Chapter 62: Execution

One day off. I tearfully turned down Maiha’s invitation to go out and waited for night to fall. Once it did, I took a shotgun and a handgun—along with plenty of spare ammunition—and rode the train from Trinity to the D.U. District.

"...If I see her now, my resolve will waver."

It was a soliloquy no one could hear. Just before 11:00 p.m., there was no foot traffic in front of Sanctum Tower. The emergency counter staff would have already switched to the late-night shift—probably only one or two people on duty. As for the patrolling guards, even now there weren’t many to spare; the D.U. District was still in the middle of reconstruction.

"...Well then. Let’s go."

I walked straight into Sanctum Tower through the main entrance. Sneaking around would only make me look suspicious.

"Huh? A Trinity student at this hour?"

"What business do you have here?"

They were General Student Council staff members, identifiable by their white suits and blue ties. They looked at me with puzzled expressions, but still prepared to begin counter service. I almost felt bad about it. Almost. But I’d already made my decision.

"...I’m sorry. It’s not that I bear any grudge against you."

"Huh—? W-wha!?"

"Urgh!"

I drew the handgun issued by the Tea Party and fired twice. Both shots struck their foreheads, and the two collapsed. To make sure they wouldn’t wake up for a while, I put two more rounds into each of them. Then I stepped behind the counter and began searching for the keys.

"The rooftop requires… this one, and this one, and this one… and this as well."

In the worst case, I could have shot the door open—but I wanted to stay as quiet as possible, so I borrowed the keys in advance.

With the keys in hand, I headed for the elevator hall, which had already been shut down. From here, it wasn’t a straight shot to the rooftop. Sanctum Tower was extremely tall, and there was no elevator that ran directly from the first floor to the roof. I would need to transfer several times.

On top of that, as a counterterrorism measure, the elevator banks were spaced a fair distance apart. That meant running into night guards between them was unavoidable. I supposed it was an effective deterrent—seeing as it was causing someone like me this much trouble.

"...Hah, hah—you’re still chasing me...?!"

As soon as I exited the first elevator, I ran straight into guards. I blasted them at point-blank range with the shotgun, then tossed their guns back into the elevator and sent it down to the first floor to neutralize them. I reached the next elevator, but when I stepped out again, I found myself walking into an ambush. My reaction was slow; I put .455 rounds into each of them and fled immediately afterward.

"Stop! What do you think you’re doing at this hour?!"

"Persistent men are terribly unpopular, you know!"

I scattered buckshot behind me to slow them down, grabbed a wall-mounted fire extinguisher, and discharged it, using the cloud as a smokescreen.

"W-what the hell...?!"

I fled into an area filled with small rooms, corners, and intersections—a maze of corridors—and turned the tables by setting up my own ambush.

"R-requesting reinforcements...!"

<Reinforcements? What on earth is happening in there?>

"Coming in while talking on the radio is basically announcing your position, you know?"

I waited around the corner, then picked off the approaching, off-guard guards with my handgun—smashing their radios while I was at it.

"Hah… and I’m not even halfway yet."

I’d transferred between two elevator banks so far. Height-wise, I was about halfway up, but from here to the rooftop I’d need at least four more transfers. The higher I went, the more reinforcements would arrive—and the harder it would get.

"...Can I really do this?"

No. It wasn’t about whether I could or not. I had to. I’d come this far; there was no turning back now.

"...Tch!"

"Give it up, terrorist! What are you planning to do in Sanctum Tower?!"

Some time after leaving the third elevator, I was surrounded by several guards who had gotten ahead of me. But this couldn’t be the end. I needed a plan—something—so I scanned my surroundings, and then—

"Huu—haaah!!"

I launched a flying kick at the window, shattering the glass. Grabbing the window frame with my left hand, I fired my handgun with my right, breaking the window on the floor below—and leapt across.

"A-are you insane...?!"

<Did you see that acrobatic maneuver just now?! The terrorist who has infiltrated Sanctum Tower alone appears to be an exceptionally skilled combatant! What fate awaits this girl!? Stay tuned and don’t touch that remote until the very end—this is the Kronos Channel!>

…Honestly, I hadn’t thought it would work, but somehow it did. While gathering information, I’d heard rumors that when Sanctum Tower was rebuilt, Kaiser had cut corners and used ordinary glass where bulletproof windows should have been. Looks like it was true.

"Still… what a nuisance."

I’d been hearing a rotor thumping from outside for a while now—it was a Kronos School news helicopter. To be frank, it was in the way, but they were just doing their job. And besides, shooting it down with a shotgun or handgun would be difficult.

"Well, as long as they don’t interfere, I’ll leave them alone."

Before the pursuers from the upper floors could circle back, I sprinted to another elevator. As soon as the doors opened, I pressed only the button for an upper floor and stepped out, setting up a decoy. Then I took the stairs down one floor and moved to a different elevator. When I rode it to a floor higher than the one I’d selected earlier, it worked exactly as planned—the diversion took, and there was no ambush waiting.

While riding the next elevator upward, the doors suddenly opened even though I hadn’t reached my destination. I jumped out on instinct as the lights on the elevator buttons went dark. Pressing them again got no response—apparently, it had been forcibly stopped. The same was true for the other elevators as well. From here on out, it looked like I’d have to take the stairs.

"But if we have to use the stairs, then so do they."

I may look like this, but I’m still growing—and farm work has kept me well trained. I have confidence in my stamina, certainly more than the guards.

"Then…"

Steeling myself, I started running up the stairs. Faster—faster—so they wouldn’t catch me. Remaining floors… fifty… forty-nine… forty-eight…

"Hah… hah… this is… the end…!"

My breathing was ragged by the time I climbed roughly fifty floors and reached the rooftop. I inserted the final key and stepped outside.

Apparently, the altitude here was too high for a helicopter to hover. The Kronos news chopper was circling Sanctum Tower far below the rooftop.

I’d sealed off every route leading here except for the disabled elevators. Now there was only one thing left to do.

Jump.

"Ugh…"

Just as expected, Kaiser’s corner-cutting showed. I leaned over the thin, unreliable railing and looked down. But whether because of the height or the haze, I couldn’t see the ground clearly. The cold December wind brushed against my body.

"I need to hurry…"

I braced myself and started to climb the railing—

""Aika!!""

"…!?"

A voice I’d heard countless times. My resolve to throw myself off faltered, and I instinctively stepped back.

""Aika, what’s wrong?""

"S-Sensei… why are you here…?"

Sensei walked toward me, one step at a time. I tried to retreat, but the railing blocked me—I couldn’t move any farther.

""Schale’s clubroom is only about thirty kilometers from Sanctum Tower. By helicopter, it’s no distance at all.""

"No, that’s not what I meant…"

Why now? Seeing Sensei’s face, hearing that voice—after everything it had taken to make up my mind, it all began to waver.

""Why did you seize Sanctum Tower, come all the way up to the rooftop… and try to jump?""

Sensei’s expression was more serious than I’d ever seen, carrying an unmistakable message: there would be no running away.

"…Because if I stay alive, Kivotos might be destroyed."

""Kivotos… destroyed?""

Saying it out loud again made me lower my gaze. I told myself—over and over—that I was a being who could plunge Kivotos into crisis, someone who ought to disappear.

"Tell me, Sensei… do you believe in past lives?"

""Past lives?""

"Yes… I have memories from a past life."

I’d brushed it off in letters to friends and family as some kind of precognition, but the truth was that what I carried were memories of a past life—of knowing Kivotos as a world inside a game called Blue Archive.

"…What I’m about to say is something I truly don’t want to tell you—and something I believe I shouldn’t. It’s absurd, tangled, and above all… it could distort your judgment, Sensei. Even so, do you still want to hear it?"

I met Sensei’s eyes.

""Yes. I think I have to hear it. I’ll accept everything.""

"I thought you would say that, Sensei. There’s no point in dragging this out any longer."

After taking a deep breath, I decided to tell him everything. If it’s Sensei, then surely… surely—? And after that, what lies ahead?

"First of all, I am—not a pure student."

""…What do you mean by that?""

"I am an impurity. Neither a child who bears responsibility as a student, nor an adult who bears responsibility as one—an incomplete, in-between existence."

Sensei said nothing, simply waiting for me to continue. Seeing that, I pressed on.

"Several years ago, I had a dream. A very, very long dream. More than twenty years’ worth of memories—those of a certain person. That person was my past life… and in that past life, this world—Kivotos—existed as the setting of a game."

""Kivotos… as a game setting?""

"…Yes. In that game, just like in this world, a Sensei from Schale—invited to the academy city of Kivotos by the General Student Council President—ran all across Kivotos to resolve the problems faced by the students."

When I reached that point, Sensei folded his arms and lowered his gaze, as if sinking into thought. Then he raised his eyes again to meet mine.

"In that story, Kivotos was also saved from countless fatal crises by Sensei’s hand, and its peace was maintained… but along the way, the narrative hinted at several failed futures."

""Failures, huh….""

Sensei stared at his adult card, clearly deep in thought. Perhaps he was recalling the Sensei of a worldline where Kivotos had collapsed—Phrenapates.

"With only the slightest misstep, Kivotos can fall to ruin. If even one of the five students of Abydos High were lost, if the ‘Nameless Priestess’ of the ‘Ruins’ were to awaken, if the Make-Up Work Club were expelled… any of those could become the trigger for an eventual tragedy. But each time, Sensei lending a hand to the students allowed those outcomes to be avoided."

""……""

Some of what I was saying contained knowledge no one should normally possess. It was a hard story to believe—but after hearing it, Sensei would have no choice but to accept it.

"However, in that game… there was no person who corresponded to me."

""…!""

"Since it was a game, one might argue that I was simply unimplemented, or no more than background data… but I’ve seen that story up to a point slightly beyond the present timeline. And throughout all of it, no one resembling me ever appeared."

After all, someone like a Kaiser-hating subordinate of Nagisa who casually swings around a ridiculous cannon would stand out far too much—there’s no way such a character wouldn’t appear during the Eden Treaty arc.

"…As I said earlier, Kivotos can be destroyed by the slightest mismatch of circumstances. If that’s the case, then an existence like me—someone who was never meant to be here—might, simply by living, create a path toward its collapse."

""That’s why you tried to jump?""

"…Yes. Until now, I’ve lived carefully, using my past-life memories while trying not to influence the world. But the future I can see with that knowledge is nearing its end. Beyond that point, I don’t know what will happen—or what should be done. So, in order to ensure that I don’t negatively affect the course of Kivotos, I decided to end my life here."

Besides, my original goal—‘redoing my youth’—had largely been fulfilled. There was no longer any reason to cling to this world.

"…I may look fifteen years old, but mentally I’m already thir—no, never mind. In any case, I am not a rightful resident of this world. An impurity. Someone who has needlessly accumulated years, yet cannot stand in the position of an adult—an incomplete existence. That is what I am. I am not something that should be permitted to remain in this world."

""…Aika, you’ve helped me many times, haven’t you?""

"Yes… I supported you from the shadows. As I said before, for Kivotos to continue existing, it’s absolutely essential that you remain active and unharmed."

When Sensei was first appointed, I dealt with delinquents to a certain extent, thinned out Kaiser’s soldiers in the Abydos Desert, helped the Make-Up Work Club, moved behind the scenes to contain the chaos of the Eden Treaty incident, and even blew away Kaiser after he seized control of the D.U. District… I’d done all sorts of things quietly, out of sight.

"But all of that was support that wouldn’t have made much of a difference even without me. In the end, it was nothing more than self-preservation and self-satisfaction. I am a student character who was never meant to exist in the first place. That’s why… this is where I end."

Talking with Sensei makes my resolve waver no matter what. So I desperately line up every reason why I shouldn’t be here in Kivotos. Half of what I’m saying is really just to convince myself.

"You’ll surely face many more crises from here on, Sensei… but you’ll overcome them by working together with the students. That’s what I believe."

""And those ‘students’ include you too, Aika. At least, that’s what I believe.""

…Please. Don’t say that.

"…You really are Sensei, through and through. But… I think you’ll be fine even without me."

""I’m not with students just to overcome danger. That’s only a means—not the goal.""

Sensei glanced up at the stars scattered across the night sky, then continued.

""Because I want students to be happy. Everything I do is for that.""

…Sensei really never changes, no matter what. The Sensei I saw from a player’s perspective in my past life, and the Sensei standing here in front of me now, as a real person.

"Hehe. That unwavering conviction of yours is wonderful. I don’t have anything like that."

""…Would you be happy if you disappeared, Aika?""

…Of course not. Truthfully, I want to spend more time having fun with my friends. I want to see my parents again, too.

"…That’s not it. But an irregular existence like me will continue to put Kivotos in danger."

""Then we’ll overcome it—no matter how many times a crisis comes.""

Those words are powerful. They make me feel that, if it’s Sensei, then maybe—no, surely—he really can do it. And knowing that he’s already lived up to those words time and time again only gives them more weight.

""I told you—it’s for the students’ happiness. You’re one of my precious students too, Aika.""

"As I said earlier, I’m an incomplete impurity. I’m not a student."

I no longer have the right to keep living in this world. If I’m not a student, then I have no right to stand under Sensei’s protection.

""Earlier, you said you know this world as a game from your past life, right? Then maybe you know about Aris.""

"That is… yes. I know."

""She was said to be a weapon meant to destroy the world—created as the ‘Demon King.’ But now she’s accepted as a Millennium student, as a member of the Game Development Department, and she’s walking the path of a true ‘Hero.’""

Then Sensei held out one hand toward me—hoping that I would take it.

""Aika, you can become a proper student too.""

"Is that… really all right? Even if someone like me joins the circle…?"

""If that’s what you want, then do it.""

Is it really okay for me to live? Is it okay for me to live as a student? Is it okay for me to stay with my beloved parents and friends…?

""It’s fine. Even if something happens, I’ll take responsibility for it. That’s the role of an adult.""

"……"

Even someone like me… can I really start over?

""And besides, what you’ve done wasn’t meaningless. You helped me countless times too. The Make-Up Work Club, Nagisa and the Tea Party, the Arius students you taught, the two officer cadets you helped—and many others besides. There are surely plenty of people who were saved because you were there, Aika.""

Was I really able to help everyone? If Sensei says so, then surely… yes. It must be true.

"…All right. I understand."

I reach out and take Sensei’s hand. Perhaps because we’re standing thousands of meters above the ground, beneath a frigid winter night sky and an unceasing cold wind, his hand feels painfully cold. As I try to straighten myself from where I’m leaning against the railing—

"…Huh?"

The railing breaks apart with a harsh cracking sound. Startled, I lose my footing and am thrown into the air.

""Aika!?""

Because we’re still holding hands, I nearly drag him down with me. I try to let go, but Sensei tightens his grip instead—and in the end, we both fall from the rooftop together.

"Sensei… living in Kivotos all this time, I was so happy—so happy I couldn’t stand it."

As we fall freely, the pressure of the air is overwhelming. I’m terrified—too terrified to even look down.

"…I don’t really want to die. But if we’ve fallen like this, there’s no turning back now."

I pull Sensei close and wrap him in my wings, shielding him as best I can.

"Sensei… please, survive. I’ll be underneath you. It may only offer a little protection, but I hope it helps…"

""No, I’ll—""

I restrain Sensei as he struggles, trying to slip free and put himself below me. I don’t want him to be the one sacrificed—for the future of Kivotos, and because I care about him more than anything.

"…Sensei. If you die here, what will happen to Kivotos? There are still so many unresolved problems."

""But—""

"I love you. I love the way you always think about your students and take responsibility for them. I admired you for that."

Yes—because I love you.

"I’ll disappear here, but please continue walking your path, Sensei."

We must be close to hitting the ground by now. If I’m going to die anyway, there’s just one last thing I want to say to him.

"…Goodbye. I love you, Sensei."

""Aika…!""

And with that, I closed my eyes. Surely, when I wake again, it will be into another life. Next time, not a game world, but a normal one—and still, I hope I’ll be born a beautiful girl.