“Ugh…”
Feodor slowly opened his eyes.
It’s dark.
A thick fog clouded his mind. For a moment, Feodor hadn’t the faintest idea what’d happened to him. He’d been walking through town with Lakhesh, Apple, and Marshmallow. They’d taken a shortcut towards City Hall, going through an area just off the main streets. Just as he and Lakhesh were about to discuss something important, his feet had stopped. After that…
Ah, yes. After that, he’d noticed a trembling underneath his feet. It was a realization that came far too late.
A roaring sound that split his ears and rattled his brain. An earthquake that threw his whole body up. A floating sensation, like the ground was a rug that’d suddenly been jerked out from under him. A pressure like the sky itself was collapsing.
If he’d noticed the danger even a few seconds sooner, maybe he could’ve taken a completely different course of action. As it was, Feodor had only been able to do two things in the chaos: push away Lakhesh, who was holding Marshmallow, and grab the nearby Apple to hug close to his chest with all his strength.
“…Ow. Heavy!”
He heard a whining voice pipe up from somewhere around his arms. So he’d been able to protect Apple, at the very least. Amidst labored breaths, Feodor sighed with relief.
Ack. A jolt of pain ran through him.
It looked as if they’d landed on a maintenance tunnel stretching underneath and around Lyell City. Designed for golems and other diminutive races, it wasn’t what one would call a comfortable place to be. The faint glow of wall-mounted dashboards illuminated their surroundings, allowing Feodor to get a good look about the place.
His lower half was pinned underneath something—wall or roof, he didn’t know. Maybe it was because he’d landed in a rather cramped space, but he wasn’t completely crushed yet. That said, it wouldn’t be easy to get out of his predicament either.
He couldn’t see the source of his pain, but he knew it was somewhere along his left femur. Judging by what little he could see as well as the peculiar dizziness that washed over him, it seemed he was bleeding quite a lot.
“…Guh.”
He couldn’t muster enough energy to push forward with his feet, let alone move the wall-or-roof. Crap, this might actually be bad, he thought to himself; the more time passed, the more blood he lost. Much more and it’d be difficult for them to escape. Death drew near.
Death?
To meet that thing so soon after arriving in this world? Would his life really end here?
…No. He understood. Death wasn’t dramatic or special. It might immediately swoop down upon someone one day out of nowhere, for a reason the person themselves hadn’t known about or decided on. That day when his homeland was destroyed, too, he’d seen great crowds of people swallowed up by just that kind of abrupt death.
Somehow, he’d escaped death back then. Even so, death was back for him here, and this time it didn’t appear that he’d be so lucky again.
“I-I’m okay! But are you alright?!”
Just as Feodor’s consciousness had started fading, he heard a voice. In the next moment, the pressure on his body vanished. Opening his eyes again, he looked up over his shoulder.
Lakhesh was there lifting up the large stone with both of her arms. It was a strange sight for such a timid, frail-looking girl to be hefting with her slender arms a weight that countless musclemen would be unable to lift. As Feodor twisted in pain, he said something that seemed like it had to be said.
“You shouldn’t…be u-using venenum. Isn’t it…burdening your body…?”
“T-t-this isn’t the time to say something like that!” Lakhesh half-sobbed, tossing away with an impossibly light motion what had turned out to be a ceiling. It crashed into the wall with a loud, earthshaking bang and shattered altogether, scattering its pieces around the area.
Given how severe Feodor’s pain was, his bleeding was likely also pronounced. His bones were badly damaged as well, judging by the heat radiating from them. The one thing Feodor could count himself lucky on was that his arteries were safe. If he borrowed Lakhesh’s shoulder, he’d be able to somehow stagger upright and walk.
“Guess me climbing up to the ceiling is out of the question, huh…?”
Finishing first aid on his leg wounds, Feodor once again surveyed the area. There was quite a bit of rubble everywhere. Still, the underground pathway didn’t seem totally blocked-off; there was enough room for him to walk around. On the other hand, it was as he’d said; the hole they’d fallen through wasn’t just high and out of reach, it was also blocked by several layers of debris.
“H-hey. I can fly up there for you if you h-have some rope—”
Feodor flicked the forehead of the one who insisted he continue to exist.
“Oww?!”
“How many times do I need to tell you? You shouldn’t be using venenum. It’d be one thing if there wasn’t anything in the way, but won’t it be a burden to fly around moving all that rubble while trying not to cause another cave-in?”
Lakhesh fell silent. Although as a non-venenum user he hadn’t been confident that he could convince her to rule out magical measures, it seemed that both of them had somehow reached mutual agreement.
“…But we can’t stay here forever…”
“Naturally. There’s danger in that too. That’s why we’re going to look for a way out…over there.” He pointed towards the underground road vanishing into darkness.
“Do you know a way out?”
“Beats me. But there’s got to be an exit somewhere.”
“But…your leg—”
“Oh, this?” Feodor drew himself up boldly, wiping away the cold sweat his movement caused. “It hurts like hell, but I won’t be done in that easily.”
The underground tunnels were intricate, almost labyrinthian. Combined with their narrow breadth and low ceilings, the passages seemed longer and wider than they actually were. Simply walking around made them feel more and more depressed.
Under these circumstances, Apple and Marshmallow’s existence became their salvation. It was said that young faeries had no concept of death, so perhaps that was why this dangerous situation was like an exciting little incident to them, a brief departure from the mundanity of everyday life. Whatever the case, they seemed to enjoy slowly moving through a gloomy tunnel. Their delighted smiles were even bigger than they’d ever been before.
“To continue the conversation we were having earlier…” Feeling that he must’ve looked rather miserable, Feodor had taken to borrowing Lakhesh’s shoulder as he walked. “I wanted to finish what I was about to say before we fell.”
“Oh…yes?”
“You see, I…believe Regule Aire as we know it should be destroyed, just once.”
“Huh?”
A brief pause. He could hear Marshmallow’s out-of-tune humming.
“E-eeh?”
“It’s too peaceful, you see. Too decadent.” Feodor turned his eyes forward. “Everyone forgets about the risk of being destroyed. How many sacrifices have been made to stave off destruction that we never think or know about?”
“Um, b-but that’s…”
“It’s probably because of the numbers,” he continued heedlessly. “Even now, there’s close to a hundred islands still floating in this archipelago. That’s too many for us to live while remembering how modest our conditions are.”
These were Feodor’s true feelings. The hope that the individual called Feodor Jessman, someone who once desired to save the world just like his older brother-in-law, could only express after throwing away his pretense of being an upstanding honor student. The belief he’d carried within his chest all along.
“Maybe…ten islands, or even less. We can leave just those and sink all the other islands. If we do, the inhabitants of those ten islands would live on wholeheartedly. They’d be grateful for surviving, and would surely be thankful to everything that allowed them to keep on living.”
The sparkling worth of those who existed at the world’s end could only be understood during the end of the world. The dignity of those with the power to protect could only be kept alive in the hearts of those who were properly protected.
“If we do that, everyone will value your existence.”
“We…don’t want that…”
“You girls are responsible for that attitude as well.” Feodor flicked Lakhesh’s forehead again. “If the side being exploited doesn’t say anything, the exploiters will descend to the level of monsters who squeeze everything from others until they die. After all, being forever spoiled is enough to corrupt anyone.”
“…Okay?” Lakhesh was at a loss for words. “W-why are you telling me all this? If I talk about this to those military police guys, won’t you get in big trouble?”
“You won’t tell them.”
“W-well, that’s…that’s right, I guess. But why do you think I’d believe you?”
Her short answer made Feodor hesitate. Why was he spilling out everything again? Unlike with Pannibal, he wasn’t being forced to this time.
“Believe isn’t the right word.” Feodor put his body weight on the wrong leg, and his face twisted as intense pain shot through it. “My original plan was to get ahold of the secret weapons hidden by the Winged Guard. That’s the reason I became a soldier. If the true form of those weapons are you girls, then I’d never be able to get started without getting your cooperation first. I’d need to talk to you about it someday anyway. That’s why I’m telling you now.”
That’s right, that’s what the plan was. Feodor wove together his after-the-matter excuse, as if trying to convince himself as well.
“You need us…”
“That’s right. We still have time, so there’s no need to answer right now. As for what you should tell the others…” Feodor shrugged. “Well, I’ll trust you to not say anything.”
“…Feodor,” Lakhesh said with a downcast expression. “…You two are clearly nothing alike, yet you’re very much the same…”
What’s she going on about? Is she comparing me with someone? Rather than have doubts floating around in his head, it’d be quicker for him to just say it—
“Fwedo, Akesh! Exit! Exit!”
Marshmallow came running up to Feodor and tugged on the hem of his military uniform. The wounds he’d just treated came to life with bloody spasms. All the words he’d prepared vanished amid the raw howling scream that gushed out from within his throat.
“Fwedo, too loud.”
“Arrrrggghhhh… Marshmallow, you—!”
“Fwedo mad?”
“Yes! I’m mad!” Feodor gritted his teeth painfully at the intense throbbing pain, feeling tears well up in the corners of his eyes. His anger only increased the longer Marshmallow looked up at him with her blank face. Even if they didn’t understand the value of life, he found himself caring little in the moment. At the very least, he had to raise the kids to properly understand others’ pain. At least there’s still time left for that.
“…If we get back safely, I’m going to scold you, geez.”
“Scolding? Lecture?!”
“Why are you so happy…?” He suddenly noticed Apple in the distance. There was a door—probably an exit—in front of her. She was vaguely gazing through it.
“…Apple?” He called her name, snapping her back to reality. She turned her head.
“Fwedo?”
“What’s the matter? Did something happen?”
“Hm.” Apple thought for a moment. “Blacky.”
He didn’t understand. Is there a cat there? There were a lot of black-colored things in the world, but with how young Apple was, her vocabulary was very limited. If she’d found some strange object, it wouldn’t be odd for her to be unable to find the right words to describe it.
Well, that was fine. She could take this chance to learn a new word. Her world spread through everything she touched or saw—something natural for all people. That naturalness was important, especially for a child who possessed a very small world to begin with. Feodor plodded towards the exit as he wondered what she was looking at, his left foot slightly dragging. As he approached the doorway, he looked through it and outside.
“That’s—”
Pure white rushed through his head.
There was—definitely—something black there. It was probably a mountain of rubble until a few minutes ago; its shape was something like that. But it wasn’t such a simple thing anymore. It had ceased to become merely rubble.
Now it was a beautiful crystal, shining blackly.
“Fwedo.” Apple tugged on his sleeve. “That. What that?”
He had no response. Of course, he knew very well what that thing was. He could teach her. But his words didn’t come out. If he did that, said that, it was tantamount to acknowledging the reality of the scene before his eyes.
In front of Feodor’s unfolding bewilderment and shock—
Croyance, which had broken free of the rubble, quietly continued its encroachment of Island No. 38.
“Run for it!” Feodor screamed. “Lakhesh, contact the Winged Guard! Evacuate as many civilians as possible, and don’t waste even a second!”
The situation was way different from the incident at the port district. In a place like this, he had no way of dropping the encroaching Beast down to the surface. That meant its encroachment wouldn’t stop until it had finished transforming the entire island into black crystal.
Right now the Beast wasn’t particularly large. That and that alone made this encounter better than the enemy faced at the port district. Nevertheless, that only bought them some time; the island’s fate was already sealed.
Lyell City, which had slowly been approaching death, was now on the brink. There was just one thing they could do now—struggle to minimize the damage that would only grow from now on.
Of course, Feodor understood how contradictory his actions seemed. That he, who planned on dropping countless islands as the enemy of Regule Aire, should now have no choice but to worry about a small number of lives!
No, there’s no contradiction here. Feodor forced down the voice in his mind. His decision was purely logical. After the earlier conversation, his plans had already begun to move forward in earnest. Already at this stage, he had to start thinking about protecting his social status. It was all just part of his act as an excellent fourth officer in the Winged Guard.
“Lakhesh, take the girls! Head to the First Officer right now!”
“Feodor?!”
“We can’t go together, not with my leg! So we’ll act separately and I’ll contact you once I get to City Hall—”
No, no good. It’s probably hopeless for me now, Feodor thought secretly.
His hunch was that he was already doomed. While Croyance’s natural encroachment was slow, that was only when it wasn’t given any extra impact. It was unlikely that all of the people in Lyell would go quietly without offering up any resistance to that pitch-black terror. And with his feet…well, he couldn’t be particularly optimistic.
So, at the very least, even if he was to die here, he didn’t want to get these three involved. That was his decision.
He wanted these girls, who seemed to cherish others more than themselves, to live. He’d use all of himself to forge a world where those ideals could flourish. He wouldn’t permit anyone else to die on his watch like—like his older brother-in-law—or perhaps like that man named Willem, and that great senior faerie, Chtholly Whatever.
That’s why he wished for them to live even a little longer. Lakhesh, Apple, Marshmallow, Tiat, Pannibal, Collon. If it was for their sakes, then—!
“Hey, Fwedo?”
A voice without tension. Apple’s voice.
“Fwedo, you hate that?”
“Yes, I really hate it!” Answering her on reflex, he hurriedly glanced around the area. The more he looked, the more he was at a loss. There was a tall tower that appeared to be composed entirely out of machines, and it was teetering dangerously from its base. The rubble pouring down probably originated from the same tower. He couldn’t see any figures in the surrounding area. Was it better to be grateful a panic wouldn’t be caused right away, or to be annoyed by how it’d delay information from spreading?
What could have caused such a huge disaster? He had no way of knowing.
“Fwedo hates it…” Apple was mumbling something.
Figuring out their current position, Feodor recalled one thing about the tower. It was the municipal weather observation tower, one of the municipal facilities that had been shut down just the other day because of its danger. For it to be in such a terrible condition now… Were the shutdown measures too late? Or was there another factor to it?
“’Kay. Apple hates it too.”
Because of his thought process, he didn’t notice. His response was fatally late.
He didn’t see the small figure smoothly slip from his side and start running.
“You idi—!”
Apple was running, waving a small metal pipe she’d picked up from who knows where.
His body wouldn’t move. The moment seemed to drag on forever, as if the world itself had stopped, with only Apple’s small back steadily fading away.
Lakhesh, looking as if she was about to cry, was shouting something. There was no sound in this frozen world, so her words escaped him. But he roughly knew their contents. And, definitely, at this moment, he must also have been shouting the same things.
Clang.
The metal pipe smacked the black crystal.
Croyance transformed the additional impact into momentum for its encroachment. A small crackling noise shrilled, and what was once a metal pipe instantly transformed into black crystal.
Like the crystal, Apple’s right hand shone blackly.
You idiot! Stop this!
I can still fix this! I just need to cut off your right hand! Then your life will be saved!
He wanted to shout it, to scream it, but his voice wouldn’t come out.
Apple looked mystified at her strange new hand. As if losing interest in it, she turned back to Croyance and stamped on it with her feet.
Again, the encroachment was instant. Her shoes, her heels, her lower legs—the Beast greedily devoured them all. Feodor’s consciousness smeared over with utter despair.
Apple lost her balance and was about to tumble. Her flailing left hand touched the nearby rubble, and just like that, it became part of the black crystal too.
“Uuugg!” Now Apple seemed irritated. Despite wanting to pummel that loathsome thing, she no longer had any means to do it. Her right hand, still gripping what had been a metal pipe, was hardening. The pipe didn’t give an inch, still stuck in the precise place it had impacted. Her left hand was tightly stuck, as well as both of her feet.
At the least, that’s what he believed Apple must have been thinking.
And then…she seemed to realize something. Even if her hands and feet couldn’t move, she had just one more method to get rid of that bothersome, annoying Beast.
Feodor had no convenient venenum-discerning eyes. In other words, he didn’t have a convenient skill on hand to sense venenum as it was ignited. Even so, he knew.
What’s enveloping Apple’s body now?
Her small body was being wrapped in some sort of energy overflowing from within herself.
For some reason, he remembered his fight with Tiat the other day.
To save someone by throwing away your life—that logic was unacceptable to Feodor. If his life couldn’t survive without someone else’s life being sacrificed, then it might as well disappear. That’s why he needed Apple to—
“Please! Stop!”
Even as he prayed—even as he wished—
“STO—”
White.
White, white, white.
Overwhelmingly pure whiteness flooded his entire vision, his entire consciousness.
He knew what it was. The original purpose of the faerie soldiers, once heavily used in battles with Timere.
A magical technique only possible for those who lacked true life.
Venenum, a substance running counter to life, can be harshly and powerfully ignited by those with limited lifeforce. Therefore, if someone had no natural lifeforce, there would theoretically be no limit to the power they could ignite. Of course, since there was no way to control such phenomenal power, there existed only one way to use it.
Explosively ignite the venenum, blowing not only their physical body to smithereens but everyone and everything around them. Only that.
The hand he extended didn’t reach anyone, didn’t touch anyone, didn’t grab onto anyone.
And—
The light—
Swallowed everything—
…How much time passed?
Blue sky.
Silently gazing upwards, Feodor could suddenly feel again. His wounds ached painfully.
Meaning…he was still alive.
Those who were at ground zero when the gates to the faerie homeland opened should’ve been eradicated without a trace. Even so, he was standing here without having vanished. What on Earth happened?
There was one possibility. The gates didn’t open. Apple didn’t throw away her life.
Hope awoke in Feodor’s mind. Abandoning all logic, he desperately clung to his fantasy. That’s right, I made it! Apple’s still here! I didn’t lose anything. That girl is still lively as ever. Surely, surely, if I just call her name then our eyes will meet, and she’ll come charging at me, calling me “Fwedo” again!
He slowly lowered his gaze.
A large abyss gaped up from the earth. It was gigantic enough to swallow several three-story or even four-story buildings. Everything within it had been obliterated. Many things outside it had also been melted, burned, twisted, or otherwise devastated.
“Ah…” Someone’s voice, weak and pathetic, leaked out.
“…You…you’re awake?”
He heard another frail voice, and now realized he along with Marshmallow were being held tightly by a girl.
“Wha…”
A girl with blazingly red hair. For a moment, he didn’t know who she was.
“I’m…glad…so glad…”
Even so, he knew that voice. He could never mistake the voice of that girl who was timid, gentle, kind, and—even now—loved her family.
“La…khesh…?”
The girl’s arms grew weak. Slipping—no, as if she was slipping—she collapsed there.
Feodor finally grasped what had happened.
Apple opened the gates.
She released the white atrocity that annihilated everything.
Feodor and the others should never have escaped that horrible maelstrom. However, Lakhesh had shielded them. She, who held the greatest capabilities of venenum among the four faerie soldiers, ignited her venenum as much as possible and protected the two held in her arms.
As for the consequences of her decision…
What was it she said?
“When we ignite venenum too strong for our bodies to handle, our already short-lived personalities become even more unstable…”
Most likely, that was just what had happened. To protect both Feodor and Marshmallow, Lakhesh had literally burned out her own mind.
Apple and Lakhesh.
For the sake of their loved ones, for the sake of someone they considered more precious than their own lives, they threw away those same lives.
“You know, I detest characters in inspiring stories.”
“They do whatever it takes for others, even the world. They’ll protect those sorts of people who—well, anyway, ever since a long time ago, I’ve always hated anyone who says they’ll just go die to make other people happy.”
Feodor screamed.
A wild, unnatural howl, alien and incomprehensible even to himself. He screamed until his voice exploded through its limits. He screamed until he had no voice at all.
Even so, the boy continued to soundlessly scream.