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heiseidominantation · 1 year

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Heisei Cataclysm "The Beginning of the End" (Uzuki & Heiwa)

Since when had she been afraid of sleeping?

Even before she went to bed, she strongly hoped she would wake up.

As soon as a minute or a second, she hoped that the cruel dreams that she kept dreaming about every night would end.

※

"...Ah!"

A vast consciousness resembling drunkenness became vivid in her mind.

Shaking her eardrums was the shrill metallic sound of blades colliding violently with each other. The smell of iron penetrating her nasal cavity was so dense that she couldn't help but cover her mouth with her hand.

Again…

Tokido Haku gazed at the strange sight unfolding before her eyes. On the roof of the abandoned house overlooking the decaying buildings…

Under the slightly chipped and distorted moon in the night sky, a boy and a girl, who were still innocent, were scrambling for each other's lives with their dripping knives in their hands.

"You're as stubborn as ever, Rei!"

The girl with a smile on her lips rolled up the hem of her scarlet dress. She kicked hard on the ground and fluttered through the air, holding many knives inside her skirt between her fingers and releasing them sharply in a flowing motion. The boy who was attacked by white-edged rain over his head avoided the attack by rolling on the ground many times.

"Don't worry, Sakuhi. I'll stop being so stubborn right now."

The boy, who sat up on one knee, threw his knife at the girl who had just landed, expressionless. The blade, glittering in the moonlight, cut through the soft white skin of the girl's black shirt under her dress. The spout of blood stained not only the dry ground, but also the neat face of the girl, distorted by pain and hatred.

"Sakuhi" and "Rei". It was a long time ago that she found out these were the names of the two people who killed each other. Haku understood very well that this nightmare was a real nightmare. Because she had been dreaming every night of bloodshed that drove her crazy since she was in junior high school.

In last night's dream, Rei stabbed Sakuhi to death. In her previous dream, she remembered that Sakuhi strangled Rei with both hands. Although the means and places were different, the boy and girl who she only knew the names of filled Haku's dreams with the smell of death whenever night came.

"Just stop it already, both of you!"

If things went on like this, one of them would die as usual. Haku's bitter cry disappeared without reaching Rei or Sakuhi.

It was always like that… She could only stand by and watch the two people kill each other in her dream. She was the only spectator who was shown this mad stage where she wasn't allowed to interfere, let alone touch.

"Why do you keep doing such sad things?"

Sakuhi had long, pure white hair reflected in one side of the darkness tied in two at a high head position. On the other hand... Rei's jet-black hair, which seemed to blend into the darkness, bounced slightly above his shoulders. Their hair and gender were different, but their appearance made them look like twins. It looked like they had a pair of red and blue odd eyes, which were different from each other on the left and right. And it was no wonder they looked like that. For they were truly two people.

"I don't understand! Why do you have to fight "yourself"!?"

The reason why they fought. That was the meaning of their "existence".

Originally, Rei and Sakuhi seemed to have been one person. In the past, the surprising fact was revealed in a murderous battle that was shown to the point of disgust. Two personalities that lived in one body. One of them was embodied by someone's power, and the two were at odds over the only place.

—Because there should be no two people in one world…

People shouldn't kill others.

A tear fell from Haku's cheek at the extraordinary act of killing each other. At the same time that the drops had sprung on the ground…

"I can't bear to lose to you!"

The groaning Sakuhi struck Rei with her bare hands, regardless of the opening of the wound on her shoulder. Rei used his arms to ward off the wind and thrusted his fist out. He readily accepted the kick, which had been delivered, with the palm of his hand.

"Too bad for you. This is it...!"

Rei, who was holding Sakuhi's thin ankle, shook her delicate body to the edge of the roof without a fence, and felt no hesitation at all. Sakuhi, stepping on her backside, leapt back into the darkness of the night. Young red and blue eyes oozed with despair. A flexible hand stretched out for salvation cut through the empty sky...

For a while, and after a while, from the distant earth, she heard the sound of a ripe fruit crashing.

※

"—Ah!!"

A scream crept deep in her throat, making a twitching sound. Haku, who sprang out of bed, grabbed her chest, which was beating violently, as if it were after running at full speed, from above her pajamas.

"...What the hell is this? Every day, every day…"

She took a deep breath to adjust her shallow and fast breathing. The quiet night sweats that she felt all over her body were unpleasant, and wrinkles naturally formed between her eyebrows. She pressed her forehead to smooth out the wrinkles, and Haku muttered.

"What was I dreaming about?"

The worst wake-up of the morning. She was sure she had some kind of dream, but she didn't remember it at all. This phenomenon had continued since she first became a junior high school student. It was creepy, and she gradually became afraid of sleeping. But the body was honest, and at night it naturally seeked sleep. Haku, who was seized with an inescapable drowsiness, always prayed.

If it's a dream that I forget when I wake up, don't show it to me tonight.

"...It's no good, I can't remember today either."

When her breathing and heartbeat were in order, Haku let out a small sigh and went down from her bed. She seemed to have forgotten to draw the curtains last night. She stretched as long as she could with the bright morning sun shining through the window. When she looked at the alarm clock on her bedside, it was earlier than usual.

Since it was Sunday, I wanted to sleep a little more…

There was no point in turning off the alarm function. Haku, who somehow felt like she had lost time, shook her head and changed her mind.

What am I thinking? If I have time to sleep, I should spend as much time as possible searching!

When she headed to the wardrobe where she was storing her clothes, she pulled out a suitable shirt and skirt to change into, and put a thin hood on top of it. Haku stood in front of the mirror standing by the window.

After combing her hair as a whole, she knit the long neckline into two with a familiar hand. To wrap it up, she held the left side of her bangs with her favorite white hairpin and she was done.

"Okay, I'll do my best today too!"

She smacked her cheek to cheer herself up, and picked up the bag hanging beside her study desk. As she did so, her eyes were drawn to the photograph stand on the table. What was displayed was a family photo. Her parents, herself, and her little brother, who disappeared shortly after taking this picture, were all smiles. Haku gently caressed her younger brother's smile with her thin fingertips.

"Wait for me, Rei. No matter how many years it takes, your big sister will find you."

※

Years had already passed since Haku's younger brother, Rei, disappeared. Having submitted a search request, the police were still looking for Rei. But Haku didn't want to leave her precious brother to others. Even for a short time on her way to school, she always looked for Rei. On weekends, she went not only to neighboring towns but also to other prefectures. Although Haku continued to search for her younger brother, who suddenly disappeared, she wasn't alone. Her kind-hearted friends wouldn't let Haku be so reckless.

"You shouldn't do this alone. If you're looking for him anyway, more people would be more efficient."

"That's right, Haku, we're friends, so you have to rely on us more."

"O-Of course! If you ask us to do anything… I-I'll lend my strength and help you, too!"

Three of her classmates said that and went out to search for Rei.

Her parents began to persuade her to leave it to the police now, and their presence supported Haku's heart.

But I can't just stop for my own convenience.

Haku, who left home earlier than usual, was standing at a bus stop near her house. Taking her smartphone out of her bag, she opened an SNS app that connected her friends. Then, she tapped the screen lightly and typed in a message.

Let's see... "I'll be free today. Let's make sure to enjoy Sunday"… And send.

The app she used as a means of communication allowed her to exchange sentences within a community.

—Heisei Snipers.

That was the name of the community that all of her companions gave through trial and error. Next to the name of the creator, Haku, was an icon with the words "Leader".

"This is cool, isn't it!? Doesn't it seem like a secret organization?"

One of her friends pointed to the leader's icon and said so.

Since then, Haku had deliberately acted like a leader of a secret organization when writing messages. If she wrote her own messages, she would have written something like "I'm sorry for taking up your time". The leader character was well received among her companions.

Come to think of it, didn't Rei like to play hero too…?

Immediately after posting the message, she suddenly remembered.

With the same bright red eyes as herself, Rei would look forward to watching the squadron's show every week early in the morning on weekends. Of course, it was common that they played hero games together.

I was the villain monster, and Rei always knocked me down, didn't he?

He would punch her with his small fist and she would fall down with an exaggerated groan. Sometimes she pretended to be beaten, and while Rei was off guard, she would tickle him and fight back.

Back then, they were just ordinary siblings you would find everywhere. Now that they were separated, she realized that their "ordinary" at that time was "special".

"Oh, I know!"

The Heisei Snipers' activities were to search for Rei, who was missing. So once Rei was found safe, she would hand over the leadership position. He was her younger brother who longed to be a hero. She was sure that he'd like it. Then they would all decide on a new course of action.

Until then, I'll be the leader instead…

Hurry up and come back.

At the same time that Haku wished in her heart, the bus arrived.

The destination was a station in the city area. The others were looking in the neighborhood, so she was going to go to the next prefecture for the first time in a while.

If I run into everyone, I'll be in big trouble.

If her companions found out that she was looking for Rei alone, she would be scolded in three ways, and it would be hard for them to forgive her. Nevertheless, she would like for them to grow their wings on weekends.

When the passenger door opened, she went up the bus step lightly. Haku's voice, thinking of her friends, was drowned out by the sound of the door closing without reaching anyone.

※

Ugh... I'm pathetic.

Sitting on a park bench illuminated by the west eye, Haku shrugged her shoulders. Before leaving the house, she declared to her brother in the photo, "I'll definitely find you," but today's search had ended in vain. It was time to go home, but her legs hurt from walking too much. She still hadn't found any clues, and not only her body but also her mind was getting heavier.

"Hey, Onee-chan?"

"...?"

When she was deeply drooping and depressed, her sleeve was pulled modestly, and she looked up slowly to find a little boy was staring at her right next to her.

Rei...?

The boy and her brother were seen overlapping for a moment. However, such hallucinations soon dissipated. Rei disappeared when she was about the same age as the boy in front of her. It was impossible for the future to come back as it was then. As much as Haku had grown, Rei had gotten older.

...I see.

Haku suddenly realized why she couldn't find Rei. Haku had remembered Rei as if time had stopped and they were still young. She knew in her head that people grew up, but she didn't seem to follow the essential feeling. Anyway, all Haku had been following with her eyes during the search were little boys.

It's too late to realize that now.

Once again, she sighed at her lack of worth.

"Hey, Onee-chan, what's wrong? Does it hurt anywhere?"

The boy peeped anxiously into Haku's silent, self-loathing face. At last, Haku came to her senses.

"Oh… I-I'm sorry. Onee-chan here was just a little dazed."

"Are you okay? Do you have a fever?"

"Thank you for your concern. But don't worry, because I'm full of energy."

She said, "Look!" and, although it was awkward, she smiled and made a lump on her arm. Then the boy replied "It's true!" with a cheerful smile. As they laughed with each other, she heard a woman's voice from afar.

"Oh, my mom is calling me."

When she looked at the entrance to the park, she found a woman pushing a stroller. The woman was beckoning for the boy's name.

"I've gotta go home. Bye bye, Onee-chan!"

"Yes, take care."

Haku also looked back at the boy who started running with an innocent wave.

Then, a man of unsteady steps appeared from somewhere and stood blocking the boy's way.

What's with that person?

The man wore a worn-out top and bottom jersey and had unlimited hair and a beard. He was wearing sandals, but his right one may have come off in the middle. His eyes were out of focus, and he kept muttering something in his mouth.

The boy stopped and stood still in the strange atmosphere created by the man. He was a kind boy who worried about Haku's depressed self and talked to her. She decided to take him to his mother before he got any more scared.

But the moment Haku got up from the bench, something shone in the man's hand.

What he pulled out just now was…

Looking at the man's right hand, Haku suddenly felt her spine freeze. It was a big survival knife that the man was holding tightly with his tough hands. The blade glittered as if it were looking for blood, reflecting the setting sun.

This isn't good...!

She immediately searched the side pocket of her bag and took out the object she was looking for, and ran forward forgetting the pain in her leg. At the same time, the man muttered to himself, with a thick strange voice, and began to wave his knife around.

The boy stood like stone and was unable to move. For the man who barked like a mad beast and raged, he was a good target.

"STOPPP!"

The little body trembled with fear, sooner than the man's deadly blade was shaken down. Haku, who pushed the boy away, threw the bag in her left hand at him with all her might. Luckily, the bag hit the man in the face, and his hand holding the knife stopped for an instant.

Now!

Without missing a moment's opportunity, Haku narrowed her distance from the man at once. And she felt free to thrust a large syringe of blood-red medicine into the man's side, which had just been taken out of her bag. Thick needles, which were different from medical ones, easily penetrated his clothes and reached his skin. When the medicine was injected at once and the needle was pulled out, the man fell to the ground and fell down.

I-It worked…

She kicked the knife away from the man's hand and Haku breathed out a sigh of relief.

"...O-Onee-chan…!"

When she was called back, she saw the boy looking at her, trembling. The boy's mother was about to change her face and run. Haku, whose tension was broken, laughed weakly.

"Onee-chan here beat the scary old man. It's all right now."

She told him as gently as she could, and the boy's face soon became distorted— And then he burst into tears with a loud voice.

※

"Today was a disaster…"

Haku, who was washing herself in the bathroom, naturally let out a sigh from her lips.

She was supposed to have gone looking for Rei, but she got caught up in an unexpected incident in the park she stopped by on her way home. The boy's mother reported it, and soon after, several police officers came. She was prepared to be questioned, but the police officer, who checked the man's condition, simply released Haku by nagging, "Don't be so reckless".

"That man was definitely suffering from "heart erosion"."

Heisei was a peaceful time that had nothing to do with conflict. There was no hunger, nor were there houses burned by war. People's lives were getting easier and easier because they were blessed with high-performance civilization. Everyone wanted a peaceful life. It was thought that no happier time would come.

...Until a disease was discovered.

The name of the disease was 〔Heart erosion〕. To put it literally, it was a disease that ate your heart until your mind was worn out.

"I'm glad I didn't forget to bring a sedative for self-defense."

The injection Haku gave to the man who was upset was a sedative exclusively for cardiac patients. If the red medicine was poured into the body, even patients with terminal heart erosion could be instantly incapacitated. It was now becoming common in this country to carry sedative syringes for self-defense.

"And yet…"

After Haku washed away all the bubbles in the shower, she soaked in the bathtub.

"I heard on the news that the number of patients with heart erosion was increasing rapidly these days. Is there any reason for it?"

Someone said that a pleasant era would murder people. In most cases, emotional contact occurred when people who were less immune to conflict continued to be exposed to intense mental stress. When inferiority, suspicion, living conditions and working conditions became closely related, a great researcher was enthusiastic about it on a TV program.

"What is peace, anyway?"

People suffered from heart erosion and tried to hurt others even if they lived in a life that had nothing to do with conflict. Even in a world named after peace, there was a danger of being suddenly threatened like the boy she met in the park.

"Maybe because it's peaceful, that's why a fight happens."

When she thought about it, she didn't know what was right and what was wrong—...

Haku, who sank her mouth in the tub, bubbled with helpless thoughts.

※

After returning to her room and drying her wet hair with a towel after taking a bath, Haku picked up the photograph standing on the table. Her heart creaked dangerously at her brother's smile, who she couldn't find no matter how much she looked for him.

I wonder what Rei looks like now?

With the photo frame in her hand, Haku stood in front of the mirror stand. Photographs and mirrors were the same as herself, who grew from the past to the present, and Rei must have been the same. When she thought about it again, she felt more attached to it than ever before.

"Rei, where are you now?"

Her only precious little brother. She wanted to see Rei grow up and smile. She wanted to take pictures with her whole family and live together under the same roof.

"...I want to see you…"

She expressed her thoughts swirling in her heart as if she were spitting blood.

The next moment, as when a pebble was thrown into the lake, a ripple spread on the surface of the mirror reflecting Haku's image.

"If you want to see your brother that much, I'll let you see him."

It was neither her father nor her mother that spoke. Haku's shoulders shook greatly at the third party's voice. The voice was coming from the mirror.

There, where Haku was seen until a while ago, was now a different person who looked very similar to her. The cloak with a red cloth clasp and the short hair on her shoulders were the color of a crow's wet wings. She lifted only one side of her mouth, and laughed sarcastically.

Who is this person?

Not only the clothes and hair color, but also the atmosphere was different. Still, the crimson eyes staring at her, the red pin shape that held the right side of her bangs, and above all, the appearance of her face was very similar to that of Haku's.

"Time is running out."

The person in the mirror slowly turned her muzzle toward Haku. Before she could feel fear, the trigger was pulled, and the dry gunfire sounded in the room…

"So, enjoy your final reunion!"

Haku's consciousness quickly receded with a voice of hateful joy.

※

"—Ugh!"

Haku kneeled down on the spot in the shock of compulsory awakening.

I was… shot just now, right?

A mysterious figure suddenly appeared in the mirror. The black muzzle she held made her spine tremble. She looked around to see if there were any scratches—

"It's okay. It's just your "consciousness" that flew this way."

She thought she was alone, but…

A voice came from an unexpected close range, and Haku looked up as if she had been played.

"Ah…"

"He" stood quietly in a dark space that stretched forever. As soon as she saw it, the memories of the dreams that she had in her mind came back to life.

With a sharpened knife in his hand, the boy and the girl who killed each other, the boy who killed himself countless times, and the boy who continued to be killed by the other, stood in front of her.

"N-No way…"

Why did she forget it in the real world? Why didn't she notice it in her dreams? The brother, who Haku had been searching for for years, was reunited with her every night in her dreams.

"Long time no see, Nee-san."

When the boy smiled softly, Haku's vision oozed and became blurry. Although he grew taller and his voice became lower, her instinct strongly appealed that he was definitely her younger brother.

"...Rei…!"

When she spoke his name in a trembling voice, she was so moved that tears fell from her eyes. Rei's blue left eye, which gently looked at his crying sister, slowly changed to the same red color as his right eye.

"Nee-san, we don't have time. Listen carefully to what I'm going to say."

There was a slight creaking. Next, every part of the space cracked. The cracks that ran like spider webs spread throughout the space.

"There are two areas in this world, the Surface and the Reverse. I was kidnapped by the people of the Reverse World and used as the 〔Key〕 to invade the Surface World."

"Eh…?"

"The place where Sakuhi and I were killing each other, and where we are now, is my spiritual world. It's not real, so even if I kill her, she won't die, and she can come back to life as many times as she wants. Instead, every time Sakuhi or I die, negative aspects accumulate and the dark magic of oversized killing that we do is used to be launched."

"W-Wait a minute, Rei!"

She couldn't understand what he was saying. Haku tried to appeal for time to organize her head, but Rei shook his head slowly.

"Sakuhi disappeared earlier. I'll soon be wiped out, too."

Rei's body glowed palely when he said so. His eyes had already changed to the same crimson color as Haku's.

"No! We finally met...!"

Even though Haku reached out at once, Rei didn't even try to hold his sister's hand and just laughed softly.

"I'm glad I got to see you at the end. Thank you."

The words of thanks were words of farewell. From his feet to the tip of his head, Rei's body instantly became a particle of light and faded away, and at the same time, the cracks that spread throughout the space broke away…

"Rei—!!"

Haku woke up with her own bitter cry. As in her dream, she was reaching straight out in tears in real life…

"T-This is…?"

She blinked several times while lying on her back on the floor. The burnt ceiling collapsed, and the red moon in the night sky was visible. Haku, who jumped up in a hurry, was shocked enough to stop her heart from seeing the unbelievable scene.

"What the hell happened here…?"

She wondered if a bomb or something exploded. Most of the walls, as well as the ceiling, were blown away. The desk was filled with rubble, and the mirror cracked on the side of the mirror— the room was abandoned before she knew it. It was transformed into a castle.

This was the same dream where Rei disappeared, so was this also a bad dream?

It was when her mind went blank and Haku forgot to breathe.

"That's weird. Why are there survivors when it was done so flashily?"

From overhead came a low, sullen voice. A young man in a dark green combat suit stood on the beam of the ceiling, the only one who had escaped collapse. He was carrying a rifle with a long barrel lightly in one hand.

"Are you a monster or something? Even if you managed to live through this, you wouldn't be able to escape injury!"

The young man complained selfishly, comparing the misery of the groin with the unharmed Haku, but with a simple self-contained "Oh, I know!", he set up the rifle with Haku in his eye.

"It's my job to destroy the people around here— but you're an interesting fellow!"

The young man proudly spoke to Haku, who was speechless and stunned.

"So why don't you come to 〔Dominant〕? If you refuse, it's goodbye forever!"

He waited for 3 seconds. The young man laughed invincibly, peeping into the scove of the rifle with one eye, like a wild beast who enjoyed hunting.

The day Haku met her beloved brother again and experienced her second separation…

The peaceful Heisei era had come to an end.

(To be continued…?)

#heisei cataclysm #heisei project #heipro

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heiseidominantation · 1 year

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Heisei Cataclysm "Drowsy Disconnection" (Sakana Kana & AREN)

[Saturday, December 14, 20XX at 8:00: A Drowsy World]

My mom didn't come back yesterday either. When I had examined the living room, the bedroom, the Japanese-style room, the closet, the toilet, the bathtub, the refrigerator, the washing machine, and found no trace of my mother, I began to eat.

When it came to meals, I've been eating slices of bread left on the table with butter and jam. The moment I ate sticky oil and fat, I would feel sick, but the hunger of waking up beat it out. There were two slices of bread left. But they might get moldy before I finish eating them.

I tied the strings of my sneakers roughly and went out in a fake fur jacket. The reason why it was too bright outside the window was that the snow piled up late at night and reflected sunlight all over the place.

It was a dead quiet residential area. The sound of the door-hanger was so loud that it scared off the birds flying around it. I held my breath and headed for the park, a five-minute walk away.

I made room to sit through the snow on the bench. It was the first time since I was born that it was snowing so much in Tokyo.

The weather and the news were all over the place. Over the past few years, the weather had been abnormal almost every year, hot or cold, rain or no rain.

We were all quite used to it, and the announcer's tone of reading the prepared manuscript with a "No Abnormal Weather Death" once in a hundred years, sounded like white noise.

The mountains of snow, melted by the sun and sparkling with drops of water, seemed to still allow cold time to flow inside them. I put my hand in the snow and made a snowball about the size of a rice ball. My wool gloves, which weren't waterproof or anything, were already damp and cold just from making one snowball. The snowball worked well. It was heavy, cold, and solid in my hands. It was my handmade weapon. When I put it right in front of the pliers, I felt reassured and made snowballs one after another. I made a lot of them so that I would be okay in case I got attacked. Two and a half dozen of them.

It was reaching the time when the winter sun was about to rise to its highest altitude. When I had become exhausted, I hung my wet gloves on the back of the bench and laid down on a bench that wasn't so wide. As the snow absorbed the temperature, the strong sun continued to shine on me and the snowballs. In the fold, I slept for a while.

I was awoken by an unpleasant dizziness, like a rat rumbling about in my head.

…?

Dozens of eyes were on me in the slightly angled sunlight. Streamlined green ears and empty red eyes. Snow rabbits. A platoon of snow rabbits, all turned to me, were lined up in front of the bench.

"...!"

What came to my mind was eerie anger.

Who made these? And for what purpose?

There must have been someone who was messing around while I was in my own world and wanted to mock me behind my back. The snow rabbits kept looking at my confusion with innocent eyes. I couldn't stand being looked at like an animal in a show-house. I trampled the snow rabbits with the bottom of my sneakers. The rabbits, made of fragile crystals, lost their shape surprisingly quickly, and became mud-mixed clumps, stained with dirt and clinging to the ground. Their southern leaves and red fruit eyes were buried in the snow, and even though they lost their bodies, they were staring at me. I destroyed all the snow-rabbits in good faith, and left the park without turning a blind eye.

It was a strange woman who greeted me when I got home. She was wearing a long-sleeved black T-shirt with a lock-like print. Her hair, which seemed to be deliberately shaggy, had a creepy color like potatoes that had dropped iodine. There was a lot of jumbled metal hanging down from her leather pants. No matter how you looked at it, everything about her was completely different from my mother, who was supposed to meet me at my house. I could see the glare of her eyes from her bangs, which covered half of her face. I felt like a small animal stared at by a natural enemy, so I hurriedly closed the door before the woman's hand reached me. She was across the door, and I staggered back, feeling that I might be attacked just by touching the door. I retreated a few steps and bumped into the gate and heard a loud crash. I crouched down on the spot.

I thought the neighbors would come out to see what was going on because of the loud noise, but no matter how long I waited, there was no sign of anyone else passing by. In the closed bathroom window, a black shadow appeared for a moment and disappeared immediately. If whoever was in there caught me, I would be killed.

But while I was away from the front door, the silhouette came out of the house, assimilated into the darkness, and my fear became a greater fear, not knowing when the figure would come upon me. As I was about to scream, I kept staring at the front door, clutching the hem of my fur jacket like an astronaut holding onto the handle of a weightless spaceship.

I've been having delusions about my mother's dead body lately. If I've been having delusions about my mother's dead body, then maybe this person was a delusion too.

If I opened the door again, maybe she would already be gone like smoke. Otherwise, I would be killed. But even the thought of being killed was just a delusion.

While I was crouching in front of the gate, the sun had set and it became dark.

I had to choose between going home, going to the park where the rabbits were waiting, or going to the city where there were a lot of dangerous incidents.

I was tired as if I had been crying for an hour. I stood up, as if it were nothing, and shook off the drops of water at the bottom of my jacket, and opened the front door. There was no one there. Not that person, or my mom.

Thud.

Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud.

I heard light footsteps from the second floor, where nobody was supposed to be. I had hoped the sound of footsteps on the first night were me hearing things.

The sound of footsteps the next night were light.

The sound of footsteps the next night after that were nothing more than the grin of a Cheshire cat that mocked me.

The next night, too. And the next night after that, too.

One night after another, one night after another, one night after another, one night after another, one night after another, one night after another, one night after another, one night after another, one night after another, one night after another.

And the next, and the next, next, and the next, and the next, and the next, and the next, and the next, and the next, and the next, and the next, and the next, and the next, and the next, and the next, and the next, and the next, and the next, and the next, and the next, and the next, and the next, and the next, and the next, and the next, and the next, and the next, and the next, and the next, and the next, and the next, and the next, and the next, and the next, and the next, and the next, and the next, and the next, and the next, and the next, and the next, and the next, and the next, and the next, and the next, and the next, and the next, and the next.

A thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud.

Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud.

The footsteps grew louder.

—Whose footsteps was I hearing?

[Sunday, December 15, 20XX at 8:00: The White Girl]

As I thought, my fears didn't exist once I woke up. That person and my mother, who was dead with her internal organs scattered all over the room, were all just a delusion. But my mother didn't come back yesterday either. So I checked the living room, bedroom, Japanese-style room, closet, toilet, bathtub, refrigerator and washing machine, but found no bloodstains.

I wanted warmth in the cold house. I thought I saw a black cat. The neighbor's black cat used to come to the garden. I wish the cat would come and see me again. If he came, of course, I was going to invite him into my house.

The bread on the table was spotted green and blue. I opened the jar of jam, but the sweet smell only burned my heart.

I decided to go out without saying anything. The door latch was as cold as if it had been in a freezer, and I almost got frostbite just by touching it with my bare hands for a moment. I realized that I had left my gloves on the park bench. I didn't want to go back to the park when I thought of those rabbits, but I couldn't touch anything with my cold fingers.

My feet followed the same path as yesterday. The sky was gray in a mixture of colors, like a brush-washing bucket of paint.

I picked up the gloves that were on the ground. They were a little unreliable to survive the full winter, and although they were thin cheap gloves for wool, fortunately they weren't torn or frayed. Only a little bit of dirt was on them, but it was no problem. It was fortunate that they had fallen on the ground without snow.

Around the bench, the remains of the snow rabbits remained as they were yesterday. The bench was located a little far from the promenade, and there were no signs of being trampled down by others.

"…!"

On the rough ground, there was a shadow of a lump of snow. And there stood a beautiful snow rabbit. The surface of the white fuselage was slightly melted and small, but both the green ears and red eyes remained the same as they were when they were miraculously created. I thought I had broken everything yesterday, but if there was anything left, I felt something of an attachment.

It survived.

A genocide. And it was the only one to survive. But, within days, it would melt into the sun and disappear.

I thought of making another snow rabbit with the scattered southern leaves and red fruit. I looked into the shade of a green tree looking for as beautiful snow as possible.

This is...?

They were a pair of gloves different from my own. This pair of gloves were thrown on a clump of snow. There was no trace of any other footprints in the vicinity of the pliers. In other words, the owner of the gloves was likely to be the creator of the snow rabbits.

Would they be sad?

There was only one snow rabbit left. There was a white pompom on the glove, which looked like a rabbit's tail.

"Ah…"

I heard footsteps stepping on the snow and looked back. Standing with her eyes wide open was a girl about my age in an ivory coat. From the gray background, the girl seemed to be floating.

"Did you break them?"

"..."

I didn't know what to say or whether to answer, so I just stood there staring at the girl.

I was afraid of her reaction to finding out I broke the rabbits. I was sure she would hate me, and I was sure she would be afraid of me. I thought that if I gave her her gloves, she would quietly walk away. But I couldn't move as if time had stopped.

The girl's eyes were red. They were the color of the southern sky. The girl acted unexpectedly in front of me, who was acting like a fool. She fluttered past me, sat down on the bench, and held out her right hand after rummaging in her coat pocket.

There was a nostalgic, tickling smell in my stomach. It was a pork bun. My head was filled with hunger, and I hadn't eaten anything since morning. I could see that my mouth was dripping with thirst. The girl split it in two and offered me another steaming one.

"Want one?"

I didn't have to go back to my house that day. For the girl, who too had no parents, and was as kind as a goddess, said she would let me stay at her house.

The girl, who stood in the bathroom only once in the middle of the night, must have noticed that I was crying in the futon laid in the living room, but she said nothing.

And I was fine with that. The girl and I had just gotten to know each other, and I didn't really want to be seen crying.

The next day, when I woke up in the evening, my eyes were red and swollen like a snow rabbit, but the world I saw was so bright and vivid that I couldn't believe what had happened the day before. The weight of the tears that I shed so much that my pillow was soaking wet were the weight of my heart leaning toward madness.

[Wednesday, December 18, 20XX at 16:45: We Don't Have Names]

"Twilight Romantics!"

"That doesn't make sense. Rejected."

"Dangerous Enchanters!"

"Absolutely not."

"Tomatsuri City Angels!"

"Are we on a rampage?"

"JC Paradise☆"

"Horrible."

"Rainbow Dreamers?"

"You're just saying anything now, aren't you?"

"Infinity Dragon Knights!"

"Where's the dragon?"

"Sheesh… Then what kind of name do you think we should have, Akari?"

"Was that really the kind of discussion we were having in the first place?"

After school. At the Mnemosyne coffee shop, Akari and I were staring at each other across the table.

Even though junior high school students like us were taking over a box seat by the window, only ordering all-you-can-drink jasmine tea and making a fuss, Sana-san, the only clerk aside from the owner's grandpa, was polishing glasses at the counter without saying anything.

It's because he has a big heart ♪ ...No, not really.

Well, I guess it's because there were no other customers. Besides, even if we asked him to do so, there were only two people in our group who were mainly talking. Me, Amemiya Lislette, also known as Liz, actively proposing our team name, and Mitsuoka Akari, who was holding her chin in amazement, rejecting each suggestion with a single stroke. Repeatedly.

The other two were Tokido Haku, who was usually quiet, and today's first new customer— Fuyuto, a boy who didn't talk much aside from with Haku.

Well, Fuyuto-kun might be nervous since it was his first time meeting anyone other than Haku. And that was a recap of the situation.

"You should try coming up with something then!"

I crumpled up the back of the test sheet that I had spread out on the table to come up with an idea and threw it across the box seat.

"Ouch!"

A dark voice rose, and a golden head appeared from behind the backrest.

Oh, I could see it, I could see it. The blood vessel mark of anger. By the way, this guy was Kamise Kyou.

""Our team's name, Glorious Celebrities"... Seriously?"

"I don't remember hanging out with you guys! If you're playing detective, do as you please, but do it away from me!"

...I was told earlier that this wasn't a bar.

"Oh, Kyou, isn't it? You didn't attend class in the afternoon, so you were reading manga here, right? See, all of us but our guest Fuyuto, are girls, so we might need a boy's helping hand."

Right? I asked him with sparkling eyes.

"Tsk…"

Kyou clicked his tongue with a vicious look and turned his eyes back to the manga sequel he was reading.

Don't forget to shift your body to a position where you won't be attacked by my waste paper.

"Geez~!"

When I glanced at Akari, she seemed to be paying no attention to our daily conversation, and was looking out the window and stirring her tea.

Kyou-kun~? I'm asking you to support your love, you know? Really!

Well, maybe that's also why I'm trying to make them laugh. I'm conscious of things like that.

"Back to the discussion."

Look, Akari brought me back to the topic.

"I don't know why the topic became about naming the group, but... I want to make sure if Fuyuto-kun's mother is alive or dead."

The two silent ones in our group nodded solemnly.

—They really do look alike.

When I first heard that Haku was taking care of an unidentified boy at home, I thought Huh? I can't believe this! I have to stop this! and a flame of half justice and half jealousy burned in my heart. But when he was brought in front of me, and I was told about Fuyuto's strange experiences, I no longer felt that way.

This kid looks like he could be her younger brother.

I think it's easier for people to believe that they're close to each other if they're lied to. I couldn't bring myself to hate someone who looked like Haku. The fact that Fuyuto was one year younger than us may have also been the reason why the sense of crisis was getting lighter.

As expected, if younger people rely on you, then it's natural to think you should do something to help, right?

"I may be repeating things, but to sum it up, first of all, Fuyuto-kun came home from school and found his mother's body in the living room."

I felt that the lights in the store were getting darker. The sound of Kyou turning over the pages of his manga sounded like white noise. When he talked about this, Fuyuto had slightly hazy eyes. If I looked straight at him, something in my heart may have been destroyed.

"I immediately called the police, but by that time, the body had already disappeared. I thought it was a prank, and that was it. But my mother didn't come back that day. ...That was the only time I had ever seen her corpse."

Fuyuto looked dissatisfied. Akari continued.

"Well? He told himself many times that it was a delusion, and he doubted himself many times. But his mother didn't come back on Tuesday. The next day, too. And one day, when Fuyuto came back from the park, a stranger was at his home."

"They were wearing black clothes, and had long hair."

"Fuyuto-kun thinks that they killed his mother, though there's no basis for it."

That's right. ...I can't explain, but it looked like someone who did that."

"I see... It's hard to make sense of, but I can't fault you because the range of things that can be translated into human language is so small."

Akari, I don't know what you're saying.

"By the way… To clarify my position, I think it's most natural to think that Fuyuto's mother's dead body is a hallucination and that she can't go home for some other reason."

I fell down on the table in spite of myself.

"Hey, wait… I've listened to you this far, and that's all you have to say!?"

"Listen to me until the end. When such an occult story is introduced, I think like that first. I didn't say I wouldn't cooperate."

"Then, Akari…"

The person who leaned slightly was Haku who was sitting next to me. Akari twisted awkwardly, holding her teacup, as if to escape from Haku's sparkling gaze. She must have thought she was cutting her off. Akari continued to choose her words.

"I'm saying this, but I don't know Fuyuto-kun at all. I listened to what Fuyuto-kun had to say, and I'm not saying he's lying, but it's easy for humans to see things that don't exist. ...But I've also known Haku since I was little. And if Haku wants to look into it, then spending a little more time on this case is nothing."

"Akari!"

Haku's smile was my favorite, and I could feel my happiness floating out. It was like pouring well-steamed jasmine tea into a teacup.

"Thank you…!"

Yup, it's kinda funny! For me, who was cooperative from the beginning, I received a normal reaction. But as soon as Akari, who wasn't enthusiastic about it, said she would do it, she received such a smile!? I didn't know how to feel.

"Of course, Liz, too."

She added to me alone, in a voice that was audible but unheard of.

Ugh, sheesh, I feel like this is all I need…

…I-I'm such a coward!!

[Wednesday, December 18, 20XX at 17:10: A House of Corpses]

"Twilight Romantics," "Dangerous Enchanters," "Tomatsuri City Angels," and so on. In any case, we, Haku, Fuyuto, Akari and myself, left Mnemosyne and went to Fuyuto's house for reconnaissance. We left in a hurry.

…But I invited Kyou to join us, too, you know?

"Aren't you worried about letting girls go there alone~?" I said.

And he didn't show up.

I hope he cries and regrets everything when we're found dead.

Akari said, "It's better to be careful. You'd better have a weapon with you just in case". So I thought we should head back to the school and grab a tennis racket and a bat... But once I suggested that, I was surprised when Sana-san suddenly went down to the back of the shop and brought out a wooden sword. He seemed to be good at kendo. It was a historic wooden sword, so he said that just holding it could be a charm. There was no pattern. It was just a wooden sword for practice, but it certainly felt like it was being used in color.

If it hadn't been for the storekeeper, he would have followed us if we had asked him to join us. I think he would be more reliable than Kyou, but since we might have to confront the killer, we just asked for Sana-san's sword.

Kyou's an idiot.

As a result of the consultation, the wooden sword was currently being held by Haku.

Haku has been our leader for a long time, after all! When I saw Haku holding the purple bag with a wooden sword, I couldn't help but think "This is making me feel something…!" and so on.

Fuyuto's house, the Yuzuki residence, was located in a quiet residential area, well away from the center of the city, and in a nutshell, it gave the feeling of a "good house~". It must have been a legacy of his late father, but the mother who lived here with Fuyuto and didn't let go of it may have had a fairly high-income job.

We opened the gate and the four of us clumped together in front of the entrance.

There was a murderer waiting in front of the door, and as soon as I unlocked it, we were attacked!! Gya—!!!

…Just kidding, I have an active imagination. We broke into Fuyuto's house without any obstacles. "Sorry for the intrusion", we whispered in low voices.

An empty, wide corridor. A house with few things and no sense of life. I think I'm a bit disappointed. I was expecting a real killer, and to shout at that moment, "What Fuyuto saw wasn't a hallucination!". It's hard for Fuyuto to keep memories that may or may not be hallucinations forever.

"Solo action is a death flag."

In honor of Akari's knowledge of horror movies, the four of us stuck together and looked around the house one after another.

I mean, I was the one who screamed mainly, and Akari told me to keep it down. But I knew Akari would be the same if she just let herself scream.

Haku and Fuyuto cuddled together like cat siblings without parents and went through the house. Haku's parents haven't lived together for a long time, so maybe that's something they can both relate to.

We, the boys and girls, were no longer sure what to do, and sat side by side at the living-room table, as we walked about the house, which seemed spacious enough to live in together, but not spacious enough to explore.

Here, Fuyuto's mother…

It didn't feel very good to think that, but Fuyuto had been in and out of this living room even after the discovery of the body, and he had taken out a plastic bottle of tea with an unexpectedly calm face. No one seemed to feel relaxed enough to boil water for tea time, though.

"If you said you called the police when you first saw the body, you'd be looking into the Luminol reaction."

Before I knew it, Akari, who was the least enthusiastic, was in charge.

Come to think of it, if she didn't know the culprit after reading a book to challenge the reader, she was the type of person who would go back to the beginning and read it again…

"At that time, about twenty police officers and doctors came to my house to look into it, so I think they did it."

"About six hours from the crime to the discovery of the body. If it was that short a time, it's possible that the crime was committed just five minutes before and the criminal could have been hiding right next to Fuyuto-kun. From the time Fuyuto-kun reported it to the time the police rushed in, that would be enough to gauge it."

"...I don't remember much. But it didn't take them more than half an hour."

Akari seemed to be working really hard to get the truth, but even if I participated in the mystery contest, I wouldn't be able to say anything to get to the bottom of it. I pretended to come up with a good idea without any concrete plan, and suddenly came out of the living room and looked upstairs into the stairs.

—Thud.

My eyes glued to the darkness on the second floor at the end of the stairs. I could hear a noise now. As I concentrated my attention, I heard the noise again.

—Thud, thud, thud, thud…

Behind my ears, which were about to be drawn to the stairs upstairs, Akari's voice came back to me.

"Solo action is a death flag."

[Wednesday, December 18, 20XX at 17:52: A Mystery Behind the Ceiling]

It wasn't until I turned on the light that I realized. The realm of "dusk" was long gone. Right now, it was "night". Of course, it wasn't completely dark outside the window. Since it was a residential area, you could see the lights in the windows of other houses. But it was dark, aside from the light in the house and the lamppost.

The garden of the Yuzuki residence, which seemed to have a home vegetable garden, and the sloping road where snow still lingered, were just beyond the wall with insulation, just beyond the window.

Was it always this dark at night?

Did the house next door always look like that? It feels different when I see it during the day. I can't remember it looking like this.

I closed the curtains, as if something were looking at me from within.

"Liz, you can hear footsteps, so you're searching for them, aren't you!? Don't run off!"

"Ehehe."

When I went back to the search site with a blank answer, I saw that the door on the second floor was open, the closet had its contents taken out, and the inside wall was exposed.

"Geez, now I have nothing to do!"

Even though I'm a "Mystery Stray Sheep" (I just thought up that title), I was more than capable!

...And even with the ability to investigate a capable monster, nobody could find the culprit of the footsteps? Maybe it's a punchline where no one was there, after all?

I wondered if my thoughts were conveyed to Fuyuto…

"There's only one place I haven't looked yet!"

The inhabitant of the house cried.

...And where is that place?

Fuyuto, hiding only above his neck, stood on his knees, and was rattling something on the top of the closet. We couldn't do anything about it.

According to Fuyuto, if you removed the ceiling of the closet, it was connected to the back of the ceiling. It seemed like a small space only a child could fit in on his own, but we even opened the toilet lid and checked the inside, so we couldn't go home without checking.

"...Ugh."

There was an extraordinarily loud rattle with Fuyuto's murmur, and plaster dust fell from the ceiling.

"Hey, are you alright?"

Akari hurriedly watched Fuyuto.

"I'm alright. ...I just hit my head."

Fuyuto pulled his head out of the ceiling and held out his arms in front of us.

A black and white creature? It looked like a black ball of hair and looked up under the light. Its standing triangular ears trembled as if to look around.

"...A cat!"

It was Akari who yelled in fear. She's been scared of cats since she was a kid, after all.

"Wow…"

On the other hand, Haku leaned forward with big eyes shining in interest.

As for me, I was a cute maiden who was tickled when I heard there was a cat, but I couldn't express my feelings as honestly as Haku, so I looked into Fuyuto's hand diagonally behind her. Haku put her face close enough to the black cat and gently touched its dusty fur with her fingers.

"He's weak…"

Indeed, the cat's breathing was weak, and its fur looked lustrous and limp.

Ugh, I'm worried. I'm the type of person whose heart pricks when I see such a weak existence. Just looking at it hurts.

"Fuyuto, by any chance, was the sound of footsteps…"

"Yes, I think it was this fellow. When I opened the closet before, I went into the ceiling the day the police came."

"We need to give him something!"

I controlled the standing Haku with my hands.

"Do you have any bonito flakes here, Fuyuto?"

"We do… There's a pack on the shelf above the kitchen."

"Akari and I will prepare lukewarm water and dried bonito flakes, while Fuyuto and Haku will follow the cat. Also, there were a lot of towels in the closet, so you can make a cat bed with them."

"Y-Yes…"

On the way down the stairs, pulling the still-solid Akari by force, I heard Haku and Fuyuto talking.

"Cat-san... It was cold, wasn't it?"

"He has a name. Kuro."

"You named the black cat… "Kuro"?"

"Yeah, because I found him in my family's garden. In the clover field. Kuro as in Clover."

[Wednesday, December 18, 20XX at 18:9: A Black Beast]

According to the name Fuyuto came up with, the cat, Kuro, drank the water and ate the bonito flakes so easily that it was too light. I carefully divided the yakisoba bread in Haku's bag, dipped it in water, and he also ate it well. Kuro wanted food so much that I thought about giving him other ingredients from the Yuzuki residence, but…

"There are a lot of foods that you shouldn't give cats."

Akari's admonition stopped me. I thought I should look it up on my phone, but for some reason, our phones didn't have internet connection. I wondered if that was the kind of place this was (I thought at the time).

When Kuro was tired of eating, he fell asleep. He curled up like a black salmon and slept. Even though he was an animal, I was wondering how he could sleep so hard in front of other mammals (like us). If it was true that sleeping required physical strength, it was thought that individuals in danger of their lives wouldn't sleep like this.

"So you were just hungry. Seriously, you really worried us."

I don't really care, but Akari, that's not a line you should be saying when you're standing more than five meters away from Kuro.

As for the future of Kuro, we had little thought of any other option, and he was taken in by Fuyuto at Haku's house. Even though nothing came out of our investigation, we couldn't leave him in such a mysterious house where Fuyuto's mother had died or someone we didn't know suddenly appeared.

It had been dark outside the window for quite some time now. We put on our coats and scarves and carried our bags, leaving the Yuzuki residence to harvest the sound of footsteps and a cat.

"I'm sorry. I think I'm lost."

It was a while after Fuyuto was walking us through the residential area that he said that. I think the three of us had question marks on our heads.

"You're lost…? But this is Fuyuto's house, right? Did you ever get lost on your way back to the station?"

Akari raised a perfectly natural question. But the three of us, except Fuyuto, must have thought somewhere in our hearts.

—Where are we? Is this really the same road as the one we took to get there…?

"I don't know why, but this road is different. I think something feels wrong."

The black cat, wrapped in a towel around Fuyuto's chest, was awake, and his triangular ears stood up as if to observe the surroundings.

"Then what should we do…? For the time being, should we go back for now?"

Haku grabbed Akari's sleeve, which looked around her at a loss.

"No, we can't go back."

"We can't go back…?"

"—There's something…"

Akari and I gasped. A low growl, like a motor noise, came out of the darkness.

"W-What is that…?"

The owner of the growling noise appeared in front of us, who had kept a close distance from each other. It was a black beast. All I could think of was a dog, but it seemed sinister for a dog, and its fur fluttered like a black flame. The growl was undoubtedly directed at us. The emotions lit up in its red eyes were probably similar to what we humans called hatred.

—And there wasn't just one. There were still some beasts behind some of the streetlights. They were glaring at us. A whirling, whirling, sound whirled along. Fuyuto hurriedly hugged the little creature in his arms. I guess he was trying to intimidate the beasts, but Kuro was a cat and his body was much smaller.

If he tried to run away… It was a scary thought.

"Well, if we can't go back, let's head towards the city center. It's not too far of a walk all the way here."

At my suggestion, Fuyuto, holding the cat tightly in front of his chest, shook his head.

"No."

"No…?"

"It feels strange here. Let's go home. I should've told you this sooner, but I don't know this area. This is somewhere none of us know."

"Even if you say that, we have to run through those wild dogs to get home, you know!? And furthermore, you're holding that cat. Even Akari can't run very fast…"

"...I'll do something about it."

The one who murmured low was Haku. In her hand, yes— she borrowed a wooden sword from Sana-san! We didn't meet the killer, but we had our weapons ready.

...Wait, but… A wooden sword is just a wooden stick, right? It was hard to imagine that such a thing would get through this pack of wild dogs.

"You won't know until you try."

Haku, presumably trying to intimidate them, held up her wooden sword in front of the wild dogs.

Then… Huh, huh? The wild dogs looked frightened for a moment. Haku approached the wild dogs one or two steps at a time. We were looking at the wild dogs as if they were going to jump at Haku…

Haku took one more step, no, half a step toward the dogs. The rumbling became one step lower, and the dog standing right in front of her took a step back.

Huh…? This is…

By any chance, by any chance, it was really working, right? Just as I could feel hope bloom…

"It's shining…!"

Akari exclaimed in surprise. She put her hand on the vines of her glasses and put them back on her ear as if she were looking with her own eyes.

—Yes, the wooden sword was shining. A sweltering, spell-like pattern loomed over the blade of the sword. Akari's glasses also reflected a greenish light. I wondered if it was painted with night-light. Or is this what Sana-san meant about it being a "historic wooden sword that worked like a charm"? I didn't really understand it, but now was our chance!

"Everyone, stay behind Haku! Let's just run through it!"

Fuyuto immediately nodded and ran to Haku. He might have thought that he had to protect Kuro in his own way.

...Yup, those guys should be fine. I couldn't say the same for the oldest of our group, who kept her mouth open by reflecting green light on her glasses.

"Hey, Akari! Open your eyes! Wake up!"

With Akari's arm in my right hand and Haku's two bags in my left hand (I'm sensible, you know), Haku and Fuyuto exchanged glances.

…Now! Make our escape!!

[Thursday, December 19, 20XX at 1:23: Marginal Night]

It was a great night. I could hear dogs growling all night outside the house, and we couldn't connect to home appliances or smartphones.

But I think everyone probably thought that if there were the four of us (and one extra), we wouldn't be afraid.

"That was just like "The Evil Dead"."

Akari said, gloating.

You know, if I hadn't pulled Akari's hand and helped you out of the situation, you would have been like "The Evil Dead" in parentheses, right?

We had escaped a pinch but the reminder of it was always next to us, so that's why everyone's tensions were running high. We talked about a lot of things all night. Many things like when Haku, Akari, and I first met. We told Fuyuto a lot of our memories like that. I counted my memories one by one, as if I were longing for them.

In the morning, the wild dogs disappeared. I noticed that my cell phone's signal was back. I had received a lot of calls from my parents, but if I said I stayed at Haku's house and forgot to check my phone, they would be convinced.

We parted before dawn in a cold winter when we could easily wake up from sleep, and the four of us went to the station and took a shower at our respective houses.

But that morning— We never talked about the spectacle of last night.

[December XX, 20XX at XX:XX: The White Singer]

"...Shinjuku… Riding on board, thank you very much…"

Most of the passengers were replaced at the terminal station. A pregnant woman had left, and a girl who was standing in front of her took her seat, turning up the volume of her earphones and concentrating on her smartphone screen.

…Artificial era, perfect crime, brainwashing anticipation 3 turns later…

She tapped the screen to match the beat that made her feel like hitting a drum. The white singer, "Hakua" swam smoothly through the gap between her notes dancing on the screen. She tapped on the screen at the right time, and when the combo was connected, an animation cut-in would be included and words of support would be sent.

…Even the punishment blamed on the altar…

In this rhythm game, you accumulated "fire power" to prevent the revival of chaotic beasts. That was the kind of game it was. The "fire power", which was accumulated by players from all over the country, was displayed in a corner of the screen in real time.

She forgot who recommended it to her at first, but now it was an app that was exploding in the number of users. The amount of "fire power" was also increasing to an extent that it was comparable to the beginning. On the internet forums, people were whispering, "It's about time there was a new development". Everyone was looking forward to the next step of "operation". According to Hirota's prediction, it would be something like…

Once the beast of chaos was prevented from being revived, it would somehow descend into this world. And a new song that's been added, would fight against a stronger enemy, and all over Japan... no, everyone in the world would fight together.

I'm so excited…

Hakua praised Hirota for clearing the song with a full combo with a well-made synthetic voice that couldn't be distinguished from a voice actor. The number of "fire power" rose by the amount of Hirota's score. Hirota began to choose songs that she could play with the rest of her physical strength, biting her overwhelming satisfaction.

[Thursday, December 19, 20XX at 9:05: A Chipped Memory]

"Please hand these prints to the back seat."

Class members shouted loudly in the morning classrooms where the noise never stopped. The winter sky, seen through the dewy windows, was gray and muddy, and I was about to cry. It's been cold since this morning, and I wondered if it was going to snow again.

"Liz-chan… Liz-chan? Are you awake?"

I was half in a dream, and replied with a "Hey?".

"I'm talk-ing to yo-u! Please hand these prints to the back seat~"

I was staring at the print that Nene had pressed into my hand for a while.

"Liz-chan? Is your brain rotting today?"

"No... I'm alright. I just woke up, that's all."

I finally started to move my sleeping brain in fear of her getting angry and shaking her pigtails. I took one from the bundle of prints that said, "Enhancement of school patrols," and I turned around to send it to the back seat.

"...Eh?"

There was no one there. There was no one sitting in the back seat. There was nothing on the handle next to the desk. Only that seat in the classroom was as empty as a forgotten room. My wandering gaze for help hit Mitsuoka Akari. Akari's seat was on the right side of the seat behind me, which was vacant.

"Akari, who sits in this seat again?"

"What are you talking about? Yoshikawa-san, right?"

"Eh…?"

"Yoshikawa Azumi-san. She transferred to another school last month. Have you forgotten that already? You can be really rude sometimes, you know."

I was told with half an eye as I hurriedly searched for memories.

Come to think of it, there was... No, there definitely was someone like that. She was serious, she wrote old texts with her country, but she was missing something. She had natural brown hair. And sometimes she made her own lunch.

This isn't good! If we had lunch together, how would I forget this much? Why…?

…I mean, was this kid really there?

"Look, I'll handle the prints."

I was still stunned when Akari robbed me of my bundle of prints.

"Liz, are you okay? I hope you're just half asleep…"

"Akari, you know, what were we doing last night again?"

"Yesterday? We were texting."

"...Is that so?"

"I didn't go out with you because you said you didn't finish your English assignment. See?"

Akari's smartphone screen certainly showed Akari's text exchange with me. The timestamp was definitely from last night.

"I don't know what Liz is saying in general today."

"Liz-chan, don't you think you should go to bed early today~? Before you make a big mistake in chemistry or physical education."

I stood up with my dizzy head in my arms, and the chair fell with a thud throughout the class. The noisy classroom suddenly calmed down. Akari and Nene, who were talking lightly, looked at me with a surprised face.

"...I'm sorry, I don't think I can do this today. I'm going home."

I put the stationery and notebook spread out on my desk back into my bag with little use.

"...L-Liz-chan, I was joking when I said that you had better leave early…"

"It's not like Nene is to blame, really. It's just that I can't do this."

I couldn't stay here for a second because I had a headache and it was too much. I didn't even check the contents, as I fastened the magnet bracket on my bag.

"I'm sorry, I'm not feeling well, so I'm leaving early."

"Eh? Wai... A-Amemiya-san…"

I left the classroom without listening to my homeroom teacher's hasty reply. The hustle and bustle of the morning home room was overflowing into the empty hallway.

[Thursday, December 19, 20XX at 12:25: Disappear Into the Midwinter Sky]

I was supposed to have walked aimlessly. I didn't even have an umbrella with me in the flickering snow, but I didn't feel like going home. When I saw the log of last night's texts with Akari on my smartphone, I thought I couldn't just go home. It was cleverly hidden. Someone was hiding something from the world. And I was going to wrap it up in the silent snow and pretend it didn't happen.

I found myself in a residential area separated by a wall about the size of a height. I didn't remember any friends living around here.

...No, I think I came to this park a few times when I was little. But I've never set foot in a residential area like this.

After I turned the same corner many times, I didn't have the confidence to go back to my original path anymore. I went as I wished, and stopped in front of a detached house. It was a beautiful house with elegant creamy walls and wood-grained lines as accents. There was a nameplate that said "Yuzuki."

Do you read it as "Yuzuki"? Well, there must have been a happy family living there.

I don't know why I thought of doing so, but I turned the door latch open and stood at the door of the house, which was a little above the ground. There was no sound. I put my hand on the doorknob and tried turning it around. It was, of course, locked.

Well, that makes sense...

It was the middle of the day on a weekday. It was no wonder that the whole family was away from home. After thinking about it, I stopped ringing the doorbell.

If the residents of this house were just taking a nap, it wouldn't be unnatural for them to say, "When I woke up and opened the front door, there was a suspicious junior high school student ringing the doorbell who had nothing to do with this house". If I kept this up, they might call the police. I felt a sense of crisis, but when I turned my back to the front door, I found a way to the side of the house.

Come to think of it, when I saw this house right in front of me, I thought it was a layout with a garden.

It's cold...

I shuddered from the core of my body. The snow, which had just begun to fall, was gaining momentum.

But, just a little more...

I felt it was a waste to leave, so I thought I'd just peek through a narrow path like an eel bed between walls and eaves.

"Wow..."

I sighed in spite of myself, for there was an unexpected green carpet in the snowy garden.

The distinctive shape of the leaves could be seen even by me, who wasn't particularly familiar with plants. It was a clover field.

Of course, in the cold months of December, it wasn't so lush, but it gave a feeling of perseverance. Nevertheless, the winter scene had an unexpected impact. I was so touched by the clover field that I looked for a four-leaf clover (it wasn't that easy to find). At first I wanted to go home, but it was such a simple thing that my heart felt a little relieved.

Oh...

As I tried to pass in front of the front door, I noticed that the door was slightly open.

Did they come back or was there someone inside? When I was wondering which one it was...

"...!"

My mouth was blocked as if I were being held back. The person who was covering my mouth with the ease of holding a cup ramen lid felt like they were putting little effort into their arms. The next thing I felt was warmth. It was like the feeling I had when I was taking a bath. The reason I felt like I was bathed in hot water was because the blood that came out of my throat was so different. And then all my senses grew more and more distant.

It's dark. It's cold. It's painful. I'm scared. I'm scared, I'm scared, I'm scared.

I felt like my body was being torn apart in the distance. Finally, at the last moment, my brain began to resist the "world" at least a little bit. It was the last moment when my senses were stretched. I finally remembered everything.

The person who was sitting behind me all the time. The person who protected me and everyone last night. The person who had a smile stuck to her face like a lingering scent.

Why did I forget? Why did I ever forget?

Tokido Haku.

Even though there was only one person like her in the world.

Even though she was my favorite person in the world.

[Thursday, December 19, 20XX at 13:12: Waking Up With a Cat]

I must have been the one who had the strangest experience. I woke up alone without remembering what had happened in a strange house. I could see snow falling through the curtains of a big window. The room was heated, but cold air seemed to pour in through the window. The light coming through the window was white and bright. I could hear the sound of snow falling. It was a horrible room with extremely few objects. The inhabitants didn't seem to be very good at cleaning, and I could see the dust flying in the light. There was no furniture except a table, a chair, and a plastic shelf. There was a futon for me on the floor that felt so wide.

The first thing I thought was that I had been kidnapped (my family was barely a wealthy family), but the idea was denied in a second.

In the space between the mattress and the quilt, a black cat entered and slept peacefully, with my arms as a cushion and my stomach moving up and down in a certain rhythm.

Where's the kidnapper who kidnapped a cat?

The cat wasn't my cat... but it reminded me of the neighbor's cat, who often went into my garden and played with me, so I named him Kuro and sometimes fed him. Kuro was a very thin-limbed cat with a kitten-like heart, but when he was put on my arm, he was heavy. I tried to pull him off my arm slowly so that I wouldn't wake him up, but I couldn't. When he realized that I had woken up, he yawned and stretched once at a time, and shuddered, and walked in a light rhythm into the kitchen between us.

I dragged myself out of the futon. It was chilly, and I put on a knit cardigan that I had placed next to my pillow (whose was this?). There was an open door between the living room and the kitchen, leading to the corridor. It wasn't such a big house.

Just as I looked into the hallway on the left from the kitchen, I saw the front door, and the corridor on the right that led to three doors. One door was locked. The other door was the bathroom and toilet. I opened the last door.

It seemed like a girl's room. But there wasn't anything like a row of stuffed animals by the bedside, or lace curtains. Instead, there was a steel bed, a simple desk for an adult man, and a white curtain covering the window with an armrest chair in front of it. The room was a thick indigo, and that's summing it up together to the minimum extent necessary.

But it turned out to be a girl's room, as peeping out of her school bag on the desk was a smartphone with a strap, and on the wall rack were a white coat and a formal dress-like dress.

If it were a girl's room, there was one different thing. There was something leaning against the desk. A long, deep purple bag used by people of unsophisticated social standing. The mouth was folded back and fastened with a red string with a tuft. It seemed to contain a treasure sword used for Shinto rituals. The foreign object, which was so far removed from the casual arrangement around me, attracted my attention that I took it in my hand and untied it. A wooden sword with a streamlined, beautiful figure appeared from the inside. It was used, and it was candy-colored. The blade of the sword was bare, and there was no incised information to identify it.

—No. As soon as I thought about it, my eyes caught the light on the surface of the wooden sword.

...? What...

The green light, which could only be described as a sudden birth, slipped the blade like a ribbon and raised some characters. A magic spell. The moment I traced the characters with my finger... Memories that I lost at least once flowed into me.

[Thursday, December 19, 20XX at 16:56: Gather Together]

A thin fingertip stirred water and starch prepared in a glass bowl. The water and starch, which had been divided into two layers, had been stirred like a lie and became a misty liquid. Sana quickly stirred the contents of the wok and poured water-soluble starch. Chinese bean paste with plenty of ingredients for cabbage, yellowtail, shrimp and bamboo shoots. He tilted the pot and put it on the crispy side of the yakisoba, the ankake yakisoba now ready.

I scooped up the soaked yakisoba with a large spoon.

"Mm!"

It was so good that I couldn't help but groan. He was definitely better at cooking than my mother. I wanted to eat here every day.

"But are you sure this is okay? I should be paying you."

"Think of it as thanks. You helped me out. Thank you, Kyou."

"N-No, even if you say it's as thanks... It wasn't a big deal."

In the second half, my words were said with my mouth curled up. Sana was sitting across from me on the street, watching me clean up the ankake yakisoba.

"Aren't you gonna eat?"

"I'm full, so don't worry about me."

I helped Sana put a game app on his phone. He said, "I can't install this game on my cell phone for some reason," so I looked at it and it turned out he was trying to play a game exclusively for smartphones with a feature phone. It was a common occurrence.

First of all, I created an account with Sana's feature phone, put a browser that could camouflage a User agent on his laptop with Mnemosyne's equipment (until now, his role was to start Excel for accounting once a month), and then logged in with Sana's account and created an environment where he could play on his PC.

It was nothing to me, just routine manipulation, but Sana was surprised as if he had seen magic. And if I could eat such a good meal, I would continue to install browsers for him any day.

"That reminds me, Kyou, did anything happen at school today?"

When I finished eating Sana's ankake yakisoba, he asked me.

What's with that question? It's like a father who can't find a clue to his adolescent daughter's conversation.

"Not really... Come to think of it, Liz left early in the middle of morning homeroom. But she didn't come here, did she?"

"Oh, no, she didn't. ...Kyou, do you remember the name Tokido Haku?"

"Huh?"

Then the door chimed at the Mnemosyne coffee shop, and the first customer aside from me, rushed in. A boy with blue eyes in a fake fur jacket. The boy grabbed an arm and brought Mitsuoka Akari with him. Akari, who I knew, seemed to have been forced to come here by the boy, and she was confusingly comparing us with the boy.

"Welcome, Fuyuto-kun, Akari-chan."

Sana seemed to know the boy's name.

[Thursday, December 19, 20XX at 19:27: The 〔Reverse World〕]

—Serenity, serenity broken—

Someone was singing. The melody was like a children's song. But it had ill-fated lyrics.

Just around the corner. In that twilight-filled school. On a TV that zapped in the middle of the night. Every night, in my dreams.

Someone was singing. Someone was dreaming. Someone was killing someone. Someone was having a hard time with someone.

I want to hurt you in the worst way possible.

I want to give you a scar that won't ever heal.

Because if I don't do that, we'll soon forget.

No matter how you do it, you will soon rewind and appear before me again. Like a clock that keeps going round and round in the same place.

You were very pretty yesterday.

You were very wonderful yesterday.

Look, this is your eyeball. I'll roll it on my tongue and taste it for you. I want to decorate it with colorful organs. It's a special party, after all.

I love the moment when I cut you apart, who everyone has cherished. Don't faint even if it's a long-lasting pain. I want to enjoy this until the end. And spread the brain plasma about.

Isn't this red dress wonderful, too?

It's a parade that repeats every night. Memories of the future hidden in my dreams. You can't leave. I can't leave.

Because I'm…

I am…

I'm (I am) in you.

—Today, I woke up from an unpleasant dream.

One where I lost everything and found myself in the dark.

#heisei cataclysm #heisei project #heipro #i genuinely dont know whats going on in this one #the pov switch is confusing #the last part was hard to tl bc the 'i am in you' was said with both boku and watashi but that doesnt rlly translate well #i used bold for rei and italics for sakuhi at the end to try and make it less confusing?

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heiseidominantation · 1 year

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Heisei Cataclysm "Mastermind Mastermind Mastermind" (Tachibana Fumi & Heiwa)

A mastermind… I don't particularly like such a noisy title. My name is KIKI.

—To put it simply, I'm the mastermind.

"Today, we're going to have a card competition!"

When I said so, the look on Tokido Haku's face was…

"Eh…?"

"Frozen" or "stunned" are too common words, but she had a very interesting expression.

"W-What do you mean?"

She had gotten a lot stronger. The silver-haired maiden. We first met a long time ago.

I wonder if it was when she was in junior high school that she first came to this world in her dream. She seemed to be a leader of some sort now. She's really grown up. Only in appearance, of course.

"You always get tired of seeing those two kill each other, don't you? So I thought it would be nice for a change of pace once in a while. I've given it a lot of thought, fufun!"

"Fufun, you say…"

Snap!

I snapped my fingers. The 〔Reverse World〕 became pitch black. The spotlight that was only on Haku and I, illuminated and revealed two other characters.

Tokido Rei. Tokido Sakuhi.

Rei, a boy, and Sakuhi, a girl with pigtails. Sakuhi embodied the spirit of Rei, who was originally a double personality. It's complicated, so you can think of them as twins.

For a young boy and girl, their eyes were a little dead. I wish I could at least make their voices filled with childlike wonder.

"Rei! Sakuhi! Be sure to be determined to compete!"

"..."

But perhaps it's impossible, after all.

Snap!

Furthermore, with another snap of my finger, it turned into a tatami mat of foot-garif green, and a card was embodied between Rei and Sakuhi.

"A-Amazing…"

"Fufun, how do you like my strength?"

Then I suddenly realized...

"Oops, that's not good enough at this rate. I need to step up—"

Slap! Slap! Slap!

First, Mount Fuji. Second, a geisha. Third, sushi tempura.

These were embodied in Rei and Sakuhi's background. Now the background was perfect. However, Haku was dissatisfied.

"That's a mountain, two hawks, and three eggplants… right? It’s like the first thing you dream of on New Year's Day…"

"Shut up, shut up, nobody will marry you if you keep thinking about the details."

"Um, even if you say that…"

"Then, I'll make your head go bald."

"Eh!?"

"It's possible with my strength."

"Well, don't do that!"

I said in a jest, and Haku bowed. I flapped my dark wizard's robe.

"Welcome to the Card Games, Tokido Haku. The 〔Reverse World〕welcomes you!"

That's how our card competition started.

"Do— Don't get me wrong, it's not like I made this bento box for you or anything!"

"Wait, these are Tsundere cards!"

Haku was very surprised to hear the text on the card I read.

"It's fine, isn't it? It's still a card competition so long as there's cards."

"T-That's true, but we have to protect PKO…"

"I think PKO is important, too, but what about TPO?"

"TKO?"

"Then, should we just stop playing cards and go back to killing each other?"

"Ugh, t-that's not what I meant, but…"

"Look, Haku."

It was a rare sight to see Rei and Sakuhi competing for cards. I wondered what it looked like in Haku's eyes, which had always only seen them kill each other. I read the next card with all my heart.

"Shu— Shut up, shut up, shut up!"

"Wow, it's ruined! Even though it was such an emotional and moving scene!"

"Ugh~!"

"Wow."

Haku groaned, "You're the worst!".

"Do— Don't get me wrong, it's not like I said that for your sake or anything, okay!?"

"No, no, no, there was already a similar line before! And furthermore, there's no such thing as "Do" on the cards in these games!!"

Maybe I pushed Haku too hard to be the straight man, but she was gasping for air.

Then…

"I took this one first!"

"Well, I was faster!"

Rei and Sakuhi started arguing over the "Do" card.

"Those two are working so hard to get the "Do" card… Wait, no no no, that's not right! Look, the both of you can't fight, okay?"

"..."

The two nodded silently, and returned quietly to cards again. As expected of an elder sister.

"But I wish it were like this every time…"

Haku squinted her eyes. Rei jumped at the cards with a big jump, and Sakuhi took away the cards around her with accurate movements.

"There's no hostility between them…"

The boy and girl were playing Tsundere cards with great effort.

"It's like they're good friends…"

Haku yawned loudly with a "Hwaah~".

"Rather, it's so comfortable that I'm bored."

So I gave a suggestion.

"Then, how about giving a prize to the winner since it's a great match?"

"Oh, that's a good idea! Yes, I agree! I super agree with you!!"

"Then why don't you work hard to win a prize every time you take one card?"

"Wow, that sounds great. I'm sure I'll like this!!"

"Well, then... every time Rei takes one card, he draws one person from the 〔Surface World〕. So every time Sakuhi takes one card, she draws one person from the 〔Reverse World〕.

"Eh…?"

"That's where you thin them out, Haku. Look, there are a lot of extra people you need, aren't there? To achieve peace. That's why you can make those people representative players in each world, and if you win, you can get rid of people in the other world. What do you think?"

"What do I think…? Of course I'm not okay with that! You can't do that!"

"Why?"

"That's obvious, isn't it!?"

Haku raised her voice and yelled.

"That's weird. You're the one who agreed to a prize for the competition. Are you going back on it now?"

"No! That's not the type of prize I agreed to!"

"Well, I don't mind. Because those kids aren't killing each other. But you don't want people to die… Ah. I see. I see, so that's it. It's okay, Haku. I'll exclude you and your precious friends. —That way, it's all right, isn't it?"

"W-Wrong! That's not the issue!"

Haku clenched her teeth.

"No? Hmm, then I don't mind excluding your brother from killing…"

"Eh, my little brother? You know my little brother!? Do you know where he is?"

"If it's the boy you've been looking for, he's right there."

"Where?"

"Look, Tokido Rei— The boy playing cards."

Haku stared at Rei with her eyes wide open.

"Y-You're kidding… right? T-This boy is…"

"Just kidd—ing, that was a lie!"

"Wha—!?"

"Because you're in a dream right now, Haku."

"Huh?"

"Tokido Rei and Tokido Sakuhi are part of your dreams. They're who you are."

"Y-You're… lying…"

Haku held her head in her hands.

"Of course it's a lie-pyon!"

"W-What's wrong with you!? What do you want!?"

"No matter what you ask what I want, this is Haku's dream world, so everything will be exactly as Haku wants…"

"I-I don't want this!"

"Well, that's, you know, depth psychology? It's no use what your latent thoughts are about… Ah, but no matter what you really want, I'm the only one who'll agree to it, Tokido Dropout-san."

"W-What are you? Who the hell are you!?"

—Yes. Indeed, I have never called myself KIKI to Haku.

However…

"Yes, I should have introduced myself first."

"What the hell is your identity!?"

When I took off my black robe, my hair, my eyes, my hands, and my feet were all blacked out. It was just darkness, just space, and it was just an empty world.

"I am the 〔Reverse World〕— So to speak."

"Eh, you're kidding… What do you mean by that!? You're… this world?"

Yes, I alone exist for the sake of a peaceful world.

This time, Haku's body became as thin as a vision and lost its color.

"W-What's going on? No, not yet, w-wait a minute!"

Oh no, time's up.

"Rei! Rei!!"

Ignoring Haku's shouting, I snapped my fingers again.

Snap!

"Oh…"

Haku nodded. I erased Haku's memories as usual.

So as not to be found by the 〔Surface World〕. So as not to be noticed by the 〔Surface World〕. But I want her to remember one thing.

"The shape of the world today is what the 〔Surface World〕 wants."

Yes, I alone exist for the sake of a peaceful world.

And so, Haku's body and spirit disappeared from the 〔Reverse World〕.

The Tokidos are essential. She opens the door of time and observes this world. Rei and Sakuhi are the Surface and Reverse. They represent the current state of the world. That's why they were built. By gathering negative emotions for Rei, we managed to satisfy the 〔Surface World〕 for the time being, but we're reaching our limit. I've been doing a lot of work to prevent the 〔Surface World〕 from resetting... but to avoid it, she needs to observe a new world.

"Hey, Haku…"

Rei, and Sakuhi,

—Before you break,

—Before you forget,

—Before you break down,

—Before you're swallowed,

—Before you get erased,

—Before you get worn out,

"Quickly, you need to realize the truth or you'll be punished. Fufun!"

A mastermind… I don't particularly like such a noisy title. My name is KIKI.

I am a crisis, a joy, a destruction, a demon, a strange, brilliant, beginning.

—But to put it simply, I'm the mastermind.

#heisei cataclysm #heisei project #heipro

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heiseidominantation · 1 year

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Heisei Cataclysm "Anima • Animus • Isolate" (Keseran & Siomidu)

A clouded sky.

A shower of sticky black rain.

A strange street. A strange building.

There were two figures on the spire-like roof of a Western church.

—Again.

Though she thought as much, she couldn't move. She just stood there. She stood there looking at the two people facing each other. One was a boy. The other was a girl. They looked as old as she was, and she was sure they were around the same age as her. Under the lightless sky, she could only make out the pair's eyes. Both had red and blue eyes. But what dwelled in that bright stone-like clear color was a freezing murderous intent. This wasn't just a fight. One person was definitely trying to kill the other in a literal sense. And they would try again tonight, too.

The black-haired boy, dressed in a school uniform with a stuffed collar, used a blue light as his sword and slashed at the girl, who wore the same clothes as him, with her snow-white hair tied in pigtails. The girl, on the other hand, took the boy's sword with a red sword in her hand, washed it away, and waved the blade to his torso. But her sword didn't reach the boy. In an instant, the boy jumped back and thrust his sword at the girl's neck. In an attempt to respond, the girl held up her sword and rushed at the boy's chest.

The two shadows crossed. In a moment when there was no time to scream, a splash of something spewed from their stuck faces. The smell of iron.

The two in front of her were no longer moving. Their expressions had seemed like they were crying, or perhaps smiling.

"—Uwaa!?"

Her heart was beating fast and she woke up in a nervous sweat. When she looked around, she found her own messy room as usual. The light leaking through the gaps in the curtains was the sign morning had arrived. She rubbed her face with her hands, but there was nothing out of the ordinary. It wasn't dirty anywhere, and there was nothing strange about it.

"Oh, it was just that dream again today…"

She muttered, and on the bed, Tokido Haku raked up her natural gray hair.

※

This time, it was a mutual attack.

When she finally calmed down, she brushed her teeth and looked at her short hair in the mirror and her half-asleep face. Ever since she was in junior high school, she always had nightmares every night.

The dream of a boy and a girl whom she had never met before. The place was always the same. The situation was always the same, too. But the results were different every time. In her dream yesterday, after a fierce battle, the boy had cut through the girl. In the dream she had the night before yesterday, the two of them got tangled up and fell off the roof. And the night before that, the girl put an angelic smile on her pretty face and cut the boy's neck.

Ew… No, I don't want to remember any of this. It'll make breakfast taste bad.

She spat water into the sink and wiped her mouth with a towel. Her friends often told her that brushing her teeth before eating was meaningless, but somehow she felt restless.

Today is Saturday. Did I have any plans?

Looking at the high school uniform on the wall and the calendar next to it, she did nothing but wear her pajamas. Her uniform consisted of a sailor fuku and skirt. Despite how boyish her voice sounded, Haku was a girl.

I'm sleepy. I don't feel like I've slept ever since I've had that dream every night. But I've never had another dream after sleeping twice. I wonder if I should go to the hospital.

—On second thought, let's not do that.

Haku immediately canceled her idea. She couldn't tell the doctor that she dreamt of two people killing each other every night. In the first place, she didn't think it would be solved if she consulted the doctor anyway. Her parents had been traveling abroad for a long time because of work, and although she had friends, she didn't want to worry them about strange things.

If possible, she didn't want to have a dream like that again tonight. But…

Those two seem like familiar people, don't they?

Maybe it's because she watched them every night. With that in mind, she reached out to the bag of breadsticks. The sound of her silent smartphone shaking made her jump up. She picked it up by her bedside and found a new message.

"Where are you now? Did you forget our plans? Gather in Katakago!!"

There were about 10 other messages. It seemed to have been sent many times since about two hours ago.

"Crap!!"

She was so distracted by her dream that she didn't notice the incoming call at all. This was bad, she was completely late.

She completely forgot — today was a "club" day!!

She hurriedly put on her clothes, slung her bag on her shoulder, pushed the bread into her mouth, and rushed out of the 1DK apartment.

The weather was clear. The era's name was Heisei. At this time, the world was still "peaceful".

※

"...You're late. Haku, you're really weak with mornings!"

"Sorry, Liz. I remembered it well before I went to bed last night. Forgive me!"

At the entrance of the arcade "Katakago", stood a person she knew waiting for her. Another girl, Amemiya Lislette, with her blue eyes and hair tied like a headband, turned a sulky expression to the late Haku.

"It's not crowded yet, so it's still okay. I'm looking forward to your success today."

Akari spoke soothingly to Liz. Mitsuoka Akari was a girl with a gentle smile and intelligent glasses. The two were precious friends of Haku's and members of the same club.

"I guess so. It's a time when families haven't arrived yet, so I think there's still room available."

Liz spoke, still dissatisfied.

"If you're aiming for a ranking, you have to start early. Haku, you're our ace. Be aware of that and do your best."

"Well... I'm not trying to be an ace."

"Just be aware you're going to be big! Now go right away!"

With a sudden turn of her back, Liz made her way to the elevator in the hall.

"D-Did I offend her?"

She thought she was being modest, but Akari whispered softly to her as she scratched her cheek.

"Fufufu, Liz-san isn't angry. She's been worried about Haku-san for a long time."

"H-Hey, Akari!?"

Looking back, Akari smiled at Liz, whose face was red, and continued on.

"She's been holding her cell phone and looking outside, saying, "It's dangerous these days, maybe she was involved in an incident.". I was afraid of how worried she was."

"I-I didn't realize I made you worry so much. I'm so sorry, Liz."

"S-Shut up! It's only natural, isn't it? …Because we're friends."

"Yeah, thank you."

When Haku thanked Liz, Liz humphed with dyed cheeks. Akari looked at her gently.

It was a warm exchange. Because of these girls, Haku could forget her nightmares during the day.

"Oh, come to think of it, where are Kyou and the others?"

When she realized that there were missing members, Akari informed her.

"Kyou-san and the others went to the station."

"They've all gone that way for reconnaissance at other arcades, even though it's just been done. You and I are the only ones who can increase our rank."

"I see. I'll have to work harder because there are less members than usual."

"That's what I just said!"

"Now now. Well, let's go. As your advisor, I'll do my best to record it."

Haku pressed the elevator button while following Liz's tsukkomi and Akari.

The gun shooting game section on the 3rd floor. That was the location where their "club activities" took place. And the "Heisei Snipers" — that was the name of Haku and the others' "club".

She held the gun controller, positioning it directly in front of her, and looked at the screen. Shooting right, shooting left, dodging incoming bullets. With her smooth movements, Haku had, as a matter of course, struck astronomical scores. She couldn't hear the noise of other game consoles or the admiration of Liz and Akari watching. Haku, however, was absorbed in the task of shooting an enemy on a panel larger than her own height.

It was a very simple game. It was an ordinary story about becoming an agent to rescue the kidnapped president's daughter and shooting at the enemy. However, the difficulty which gave the fear of being the first to die and the heat of the score ranking match, which was updated in real time, were the reasons why this game was loved by so many people — and why Haku and the others were working hard.

The "Heisei Snipers" were a group of boys and girls of the same age who liked arcade shooting games. Even if it wasn't an official club, they were enthusiastic about their club activities. The members who found out that they liked the same games naturally gathered together, and started this "club" back in middle school. Even now, they continued their activities as high schoolers. And Haku was the ace recognized by everyone in the "Snipers". Haku was so good at shooting that she couldn't believe that she had only started playing games after she became a middle school student. She may even have been what was called a "born genius".

No matter how unreasonable the game was, Haku felt a little embarrassed when her friends trusted her to clear it at the top level. However, Haku was also happy to receive compliments towards her game hobby. And she really liked the tension and the sharpening of her thoughts when she faced her enemies on the screen.

She could do it. She looked at the boundaries of the stage and the score in the upper right corner of the screen. She was in good shape today. If this was the case, she thought she'd be able to surpass the high score that she hit 10 days ago.

Haku exhaled thinly, putting her strength into her grip, in order to engage in the last boss. When…

Huh…?

She naturally lost her groove in the game. As if she had been sucked in, as if she had discovered something she couldn't miss, her eyes went puffy and she turned to her side. And before she could understand the reason for this, an unmissable being moved swiftly through the edge of her vision.

Short dark hair. Clothes with a tight collar. A strained expression. And mysterious eyes shining red and blue.

—That was the boy. Every night she dreamt of the boy killing, the boy being killed, the boy dying. This was that same person. He was the boy who wielded a blue sword!!

"Ah…"

Just as she thought about it, there was a faint moan coming out of course.

Was I seeing things...? No, I wasn't. He was really walking over there. But that can't be true, right!?

She looked for him, but he was nowhere to be seen as if he had disappeared. Her aimless gaze wandered in the air—

"Haku!"

Liz's voice suddenly returned her consciousness. She hurriedly turned her attention back to the game and found an agent lying on the screen before the enemy's fierce attack.

"...O-Oh no."

When she looked back, she saw Akari operating the tablet in a depressed manner, and Liz's worried face.

"The no damage bonus no longer applies. That's unfortunate…"

"What's up with you? Are you okay? It's unusual for you to space out when you're playing a game."

"Oh, y-yeah."

While playing the game that started from the beginning of the last boss match, Haku thought and answered.

"Um, I'm a little short of sleep today. No, or maybe I've slept too much."

She didn't want to make them worry about something weird.

"I was just a little dazed. I'm sorry, it's alright now."

"If you say so, then…"

"Let's take a break at the drink bar later."

At the same time, she felt both relieved and guilty about the two people who understood her.

Sorry for lying to you. It's because I don't know what's going on, myself.

Was "the boy" real or a hallucination? Was she crazy or not?

Haku clenched her teeth and shot at the enemy, as if her dreams were eroding reality. It wasn't long after that that she had cleared the game.

※

"I feel that your top position remained unwavering today, after all."

Liz shrugged her shoulders as she sipped cola with a straw at the arcade's drink bar.

"Yes, you're always amazing. There was a crowd forming earlier."

"A crowd of people, huh..."

As Akari smiled with tea in her hand, Haku held an orange juice cup with both hands and looked down. There were a lot of people in the crowded area — maybe "the boy" was one of them. Or was she seeing strange things and "the boy" never existed? The nightmares up until now had been nothing but childhood dreams.

"What's up with you? You're acting really weird today. You didn't catch a cold, did you?"

"Eh!? Oh, no! I said it's alright!"

When she answered, she drank some of her juice. The sweetness eased her anxiety a little.

"It's a time when there's a big difference in temperature, so be careful not to catch a cold. It'll be a big problem if you had to rest... Oh. Come to think of it, we have a test on Monday."

"Geh! I-I forgot!"

Liz and Haku were drawn back to reality and looked at each other.

"It's an English test, isn't it? I wonder why the teacher wants to take the examination at a strange time."

"Ugh. I don't even remember what I did in that class."

"It's alright, the both of you."

Akari spoke with a chuckle.

"The teacher only asks questions about the syntax in the class, so there's no problem if you review it in your notebook."

"You can only say that because you're Akari, who takes notes and studies…"

"I think so, too! Ah, I'll have to study when I get home!"

"I'm finally going to do it and I won't forget!"

If she had a big problem in front of her, the problem far away would look small and hazy. The day after tomorrow's test was more worrying and weighed more on her mind than "the boy" who had disappeared like a vision.

As I thought, there happened to be someone who looked like him, so I guess I had just mistaken that person for him.

—Let's go with that.

"Now, once you've taken a breather, it's my turn. I'll repaint Haku's score today!"

She nodded to Liz with a "yes". And while she was having a good time, Haku was completely unconcerned about "the boy".

※

"I'm home."

After greeting an empty room and putting the bento box she bought at a convenience store on the kotatsu, she stretched.

Today was fun, too! I'm a little tired, but I have to study.

With that in mind, she opened the curtains that she had left closed. It was about time the sun went down outside, and when she saw it, a vague loneliness filled her heart.

It was only a few minutes ago that Liz, who seemed frustrated because she couldn't exceed Haku's score, left with Akari, who seemed satisfied with their performance. But when she returned to the quiet house alone, she felt somewhat depressed.

...It's the usual. But even though it's the usual, I guess I'm still not used to it either.

She thought so in a self-deprecating manner. But Haku, who knew by experience that these feelings would disappear in fifteen minutes after her return, went to the wash-basin distractingly.

And after a while…

"Ahh, I knew this would happen."

She expected it, but she hung her head. After she finished eating the bento, she turned her back to the veranda, got into the kotatsu, and opened her English notebook for now.

What is this. Even if it's because I was dozing off in class, isn't this too much…? I don't understand any of this.

The contents of her notebook were terrible. At first, she had properly written down what was on the board, but as soon as she began to feel sleepy, the letters had mutated and eventually no one could read them.

I guess I have no choice but to ask Akari if I can copy her notes.

Akari always helped her with a smile, but if she just relied on her, that would be kind of bad.

But dozing off during class feels good. I don't have to have that nightmare when I doze off.

With a sigh, Haku looked at her messy handwriting and flipped through her notebook.

Then, her hand stopped.

Huh?

She found a readable part of her notebook. It was a part of last week's class that seemed to be from the board, and the words that had been wavy like extreme electrocardiogram graphs suddenly became clear. Moreover, it was different from the letters written by Haku, and it was written in beautiful handwriting like a calligraphy model.

"A pleasant era will murder people."

"What… is this?"

Her voice trembled before she knew it. It wasn't someone's prank, was it? It was written completely during class, and after this sentence, there was also a squishy line drawn as it was before.

"Don't tell me…!"

She quickly turned the page over, guided by her intuition. Then, in the same words, it was written in the same way in the class that had just happened yesterday.

"The work has begun behind the scenes of everyday life in peace and comfort."

"Be prepared when you notice this message."

"...What?"

Pieces of writing written in a flash. It could only be read like a warning or something like that.

The work has begun behind the scenes of everyday life. What's this?

After she was stunned, she couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Pfft. What was I doing? Even if I was half asleep, I don't think I would write this!"

It was like a document addressed to an agent in a game.

"And it's much better written than usual. I wonder if I have a hidden talent for things like this?"

She wished she had copied the teacher's board with these letters. With that in mind, Haku rolled on her back on the floor. When she raised her chin, her vision turned upside down, and beyond the veranda, she saw the upside down sunset. The towering buildings were up and the clouds were down.

Haah… I'm sure I can't study, after all.

A crow flew through the twilight sky. She was starting to feel sleepy. Even if she went to bed now, she knew she would have to watch that nightmare again, but she didn't think she could beat drowsiness. When she was about to fall asleep, she suddenly opened her eyelids.

"...Mm?"

That was weird. A strong sense of incongruity made her feel sleepy and open her eyes wide. The building wasn't "upside down". It stood upright from bottom to top in her field of vision that was supposed to be upside down.

No, that was wrong. When she rubbed her eyes and jumped up in a hurry, she opened the curtain wide, and there was a strange sight. Yes, the familiar building streets were normal — but above them, from heaven to earth, like a mirror image or something, another city was "standing." A group of buildings, breaking through the clouds at dusk, suddenly appeared, looking down upon her haughtily.

"W-W-What is this!?"

A loud voice came out, and people from outside could be heard making noise.

A-Are they filming a movie? There's no way…!

Haku, who didn't have a TV, hurriedly checked the internet. It seemed that the same phenomenon was happening all over the world. Panic, surprise, conspiracy theories, gossip, natural disasters, the sea of the internet was rough.

I wonder if everyone is doing okay…!?

While thinking of the members of the "Heisei Snipers," Haku touched the screen of her smartphone to get in touch with them.

A terrific roar.

"U-Uwa!?"

Haku leaped up and looked out of the window, and was shocked again. It was raining this time, and it wasn't just raining. It was black rain. It was raining so black that it was like a joke. The raindrops that flew in the wind stuck to the veranda glass and were unlikely to fall easily. She heard a scream from the outside.

"M-Maybe there was a fire somewhere... and maybe that's why the rain is getting darker?"

Or there was an accident at a chemical plant or something, or… terrorism?

Waving her confused head, Haku put her hand on the curtain, not wanting to see any more of this nightmarish scene. Then she suddenly realized…

In the rain-blocked view, there was a church spire that stood out in one corner of a group of buildings growing out of the sky. It didn't exist in this neighborhood street, but Haku "knew" what it was.

That was the place where those two were fighting — the usual place, that place.

"...Is this a nightmare?"

It wasn't like that. Yes, Haku knew. This sticky black rain, and that spire. It's the very sight she always dreamt of.

"It's a nightmare…!!!"

As soon as she realized it, her legs trembled and gave way to the floor. If it was a dream, she wanted to wake up. She hit herself on the head, but the pain got worse, and she thought it was definitely reality.

That's right. Today... I saw the boy in my dream.

She was sure that person she saw at the arcade wasn't a hallucination. It was true.

My dream came true!

Her spine and her whole body trembled violently, and when she entered the kotatsu for warmth, the freezing fear at her core never disappeared. Outside, emergency broadcasts were being broadcasted with loud sirens. They were shouting desperately, "Please refrain from going out, and evacuate indoors."

If it's a dream, wake up. Hurry!!

Haku, wishing so again, checked the screen of her smartphone with her trembling hands.

Ah…

It was filled with messages from people she knew. Calls didn't seem to be working, but everyone seemed to be safe. And everyone was worried about Haku.

"That black rain seems dangerous to touch. Haku, don't go out in a daze!"

"Haku-san, are you at home? I hope you're safe."

...Thank you. I'm fine.

The peace of mind that wrapped around her chest naturally oozed tears. She didn't know what happened, but as long as everyone was safe, that was fine. Haku breathed a sigh of relief, and held her finger over the screen to send a message that she was safe.

"Ah."

Her finger slipped and touched the Memo icon. And before she thought about hitting back, she looked at the words on it and gasped.

"When you're reading this, there might be black rain outside."

The writing continued further.

—She didn't remember writing this. Or rather, she didn't even remember running the Memo app in recent months. Once again, she was thrown into a whirlwind of confusion, and still sliding the screen, Haku read on with her writing.

"It's no wonder you're confused, but you shouldn't stay there. I want you to get ready to move as soon as possible and come to the warehouse on the first floor of your building. I'll be waiting there."

"Who… wrote this?"

"As I've said many times, please come to the warehouse as soon as you finish reading this. — Rei."

That's where the sentence ended.

"R… Rei?"

Was that the name of the person who wrote this sentence? While doubting her eyes, she checked the date and time when the text was written that wasn't displayed on the edge of the screen. It was this morning — the time when Haku was still supposed to be having a nightmare.

"W-W-What is…?"

She looked at the veranda, muttering incoherently. The sticky rain had already covered the glass door, and it was as if the whole building had been enveloped in darkness.

"What's happening…? What the hell is going on!?"

She screamed at the letters on the Memo, but there was no answer. Haku crawled out of the kotatsu with her smartphone in hand, grabbed her bag almost unconsciously, and then swung toward the front door.

—She didn't believe that message. She was just going to see what's going on outside…

She stood unsteadily in front of the front door, making excuses. And…

"Uwa!?"

She jumped up to the sound of a huge crack in the veranda glass in the living room, and stuck her foot in her shoes and ran out the door.

※

In the back of the corridor on the first floor of the public housing complex, there was a large door in a secluded place. It was a warehouse for emergency equipment, and Haku also checked the location once for a disaster drill. She heard that there were a lot of things that were needed in the event of a disaster.

"Ugh…"

She hesitated when she came to the warehouse. It was her first time trying to get in. Was it open without a key in the first place?

...If it isn't, I'll give up and go home.

There was no one there yet, but as far as the outside was concerned, there must have been a lot of people coming there before long. Before that, she would just check and go home.

When she came to her thoughts, she gently laid her hand on the warehouse door. Contrary to expectations that it wouldn't move, the sliding door opened really easily. She was surprised for a moment by the unexpectedly loud noise.

"—You came. You're late."

She could hear the voice of a strange, stern boy.

"Eh!?"

The inside of the warehouse was larger than she expected, with space in the center. And a boy in black sat atop the pile of supplies in the corner. He looked at her with great composure. He had dark hair, red and blue eyes, and a tight mouth. He was better-looking than most men. However, there was an air of infinite emptiness.

Yes, this was "the boy".

"Ah, y-you're…!"

Haku spoke with her mouth wide open.

"Y-You, you're, um, from my dreams, from the arcade, no, well, R-Rei…?"

"Go in quickly and close the door there. You don't want to be seen."

He ordered in a stern tone.

"I-I understand!"

He had the power to make her nod. Haku went in and, bewildered, closed the door behind her back. Then it was dark all at once in the warehouse, and only a small lamp, which he seemed to have brought in, lit up the surroundings. Outside the small window, it still seemed to be raining black.

"Now then."

Before Haku could open her mouth, he uttered a cry, and when he got down to the floor, he walked up to her with a lamp in his hand.

"I'm sure you're Tokido Haku, yes?"

"Y-Yeah."

"I see."

He glanced at her with his unique eyes. Was it sorrow or anger in them?

After answering in an incoherent voice, he put his hand to his chest and spoke quietly.

"I am Tokido Rei, the one who sent you the message."

"Oh, so you were Rei, after all."

While she was relieved that the other person's identity was clear, questions arose.

"Um, how on earth did you write in my notebook and smartphone? And "Tokido"... I think we have the same family name. Are you my relative?"

"..."

Rei kept his mouth shut.

"U-Um…"

"I don't have time to answer your questions."

Interrupting Haku's words, Rei spoke in a very calm and intonation-less tone.

"No, I don't have time to talk here. Just follow me."

"Eh? Follow you... Why?"

"I said I don't have time to explain. If you don't follow me, there's no point!"

As soon as Rei said it, he grabbed Haku's wrist. His hands were warm, indicative of a man of blood, but at the same time his strength conveyed an indescribable strong will.

"Come with me!"

He said, but Haku had no reason to go with him. In the first place, that black rain was dangerous. She wondered where they would be going at such a time.

"W-Wait a minute!"

Haku said in a strong tone.

"Why should I follow you!? And furthermore…"

Rei's expression became a little grim when he listened to her question. Eventually, he opened his eyes wide and turned quickly to the window.

"Get back!!"

"Wah!?"

With a thud on her chest, Haku banged her back against a pile of boxes of goods, away from the window. And when she looked forward, she saw…

"Ah…!?"

A shadow penetrated like the wind through the window... and she could see Rei's back facing it. The shadow quietly descended to the floor of the warehouse.

Long, snow-white hair tied into pigtails. She quickly put it together.

Beautiful but lifeless, doll-like features. Clothes very similar to Rei. And the blue and red eyes opposite Rei. It was another character out of her nightmares. It was "the girl".

With an unimpressed look on her face, she looked at Rei, who was standing up, and opened her mouth.

"Hello."

Her voice was a little high-pitched and cute. It was like a voice heard in an anime, rather than one heard in real life.

W-What's going on? Should I greet her back?

She couldn't help but think about it, but Rei's sharp voice brought her back to reality.

"Sakuhi, so you've come this far? Go home! This isn't a good place for me or you."

"Unfortunately, I'm already here. And you understand what's going on out there, don't you?"

The girl, called Sakuhi, waved her right hand lightly as soon as she spoke. Then, in the palm of her hand, Haku saw a knife the size of a face.

"The 〔Surface〕's peace is broken. From now on, it's our era. That's what's happening."

Sakuhi calmly told Haku the confirmed facts. At the same time, the knife grew long with a bright crimson light like fireworks.

T-That's...!

The red sword the girl always wielded in Haku's nightmares! When she saw Rei's body being cut many times in her dream, she realized that Sakuhi's gaze was towards her, and a chill ran down her spine.

"Before the battle, we need to get rid of unnecessary things. That's why, you—"

Sakuhi pointed to Haku with the tip of the red sword, and spoke.

"—Won't you die quickly for me?"

A ruthless declaration, followed by an instant pause.

"Eh…!?"

"Watch out!!"

Rei screamed and stood up quickly. He also held a blue sword in his hand, and took the blade Sakuhi had shaken down, and a fierce battle began.

"Ggh…!!"

Sakuhi and Rei had the same power. Yes, it was the same as her nightmares.

But now I... I can't move like in the dream!

Quickly, Haku hurriedly distanced herself and looked around her. It was too dangerous to escape outside because she had to pass by Sakuhi's side.

"You stupid fool! You're working really hard today, aren't you?"

While the pressed blades were making a loud noise, Sakuhi spoke to Rei to make fun of him. Rei responded coldly.

"I could say the same to you. Are you going wild in despair?"

"Sorry to disappoint, but I'm not desperate like you!"

In line with her words, the red light on Sakuhi's sword glittered more and more violently. The moment Rei and Haku saw it, they gasped—

"I'm very happy now, actually. ...That's why!"

"Whoa!?"

The sword wore a crimson flash and overcame Rei's power. While Rei, who had been blinded and knocked off, was crouching, Sakuhi ran straight to Haku!

"Ah...!"

Haku raised her voice, and unconsciously moved to the right. Before she knew it, Sakuhi's blade had cut through a bag of supplies on the left side. If she had stood still, she would have been torn apart.

"U-Ugh...!"

The first pure murderous intent in her life. Sakuhi clicked her tongue at the sight of Haku, who was about to throw up at the blackness.

"Tsk. I heard that ordinary people in the 〔Surface〕 were amateurs. They shouldn't be able to avoid things."

"D-Don't say that!"

While she was arguing, Sakuhi, who wrinkled her eyebrows displeasingly, was re-holding her sword. If she got attacked again, she couldn't run away this time. Such a hunch ran through her brain.

"Hah!!"

Sakuhi kicked the floor with a shout.

—It was over!!

She crouched down and held her head. It wasn't her parents who passed her mind, but her club friends.

"Ggh!!"

Then she heard a dull moan, and she looked up.

"R-Rei!!"

Rei's right chest was pierced by the red blade.

H-He covered me...!

As soon as she thought about it, she felt a sharp pain like she had been cut, and her heart was full of emotion.

"Ahahaha!"

Meanwhile, Sakuhi spoke with an angelic smile.

"That's fine. It suits you well, Rei."

We're in trouble, what should I do…? And it's not an injury I can take care of in the first place… At this rate, Rei and I will be…!

She was going to get killed by Sakuhi.

Eh…?

At that time, Rei's right hand, stretched back, held Haku's right wrist tightly. And there was no time to be confused.

""Transmit"!"

Rei muttered in a low voice. At the same time, the surrounding space bent and moved away with a roar.

"...N-No…!"

She heard Sakuhi protesting from afar for a moment.

W-What is this...!?

Haku clenched her teeth in a violent shock that seemed to shake her brain directly.

Really, what's going on?

She couldn't stand it and lost consciousness.

※

—There was an altar right in front of her. The altar was recognized because there was God's relief on the wall behind it. Standing in front of a platform the size of which she could lie, she heard an adult's voice from behind. A strange voice that could be heard as both a woman and a man.

"Now, lie there."

The voice repeated itself again.

"Lie down. Then you can be an angel."

An angel?

"A beautiful, blood-stained angel who breaks the barrier of the two worlds and brings out the best."

She laid slowly on the altar, gently enticed by their voice. The marble was colder than she thought and took away her body temperature.

—"Oh, so this is what it's like to die", she thought.

※

"Hah!"

What she saw was a white inorganic ceiling. Haku, who had risen, noticed that her head was still wobbly, and put her hand on her forehead. She was alright.

Next to the bed, which she had been lying down on, was the bag taken out of her room. But all she recognized was the bag. Other than that, there were only white, unadorned walls and floors, wooden tables and a few chairs, and a huge metal box in the corner of the room that stood out.

…I had a dream that wasn't my usual nightmare earlier. It's been a long time since one of those.

Without thinking about it, she thought something strange to escape from reality and patted her head blankly.

No, no. Now's not the time to be absentminded. Where am I?

She went down to the floor, put her bag on her shoulder, and walked up to the table. On the table, a knife was laid bare.

This… is the same knife that Sakuhi used!

Which meant maybe this was Sakuhi's place!? She looked around in horror.

"Have you woken up?"

"Uwa!?"

She couldn't help but scream at the sudden call from behind. Looking back, she saw Rei.

"H-H-How long have you been there!?"

"Don't be so loud. This is my hideout, so don't worry."

"S-Sorry. I was a little surprised."

Haku apologized to Rei who had a slightly sulky expression, with a shy smile.

"That's right! I-Is your injury okay!?"

"Injury?"

Rei tilted his head for a moment and then spoke an "ah".

"You mean the wound that Sakuhi had inflicted earlier? In that case, it's alright now."

He patted himself on the chest. Certainly, there were no wounds anywhere. There wasn't even a trace of blood.

"It's always the case. It's nothing to worry about."

Rei said so in a somewhat dark tone.

"B-But because you covered for me earlier, you received such a terrible wound!"

And it must have also been Rei who brought the fainted Haku to this place.

"Um, thank you very much. You saved my life."

When Haku bowed her head deeply and thanked Rei, he was stunned. Next, he made a slightly shy gesture—

"I told you it's nothing to worry about."

He returned to his calm expression and spoke. She felt relieved to see so. But at the same time as she was relieved, she began to wonder.

"B-By the way, Rei-san!"

"Rei is fine. "How did you recover from such a serious injury", right?"

When he responded as if he read her feelings, Rei approached the table and picked up the knife.

"This is my knife. "Blue Sword" — When I reveal the blade I always use, I use it as a core."

"...Y-Yeah."

When Rei nodded back to Haku, who somehow nodded, he gently pressed his right hand knife against his left wrist.

"Ah!"

Before she could stop him, the blade cut Rei's wrist. Red blood overflowed.

"W-What are you doing!?"

"It's okay. Watch it."

Rei spoke without losing his calm tone. As she was told, Haku looked at his painful wound. Then, only a few seconds later, his wound began to close.

"Eh?"

Surprisingly, his cut was completely blocked as if he had rewinded an image. The blood naturally returned to the inside of his skin, and soon his left wrist was intact.

"T-This is…"

"This is the "Cruelty Cup"."

Rei said something she had never heard before.

"It's magic that I was born with, that only I had... that I should have never had."

"M-Magic?"

When she looked into Rei's eyes without thinking, he looked back at her as if to remind her.

"When I'm traumatized, my body automatically absorbs the magic elements from the surrounding atmosphere and repairs the wound. If it's a serious injury, the wound will heal slowly, but I'll never die whether my neck is cut off or jumped off or skewered. That's why…"

Rei stopped once and went on.

"It's just as you saw it every night."

"!"

Every night. Yes, Rei and Sakuhi killed each other every night. Even if Rei and Sakuhi died one night in her dreams, both of them would have appeared in her dreams the next day. That's why—

"By any chance…"

Haku spoke with trembling lips.

"B-By any chance, were those dreams not "dreams", but something that was happening in real life…? You and Sakuhi killed each other many times, but you're still here now because of that "magic"… That’s what you're saying, right?"

Strangely enough, she didn't feel like doubting it. There were so many things going on that were out of the ordinary. She didn't think magic was suspicious, but that didn't mean the shock of it all would go away, either.

"I must explain a lot to you."

Rei didn't give a direct answer, but said so as to calm her down, placing his knife back on the table and putting his hand up. Then, part of the white wall became transparent without sound, and she could see the outside like a window. Outside, she could see many buildings lined up, but they were so dirty that they looked like ruins. Beyond the building, there was that spire. However, the spire wasn't facing upside down as seen from the window of her room, but was standing in the same direction as the building. And furthermore,

"Huh?"

Haku noticed that, perhaps from the ground to the sky, there were countless black liquids floating in the air like swarming creatures. The black liquid, which had become a round grain, was rapidly accelerating in the middle, and rising like an arrow into the sky. It was like looking at the rain upside down.

"Ah! D-Don't tell me this is…!?"

"Yes, this is the other world that appeared above your world."

Rei lowered his hand, and turned to her and spoke.

"It's the 〔Reverse World〕."

"The world is divided into two areas."

Rei explained calmly as he sat across the table with Haku sitting in a chair.

"You live in the 〔Surface World〕 of science while the 〔Reverse World〕is of magic. The two areas are close, but civilization developed in different ways. And the difference continued to destabilize the world, distorting both sides, and in the end, it appeared in your world in the form of a fight between its people."

"A fight... Like a war?"

"Yes, on a large scale. But the same is true of crimes and other causes. For example, Japan, where you live, is in a "peaceful" state with no acts of war, but crimes are increasing. It's because of the distortion caused by the conflict with the 〔Reverse〕."

Rei spoke, stroking the knife blade on the table with his fingers.

"On the other hand, in the 〔Reverse World〕, distortion appears in the form of a decrease in the number of wizards. The world was originally composed of only those who were good at handling magic, or wizards. But over the last 70 years, more and more people have been born unable to use magic."

Rei turned to her and continued.

"If you look at the 〔Surface〕, it's like someone who was born with no electrical appliances, so it's a big problem."

"I see…"

Haku was convinced that it would certainly be a disaster.

"By the way, I'm a wizard. The "Blue Sword", the "Cruelty Cup", and the transfer that brought you here are all kinds of magic. But I wasn't born in this world."

"Eh?"

"I will explain it step by step. ...An organization appeared in this world where wizards were decreasing."

Rei's eyes became sharper.

"The name of the organization is "Dominant". They are all incredibly skilled wizards who boast of themselves as "dominant species". And they have a fearful idea of electing people."

"A fearful idea of electing people, you say…"

Haku drew out a dim knowledge of world history and spoke.

"Um, do you mean to say that they think that they're special and chosen people?"

"Yes. And in their case, people who can use magic are the only beings that matter, and the rest are inferior."

He glanced at her with his red and blue eyes.

"They thought that if they gathered people who could use magic, drive out other people, and erase the distortion-causing 〔Surface World〕, the world would become peaceful."

"Eh? T-That's it?"

"Yes, people in the 〔Surface〕 basically can't use magic. That's why no one noticed the existence of the 〔Reverse〕 that was blocked from being detected by the power of science. Taking advantage of this, Dominant started preparing 20 years ago and took control of the 〔Reverse〕. And today, their "revolution" has begun."

That's the black rain—

"Black rain is the ultimate dark magic. People who aren't wizards, or substances that don't contain magical elements are cursed to "break" just by touching it."

"D-Do you mean we're going to die? The broken glass was also because of the rain…"

She heard that the black rain was harmful, but she couldn't believe it was caused by magic.

"Well... I understand now that the black rain outside is because of "Dominant"."

But Haku asked, leaning forward.

"But what do you mean that you weren't born here, but you're a wizard?"

"There are very few people in the 〔Surface World〕 who have the talent to use magic."

Rei returned his hand, which had been touching the knife.

"Dominant is always looking for wizard comrades to cooperate with them, especially if they have rare magical talent. That's why they look for, kidnap, and increase the number of the same species with rare talents in the 〔Surface World〕."

"Increase!?"

"By separating their body and mind."

Rei said so and looked down.

"When I was twelve years old, I was kidnapped on my way home from school, and my body and soul were divided by magic. In order to make comrades who had the same "Cruelty Cup" as me. That's why… Sakuhi was born."

"Eh!?"

Haku cried, startled.

"S-So you and her were originally one person?"

"Yes... she is one of my personalities, so to speak. That's why Sakuhi has the same "Cruelty Cup" as I do. But the difference between me and her is that I managed to escape, while she was recruited by Dominant."

"That's why you and Sakuhi... killed each other every night?"

"Yes, I want to stop her. But she can't allow me, her other self, to be hostile to Dominant. So we kill each other, but we can't settle it. That's exactly what you've seen."

Rei suddenly looked at the city of the building outside the wall and gazed far away.

"Actually, I wanted to do something before it rained. But I couldn't stop Dominant by myself."

His profile as he explained his story was sad.

"And I couldn't go directly to your world and warn you. Because of Dominant’s dark magic, I couldn't break through the "barrier". I could only appear in your dreams, manipulate your body when your consciousness was weak, and leave notes."

"I-I see."

She didn't know that was happening behind the world that she thought was peaceful.

The world was divided into two parts, magic really existed, wizards were trying to kill ordinary people, and Rei was kidnapped by them. When she thought about it again, she felt that she understood the reason for Rei's empty atmosphere. He was separated from his family and friends, and suddenly his body and mind were torn apart, and then he kept fighting alone.

That's too cruel.

She closed her eyelids with a sinking feeling. She suddenly had a question behind it.

"Um, Rei. Then, why did you choose me?"

"Why did I choose you?"

"I mean, why did you enter my dreams instead of someone else, someone more reliable? I can't fight with you, and I'm just a high school student."

"That's…"

Rei remarked. He remained silent for a moment.

This is bad. Did I say something I shouldn't have?

Haku didn't know what to say when she was scratching her cheek and panicking.

"...I'd better show you first."

Rei muttered and snapped his finger. Then the metal box behind him opened with a loud noise. Inside the box, which was opened, there was something packed inside.

"This is for you."

Rei took it out of the box and threw it over there casually.

"Wah!?"

When she received it, she immediately guessed what it was in his hand.

"This is a GunCon... No, it's a gun, right?"

A handgun made of gray metal. But its shape and weight looked exactly like the gun controller of the game machine that she used a lot during the day. Though it didn't have a code on it.

"It's a gun made by people against Dominant. I collected and kept it."

Rei spoke quietly.

"When you pull the trigger, you collect the thoughts from the heart of every human being and fire them as bullets. So there used to be a lot of people against wizards. It barely survived, but the performance of the gun itself is still fine."

"In other words, if I use this…"

"You can fight."

"N-No way!"

To her surprise, Rei spoke calmly.

"I just watched you fight today. I reconfirmed that you're a great user."

Then the boy she saw at "Katakago" during the day… As she thought, that was Rei, after all.

—But.

"W-Wait! That was just a game!"

"Yes, it's true that it was a game. But your talent isn't just a game."

"Even if you say that…"

She stared at the gun in her hand in disbelief. It was the first time she had seen it, but Haku held it in her hand as if it was an old partner or something. It was easy for her to imagine herself fighting with this.

But even though they were evil wizards, they were still human beings. As a high school student, she couldn't believe she was fighting like a soldier… She couldn't do it.

"I don't need you to cooperate with me forever."

Rei spoke quietly.

"But I need your strength to stop the black rain falling in this area."

"Eh? Y-You know how to stop this rain!?"

He nodded his head.

"The magic will last as long as magic is being supplied to nuclear weapons. The dark mage in your city is Sakuhi. If you stop Sakuhi and destroy her nuclear weapons, at least the city you live in will be saved."

It seemed like a shining hope to help everyone. Haku looked at her gun again, it reminded her of everyone in the Heisei Snipers. Then she remembered Liz's words.

"Be aware that you're going to be big."

If she could help everyone with her own power…

And, yes, Rei had a big heart. But she hadn't returned his kindness yet.

Rei certainly has a body that can heal his injuries in an instant. But it's not without pain. And yet he still protected me from Sakuhi.

"...I understand."

After taking a deep breath, Haku replied.

"Eh?"

Rei's unexpected response was interesting, so she laughed a little and answered again.

"I said I understand, and I'll help you. I'll do what I can. Well, I'm really scared, but I might be able to help you… with this situation."

"Is that alright? Things will happen to you who have lived in a peaceful world. You'll see a lot of cruel things."

"No, that doesn't matter. If it's a cruel sight, I've dreamed of it every night since I was in junior high school. If it's a little bit more cruel, it's no problem. And I want to help everyone, too. My precious friends."

—It was strange that she could answer without hesitation. But thinking about everyone gave her courage.

"...Thank you."

Rei lifted the edge of his mouth a little when he spoke, with his eyes shining sadly.

"You... So you have precious friends."

It was only a few seconds before she realized that he was smiling.

"Then, let's go."

"Where are we going?"

"It's a place you know very well."

He quenched his smile and spoke.

"The spire is where Sakuhi lives, and where the core of her dark magic lies. My metastasis doesn't fly that far, so we have no choice but to go directly. But as long as you break it…"

"—I don't think that's possible."

She heard the girl's voice, Sakuhi's voice. Next, the space right next to the table bent, and Sakuhi herself appeared with a red sword in her hand.

"Ah! W-Why are you here!?"

Rei, as well as Haku, asked in surprise. Then she answered calmly.

"Because you forced the girl to metastasize with you, the space distortion was getting worse. I followed it and got here. That's all."

Then Sakuhi looked at Haku with murderous eyes.

"But really, why are you so obsessed with her? I don't understand. You're a mess."

"You don't have to understand!"

With blunt words, Rei grabbed the knife on the table and revealed a blue light, his "Blue Sword".

"Haku, wear the robe in the box!"

While confronting Sakuhi, Rei shouted.

"It's a black robe. Wear it, and you'll be protected from the cursed rain!"

"G-Got it!"

As she was told, Haku approached the metal box and pulled out the hooded raincoat-like robe. She didn't have time to hesitate. There was only one robe. She hurriedly put it on.

"Are you going to run away? Sorry, but no. All inferior species are to be eliminated. That's just how it is!"

"I won't let you!"

Red and blue light collided violently. The aftermath of the attack damaged the white walls and ceilings and stirred up the noise of cars. Haku clenched her gun in her hand, and stayed still.

Don't move without permission. I said I'd do what I could…!

She observed Sakuhi's movements as the two shadows crossed each other and intersected. The work of suppressing her throbbing heartbeat and concentrating was the same experience that she had gained in games. Haku, like in the arcade, felt her thoughts sharpen.

"...Kh!"

Rei staggered around Sakuhi's body. Rei, who fought for Haku, seemed to have worse conditions than Sakuhi, who fought for her will to kill. Sakuhi then raised her sword at Rei's neck to stop him.

"I'll cut off your head and bury it in the ground so you won't wake up ever again!"

"...!"

Rei, who was in a bad position, couldn't defend himself. If things went on like this, he'd be beaten!

Now!

At the same time, Haku's finger on the trigger was moving.

Bang!

With a light sound, the red sword was blown away from Sakuhi's hand. She was staring with her eyes wide open at her right hand, where the bullet had hit and blood had begun to seep.

—She did it! To her own disbelief, it was excitement that Haku felt in her chest. While Sakuhi was looking at her, Rei quickly re-positioned his sword. However, Sakuhi looked at her hand as if she were unaware of it. It was strange.

"...Why?"

She muttered with trembling lips.

"Why isn't my hand healing?"

"Eh?"

Haku couldn't help but let out a voice— and for some reason Rei's back seemed to tremble.

"Why isn't my hand healing? Why? Why!?"

Sakuhi screamed bitterly and turned her twin eyes, which were filled with hatred and fear of the unknown, to Haku.

"I've been shot so many times. By now, this wound would have quickly healed! Yet why is nothing happening after you shot me? I can't stop bleeding!!"

I-I don't know…

She replied, frightened by her sword screen.

It was true that Sakuhi's right hand didn't seem to be healing. But she had the same powers as Rei, so she was sure the wound would heal soon. She shot her with the intention of only temporarily stopping her movement. And yet why?

"Is the gun that the inferior person has special? No, that's not it. Because that's the kind of gun that used to hang around all over the place. Then you are—!"

What? Sakuhi's mouth moved like that. Rei's sword slashed at her while she was distracted.

"Kyaa!"

Sakuhi cried out. Haku almost turned away from the cruelty and vividness she had seen in her nightmares. But she would never let go of her gun-holding hand.

"Kh...!"

Holding the cut wound with her left hand, she glared at Rei and Haku. Blood was dripping.

"...Fine then. I'll greet you again later."

As she left, Sakuhi's appearance disappeared, and the knife she dropped disappeared from the room as well.

"D... D-Did she run away?"

"Temporarily. It will probably take about an hour to heal."

Putting the "Blue Sword" back into the knife, Rei looked back. His expression was darker than ever.

"Now, let's go, Haku. We have to destroy the dark magic!"

"Y-Yes!"

When Rei raised his hand, a part of the wall rose and became a door.

Come to think of it, there was no entrance to the room. It must have been made in a special way with Rei's magic.

Haku lowered her bag and, holding her gun, followed Rei out of the door. There was a narrow corridor outside, and the black walls and the floor were continuing.

"Through this space— If you go through this hallway, you'll really leave the building."

He spoke as he walked with his back to her.

"Outside is under Dominant's control. You'll be better hidden now, but be careful not to be spotted."

"All right."

She answered once and for all, and Haku asked timidly.

"Um, Rei?"

"What?"

"Can you tell me the reason? Why Sakuhi didn't recover from her injury?"

"..."

Rei didn't answer. She couldn't stand the silence, and Haku repeated the question again.

"T-The way she spoke, it was like she couldn't get over her injury because I was the one who shot her! Was there anything else you chose me for besides being able to use a gun?"

It was a strange story to begin with. If he wanted a good gunman, he could work with a soldier or a police officer. The reason why he went out of his way to ask for help from Haku, who was good at games, wasn't clear at all.

"Hey, Rei, Tell me! Why me?"

"..."

"Why me!? Tell me whose side you're on, please!"

She raised her voice in spite of herself, and asked. Her cry reverberated through the space in vain.

"...Haku."

With a heavy voice, Rei stopped, turned his head, and replied.

"I'm on your... and your friends' side. I just want you to believe that. And…"

He continued, as he seemed to find it difficult to say.

"The reason you broke the "Cup" — I can't say why for now. But I'll tell you when it stops raining. So, will you wait for me?"

Why can't you answer now?

A question arose, but Haku suppressed it. The only reason for this was Rei's grim, bitter expression — she was sure there was something really going on.

"I understand."

She managed to answer cheerfully.

"If you say so, then I understand. You're the only one I can rely on in this world... and I believe in you. That's all right, isn't it?"

"Thank you."

Rei looked somewhat relieved and hurried on again — leaving a little embarrassed.

※

They hid themselves in the rubble and slipped through Dominant's surveillance about an hour later.

"This… is the same place I saw Rei."

When she looked up, she could see a high spire that penetrated the cloudy sky far away. At last, Haku and Rei had arrived at their destination. At the thought of the end, fear sprang up from the bottom of her heart.

No, now's not the time to be scared here! I have to be strong!

Rei spoke quietly to Haku, who slapped her cheeks.

"We've come all the way here. This is where we climb to the roof. Take my hand."

"Y-Yes."

When she held Rei's extended hand exactly as she was told, he muttered something Haku didn't know. Then a strong wind sprang up at his feet, and the amazed Haku floated in the air with Rei.

"Wow!"

She almost cried out in spite of herself, and hurriedly held her mouth with her empty left hand.

I'm flying!

She wandered about excitedly, and then looked towards Rei, looking grimly at the roof of the spire.

...That's right. Rei and Sakuhi went up to the roof every night and killed each other.

It was one lonely battle. Haku suddenly remembered Rei's words.

"So you have precious friends."

His eyes looked lonely. While her chest hurt secretly, black raindrops were moving up and down in front of her. After a while, Rei, who landed on the slope of the spire roof, pointed to the tip of the roof.

"Do you see something that looks like a purple crystal over there?"

"Oh, on the top of that cross?"

At the end of the roof, on the top of the cross, she saw something glittering.

"That's the core of dark magic. The only way to break it is to hit it with the same magic... So I'll do it."

Rei took his usual knife out of his pocket and spoke.

"When Sakuhi appears, I need you to support me. But don't push yourself too hard."

"Yeah, I got it. Be careful, Rei."

"..."

Rei remained silent, but nodded with a slightly shy expression. However—

"—That's enough of your pretending at being good friends."

When both Rei and Haku heard Sakuhi's quiet voice, they suddenly gasped. When Rei pulled out his "Blue Sword" and Haku re-gripped her gun, she showed up. Sakuhi, who came up as slowly as they did, was almost unharmed, but the only thing that still bled was the wound on her right hand. Her blue and red eyes had a cold murderous will, and in her left hand was her usual sword— No. It was three times longer than usual, and the sword she was holding had a red light like a flame.

"I'm afraid that's the end of your adventure. My "Red Sword" will cut you to pieces this time. That's just how it is."

"Kh…!"

I have to calm down! I have to calm down and help Rei!

Haku held up her gun and looked at Sakuhi's gap. But now she was completely on her guard. It wasn't the time to attack. Sakuhi's eyes turned towards her.

"By the way, you... Haku, was it? Before I cut you to pieces, I have something to ask you."

An angelic smile appeared on Sakuhi's doll-like face.

Huh…?

"Don't listen to her!"

Rei screamed, and at the same time, he leapt in one breath with his "Blue Sword" in hand and attacked Sakuhi. Sakuhi easily accepted the blow.

"My, that's no good, Rei. I have something to ask this girl."

"There's nothing for you to ask from Haku!"

Rei screamed again as if he were trying to erase Sakuhi's words. Haku was confused for a moment, but now she thought it was time to fight.

That's right, I'm going to protect everyone!!

She took a breath and awakened her usual senses. Then, she quietly observed Sakuhi's approaching movements!! A bullet from the thought wave hit Sakuhi's right shoulder beautifully.

"Kh…!!"

For a moment, Sakuhi looked at her with anger. But she immediately turned it into a smile, pushing Rei back and opening her mouth.

"Hey, Haku, what kind of dreams did you have at night when you were in elementary school?"

D-Dreams!?

—What was she saying all of a sudden?

"Don't fall for it, Haku! Don't listen to Sakuhi!"

Rei, who stepped on the ladder, slashed Sakuhi again. Sakuhi accepted it, ignored it, and fought him off. Haku, who was watching for an opportunity, suddenly thought in a corner of her mind.

In other words, it was a dream I had before I saw Rei and Sakuhi's fight. There were many such things back then, for example.

For example— Huh?

"Hey, Haku. What are your parents like? How old are they? What's their personality like? What's their appearance like?"

While accepting Rei's fierce attack, Sakuhi asked again, looking happy.

My parents? I rarely see them since they're abroad, so…

—Huh? What were my mom and dad like?

She guessed she couldn't remember because she didn't want to.

"Stop it! Don't listen, Haku! Don't listen to Sakuhi!"

"You need to remain silent."

When she kicked Rei in the chest and kept her distance, Sakuhi asked her three times.

"Hey, Haku. Maybe you don't remember? Before you entered middle school and your parents."

"That's not true!!"

Haku exclaimed, but it sounded so empty that she could tell.

I went to elementary school, and I remember my mom and dad!

She struggled to remember, but the more she looked up, the less calm Haku felt.

"L-i-a-r."

Sakuhi smiled.

Why can't I remember anything? Did I forget? By any chance... Did I "forget" something I "forgot"? Why!?

Rei still couldn't move because his ribs seemed to be broken. Sakuhi saw it and asked a fourth question.

"And don't you think it's strange? You were able to avoid my attack on your first attempt. Even though you never had any training before. Why?"

That's...

"The two flowers where one was replanted around that time~"

Suddenly, Sakuhi began to speak as if she were singing.

"You don't know your birthplace. You think the inside of the replanted pot is your real place. You don't know that you're someone else's replacement."

—Replacement?

"No... I..."

Haku's voice was beginning to tremble.

"Whose... replacement am I?"

"No, Haku!"

Rei moaned, but Haku had no choice but to raise her voice to Sakuhi.

"Whose replacement am I!?"

"Ahahahaha!"

Sakuhi laughed out loud.

"That's obvious, isn't it? Didn't you notice? You're me. You're Rei."

"Eh...?"

"And you're a replacement for Rei."

—What? The shock of being hit hard on the head hit Haku.

"I didn't think it was possible, but you really don't remember, do you?"

Looking at the pitiful Haku, Sakuhi walked up to her quietly.

"Kh...!"

As she walked closer with the sword in her hand, Haku hurriedly held up her gun and shot her. However, no bullets came out.

"Sorry to disappoint, but someone who's upset can't shoot a wave of thought on someone. That's just how it is."

Sakuhi's thin, long, snow-shaped fingers were stretched out on Haku's forehead.

"I'll remind you, Tokido Haku. Because I feel sorry for you. "A child who fails to do anything"."

Tap.

A soft finger touched her forehead gently. At that moment, countless scenes passed through her mind.

—The Altar. The marble. The coldness of death. The knife. The shock. The pain.

"What do you think, KIKI-sama? Did you succeed in separating?"

"To the best of my ability. Look at these three. Rei, and, oh, this child has inherited the Cup properly. This child is worthy of becoming a beautiful queen in the next generation. Let's name her Sakuhi."

"Oh? This girl is no good. Look, she hasn't inherited the Cup. The wound hasn't healed yet. She has minimal fighting talent, but her memory is wild and she can't handle magic. She's just a human being."

"What shall I do? Do you want me to kill her?"

"No, there's a better way. Let's send her back instead of Rei. It's hard for us to erase the memories of Tokido Rei from all the people in the 〔Surface〕. But if we put her in the gap, we can tamper with their memory."

"Then what shall we do with her name? Are you sending her in as Tokido Rei?"

"No, Rei's wonderful name is not appropriate for a child who fails to do anything. This child is, so to speak, a blank sheet of paper that has failed to print."

"—Let's name her Haku."

"A... Aah..."

Recalling everything, Haku fell to her knees on the ground. She fell down vigorously, and bit her lips as tears welled up, and the gun fell from her open hand.

Whose replacement am I? I am—

"I... am Rei's replacement..."

"Aaaaah!!"

Rei rushed himself up and slashed Sakuhi again. Sakuhi accepted it with great pleasure.

"Ahaha, Haku, do you remember now? You were deceived by Rei. Rei hated you for living in the 〔Surface〕 instead of him, so he brought you here to gloat when he saw you who knew nothing. I suppose that's why."

"That's not true!!"

Rei shook his head violently and shouted to the fallen Haku.

"Listen, Haku! It's true you're one of my personalities. But I didn't ask you to help me because of that!"

Rei spoke as he tied his sword with Sakuhi toward the immovable Haku.

"Mine and Sakuhi's "Cups" are incomplete. Everyone should be able to control their own power. We can't do that. That's because you took the power to control during the separation. And that's why you were able to break the "Cup"!"

"My, is that so? I didn't know that."

While aiming at Rei's neck accurately, Sakuhi nodded.

"During the battle, I realized that you were the only one who could stop me at any time. That's why I chose you. You're the only one who can end my fight!! —Ggh!"

Sakuhi's blade rubbed his shoulder, and Rei twisted his face with pain, but the wound healed instantly.

"Stand up, Haku! Help me!!"

Even if you say that...

Haku couldn't move.

I... I thought I was just a high school student. I thought I was just a normal girl.

But she wasn't. The world of memories that she believed in was distorted by malice and painted with vanity. She forgot the altar, she forgot that she had been tampered with, and she was just made to think she was normal.

I'm just a replacement for Rei — I wasn't supposed to exist in the first place.

Such self-deprecating words had become a heavy stone, and she couldn't move a muscle.

"Haku..."

"Ahahahaha! Rei, it seems that your precious girl is no longer able to move."

While smiling happily, Sakuhi's blade stuck into Rei's abdomen.

"Ugh—!!"

Without speaking out, Rei slowly fell back. Haku stood up in surprise, and could only see the sight in front of her.

—It was the same as her nightmares.

"Rei will surely get up. I know that very well."

Sakuhi erased her smile, shook her sword, brushed off the blood, and muttered.

"But I can't forgive Rei. So I'll kill him as many times as I want, until the end of my precious KIKI-sama's Dominant revolution. That's just how it is."

Her cruel eyes sparkled towards Haku.

"I'll kill you this time."

"Ah...!!"

She couldn't move. When Sakuhi walked up slowly, Haku's desire to live and her despair fought fiercely in her heart, and she didn't move her body.

If I die here, will I... feel better, I wonder...?

Tears trickled down her cheeks again.

"Ha... ku..."

Then — Rei's moan came to her ears.

"Haku... Your friends... Think of your precious friends that are important to you...!"

Haku looked in front of her. There were countless messages on the out-of-range smartphone's screen that rolled out of her pocket.

"Haku! Where are you!? Just give me an answer!!"

"Haku-san, please reply!"

Everyone had called Haku.

"Your friends... are only your friends. They're not mine!"

Rei's words pierced her heart.

"You're not my replacement. You're you. Your life is yours alone!"

That's why Rei smiled. Because he envied that Haku had friends. When she realized that, the light in Haku's eyes gradually returned to her.

"...Rei."

Haku put strength into her legs, stood up, and—

"All right, Rei!!"

She cried out in a voice full of wonderful courage. And Sakuhi, who was on her way, wasn't fast enough to react.

"—I'm sorry."

Bang.

A white bullet shot through Sakuhi's left chest.

※

"It was a long battle, Sakuhi."

Rei crouched down near Sakuhi, who fell down and was breathing heavily, and spoke. Haku stared at them from behind as he stroked her cheek.

"No."

Sakuhi spoke with a trembling body.

"No, I don't like this. I don't want this to be the end...!"

"This isn't the end. It's just the beginning. Truly."

As soon as Rei said it, he stopped stroking Sakuhi's cheek.

"I should have done this earlier, but you didn't let me do this until now— I'm sorry, Sakuhi. Please, rest peacefully."

"Wait...!!"

Sakuhi screamed as much as she could, but Rei put his hand on her forehead in silence. At that moment— Sakuhi's body became a pale light and disappeared into Rei's body.

"Are you alone again?"

"Yes, that's right. Sakuhi is asleep. Inside me."

After saying so, Rei slowly stood up and walked to Haku.

"Haku... Are you mad?"

"I'm not mad. If it weren't for you, I would have died — No... I wouldn't have even been born without you in the first place."

"That's not true."

Rei shook his head slowly.

"You have important people. As long as they're there, you're living, and you will continue to live."

He suddenly looked up at the tip of the spire and went on.

"If you break that crystal, the black rain in your city will stop completely. What do you want to do after that?"

"What do I want to do?"

Haku laughed softly.

"For now, I want to go back to the 〔Surface〕 and get in touch with everyone. To let them know I'm safe."

"And after that?"

When asked, Haku held the gun that was entrusted to her by Rei.

"There may not be much I can do. But I have the power to fight. So I want to go and stop the black rain in the world. ...I want to fight against Dominant."

"I see."

Rei smiled, but with gentle eyes.

"As I thought, you're much stronger than I am. Thank you for trusting me this far. I suppose I should be going soon."

"Eh? Where are you going?"

She asked, but without answering, he put his finger on Haku's forehead.

"To the place where I should be."

"What...?"

In the next moment, a lot of memories flowed into Haku. Not only grief, anger, and sorrow, but also joy.

And when her heart was filled with warm things — Haku had fainted.

※

After a while, she got up quietly and slowly — looking all over her body. Her hands felt a little stronger, much like Rei's. Her hair was long enough to flow down to her waist, much like Sakuhi's. And her clothes, which were supposed to be in a black robe, had changed into a white, loose dress. She looked like an angel.

"I am..."

She picked up the rolling knife and the gray gun and muttered.

"I am Tokido Haku. I'm Haku and nobody else. —Thank you, Rei."

When she said that, she wiped away the tears that had flowed unknowingly.

"Now's not the time to cry. I have to go!"

Haku rose into the air, now knowing what she had to do was simple. She stood still before the purple crystal at the tip of the cross.

"We don't need any more of this rain!

She raised the knife as hard as she could and shook it down. When the crystal broke to pieces, the black rain quickly evaporated. Looking back, the clouds were disappearing and the light had returned to the 〔Reverse World〕.

"The peace of the world... has broken, but now it's the next act."

With her gray hair waving in the wind, Haku clasped her knife and gun in her hands.

—There was a rainbow in the sky over there.

#heisei cataclysm #heisei project #heipro

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heiseidominantation · 1 year

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Heisei Cataclysm "Prologue" (Zips)

Tokido Haku has had nightmares every night since she was in middle school.

It was of a battle between Rei and Sakuhi, whom she had never met before.

Who are these two?

Why are they in my dreams?

Haku has no idea.

The two areas that make up this world are the 〔Surface World〕 close to the modern world and the 〔Reverse World〕 where magic has become commonplace. Although they were close to each other, they continued to be very unstable due to the development of civilization in different ways. Its instability has influenced mankind and caused war and many crimes to spread. Meanwhile, an evil organization casts dark spells on the world, causing chaos.

What is Haku's dream showing her?

What is the role she plays in this?

The battle between the boys and girls who stood up to restore peace to the world begins now.

(Prompt given from the Next Generation Vocalo Novel Contest)

#heisei cataclysm #heisei project #heipro

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heiseidominantation · 1 year

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Heisei Cataclysm Author Notes

Description: The nightmare Tokido Haku sees every night… is of a strange boy and a girl killing each other. Who are these two, and why are they appearing in Haku's dreams? And thus, the 〔Reverse World〕 starts to move...!!

The first novelization of "Heisei Cataclysm", the popular song by ZipsP that has swept the headlines on video posting sites!! "Who was the one that lied about peace?" "Whose ally are you?" Gather here in the new era novel, spun by the selected four geniuses!

Concept: Zips

Hello, readers. Nice to meet you.

Zips here!

This time, with the help of many contestants, I was able to make the song "Heisei Cataclysm" into a book.

Thank you very much!

I hope you enjoy it!

Music: Heisei Cataclysm

Posted in December 2012 on the video posting site Niconico Douga. It has attracted attention with its exciting lyrics and sound under the theme of "A pleasant era will murder people," and its number of views continues to increase.

※ This novel is a revised version of the winning works from the "ENTERBRAIN × Pixiv Next Generation Vocalo™ Song Novel Contest".

#heisei cataclysm #heisei project #heipro

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heiseidominantation · 2 years

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Heisei Dominantation 02 Final Chapter "Heisei Dominantation"

"Rei... You really are such a great guy, you know… I've always respected you even though you're my younger brother."

When Rei closed his eyes, after he had died, Mikage kissed his ring. Then she sprang to her feet and pointed her index finger at KIKI.

"You're not an invincible God. Now that you've been given 〔fluctuations〕, you're just a mechanical doll that's been worked on. Which means our magic will work. We'll destroy you with the strongest magic!"

"Ugh…"

KIKI took a step back, sweating profusely. It was KIKI themself who was shocked by it.

"How foolish! That I, God, find myself backed into a corner like this. That is impossible. That cannot happen!"

"As Mikage said, you're longer a God!"

Haku stood shoulder to shoulder with Mikage, confronting KIKI. Her whole body was boiling with anger and sadness, but she was calm only in her head.

Haku reflected on the battles she had fought so far and reacknowledged what she had to do.

I formed the Heisei Snipers to restore a peaceful world. But what we were looking for wasn't the 〔Peaceful World〕 that KIKI is trying to create.

A white world without emotion means nothing. I want to cry, laugh, and enjoy life with my friends. I want to see a world full of colorful colors filled with various "fluctuations". That's why we need to defeat KIKI and destroy their 〔Peaceful World〕.

Haku exhaled one breath and pointed her gun at KIKI. Mikage, on the other hand, aimed with simple and clear thinking unlike Haku.

Rei's enemy. My comrades' enemy.

If KIKI was the mastermind behind our battles, I'll just knock them down mercilessly.

"Do you intend to go against me?"

Without answering, Haku and Mikage pulled the trigger at the same time. The soulful magic bullets hit KIKI's sides and flew out of the left and right scapula in an oblique orbit. The red lotus flame and the fierce jet black wind covered the former God.

"AAAAAAAAH—!"

"Did we get them!?"

"Not yet. This isn't enough!"

Mikage injected more of her magical powers. She was going to put an end to them.

"...You fools!"

KIKI was still alive when the blast cleared. However, every time they faltered, the mechanical parts spilled out of their wound. At the same time, the space began to blink and gradually lose its light from beyond the horizon.

"There is no future in a world without God. If you defeat me, the builders of the world will be absent. The 〔Surface World〕and the 〔Reverse World〕will disappear, and this 〔Peaceful World〕will also disappear. Then everything will truly turn into 〔nothing〕. Knowing that, can you still shoot me!?"

"I can still shoot!"

"What!?"

When Haku answered immediately, KIKI lost their color.

"We don't want to live in a world created by someone like you. I will shoot you according to my own justice!"

"I agree with you. I think it would be better to be clean and honest with myself than to live in such a shitty world. Rei's wish was to live freely. And I will definitely make that wish come true. That's why I came all the way here!"

Mikage realized that now was the time to repay the life saved by Rei when she was young.

"It's a wish that won't come true in a world under your control where we're deprived of our emotions and aren't allowed to live freely!"

"That's right!"

Haku shouted, carrying the will of her fellow Heisei Snipers and holding up her gun.

"I do not understand… Do you intend to erase one world from space?"

A new emotion, "confusion", appeared on KIKI's face.

"Even if the world disappears, it'll be born again!"

"What!?"

"Without you, a new world will still be born again, just as life will still be spun. For some reason, I feel like I can believe in that!"

"It is nothing more than a delusion. You are dangerous, Haku, Mikage. As I thought, man must be under my control!"

"We don't accept your rule!"

"Then, DIEEE!"

KIKI raised their arms wide. In their hand appeared a huge discharge of beads.

"Is that magic!?"

Haku couldn't believe her eyes, but she immediately understood the reason. KIKI learned to use their "fluctuations" to handle magic.

"We can't avoid it from this distance, Haku!"

"I know!"

When she nodded back to Mikage, Haku fired a pistol. Two bullets and KIKI's White Light were released at the same time.

"Ggh…!"

The shock that penetrated their whole body tore Haku and Mikage's clothes, and their hair stood on end. The two of them fell to the floor with white smoke. On the other hand, Fire Delusion and Black Destruction hit KIKI's forehead and left chest directly.

"AAAAAAAAAH—!"

Cracks occurred all over their body, and KIKI broke to pieces. A small gear rolled in front of Haku, who fell on her stomach. She grabbed it unconsciously.

"Mikage!"

Haku called out, but there was no answer. The destruction of KIKI caused the world to rapidly begin to collapse. Stone pillars were breaking, the floor was shattering, and debris was falling from the ceiling.

There's nowhere to escape anymore.

Although her body couldn't move a millimeter, Haku's mind was filled with a sense of accomplishment.

I've done what I have to do. I have no regrets.

But, that's right.

I wanted to eat Liz's apple pie one more time…

Haku slowly closed her eyes, remembering the sweet and melting taste.

※

"Haku!"

Mikage tried to call out with her voice, but all that came out was a lump of blood. She apparently had her lungs taken.

Haha... It worked. But I can't believe they would use such a trump card in the end.

As expected, even if they were a shitty one, they were originally a God…

Mikage believed she would crawl forward on her stomach and try to survive until she died. But something touched her extended finger to see how far she had gone.

It's cold and round.

This is... a ring.

The ring, which was supposed to have been given to Rei, was lying on the floor. Mikage gripped it.

I guess Rei and I are connected by a bond after all…

As soon as she smiled, there was a violent vibration, and the ceiling suddenly fell down with a sound like glass breaking. The falling boards crushed Mikage and Haku. There was nothing left. At once, the world had returned to "nothing".

※

His consciousness slowly rose from a deep sleep.

"...ei… Rei…"

Someone is calling my name.

"Mm... Let me sleep a little more…"

He rolled over in his blanket.

I want to savor this comfortable feeling a little bit more.

"You can't, you'll be late!"

He was forced out of his blanket and rolled off his bed.

"Ow ow ow. That was too mean, Nee-san!"

"It's your fault that you weren't waking up. Here, I made you breakfast. Eat!"

His mouth was stuffed with sandwiches.

"Cough, cough… You're making a mess. What about you, Mihaku nee-san?"

When she crouched down in front of Rei, who was coughing, his sister, two years older than him, squinted with a mystified look.

"You look pretty pale. Did you have a bad dream?"

"Yeah, though I don't remember it very well…"

Rei fiddled with his gray hair, twisting his neck. On his left thumb was a shining silver ring.

"Well, hurry up and get changed. That new homeroom teacher is super strict, isn't she? What's her name, again?"

"It's Mitsuoka Kureha-sensei. She's beautiful, but she's pretty scary when her glasses get all shiny."

"What's with that, Rei? Do you have a crush on your teacher?"

Mihaku smiled teasingly and ruffled Rei's hair.

"T-That's not what I meant! I'm heading out now. But what about you, Nee-san?"

"I have plans with Lira and Kyouto today."

"I see... I kind of envy you for having so many friends."

"What, are you lonely or something? Then I'll introduce you to Lira."

"N-No, not really… Then, I'm off!"

After changing into his school uniform, Rei left home and rode the flying dragon he kept in his backyard. Driving a flying dragon in this world was a common way to travel to school.

That being said, Nee-san is always asking me about my private life.

Is that what they call having a brother complex, by any chance? Sheesh, what a bother.

While thinking about it, he managed to avoid being late and slid into his seat. In the seat next to him, his classmates, Kuronaka Saki, and Feyssel, were talking face-to-face.

"Did you hear? A transfer student is coming to this class."

"Oh, that's interesting."

A black cat named Nyanneko yawned on Feyssel's shoulder, wearing a mask resembling a kitsune.

"I should invite them to join the kendo club."

"Kuronaka still thinks only of his sword, huh. I would prefer a magic fist club myself."

As Rei listened to the two of them, the classroom door opened and Mitsuoka-sensei entered.

"Good morning, everyone. We have a transfer student to introduce today. Now, come on in."

When Mitsuoka-sensei, who stood on the platform, beckoned, a transfer student waiting in the hallway appeared. As soon as he saw her fluttering pigtails, a shock went through Rei's heart.

I... I know this girl.

"I'm Sakuhi. It's nice to meet you."

The girl, with clear blue and red eyes, bowed deeply to introduce herself. Sakuhi looked up and stared straight at Rei as she spoke.

"I've always been waiting for you. I'm happy we can get along well this time."

Her heartfelt, cheerful, and gentle smile triggered the event.

"...Sakuhi."

"Rei, let's shake on it."

At Sakuhi's smile, Rei certainly felt the sound of a new world moving.

#heisei dominantation 02 #heisei project #heipro

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heiseidominantation · 2 years

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Heisei Dominantation 02 Chapter VII "Peaceful Deaths"

When Haku and the others walked through the silver door, they stared breathlessly at the sight that spread out in front of them.

"This is…"

It was supposed to be underground, but there was a huge space leading to the horizon. The whole space was filled with faint milky white light, but visibility was secured. The light reminded her of the abominable 〔White Noise〕, and Liz felt sick. She felt nauseous and pressed her chest. The milky-white space was lined with chalk stone pillars at equal intervals. The stone pillars extended from the floor to the ceiling, but the ceiling was located far above the sky. It was an unusual space with infinite space and infinite height. They couldn't have been inside a laboratory.

"Where are we? Do you know, Fuyuto?"

Liz leaned over Haku's back and asked Fuyuto. Nyanneko clung frightenedly to Fuyuto's shoulder.

"Perhaps this is the space where KIKI lives. I heard that God once laid themself in this place before creating the world. We must have set foot in a 〔Different World〕."

"So this isn't the 〔Surface World〕 or the 〔Reverse World〕, but a space for God."

"Here?"

Liz looked around again. To be honest, she didn't understand half of Fuyuto's words, but she thought she could tell what was important.

In other words…

"So you mean that the 〔Altar〕 that KIKI mentioned is also here? Does that mean Sakuhi=Rei is here too?"

Liz looked around, but saw nothing else, with a single door behind her.

"No, there's definitely something there."

Haku squinted and pointed to Liz. Liz looked behind her, too.

"Where, where, where…? Oh, over there!"

She saw something shining beyond the horizon. It looked only about the size of her index finger, but unlike the forested stone pillars, it was more like a mountain.

"That's... the 〔Altar〕?"

"Let's go. We need to defeat Rei before Mikage and the others catch up with us."

Haku began to walk straight. Liz hurried after her.

"Wait a minute. Isn't that too far? We don't know how long it'll take to get there."

"No, not necessarily."

Fuyuto, walking behind them, calmly pointed out.

"This world seems to confuse our five senses. In fact, it may be much closer than we see."

It was just as Fuyuto pointed out. It seemed that their sense of perspective was slightly deranged in a space where there were only stone pillars illuminated by white light. And, dragging her heavy feet, within a minute, Liz had reached the spot.

"What… is this?"

The 〔Altar〕 was a diamond-shaped coffin leaning against a slope of embankment. Inside it, his limbs were restrained by a silver chain, and Sakuhi=Rei held both hands together in front of his chest. His eyes were tightly closed, and he seemed to have fallen into a deep sleep.

"He's working on his last breath to release his magical powers."

Fuyuto whispered. The final magic to create KIKI's 〔Peaceful World〕 would soon be launched.

"I won't let that happen!"

Haku pointed her gun at the 〔Altar〕. Right now, Sakuhi=Rei was defenseless. She was sure she'd be able to kill him.

"I'm glad."

Liz thought with a weary head, wishing it would be over soon.

I've had enough of all these battles. I'm not suitable for fighting in the first place.

When everything is over, let's go back to the 〔Base Camp〕 for tea. Right, right, didn't we have apple pie left? I can eat with Haku and dive into a warm bed afterward. There's no better happiness than that.

So Haku, please shoot right away.

Perhaps Liz's prayer had been answered as Haku squeezed the trigger and fired a Flamegia. It drew a parabola exactly between Sakuhi=Rei's eyebrows. This was the end of their long battle.

"You did it!"

Shortly after Liz pumped her fist, the air in front of the coffin trembled and KIKI suddenly appeared. KIKI stood on the trajectory as if protecting Sakuhi=Rei.

"Wha…!?"

The Flamegia went out as soon as it touched KIKI.

"Stop your interference."

KIKI spread out their arms wide. Hidden behind their back, Sakuhi=Rei disappeared.

"The world will be changed soon. Stay put and watch until then."

"Are you kidding me!?"

Haku fired a series of Flamegias. But all of them were invalidated by KIKI. Unlike in the greenhouse, KIKI existed as a substance in front of Liz. And yet magic wasn't working on them.

"Liz, Fuyuto, step back!"

Maybe she felt threatened, but Haku jumped away from KIKI. Liz hurriedly followed suit. For Liz, who could only use healing magic, Haku's existence was the only thing she could rely on. And while paying attention to Haku's every move, she was determined not to drag her down.

"Magic does not work on me."

KIKI skillfully kept their distance, taking a position where they stood in front of Sakuhi=Rei in the corner of Liz and the others. Their expression was like a noh mask, and they didn't feel any humanity. Instead, as KIKI approached, a slightly strange sound reached Liz's ear. A regular mechanical sound, such as winding a spring or rotating a gear.

"They're not a human being!"

Almost at the same time as Liz shouted, Fuyuto seemed to notice.

"Yes, KIKI is a mechanical God with a crunchy mechanism. I remember reading about it in church documents a long time ago. It was soon burned down as a book of heresy, but the description was true."

"Mechanical God… What?"

Haku's eyes glowed sharply like a hawk aiming for prey.

"I am KIKI, the God of machines. I am the Creator of the two worlds, the Surface and the Reverse, and I am the one who transcends logic."

KIKI began to speak softly. The sound of the gears, which at first sounded faint, were now loud enough to annoy Liz's ears. She tried hard to resist the urge to close her ears and squat down. Still, KIKI's voice penetrated Liz's head.

"Both the 〔Surface World〕 and the 〔Reverse World〕 are failures for me. So I decided to destroy them."

"Don't screw with me! Don't think you're like a child playing with sand, even I won't forgive God for acting selfishly just because you don't like your creation!"

It was the first time Liz had ever seen Haku so exasperated. An ordinary person wouldn't be able to look away. However, KIKI calmly confronted Haku. Their glass-worked eyes, in contrast to Sakuhi=Rei's passion and madness, remained silent.

"You seem to think that you are righteous, but there is no justice better than God. Justice is a force that can change the world. But it is impossible for you. And as proof of that, you cannot kill yourself."

"—Ugh!"

Haku shot a Flamegia. However, the results were the same.

"Magic is closely related to one's mind and the reason of the world. Magic can be used for the existence of the world, and it only works when it comes to one's mind, which depends on the world. But as God, I am out of the way of the world. Therefore, all magic is canceled."

"Then I'll fight you!"

Haku jumped with a leap. She clenched her fist against KIKI's face.

"It is useless."

"Ggh—!"

Haku was the one who was knocked off. Her trembling fist was bleeding, but KIKI's face wasn't scratched at all.

"I am the God of machines. There can be no destruction done to me by human hands."

"Haku!"

Liz ran up to her and applied healing magic to Haku.

This is the only thing I can do, and it's frustrating.

No, that's not true.

Liz swallowed and carefully put her hand in her pocket.

Even if it's impossible to hurt KIKI, I'm sure even I can knock down Sakuhi=Rei.

She kept a fruit knife in her pocket just in case. Fortunately, KIKI's attention was focused only on Haku. If she took the opportunity to run to the 〔Altar〕, Liz would have a chance to win. When she casually left Haku, she stepped away from the 〔Altar〕 so that KIKI wouldn't be wary of her. And then, when she saw the opportunity, she would rush in.

I'll kill Sakuhi=Rei and end this nightmare. Because I'm going home with Haku.

The tense feeling in her body was getting stronger. Her feet stuck to the floor, and she couldn't move. Just as she desperately shook it off and tried to take a step forward, Liz heard footsteps behind her.

"Who!?"

It was Mikage who came running in. The same went for Deyssel and Kagura. The moment she caught Kagura, Liz's mind was filled with numb anger.

Why are you doing this at such an important time?

"You're still getting in our way even now!"

Liz screamed with hatred, and Kagura stopped in a hurry. He gasped painfully and worked hard to form his words.

"You're misunderstanding. I'm not…"

"Get out of the way, Kagura!"

Mikage blocked Kagura and fired. A strong black wind passed through Liz's nose, and her hair curled up.

"Kya!"

She crouched down with her hair pressed. Nyanneko jumped off Fuyuto's shoulder and ran away, and Fuyuto hurried after him.

"Mikage!"

Haku immediately fought back, but the Flamegia slipped between Mikage and Deyssel.

"Rei, I found you!"

Mikage seemed to have noticed Rei in the coffin. She hesitated to step forward, but immediately returned her attention to Haku, which she recognized as the biggest threat. Haku and Mikage exchanged glances and started running side by side with guns in their hands. Because of the antagonism of their magical powers, neither of them could afford to pay attention to other things. Flamegias and Black Knifes exploded, and the stone pillars between them melted and were cut off. After seeing it, KIKI quietly returned to the 〔Altar〕. Taking advantage of the battle between Haku and Mikage, KIKI devoted themself to protecting Sakuhi=Rei.

"Damn…"

Liz kicked the floor. With this, she couldn't get closer to the coffin.

If only Kagura and the others hadn't come.

I hate you. I hate you, Kagura.

"Liz-san, we don't have to fight each other. Please stop Haku-san!"

"What are you saying after all this time? I'll never forget about what happened to Kyou and Akari!"

"It was all part of Sakuhi's plan. She's trying to make us fight each other!"

"Then why don't you and the others release your weapons first? Tell Mikage to drop her gun!"

"T-That's…"

The faltering Kagura looked up at Deyssel, who was beside him for help.

"That's impossible. There's no stopping Mikage."

Liz's anger rekindled when she saw Deyssel shaking his head.

How far does Kagura have to make fun of me to ask for something he himself can't do?

Krr. Krr. Krr.

From somewhere, Liz heard the sound of the gears spinning.

"Lislette."

It seemed to come from within Liz's mind, and it sounded from far away. The gears gradually changed into KIKI's voice as they spun more and more.

"Do not listen to Kagura. Kagura will deceive you with words and will kill you and Haku."

Liz thought KIKI was right. In the first place, Kagura was the cause of everything. If Kagura hadn't appeared before the Heisei Snipers, they could have lived a peaceful life as usual.

In addition to Haku, there was Akari, Kyou, and Sana at the 〔Base Camp〕.

I was happy enough just to see everyone's happiness as they ate my cooking.

It was Kagura of Dominant who ruined it all. I can't forgive you.

The sound of the gears echoing through her mind was getting louder and louder. It erased Kagura's voice and instead misled Liz's mind.

My head hurts. It feels like it's going to break.

While Liz was losing her mind, KIKI came after her.

"Haku's heart is leaning towards Kagura, not you."

"Wha…!?"

There's no way Haku is like that!

Liz's heart was about to stop, but she had a clue.

Haku tried to give Kagura the cookies that I made just for her.

Why on earth?

Didn't you want to eat my cookies?

When Liz was about to cry, she looked up slowly.

I see. Haku is being deceived.

I won't forgive you for taking advantage of Haku's kindness. I won't forgive you. I won't forgive you…

With unsteady steps, Liz slowly approached Kagura. Liz's eyes, which had lost their expression, only showed Kagura.

"Kagura…"

"Liz-san? What's the matter?"

Kagura's face was slightly dimmed.

I see. That's how you're trying to keep my guard down. Sorry to disappoint, but I won't let you do that.

With a limp, Liz reached Kagura. She broke her knee on purpose and fell down, then Kagura stretched out his arms and hugged her.

"A-Are you alright, Liz-san!?"

"...I'm not alright."

"Eh?"

As long as you're here, I'm not alright at all!"

As Liz screamed, she took out the fruit knife she had hidden in her pocket and shook it down to the nape of Kagura's head. As soon as the sharp blade stuck to his white neckline, Kagura fell down like a doll with a broken thread.

I did it! For Haku's sake, I got rid of that nuisance.

Immediately after Liz tried to make a triumphant pose, the sound of the gear that hadn't stopped ringing disappeared. The fog that covered her head cleared and her thoughts cleared up.

"W-What was I…"

What the hell did I just do?

She slowly turned her gaze to the floor and saw Kagura lying in a pool of blood. He was no longer breathing.

"Did I… Did I do this…?"

She shuddered to the bone. Liz couldn't hold back her emotions as she hugged her body. No matter how incompatible they were, she couldn't believe she would stab someone.

"This is a lie, it's a lie!"

It's as if she wasn't herself for the last few seconds. Liz realized that her jealousy of Kagura had taken over her reason.

Was Kagura really proposing a settlement with me?

If that were the case, I've done something irreparable.

"You…"

Turning to Deyssel's suppressed voice, she saw a tear in his blood from the back of his mask.

"How dare you do that to Kagura… I won't forgive you!"

It was too late when Liz realized that she had done something irreversible.

I'm sorry. I would apologize, but you should shut my mouth instead.

No apology would make sense to Kagura's allies. Liz understood that things would be the same if she were in the opposite position.

"Uooooooooo!"

Not even trying to avoid Deyssel's angry fist, Liz took it head-on. As she stared at him without blinking, the apple pie she left at the 〔Base Camp〕 appeared in her mind.

I see. I shouldn't have put on airs. I should have had Kagura eat it, too.

Then… we might have become friends…

The wind growled, and Liz's consciousness was cut off in the middle of her thoughts.

※

"Liz!"

Haku saw Liz being beaten by a stone pillar by Deyssel's iron fist. Liz's beautiful hair, which rolled like a doll, was stained with blood.

"...How dare you!"

Forgetting that she was confronting Mikage, Haku shot a murderous Flamegia into Deyssel. The accelerating Flamegia was becoming more powerful due to the synergistic effect of anger.

"Hnnh!"

However, Deyssel crossed his hands in front of his face and received the Flamegia.

There was the smell of burning flesh. Smoke sprang out of his arms, and Deyssel moaned.

"...Is that all you can do?"

"What!?"

"Uoooooooo!"

Deyssel ran into Haku with all his might. Realizing the danger, Haku dashed and dodged behind a stone pillar. However, Deyssel's fist easily penetrated through the stone pillar and jumped close to Haku's eyes.

"Uwa!"

Haku jumped back and Deyssel pulled out his fist. Through the stone pillar with holes as wide as his arm, Deyssel's eyes pierced Haku.

"How dare you do that to Kagura… I won't forgive you!"

"That's my line!"

"I'll kill you!"

As he crushed the stone pillar, Deyssel began to thin into Haku. He was getting closer, but Haku barely bent down to avoid the collapse of his Falling Charge. Feeling the storm slipping overhead, she thrust her pistol into Deyssel's stomach and immediately fired a Flamegia.

"Ggh…!"

It seemed to have worked on Deyssel this way. Haku shot more Flamegias.

Every time the muzzle flashed and flame flashed, blood spouted out of Deyssel's body. Still, Deyssel wouldn't fall down. He put his arms around Haku's back and bent her spine with all his might.

"Aaaaaaah...!"

Deyssel's arms were so strong that he had strangled Magic Beasts. Haku's body curled up, and both her feet floated and scratched the air. She heard a creaking sound in her ribs. Her concentration was cut off due to severe pain, and her pistol disappeared. Her pupils contracted and saliva flew down from her mouth endlessly.

"Damn… you…!"

Haku bit Deyssel's arm, but his giant body didn't budge.

"Leave this to me, Mikage!"

Deyssel cried out to Mikage, tightening his grip on Haku. At his feet, a pond of his own blood was spreading, but he seemed determined not to fall down until he choked Haku and killed her. Mikage, who was aiming at Haku, breathed at the words of Deyssel.

"...Deyssel."

"Don't you want to save Rei? Hurry up!"

"..."

Mikage nodded silently and ran toward the 〔Altar〕. But KIKI stood in her way.

"What do you want, Person of Man?"

"Out of my way!"

Mikage shot KIKI without hesitation. However, just like Haku's Flamegia, the Black Knife disappeared as soon as it came into contact with KIKI.

"What's with you!?"

Mikage's eyes were wide open in disbelief. At last, she seemed to have realized that they weren't an ordinary person. At the same time, Haku was surprised in a different way from Mikage. For she had no idea that Mikage would attack KIKI. Deyssel tightened her torso and changed her perception of Dominant while on the verge of fainting.

Are Mikage and the others not allied with KIKI and Sakuhi=Rei…!?

Haku's body trembled at the irreversible shock. Fuyuto, hiding behind a stone pillar, seemed to have lost his voice due to unexpected developments.

"I am KIKI, the God of machines. I will be the creator of a new world."

KIKI introduced themself to Mikage so that she wouldn't notice Haku and the others' thoughts.

"God? Ha!"

Mikage spat out briefly.

"No matter who you are, if you get in my way, I'll just knock you down!"

"All of you continue to say such impossible things. It is beyond my comprehension of humans."

"Don't insult Dominant!"

Mikage clenched her fist so tightly that blood vessels stood out from her temples.

"How foolish, that 〔fluctuation〕."

KIKI shook their head, creaking the sound of a splinter. Then they looked at Liz, who had fallen.

"I looked into her mind a while ago and amplified her thoughts in an attempt. However, in the end, human 〔fluctuations〕 are incomprehensible to me."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Mikage frowned, but Haku understood what they meant. KIKI called human emotions 〔fluctuations〕 and considered them unnecessary for the 〔Peaceful World〕 they wanted. They must have explored Liz's mind for the final confirmation.

"〔Fluctuations〕 are not necessary to build a 〔Peaceful World〕. That is my conclusion."

"For that reason, that's why you manipulated Liz…"

Earlier, Haku thought Liz looked strange, but it was because KIKI was manipulating her emotions. She didn't know what kind of emotions were in Liz's mind, but as a result of the overflow, Liz stabbed Kagura.

It's all my fault.

If only I had noticed Liz's feelings earlier…

A deep resentment of herself penetrated Haku's heart, but her anger at KIKI was stronger than that and penetrated through her core. Haku thrust her head against Deyssel's chin with all her might.

"Gah…!"

Deyssel staggered at the surprise. Haku succeeded in escaping his restraint while Deyssel held his chin. There was a crack in his mask and it broke in two, revealing Deyssel's bare face. He had a handsome face, but where his right eye ought to be, there was only a twilight-bellied muzzle. Haku didn't care about that. When she re-summoned her gun, she ignored Deyssel and aimed at KIKI. Unexpectedly, Mikage and Haku were both directing their shots at God. However, KIKI slowly spread out their hands without changing their expression. And they spoke mechanically to tell the oracle themself.

"The time is ripe. Now is the time to create a new world."

Sakuhi=Rei, who was sleeping behind KIKI, moaned as if he were responding to the sentence. He shuddered slightly, and the chain that was tied to his arm rang.

"Rei!"

Mikage took a step forward.

"It's me. It's Mikage. You understand, right, Rei? I'm sorry I kept you waiting for so long. I'm here to save you, Rei!"

In response to her desperate call, Sakuhi=Rei, who was placed in the coffin, stretched out his chained hands to the top. Then, Haku could do nothing but stare as Sakuhi=Rei began to chant unknowingly.

"Destroy the heavens, destroy the earth. Destroy the Reverse and the Surface world beyond the 〔White Horizon〕..."

His tone was as mechanical as KIKI, and he found no emotion. He was like a second machine god, or KIKI's alter ego. As Sakuhi=Rei's chant progressed, the ground began to sing eerily. A crack in the ground radially occurred around the coffin, and stone pillars on the extension line collapsed one after another. From far above the heavens, fine fragments fell from the sky. And the surroundings were all white.

"This is…!?"

"The world is about to collapse!"

Fuyuto's voice trembled from behind the barely remaining pillar. Perhaps his instinct had sensed danger, but Nyanneko's presence was nowhere to be seen.

"The world is… about to collapse!?"

Haku repeated Fuyuto, holding down her head when she almost bit her tongue due to the vibrations.

"The 〔Surface〕 and 〔Reverse World〕, he intends to return these two worlds to nothing and create the world that KIKI wants. It's probably not just here, but all over the world!"

"What!?"

"Rei, stop it!"

Mikage tried to run to the 〔Altar〕 but was prevented by KIKI. When KIKI flashed their right hand, Mikage was blown far back, as if she had been slapped by something invisible.

"You fool. You do not realize you will be the first witness to the 〔Peaceful World〕."

"You... Don't screw with me!"

Mikage stood up, wiping the blood from her lips. The flame in her eyes wasn't diminishing at all.

"...In the name of the Creator KIKI, eliminate all 〔fluctuations〕, the source of chaos, and give birth to a 〔Peaceful World〕."

Meanwhile, Sakuhi=Rei's chanting continued uninterrupted. A wide crack engulfed Liz's body into the abyss.

"Liz!"

Haku reached out, but there was nothing she could do. All she could do was stand.

Eventually, the whole 〔Altar〕 began to glow platinum. The platinum light overflowing from the 〔Altar〕 overcame KIKI standing in front of it and spread concentrically. The first person to be swallowed up by the light was Deyssel. As soon as he was surrounded by light, his expression disappeared from his face.

"What... the…"

Deyssel had become a pillar of salt as seen from the tip of his foot, and his body was scattered in the wind. The great magical powers absorbed by Sakuhi and stored in Rei's body were emitted at once in platinum. It had the effect of erasing people's emotions and magic, that is, the "fluctuation" of the mind. Deyssel, deprived of "fluctuations", lost his definition of existence as a human being and was reduced to molecules.

"Wha…"

Haku, who couldn't handle the scene she saw, couldn't finish her words. But as Fuyuto said, she could only understand that all the inhabitants of both worlds would follow the same fate as Deyssel. In the corner of the view of Haku standing still, a figure of Fuyuto jumping out of a pillar and running to Mikage was reflected.

"Haku-san, hurry and come here!"

Unable to afford to think, Haku followed Fuyuto's words. She ended up cramping her feet on the wavy floor. The light continued to expand, and it was close by.

It's no good…

As expected, Haku almost gave up.

"Don't worry. I'll protect you."

Fuyuto stood with his back against the approaching light, as if protecting Haku and Mikage.

"Reflect Film!"

The two blue lights that appeared on both his palms were held over Haku and Mikage, respectively. Fuyuto's magic had the power to reflect the magic that tried to hurt him. And he gave it to the two of them, not to himself. The light in the palm of his hands converged into a sphere and left Fuyuto like a soap bubble. Then it grew to the point where it enveloped Haku and Mikage.

"This is!?"

Suddenly, when Haku reached out, the hand penetrated into the soap bubble and was pushed inside the translucent blue membrane. Fuyuto, and Haku and Mikage were divided into two spheres, the inside and the outside. Platinum light struck there like a tsunami.

"—Kkh!"

The sight of Deyssel, who was blinded by the glare, crossed Haku's mind.

Will I end up like that, too?

But Fuyuto's magic completely shielded the platinum light. Light was emitted back outside the membrane, and neither Haku nor Mikage was affected. In return, Fuyuto was exposed to the direct light, unprotected.

"Fuyuto!"

As Haku cried out, Fuyuto's body quickly lost its color. When the magic ran out, his soul would return to its original state. Haku reached out to pull Fuyuto into the membrane.

"No, you can only put one person in the membrane!"

Fuyuto rejected it and moved away from Haku himself.

"What are you doing!? You shouldn't waste it on me, you should use this defensive magic for yourself!"

"That… isn't true. You're the only one who can stop KIKI."

Fuyuto smiled faintly.

"The order given to me by the Church was to tell someone in the 〔Surface World〕 about the crisis in the world. And I met Haku-san. When I finished that role, my purpose of living was fulfilled."

"You're a churchman!?"

Mikage wrapped in the membrane next to Haku widened her eyes.

"I finally remembered the Dominant who rebelled against the Church."

"Then you're our enemy!"

"But Mikage-san, I always envied you."

"What?"

At Fuyuto's words, Mikage seemed to doubt her ears. With her mouth half open, and her eyes fixed on him.

""Only I can control myself". I've never thought of such a natural thing before. I'm glad I got to have this conversation with you who came up with it in the end."

"I… don't understand what you're saying."

"I've always wanted to become a member of Dominant."

"Fuyuto…"

At Fuyuto's unexpected confession, which she believed was her enemy, Mikage seemed to have lost her way of feeling.

"You… aren't my enemies? Then why on earth are we…"

As if she had lost sight of the foundation on which she stood, Mikage looked restlessly at Haku. Haku nodded back silently to Mikage.

Heisei Snipers and Dominant. The battle between them was over. Seeing Haku's will, Mikage looked despondent for a moment, but immediately returned to her mind and appealed to the 〔Altar〕.

"Please stop this, Rei. Why are you doing this? Is this what you want!?"

"..."

After the chanting, Sakuhi=Rei remained silent, sitting in the coffin.

"Rei! Can't you hear me!?"

"It is no use. Rei's mind has been overwritten by Sakuhi. He is nothing more than a world regenerator to keep releasing magic and fulfill my wishes. It is no use saying anything."

Mikage's fist trembled as KIKI answered on behalf of Rei.

"You… How dare you do this to Rei…!?"

Blood dripped from the palm of her hand, perhaps because she was clenching her nails in anger.

"You're the only one I won't ever forgive. Even if you take my life, I will definitely kill you!"

"God will not die. No, God cannot die. I will not break, even if that is your will."

"I don't care what you think!"

Mikage pulled the trigger when she took out her gun. The magic bullet penetrated through Fuyuto's membrane and was shot into KIKI's eye. However, the magic bullet disappeared just before KIKI.

"It didn't work!?"

KIKI turned their inorganic eyes to Mikage, who bit her lip.

"You are foolish. How many times do I have to continue to repeat the same thing?"

Then KIKI turned their right hand to Mikage. A pale discharge occurred in the palm of KIKI's hand.

"A magical shield is powerless in the face of the power of real thunder. Consider this your punishment for firing against God."

"This isn't good, Mikage!"

Haku cried, feeling a chill in her spine. Fuyuto's power was simply to disable the magic of Sakuhi=Rei, but KIKI's attack couldn't be prevented. Fuyuto also looked desperate. The only thing he could do was to protect Haku and Mikage.

"Disappear."

The blue lightning, once aggregated in the palm of KIKI's hand, gushed like carbonated water without a plug. Soon after, something that no one imagined happened. Sakuhi=Rei, who was sinking into the coffin with a bloodless face, tore off the steel chain that held him like a rubber band and stood in front of KIKI with a staggering step. He looked to Haku as if he were protecting Mikage. Lightning penetrated Sakuhi=Rei's body. The blue discharge entangled itself like a thorn all over the body, and a great deal of white smoke rose from his back. As he raised his hair upside down, Sakuhi=Rei slowly fell down.

"Rei!"

Fuyuto tried hard to stop Mikage from trying to run up to him.

"You can't! If you go outside now, your body will collapse like Deyssel!"

"But how can I just sit back and watch this!?"

Mikage kicked hard on the floor.

"Calm down. He's still alive!"

While Haku watched, Sakuhi=Rei barely stood up holding his chest.

"...Ugh..."

His breathing sounded painful, but it didn't seem like a fatal wound.

"Please… stop this."

Sakuhi=Rei's words were directed at KIKI.

"What?"

Kiki replied in return like a parrot. There was a strange look on their face that had never been seen before.

"Why are you going against me? I did not allow you to do that."

"If it's to protect Nee-san… then even I... can do this much..."

"Rei, do you recognize me!?"

"Nee-san... I'm sorry."

Rei looked back over his shoulder at Mikage. His forehead was covered with sweat, and he was so haggard that the light of his life was about to go out, but his eyes certainly rekindled the brilliance of wisdom and reason.

"Is your body okay, Rei?"

"It's okay… This much is nothing."

"Is that so? I'm glad."

Mikage sighed in relief. In contrast, KIKI took a few steps back.

"I cannot believe this. Rei's soul should have been completely in my hands. Why has this irregularity happened?"

KIKI's expression had an obvious agitation that had never been seen before.

"That's…!"

When Haku saw it, she felt it. That agitation was a slight "fluctuation" that wasn't supposed to be possible in the first place. KIKI was shaking now.

"Mikage, shoot!"

As soon as she realized this, Haku was screaming at Mikage. In one word, Mikage apparently realized what she had to do. In no time, she struck a Black Knife into KIKI.

"How many times must you make me repeat the same thing? Magic does not work on..."

KIKI's words were interrupted in the middle. Black Knife, which was supposed to disappear, hit KIKI as they were and tore a part of their clothes.

"...I do not understand."

KIKI muttered, staring at their cut clothes.

"It's just as I thought!"

"What do you mean?"

Haku, who watched breathlessly, quietly spat out, but Mikage seemed to be unable to understand despite her actions. She looked incredulous and stiff with her gun in her hand.

"Because KIKI's heart experienced a 〔fluctuation〕, magic is no longer ineffective against them."

Fuyuto supplemented Haku's conjecture. Fuyuto, who was a powerful enough mage to go through the 〔Gate〕, continued used his strength to protect both Haku and Mikage. But as a result of absorbing Sakuhi=Rei's magic, his life was starting to give out. Still, with all his might, Fuyuto continued to talk and gave them "hope".

"People's hearts— their 〔fluctuations〕 are the things that KIKI avoids the most. Because the effects of magic also vary depending on the strength and weakness of one's emotions. Until now, KIKI was invincible because they had no emotions as a machine god, so magic didn't work on them. But Rei's unexpected behavior, which betrayed their expectations, gave KIKI a different emotion— a 〔fluctuation〕."

"So that's why it worked…"

"Once you've been shaken, you can't rebuild your mind. KIKI is no longer an invincible god."

"That is impossible... I do not believe this!"

KIKI shook their head violently and grabbed Sakuhi=Rei by the chest. They pushed him into the coffin again.

"You are only to act as my handpiece for as long as I like. I will not allow any more selfishness. Sakuhi, step firmly on Rei's soul!"

Sakuhi=Rei, who seemed to have regained his ego at a miraculous time, lost the power of his eyes like a doll again. At KIKI's mercy, he didn't resist.

"Rei!"

Mikage held up her gun, glaring at KIKI with fierce eyes. Then Fuyuto spoke with a nod.

"Now that KIKI can feel pure emotions, you need to use your strongest magic. Now is our only time to defeat KIKI!"

"Leave it to me. I'll drive them to the bottom of hell!"

"〔Fluctuations〕 are an uncalculated element for KIKI. That's why they're trying to create a world without 〔fluctuations〕. In a world where only people without emotions exist, there would be nothing to hurt themselves."

"And that's why KIKI considers the magical world a failure."

Haku remembered the people in the greenhouse.

Come to think of it, what happened to Sana? I hope he escaped safely.

The profile of Haku's comrade glanced through her mind, but she immediately turned her gaze back to Fuyuto.

"I can't stand them trying to break something like this easily just because they don't like it. They're not a child playing with sand!"

"And it's all because they never even tried to understand why 〔fluctuations〕 are necessary."

Mikage agreed with Haku.

"Please, protect the world."

Fuyuto whispered to the two of them.

"It was only a short stay, but the 〔Surface World〕 was a wonderful place. I'm glad I met Haku-san and the others."

"Stop it. Don't say that…"

"Of course, I also love the 〔Reverse World〕. I wanted to show my hometown to everyone."

"That's why I'm telling you to stop…"

Before she knew it, tears were running down Haku's cheeks.

"I put a link to Haku-san and Mikage-san's heart, so this defensive magic will remain even after I'm gone. I'm leaving the rest to you two."

"Fuyuto!"

"Thank you, Haku-san. Thank you, Mikage-san."

Fuyuto disappeared, leaving a calm smile until the end.

"...You're too nice, Fuyuto."

Haku wiped away her last tears while holding back her knees, which were about to collapse.

I won't shed any more tears. All that remains now is to fight.

"Haku."

Mikage called out to her.

"I won't tell you we have to become allies now. Too much happened between me and you guys for that. But we're the only ones who can hit them. Please lend me your strength."

"I know. My gut is boiling, too."

When Haku put her back together with Mikage, she could feel her body temperature and her burning heartbeat.

"Here we go!"

The two of them aimed their guns at KIKI, breathing together. According to Fuyuto, human emotions — the 〔fluctuations〕 strengthened one's magic.

Then I'll give it a try.

There's no need for a God that destroys the world. That's the justice of the Heisei Snipers.

"Uooooo!"

With anger in her handgun, Haku shouted.

"Fire Delusion!"

The muzzle glowed with heat, and a crimson bullet was shot out. It penetrated through the membrane covering Haku, swirling with flames, and went straight to KIKI. She knew at the moment she fired that it was an order of magnitude more powerful than the previous Flamegia. The exhaustion of her mental strength was also offset by the spirit of defeating KIKI from the bottom of her heart.

"Hmm."

KIKI still didn't move. They seemed to persist in believing that humans couldn't hurt God.

"The previous one was nothing more than a fluke. Now without Rei, your chance to win is gone."

However, the magic bullet hit KIKI's right arm. Flames swirled into their body, and there was the smell of metal burning.

"What!?"

There was a quizzical voice, and KIKI stared at their upper arm with a gaping hole.

Haku's eyes also certainly caught the artificial skin of KIKI's arm melting away, and the gears and screws inside the hammer spinning.

"I'll do it too!"

Mikage also fired continuously.

"Black Destruction!"

Fuyuto's last defensive magic repelled the magic from the outside, but the magic from the inside seemed to penetrate through. Mikage's magic bullet cut KIKI's body with tens of times more power than the previous Black Knife.

"This is… I do not… understand."

KIKI's face, which looked like a Noh mask, began to look confused.

"It's working. We can beat KIKI like this!"

"Yeah. My anger is at its peak!"

Haku and Mikage nodded to each other.

"...You humans are beginning to irritate me!"

KIKI's jet-black right eye shone. At that moment, a burn mark appeared on the floor under Haku's foot. It was burned by a high-temperature laser shot out of KIKI's eyeball. However, Haku herself was wrapped in the blue membrane, so there was no damage done.

"Thank you, Fuyuto."

Haku muttered her thanks to Fuyuto for saving her life even after his death.

"We'll push through like this!"

If KIKI's attacks were disabled and magic was effective, they could win this. But such thoughts didn't last long for Haku. For KIKI turned and used Rei as a shield.

"Sakuhi=Rei. Get rid of these people!"

"...As you wish, my 〔Master〕."

In Sakuhi's voice, Rei replied.

"Stop, Rei!"

Rei shook his head slowly at the screaming Mikage.

"I'm not Rei. This body belongs to me. Rei's soul belongs to me, too!"

Rei's heart, which he had briefly taken back in order to protect Mikage, was overwritten again by Sakuhi.

"Rei… Damn it! What should I do!?"

"Ahahaha!"

Sakuhi=Rei threw a distorted sneer that couldn't help but freeze the spine of those who heard her.

"Mikage. Haku. I'll have you die at my 〔Master〕's command!"

When she burst into laughter and began to cast new spells, the platinum light that had been covering their surroundings was gone. This didn't break down their bodies, but the crisis wasn't over. Sakuhi=Rei's magical power was equivalent to Fuyuto's. In other words, there was a possibility even Fuyuto's defensive magic could be broken. Haku's fears came true a few seconds later. Sakuhi=Rei held up her hands while continuing to chant, and the membrane covering Haku and Mikage began to draw toward her. By overwhelming attraction, the membrane bounced and was drawn into Sakuhi=Rei's hand.

"Ahahaha. With this, you're both exposed!"

In contrast to Haku and Mikage's return to a defenseless state, Sakuhi=Rei's skin became glossy and her cheeks turned red strangely, perhaps because she had absorbed Fuyuto's remaining magic.

"This time, I'll absorb your magic until you're dry!"

Sakuhi=Rei approached while licking her tongue. Haku held up her pistol, but Mikage blocked it.

"Don't shoot, Haku!"

"Why are you stopping me? If we don't get into close combat, we won't win!"

Haku glared at Mikage.

Are we going to come this far only to show mercy?

I wouldn't forgive myself. I can't waste my comrades' will to save the world because I wouldn't defeat Sakuhi=Rei. I don't know how far the 〔Peaceful World〕 has spread, but nevertheless, I'll do exactly what I have to do.

That was Haku's last mission. But Mikage replied coldly.

"Don't get the wrong idea. As his older sister, I'm the only one who has the right to kill Rei. You get it, right?"

"..."

Answering instead of Haku, who was speechless, Sakuhi=Rei laughed.

"Ahahaha. Can you really kill your own brother? Even though I took over his body and mind, there's still a little bit of Rei's soul left. Knowing that, can you still shoot?"

"Sakuhi, you underestimate me too much."

"What?"

Mikage smiled cynically at Sakuhi=Rei, who frowned.

"You underestimate Rei, too. My brother isn't the kind of guy that would complain about being killed by me. All the more so if it was to save the world."

Sakuhi=Rei's feet stopped as if they had been sewn in front of Mikage. Sweat oozed from her forehead.

"No way. There's no way you can do it. Not to your brother, who you've been looking for for five years. There's no way you can shoot that easily!"

"If you really think so, why don't you make sure?"

"Eek!"

Sakuhi=Rei screamed briefly when she saw Mikage take something out of her pocket.

She was completely engulfed by Mikage's power. Even Haku could no longer speak to her, swallowing her breath.

"Look, Rei."

On Mikage's palm was an old ring. Sakuhi=Rei, whose eyes were attracted to it without thinking, shook her head when she realized what it was.

"What's that? I don't understand!"

She burst into laughter.

"In other words, it was a perfect bluff. Ah, how boring— I was in a hurry and lost it for nothing!"

However, Mikage offered the ring to Sakuhi=Rei without losing her serious expression.

"Look carefully, Rei. Please remember!"

"You're so persistent. I already said I don't understand, didn't I? I'll take all your life as I planned!"

Just as she was about to lick her tongue and jump at Mikage, Sakuhi=Rei suddenly held her injured right eye.

"Aaaaah..."

As the voice of suffering leaked out, her blue eye on the right, which used to be like glass beads, grew brighter.

"Rei... you… This can't be… Aah!"

"...This is my precious ring."

From Sakuhi=Rei's mouth came a calm boy's voice instead of a girl's. Then he turned to Mikage and said "Mikage nee-san" clearly.

"Do you understand me!?"

"I understand, Nee-san. I'm sorry to have troubled you so far."

"Rei… My Rei is back!"

Seeing Mikage exhaling with relief, Haku thought that Sakuhi was at last gone. That ring was probably the symbol of their bond. Seeing it awakened Rei's soul, which had been taken away by Sakuhi. When Rei received the ring from Mikage, he gently fit it onto his left thumb. Then he pressed his lips against it.

"...I won't forgive anyone who tries to hurt Mikage nee-san."

"What are you talking about? I've taken over your body, so don't you dare show your face now, you piece of trash!"

"I haven't given you my soul, Sakuhi!"

Sakuhi and Ray alternated. It was a strange sight, but as a result of an invisible struggle, Rei seemed to regain control of his body.

"It's all thanks to you, Haku-san."

Suddenly Rei bowed his head, and Haku stopped.

"W-What do you mean?"

"Sakuhi's left eye was crushed. Her magical powers were concentrated in her eyes and the spread of her magical powers gave me the opportunity to wake up my soul that had been put to sleep."

"I see…"

It seemed that the cooperation of Haku and Mikage was unexpectedly able to free Rei from Sakuhi.

"All we have to do now is knock down KIKI. If I use my power, I can restore the world."

"Is that so? I'm glad."

It was when Mikage and Haku nodded.

"I won't let you!"

Suddenly Rei's tone changed. When his injured left eye opened, the eye redder than blood shot through Haku.

"Sakuhi, you still haven't...!"

Mikage ran up to Rei to restrain him, but earlier than that, Sakuhi was hiding a knife in secret, piercing the knife against her chest.

"Ggh…"

"Rei!"

"Sakuhi!"

The screams of Mikage and Haku crossed each other. Sakuhi=Rei fell down with the knife stuck to her heart, spouting a large amount of blood from her mouth.

"Pull yourself together, Rei!"

Mikage's hand, holding her back, was quickly stained with fresh blood. It was obvious that it was a fatal wound.

"You guys… I won't let you guys have your way…!"

Like the wind across the wilderness, Sakuhi's throat whistled.

"Rei belongs to me… I won't give him to anyone…!"

"You… Shut the hell up!"

Mikage relentlessly tightened Sakuhi's throat. Her red left eye spun around and Sakuhi fainted.

"Rei, can you hear me?"

"...Nee-san…"

Sakuhi=Rei had regained Rei's personality. He opened his closed blue right eye and desperately reached for Mikage.

"I missed you… Nee-san..."

"Me too, Rei…"

Mikage gently hugged Rei.

"I… I hurt everyone… I can't believe I tried to destroy the world..."

"It's not your fault. The worst one here is KIKI!"

At the same time as Mikage glared at the 〔Altar〕, Haku fired a Fire Delusion. The 〔Altar〕 burned down with the coffin and turned into dust. KIKI appeared from behind the flames, staring through the embers.

"KIKI!"

Haku pulled the trigger without hesitation. A magic bullet filled with anger. However, this time it stopped just before KIKI.

"What!?"

It definitely worked earlier. So why?

Haku's thoughts became confused.

"Kukukuku."

KIKI gave a regular chuckle.

"I was only slightly shaken a while ago. My doubts of your magical powers having been strengthened led to a 〔fluctuation〕 and I almost lowered my toes to the logic of this world."

KIKI picked up the magic bullet that had stopped before them and threw it somewhere far away. Then they glided along, clanging their head. When Haku looked closely, their feet were floating a few centimeters above the floor.

"But now that 〔fluctuation〕 is gone. No matter how powerful your magic may be, it will not work on me."

KIKI's body was enveloped in a jet-black haze.

"This is God's prophecy. A person of man cannot defeat God."

"Don't screw with me!"

Haku fired a series of magical bullets, but the result was the same. Countless magical bullets were caught in the haze and stagnated around KIKI.

"There is no magic in my world anymore."

When KIKI threw away the magic bullet, it bounced back at Haku and the others. Haku managed to dodge, but Mikage, who was hugging Rei, couldn't move. She immediately shielded Rei with her body.

"Ggh…!"

White smoke rose on Mikage's back under the direct hit of the burning Fire Delusion.

"N-Nee-san…!"

"Are you okay, Rei?"

Mikage smiled at her brother, but there was no doubt that she had suffered severe burns.

"...How dare you do this to Nee-san…!"

Rei slowly stood up, grasping the handle of the knife thrust against his chest.

"Wait, don't move!"

Mikage tried to stop him, but her body was numb and unable to move. She cried out to Haku, sweating profusely.

"Stop Rei! I'm begging you!"

"I no longer need saving."

Rei spoke to Haku in a whispered voice. His expression was so transparent that she stopped running to him.

"B-But!"

"I've always been at Sakuhi's beck and call, but I want to live freely at the end."

"Freely? What do you plan on doing, Rei?"

Mikage stood up with her knees shaking while enduring the numbness of her body. Rei's eyes were filled with the light of entreaties that Haku had never seen before.

"Stop, don't go, Rei!"

"Nee-san... I'm glad to hear that. Please take good care of Mikage nee-san."

When Rei nodded to Haku, he started walking toward KIKI.

"You cannot do anything now."

KIKI watched with an expressionless face.

"Your heartbeat stops before you stand before me. It is useless."

"I wonder… about that."

"What…!?"

KIKI's face clouded slightly.

"This is the last of my magic... Accept it, KIKI!"

Rei, facing KIKI, pulled out the handle of the knife in his chest at once. A great deal of hot blood from his heart poured down on KIKI.

"I'll give you my 〔fluctuation〕!"

He was bleeding like a fountain, but Rei kept walking.

"That is impossible. You should be dead by now. Why can you still move?"

"..."

Rei laughed in silence.

"I do not understand... No, this is...!"

Looking at their vermilion-stained arm, KIKI stepped back. Haku didn't miss the slight fear of their expression.

"This is... "fear"."

Rei pointed out quietly.

"Fear, you say? I do not have that kind of 〔fluctuation〕."

"I gave it to you. And… this time…"

Rei re-gripped the knife and thrust it into KIKI's side as if it were hitting them. He poured all his remaining magic through the blade of the knife. A rainbow-colored flash of light gushed into KIKI's body.

"W-What is this…? This burning…?"

"Remember, how strong our 〔fluctuations〕 are!"

"D… DIEEEEEEE! STOP ITTTTTT—!"

As soon as KIKI shouted, the jet-black mist that surrounded them disappeared.

"How dare you torment Nee-san... This is my "anger". My real anger!"

"F-Foolish... What are these unknown emotions flowing into my body!?"

Suddenly, KIKI's face was distorted, and they began to shed large tears.

"And this is "sadness". It was the tearful pain in my chest when I was separated from Nee-san and hijacked by Sakuhi!"

"Rei, are you going to betray me!?"

"I didn't betray you from the beginning. I'm a Dominant. Only I can control myself. I don't obey God's orders!"

"You!"

KIKI raised their eyebrows and beat their teeth in a rage. Many emotions ran through KIKI's body, and they were at Rei's mercy. Crying, anger, suffering, they changed between facial expressions.

"He gave God emotions. Is this Rei's magical power…?"

Haku spoke breathlessly. KIKI's floating feet reached the earth. KIKI, who gained "fluctuations," was incorporated into the world's logic. With this, they could no longer cancel magic.

"S-Stop it… DON'T GIVE ME 〔FLUCTUATIONSSSSSS〕!"

KIKI screamed with their hands on their face.

"Rei…"

Mikage clenched her teeth and watched her brother's last courage.

"...Burn it into your memory… The strength… of man…"

After squeezing out all his energy, Rei fell down like a feather.

※

"Rei!"

Rei felt Mikage's scream from far away.

Nee-san... I'm sorry to burden you all this time.

I'm being dragged into the bottom of a deep well. I can't even see anything.

I just need a few more breaths before my life ends.

"Sakuhi. Sakuhi, can you hear me?"

He called out to the other self that was supposed to be in his heart.

"What, do you still have something to complain about?"

In a blank voice, Sakuhi replied. Her consciousness was driven to the depths of Rei's mind and was already dying out.

"I want to tell you one last thing. It wasn't that I hated you."

"Huh? What are you saying? I can't help but hate you for doing such a terrible thing!"

Rei gently wrapped himself around Sakuhi's dumbfounded feelings.

"Maybe it can't be helped because you were programmed to follow KIKI's orders. But KIKI is no longer a God. They're no longer your 〔Master〕. So you don't have to be frightened anymore."

"What are you implying I've been frightened of…? …But you may be right."

He felt as if Sakuhi breathed a small sigh.

"I was afraid that there would be no one to recognize my worth. That's why I kept following KIKI-sama. I couldn't stand being alone, so I kept my balance by tormenting you. Because I could only be with you when I was bullying you."

"You don't have to do that anymore. Because from now on, we'll be together forever."

Rei tried to smile but failed. The fight with KIKI consumed all his magical powers and drained all his blood. He couldn't even move a finger anymore. Still, his thoughts seemed to have been conveyed to Sakuhi. Another relationship between personality, opposition and hatred created by KIKI was finally restored.

"Rei... I'm starting to feel sleepy."

"Me too, Sakuhi."

"Hey, will you sleep with me?"

"If that's what you wish."

"Aha. That makes me just a little happy. You're such a good-natured fellow."

"Is that so? I wasn't aware of that."

"That's the epitome of good-naturedness. But I don't hate it, you know."

For the first time, Sakuhi smiled softly. Gradually her "voice" became smaller.

"Hhaa— I'm really starting to feel sleepy. Good night... Rei."

"Good night... Sakuhi."

"...Rei."

"What?"

"Stu—pid. Fufu…"

Rei's profile, which stopped moving, was as calm as if he were sleeping.

#heisei dominantation 02 #heisei project #heipro

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heiseidominantation · 2 years

Text

Heisei Dominantation 02 Chapter VI "The Group of Thanatos"

When Mikage and Kureha finally came down the seemingly endless staircase, they were on a narrow path. A dark passageway with a pale light lit like a fire. There, they were attacked by a Magic Beast. A serpent dragon the size of a colt lurked in the darkness of the passage, and flew in with the sound of its wings.

"Damn…!"

Kureha thought she was being cautious, but her eyes weren't accustomed to the dark. A serpent dragon with bat-like wings and mottled scales of green and black approached in no time. Kureha bent down hard, but, unable to dodge, her left arm was plucked by a sharp claw. Her sleeves were torn, and severe pain ran through her entire arm. She tried to hold her rifle, but her dominant arm was weak. The serpent passed by Kureha, it went straight down the corridor for a while and then turned upside down. Its sharp tusks rattled and venomous saliva spilled out. The floor, dripping with venom, melted and puffed out smoke from the rim. A bite would kill them.

"Don't screw with me!"

Mikage standing behind Kureha fired a gun. The magic bullet containing the Black Knife directly shot the wings of the serpent dragon and tore them like paper. The serpent fell into the corridor while spraying poison, Mikage put the muzzle to its head and put a stop to it. After confirming that the serpent dragon had died, Mikage ran back to Kureha.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes. There's no problem."

Kureha nodded, hiding her injured hand behind her back. She wanted Mikage to think only of rescuing Rei, so she couldn't make her worry too much here. Besides, there was no cure anyway. Neither Kureha nor Mikage could use healing magic, and the medicine was left in their hiding place.

"I'm sorry, but can Mikage move ahead? There are still Magic Beasts around, and I'm afraid I'm not good at fighting."

"...Got it. Leave it to me."

Mikage took the lead honestly. Kureha felt bad using her as a shield, but she was convinced that she could contribute with wisdom instead. She camouflaged her arm by wrapping a scarf over her clothes.

Snap—!

"Here it comes!"

As Kureha predicted, there were many Magic Beasts lying in the aisle.

"Black Knife!"

Thanks to Mikage's performance, the path immediately opened up. But Kureha couldn't just let it be and celebrate. She could see the wear and tear of Mikage's magical powers. After defeating the third Magic Beast, Mikage was breathing hard. Recovering your magical powers required a period of rest, but she couldn't rest safely in a place like this.

I need to find somewhere for Mikage to rest…

Without worrying about the pain in her arm, Kureha was only thinking about that. Then the corridor was over, and they ran into the gray door. When they opened it, they went out into a square room of the same color as the door. The front, the left, and right walls had doors of different colors.

"This... What the hell is this place?"

On the front was a silver door with a distinctly different atmosphere, engraved with elaborate magic letters. The left and right doors were painted black on the left and white on the right.

"This door… is sealed by magic."

Standing in front of the silver-rimmed front door, Kureha read the engraved magic words. According to it, the door was sealed and could only be opened by someone with powerful magical powers.

"I can't open it. If you don't have enough power to open the 〔Gate〕, it's probably impossible."

"Then I'll open it for you."

Mikage touched the door, but Kureha interrupted her.

"Wait a minute. As long as you don't know how much magic you're going to use to open the door, it's dangerous to say the Open spell right now. If you don't do well, you'll use all your strength and faint."

"There's no doubt that Rei is ahead. Some bets can't be helped."

"Think carefully. This door itself may be a trap set by Sakuhi."

Mikage would never admit it, but her fatigue had reached its peak due to a series of battles against Magic Beasts. It was too risky to let Mikage open the door. Judging so, Kureha suggested that no one should say an Open spell unless they had the minimum amount of time to rest.

"We don't have time! You've gotta be kidding me!"

As a matter of course, Mikage vehemently rejected.

"Don't you know why I came here? I don't have time to waste!"

"And no matter what you say, I'm telling you the answer is no!"

Kureha snapped at Mikage who was trying to hide her dissatisfaction. Of all the Dominant members, she was the only one who could speak so clearly to Mikage. It was because they prided themselves on having such a deep relationship of unbreakable trust, that they could clearly say things that were difficult to say.

"I'm not telling you to stand here and do nothing. Let's go check the other doors. While we're doing that, the others may catch up."

When she mentioned the names of Toki and Hirokina, Mikage couldn't resist.

"Well... You might have a point…"

"Then it's decided."

Kureha stopped the discussion and turned to the left and right doors. She was at a loss as to which to look first, black or white, but somehow her feet turned to the left. A thick ebony door, but there was no magic sign.

"There… doesn't seem to be a key."

It seemed that the lock could only be locked from the outside, but the lock itself was nowhere to be seen.

"Move out of the way. I'll check it out."

Mikage kicked open the door with her foot while holding a pistol. Kureha followed in support, as she rolled swiftly into the next act.

"...There's nothing here."

Mikage shrugged her shoulders in an unexpected way. The walls, ceilings and floors were small rooms all black, and there was only a sofa in the corner, but there were no other furnishings.

"It's a deliberate room. I don't like it."

Mikage wrinkled her nose.

"It doesn't seem to be a trap."

Kureha made a quick survey of the room. If it were Toki, he would investigate further, but for the time being, it didn't seem to be booby trapped.

"Hm, what's that?"

A glittering object caught her eye on the sofa. It seemed to be the key to this room.

Kureha bent down to pick it up and at the same time noticed something like a card sticking out between the sofa and the floor. She picked it up with the key, and as soon as she read the text, Kureha clicked her tongue in spite of herself.

"What's wrong? Show me."

When she handed over the card to Mikage, she read it out.

""Dear Dominant, this is a 〔Safe Room〕. There isn't any danger at all, so please don't worry and rest well." …Whoever wrote this is clearly messing with us!"

Mikage crushed the card. Still, the pit in her stomach didn't go away, so she threw it on the floor and trampled it down.

"It must be the work of Sakuhi. She expected us to come this far."

"Good for her to be so relaxed. I'll break her arrogant face!"

"And to do so, you must rest."

In order to open the silver door and fight against Sakuhi, Mikage had to restore her magical powers. Kureha felt like they were being made to dance on Sakuhi's palm, and it was extremely unpleasant, but it seemed that she had no choice but to have Mikage rest.

"Mikage, stay and recover here. In the meantime, I'll be in charge of lookout."

After she suggested so, Mikage said that Kureha should rest first instead.

"My eyes aren't knots. You hurt your arm, didn't you? When you were attacked by that serpent earlier."

"Eh!? T-That is…"

At Mikage's sharp point, Kureha was unusually upset. When Mikage saw it, she scratched her head in despair.

"How many years do you think we've known each other? If you're talking about Kureha, there's nothing I don't know. So don't push yourself any harder."

Mikage put her hand on Kureha's back and gently tried to make her sit on the sofa.

Kureha was moved by Mikage's unexpected attitude, but soon came to her senses and stood up.

"No, no. Mikage is the one who needs to take a break. Don't you want to see Rei-kun?"

"T-That's…!"

As soon as her brother's name was mentioned, Mikage hesitated. Seeing Mikage looking down and thinking, Kureha thought:

That was unfair of me. I can't believe I intentionally hit Mikage's weak spot.

But that's the best course of action, so I can't care what you think.

She slipped past Mikage, and returned to the old gray room, closing the black door and locking it. There was a heavy crash after the sound of the lock was heard. Immediately, she heard Mikage shouting from behind the door.

"Kureha, what are you doing!? Open it!"

She heard the sound of Mikage knocking hard on the door. With her back against the door, Kureha retorted in a strong tone.

"I told you, didn't I? You have to rest."

"And I don't have time for that. If you won't open it, I'll use magic to break it!"

"Then try it if you can. I know you don't have any magic left!"

"...Ugh!"

Mikage was silent at Kureha's point. As expected, her magic power seemed to be running out.

"Take a rest there. I'll open it for you in an hour."

"...Tch, f-fine!"

After an exchange of those words, it became quiet. It seemed that Mikage also had a stomachache. After all, she must have felt the depletion of her magical powers herself. And yet she couldn't tell Kureha.

"She's so stubborn. Even though I want to take care of her."

Shrugging her shoulders, Kureha held her rifle toward the corridor facing the silver door at the back of the door they came through. The door was left open, but the sound of footsteps came from beyond. Multiple footsteps approached slowly, but surely.

"I'll have to step on my own here."

Kureha muttered, now running from the corridor to the white door on her right. It was also unlocked, and Kureha crept in. It was the same structure as the room with Mikage, but in contrast, it was all white. White walls, white ceilings, white floors. The white sofa had a key, and the card was on the floor, as she expected.

""Dear Heisei Snipers, this is a 〔Safe Room〕. There isn't any danger at all, so please don't worry and rest well.""

As she expected. Kureha realized that her dim conjecture wasn't wrong. Sakuhi was trying to restore their magical powers. Mikage, who was attacked by Sakuhi, said she had been deprived of her magical powers.

In other words, are we her food?

Kureha didn't like it, but apparently, that guess was correct. Sakuhi was planning something crazy with the magic she had absorbed.

"But first, I must deal with them first."

She opened the white door only to the width of the barrel of the rifle, and watched through the gap. It was the Heisei Snipers who rushed from the corridor into the gray room.

So you came, after all.

Kureha slowly squeezed the trigger of the rifle, holding back the trembling of her arm from the pain of the wound.

※

"I smell blood."

Haku, walking in front, stopped in front of an open door and whispered in Akari's ear.

"Dominant?"

"Perhaps. I'll have to ask for your help."

Akari nodded to Haku's words. From the time she went down the stairs, she had her pistol summoned with her. Along the way, there were many bodies of monsters that they had never seen before, but they were already defeated, so the wear and tear of magic was minimized.

"Liz, stay here with Fuyuto."

When she called out to Liz, Akari joined forces with Haku and rushed into the room all at once. It was a gray room. Back to back, Haku pointed the muzzle at the black door on the left and Akari at the white door on the right. At that moment Akari saw the tip of a rifle sticking out through a gap in the white door.

"Haku!"

Realizing that she wouldn't make it in time, Akari threw herself on the floor. However, the rifle didn't emit fire, and instead the barrel was retracted across the door.

"—Ah!?"

Akari's body was moving before she could understand what had happened. A position becoming a blind spot of the white door was moved directly beside the door. Haku heard Akari's warning and retreated to the door where she came in. When she nodded, Haku lowered her head. After confirming that Haku was pointing her gun at the white door, Akari put her hand on the door and pulled it open. Then a girl leaning against the back of the door fell down, as if iron and sand were sticking to a magnet.

"You're Kureha!?"

Kureha's left arm was wrapped in a scarf, but there was a black stain on it.

"Are you hurt?"

"Don't touch me!"

Akari, who immediately reached out to her, met with Kureha's vehement refusal.

"Don't move."

Haku warned with her muzzle pointed.

"If you move, I'll shoot."

Haku's expression was as cold as ice. Furthermore, she stopped Liz and Fuyuto, who were afraid to enter the room, with a harsh voice.

"Don't come closer until I say so. Akari, take her rifle."

"I-I understand."

Akari took up Kureha's rifle. It was surprisingly heavy.

"You implemented this with magic, didn't you? It's pretty impressive you thought about merging technology from the 〔Surface World〕 with the magic from the 〔Reverse World〕."

"...It doesn't make me happy to be praised by you."

Kureha turned to her side hatefully, though Akari seemed to have praised her honestly. Akari's heart pricked as she felt hated by herself like a mirror.

"Where are your allies?"

She asked Kureha calmly, but she kept silent.

"What about Sakuhi? Where's Rei?"

"..."

"Akari, I'm going to restrain her."

Haku's voice was suppressed, but her indescribable anger oozed out. When she approached Kureha, she pressed the pistol against her temple.

"Hurry up, before I pull the trigger."

"Hold on. Let me talk to her a little bit more."

"What more needs to be said? These guys did that to Kyou… Kkh!"

Haku shook her shoulders, wondering if she could say anything else. In Akari's mind, the devastation of the collapsed rubble came back to life. Still, she believed that she could communicate with Kureha. She no longer felt like a stranger to Akari, but rather someone closer than that.

"Why don't we share what we know about Sakuhi, Rei and KIKI?"

"What?"

Perhaps it was an unexpected offer, but Kureha, who had been silent until then, was surprised.

"I just don't believe you're an evil person. There's no other reason, but I think we've always misunderstood each other. So please be honest with me."

If we think the same way as each other, she'll surely understand.

Akari desperately persuaded her, but Kureha shook her head.

"How ridiculous. There isn't a more obvious farce than this. It's a waste of time trying to extract information from me by pretending to be nice."

"That wasn't my intention…"

"If you want to shoot, you can shoot."

Kureha looked up haughtily at Haku, ignoring Akari.

"Dominant means "You are the one who controls yourself". I won't give in to anyone else."

"...I see. That's a good resolution."

After exhaling one breath, Haku squeezed the trigger.

"Haku, stop! There's no reason to spill any more blood than this!"

It was when Akari broke in between them with open arms. The front silver door shone. A boy emerged from the back of the door, where the space was distorted and closed.

"Rei!?"

The screaming Kureha tried to push Akari away. As Akari tried to stop her, Akari tripped on her legs and they fell in a tangle.

"Kya!"

"Run away… everyone!"

Rei, who stepped into the room, looked strange. He muttered while holding his throat.

"If things go on like this… everyone will be killed... by Sakuhi…"

"If you get any closer, I'll shoot you."

Haku turned the muzzle back to Rei as he staggered along.

"H-Haku…"

"I told you you can't come closer. Just stay still there!"

Liz was pushed back by Haku's stern voice as she tried to see through the corridor.

"I-I understand!"

Liz retracted her face as she hugged Fuyuto. Haku seemed to have felt the stares on her back and asked the boy.

"Are you Rei? Or are you Sakuhi?"

"I… Ugh!"

Rei turned his hand around his throat and took out a knife with a warped blade.

"I'm… Rei… And also Sakuhi."

Rei's lips formed a crescent-shaped arc.

"As I thought!"

As she shouted, Haku fired a Flamegia. But Rei didn't try to avoid it, and moved his knife-holding hand sideways. At that moment, the air in front of Rei trembled, and the Flamegia was thrown out of orbit and hit the wall and disappeared.

"—You're kidding!?"

Akari couldn't believe her eyes. Rei's magic was extraordinary to brush off Flamegia easily. She didn't think there were many people in the world who could use that much power.

"As I thought, Rei and Sakuhi were the same person."

The only thing that could counter Rei, who absorbed so much magic into his body, was his own ammunition. If they could get rid of his magic, Rei would be powerless. Akari, lying on the floor, pointed her gun at Rei.

"No!"

She was interrupted by Kureha just before she was about to. She grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her down with the gun. She seemed to be misunderstanding that she was attacking Rei.

"You're mistaken. I wasn't trying to hurt him!"

"I won't be deceived even if you say so!"

"Let me go, Kureha!"

"I won't let you go, Akari!"

While they were fighting, Haku and Rei faced each other with a murderous aura.

If things continue like this, Haku will be dangerous. But I can't afford to explain my magical powers to Kureha.

Akari, in a quick judgment, pressed the gun against Kureha's temple. Kureha's complexion changed quickly.

"As I expected, you…"

"Don't worry. You won't die."

It would only deprive them of their magical powers and make them temporarily inoperable. Meanwhile, she threw a Noise Shutter into Rei. But just before she tried to pull the trigger, Kureha shouted, moving her gaze over Akari's shoulder.

"Mikage!"

"Eh!?"

Akari was caught off guard and lost her focus for a moment. She looked back, but there was no one but Haku and Rei.

"You're quite naive, aren't you?"

Damn…!

Akari was grabbed by the shoulder by Kureha, who was able to twist her right hand holding the gun to her back. She thought Kureha was injured, so she let her guard down. Akari's arm was numb and she dropped the pistol. The revolver that rolled on the floor automatically disappeared as Akari's concentration was interrupted. Kureha, who restrained her from the back, whispered in Akari's ear.

"You said you wanted to talk to me, but you were going to kill me from the beginning, weren't you?"

"You're wrong. I'm really... The truth is, that gun…"

She desperately tried to explain, but Kureha had no ears to listen to.

"I was a fool when I tried to believe in you even for a moment. I'll never believe you again!"

Kureha pressed Akari from behind and called out to Haku.

"Drop your weapon. Or else I won't spare her life."

"Akari!"

Haku bit her lip and looked at Rei alternately.

"Hurry up. It's not a threat, I'm serious."

"Haku, don't worry about me. Hurry up and stop Rei… Ggh!"

Akari was held by the neck by Kureha. She was dragged up and her knees felt like they were about to collapse.

"Don't say anything unnecessary. Now, Haku, move to the wall."

"...I understand."

Haku extinguished her pistol and retreated to the wall with her hands raised.

"Mikage!"

Kureha cried out.

"Mikage, I found Rei! I'm so relieved!"

Kureha, panting, called to the black door across. Until then, Haku's gaze, which had been watching Rei, was also focused on the door. But there was no answer from behind the door.

"Wait, I'll unlock it now!"

Akari was forced to walk toward the black door on the other side, with her throat held by Kureha. Inevitably, she crossed in front of Rei. Kureha had no warning against Rei. She didn't realize that Rei was also Sakuhi.

"Stop it, stay away from him!"

Haku summoned her pistol again. For Akari, she probably decided that Rei's threat was far more dangerous than Kureha's. But she was too late. Rei turned his innocent face to Kureha as she approached. Then he laughed and shook his knife, thrusting it against Kureha's unprotected back.

"Wh…!?"

In disbelief, Kureha turned back to Rei. By that time, Rei had already turned into Sakuhi. His hair had changed into pigtails and the color of his eyes was different.

"Saku... hi…?"

"Well, I guess you could say that."

Sakuhi flashed her knife and thrust the second shot into Kureha's side. Furthermore, Akari's neck was cut with another knife. Blood droplets flew onto the gray wall.

"Akari!"

Haku tried to fire, but Sakuhi cleverly used Akari and Kureha as shields.

"You coward!"

"It's actually called being clever. Stu—pid!"

While Haku was holding the pistol in her hand, Sakuhi grabbed the back of their necks with her bare hands, hiding behind their backs. She gradually absorbed their magical powers.

"Ggh… Ah…"

Akari's vision was getting distorted As the energy of her whole body was absorbed, the flame of her life disappearing. Kureha had a pale complexion that seemed unconscious, and her eyes closed without resistance. Meanwhile, blood dripping from the knife-stabbed wound ran down her feet and dyed the floor crimson. In Akari's ear, she could hear Sakuhi licking her tongue.

"It's pretty good. I think I'll make the most of your magic powers. That's why I've been waiting for you."

"Sakuhi…"

Akari tried to summon a pistol with all her might, shooting a Noise Shutter, at least to incapacitate Sakuhi. Then Haku could clean up the rest.

"Naive, naive. I know what you're thinking."

"Ugh... Aaah…!"

When Sakuhi's arms became stronger, the speed at which she was deprived of her magical powers accelerated. The handgun, which was about to appear, disappeared as it dried up and became only dust.

It's no good…

I lost my final chance.

She quickly began to lose consciousness. Akari, whose magic had been absorbed, couldn't hold her body and crumbled to the floor while keeping her knees together.

I'm sorry, Haku.

I'm afraid I'm stopping here. Please take care of the rest.

※

"Uoooooooo—!"

As soon as she saw Akari crumble, Haku was screaming and firing. It brushed Akari's cheek, which had been about to be lost, and flapped off her glasses, hitting Sakuhi, who was behind her. Perhaps she hadn't expected her to shoot Akari, but Sakuhi couldn't move an inch. The red lotus flame covered Sakuhi's face.

"Kyaaaaaa!"

The first scream of pain. Sakuhi retreated, holding her left eye. Her face was drawn with humiliation, and fresh blood flowed down through the gap between her fingers.

"...How dare you!?"

Her voice was reminiscent of a cold and decaying charnel. Without answering, Haku fired a series of Flamegias. However, this time it was blocked by the Spirit Wall, which appeared before Sakuhi.

"Hah! I never eat the same thing again!"

Regardless of her provocation, Haku, with all her magical powers, drove in a Flamegia. An incredible amount of anger covered her mind.

How dare you… do this to Akari… I won't forgive you!

As Haku's emotions boiled, the power of the Flamegias that were fired increased. The fireball had grown, and the range of effects had widened.

"What is this!?"

At first, Sakuhi was lightly blocking the Flamegias, but gradually a look of agitation began to appear on her face. It seemed that it was becoming difficult to deal with with Spirit Wall, and at last she leapt sideways to avoid it.

"What's going on? If you use that much magic all at once, the effect should fade away and you should lose power. And yet, why isn't that happening!?""

Sakuhi cried, in a voice that seemed to have lost confidence.

"What are you!?"

"...Shut up!"

Haku ignored her and continued to shoot.

I need to get rid of Sakuhi, who hurt Akari. That was all she was thinking about.

"Oh, I'm sick of this. Die already!"

Sakuhi threw a knife at her. However, Haku intercepted with a Flamegia. The knife evaporated instantly after being burned by the burning flame.

"Why!? This can't be possible!"

Sakuhi bit her lip.

"Retreat. Sakuhi."

A voice rang out of nowhere.

"KIKI!"

As expected, Haku drew her gun and cautiously watched her surroundings. The voice echoed throughout the room, and it was impossible to tell where it came from.

"We have already gathered enough magic necessary for the birth of the 〔Peaceful World〕. Go back to the 〔Altar〕 and perform the ceremony immediately."

"But, 〔Master〕... They're still…!"

"If the 〔Peaceful World〕 is born, they will not pose any threat. Sakuhi=Rei, you must fulfill your mission."

"...Y-Yes."

Sakuhi chirped in frustration and flashed her right hand, which had half covered her face. She cut through the air, and the knife flew. While Haku dodged it, Sakuhi ran to the silver door. Just before she disappeared to the back of the door, she turned around and looked at Haku.

"That's what 〔Master〕 said, but I won't forget this grudge. I'll definitely get my revenge on you!"

A Flamegia fired by Haku burned the right half of Sakuhi's face, and her left eye turned white. While clenching her back teeth hard, Sakuhi really disappeared through the door this time. She couldn't even hear KIKI's voice anymore. It was only then that Haku was able to pay attention to Akari.

"Akari!"

While exhaling her suppressed thoughts, Haku tried to wake Akari up. Liz and Fuyuto, who were watching the situation outside, came running to see what was going on.

"Akari, stay strong!"

Liz tried to chant the Recovery Cell spell. But Akari's body had already lost its warmth, and it was rapidly getting cold.

"..."

Haku, who pressed her ear against Akari's chest, shook her head silently.

"No… Is there really nothing we can do!?"

Liz breathlessly looked at Haku as if she were asking for help. However, there was nothing they could do about it.

"It was a mental death from bleeding profusely and from exhaustion of magical powers. That's the reason."

"Stop it, don't say that!"

Liz, hearing Fuyuto muttering, waved her hand uncontrollably. Nyanneko ran away with his tail wrapped around him, and Fuyuto expressed regret.

"I-I'm sorry. That was unscrupulous."

"Yes, it was! Fuyuto's an idiot!"

"Liz, you're wrong to hit Fuyuto."

Haku grabbed Liz's raised hand and stopped her.

"I'm responsible for not protecting Akari. If you want to hit someone, hit me."

"...I'm sorry."

When Liz regained her reason, she bowed deeply and apologized to Fuyuto.

"No, I should be the one apologizing."

Fuyuto, with his head drooping gracefully, looked at Kureha, who had fallen with Akari.

"I think this person is still alive."

"What!?"

Haku hurriedly checked her condition. The bleeding was severe, but she seemed to be breathing slightly.

"It's unlikely, but we might be able to save her."

"Why don't we just leave her alone? She's from Dominant. They're our enemies."

Liz seemed relentless toward Dominant. It was no wonder, with Kyou who was close to her, being killed. Haku felt the same way, but gradually changed her mind as she remembered Akari's last action. Akari had always wanted to talk to Dominant. She believed that this battle was just a chain of misunderstandings and that they could understand each other. Although she denied it many times in her heart, Akari had never made a mistake before. If so, Akari's opinion may have been correct.

And when Haku looked at them again, Akari, whose glasses had fallen off, and Kureha looked so alike that they could be called twins.

If so, isn't it possible that Kureha, like Akari, wanted to reconcile?

I… probably should have heard her out before we fought.

Her regret instructed Liz to use her Recovery Cell on Kureha.

"Are you serious, Haku?"

Naturally, Liz resisted. Surprisingly, Fuyuto was also negative.

"She's already in a state of death. Using Liz's magic has a little chance of saving her. She's probably going to last a few minutes at most."

"Even so, I'm begging you. I don't want to waste Akari's thoughts."

"...I understand. If Haku says so. And I want to make Akari's wish come true."

Liz crouched to Kureha's side and put her palms on her forehead and right chest. As the soft spell was uttered, a light purple glow leaked out of the palm of her hand and was drawn into Kureha's body.

"...Ugh…"

Kureha's eyelashes moved slightly.

"She's moving. She's moving, Liz-san."

"I see."

After nodding back to Fuyuto, Liz stood up while keeping her breath in order.

"That's all I can do. If her condition had been a little more minor, I could have completely cured her. But all we can do for now is pray for Dominant to save her."

"That's right. We have to press on."

"Are you still going, Haku?"

"Of course."

Haku stood in front of the silver door through which Sakuhi=Rei penetrated. She tried to touch the door when Fuyuto stopped her.

"Wait a minute. There's a trap on this door that takes away your magical powers. If you touch it carelessly, you'll be in trouble."

"Then what are you going to do?"

Liz asked anxiously.

"I-I don't think I can do this anymore..."

She muttered, and suddenly covered her face and began to cry.

"W-What's the matter, Liz?"

"I don't know… Kkh…"

"Keep it together."

The attack soon subsided when Haku rubbed her back. She seemed to be somewhat emotionally unstable.

"I-I'm sorry. I'm starting to feel sad all of a sudden…"

"That's alright, Liz."

As she consoled her, Haku thought that Liz must have been getting tired.

It's no wonder when she's been through such a fierce battle.

"Don't worry. I won't burden Liz any more."

"I know. I'll open the door for you."

"That's right, Fuyuto has the power to get through the 〔Gate〕 of the 〔Reverse World〕, right? I don't think something this big of a door should be a problem."

Liz exhaled with relief.

"Stay back, Liz-san, Haku-san."

Fuyuto concentrated his mind with his eyes closed. Then he put his hands out in front of the door and made a gesture of spreading them from side to side. A gleam of silver leaked from the back of the closed door, as if a thin veil had been torn.

"Now!"

When Fuyuto turned around, Haku was running toward the door at once. KIKI's 〔Altar〕 must have been ahead. This was the final battlefield. Whether the world collapsed, or whether it survived. It all depended on Haku's actions.

Rei, I'm sorry, but I'm going to kill you.

I won't hesitate anymore. The Heisei Snipers and Dominant both shed a lot of blood. I will fight so as not to end everyone's lives in vain.

With a sad determination in her heart, Haku went through the silver door.

※

"..."

Mikage awoke suddenly.

"Crap!"

She sprang up like a spring. She was trapped in this room by Kureha, and as soon as she was forced to sit on the sofa, she lost consciousness like mud.

"Was this a trap!?"

She kicked the sofa away in anger. Mikage's magic which should have exhausted its limits had been completely restored, but she didn't know how long it had been since Kureha left the room.

"Kureha! Kureha, open it!"

There was no need to knock on the door. She boiled down her work and cut it with a Black Knife. As soon as she passed through the black door that had been cut off, and entered the gray room, the wall painted with blood and a fallen Kureha entered Mikage's eyes. As she looked down at the sight, Deyssel and Kagura burst in.

"...Ah…"

Her mind went blank. She approached Kureha with a swimming step.

"Mikage, you're safe."

She couldn't even hear Deyssel's voice. Kagura next to him was sobbing, clinging to Deyssel's arm. Not knowing why they were there, Mikage crouched down beside Kureha.

"Kureha, pull yourself together!"

The moment she clenched Kureha's hand, she realized she couldn't. She barely held her breath, but Kureha's pulse was about to break.

"...Mikage…"

Kureha opened her eyes slightly. Her blood-stained lips moved and muttered something in a hoarse voice.

"What's wrong? Do you want some water?"

Mikage leaned in front of Kureha to bring her ears closer. Then Kureha whispered as if she were squeezing out her last strength at Mikage, who was surprised to be pressed on both cheeks.

"Rei is… Sakuhi."

"What?"

"Rei and Sakuhi are the same person. She… was the cause of the destruction of the world."

Unbelievable information slowly seeped into Mikage's mind.

There's no way.

Then, you mean that Rei was the one that tried to kill me!?

That's a lie!

Trying to scream, Mikage swallowed her words. Kureha wasn't the kind of person to lie, and it was clear that she maintained clear thinking in the face of death.

What's more, she knew these words would be her will. Mikage pressed her forehead against Kureha's forehead in order not to miss a word. Kureha's face was stained with blood and as cold as ice.

"...Go on."

Mikage pushed ahead, trying hard to suppress the emotion that was about to get caught in a big swell.

"Please, tell me everything Kureha knows."

Because as the leader of Dominant, it's my duty to listen to it.

"Sakuhi=Rei is… headed to the 〔Altar〕... and it seems like they're going to have a final ceremony there. He's being controlled by… KIKI."

"KIKI? The forgotten ancient god?"

"Rei is… behind the silver door… Chase after him… quickly."

"Got it. Rest well."

She wouldn't lie about being able to save her. Instead, Mikage hugged Kureha's back.

"Thank you for everything you've done until now. Thank you."

A word of thanks that she had never said to someone before.

"...That's unlike you, Mikage… Cough!"

When Kureha tried to laugh, she distorted her face and coughed loudly. The spit of blood made Mikage's face warm and wet. Seeing that her life was running out, Mikage wouldn't wipe the blood off her face, but instead lift her up. She wouldn't forgive herself for letting a fellow Dominant lie on the cold floor. She thought she'd at least let her lie on the sofa in the black room.

"Deyssel, help me."

"Yes."

But Kureha shook her head and refused. She looked at Akari, who laid on the floor next to her.

"So it's like that."

Mikage quietly agreed to Deyssel's low voice.

They really are very similar.

Was she, as Kureha was to us, an irreplaceable being to the Heisei Snipers?

"Maybe I… was wrong…"

Kureha stretched out her arms to Akari. Seeing her intentions, Mikage gently put Kureha's hand on Akari's.

"If only I realized earlier… that Rei was Sakuhi… I'm so sorry…"

Kureha wept quietly, calling out to Akari, who was silent.

"I want to see you in a different era… Then we can...Then we..."

Her voice was cut off. After exhaling her last breath, Kureha died covering Akari.

"Ugh… Kureha, Akari… Uwaaaaa—!"

Again, Kagura burst into tears. Mikage's heart hardened as she heard the bitter cry.

I don't want to believe that Rei is trying to destroy the world.

But, if it really is true… I'll find Rei and talk to him in person before deciding what to do.

And if I really have to put an end to Rei with my hands... Then I'm the only one who has that right.

Mikage slipped her hand into her pocket. She strode to the silver door, checking the feel of the ring she had given Rei before.

#heisei dominantation 02 #heisei project #heipro

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heiseidominantation · 2 years

Text

Heisei Dominantation 02 Chapter V "A Boy Who Dreamed of Being a Hero"

Mikage, who was separated from Hirokina in the hall on the first floor of the 〔Sanctuary〕 looked at the wall many times but couldn't find a way to open the hidden door. Still, she couldn't give up. Kureha scolded her with a "Stop it!".

"Now that this has happened, we have no choice but to move on by ourselves. I'm sure we'll see Hirokina on our way home."

"...Do you really think so?"

There must have been a lot of different people here, and given that, there was no guarantee that they would all return to the same place.

"That's... Well…"

Kureha's expression on her face, which had been turned away, revealed her true feelings contrary to her words. The tension of being in the enemy's home ground may have unknowingly deprived Kureha of her leeway.

But I can't blame Kureha either.

What on earth lies ahead of us? I'm curious about that, too.

"Don't make such a weak face!"

Toki encouraged Kureha to shake off the heavy air.

"Hirokina'll be fine alone. Besides, a proud face suits Kureha so much more!"

"A proud face?"

"Yeah. You just have to look at us from above proudly and say you know everything... and we'll feel safe!"

"What are you saying... Idiot Toki."

Kureha gave Toki's forehead a flick. Seeing Kureha's smile return to her thoughtful expression, Mikage's dredging tour was over.

"Let's move on. Hirokina probably doesn't want us to stand around here."

Mikage opened a new door opposite the hall, which was a literal labyrinth, with an unmarked, inorganic corridor extending like a net. On both sides were doors painted with geometric patterns. She reached out to the doorknob without second guessing. Some were locked and some rooms were empty. As they opened the unlocked door and walked through the endless corridor, Mikage and the others began to lose their sense of direction.

"Where on earth are we?"

"Who knows? For now, let's go all the way down. Rei's definitely there."

Mikage pointed down the stairs with her mouth wide open behind the flashing fluorescent lamp.

"What's the basis?"

The quizzical Toki looked at Mikage, who had made up her mind.

"There's no basis."

"What…?"

"It's what Toki said. You just have to have someone look at you from above proudly and say they know everything. That's why I'm following my instincts."

"No, that wasn't about Mikage, but about Kureha…"

"Just leave it."

Kureha gave Toki a pat on the shoulder.

"Aw well."

Right after Toki scratched the back of his head—

Bang…

The sound of gunfire was heard, and Toki's hair stood on end as if it had been electrostatic. A Kill Sniper slipped through his back. The wall right next to Kureha was pierced in a hemispherical shape with a low pitch.

"An enemy!?"

Mikage immediately bent down on the floor and looked back at the aisle she had walked into. Far ahead, she saw a man staring at her with a rifle, shielding an open door toward the corridor. A young man with yellow hair.

"It's one of the Heisei Snipers. That's definitely Kyou."

"So they were here, after all!"

Kureha and Toki hid themselves several steps down the stairs.

"What a nuisance. We don't have time to waste here!"

Mikage slapped her hand on the floor.

The priority should be searching for Rei, not the Heisei Snipers.

Perhaps he had read Mikage's thoughts, but Toki pointed downstairs.

"Mikage, Kureha. You guys go ahead."

As Toki spoke, he ripped off the amber sphere that had been wrapped around his waist belt. It was a murderous Division Bomb.

"It's my turn to help. Leave it to me!"

"I can take down one guy and get rid of him. I'll knock him down."

Mikage almost looked up, but a Kill Sniper flew at her. The floor was dug out, and bullet marks appeared near her feet.

"Tch, you've really done it now!"

Immediately Mikage responded with a pistol. Black Knife was compressed into bullet-like shapes and shot out. However, she wasn't yet used to using it, so it didn't hit the target and only cut the wrong side of the wall by about two meters.

"Tch… It's too far away!"

She couldn't hit him unless he was a little closer. On the other hand, the opponent took aim accurately. The smell of nitrous smoke caught her nose, and Mikage retreated.

"Damn it, what's going on!?"

"I told you to leave it to me. He's a sniper. I'm the only one who can fight him."

"But…"

"Go. You want to see Rei, don't you?"

Toki interrupted Mikage and stuck a Division Bomb to a nearby wall.

"...Mikage, let's leave this to Toki."

It was Kureha who made up her mind first. She crawled down the floor with her head down, and as she came to Mikage, she took her hand and pulled her down the stairs.

"I'm counting on you, Toki."

"Yup, I wish you all the best!"

Toki spoke to her with ease. But his expression was so serious that even Mikage couldn't remember seeing it.

※

"Well then, let's get started."

Toki mumbled to himself in his mouth after he saw the footsteps of Mikage and Kureha running down the stairs. Meanwhile, his gaze remained fixed on the front of the corridor.

Kyou… You're the guy that hurt Kagura.

I won't ever forgive you. Now that I've met you here, I'll make sure you pay for it.

The distance to Kyou was about 50 meters. With the open door as a shield, he was pointing his muzzle. Never attempting to expose himself was proof of his professionalism.

But I'm not losing, either.

Toki had a unique magic spell among the members of Dominant. The magic itself wasn't very strong, but in the 〔Reverse World〕, he compensated for its shortcomings by freely handling rare gunpowder and sublimating it as explosive magic.

He learned about gunpowder seven years ago when he was still in the Church of the 〔Reverse World〕. He was forced to memorize the blast spell because of the foundation work needed to build the cathedral. At that time, the handling of explosive magic was considered very dangerous, and there were many people who died in accidents by accident. So the church looked at the children of the institution. Toki was among those lined up and randomly selected in front of the construction site. He was taken to the church's library of magic, and instructed to hammer in their knowledge of explosive magic. At first, he thought he was lucky. All he had to do was read a book in a cool, air-conditioned room while the others were working in the blazing sun.

"If you show good results, I'll prepare you a good meal."

The priest's words made Toki more and more motivated. He knew that he was originally talented, and that he could easily absorb the knowledge.

This life isn't bad… I really thought so.

But such easy days didn't last long. Six months later, a boy named Eru, who had the best grades among the selected children, disappeared. One more the following week, and another. The priests kept silent about the news and repeatedly told the children to continue their studies. As the number of people decreased, the food served turned into luxurious food. Some people complained of anxiety over the disappearance of their companions, but when the priest glared at them to see if they would return to the construction site, they eventually fell silent. It was needless to think which one to choose when weighing the risk of constant exposure to death and hunger with the current environment. It was the same with Toki. But one day, he happened to hear them on his way back to the institution after finishing his studies.

"Eru blew himself up, poor thing."

A strange girl passed by and said to her companion.

"Why!?"

Toki immediately blocked the girl's way.

"What happened to Eru? Tell me again!"

"Wait, what's with you all of a sudden?"

"Just tell me!"

Regardless of the protest, Toki approached the girl.

"...You're Toki, aren't you?"

"I'm asking you what you mean!"

"Well... you don't know where you stand, do you? Eru was chosen by the church as a disposable tool."

"...What…"

Toki was speechless. The girl told him that when Eru set explosives on the rocks that hindered the construction of the cathedral, he invoked magic earlier than planned and scattered them to pieces.

"It was horrible. I couldn't bear to see it."

"...So that was happening without our knowledge…"

The others who had disappeared had the same fate.

What made us "lucky"? You've gotta be kidding me!

Toki cursed the naivety of his brainy thoughts and shook his fist down his thigh.

"I advise you. Ask the priest to let you go back to work today."

"Yeah, I will. Thank you, er..."

"My name is Kureha. And this is Kagura."

"H-Hello…"

Kagura hid behind Kureha's back, his cheeks dyed in a bewildered manner. When Toki thought about it again, it was his first encounter with a member of Dominant.

When Toki returned to the church, he asked the Shinto priest to explain Eru's case. At the same time, he insisted on going back to his old work, but all of his requests were rejected.

"You must serve the Church here. Until the end of your life."

That was what the priest said cruelly. After that, the treatment changed completely, and Toki was separated from his peers. Wherever he went, he would always be monitored, and as soon as he skipped his studies, the whip would fly.

Damn it, I can't stand dying here!

With that in mind, Toki silently mastered the magic of explosion. Here, the lives of orphans were thinner than a piece of paper. It would take as much power as you could have against the church to turn it upside down. That's how he dared to learn.

A few months later, Toki was recognized for his mastery of explosion magic and was chosen to set out as he was prepared to do. A dangerous task that could kill someone instantly if he made one mistake. But Toki concentrated all his attention on it. By that time, none of those who had been gathered had survived. However, no matter how harsh they were, Toki did exactly what was required and survived. Eventually, the church began to use Toki, and they became unable to touch him carelessly. Their treatment improved, and some degree of free action was allowed.

Serves you right.

Toki always stuck out his tongue to the priest's back every time he finished his work.

For he believed that it was against the will of the church to survive, and that it would be a memorial service for the unreasonably scattered like Eru.

Eventually, Toki came in frequent contact with Kureha and the others. He played with Kureha, Kagura, and Deyssel while avoiding the eyes of Shinto priests, and chatted with them enthusiastically about what to do to get out of the place. It felt amazing to defy a church that claimed to be the guardians of the world. But though the thought of it was thrilling, it was impossible to come up with a specific strategy. The church was powerful, and their power was overwhelmingly insufficient. Even if they tried to gather their friends, they were afraid of the Shinto priests and left their seats in a hurry when it came to such topics.

Is it only a dream, after all, to go against the church?

One day, when his fever gradually cooled down and he was about to give up, a turning point finally came. The moment Toki saw Mikage striking magic upon the priest to protect Rei, he knew that time had come. Toki had never even thought about shooting magic directly against the Shinto priests.

A person who broke common sense and destroyed order. In Toki's eyes, Mikage was seen as a new hero who appeared in the 〔Reverse World〕.

Amazing... Was there always someone like this in our world?

Tongue-in-cheek in their heart. Overwhelming charisma and presence. The indomitable will to accomplish something once determined. Mikage had it all.

You can't beat someone like this by standing on her head.

Toki took off his hat easily. If it hadn't been for Mikage, they would have been held captive forever.

She's the leader who showed us a new world.

I can't even think of becoming like Mikage. Instead, I'll do my best to keep up with Mikage. And if it helps her, then that's the least I can do for her.

In the abandoned house, where he helped Mikage with Kureha and the others after escaping the church, Toki decided so.

Five years later, Mikage's desire to find Rei came all the way to the 〔Surface World〕.

Toki felt he hadn't been of much use until now, but it seemed that the day had finally come when he could repay her kindness. At the same time, if he could avenge Kagura, he would kill two birds with one stone.

Toki pressed an amber sphere against each side of the wall about one meter in front of the stairs, which was sticky and could be easily attached. After setting up the Division Bombs, they were wired together and hung down the corridor. And when the bobbin-stretch of the wire was caught and bent a little, the Division Bomb on the wall would activate. After the restoration of the booby trap was completed, Toki went down the stairs until the line of sight was parallel to the floor of the passage. Then he crawled on the stairs, and stood ready to intercept with his rifle.

"If you're gonna come, come already!"

Time was on their side. The more they stopped the Heisei Snipers, the more leeway Mikage had to find.

He aimed at the front door, and Toki fired a rifle. Ballistics shifted more to the right than expected. As Mikage was complaining about earlier, the 〔Surface World〕 weapons weren't so easy to hit with.

"But I know how to make adjustments!"

Toki took another aim, peeping into the rifle's sight.

※

Kyou shrugged his head reflexively at the unexpected counterattack.

"Can that guy use a gun…?"

It was surprising that Toki had a firearm, for he hadn't shown such a gesture two days ago.

"Dominant can't be underestimated."

Feeling the strength of the enemy he was dealing with, Kyou left the shielded door and returned from the corridor to the room. It was a warehouse where desks and bookshelves were piled up in disorder, and Haku and the others were waiting there.

"Well? Should we proceed?"

"It's a narrow passage, and if you show your face carelessly, you'll be a good target."

Kyou shook his head briefly at Haku's question.

"I'm sorry. I've caused you all trouble because I got lost."

Fuyuto bowed apologetically. After breaking up with Sana in the greenhouse, Haku and the others wandered around the lab like a labyrinth. Fuyuto, who was walking confidently in the lead at first, had become increasingly anxious, and he stopped more often every time he reached a forked road. But as soon as he went out into the corridor, he found himself in front of Dominant. The others quickly retreated to their original room after Kyou fired a shot to intimidate them.

"Don't worry about it, this is KIKI's hideout. It's their fault that's driving us astray."

Kyou gave Fuyuto a pat on the back with all his might.

"Mrrow!"

Perhaps he misunderstood that he was bullying Fuyuto, but the cat threatened him with his fur raised.

"That's not it. I was just trying to encourage Fuyuto. Isn't that right?"

"Y-Yes."

When Fuyuto looked at him, the cat licked Kyou's hand apologetically.

"Good, we've made up."

"Meow!"

"There there."

Kyou loosened his cheeks in spite of himself. He always liked cats, but back when he was at home, he couldn't think of keeping them. As a child, Kyou had done his best to endure the violence and abuse caused by family discord.

"And what are we going to do? We can't move on at this rate."

Liz raised her eyebrows impatiently. It seemed that she was a little emotionally unstable these days. But it was understandable with how many things had happened one after another.

"Are you alright, Amemiya?"

"What, is there something?"

"Well, as long as it's nothing…"

"? ...Weirdo Kyou."

No, you're the one who's weird.

Kyou thought so, but he couldn't say it.

"Yes, yes, that's enough."

Akari clapped her hands like a teacher.

"Let's think about how to break through here."

"Should I use my Flamegia?"

Haku pulled out her pistol, but Kyou shook his head.

"No, that's too far. The effects of magic bullets won't reach that far. It has to be my rifle, after all."

"Are you going to shoot? But you have to aim carefully. What if you get hit back while you're defenseless?"

"How many years do you think I've been a sniper? I can fire faster than anyone else. Besides, Toki's arm is still immature. I understood it well from his shooting."

"No. It's too dangerous."

Akari wouldn't accept it. There were more than enough feelings about caring for your comrades, but that wouldn't make any progress.

"I'm aware of some danger."

"No. Absolutely not."

"Wait a minute."

While he was arguing with Akari, Haku raised her hand.

"I have an idea, is that okay?"

Haku's proposal, which everyone gathered together and whispered, seemed to have convinced Akari.

"I see, I suppose that might work."

"If that's the case, let's get started!"

Kyou nodded to Haku. With that as a signal, Haku put out only her hand holding the pistol into the aisle and fired a Flamegia at the ceiling. The red lotus flame shook and the air boiled temporarily. The sensors sensed it and the sprinkler went off. Haku's idea that the lights in the laboratory were still alive was correct.

"Now!"

With his rifle in his hand, Kyou rushed out into the sprinkler-filled corridor as fast as he could. The shower that flew down from the sprinkler didn't benefit his vision and he'd get wet in no time. Immediately afterwards, a magic bullet penetrated the door which had been used as a shield. Toki may have opened fire, but if visibility was blocked, it was impossible to hit him even if he was shot in the dark. In the meantime, Kyou dashed his distance at once. He leaned down as soon as the sprinkler stopped.

Twenty meters to the stairs. It was obvious that Toki was re-aiming in a hurry, as if he hadn't expected him to approach so closely.

It's an amateur move to think we'd stay in the same place forever.

After exhaling one breath, Kyou pulled the trigger very naturally.

Bang.

The sound of gunfire echoed through the passage and struck off the rifle which Toki had. His head recoiled in a panic.

I hit the opponent's dominant arm as I intended. Alright.

"Come out quietly with your hands up!"

Kyou called out to Toki.

"..."

There was no answer. He wondered if Toki was holding his breath under the stairs.

"Kyou!"

"Wait!"

Haku tried to run after Kyou, but Akari stopped her. Toki could still have a hidden card up his sleeve. It would be dangerous to approach carelessly.

"Surrender. I won't do anything bad."

As Kyou called out, he looked around. The floor was wet with water. It was dim at the end of the corridor and beyond the stairs, but there was a distinct hint of Toki's presence. And he saw something stuck to the walls on either side of the stairs. Furthermore, something like a steel nylon glittered to tie them together.

"This guy's…!?"

It was a booby trap.

Did I set it up alright, after all? Glad you noticed.

A tennis ball-sized bomb was thrown at Kyou, who was about to retreat carefully in a cold sweat, from the bottom of the stairs.

"What!?"

"Crap!"— It was too late when he thought so. Gray smoke came out of the sphere that stopped when it hit Kyou's arm. The surroundings seemed to be enveloped in a thick fog, and at once, nothing could be seen.

"Division Bomb!"

A black shadow fluttered in front of Kyou, who stood up covering his mouth.

This guy's holding a pistol.

It's Toki.

It's okay. He can't shoot.

Kyou made a cool judgment. Toki was holding a gun in his right hand. It should have been made useless by the last sniper Kyou just shot. As expected, Toki dropped his pistol.

Now!

As soon as Kyou was about to hit him with Kill Sniper, Toki, using his other hand, pulled out a new pistol like magic.

"What!?"

Before Kyou could avoid it, Toki fired from close range.

"Ggh…!"

Kyou felt a burning pain in his leg. He had been struck in the right thigh by a magic bullet. Blood splashed, and the veil of fog was dyed red.

Don't tell me he was holding the second one behind his back…? I let my guard down.

While losing his posture, Kyou shot a Kill Sniper at the silhouette standing up, but it missed its target. It was the first time he had missed at such close range.

"I won't let you proceed from here!"

The voice of a determined Toki. The veil of fog broke in two, and they faced each other, pointing their guns at each other.

"You're Kagura's enemy!"

Toki held a pistol to Kyou's forehead. Kyou tried to avoid it by twisting his body, but he couldn't move because he was shot in the leg.

"Kyou!"

"Stay back, Haku!"

While enduring the pain of almost fainting, Kyou stopped the others from trying to run up to him.

"Drop your weapons. Then I won't do anything bad."

Toki echoed Kyou's words.

"I refuse."

But Kyou shook his head and refused.

"The Heisei Snipers don't make deals with evil. That's my oath."

"Are you calling us the evil ones here!?"

The words seemed to have touched Toki's wrath. He tied his mouth in a straight line as if to bite his feelings to death, and then took the gun away from Kyou and aimed it at Haku.

"You're the leader, aren't you? You'll redeem yourself for insulting Dominant!"

"Run, Haku!"

Just before Toki squeezed the trigger, Kyou ventured to hit him. He slammed his right shoulder into Toki's chest and tackled him to the ground.

"What!?"

Toki's ankle, which fell behind it, touched the wire that had been stretched. The wire bent and bounced, and the Division Bomb that had been set was activated. A white flash enveloped them.

At that moment, Kyou saw Toki suddenly loosen his mouth. A satisfied smile as if he had done what he meant to do. It was similar to an expression a hero might have.

Toki... Did you aim for this from the beginning? Were you prepared to take us down with you?

In an instant, he thought as much, and his consciousness disappeared beyond the turbidity.

※

"Kyou!"

As soon as the explosion occurred, Haku tried to run to Kyou but was held back by Akari. The roar echoed, and the left and right walls collapsed like avalanches. Blasts blew through the corridor, enveloped in heat and smoke. Haku breathed in the hot air, and then she became unable to breathe. Her hair was burning, and tears poured down incessantly.

"Cough, cough!"

As Haku coughed, her vision soon cleared up. When she wiped her face with soot, she saw the misery and conditions that spread before her. The ceiling collapsed, and there was a pile of rubble in front of the stairs. There was a strange burning smell all around. Only his wrist was sticking out from under the rubble. She knew at once who it was.

"Kyou!"

Haku ran to the spot and tried hard to lift the rubble. However, the concrete block wasn't shaken by Haku's strength. Fuyuto and Liz helped her, but it didn't work. As she stared at Kyou's unconscious white hand, Haku began to tremble.

"This… can't be real… right…?"

She spoke without regard to anyone.

This is a dream. It's just a dream. That's what I want to think.

Because we were talking normally with each other until a while ago.

And yet, how could such a thing like this happen?

"Tell me it's a lie! Tell me!"

But nobody denied Haku's words. That was the cold reality. Nyanneko looked at Haku with sad eyes with its tail curled up.

"And Toki is..."

Akari shook her head, checking the pulse of Toki, who was still motionless with his back against the wall. Despite the explosion at close range, Toki's face remained clean.

"Dominant… It's all their fault…"

Liz covered her face and started crying. Haku felt the same way, but the leader couldn't get upset. She exhaled many times and desperately tried to regain control. But it was impossible. Tears streamed down her cheeks. Haku cried, shuddering her shoulders and holding her voice to death. Akari spoke to such a Haku.

"Let's hurry, Haku."

"What are we going to do about Kyou?"

"It's unfortunate, but I'm afraid there's nothing we can do about it."

"...You're cold, aren't you? Akari."

"I'm often told that."

Akari looked sideways with her glasses pressed. Even Haku couldn't see the feelings behind her lenses. Instead, Akari told the group to proceed with a clear voice.

"If we go over the rubble, we'll be able to get down the stairs. There's no doubt that Mikage and the others are ahead of us, so let's hurry."

"..."

Haku said nothing more. After she wiped the tears with the back of her hand, she mourned the dead for a short period of time and prayed silently, then leapt down the stairs without ever looking back. Akari, Liz and Fuyuto followed suit.

※

It was only a few minutes later that Deyssel and Kagura came.

"Is this… a trace of explosive magic?"

Deyssel held his breath.

"So he fought against the Heisei Snipers…"

"Toki did!?"

Kagura staggered with a scream, clinging to the body of Toki leaning against the wall.

"Toki, wake up. Hey, Toki!"

In tears, Kagura put his palm on Toki's neck and took out the bandage handed to him by Hirokina.

"Stop it, Kagura."

But when Deyssel grabbed his hand, Kagura shook his head.

"Why? If we stop the bleeding, Toki may be saved!"

"It's no use. Toki is gone. It's impossible to revive the dead."

"But…"

"Give up. This was Toki's fate."

"U… Uwaaaaaaaaa—!"

Kagura removed the bandage. He fell to the floor and hugged Toki as hard as he could.

"I'm sorry. If only I had come earlier, this wouldn't have happened…"

As long as the battle between Dominant and Heisei Snipers wasn't stopped… He could only continue to constantly shed tears in regret.

"Look, Kagura!"

Deyssel noticed a wrist peeping under the rubble, and the already pale face of Kagura was completely pale.

"There's no way... Mikage and the others aren't under there, are they?"

"Get out of the way."

Deyssel told Kagura to move as he was about to break the rubble.

"Hnnh!"

With all Deyssel's might, he used Falling Charge and a huge mass of concrete weighing hundreds of kilograms was crushed like styrofoam. White smoke filled the aisle. From beneath the fine sand-covered mountain, Deyssel grabbed the wrist and pulled it out. The figure of a young man covered in blood, all black and sooty, was revealed.

"That's…"

"Kyou!"

Kagura cried out.

"A Heisei Sniper… huh?"

Deyssel bent down to Kyou and put his finger to his mouth.

"He's still breathing."

"Eh!? G-Get out of the way, Deyssel!"

Kagura pushed Deyssel aside and put his hand on Kyou's neck again. He felt a slight pulse.

"Keep yourself together, Kyou!"

"...Ugh…"

His eyelids moved and he let out a breath.

"Kyou!"

He's still alive! He's alive!

Thank goodness. I'm sure this will save him.

"...You… You're..."

Kyou murmured in a hoarse voice, as if the blood was rushing out. After a moment's hesitation, Kagura said his name honestly.

"It's Kagura!"

"...Kagura…"

"Yes, Kagura. Hey, can you hear me? It's Kagura of Dominant."

Kagura took Kyou by the hand and appealed desperately.

Cold hands. He was like a dead man. Kagura rubbed Kyou's hand hard, regardless of whether it was stained with blood.

"This battle is meaningless. There's no need for us to fight."

"I have to help everyone… That's right… I have to… help them…"

Kyou looked at Kagura with out-of-focus eyes.

"I… I didn't shoot you… That's the truth..."

"I know. I know that!"

Kagura pressed his forehead against Kyou's chest.

"It was all part of Sakuhi's plot. I came here to stop Mikage and Haku from fighting!"

"I'm relieved… to see you're safe... Kagura…"

"Yeah. I'm totally fine."

The pain of the wound never stopped, but Kagura smiled to make Kyou feel safe.

"That's why Kyou needs to get better soon, too. Wait, I'll help you out right away."

Kagura turned around and looked at Deyssel. He thought he could help Kyou if he took him out of there and treated him. But Deyssel shook his head and whispered in a grave voice.

"It's impossible to move him from here in time."

That can't be…!

The hope that was about to sprout was fleeting.

"I'm glad I cleared up… the misunderstanding…"

Kyou slowly closed his eyes, giving himself up to Kagura. Then, with all his last strength, he returned his hand.

"I beg of you… No matter what, please don't hate Liz. She's... not a bad guy…"

"What's come over you all of a sudden? Stay strong!"

"With this, I no longer… have any regrets…"

Kyou's voice quickly lost its grip. Kyou's hand, which was holding Kagura's, rolled weakly to the floor.

"Kyou!"

"...Kagura."

Deyssel put his hand on Kagura's shoulder and silently shook his head.

"Kyou... Uwaaaaaaaa—!"

And the weeping of Kagura, crouching with his head in his arms, echoed.

#heisei dominantation 02 #heisei project #heipro

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heiseidominantation · 2 years

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Heisei Dominantation 02 Chapter IV "Spear and Shield"

After confirming that Haku and the others had left, Sana returned to the corridor where he had passed. This was a one-way street, so he could secure a retreat and respond as soon as someone came. He leaned against the aisle wall and held Izanagi in his hand. For Sana, this sword was his life. From the time he realized it, he devoted himself to training and tried to become the best swordsman in the world.

His hard training had begun every morning before the sun rose. Sana's father, who was a swordsman, wouldn't forgive his child for anything less. He would take him to the waterfall under the guise of spiritual training, and wouldn't let him leave until he was blood-soaked. Thanks to that, Sana didn't know how many times he fainted. Nevertheless, with his inherent tenacity and indomitable will, he never made a sound.

Sana's turning point came six years ago when he was 13 years old. It was the first time other-style fighting was held at the Kuroda family's dojo.

That's right. My destiny changed that day…

Sana was wary of his surroundings, but he went back to the current of his memories—.

At that time, 〔White Noise〕 had already occurred and the order of the city was being lost. But that's why Sana's father had lifted the ban on other-style fighting, when he had been severely warned to use his swordplay to protect people. His father's argument that he could improve his skills by clashing swords with other schools was reasonable, and Sana himself was secretly excited because it was his first time practicing with someone other than his father.

It was the parents and children of the Takenaka family who came. The Takenaka family once formed a family with the Kuroda family and eventually became an independent branch of the Kuroda family, and their abilities were guaranteed.

However, because of this, they also had a connection with the Kuroda family. Sana sat on his knees with his father. Soon the Takenaka family, wearing protective gear and holding wooden swords, appeared. The head of the Takenaka family was also dignified, but what bothered Sana was a boy of his age who followed. Sana must have been curious about the boy. The boy gave him a glimpse, but immediately turned away and lined up.

"I thank you for coming all the way here. I hope this match will be meaningful to both families."

When Kuroda's formal greeting was over, the arrangements were finally made.

"Now then, let us begin."

His father went to the center of the dojo with a wooden sword. Now that he had invited guests, it was polite for the dojo owner to exchange swords first. Naturally, a person of comparable rank, the head of the Takenaka family, would be his opponent. Everyone, including Sana, thought so. But the boy who stood up was the boy who exchanged eyes with Sana. Kuroda's pupils made a noise full of criticism.

"How rude!"

"He's so arrogant!"

"You don't have to deal with him, master!"

Sana's father won silently over his pupils, who stood on their knees and tried to approach him. Instead, he turned to the head of the Takenaka family and asked in a stern voice.

"Do you mean you don't care what the result is? I won't go easy on him and I can't afford to do anything about it."

"I don't care."

The head of the Takenaka family also responded with a bold voice.

"He is a great fool. Try and break one or two of his arms, if you can."

"If I can… you say?"

Sana's father's shoulders trembled at the provocative behavior. An invisible blade seemed to already be flying between them.

"...That's fine."

Sana's father and Hirokina faced each other in a squatting position.

Teach that cheeky fellow a lesson, old man.

Sana muttered to himself, putting his fists on his knees.

He was too strict a father, but he respected him as a sword master. He had always accompanied Sana for the morning and evening training that he was given. Even though he was already in the middle of his old age, he wouldn't lose to anyone.

"Start!"

Sana clearly didn't remember after the referee waved his hand down. The only memory he had was a rolling wooden sword, his falling father, and desperately trying to lift him up.

"Keep yourself together, old man!"

His father had lost consciousness, as the call had not been answered. His right wrist was twisted in an impossible direction and swinging helplessly. In his confused mind, Sana understood that his father had lost. A cone-like voice pierced his back as if he were chasing him.

"The Kuroda dojo isn't a big deal either."

"What!?"

Looking back with tears of frustration, Sana's vision came to Hirokina looking down at him quietly. His angry calm attitude didn't sound like his contemporaries. Hirokina called out to the head of the Takenaka family behind him.

"Father, it's a waste of a treasure to have Izanagi in a house like this."

"Don't screw with me!"

Sana, who usually didn't talk much, couldn't help yelling. Izanagi was a sacred sword that the Kuroda family inherited from generation to generation. Its blade never rusted and it could cut off everything. Sana, of course, had never even seen it because it was a treasured sword, but he knew how important it was. It would be a disgrace to the Kuroda family if they were deprived of it.

"I'll be your next opponent. Kuroda Sana, here!"

He stood up with a wooden sword in hand. Hirokina squinted as if to measure Sana's ability, but immediately shook his head.

"Impossible."

"What!?"

"You can't deal with me. Know what you're talking about."

"—You!"

As soon as he screamed, Sana jumped deep into Hirokina. He had been training many times, and he pushed with all his best thrust. However, it was easily dodged. As Hirokina retreated only half a step, he twisted his body and passed Sana's rush. When Sana's upper body collapsed and he stood on a stick, he was struck by a sharp blow from the right side.

"Hah!"

Hirokina screamed. At the moment, Sana couldn't breathe, and at the same time, he felt a numb pain. He dropped his wooden sword in a clumsy manner, and held his side and fluttered around.

"Guaaaaaaaa!!"

There may have been a crack in Sana's ribs. His vision turned red with so much pain. Still, Hirokina showed no signs of agitation.

"If this had been a serious match, you would have been killed."

After turning the wooden sword to Sana, he returned to his waist and called out to Kuroda's students, who were silent.

"The Kuroda dojo is closed for today. You guys should think about how to behave from now on, shouldn't you?"

The students, looking at each other, left the dojo as if they were running away, perhaps frightened by the greatness of Hirokina's skill. Only his unconscious father and Sana were left behind.

"Now then, Father. Let's go receive Izanagi. I'm sure Izanami wants to see her brother after a long time."

"Yes. That's right."

The head of the Takenaka family nodded.

"...Wait."

Sana stretched out his arms to Hirokina in a hard breath. He barely grabbed him by the ankle.

"What, you still had energy?"

"Izanagi... I won't give it to you…"

His father always said that the sacred sword Izanagi was the family treasure of the Kuroda family and that it was also his hope to save the chaotic world. Sana, who couldn't use magic, had no choice but to sit back and watch while 〔Deviators〕were rampant and committed crimes.

But if I could have Izanagi, wouldn't it be possible to contribute even a little to the stability and peace of the world?

It shouldn't have been a possibility to dream of it and to be robbed of the most important Izanagi even though he had endured hard training.

"Then you may come at me again."

Hirokina looked at the rolling wooden sword with a squatting chin. Sana crawled and picked it up, standing up with it in hand.

"Here we go!"

"Uoooooo!"

Sana fought with all his might, but the result remained the same. His wooden sword was knocked out of his hands and he was hit by a basket.

"Ugh… Not yet!"

"Why don't you just give up already? If you continue any longer, you'll die."

"If you can kill me, then give it a try!"

"—Sana, you!"

Sana's stubbornness, which never made a noise no matter how much he was shot, seemed to have ignited Hirokina's fighting spirit. If Hirokina let go of his coolness, Sana would step in without measuring the time. Sana was waiting for the moment when he had a gap in his mind. He passed through the tip of the knife, which had been shaken down from the top, and hit the body of his soul.

"Ggh…"

One beat from the sweet little sound of punching the armor, and a painful breath came out of Hirokina's mouth. Until then, Takenaka's pupils, who had been watching the match silently, opened their eyes in disbelief.

"You're kidding. He got a hit on Hirokina-san!"

"No, that's shallow. It's invalid!"

"But has anyone ever touched Hirokina-san?"

Sana grinned at the surprised reactions.

"Well…? How do you like the Kuroda's skill…?"

However, that was his limit, and as soon as he thought his whole body was weak, Sana fell face down on the floor of the dojo. He couldn't move anymore.

"You've put me through a lot of trouble. You're an inexperienced fellow."

The voice of the head of the Takenaka family could be heard far away.

"Well, that's fine. Now there's no one in the way. We will avenge the Takenaka family, who have been driven to the branch of the family with Izanagi as our own."

Sana's gut was boiling as he heard the exaltation. While the Kuroda family was worried about the future of the world, the other party was only thinking about their own house. He must have accepted this offer from the beginning only to use Hirokina to steal Izanagi.

Then, aren't they no better than 〔Deviators〕? They hurt others and take away what they want. Unforgivable.

However, he couldn't do anything about it, and he didn't even use his last strength to defeat Hirokina.

Do we have no choice but to watch Izanagi be taken away?

It was when tears began to overflow with frustration.

"I disagree with that!"

Hirokina, who approached his father, jumped into Sana's eyes as he looked up spitefully.

"I saw with my own eyes that the successor of the Kuroda family had some talent. I think it's too early to unify Kuroda and Takenaka."

"Do you mean to go against me, Hirokina? Don't be ridiculous, find Izanagi right away!"

"I refuse."

"You fool. Are you saying you can't obey your father's orders!?"

"And is it my father who can't hear me? Aren't I the strongest swordsman in the history of the Takenaka family?"

"...Tch!"

The head of the Takenaka family began to sweat on his forehead. When Sana saw the head being intimidated by his only 13-year-old child, he thought of Hirokina's talent. Hirokina, who silenced his father, gave Sana a hand. Sana stood up and gave him a sharp look.

"You're pretty good after all. I'm looking forward to the chance to fight again in due course."

"...Yeah."

Sana nodded with mixed feelings. Izanagi wasn't lost and the Kuroda family's honor was preserved, but it was thanks to Hirokina, not because of himself. And that frustration could never be forgotten.

From that day on, Sana set his sights on defeating Hirokina and practiced even harder. Sana had never forgotten Hirokina for a day, even after he took the place of his father, whose arm injury hadn't healed and had retired. And at last he became a master of all his licenses, and was permitted to possess Izanagi. After first acquiring Izanagi, Sana quickly got used to it as if it had been an old friend. He gradually refined his skills and was looking forward to the day when he met Hirokina again.

But one day, exactly a year later, there was a rumor that Hirokina had disappeared. Sana didn't believe it at first, but when it turned out to be true, he lost his purpose in life.

In the end, I couldn't beat him…

A good match for the first time. Someone I could call a friend. Such a person… Hirokina had gone out of my reach.

But he thought he would be alright. After leaving the dojo, he ran out of the house without telling his father where he was going and fought as soon as he encountered 〔Deviators〕. But every time Sana slashed his opponent with Izanagi, he fell into distrust and froze.

Is there any point in saving the world where these people are rampant?

Sana wondered how much he kept fighting. He was trapped, surrounded by 〔Deviators〕 and saved by Haku at the point of death.

"Are you alright? I'm glad I saved you in time!"

He would never forget Haku's smile when she reached out to him. It was then that Sana learned for the first time that there were people like her who wanted to save people in need. While working with Haku and the others without any other place to go, he felt that his strong heart was opening up, and Sana found himself joining the Heisei Snipers. He couldn't use magic, but he made up his mind to do everything he could. His neglected training resumed, the numbness in his arm worth it, and he regained his brilliance. Together, Sana and Izanagi, the sacred sword, had saved many suffering people. It was a pleasant memory to think about.

"...You've come."

Sana slowly opened his eyes after reminiscing, and found a man standing in the back of the aisle. It was Hirokina, his fateful opponent. He couldn't explain how he knew he was coming here. But from the moment they crossed swords two days ago, Sana was sure that they would meet at some point. It seemed the same went for Hirokina. He didn't look surprised at Sana's ambush.

"Are you alone?"

Hirokina called out to him.

"Yeah."

"Where are your companions?"

"I don't have to answer that."

Even during a short conversation, the atmosphere became tense.

"I see... Well, I don't mind. I don't care much about that, because I'm different from Mikage and the others."

Hirokina shook his head slightly and laughed lightly.

"Rather, I'm glad to see you here in this place."

"The same goes for me, Hirokina."

"I thought I had been transferred to a strange place, but it might have actually been heaven. Did you want to meet me here?"

"No, it's too cramped to wield a sword."

Sana led Hirokina into the greenhouse. He turned his back while leading, but Hirokina didn't cut him from behind.

"Oh... This is…"

Hirokina closed his eyes for a moment when he saw a man who had been consumed with magic and turned into a shell. Even without explaining the circumstances, he seemed to have guessed for the most part. Then he distanced himself from them and moved to a place that didn't get in the way.

"Let's get started."

"Yeah."

They faced each other with their swords. Sana in a Hasso position, and Hirokina in a Jodan position. It was the same posture as when they first met. They had confirmed their opponent's skill two days ago. Petty tricks would not work against a man of divine skill. It would be a competition between skills. Skill and strength.

I won't waste my time like that again.

Sana told himself.

Six years ago, the difference in ability with Hirokina was overwhelming. But not anymore. His constant efforts have paid off, and he wouldn't flinch in front of Hirokina, who was like a genius. As they glared at each other and moved clockwise, the distance between them gradually shrank. He was convinced that he could take it in one step. A scream echoed as if to dampen their confrontation.

"Stop it, both of you!"

It was Kagura who rushed in. Next to him was a masked young man.

"Don't get in my way, Kagura, Deyssel!"

Hirokina shouted with his sword in his hand, but Kagura, with a bloodless face, still desperately appealed.

"We don't have to fight each other. It's all part of Sakuhi's plan!"

"...Shut up. We're in the middle of a fight!"

"Deyssel told me that Sakuhi ordered Fuyuto to be kidnapped. That's how she tried to make us grow suspicious of each other and fight each other!"

"I think Kagura is right."

The masked man agreed.

"I see, so that's what happened."

Sana felt the questions that had been stuck in his mind were melting away. Kyou insisted that he wasn't the one who shot Kagura, and now it was proven true. He was relieved to know that he wasn't a coward who shot from behind.

This won't hurt the justice of the Heisei Snipers.

As he thought so, Sana didn't look away from Hirokina for a second. The fighting spirit released from Hirokina's body was stronger than ever before.

"...I understand what you're saying."

At Hirokina's words, Kagura breathed a sigh of relief, putting his hand on his chest.

"I'm glad you understood. It was worth having Deyssel carry me here."

But Hirokina soon quelled Kagura's relief.

"Tell Mikage directly what you just told me. I'll probably be down the road ahead. The rest is for her to judge. I must settle things with him!"

"What are you saying, Hirokina!?"

Perhaps Kagura didn't understand Hirokina's feelings, and he clung to Deyssel in dismay. Sana, however, agreed with Hirokina.

No one can stand in the way of a six-year confrontation. No matter what their reason may be.

Hirokina, holding his sword, encouraged Deyssel.

"Take Kagura. Hurry up or you won't be able to see Mikage."

"But…"

"Hurry up, Deyssel!"

"...I understand."

Sana thanked the masked man in his heart for understanding their feelings. Perhaps he had the same unwavering faith in something as the two of them did in themselves.

And that's why he understood the cause of Sana's duel with Hirokina— Their fate.

Holding Kagura in his hands, Deyssel called out to Hirokina.

"We'll go on ahead. We'll be waiting for you!"

"Yeah, I'll catch up with you soon."

"No, we won't. We have to stop them here. Hey, Deyssel. Deyssel!"

Kagura tried hard to resist, but his wound wasn't healed. He couldn't move when he was lifted up by Deyssel. Deyssel spoke gravely to Kagura.

"A warrior has a time when he must follow his own destiny... when he must prove his existence, even at the risk of his life."

"I don't understand. Why do we have to fight each other? I don't like that. I don't like it…"

"Go, Deyssel!"

Sana followed Hirokina.

"Kagura, it was a short time knowing you, but I liked you. You must heal your wound quickly."

"Sana…"

Kagura, in tears, was led away by Deyssel into the back of the opposite door. Haku and the others were up ahead, but as Hirokina said, it was up to Haku to decide whether to believe Kagura's words or not. After that thought, Sana erased the Heisei Snipers from his low level of thought.

There is only one thing I should do. And that is to defeat the worthy opponent in front of me.

"—Sei!"

When Sana stepped in with superhuman luck, he flashed a flash of Izanagi on his sleeve. Hirokina was eagerly waiting for this moment.

I'm overjoyed to be able to cross swords with Sana.

"Come, Sana!"

Sana moved as soon as he provoked him. With spirit, Sana brushed away the blade he had delivered with Izanami's cutting edge. The sharpened steel collided with steel, and an orange spark flew. Hirokina was inwardly surprised at the step beyond his imagination as a child. Sana had improved his swordplay even more than he had two days ago.

"Hirokina, prepare yourself!"

Then he came to brush his torso, and this time he threw his hand over the peak of Izanami.

Izanagi and Izanami. It had been said that since ancient times, these two sacred swords cut off everything except each other. Furthermore, when it came to a skillful confrontation, even a moment of relaxation wasn't allowed.

"Uoooooooooo!"

Hirokina screamed and launched a counterattack. While sinking his upper body, he flashed Izanami sideways and tried to mow Sana's side. But before the tip reached, Sana jumped back as if he had expected the move.

He's a difficult opponent…

Sana intended to decide the game with a single sword, but was successfully dodged and Hirokina was tongue-in-cheek.

I can't believe we've come this far… It's fun. Even more so than I ever imagined it would be.

It reminded Hirokina of the day when he first met Sana six years ago. Hirokina couldn't care less about his father's tax ambition to get Izanagi back and revive the Takenaka family, but he accompanied him anyway to kill his boredom. The head who was waiting for him at the Kuroda dojo was poor and gloomy, and above all, he didn't feel the power of the sword. Hirokina, who was already famous as a genius swordsman at that time, was able to see through his ability just by looking at his opponent.

Is this all the Kuroda family can do?

Hirokina had regretted going all the way there, and couldn't wait to go home. He had literally slashed the head of the Kuroda family with a single sword, and that was the end of his duties. He didn't expect a boy to come out there. Despite the overwhelming difference in ability, the boy had tried hard to get at him, and, unexpectedly, he had been completely overpowered. It was a shocking experience for Hirokina. Until then, no one had been able to deal with him properly, and even his mentor's parents had already avoided practicing with him.

I can't believe I'm falling behind this skinny brat…

He trembled with humiliation. At that time, if they had done it again, he would have beaten him to the bone, because Sana had collapsed to the floor and couldn't even move properly.

"Stand up and fight me again!" The words came up to his throat, but he didn't speak them.

Instead, Hirokina eventually swallowed them back and instead wished for a second fight. If Sana grew up well as a swordsman, they may eventually be able to compete with each other on an equal footing. It was because of such selfish expectations.

No, not yet. The previous match was just a fluke, and there was too much of a difference between me and him. It would be as if I was going to smash a fishbowl here by taking him on again.

Hirokina remembered clearly that he thought that while looking at Sana falling down.

But he never gives up... Interesting. It's the first time someone has ever risked their life to challenge me.

For Hirokina, who felt bored that he had no equal because of his genius, Sana seemed to be a good opponent who suddenly appeared. That's why he dared to give Sana time to grow up.

Become stronger and stronger. And then, show yourself before me again.

After polishing his skills and becoming the only swordsman in the world, he wanted to defeat Sana himself. That was Hirokina's real intention. That wish seemed to have been shattered by his transfer to the 〔Reverse World〕, but the star of fate reunited them.

The sky peeping through the glass ceiling had changed from twilight to deep indigo. Hirokina and Sana were dyed all blue in the drops of stars.

"I'm overjoyed, Sana!"

While re-establishing Izanami, Hirokina couldn't control his joy. Over the past six years, Sana had become stronger than he imagined. Only by defeating him could one claim to be the world's strongest.

"Sei!"

This time, Hirokina moved first. It would be rude to be attacked only by Sana. If he switched from the middle to the lower position, he could slide Izanami as if he were crawling on the ground and aiming at the ground.

"Haaaaaaaa!"

But Sana dodged it with amazing agility. When he leaped close to Hirokina's head, he slashed with Izanagi, waving it with both hands. The shining tip of its blade came close to Hirokina.

"Khh…!"

Hirokina immediately turned his wrist and accepted it with Izanami. He pushed back with all his might, even though the blade was pointed in front of him.

Clang. Clang.

The two swords made a crystal-like sound every time they approached each other. At the same time, their foreheads clashed violently. They sweated coldly and hotly. Even though they were next to each other's eyes, they naturally smiled at each other.

"Don't... Sana!"

"Hirokina, too!"

Their skills were competitive. There wasn't a hair difference between Hirokina and Sana.

"Sana, I have to apologize to you."

Once he drew his sword and kept his distance, Hirokina spoke to Sana.

"I dared to give you time to grow up, but I guess it was my arrogance. You seem to have gained more strength than I had imagined in the last six years."

"Yeah, I suppose I have."

It seemed Sana had something he was thinking of.

"But it's thanks to my allies in the Heisei Snipers. It's because Haku and the others were with me."

"...I see. Maybe that's why you've gotten more intense."

Hirokina added with a smirk on his mouth.

"But it's the same for me. You can't beat me when I've been shoulder-to-shoulder with Dominant as we fought together!"

While keeping his breath in order, Hirokina took the posture of his eyes. When Sana looked at the point of the sword, he decided to bet on the next shot. In response, Sana took the same posture as a mirror match.

They could no longer hear anything. The air was uptight. And they continued to glare at each other. Perhaps because of the wind outside, the cracked glass on the ceiling fell. It was just a finger piece, but it fell as it spun through the starlight. The moment it hit the ground, they were moving at the same time.

"Uoooooo—h!"

"Haaaaaa—h!"

The two shadows were different, and the arc and the straight track were crossed. In the blink of an eye, their fated battle of six years was over.

"So… this…"

Sana and Hirokina were back to back after running through. The first person to fall was Hirokina, who was dripping fresh blood from his mouth and crumbling silently.

Lying on his back, his chest was stained with fresh blood.

Sana turned around to make sure. Izanagi was dyed vermilion in his right hand. Izanami was deeply stabbed in his stomach, pointing through his back.

Just before the two swords struck, Hirokina realized that Sana was faster, and immediately switched to thrusting. Rather than avoiding it, he only thought about confronting it. Because he was a swordsman.

"...Is the end…"

Hirokina thought it wasn't a bad ending. He was glad he had the biggest duel at the end of his life, and above all, he didn't lose.

"A lifetime undefeated... I have no regrets…"

With a burst of laughter, Hirokina's consciousness was dragged into the darkness of oblivion.

※

"...Is it… over…?"

After confirming Hirokina's death, Sana kneeled down on the ground. His physical strength had already run out with the bleeding. It was too reckless with his current condition, but he didn't want to bend his knees like he did six years ago.

Izanagi took the place of a cane and he used it to balance when he was about to fall to the ground.

Contrary to his hazy vision, the days he spent with his allies in the Heisei Snipers' had come back to life vividly.

Liz's food was delicious.

Akari scolded me a lot.

Kyou was someone I just couldn't hate.

And…

"Haku... I'm leaving the rest…"

Sana felt sorry that he couldn't keep his promise in a breath that was about to break.

"See you later."

That's what I promised you... I'm sorry. Haku.

My body is shaking.

But Sana, with all his might before he fell, put his hand to the handle of the sword stuck in his stomach.

"Uooooo!"

He pulled out Izanami, enduring the severe pain. Blood poured out from his wound, but he didn't care. It wouldn't be long anyway. Then he knelt beside Hirokina and let him hold Izanami in his hand.

"This Izanami belongs to you."

When he nodded satisfactorily, he leaned against Hirokina and fell down.

"And this Izanagi belongs to me."

Looking up at the clear blue night, Sana breathed out his last breath.

The two swords crossed in the two hands lying side by side, as if to symbolize the strange rules of Sana and Hirokina, who had achieved their final battle.

#heisei dominantation 02 #heisei project #heipro

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