Chapter 4 — Rock You

1

A devastated room; in there I am sitting in a daze. I no longer care about anything and everything.

This is where I will soon die. My journey with Kozuki has already ended. We had bickered for so many times during the past three months since our escape from Tokyo. But, this was the first time we actually beat each other, and perhaps the last.

I think over Kozuki’s words.

“You hate having to bring that thing around with you, aren’t I right?”

It hit me when I heard that sentence; not a shock, not a fear, but a realization. I came to know the reason behind my torment. It felt as if there had been a fog covering my mind. But when she cleared it away, what was revealed was nothing but my dreadful, egoistic self.

It tells me to throw the Ark away, namely, to refuse my duty. However, protecting the Ark is my raison d’etre, and refusing that would mean—

I want to meet Kyoutarou. Just staying beside him is enough, but even that small wish would never come true. Because he is not here, and he does not belong to my side.

I grab my katana. I remove it from its sheath, and the blade reflects a cold light to my face. I know I have acknowledged it in a nook of my heart.

——that dying would be so easy.

People die eventually. Professor did, and Mother, and I will, too. But I need to keep running away. And as a result, my death will not be so kind. If that is the case… then right now—

Crack. There is someone treading on the broken dishes that are littering the floor. I ready my katana as I turn around in reflex, only to see Levan standing there, dumbfounded. He is stunned to see what this room has turned into.

“What are you doing here?”

“This room is— what happened here?”

“It’s none of your business.”

This guy keeps hindering me in all the important moments. I do not know if he just has a good timing, or bad.

“Why are you here?”

Levan brings out a sketchbook.

“I have finished my picture. So I thought to show it to you, Minami…”

“Just leave me alone!”

Right now anything, everything irritates me. Even looking at Levan’s sniveling face makes me want to puke. I slap the sketchbook from his hands and I thrust my katana before him.

“I’ve told you! Your kind has no merits! You’re just a human, a brat who is waiting for his death in this garbage dump!”

Tears are welling in his eyes, but he does not turn his face away from me.

“Get out of here!”

Even with my threats, Levan keeps standing still all while looking at me. His gaze is filled with pity. That figure of his overlaps with Urushiba Rinka, and also Kyoutarou.

No. Don’t look at me like that. I am strong, I belong to those with merits. There is no reason for you to pity me. I live alone, and I will die the same. Because this… is my only option.

“No need to be scared.”

My hand starts trembling, and it makes my katana shake, too. Because of it, the blade is now brushing against Levan’s neck. But instead of backing away, he takes one step closer to me.

“I’m not gonna hurt you. I want to become your strength.”

“What! Are you going to come with me and kill people?! Are you saying that you will become a terrorist?!”

My shouting is already close to a scream. My sound is rasp, to the extend that I feel ashamed.

“You’re wrong. That’s not it.”

Levan shakes his head.

“Let’s live together.”

I almost drop my katana from how earnest he is.

“If you don’t like this place, we can go somewhere else. Forget about everything. Let’s find a quiet place to live. I will always stay with you.”

He picks up the sketchbook that fell to the floor and presents it to me.

“Just have a look. I didn’t draw anything scary in it.”

I mechanically receive his sketchbook and flip over its pages. The paper has turned stiff from having been drawn and erased over and over. Each page contains a different object: a pigeon, a car, scenery from the apartment. But after several pages, the drawing object becomes only one.

‘Me’.

I wonder when he drew all this. In one drawing I am sitting. In another I am standing. There is also me lying down. He has reproduced my figure into these pencil drawings so painstakingly. But at the same time, the contours are so delicate, and its appearance looks so gentle.

I turn the pages again. All of his drawings are beautiful, and energetic. None of the pictures are smiling, but I can feel a warm expression from each of them. The me in the drawing is looking somewhere with a sorrowful look. But that alone gives off the emotion of kindness and love.

The person inside this sketchbook is not me. It is someone from Levan’s world. The beautiful feeling she gives comes from what he thinks of me. This must be how I look in his eyes.

Now I understand the reason I see Kyoutarou on his face. It was the way Kyoutarou looked at me during the battle. It was not that of hatred, but perhaps that of kindness, seeking to rescue me.

It was not a look of pity, but rather a gaze full of concern and thoughtfulness. It was the look of a Hero who would jump into the depths of h.e.l.l itself in order to save someone. Has he been looking at me the same way?

I was thinking of killing myself till earlier, but now I feel something has relieved my heart. I feel an emotion that I have not encountered for such a long time. I feel… happy.

I shed off my resignation and despair in a husk.

I can feel it from the painting, I can feel Levan’s overflowing amity.

And I reach the final page. It is a picture of me brushing my hair, which is ruffled by the wind. In this picture, the edge of my mouth raises very slightly in a smile.

I am overwhelmed. It is a live portrait of me, of a young girl who only looks her age.

It is as if all of me has been laid bare. Though what I am currently feeling is not that of a shame.

I feel liberated. And at the same time, there is pride welling forth from within my chest. That is because I know that I have become Levan’s aspiration.

I close the sketchbook and return it to its owner.

“So, you really like me.”

He nods, while being bashful.

“Thank you.”

I imagine it. In a small house somewhere, I am sitting on a sofa. Levan is sitting in my opposite, drawing me into a picture. The room is filled with only the sound of his moving pen. Then we have a break, and I drink my coffee. And afterwards, he would resume drawing me again with the lingering aroma of the coffee still in the air.

We might just be able to live our days like that.

I can take his hand right now and dash away. I can discard everything, and live just as a human being.

There is someone right here, one with no ulterior motives. Yet he tells me that I am needed. I have known for a long time that this is something to feel happy about, which is how I can perceive all these feelings from this sketchbook.

“Minami…”

He holds out his hand to me. A small hand. It is held out for me to grasp.

“I’m sorry.”

But that is why, I cannot take this hand.

“Why…?”

“I’m happy to receive your feelings. That’s not a lie, but I can’t stay with you. I don’t deserve it.”

“I don’t mind!”

“We, are the reason behind the annihilation of your country.”

I tell him about what we had done to his country. He stiffens. His face pales. As though cutting my own lifeline, a bitter taste is filling my mouth.

I am too heavy for his hand.

I am too filthy for his hand.

Instead of me, there are other better things for him to grasp with his hand.

Levan clearly has the talent. One look at these pictures is enough for me to tell. So, there is only one thing left for me to do. Like what I did to Kyoutarou, I have to disappear from him. I did it with my own will back then, and this time will be the same.

At the same time, the place where I need to be has been established.

This is not where I belong. Perhaps I will end up leaving mountains of corpses behind me, but it is something that must be done.

However, this time it will not be for the sake of building a world for humans with merits, nor will it be for Professor, either.

This is necessary for myself, and for my own sake, ‘I will finish what Professor had started’. After that, my life will start.

I have no idea what will be when it all ends. I am sure no one in this world will be able to forgive me. But that is fine, because I have seen these pictures.

Because I have received his affection. And that is all I need to continue living.

“But Minami, I…”

I gently place my hand on his shoulder as he wrings out his words, as if trying to bear with the harsh reality.

“You’ll have to bear with it forever if you choose to stay with me. It’s too sad if you have to keep seeing this abhorrent person, isn’t it?”

“But, I’m okay…”

He is clearly faking his courage. His earnest nature is pressing me on my heart.

I laugh, which is not my first time forcing it out. Watching the stiff movements of my mouth, Levan is on the verge of tears again.

“Just forget about me.”

He is about to say something in reply, when a cell phone suddenly appears in the air. It then falls to the floor with a thud.

I pick it up and take a look at the screen. It is displaying the map of London. I focus on a certain highway where a glowing red dot is visibly moving. On its side, it reads…

‘The Ark’.

2

Aah, I have all the reason to be angry. I will use this occasion to visit downtown and play. The Ark, Popper, whatever. Minami can die in some ditch for all I care!

Still in my ill humor, I am walking towards Whitechapel Road as I set Liverpool Street as my destination.

There are pedestrians around, but they look startled when I enter their view as we walk pa.s.s each other. What are you looking at, you ignorant bunch. I will crush your head into a sorbet.

I continue walking as I glare at everyone around me. Then my eyes meet with my own reflection in a shop window. I almost scream when I see my terribly awful appearance. My hair is disheveled, my makeup has crumbled, and there is a trace of nosebleed reaching to my cheek. It must be when I wiped it earlier without much thinking. In short, my face is currently in a monstrous state.

This is unacceptable. In a fl.u.s.ter, I produce a mirror and makeup remover. Afterwards, I bring out my comb and put my hair in order. Now I look acceptable, at least.

But without my makeup… sigh… how I despise my own baby face. My eyes are the only parts of my face that have grown bigger in size. This is the reason why my face looks childlike. Even though my body has developed, the mismatch removes any charisma I might have possessed. My boorish elder sister does not use makeup. But, the glint look on her eyes, and their sharp, pointed ends are a source of my envy.

I feel like redoing my makeup, but I hesitate to do so in public. I shall endure, until I reach a washroom in the nearby station.

Liverpool Street Station is what you call a terminal station. It is where trains heading towards the suburbs gather. This station is brickwork-tiled. It has two towers in its front, one of which is a clock tower. In appearance, the station looks closer to a church. Including the subway area, this station is the largest in the eastern part of London.

It is perhaps a good idea to ride on a train out of London. Then I will change to another heading eastwards. Yup, east sounds good. Maybe I will head to Scandivania. I wonder if I have enough money with me. Well, I can always procure the sufficient amount by pickpocketing around here.

There are several policemen standing here and there in surveillance because of the terror bomb incident at the Queen’s Theatre. But since I am aware of their circ.u.mstances, it should serve no problems for me in that regard. They would not be so attentive to anyone with a fine British appearance like me.

I transfer my bag to hold in hand, preparing myself to b.u.mp into someone and pilfer their wallet. Ah, there is a rich-looking gentleman right there. Excuse me, please allow me to steal your—

Suddenly, my thief’s intuition reacts.

“I’m being tailed.”

Nine out of ten, they are affiliated with Popper. I suppose the fact that I have cut my ties with Minami would mean nothing to them.

I shall move to a more crowded place. It would be helpful if they lose sight of me this way. But unfortunately, their distance to me does not increase at all, neither does it decrease in any way. Consequently, I decide to descend to the packed subway.

It would be preferable if I can set up an ambush and beat them up. However, the police are numerous even down here. It would be troublesome if they somehow notice me. I would rather not be surrounded by a ridiculous number of them at the same time.

I pa.s.s through the ticket gate, and I head towards the platform. These stalkers of mine must be waiting for their chance while hiding somewhere on this platform.

A Tube has arrived, and into this red colored train I go. It is full of people. Although not as bad as in j.a.pan, the underground trains in London are still quite congested.

And so I board the train. I shove between the pa.s.sengers, moving from one car to another, then I leave to the platform. I look over my shoulder, and I see several men coming out of the train to follow me. Bingo.

Here comes the announcement for departure. The moment the train door starts closing, I squeeze myself through its gap. I succeed in boarding the train again.

Now on the moving train, I see those men still standing on the platform, so I wave to them with a smile. You may try to be reborn eighty thousand times over, but still you will not be able to catch me.

Luckily, there is an empty seat over there. I take my seat, and I stow my bag below. Leaning against the backrest, I ponder on what I should do next. In the meantime, I should pick a suitable station to disembark, and eventually depart from London.

Still unable to decide, the train stops in its next stations, with some of the pa.s.sengers alighting every time. The train is gradually becoming less crowded, and I am starting to stand out. After pa.s.sing three stations, I notice a seemingly homeless drunkard sleeping on one of the seats. In fact, the two of us are the only persons I can see on this car at the moment.

Odd. Around this time, the train should still be congested. Also… this train has not stopped at all since the previous station. We did not pa.s.s through any stations either. I wonder if this train is going out-of-service. Did I miss the announcement?

“Both of you are slow to understand.”

All of a sudden, the sleeping drunkard rises and looks in my direction. The moment I recognize the aura exuding from that person’s eyes, the whole place becomes dark. The place is loomed with darkness, one so black that I cannot see the tip of my own nose.

“Haeh?!”

I lose track of the drunkard’s presence, leaving me with only the swaying of the train and the sound of it running on its track. The one who can achieve this feat is…

“Grandmother?”

“[You’re coming with me. You no longer have anything to do with that girl, do you?]”

Her voice can be heard through the PA system. Not even thirty minutes have elapsed since I left the block, but she has already figured me out. She is beyond uncanny, to the extent that she terrifies me.

However, I have the least intention to bow down and say ‘Yes, I will’ to her words. I transfer a gun to my hand with ESP. I aim towards the window and shoot.

“Impossible! How could—?!”

The gla.s.s makes a slight dent, but there is no crack at all. The window uses reinforced gla.s.s… even more, its quality is extraordinary!

“You’re not going anywhere.”

Hearing her voice coming from right beside my ear. I flail my arms around and shoot everywhere. Despite that, I cannot even make out her shadow.

“[To think darkness would make you tremble. This is an unthinkable weakness for one with the lineage of Black Fist.]”

Her voice interchanges between one heard from the PA system and the genuine. Fear envelops me down to the tip of my toes. It has been a while since I last felt it. I have hated this feeling of dread that I experienced when I was a child. An overwhelming gap in power. I am made to taste my own powerlessness again…

My feet, my hands are trembling. My heart is beating fast. No more. I do not want to stay here. Get me out of here!

“Really, I can’t leave you alone. The same goes to my daughter. Both of you resemble each other.”

Grandmother’s daughter. In other words, she means my mother. I have no recollections of her. What I know is only the fact that she gave birth to Sister and myself, and that she has been disinherited by the Black Fist.

“[You and she are similar, both with a timid part somewhere inside. You adhere to our rules, but are careless, and have no friends.]”

This is the first time Grandmother ever talks about Mother to me.

“In the end, it resulted in her ruining her own self.”

Being compared to Mother makes me feel uneasy in some way. It feels really irritating.

“I am… different!”

I hold back my tears as I shouted. But my voice is sucked into the dark and vanishes. What I heard instead is a sneer, and the grating sound of a lighter.

“[Of course I know. I even left for Tokyo in order to keep you in watch.]”

The darkness laughs once more. What does she mean? Grandmother, she… went to Tokyo?

“What were you doing? All while your elder sister, Kobushi, was risking her life, hunting for treasures? You did nothing, only went with the flow. You were playing around, and deceived by the Professor, were you not?”

“That’s…!”

“[What? Say it aloud. I’m sure your excuse is not even worth mentioning. I know why you went to the other side. You thought it impossible for you to succeed the name by yourself.]”

She strikes where it hurts. My hair is standing on ends, I feel cold.

“But Kobushi is not like you. She chose to break our rules, knowingly. She is aware that she is alone, but not you. Perhaps you have intended to protect that child (Minami), but the moment I…… Hmph! You’re being too reliant on her.”

She is revealing my muddy heart. I never expected that all of my conduct was being watched. Why would she— I am so ashamed…

Oh no… I think I am gonna cry… This is so stupid. I thought that I was caring for Minami, but I was the one who was being looked after… This only proves… that I am the idiot.

“[Speaking of the reason that I made that deal with Popper, it was to protect you, my naive girl.

With the whole world currently pursuing my granddaughter, it was a cheap to pay considering that they would guarantee your safety. As fickle as he is, the organization behind him is one to be trusted. And thus, I offered the Ark to them.]”

“Your concern… was uncalled for…”

It takes my all just to mutter those words, but my towering pride has already shattered into pieces. I grit my teeth with sheer stubbornness. I rub my eyes to hold my tears from spilling.

All of a sudden, I can feel a presence appearing out of nowhere in this moving vehicle. It walks step by step, closer towards me.

“Now, now. Let’s go. You’ve been playing enough.”

“I don’t want to.”

“Don’t be selfish!”

“I don’t wanna!”

“Listen to me!”

“No, no, no, no! I don’t wannaaa…!”

If I back down now, everything will become just as Grandmother said. I will have to admit that she is right. I will turn into a n.o.body, an empty person. The tears that I have been holding is now flowing freely. I must really look like an idiot now… but please, at least spare me from that.

I feel the presence wince slightly.

“I never thought that you of all people would disobey me.”

“sniff… hic…”

“It would seem like I’m trying to bully you right now. But, the Ark is already with Popper.”

“Uwaaaah…”

This is unfair! So unfair! Why did the situation end up like this? Everything is going exactly as Grandmother planned!

“The stalking, the location of the treasure, I was the one who informed them. You may think that the storage room at the British Museum is a good place to hide it, but it is too obvious.”

“sniffle… Grandmother, you… hic… you stupid…!”

Crying and shouting in a total darkness, I wonder when I last did it. The me who was still young, the me from the past; I spent that period in the coursing darkness.

I have been living in the shadows since I was a child.

Born in a thieves family, I was raised without knowing the love and bonds that should be natural for any ordinary children. When they would learn to speak, I was learning how to steal. When they would make friends, I was told to never trust others.

Truthfully, whenever I saw other children my age playing in a public park, I would often think of joining them. However, even that was out of the question. I did not know how to play. I did not know the way to make people happy.

There was a time when I felt it painful, but that is a matter of the past. Now, I have taken a liking to the way we live. The sense of achievement when I get my hands on my prey, the elation that I feel when I outwit my opponents; they would never be able to perceive these kinds of feelings.

That is why I have no friends, only enemies. I engage in life-or-death battles with my blood-related sister.

It is a natural thing. It is the common practice in the world of darkness.

Solitude is how darkness lives. And since I cannot adhere to that, Grandmother has come to discipline me again.

However, it makes my heart throb to think about it. As if my skirt is stuck in a tree branch, there is something that is stopping me.

Minami——why is her face coming to mind? What is Minami to me exactly?

She is not my enemy, rather she was a colleague from the same organization.

If so, do I think of her as a convenient p.a.w.n? No, she has already lost such value.

Because it was a request from the personage whom I had admired, perhaps. The Professor had entrusted Minami to me. On the other hand, I am not such an earnest fellow who would faithfully follow through.

I consider various kinds of relationships. Just what is she to me?

She has had the worst kind of mental condition even prior to our arrival in London. Always moping, self-loathing, always complaining. It would have been better to leave her, but that was not an option for me.

I have no idea how to encourage others, though I do know how to encourage myself. I just need to spend some time in my favorite place. For me, that is London; my birthplace, as well as my greatest playground.

I was sure that bringing her here would improve her moods. I transferred her to a tourist spot, Piccadilly Circus, then I invited her to go shopping in various locations. However, all of them did naught to her.

And in the end——as we can see, this happened.

I am aware that I am acting out of character. As a matter of fact, it is a mystery even to myself why I would do all this.

It would have done me good if I immediately ran away when the Professor died. If I did then, there would be no reason for me to be imprisoned in the darkness like I am now.

Then why? ——While my thoughts are going in circles, a voice from the darkness interrupts me.

“Geez, you’re pathetic. This is all because you were hanging with a gloomy, wily, dim-witted, and cheeky little girl like her.”

“…huh?”

My thought process that was wandering in all directions immediately gathers up.

“I have hated her from the start. She has no courtesies towards the elders. It shows how her parents were like, how she was raised.”

As if you are one to say. We are thieves, aren’t we? I can still remember how I almost died in a boxing training like it was yesterday.

“She looks so gloomy. She’s a terrorist, and she’s cheeky, too.”

You said gloomy and cheeky twice. Still, what is this? Somehow… I feel sooo…

“…irritated.”

“Did you say something?”

My tears have dried. Although my face is still boiling, it is no longer due to shame, but anger.

“What you said is true for the most part. But Grandmother… it somehow irritates me when you say it.”

“What’s wrong with speaking the truth?”

“The one allowed to badmouth Minami is me alone!”

I will give this old hag a surprise. I have made my resolution. This may seem off the cuff, but a magnificent idea has. .h.i.t me. I reach towards the bag that is still remaining under my seat. Grandmother, its content is not limited to only my purse, you know!

However, a rope flies from behind me, restraining my right hand.

“[Stop trying now.]”

Her voice is now coming from the speaker again, and her presence disappears. Yup, perfect. I use my free left hand to grab a phone hidden in my pocket. I launch a certain application and transfer the phone altogether to the hideout.

As stealthily as I did it, Grandmother saw me with her keen eyes. Another rope flies from the darkness, shackling my left hand as well. My two hands are held up in the air as if I am celebrating something.

With the shaking train in addition to my wobbly feet, it is now pointless for me to struggle my limbs.

“What did you do?”

There is a presence at my back, to the extent that I can perceive her silhouette. I can tell it is the real deal.

“Grandmother, you’re underestimating me. It was rash of you to give the Ark to Popper.”

“Hmph. What arrogance, just because you managed to slip a single ant under my nose.”

“Just now, I activated the GPS that I had buried inside the Ark. Leaving the detailed mechanism, it is possible to track the location with a mobile phone as long as it stays above ground.”

I hear the sound of an ignited lighter. Then a sweet fragrance wafts in the air. It is Gudang Garam, Grandmother’s favorite cigarette.

“Would that be your final letter for that little girl? Doesn’t matter to me, as long as you are now back with me…”

Her cigarette gives off a spark, which will surely drop from her mouth soon. Because, I have transferred a certain item into my left hand.

“Can you see it, Grandmother? Although, it is perhaps hard for your old eyes to see with this darkness.”

It is made of a cheap-looking silver plastic. It is something cylindrical, which I am grasping strongly. Then I resolutely press on the red b.u.t.ton lying on its top with my thumb.

Grandmother should have understood what is going to happen. She is shouting something, it seems. But with the thunderous roar and flames rising from the explosion, of course it would be inaudible.

Heat, shock wave, and light. Subsequently, I am swallowed by a pitch-black darkness again.

3

I sense Levan’s gaze coming from beside me. He is looking at my expression, while I am still staring at the phone screen. I am sure I am no longer the Minami that he yearns for.

But that is fine. It only relieves me if he has become terrified of my sight.

I can see him wanting to say something at the edge of my view. Yes… our worlds have parted. For the last time, I see him face to face. I want him to etch it in his mind, that one day, that someday, in a future I am not aware of…

Regardless of when it will happen, I shall make him remember in that future.

And so I close my eyes, and I dash towards the dark night. Parting words are unnecessary. It is merely by accident that our paths have intersected; it is something that occurs only once every long, long years—like a meteor shower. I believe people call it a miracle, but for me——

Above the highway leading to the airport, I keep teleporting to find Popper’s wheels as indicated by the GPS. But it turns out to be an easy task to locate that huge limousine tinted in black.

But I have no time to feel relieved. I land on the vehicle roof and unsheathe my katana, and the limousine’s skylight opens without a sound. Unexpectedly, Hibiki shows up her face.

“Ah, if it isn’t Minami-sama~”

Jumping to the roof, Hibiki, with her long-sleeve kimono, spreads out her arms and runs towards me. I remind myself that this vehicle is currently going over 80 kph. Falling will not end with just bruises, but her gait is light in contrast.

Thinking to smash her skull, I lift my katana overhead. But at the same time, she reveals a dosu1 from her sleeve and tries to cut me with her weapon. Her movement is smooth, as if she is dancing.

1 A very short sword, making it easy to conceal. Often seen in Yakuza films.

She is already too close for me to evade, so I promptly use my katana to guard against her attack. The moment our blades touch, they produce sparks and a ringing sound, then my katana breaks in two. Reflecting the car light, half of my katana spins in the air and disappears to the road behind.

I am left with a useless sword handle on my hand. My opponent, on the other hand, has not received even a chip on her dosu.

By adding oscillation to an edged tool, she increases its cutting power. This must be what is called a High Frequency Blade like in sci-fis. In reality, this function is already implemented in the ultrasonic scalpels used in medical treatments. With her ESP, it has been made possible to use in a battle.

With an aroused face, she produces another dosu. She is now wielding a pair with both her hands.

“You’ll keep struggling as long as you own your limbs. So let me cut them off, all right? Don’t worry, it won’t hurt~”

But she is aiming her air-cutting dosu to my neck as well. I have been barely evading her attacks, but this limousine is only 7 meters long at most. And if I try making a counterattack, her kimono that is also a vibrating armor will just flick my arms away. My only chance is to hit her exposed head. But in other words, as long as she protects her head, I can no longer do anything.

“Why do you keep running away from me? …Are you embarra.s.sed? How childlike of you~”

She sounds like she is shivering. Her eyes are giving off a dangerous, covetous glint. And she licks her lips, glistening them.

“I shall do this, then.”

She spreads her arms. She is going to clap! A super shock wave is coming, but I have nowhere to run on this limousine.

If so, I just need to escape into the vehicle. The limousine shakes like crazy from Hibiki’s super oscillation, but its steering does not sway at all.

Like I thought, this is not a normal limousine. Rather, it is one that befits even the ruler of a country.

“Desperate, aren’t you?”

Sitting to the opposite of the back seat is Popper. The sharp tip of his pointed umbrella is thrust right in front of my throat. Its sharpness is, without a doubt, enough to pierce through my neck.

“You should check yourself in a mirror for a minute. Your appearance is to… unsightly.”

I can see the Ark—the wooden box carrying it—on the car floor. Looking closer, it has been fixed to the floor with screws. This prevents me from dashing it away at a moment’s chance.

But, I will not give up. There must be a way.

“I don’t care about appearance. I’ve decided that I will survive no matter what the struggle. Although, I suppose someone of your level won’t understand such sentiments.”

A vein is bulging on his forehead. It seems that I hit a nerve somewhere.

“You’re going to die here, you understand? You will shed your tears, looking unsightly, just like that one man in the theater.”

I grip a nearby seat, and I focus my consciousness. I have lost my weapon, and I am already cornered. But I still have one thing left—my ‘merit’, my ESP.

I will dash along with this limousine whole. A limousine that is far from normal, furnished with protective armors and tempered gla.s.s that amount to at least three tons in its total weight. I have no other choice but to pull this off.

I desperately try to dash. But, the vehicle keeps swaying and it is not budging at all. Instead, sharp pain runs through my whole body and fresh blood trickles from my nose. I am aware that ESP is swirling in my body, bringing pain along with it. It feels as if there is a power asking to be released, and it burns my nerves.

“I can’t stand looking at you. Die.”

He is now aiming his pointed umbrella towards my heart. As much as I want to evade it, I can no longer move my body that has stiffened from pain. I must pull this through, no matter what.

There is no way I am going to hand the Ark over to anyone. There is no way I am gonna die here. I am going to ascertain everything with my own eyes. The one behind Mother’s death, Kyoutarou’s path, Levan’s future, and also, the end of everything.

I am screaming. I can feel a surge of power, an amount that I have never felt before, being released from within my body. A swirl of light dances around me. And in it, I dash with my heart and soul.

The light vanishes, and I am back inside the big car. I feel a moment of weightlessness, which means that we are falling down. From the car window, I can see the London Eye floating within the darkness.

Since the capsules of the huge Ferris wheel are lying right in my line of sight, it seems that the limousine has reemerged tens of meters above ground.

We are approaching the ground. I dash out of the limousine before it crashes.

Soon, the falling vehicle pierces the ground, shaking it. Then, it grandly pitches forward as if trying to plow the park, rotating vertically. It then turns upside down, sliding on its roof with an unstopping momentum for a few meters until it crashes onto a raised path at the end of the lawn before it finally stops.

Startled by the incident, the pa.s.sersby are making a ruckus. I need to retrieve the Ark, quick.

Now where is Hibiki? I cannot see her anywhere. She should have been transported along if she was still on the roof. Forget it, the Ark comes first.

The wooden box is unscathed, still clinging to the floor of the now inverted limousine. At times like this, I am really grateful that they have done their job fixing the box in place properly.

I reach out my hand towards it, but at that moment, I feel st.i.tches all over my skin. It is a bodily reaction that activates when one enters a battlefield. Hostility, murderous intent, malice, I have somehow developed the senses to perceive those things like this. I abide my intuition to avoid the sign of danger, and I dash towards my rear. There, I see a ball of fire erupts at the place where I just stood.

On the other side of the smokes is Popper. He is trudging his feet, and there is blood flowing from his head. But, he is certainly in good health.

“I won’t let you have it. This is already mine…”

He holds his hand towards me. A pillar of fire forms between us, raising fire sparks all around. Did he just miss?

“s.h.i.t!”

He furiously wipes off his blood that was entering his eyes. This is my chance. I teleport right to his front and use my palm heel to strike his jaw. A dull sound reverberates from the shock. This fight ends now. I jump forward and send my leg towards his face. After rotating once, his head strikes the floor with the same force.

With his body sprawling on the ground, I straddle on him and punches his face several times.

“I’ll be getting the Ark back. And you’ll be giving me Professor’s notebook, too.”

If this was a match, it would have already been my victory. However, what we are doing is not a match. Popper grins, and he starts laughing. With blood in his mouth, he looks as if he has gone insane.

“Kill me, and you won’t be getting your weapons.”

“You don’t have to worry, then. I won’t kill you. We’ll let you live and become our puppet.”

Popper bursts into a maniacal laughter. Blood and saliva together splatters onto his cheeks and throat. I punch once more since he disgusts me.

“Give me his notebook!”

“I’m not hearing orders anymore. With the Ark, I will obtain the world.”

“You should really think carefully about your current situation, Weapons Dealer.

You won’t attain the world. Because your life is currently at my mercy.”

“It is the other way around, Terrorist. The whole underworld will turn their faces away from you.

You will lose your means of procuring weapons, while the whole world will point their muzzles at you, and at Tokyo. And this mayhem that we deliberately keep under wraps will all be blamed onto you.”

Then he glares at me. Knowing about my unrest, it feels as if a venomous snake is trying to coil around me.

“It doesn’t matter how many miracles you people try to make, because they are only limited to certain extents. You can’t win against the world like that. A better method would be to use it to serve the world, instead.”

The world——it is indeed a scale too big to make an enemy of. We are an existence that it discarded away, and it is not just recently that we have struggled against it. And to fight the world, we need to own parts of the world itself—money, personnel, information. However, the world has robbed almost all of it from our hands. Ultimately, our companions remaining in Tokyo will turn into scapegoats. And Kyoutarou, too…

“If it’s the methods that you’re clueless about, I’ll teach them for you. Just show me in.”

And he smiles triumphantly. I raise my fist overhead, but it remains still without meeting its target. What should I do? Just, what should I choose to do?

Shrouded with hesitation, my reaction has dulled. I am suddenly embraced from behind, and I am forcibly moved away from Popper.

“I~ got you~”

A warm, moist sigh hits my ear. Hibiki, so she survived the crash. And I know how grave of a danger I am currently in. The instant she uses her oscillation power to me, my whole skeleton will crack, and I will die.

“Well done, Hibiki.”

Popper picks up his umbrella, and he hits my face with its tip.

“Gah!”

“Aahn, what a luv’ly voice. Ah can’t… hold mah’self any longer…”

Hibiki sticks her face to the nape of my neck, and she sniffs at it strongly. I get gooseb.u.mps all over from the discomfort. I dash before Popper can let loose another attack, along with Hibiki. My destination is the highest capsule on the London Eye. With Hibiki still behind my back, I slam her right onto the floor. And using the momentum, I hit her nose with the back of my head.

“Ugh,” she raises a groan. I take this chance to slip away from her.

“Haa… that hurts~”

She stands with a wobble. She scoops her nosebleed lovingly and makes a delighted face.

Love, although too much and over the top, she keeps such expression on her face as she extends her hand towards me.

“Why me…?”

Her affection towards me is not that far apart from what Levan has. Her eyes are dark, her behavior is clear, but she is making no sense. She rarely talks for herself, but she parades so much l.u.s.t. Hibiki should be of the same age as me, but I can only see her as a mysterious creature.

“Although I am now in Popper-san’s captive, I originally belonged to Professor’s group, you know.”

She talked and laughed as if it was nothing, but I am rendered speechless. I recall what Popper said.

‘I have managed to sell, already,’ is what he said. I should have known what it meant. It is not strange to hear if some of our former companions have gotten themselves involved in it.

“Many things happened after I was abducted… but now that I have met Minami-sama, those things don’t matter anymore!”

As if imploring, she scratches the empty air with her stretched fingers.

“Let’s go together. As long as Minami-sama is together with me, I—”

“No, I can’t.”

Her smile cramps when she heard my words. Of course I feel hurt from seeing her like this. I sympathize with her, but I must not become Popper’s lap dog.

I have decided. I will finish what Professor has started. I will cut anyone who stands against me, even say a former ally. That is my resolution.

“Why? You sure ain’t meaning it, right?”

“I am sorry, but that’s my decision. I will protect the Ark, and no one else will lay their hands on it.”

She retrieves her dosu from her sleeves. She growls, almost like an animal. Then she comes to cut me down.

“Ark, Ark, Ark, Ark! Stop looking at that old box! Notice me, instead! Ah has confessed so much to you ‘ere. But what is it that you not understand!!”

Hibiki is broken. Her precious thing must have been chipped, and harmed. And she could not bear it. But it is not her fault, nor is it due to her weakness. Because Professor, and me too, had gone through the same thing.

“No matter ‘hen. ‘Cos I’m taking you with me, even if I need to turn you into a limbless doll first!”

Hibiki’s movement is like that of a beast. The s.p.a.ce inside this capsule is even smaller than on the limousine’s roof. I am not sure how to handle her, but I have to prepare to face the consequences.

It happens just before her steel-cutting dosu reach me. Suddenly, a shadow appears and gives a splendid straight punch to Hibiki’s face. She was blown away into the next capsule nearby.

“O~hohoho! It is the rule of the world for the rescuer to arrive late!”

This irritating laugh, this silhouette is Kuroi Kozuki, without a doubt. She puffs her chest as she laughs, pointing her finger in the direction where Hibiki flew to. Although, Kozuki’s appearance is dirty with soot and dust.

“You…”

“I somehow made it. Actually, why did you have to teleport to such a high place? It was troublesome to climb all the way up here.”

Acting as if the fight between us never happened, she puffs her cheek as she complains to me.

“Oh well, it is said that idiots and smoke like high places. So I guess you couldn’t help it in your case.”

“I’m so gonna kill you.”

That was my conditioned reflex kicking in. But Kozuki does not seem to mind, and she actually grins and laughs.

“What have you been doing?”

“Well, various things. Getting out of that debris took me way too much time. Since I made it in time, all is well, no?”

Debris…? That explains why she looks so tattered. Maybe in her own way, but it seems that she went through quite the trouble.”

“You saved me there.”

“Hm? Did you just thank me?”

“Of course not. I was speaking the truth, that ‘you saved me’. That’s all.”

“Not yet though, we aren’t out of danger yet.”

Kozuki takes off her tattered dress and throws it away. It reveals what she wears underneath it, a skin-tight bodysuit, which is her personal battle dress.

Hibiki rises back on her feet like a revenant. If she had an ESP capable to kill with enmity alone, Kozuki and I would have surely died. That is what her eyes are telling me.

“Aah~ I should have left London instead of going back here.”

“Then why are you here?”

“Eh? That’s—— um…”

Kozuki’s eyes are swimming around. She is fidgeting, and she sends some glances at my way. What is wrong with her? She is freaking me out.

“Because… you are my f… f-f-…”

She is stuttering. Three months may not be too long of a period, but this is the first time I see her acting out of character.

“What do you mean by ‘fu’?”

“Fu- A funny fellow that might be good at playing the triangle!”

Just what the heck is she blabbing about at such a time. The triangle is… that three-sided musical instrument, right?

“I’ve never played it before, though.”

“R-really? But, I am sure that you will do just great. I like playing the violin, so I will let you play the triangle as my accompaniment sometime.”

I have never heard of a violin instrument being accompanied with a triangle, though.

Kozuki is acting as if she just said some words that she is not used to. She is now fanning her flushed face with both her hands. Maybe, this is her way to make peace with me. If so, this is a really great development from her.

“Okay then, I’ll make sure to practice.”

Kozuki opens her eyes wide. It seems that she is surprised to hear my frank answer. We really do not have the time for this banter, but I feel like smiling.

“How dare ya flirtin’ around right in front of me, ya d.a.m.n b.i.t.c.hes!!”

A loud clap resounds to the area. With her oscillation, it turns into a strong gale, shaking the London Eye. Gla.s.s shatters, reflecting light in all directions as it falls from the capsule.

“Minami, here.”

Inside the furiously shaking capsule, Kozuki uses her ESP. What she is giving me looks ma.s.sive and heavy, with a glossy black scabbard. It is a j.a.panese sword.

“It is a sharp sword that I got from the British Museum. Better than nothing, at least, right?”

I am irritated by how pompous she looks, but she is right. I remove the katana from its scabbard. Like how the surface of water reflects the moonlight, it gives off a blue gleam, radiating my face. This is undoubtedly another historical relic. It is absurd for anyone to swing it around, but now is not the right time for me to complain.

The moment I think of dashing into the capsule where Hibiki is on, I realize that the temperature around us is rising. I grab Kozuki’s arm and dash into a different capsule. Then, a ball of fire engulfs the one we were just at. And it explodes, which is all caused by Popper’s ESP.

A clap resounds again. The gale brings the fireball with it, transforming into a fiery gale that approaches us. Kozuki produces a Spartan Shield to protect us both from the flame.

With no moment to pause, the temperature rises again, and I dash right away. Another explosion. The fire spreads through the framework of the London Eye, turning it into one giant fiery chariot.

“Minami, I shall be covering for you. Take out that kimono girl first.”

Kozuki nods to me confidently. She is the reason why I could match these guys. So, I will believe in Kozuki who has come to save me.

I answer her nod with my own, and she transfers a sniper rifle into her hands. She takes her stance and aims it towards Popper below.

Simultaneously with the sound of a gunshot, I dash towards Hibiki. With my figure appearing right in front of her, Hibiki opens her mouth wide. She is laughing.

“Mi~na~mi~ sa~ma~!”

We both have entered our respective striking distances. But on this cramped s.p.a.ce, Hibiki with her dosu is at an advantage.

Kozuki’s sniping is holding Popper in check, making him unable to aim his ESP properly. I will settle this fight with all of my focus.

But the moment we raise our swords, a thundering sound resounds. At the same time, a severe tremor hits the whole Ferris wheel. Its fulcrum has been hit by an explosion.

And the explosion raises a mushroom cloud, lighting up the night in London.

4

The whole Ferris wheel is swaying like a baby cradle. Its steel framework is creaking, making noises that are grating on the ears.

Another explosion occurs. The wires that are holding the structure in place, start to snap one after another. Due to their thickness and ma.s.s, each of them has a ma.s.sive elastic potential energy. The wires are lashing the ground with snakelike movements, producing clouds of dusts.

People around the public park are screaming while they flee. But in the midst of it, I can see Popper remaining still and glaring at me. He seems to be fed up because he could not target me directly thanks to Kozuki’s cover fire. In the end, he decided to bury us all under this Ferris wheel itself.

More explosions start occurring. Although maybe due to his short temper, domes of fireb.a.l.l.s are appearing not only at the Ferris wheel, but throughout the public park as well.

Kozuki fires at him. But due to her swaying foothold, she missed. The bullet hit the ground near Popper’s feet.

Another wire snaps from one of the explosions. It turns into another giant snake and whips the ground. Then, the Ferris wheel starts to heel over. Any structures will collapse when they lose all their supports. I wonder if it will fall into the river. Instead, it may actually keel over towards the public park because of all these explosions.

The wind blows, sending fire sparks right before my eyes. The ground below is blanketed with fire. Shrieks resound, and explosions roar. The burnt stench of goods and humans spread through the air.

What unfolds below is the scene of a battlefield. No…

“That’s not quite right.”

It is different. This is not what battlefields are.

I glare at Popper. All of these flames are his doing. Rather than a battlefield, this is just him venting his anger; a tantrum of a fool who abides by his emotions. This guy, there is no way I will let such a human possess the Ark!

He needs to be taken down first. When I decide to dash towards Popper, I see a dosu approaching me.

“Ya is playin’ with me right now, where is ya goin’?”

I dodge her attack barely in time, and I swing my sword. However, it is blocked by her oscillation armor.

“Why are you so obsessed with me?!”

“Because ah love ya, of course! Ah wanted to become ya! Beautiful, strong, ya is truly the sun!

Ah was content with gazin’ at ya from afar, but no more. It is human nature to desire what’s within our reach!”

She is saying that she loves me. But, unlike how it was with Levan, I do not feel even the slightest warmth from listening to her confession. Because her love is brutish, seeking to dominate me into submission, obedience, and resignation.

Are we the ones who have created her? Or did she turn like this because of Popper’s influence? I do not know. But as apologetic as I am, I cannot go with her. Rather, there is only one thing that I can do for her.

That is, to kill her.

“It’s all right. I will make sure to take good care of you. Ah will love you in the same way as they did to meee!!”

There is only one way to take Hibiki down. That is, to aim at her exposed head. I also need to consider the fact that I have not much moving s.p.a.ce in this small capsule. She is trying to cut me with her dosu, from which I am dodging while parrying some of her attacks with my katana. But it has its limits; for every spark our blades produce, my chance to win is becoming smaller. Now that it has come to this…

“It’s all or nothing!”

I store my katana back to my right side with half its blade unsheathed: the ‘Kamae of Sun’. Keeping my own weapon out of my line of sight, I will dodge all of her attacks.

With intermittent explosions, inside this swaying capsule, I start a circle dance with death. Without parrying, without countering, I keep evading her incoming attacks.

In time, Hibiki is succ.u.mbing to her anger, with her swings are getting wider and wider. And finally, she raises her dosu overhead and swings it vertically with great force.

I match her movements and I raise my katana as well.

Hibiki is using ESP on her kimono, transforming it into an oscillation armor. But, her skin is not under said protection. On the other hand, my target is not her head. She has just one other part of her body that is peeking out of her armor, her fingers.

Blood spurts onto my face. With trailing blood much like weaving a silk, her fingers fly through the air. I swing my katana once again and cut off the fingers of her other hand.

Hibiki looks at her hands, left and right. I hear her making a faint groan while she falls on her backside.

“No way… this… no way…”

I push my katana to her neck.

“Minami-sama…”

Hibiki looks up at me, as if accepting it, she smiles.

One strike. A small amount of blood gushes out. Hibiki closes her eyes, and her neck inclines. A large gash opens and this time, a large amount of blood spurts from it.

Her body topples, and she falls face up.

I will not sympathize with her. I will not apologize, either. It is likely that I will need to kill more people like Hibiki. But, I will remember. I will remember all these people that we have created with our hands.

Another big explosion erupts. The Ferris wheel makes an imposing creak and starts to slant. I dash to Kozuki.

“Kozuki!”

I grasp her arm, and dash onto the ground. With the flame and heat melting the fulcrum, it slants and bents—its shape is getting distorted like a sugar sculpture. The wheel that was protruding towards the river is now entering the public park. The scene is pretty much like a giant trying to bend its own body.

There are no wires left attached the ground. Losing all of its support, the giant wheel pounds the earth as it falls.

Cladding fire, the wheel falls diagonally from the public park. In the end, it crushes the London Aquarium nearby.

“My goodness.”

Closing her mouth with her hands, Kozuki shows her astonishment. I, on the other hand, is glaring at Popper. And Popper, he is giving me a glare, too; one full of hatred.

“Kozuki, step back for this time. I’ll take on this guy.”

A duel while surrounded with fire. No, it is not going to be anything that grand. This will only become a one-sided death penalty.

I hold my katana before my eyes, and I let my awareness fly. I imagine a path within my mind. My destination is… Popper!

Faster than he can wave his hand around, I enter the vortex of light an dash. He swings his umbrella down towards me. And I cut it, I sever his right wrist along with that umbrella from his body.

“Fgyaaaaaa!”

Still gripping the umbrella, his right hand leaves a trail of blood as it lobs in the air. He is screaming as he clutches his bisected wrist. I kick him to the ground.

“I’m taking the notebook… and the Ark.”

I pull out the notebook stored in Popper’s breast pocket. Checking its content, I confirm that it has Professor’s handwriting in it.

“You b.i.t.c.h…! Don’t you think you’ll get away with this…… The moment you kill me, will be the moment you turn the whole world your enemy!”

He is squirming on the ground like a worm. I look at him with disdain, and he shuts himself up.

I hold my katana against the scruff of his neck. The sword crest reflects a blue light to his face.

“You will become a warning for the world to realize. You will be the living proof… of what happens when you try to mess around with us.”

His crooked face is unsightly. He is not laughing anymore, because he is afraid. We are terrorists, the ones who spread terror as we fight against the world.

I will carry out my purpose, in order to see the end of everything with my own eyes.

“Let’s negotiate, Weapons Dealer.”

“W-what do you want?”

“Weapons, of course. I want weapons for our comrades who are in Tokyo.”

I lightly press the blade on his neck, and a stream of blood flows from it.

“We’ll pay for it, you know?”

Like a broken toy, he nods his head. It reflexively makes me laugh, and Popper makes a small shriek.

“Then, it’s about time we start fishing.”

“F-fishing?”

Without making a sound, Kozuki walks to me with a thin wire in her hands.

“I’m talking about your ESP. Seeing that there is no merits for you to use it, we will be fishing it, taking it back.”

“W-w-w-w-what are you—”

I make Popper stand and present him before Kozuki. With dexterous hands, she coils the wire around his thin neck.

“But you said you weren’t going to kill me!”

Popper screams hysterically to the extent that his voice is cracking. It is annoying me.

“We’re not going to kill you. We’ll only have you die once. The fish won’t come out otherwise.”

The ESP-granting glowing fish will leave the moment it senses that its host’s heartbeat has stopped.

“Do be a.s.sured. I shall bring you back to life immediately after you die.”

While saying so, Kozuki points at an AED (Automated External Defibrillator) that is lying nearby. She is well-prepared. Kozuki looks at me, and I nod.

“Well then, let us start!”

“No, wait…”

Popper’s screams immediately turns into groans. The noises that he emits quietly resounds through the burning park. Mission complete. Now let us go and retrieve the Ark.

To be Continued in the Epilogue