Chapter 66: I Couldn't Beat the Main Heroine… (Stares Blankly)

—This happened a little while ago.

It was not long after we had left Fortress City Zalfedahl. Padron and Piska, who had been genuine enemies until just recently, were constantly butting heads. And the other members hadn't exactly known one another for very long, either. It was a time when our little group of misfits was still feeling its way around, trying to figure out how to get along.

Along the way, we encountered a massive horde of magical beasts, and a battle broke out. Naturally, we were heavily outnumbered. On top of that, the leader of the pack was exceptionally intelligent and proved to be a formidable opponent. Faced with an organized horde attacking us with cunning strategies, our disjointed group was forced into a difficult fight.

Immediately after we somehow managed to secure victory, Padron let out an admiring cry.

"That's incredible. Every single corpse left behind by the monsters Tierra took down is in excellent condition. You could deliver them to one of Zalfedahl's finest restaurants and nobody would bat an eye. …You did that on purpose, didn't you?"

According to him, even if the meat was reduced to a mangled lump, it could still be cooked and eaten, but the number of dishes you could make from it would be limited. It would also be far from ideal in terms of preservation and hygiene. In that respect, Tierra's fighting style was nothing short of remarkable. She was meticulous to the greatest extent possible without compromising her performance in battle, and so on.

Once he got started, the words flowed like a river. Padron launched into a lengthy, eloquent explanation, praising Tierra's skill and consideration.

And he wasn't wrong. Looking closely, the bodies of the enemies Tierra had defeated were… despite being covered in blood and lying dead… beautifully intact.

"It's true that I do try to keep them suitable for cooking, but it's not something worth praising me so much for. I don't use magic that burns everything to ashes, nor sword techniques that chop everything to pieces. It's simply something I can do because I fight with relatively weak twin swords."

"No, no. Anyone who knows what they're looking at can tell. This really is impressive."

…By comparison, the enemies I'd defeated with the magic I'd only recently learned were nothing but charred black corpses. I couldn't imagine how anyone could make a dish out of them. And when I thought about that, despite the fact that these enemies had attacked us with the intention of taking our lives, I suddenly felt terribly sorry for them.

It seemed terribly insincere and foolish of me to feel that way when I'd placed myself in a situation where lives were constantly being taken and lost.

Weakness. Inadequacy. It felt as though every single one of my shortcomings had been condensed into those charred remains.

Thinking that way, I sank into an unbearably dark mood.

"Um… I'm sorry, Tierra. I didn't have the presence of mind to think about what would happen after I defeated them, so…"

I knew perfectly well that this apology was selfish. It came from the presumptuous assumption that she would comfort me, and from my own pathetic desire to lean on her.

Realizing that only made me despise myself even more.

"…Could it be that you're worried about what Padron said earlier? If so, please don't give it a second thought. Whether they're charred to a crisp or smashed to pieces, there are countless ways to cook them. I'll surprise you all with dinner tonight."

Whether she knew what was going through my mind or not… Actually, she probably did. Her voice was bright, yet gentle.

"Besides, if you start thinking about cooking in the middle of a battle and lose focus, only to get defeated and eaten because of it, that wouldn't be funny at all. So please, Kizuna, never imitate me."

"…Is that because I don't have the same level of skill as you?"

I knew I was being difficult. Even so, there was something strangely magnetic about Tierra that made me want to lean on her.

"No. This has nothing to do with whether you're skilled or not. It's about having the composure… in other words, your state of mind."

"…Composure?"

"Yes. To be honest, I don't like taking lives or having my own life taken. I hate it. But if I hesitate when it matters, that hesitation could cost me my life. So I convince myself that this is simply part of the natural order of things: eating and being eaten. That it's necessary for survival, that it can't be helped. It's a form of self-hypnosis, you could say."

"If I did the same thing, would I be able to fight a little better?"

"…………Why would you want to do that?"

"During that battle, I was completely useless. There were so many more things I could have done, and yet…"

I got that far before my words were cut short.

Tierra had cupped both my cheeks and forcibly lifted my face.

We were so close that our lips seemed almost ready to touch. Her sky-blue eyes, bluer than the sky itself, held me captive. I couldn't move. For a brief moment, I was so mesmerized by their sparkling brilliance that I even forgot to breathe.

"Kizuna. As I said, what I do is a form of self-hypnosis. It's a compromise I reluctantly adopted because I had no choice, for the sake of my goals and my survival. There's nothing inherently sinful about that, is there? Everyone lives by coming to terms with the unreasonable things in life and giving up on certain things along the way. But I don't want you to… In this chaotic world, of all people, you're the one person I don't want to see making that kind of compromise."

Her words were firm and unwavering, spoken by a girl who always addressed others with such politeness.

And through those words, I finally understood.

That's right. Unless we could bring together the strength of everyone living in this chaotic world, we would never defeat the World Eater. We would never save Chaos. We didn't have time to settle for compromises.

It had been entrusted to me. I'd made a promise. And yet, I'd almost forgotten where it had all begun.

But still… even so… I didn't have the strength. During that battle, I hadn't even had the composure to think straight.

"If you really must try something… Hmm. How about closing your eyes during battle? You could shut out the outside world and forcibly calm your mind."

"But wouldn't that be dangerous…?"

"Certainly. In a one-on-one duel between two masters, where a single sword strike decides the outcome, that would leave you fatally exposed. But…"

Suddenly, the breath I'd forgotten to take returned to me.

A floral fragrance tickled my nose and swept through my body like a spring breeze.

"—Please don't forget. You're never alone."

We had failed to persuade Ms. Limient, and the battle had begun.

It didn't take long for us to realize just how powerful Machine City really was.

"It's far too big…!"

"Every attack is like a raging storm. Truly overwhelming. If we take one more direct hit… I would rather not imagine what will happen."

Nanashi was right. Although, because its movements were so large and conspicuous, dodging its punches and missiles was surprisingly manageable…

The real problem was the cannon attack from earlier. It had enough power to carve an enormous crater into the ground. If it attacked an entire area at once, there would be no way to dodge it.

We'd somehow managed to withstand it by combining everyone's strength, centering our defenses around Lies and Pahal's defensive magic and Tetoma's barriers… but we wouldn't survive another one.

Which meant we had to defeat it before it could fire again… but—

"More importantly, isn't there some weird barrier blocking all our attacks?!"

『—Correct, Padron Zalfedahl. The W・R・A—World Rejective Armor—was created through the blood, sweat, and tears of our predecessors long ago. This armor, which once even repelled the collapse of an entire world, rejects all external factors.』

"Thanks for explaining that so politely! But I heard it couldn't be recreated without using the underground resources of the Great Forest! Which means it's incomplete! Isn't that right?!"

『—Correct once again. It is a combination of armor that has deteriorated over the passage of countless years and armor we constructed using whatever materials we had available. An unfinished product, woefully inadequate to prevent our extinction. Even so, according to our calculations, it is more than sufficient to completely nullify attacks of your caliber.』

That's right. Machine City had already survived the destruction of the world once before.

I was reminded of what we were truly facing. Standing before us was, without exaggeration, an entire world in its own right. The history of innovation that had been built up over generations was now confronting us with an absolute, immovable answer.

And even if we somehow broke through that barrier, the steel giant itself would still be standing. Just a swing of its arm, or a single step forward, could put all of us in danger of being wiped out.

I had no intention of giving up. I had no intention of losing. But there was simply no opening for victory.

We had to do something, and quickly. We couldn't afford to lose.

What should I do? What should I do? What could I possibly do? No… there really was nothing. We had no way out—

—Just then, a gentle breeze carried the scent of the Great Forest's trees toward me.

As though guided by that fresh, green fragrance, I closed both eyes despite being in the middle of battle.

My eyelids blocked out the light, plunging my vision into complete darkness.

Somewhere, sometime, I felt like I'd seen this same black landscape before.

Perhaps it was somewhere in the past I'd lost from my memories.

It was a lonely place. And yet, it was filled with the love of “someone.” Overflowing with love for this world called Chaos.

That “someone” had entrusted it to me. This world, where “everyone” lived.

And so—

I opened my eyes.

Light spread out before me. The world regained its colors.

I'd only closed my eyes for an instant. But I understood that even that brief moment had changed something.

The thoughts that had been spinning endlessly in my head had somehow fallen completely still.

I also felt as though my field of vision had widened. I could clearly see everyone fighting desperately against that overwhelming enemy.

…Huh? There were glowing green spheres floating around Himeros.

Those were… Right! When we'd first visited the Great Forest, I remembered hearing the voices of the elven elders coming from inside those things. They'd shouted at us to "Leave!" They were part of the elves' magic for communicating with people at a distance.

"Himeros! What are those?!"

"I don't have time to explain! But I might have a way to defeat that giant! At least, if we can get rid of that ridiculous barrier!"

As expected of a genius elf who'd managed to repair a mechanical soldier through self-study. While I'd been panicking, completely at a loss for what to do, he'd continued steadily searching for whatever options were available to him. I really admired him.

Of course, the situation itself hadn't changed. Unless we dealt with that barrier, Himeros's plan would be useless, too. But the number of things I had to figure out had just dropped from two to one. That's a fifty-percent reduction! Half off! What a bargain! All I had to think about now was how to deal with that barrier!

Tierra, who was always there to offer me advice… wasn't here right now. She'd once again pushed herself too far for our sake and everyone else's, and had fallen asleep as a result. I couldn't put any more of a burden on her.

Padron, who never stopped working hard and demonstrated first-rate abilities in every field… was currently serving as our frontline shield, standing closer to the enemy than anyone else. He wore a fearless grin, but his body was covered in wounds.

Tetoma, a walking collection of ancient supertechnology… was using complicated methods like calculations (?) and hacking (?) to redirect missile trajectories and predict where lasers and other attacks would land, then informing everyone. I didn't understand any of it, but apparently Tetoma was handling all sorts of tasks simultaneously. As for its spare capacity—or resources (?)… it didn't look like there was much left.

Nanashi, the eccentric ninja who could pull out astonishing secret gadgets and even create multiple copies of himself… Wait, seriously? Did he just throw a missile back with his bare hands? "Ninja arts," he said. For real? Ninja arts are amazing. Though even he had admitted earlier that he had no way to counter the enemy.

Lies, the embodiment of elven innovation, a descendant of royalty and a half-elf… was strengthening everyone's combat abilities with her wide variety of magic while also protecting us from attacks with defensive barriers.

Pahal, who was cheerful and adored her brother, and Piska, who possessed an extraordinary natural talent for close-quarters combat… were using their fighting abilities to disrupt the mechanical soldiers around us.

And then there was Rene, the very first person I'd met in this world—

Ah, that's right. Of course.

She'd been right beside me all along.

The very existence that the leader of Machine City herself had declared to be “the greatest” unexpected variable!

"Rene!!"

"Mm."

—Our eyes met.

Honestly, this was a dangerous gamble.

There was no calculated probability of success behind it.

I knew that if it failed, the girl might end up taking concentrated fire from the enemy.

Even so, the girl who had once defined our relationship as “even” looked into my eyes and nodded.

That was enough. Just that was enough to steel my resolve.

"Cut that thing to pieces with everything you've got!!"

"Leave it to me."

From the earth to the heavens.

She was a pitch-black bullet. Or perhaps a meteor streaking in the wrong direction.

Without fear, without questions, without a shred of doubt or hesitation. Without giving a single thought to any of the dangers.

Straight toward the point I'd indicated.

The black-haired girl—

Charged.

A tiny girl, all alone, approached the towering steel giant that pierced the heavens.

If you thought about it calmly, it should have been an attack made with the full expectation of being annihilated. That was the only reasonable way to interpret it.

And yet, why was it that the black shooting star before us showed not the slightest trace of tragic desperation?

There was only one thing shining within it.

Absolute trust.

—The boy believed that the girl could do it.

—The girl trusted the boy's decision.

And the result was—

This.

Breaking through stagnation.

Surpassing innovation.

Leaving behind nothing but a clear, crystalline sound, like glass shattering—

The single slash of a pitch-black scythe, forged by the boy and the girl together,

Made the armor of supreme wisdom—

Vanish.