explaining to Rinne-san and the others as well.”
“That helps‚ Kotone.”
I nodded deeply and finally turned to Aria.
A single strand of gold mixed into the deep navy hair. And right beside him—something only I could perceive‚ a faint trembling of strings. The presence of the “invisible residual echo of Iris” anxiously gripping the hem of Aria’s clothes with small hands.
“……Aria. Saving someone is something like that.”
Quietly‚ choosing my words‚ I continued.
“Discarding precious everyday life. Leaving behind the warmth of comrades. And—knowing you might never meet again‚ going without even being able to say words of farewell.”
My words stop.
The warm smell of Rinne’s five-times miso soup. Cross’s roar like an explosion. The heavy bell sound played by Liam’s shield. Mark’s gale.
All of that everyday life that was clumsy‚ muddy‚ and unbearably precious. A parting from them that might become permanent.
Aria slowly closed his eyes and tightly gripped his right hand where the whitening was advancing. From between his fingers‚ white particles of magic spilled away fleetingly.
“……Not being able to say goodbye is…… really lonely.”
He muttered softly—and then raised his face.
“……But. If we stand still‚ we can’t save anyone. Nothing changes. ……Let’s go!”
That dignified voice sharply pierced through the hushed corridor.
The shadow of the boy who had once been scorned as a “failure” was nowhere to be found there anymore.
Deep in my chest‚ I felt the poisonous blue blood suddenly take on heat.
“Fufu…… a good sound‚ Aria.”
I raised my hand. From my fingertips a vivid emerald wind was born‚ becoming a transparent melody that gently enveloped us. Gravity quietly unraveled from beneath our feet.
“Shall we go. Together with me…… and the little musician beside you.”
Aria lifted the corners of his mouth just a little.
After exchanging a final glance with Kotone‚ she quietly approached‚ removed a small brooch from her chest‚ and held it out.
“……This is a long-distance communicator. And—take care.”
No further words were needed.
—The wind sounds.
From the opened window‚ we leaped into the cold wind before dawn. Beneath our feet the warm lights of the academy rapidly receded.
Our destination is the north. The place where the world ends—the “Stone Gate of the Great Barrier.”
My vision was dyed in a dazzling white of murderous intent.
Dozens of magical guns. The destructive magic being compressed into their muzzles was making a high-pitched sound.
Kiiiiin—.
It hurts deep in my ears. I’m scared. My body won’t move. I have to run. Even though my brain is screaming that‚ my legs trembled and I couldn’t even stand.
Beyond the vision blurred by tears‚ the faces of my comrades who had turned into stone statues floated up one by one and disappeared. Forty-nine people. We had come this far with forty-nine people.
Someone fell‚ someone became stone‚ someone with their last strength pushed me forward. Carrying all those wills‚ I had finally arrived. Just a little more‚ and this gate of hope—.
(……Ah. I’m going to die here.)
Frustrating. Scary. Everyone‚ I’m sorry. Even though you connected your lives to mine. I couldn’t even pass through the gate.
I squeezed my eyes shut tightly and quietly waited for the next flash and pain.
—That was the moment.
Zu‚ zuzuzuzuzu……!!
The earth itself groaned lowly. No‚ what was trembling was not the ground. The Great Barrier that pierced the heavens. The “Main Gate” towering at its center—was moving heavily from the inside.
“Wh-what!?”
“The seal on the Main Gate is…… being forcibly released from the inside!?”
The soldiers’ agitated voices flew about‚ and I fearfully opened my eyes.
The enormous iron gate slowly split. From its depths‚ someone was coming.
But before the soldiers could turn around—every sound vanished from the world.
The sound of the wind‚ the charge sound of the magical guns‚ even the soldiers’ angry shouts‚ in an instant.
—Slash.
There was not even sound. Just something transparent slid horizontally across space as if gliding.
The tips of the magical guns‚ spears‚ and swords of the soldiers who had completely surrounded me all fell at the same time.
Clang‚ clang.
Those smooth cut surfaces were far too clean‚ as if nothing had ever existed there from the beginning.
“Wh…… the guns were…… cut……?”
The captain muttered in a daze. At the same time‚ the residual smell that had been stabbing my nose vanished‚ and the heavy‚ rotten atmosphere was blown away in an instant. Cool air flowed fully into my lungs. Transparent‚ without any scent—pure air as if I were breathing for the first time in my life.
At its center stood a single girl.
Ash-blonde hair cut short swayed faintly even without wind. Jade-colored eyes. Silver-white military formal wear. A small‚ lovely body that looked about the same age as me.
And yet‚ the moment I saw that figure‚ I instinctively understood.
—This person is not the same humanity as me.
“Who are you!”
The captain barked.
“Attack on the interception unit‚ as well as destruction of the border defense line! I deem it an obvious act of national treason! Everyone‚ ready close-range magical swords! Eliminate that traitor along with the intruder!”
Fierce murderous intent was directed at the girl all at once‚ and countless blades and bullets filled the space.
—But.
“……Too slow.”
The girl muttered softly. That was all.
—Shun.
The girl’s figure vanished.
“—Wha!?”
Bullets cut the air‚ swords cut the air. In the place where the girl had been standing just before‚ only a thin afterimage of light remained emptily.
“Impossible……! Too fast! Raise dynamic vision to the absolute limit!”
The captain shouted‚ and blue construction formulas ran across his eyeballs. The world slowed. Flying bullets‚ scattering sand‚ the soldiers’ movements—all of it seemed about to stop.
“I caught it……! There!”
A light reflected for an instant in the captain’s eyes‚ and the trigger was pulled. Straight at the girl’s forehead. It will hit. Everyone was certain of that.
But—there was no response at all.
“……Eh?”
The blood drained from the captain’s face. What he had shot through was not the girl’s body‚ but only the lingering scent of air that was proof she had been there just a moment before.
“No way…… surpassed…… dynamic vision……?”
Right behind that astonished voice.
“—Not there.”
The captain turned around. Jade-colored eyes and his gaze crossed straight on.
The girl’s hand rose quietly‚ and then—.
—Dooon!!
The atmosphere exploded.
“Gu—!”
The captain’s body floated into the air‚ and the soldiers behind him were all blown away together. Armor slammed against the stone floor‚ swords rolled‚ magical guns shattered.
In just a few seconds. Of the dozens of soldiers‚ not a single one was left standing.
Silence.
I remained sitting on the ground‚ simply gaping in a daze.
“Ah…… awawa……”
That was all that finally leaked from the back of my throat. I wanted to think she had used magic. But there was no sign of deploying a formula at all. No convergence of magic‚ no chanting. Just fast. Far too fast.
(She’s…… killing the friction of the air……?)
The intelligence as an elf within me began to move before fear. Theoretically that’s…… no‚ wait. Moving at that speed‚ the body should break first. Air resistance‚ impact‚ kinetic energy‚ magical load. None of the calculations add up. Even an elf’s high-level flight formula couldn’t manage such reckless movement—.
There‚ I caught my breath.
The girl landed quietly. The silver-white military formal wear‚ its right sleeve. From the shoulder onward—it was gray.
No‚ stone. The entire right arm had been transformed into heavy gray stone.
“……No way.”
I strained my eyes. The gray stone had already eroded up to the shoulder‚ and something like dead magic was writhing in the depths of the fine cracks on the surface.
(That arm…… the cells are completely dead. The residual poison has eroded deep into the body……!)
In the gaps of the silver-white military formal wear‚ thin gray was seeping around the neck and collarbone as well. Her whole body was beginning to turn to stone.
Why. With a body like that‚ how can she move at such speed. Doesn’t it hurt. You’ll die.
I completely forgot even the existence of the small scrape on my knee and was simply speechless.
Zephyr looked once at the fallen soldiers. No look of triumph‚ no anger‚ not even pride. After simply confirming that no one would stand again‚ she slowly turned to me.
Jade-colored eyes. There was a color there that was surprisingly quiet and transparent.
“……Are you injured?”
It was a voice like a ringing bell. An ordinary‚ warm voice‚ and conversely I felt tears about to overflow in torrents.
“I…… was saved……”
I put strength into my knees‚ brushed off the sand‚ and stood.
“I……”
My voice trembled. But this time I managed to say it properly.
“I am Palpal. The last one of the expedition from the land of the elves.”
Deep in my chest‚ it burned hot. The faces of the forty-nine who had become stone floated up. These children had carried me this far.
So I bowed my head deeply.
“Thanks to you…… I didn’t die. ……Thank you.”
A single tear fell onto the stone floor.
I raised my face and met the jade-colored eyes straight on.
That was the first heartfelt gratitude I‚ who had finally arrived carrying the lives of forty-nine people‚ was able to deliver to someone.
—Piin.
The transparent waveform of wind that Nagi had spun quietly unraveled‚ and the tips of my feet landed on the cold stone floor.
Northern end‚ in front of the Main Gate of the Great Barrier. What spread there were the traces of a brutal battle. Shattered magical guns‚ broken magical swords‚ soldiers lying on the stone floor like speechless ornaments. And enveloping all of it‚ an abnormally clear‚ frictionless air.
“……Zephyr.”
When I called that name‚ the girl clad in silver-white military uniform quietly turned around.
From the shoulder onward‚ the entire right arm transformed into gray stone. In the jade-colored eyes resided the usual cold silence‚ but that small body was standing as if shielding something behind her.
At her feet was—a single elf girl in a green robe stained with mud and blood‚ her face a mess of tears. She was desperately trembling as she kept her body that seemed about to collapse at any moment.
“You’re late‚ Aria.”
Zephyr stated shortly.
“Clearance is finished. ……A survivor from the outer world.”
“Thank you‚ Zephyr.”
I finally exhaled the impatience that had been stretched tight deep in my chest and crouched in front of the elf girl. I held out my right hand‚ still numb and white‚ as gently as possible.
“Are you injured? ……Traveler from outside.”
“Eh…… ah……”
The girl looked up at my face‚ then at the offered right hand. And then—.
“Hii……!”
Suddenly she recoiled as if struck.
“Wh-what is that arm!?”
“Eh?”
“It’s pure white like transparent ice! The life activity of the cells is completely rejected! Why are the two of you looking so calm with bodies that are half-dead!?”
“……Ahaha. Well…… a lot happened.”
“It’s not a state you can dismiss with ‘a lot’!”
She’s energetic. At least‚ the heat in that voice alone is.
Feeling a little relieved‚ I took her small hand stained with mud. It was terribly cold. But from deep within it‚ a definite heat of life was pulsing.
“……I’m glad.”
A murmur leaked out involuntarily.
“Eh?”
“That you’re alive.”
The girl widened her jade eyes for just an instant—that was when.
—Goooooo…….
From far away‚ something was heard. Not the sound of the wind. A ground rumble. No‚ a more numerous mass of something was trampling the earth violently and chewing‚ a repulsive sound.
—Dodododododododo…….
The sound rapidly approached. Beyond the Great Barrier‚ from the far reaches of the gray land of death‚ the ground itself was undulating black and ominously.
“……What?”
Zephyr turned around. Her jade-colored eyes accurately captured the northwestern darkness‚ and her expressionless brows twitched ever so slightly.
“……They’re coming.”
“What is?”
“Magical beasts.”
With that single word‚ the blood completely drained from the elf girl’s face.
“……! No…… they’re still…… chasing……”
Palpal. The name Zephyr had shared earlier. Her trembling finger pointed to the other side of the Great Barrier‚ the gray abyss.
“The monsters that chased us……”
Beyond the gray fog‚ something was writhing. One‚ two‚ ten‚ a hundred—eventually a mass so great that one abandoned counting began to fill the horizon. Enormous four-legged beasts‚ winged aberrations‚ filthy things crawling on the ground. All of them forming one enormous tsunami‚ rushing madly toward us.
“……Forty-nine people.”
Palpal muttered in a vacant voice.
“What chased us…… wasn’t just that. Everyone became decoys. To…… let me escape……”
Large tears again trailed down her cheeks.
I looked behind. The enormous gate of the Great Barrier. The swarm of magical beasts pressing beyond it. Even if we crossed this gate into the outer world‚ if that great horde caught up‚ our bodies would certainly be crushed.
Zephyr took one step forward.
“……Many.”
“Can you defeat them?”
“I can.”
An immediate answer. But‚ Zephyr looked down at her own gray right arm.
“It will take time.”
That body must already be near its limit. I clenched my fist tightly.
At that moment‚ the cold outer wind blew in through the gap in the gate. The back of my neck trembled chillily.
Deep in my left chest‚ the amber “ancient heart fragment”—poan‚ beat with a small but unbearably warm heat.
“……Iris.”
I gazed into empty space where nothing was.
“The wind is cold‚ isn’t it.”
Palpal’s movement froze solid.
“Aren’t you cold?”
I smiled gently toward the emptiness.
From the small presence in a place no one’s eyes could see‚ Iris’s golden residual echo of “poan” returned deep into my chest as if to reassure me.
“Hii……!”
Palpal took a step back with eyes that saw something unbelievable.
“Wh-who are you talking to!? You’re talking to empty space with such a gentle face!?”
“It’s Iris.”
“So who is that!?”
“Ah‚ I see.”
Nagi‚ clad in the residual echo of emerald wind‚ quietly descended to the floor.
“It’s natural to be surprised. There is a ‘residual echo of the soul’ there.”
“……Residual echo of the soul?”
“Yes. It’s in elf legends too‚ right?”
Nagi’s jade-colored eyes narrowed quietly.
“A short-lived species that dies while continuously absorbing the poison of humanity. The legendary girl said to have once purified the world.”
Palpal’s eyes opened to their limit.
“……Iris…… could it be‚ the one from the legends……”
And looking alternately at my white translucent right hand and Zephyr’s petrified right arm‚ her voice trembled.
“……You people. Could it be‚ that power……”
“That’s right.”
Nagi stated the cold fact.
“This boy’s whitened right hand is also a power obtained by using that child’s life as fuel.”
“……Are you insane!?”
Suddenly Palpal shouted in a tearful voice.
“Firing magic while shaving away your life—are you in your right mind!?”
“……Yeah.”
“Don’t ‘yeah’ me!”
Palpal grabbed my arm tightly with her mud-covered hands.
“I’m an elf super-elite mage‚ you know!”
“Is that so?”
“It is!”
She puffed out her chest defiantly with tearful eyes.
“So I can’t completely heal the whitening or petrification…… but I can at least use a technique to slow the progression!”
“Really!?”
“Yes!”
But Palpal grimaced a little awkwardly and added in a small voice.
“However—it’s a magic that forcibly detoxifies the outer world’s poison‚ so…… it hurts so much it’ll burn through the mesh of your nerves!!”
“……I don’t like pain.”
“I do not possess the concept (program) of suffering. No problem.”
“What are you peopleee!”
Palpal held her head and crouched on the spot.
In such a desperate situation. At the entrance to the world of death.
I laughed just a little.
It was strange. In this place that until moments ago had only the smell of death‚ the “sounds” of living humans were overflowing. Voices arguing‚ voices angry‚ voices laughing. A clumsy‚ muddy‚ yet unbearably precious ensemble.
—Uuuuuuun……!!
At that moment‚ the entire Great Barrier Observation Post trembled violently‚ and a second-class emergency alert rang out. From afar‚ the driving sound of magical vehicles and the sound of countless soldiers’ boots approached. The military’s follow-up forces.
Outside‚ a hopeless great swarm of magical beasts. Behind‚ the Kingdom’s army. There is no longer any path of escape.
“……Lingering is useless.”
Nagi quietly gazed into the darkness of the outer world.
“Yeah.”
I nodded and looked back at the distant southern sky—the direction of the Royal Magical Academy.
There are the comrades we left behind. Rinne‚ who clumsily boiled five-times miso with kindness. Cross‚ who laughs with a soul hotter than anyone. Liam‚ who vowed to protect my sound with the bell shield. Mark‚ who races while scattering sparks of friction. Else and Kotone‚ who let us escape with cold calculations. And—Solan‚ who still sleeps in the cage of perfect silence.
I couldn’t even say words of farewell.
(……I’m going‚ everyone. To deliver our discord—to the world.)
I took out the first-rank license from my pocket and gripped it tightly. I pointed my whitened right hand straight toward the land of death outside the Great Barrier.
Deep in my left chest‚ the ancient heart fragment took on intense heat. Overlapping that heat—poan‚ Iris’s golden residual echo rang.
A small sound. Yet the melody was indeed beautifully assembling within me.
“Let’s go.”
I raised the baton.
“First Array Rhythm (Beat)—”
One beat. The world completely fell silent.
“—Deploy!!”
—Dooooon!!!
I slammed my whitened right hand directly into the gray land of death.
A tremendous shockwave. The physical “rhythm (ton-ton)” and Iris’s “golden residual echo (poan)” overlapped perfectly‚ becoming geometric light ripples that raced across the surface at explosive speed.
Ten meters‚ a hundred meters‚ one kilometer‚ five kilometers‚ and— a radius of ten kilometers.
“……Kuh.”
A sharp pain raced through my body. Click……. From the watch at my waist‚ the remaining time advanced slightly with a cruel sound that was quietly audible.
But—the residuals that had been polluting the atmosphere were blown away all at once without even time to scream. The gray fog vividly split‚ and the rotten air was purified in an instant. The dark clouds that had covered the sky overhead were pushed away into the distance‚ drawing an enormous circle.
And—light shone through.
“……”
No one could make a sound.
What spread overhead was a clear‚ beautiful blue sky. The real sunlight I hadn’t seen in so long. At our feet‚ dry earth appeared‚ and a soft‚ fresh scent of life rose.
We can breathe. Outside‚ we are certainly alive.
The approaching swarm of magical beasts was repelled by the sacred golden barrier and could only growl resentfully beyond the boundary line.
In the world where only death had existed—a safe zone (save point) for life‚ ten kilometers in diameter‚ was blooming in golden glory.
“Ah……”
Palpal fell to her knees and gazed blankly up at the blue sky.
“The residuals of the outer world…… pushed back…… in an instant……?”
A trembling voice fell onto the dry earth.
I stood and turned to her.
“Come.”
I gripped the baton again.
“Let’s go.”
Nagi. Zephyr. Palpal. And the invisible Iris smiling beside me.
Still incomplete. Still only four of us. An ensemble far too few and clumsy to call an orchestra.
Even so.
“To the journey of salvation—to let them hear our sound.”
I directed my gaze beyond the Great Barrier.
An endless gray sea. Beyond it‚ countless monsters still writhed‚ and the world would by no means welcome us.
Even so‚ we begin to walk.
The enormous glass aquarium that is the Kingdom. This time we will completely smash its thick walls—and we take a definite first step toward the truth of the world.
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New Chapter 18: “Incomplete Opening (Fanfare)‚ or Those Who Break the Boundary” End
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