Volume 3 Chapter 3 - The Silver Girl and the Plan of Darkness Part 2
Several numbers of tentacle Demon Beasts were creeping near from the left and right paths.
The worst case was if they were attacked from both sides and he couldn’t protect Hiakari-san. With that thought, Kazuki returned to the previous path, for a moment the Demon Beasts converged into one group.
“Hiakari-san, fall back just a little for now.”
It became a fight of one against many, but the disadvantage of numbers in this narrow passage was not that much of a concern.
Kazuki managed to draw away the Demon Beasts near enough, so he invoked his magic.
“Fire Wall!”
The foremost leading pack of the Demon Beasts that came rushing were swallowed in one go by the flame wall that burst forth from the ground. BThe blue light that was released when the Demon Beast vanished from this world was flickering in countless numbers inside the flame.
When the flame wall was extinguished, Kazuki carved up the following Demon Beast group that was still left.
However all the Demon Beasts were not looking at Kazuki, but at Koyuki.
They had completely seen through the opponent that couldn’t fight back instinctively.
One Demon Beast that Kazuki had let slip tried to make its way from his side.
Even in the worst case, he mustn’t allow an attack to hit Koyuki.
Kazuki threw his body in front of the Demon Beast and covered for Koyuki. The Demon Beast immediately captured Kazuki with its tentacles, then it opened its big mouth with tusks lining inside it against him that whose movement had been sealed. However, at that instant―.
“This hand, reach out to the height of Babel, now this hand grasped the thunder of god! In accordance with my life, O lightning, whirl at my command! Collider Field!!”
He broke out a barrier of electricity barely in time. All the Demon Beasts around Kazuki were baked from the inside through the electric shock, their nerves paralyzed.
Kazuki slipped out from the restraint of the tentacles and cut away all the paralyzed Demon Beasts at once.
The Demon Beasts still hadn’t stopped coming in waves to attack.
“Roar! Civilization, grant humans destruction! The howl of wisdom scorches thy body, break, shut all dignity under the rubble!! Mitrailleuse!”
Kazuki used the gatling gun to stop the advance of the Demon Beasts, then,
“Fire Wall!”
The place where all the Demon Beasts had gathered was burned away in a flame wall once again.
“…So it’s really true that you can use other people’s magic skillfully. There is even a remarkable difference in chanting speed compared to the time when you had a duel with Amasaki-san…”
Koyuki’s eyes became wide open seeing Kazuki using Mio and Lotte’s magic so well.
“Fuu, anyway first the wave had been settled…”
“Are you okay, Kazuki? You got hit with an attack because of me just now.”
“The damage isn't really significant, see? Rather than that, which way should we go, left or right?”
“…Kazuki, the spirit here, feel it, this way.”
“Eh? Spirit you say?”
<Spirit>. The existence with many mysteries, it was said that only elves with their altered magic power could sense their existence. They had no physical body, and are beings of a different dimension.
Kazuki couldn’t sense their existence. As expected, it seems elves had a different sensory organs from a normal person. Though they became the target of discrimination as a consequence of that difference…
“Kazuki too is different from normal, that’s why I thought maybe you too could…as expected, you can’t sense them.”
Koyuki dropped her shoulders in loneliness. She felt a considerable disappointment.
“Sorry…spirits, what kind of existence are they?”
Spirit couldn’t be sensed except by elves, because those elves had received discriminatory treatment for a long time, research and investigation of spirits was not done at all.
Spirits were shrouded in more mystery, even compared to Divas and Demon Beasts.
“Spirit’s existence could be sensed in the Haunted Ground, there are many cases like that, but it is different with Demon Beasts in that it doesn’t bring harm to people. They don't have that much influence in this world. They exist in Astrum, at times they come to talk with us elves using telepathy. They are just a whispering existence.”
The aspect where they were residents of Astrum who didn’t have physical bodies in this world was the same as Divas. But in contrast with Divas who was an existence with great power, will and its own objectives, spirits were a really small existence.
“Even though I was saying that they talked to me, the language that they uttered to me was not clear. What they transmitted to me was only vague feelings. If the strength of the telepathy is increased then I could sense more detail, they might explain something.”
“The spirits that are in this place right now, are they telling Hiakari-san anything?”
“Yes. I think they are giving us a warning that it’s better not to follow this path.”
Koyuki quietly pointed to the right path of the diverging route.
“But the thing that we are looking for is located ahead in this path, that’s what I think they are saying.”
“Then we can't follow their warning after all. Looks like Spirit-san can't guess too far, that we don’t have any place to go back to from here.”
“…That’s true. Though it makes the situation a little uneasy.”
Kazuki took Koyuki’s hand gently.
“Wh, what is it…?”
“No, because it is quite uneasy, I thought we can walk while holding hands.”
“Are you stupid? Intentionally blocking one of your own hands, what are you going to do if an enemy comes suddenly?”
“There is that, but before this we had defeated a fair number of them, so wouldn’t it be fine for a while I wonder―, that’s what I thought.”
“Then, only until the next corner.”
…Eh, she unexpectedly folded easily?
Koyuki whose face was looking down, her small hand clutched his hand back tightly.
A heart mark was flying to him. It’s only a trivial thing, but it made her happy.
“Which reminds me, I have been thinking of this for a long time but, is it okay for me to call Hiakari-san by your given name?”
Kazuki asked that while feeling her warmth from one hand. When he called Mio and Kaguya-senpai by their first names, he had a feeling that the distance between them shrunk a lot. If he wants to suggest this, then now is the chance, that was the feeling he got.
“It doesn’t really matter, isn’t it fine to call me whatever you like? As for me about the matter of Kazuki, I have called you Kazuki near from the start.”
“Now that you mention it, that’s true isn’t it? Since when did it become that Hiakari-san was calling me by my first name again…?”
At first she called Kazuki [Rank-E person].
“…You were looked down by everyone in the class, but didn’t you duel with Amasaki-san to protect the honor of your important kenjutsu? Since then, I reconsidered my opinion of you a little…”
Koyuki answered him with some difficulty. For some reason even this side also became feeling a little itchy.
“I see, Hiakari-san had recognized me properly as a human from a long time ago.”
“Not really, I don’t care whatever happened to you anyway…”
While murmuring such a thing, Koyuki’s hand that was connected with his hand became a little hot.
“Thank you, then without reservation, Koyuki. This is quite awkward for some reason. Koyuki. Koyuki.”
“I don’t really care if you call me by my name, but please don’t call me repeatedly without any meaning!”
Koyuki got angry while pulling Kazuki’s hand strongly.
“Something trivial like a name, it’s all the same however way you are using to call me. You are only doing stupid things in this kind of situation.”
From the chest of Koyuki who was saying such things with a sullen face―a key that was shining with light was floating up.
That key was absorbed into Solomon’s ring which was Kazuki’s Magic Dress.
The key that was received from Koyuki, the proof that her positivity level had gone over 65…
The proof that a definite link was formed between their hearts.
Perhaps he ought to call her by her given name much earlier than this.
“Just now, I became able to use Koyuki’s magic you know?”
“…!?” With a jerk, Koyuki suddenly stopped walking.
It seems she received a terrible shock from the fact that was apparent in the meaning of those words. She hung her head down looking like she was trying to desperately suppress the feeling that was seething inside her heart, she shut her eyes tightly.
She separated their connected hands forcefully.
“Even though…even though I had decided not to get involved with anyone already. Even though I planned not to fall in love with anyone. Why are you getting inside me like this…slithering inside…”
“Koyuki…”
An obstinate solo player. But inside her heart, for a long time she felt the crushing loneliness, this girl named Koyuki.
―She was imposing some kind of restriction against herself, binding her own heart tightly.
―She was bearing a feeling of guilt towards herself who was thinking that she wanted to get along well with someone.
Kazuki could see all of that from her.
“Why Koyuki, you are trying to continue isolating yourself inside the loneliness of your own making, don’t you see? It’s regrettable that you went through a lot of painful things in the past, but like this you will only reject other people.”
Why was she doing this kind of foolish thing, when he was confronting her like this, he could feel her indignation from her way of life.
“It’s fine already for Koyuki to not live in such a lonely way anymore. Even though something happened in the past, it’s okay to not fear anymore. Because I’m thinking of Koyuki as someone absolutely important to me. It’s fine to forget all the painful things.”
“Forgetting…?”
Koyuki stared at Kazuki with eyes that looked completely like the eyes of a lost child.
When Kazuki thought how frail of an existence this girl was, he hugged her tightly.
Can he become an existence that brought her peace of mind?
Koyuki’s body stiffened and she was trembling. She was so small that he was afraid he would break her if he hugged her with all his strength. Kazuki embraced like he was wrapping her up inside his hands, he stroked her back that was bare by the design of the magic dress.
“Until Koyuki calmed down, let’s take a rest from walking to the next corner for a while, okay?”
Koyuki returned his embrace tightly while keeping her quiet.
He felt that she finally accepted him. An affectionate feeling was welling up inside him.
“…Kazuki. please call my name one more time.”
“Koyuki.”
“Except for you and Kaguya-senpai, there was nobody else that had called me by my name in these past 13 years .”
“13 years ago, that was still a time when Koyuki was a little child wasn’t it?”
The preposterous period before this, this girl was supposed to be still [an existence that had a need to be called by her name and to be loved].
“…Why! Why didn’t I get called by my name!?”
Suddenly Koyuki raised her voice and she pushed her face into Kazuki’s chest. In that chest of his, he gradually felt the tears that soaked his uniform.
The one who was in front of Koyuki right now was not Kazuki, she was facing someone else and cried.
“Papa…, Mama…! Why, why didn’t you look at me!? Why…just because I became an elf!!”
Koyuki clung to Kazuki strongly because of her pain that couldn’t be protected by any defensive magic power. Raising her voice to the limit, Koyuki’s thin arms turned white from all the strength that she pushed into it.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!”
Koyuki wept.
She decided in her heart that she would live alone, no matter how many tears she had to endure inside her whole life until now.
All those things she bore inside obstinately for a long time, Kazuki accepted all of those silently in his chest.
But she finally stopped holding all of it alone. He finally became a partner that this girl could spill her heart to, that was what he thought.
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
The time passed like that for a while, ‘guzu’ Koyuki sounded her nose.
“…I’m sorry to expose my disgraceful figure so suddenly. But, just a little more like this…”
Koyuki finally started to recover her calm. However…
“Koyuki, something with magic power is approaching here.”
“…!”
The feeling of nervousness from being inside a Haunted Ground returned and her whole body stiffened.
“I want to be like this together with Koyuki for a long time and I don’t want to ever arrive to the next corner, but looks like it won’t come true.”
Koyuki separated her body from Kazuki with reluctance. Kazuki too, while feeling the lingering affection toward the fading warmth, he concentrated his consciousness toward the magical power that was approaching.
The reaction for the magic power was unusual. It was different from the weak waves of magic power that Demon Beasts emitted just by existing.
It felt completely like a magician that was chanting magic, a complex whirlpool that swirled around.
It couldn’t be, that was not a Demon Beast, but a human that was approaching…?
Kazuki walked to the passage corner. Even if a Demon Beast came attacking suddenly, possibly even magic could come flying, that would be fine, he chose a defensive magic and prepared to chant the spell.
He finally arrived at the passage corner, there he faced a body in the middle of the path.
―What the hell is this guy!
Something that was even more strange than the Demon Beasts from before was standing there.
A living thing that looked like a flesh-colored muddy slime.
Its size was around the size of an adult human, ash colored hair was growing everywhere on it.
There were no eyes and nose, but large lips were protruding, it was wriggling around like it was trying to mumble something, leaking out a moan that was impossible to decipher.
It looks completely like a human that was melting into an undefined muddy form…
“unu, guruo…ugo, ugo, urugua…”
What the large lips were mumbling was a spell. The skin-colored monster that looked like sticky flesh mud was shining with the light of magic power, beside it an avatar of a Diva was floating.
…Summoning Magic!?
“URUGUO!”
At the same time with the monster’s voice, a large globe of flame was created and flew at Kazuki.
If he evaded it Koyuki will be hit!
“Fire Wall!”
Kazuki astutely invoked his prepared magic.
The globe of flame was swallowed inside the flame wall and was negated.
“Mitrailleuse!”
Kazuki equipped the gatling gun and poured on a storm of bullets.
“IGI!? IGI! IGI!”
Even while being protected from the bullets by blue defensive magic power, the monster’s body was distorted like jelly ‘gunyagunya’ from the shock of its smashed magic, it raised an eerie scream that he couldn’t bear to hear.
Just from looking at it, just from listening to it, he felt like it would harm his sanity.
Kazuki held a shirking feeling, that he didn’t want to challenge this opponent in close-quarters combat.
“Barrett!”
He shot the monster with a flame bullet. The defensive magic power of the monster was used up, the flame bullet was sinking into the mud-like body. The flame bullet that sank inside its body burned its insides to a crisp.
While the monster writhed around in agony, it…,
“Th, thank…”
After spinning a sound that sounds like a word with its lips for the last time, it stopped moving with a twitch,
…Thank you, is that what it tried to say?
It chilled Kazuki’s spine with its mysterious eeriness.
But even though this thing was so eerie, the monster didn’t disappear and scatter into the light of magical power even though its life was already snuffed out.
The skin-colored dead body was clinging to the ground with a splat, it continued to remain in that place.
…It didn’t become a light and disappeared, does this mean this thing was not a Demon Beast…?
No wait, if it wasn't a Demon Beast, than what in the world was this organism!?
Koyuki who chased him until the passage corner was giving the dead body of the monster a glance, then she came to cling at Kazuki’s arm with a tight squeeze. He thought whether she was scared by the grotesqueness of the monster, but―that was not the case.
“Kazuki…please look.”
She noticed an even more terrifying matter.
“This living thing’s 'ears'…”
In that dead body that ceased to function on the floor with a splat, he overlooked it in the middle of the fight but, it had ears attached even though it didn’t have any eyes and nose. Those ears were, 'pointed ears that lengthened sharply'.
“This is…no, she is, an elf. A thing that was an elf before.”
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