Aureatia outskirts. There, a mansion sat on the shores of a lake, the forest casting a dark shadow over it.
Yuno the Distant Talon had already spent nearly a big month living within this mansion, which almost didn't see any sunlight even in the middle of the day.
During her life here, the only people she had to converse with were the housekeeping matron, Frey; and the young lady Linaris.
"…Are you bored, Miss Yuno?" "Nope. I'm fine."
She shook her head.
Linaris's visits to her room would often come in the middle of the night like this.
She was radiantly beautiful, yet the quiet light of the moon suited the girl more than the rays of the sun.
"When I think about it, honestly…just because I was in Aureatia, I didn't really head outside to enjoy myself or go converse with a lot of different people or anything… Actually, that sort of stuff made me feel awful."
Whether she was conscious of it or not, that sensation had always been within Yuno.
Since surviving Nagan's ruination, acting freely or enjoying things for herself had come to feel like blasphemy to her.
This building repression inside her might have been what occasionally drove Yuno to madness.
She was unable to believe in her own sanity. Nor that right now, she was living here in the home base of Aureatia's enemy.
"…Linaris, are you okay? Um, it seems like…you have a harder time being outside for long."
"My apologies. It wasn't my wish to make you worry as well, Miss Yuno." Linaris put her hand to her breast and smiled.
Back then, when she had first met her, Linaris had staggered under the rays of the sun.
However, from what Yuno saw of her lifestyle, it wasn't that she was especially weak to sunlight—she had a fundamentally frail constitution. For Linaris, even the smallest outing would have been equivalent to extreme hard labor.
"However, I have been perfectly fine as of late. Because I am also able to chat with you, Miss Yuno. Um. If possible, would you continue teaching me the rest of set theory? I always enjoy listening to your stories of the college at Nagan."
Linaris leaned forward, and Yuno couldn't help but pull her body back in turn.
Had she forgotten that Yuno had once inflicted harm on her?
Linaris was always meek and wise, unguarded in surprising ways, and had something within her that unconsciously stirred the hearts of those she spoke with.
"U-um…maybe tomorrow. You're so smart, Linaris, that I end up losing confidence in myself."
"That is because you teach me so well, Miss Yuno." "Ah-ha-ha, that's not…"
She suddenly covered her mouth.
Yuno had let a laugh slip again. Despite how much she wanted never to act like that again.
I…ran away from General Haade's side and came to Linaris's mansion. From here…what am I supposed to do? Just because we've gotten friendlier, that doesn't mean there's any way Linaris will let someone who knows internal information about Obsidian Eyes go.
Yuno had pondered the same thing over and over again since arriving at this manor.
It always ended without her reaching any answers. Even after breaking through a situation that blocked her from achieving her vengeance, she had been surrounded by yet another obstacle.
It's really nothing short of a miracle I haven't been killed yet. I'm living in comfort, but my present situation is really no different from when I was captured in the New Principality…except this time, there's no way Soujirou is coming all this way to fight for me.
After Yuno had left—had Soujirou been able to beat Ozonezma in his match?
Even this remained unknown to her.
She might have been able to find out immediately if she asked. However, for
some reason, she didn't want to bring up Soujirou when she was sitting before the girl in front of her.
Am I even supposed to escape from here in the first place? No question that Obsidian Eyes is dangerous. But…they could be beneficial for my revenge. I still haven't settled on that answer…
"Miss Yuno?" "Wah!"
Linaris was peering close into her face again. Yuno's bashfulness and nerves had sent her heartbeat into high gear. It was agony.
"L-Linaris…are you the type of girl to do that stuff?" "What stuff exactly?"
Linaris blinked her golden eyes, perplexed. When she gazed at Yuno's face and her breasts up close, she felt very glad that, at the very least, she was a woman, too.
"…If you get so close to everyone like that, well…it's really dangerous, isn't it?"
"Why, it's not dangerous. You're my friend, after all." "That's not what I mean; you're so pretty that—" "Oh, please…"
"…It's true."
She stared back into Linaris's eyes. Her behavior may have stemmed not from Yuno being another girl or that they were close in age…but because she didn't know how much distance to keep between them from not having much experience interacting with friends. Yuno was sure that during Linaris's lifetime, there had been far fewer people whom she could interact with so intimately like this.
"…Um," said Linaris.
Her golden eyes averted from Yuno's, embarrassed. "No, never mind… It's okay. I don't mind."
She was lying.
"Thank you for always coming by and talking to me."
"Not at all. I'm the one…who brought you here, Miss Yuno. Perhaps I simply wish to free myself from the guilt."
Linaris gave a strained smile. She, too, had secrets that she couldn't tell to Yuno.
"…Still, though, thanks."
Nevertheless, she had shown trust in Yuno, even though she might have
originally been her enemy, and treated her like a friend.
If it was possible…I'd like to show as much trust in her as she had in me.
The thoughts came to Yuno, unrelated to her revenge. It didn't go just for Linaris. Soujirou and Haade, too.
Though they may have been a loathed archenemy or someone she betrayed… if Yuno could, she wished she could return their trust.
Though that's probably far too egotistical for someone like me.
Yuno still remained a powerless young girl, making it impossible to even imagine when such a day would come.
In a spot slightly removed from the black mansion, there existed a cave just deep enough for shelter from the wind and rain.
Starting from the day prior, there was a colossal and inhuman mass of metal enshrined within.
"Mestelexil."
Lingering at his feet was an elderly leprechaun woman with a cane. A member of Obsidian Eyes and Linaris's devoted household matron. Frey the Waking.
"If you're able to speak properly, then answer me. Mestelexil."
"Un-nnh."
The golem answered with an inarticulate groan.
Mestelexil, meant to be Obsidian Eyes' final trump card, was now under particularly elaborate mental dominion. The load had been tantamount to completely reconstructing his sense of self.
"Wh-where is, nice lady?"
"My lady isn't here. However, I have come with a message from her. You will listen to what she says, of course, won't you? Mestelexil."
"Y-yeah. I-I'll listen…to what nice lady, says."
Therefore, it was only at this stage that it became possible to disrupt his directive system.
Even among all the agents throughout history, Frey the Waking was the only one who knew the weakness of Obsidian's technique. If Rehart the Obsidian had learned of this fact, Frey would have been disposed of without question.
However, Frey hadn't the slightest intention whatsoever of using this secret in revolt. If anything, she believed that it was meant to be used explicitly to
protect the young mistress she loved and respected.
"At this position here in Central Aureatia, there is a small clinic."
Frey took out a detailed map of Aureatia's streets. There was a cross etched at a single point on the map. Beside it was an accurately reproduced portrait of their target.
"There is a clinic where this mark is. Aim just for this building and burn it completely to the ground without a trace. If the person with this face flees from the building…pursue them as long as it takes and kill them. Understand?"
The next operation would be, for Obsidian Eyes, the most critical one of all. They couldn't allow the slightest chance for this natural enemy of theirs to intervene. Frey needed to be the one to make this move, which had become a blind spot for Linaris.
"I-if the nice lady…orders it, I will, do my best! Ha-ha-ha-ha." "That's right. I myself and my lady will be watching you work."
"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha. Exil io mestel. Waskert bafewar. Fain myuewm. Hangmot netlicon. Uladzmot." (From Exil to Mestel. Star reversion. Howling rain and wind. Earthmoving darkness. Release.)
Incanting Word Arts together with loud, staccato laughter, Mestelexil generated a new armament on his back. In the Beyond, it was a mechanism known as a rocket engine.
"XR-4A3."
The demonic weapon flew off into the sky, like a death-bringing shooting star.
Central Aureatia. Inside a hospital, a creature resembling a songbird flapped about in glee.
"Wow, Toroa, that's amazing! You can hop up and down like that?! I didn't think you'd get better so fast! Wowee!"
It wasn't a bird, but a tiny girl with blue wings. A homunculus named Cuneigh the Wanderer.
In the middle of the girl's whirling flight stood a hulking dwarf with a somewhat troubled look on his face.
A minian child sat with his legs crossed in a chair within the same hospital room, while a leprechaun wrapped in a dark-brown coat leaned against the wall in front of the door.
Toroa the Awful, and his sponsor, Mizial the Iron-Piercing Plumeshade.
Along with Kuuro the Careful.
"You gotta calm down for me, Cuneigh. I don't mind you flying and hopping left and right, but I'm scared I'll smack you if you fly in too close."
"Really? You're worried, Toroa? Sorry. I'll still be watching from where Kuuro is, okay?!"
Cuneigh returned to her usual position inside Kuuro's coat pocket. Kuuro let out a sigh, a mixture of relief and astonishment.
"…Seriously, I don't even believe my own eyes. Psianop the Inexhaustible Stagnation risked his life to injure those knees of yours, didn't he?"
"I heard it from Dad too many times to count, but…apparently, my body's special. I gotta thank my parents…my real parents. Though—"
Toroa the Awful looked at Kuuro and smiled faintly.
"I bet I'll be bragging for a while about pulling off something even those clairvoyant eyes of yours couldn't believe."
"Yeah. Go right ahead and brag about that even more than those enchanted swords of yours."
Mizial, sitting in a corner of the room, kicked his feet up and down. "Hey, Toroa. You're still going to be in Aureatia, right?"
"…Probably. I've got the citizenship you gave me and all. Guess I could crash here for a little while longer."
"…! Right?! I thought you'd say that! I mean, you got super banged up in the first round, so you haven't gotten any chance to go around the city at all, right?! I'm, well…coming along."
Mizial's four limbs were still thickly wrapped up in bandages, and his right arm remained in a splint.
"My injuries have healed a fair amount, so let's go explore the ruins of the old kingdom's fortress or something! It's really, really dark and goes super deep! I promise, it'll be scary, and a lot of fun! I can show you around!"
"Sure. That'd be nice…"
As he gazed at the two conversing with each other, Cuuro pondered the true identity of this enchanted swordsman.
When he first laid eyes on him that fateful day, he thought the dead had come back to life. That the Toroa the Awful who was supposed to have been killed by Alus the Star Runner had revived and wouldn't stop until he had slaughtered any others who wielded enchanted swords.
However, after Kuuro had his life saved by Toroa, talked with him face-to-
face, and watched him deepen his bonds with Mizial and Cuneigh, it had become wholly impossible to believe this man was some mysterious and unknown monster.
True, his skills with enchanted swords were not inferior to the legendary Toroa, or maybe his nightmarish killing blades might've even surprised the legends. However, the Toroa the Awful standing before him, at least, was an artless and good-natured, if slightly inarticulate, young dwarven man from the countryside.
…Toroa. Just who exactly are you?
Kuuro found himself wishing that the man was an impostor.
That it would be best if the horror-story monster drenched by blood and slaughter wasn't the man smiling with Mizial in front of him.
"Right! What about you, Kuuro? If there's anything you wanna eat, I'll treat you! My family's loaded, so no need to hold back, okay?"
"You shouldn't be the one to say it like that…" Toroa sighed with exasperation.
Mizial the Iron-Piercing Plumeshade was an honest young boy who acted his age, standing out from the Twenty-Nine Officials, which were rampant with devils and wickedness. He was a well-suited sponsor for Toroa, to the point where it made Kuuro think so just from looking at the two of them from the sidelines.
There wasn't any need to be on guard against traps, like Kuuro had throughout his life up until now. He found himself wishing he could fully indulge in their friendly dispositions.
And that he could talk with them, just a little bit longer. "…No thanks. I'm planning on leaving Aureatia now." "But, Kuuro."
Cuneigh raised an anxious voice from within his breast pocket. He gently patted her through his coat to try calming her down.
"I decided from the very start I'd take off once Toroa's legs were healthy again. Looks like I'm fated to never stay in one town for too long."
Toroa the Awful's wounds had fully healed far faster than he had imagined.
For Kuuro, he couldn't have asked for anything better. Leaving Aureatia and spending his days ensuring he didn't get involved with Obsidian Eyes. The optimal path for survival. That was what he'd follow.
From inside his chest, Cuneigh's worried tone came again. "But, Kuuro. Listen. Won't you be lonely?"
"…Me? I wonder. I'm more worried about whether you'll get lonely or not, Cuneigh."
"I… I'd like to get to know Toroa and Mizial a bit better, I think…" "Yeah. I know—"
It was at that moment.
You're too slow.
Anger was the very first emotion that welled up inside him.
He was looking not toward Toroa or toward Mizial, but outside the window of the clinic.
What the hell are you doing with your clairvoyance, Kuuro? You noticed it too late. Shouldn't you be able to sense life-threatening danger before it's moments away?
His clairvoyance could foresee everything. Not only limited to perceiving everything in the present across an ultra-wide area, he could even sense a destined future, deduced by bringing all the information of his senses together.
"Toroa!"
Kuuro was the only one inside the hospital losing his composure. No one else in the area had the same reaction.
"I'm leaving Cuneigh with you! You and Mizial need to run!" "…What happened, Kuuro…? No—"
Toroa the Awful pulled his jet-black hood deep over his face.
"—what's going to happen?"
"Don't try to fight! Keep Mizial alive!"
"W-wait a second, Kuuro, so you're saying that clairvoyance of yours…can see something, right?"
"Mestelexil's coming!" Kuuro declared. He could sense the cold sweat that began to pour out all at once. "You all will die! I'll be the only one left!"
They were out of time. His Clairvoyance's perception wasn't too slow. His enemy was too fast.
The rocket engine, delivering continuous flight at supersonic speeds, was a machine of the Beyond that greatly eclipsed the wisdom of this world.
This won't work. If they ask me to repeat myself again, it'll be too late. I need them to believe me right now.
Kuuro aimed the crossbow hidden up his sleeve at Mizial. Cuneigh shouted:
"Kuuro!"
"If you don't want this boy shot, then you need to take these two with you
and get out of here! Right now!" "Got it," Toroa briefly replied.
Then his large hand scooped up Mizial. His other hand was then stretched out in front of Kuuro—
Though he knew he hadn't a single second to waste, to the leprechaun, the movement felt like an eternity.
Cuneigh. He had to part ways with the partner he cherished more than anyone.
Just as Cuneigh had entrusted his life to Toroa on that fateful day. "Kuuro!"
"…Take her!"
"Kuuro! Nooo!" Cuneigh tearfully screamed. Kuuro wished he could tell her something, anything, to help reassure her, but there wasn't any time. Toroa believed Kuuro's words, then immediately kicked through the clinic window and ran off down the road.
…Right now. It's coming.
What Kuuro sensed was nothing but a premonition right before his enemy had starting moving. Mestelexil had flown off at that moment. Clairvoyance, in extreme situations, prognosticated even the future itself with unparalleled accuracy.
Nevertheless, if Toroa had carried Kuuro off and withdrawn from this location, he knew for certain that they would be tracked and attacked all together. Since the enemy's target was Kuuro the Careful. He understood that, too.
It's not the young mistress… Either Frey or Wieze. If they had just trusted me for a bit longer. Then I would've…without killing anyone…
Going by Mestelexil's flight speed, he had barely a few seconds left.
He could see the method of attack coming after those few seconds. A bomb containing a large quantity of incendiaries would reduce the whole area around the clinic to ash. The weapon was referred to as a cluster bomb in the Beyond, but Kuuro's Clairvoyance wasn't comprehensive enough to give him this name.
The coordinates where Mestelexil would generate the bomb, and the bombing angle. Air resistance. Terrain cover. Estimation of the fuel properties. Where the closest water source was from this position. Whether or not there was a route that would allow him to endure the several seconds following the impact, when chemicals were scattered into the air. Breathing. Posture. Body maneuvering. Allowable injuries. Limitless information, everything and
anything in the world around him, was being processed in the span of a microsecond.
Cuneigh and Mizial had gotten away. However, that wasn't because Kuuro had given up on his own life.
This is the best way. If I'm by myself…I can survive. As long as I have my Clairvoyance!
The sky let out a roar. It likely appeared as nothing more than a single streak of light through the air. It was too fast to visually grasp its presence.
Explosion. Descent.
Kuuro was the only one who saw, through the ceiling cover, the malefic comet, navy blue, passing overhead.
It was Mestelexil who had, on the day of the Particle Storm, saved him together with Toroa.
The clinic dissolved.
The raging blaze, flowing like a river, instantly swallowed up the entire building, burning thirty-six townspeople, including the hospital's patients, in the blink of an eye.
From that day, all news of Kuuro the Careful's whereabouts ceased.