Golden Days

by Gakuto Mikumo

  Lydianne was a bit proud of herself as she displayed her uniform from the famed school.

  When he thought about it, he hadn’t spoken to the girl since they’d infiltrated Keystone Gate’s Stratum Zero. Judging from the nervous way she had come running, maybe she’d been searching for him ever since she lost contact with him after his fight with Meiga.

  “Sorry. There’s no way I could have gotten in touch since that bastard Meiga Itogami busted up my smartphone. I must’ve made you worry.”

  “’Tis nothing, ’tis nothing,” Lydianne casually replied as Kojou deeply bowed his head. Then, she abruptly locked eyes on Sayaka, standing at his side, when she asked, “Oh my? Thou art Lady Shamanic War Dancer, art thou not?”

  “What, you know her?” said Kojou, checking with Sayaka without thinking.

  “We met…a while back. This is the first time I’ve seen her outside of that tank… Wait, you mean you talk like that normally…?”

  “Indeed. A warrior speaketh not with a forked tongue.”

  Sayaka’s exasperation was met with an unapologetic reply. One, you’re not a warrior. Two, you’re using that line wrong, Kojou thought in a half-hearted jab.

  “What about Iblisveil?” Kojou asked, getting back to the matter at hand.

  “That young liege took his leave last night, having secured my safety.”

  Lydianne touched the watch on her wrist with her hand as she spoke thusly.

  That instant, a tank the size of a car swayed as it emerged behind her back. Apparently, it had been using ritual spell camouflage to remain out of sight. The basic silhouette was the same, but there were minor design differences between it and the machine that had been destroyed the night before.

  “So a spare tank got you here, huh?”

  Do you normally bring a tank around with you like that? Kojou grimaced with a heavy sigh. Seeing that she had obtained a new tank, Iblisveil must have decided Lydianne required no further protection.

  “May I introduce you to Hizamaru II. ’Tis the drills equipped for close combat that art this machine’s pride and joy.”

  Lydianne proudly pointed to the drills that had been attached to the tank’s forelegs. To be blunt, Kojou wasn’t sure how effective the odd design would be in actual combat.

  “O-okay. I think it looks cool. But that’s just me… Er, more importantly, Lydianne, what gives with Stratum Zero? There wasn’t a single girl there, let alone Asagi.”

  “My investigation was insufficient. There is no excuse.”

  Kojou’s forced change of topic made Lydianne bow her head immediately. The information that Asagi was confined in that place had indeed been inadequate.

  “However, I can plainly state that I have solved the mystery of Stratum Zero. Stratum Zero is no mere floor of Keystone Gate. In truth, this place doth be a hidden submarine base.”

  “Submarine base…?”

  Kojou’s expression went blank as he stood still.

  Keystone Gate’s Stratum Zero: a chamber referring neither to the surface nor underground. No, it was the point where the artificial isle was zero meters above sea level—the same height as the surface of the sea.

  The mysterious chamber was ringed by a stout wall that could resist water pressure. Keystone Gate’s Stratum Zero was a place where repair and resupply could be conducted on a submarine, thus fulfilling the conditions to be a base.

  “Then you’re saying Asagi Aiba’s location is—”

  With Kojou gawking, Sayaka questioned Lydianne in his place.

  Lydianne gravely nodded, shifting her gaze toward her own feet.

  “Indeed. In truth, the C within which Lady Empress is confined is the submarine housed within Keystone Gate’s Stratum Zero. In other words, Lady Empress’s current location dost be the bottom of the sea underneath Itogami Island—at a point four hundred meters deep.”

  6

  The yellowish-brown soup filling the porcelain bowl gave off a particular aroma. With a ladle, she carefully skimmed that soup, gently pouring it into her mouth so she could taste it.

  “Mmm, delicious…!!” Letting the soup roll over her tongue, Asagi Aiba murmured to herself, quite content.

  She wore her school uniform cutely askew and had fallen in love with an extravagant hairstyle. It was trendy high school chic fashion that had nothing to do with her role as a local idol.

  “Menya Itogami’s thick seafood soup really is the best. The meat’s so fresh and extra spicy, too…”

  Her audible slurping of this ramen did not impart a vulgar image because she was the product of fine upbringing, unaware of her behavior. Neatly polishing off the noodles and toppings, she drank the last of the soup to the final drop and said “What a feast,” bringing her hands together.

  That instant, the ramen bowl in front of Asagi transformed into glittering particles and vanished.

  In its place, the latest issue of a fashion magazine appeared in her hands. Summoning her favorite sofa and cushions out of thin air, Asagi rested upon it in a slovenly posture.

  “Mm, this skirt from Best Answers is kinda cute. The panties here aren’t bad, either, but that color is a problem. Could pick a safe monotone one, or even an animal print… Hey, Mogwai. What do you think?”

  Waving her bare feet about, Asagi called out to her partner AI. However, the sarcastic voice she would normally be hearing made no reply.

  “…Mogwai?”

  Asagi stopped flipping through the magazine as her face abruptly turned serious. She slowly rose to her feet.

  That instant, the magazine, the sofa, and the cushions vanished from Asagi’s sight. The only things remaining were the eternal darkness that spread on and on, and binary data that blinked in and out like countless stars.

  This world where only light and darkness existed was a virtual reality created from the five supercomputers that controlled Itogami Island and Asagi’s own mind—in other words, cyberspace.

  However, unlike normal cyberspace, this world was imbued with a distinctly magical nature.

  By installing the information preserved in Cain’s Coffin into Keystone Gate’s Stratum Zero, the island’s internal computer network acquired the functionality of a magical barrier. And now that this Cyber Barrier had pulled the flesh and blood of its current administrator, Asagi, inside of it, she was shut inside that barrier.

  Because her physical body had been made into one of the parts maintaining that Cyber Barrier, Asagi could not leave. As far as physics went, she was in the same condition as Natsuki Minamiya, who had been absorbed into the Prison Barrier. In other words, this Cyber Barrier was a dream created from Asagi’s mind. It was a dangerous dream, one imprisoning Asagi’s physical body and even able to affect the real world.

  Natsuki was able to remotely control a clone of herself created by magic and freely move it around, even in the real world. However, Asagi could not do anything similar. The most she could manage was to wedge herself into real-world networks and seek Kojou’s aid.

  On the other side of the coin, Asagi could act freely inside the Cyber Barrier like some kind of god. She could bring any food or magazine to herself that she pleased. Creating her favorite pieces of furniture was trivial. All she had to do was imagine it, and she could change her makeup, clothes, and hairstyle as she pleased, but that was pretty much it.

  “Aaah. Figures, but I’m just sick of this. Having everything go according to my thoughts is way more boring than I expected— Hey, that goes the same for you, doesn’t it?”

  Speaking aloud, Asagi slowly surveyed the area. Then she called out into the darkness seemingly devoid of any other life.

  After a momentary lag, apparently from bewilderment, a young girl’s voice reverberated. It was a raspy voice mixed with static, like from an old vinyl record.

  “So clever, Cyber Empress—you have already mastered the sandbox, it would seem.”

  Particles of light coalesced, and another girl appeared.

  It was a beautiful girl Asagi did not know. She
had lustrous black hair, but her race and nationality were unclear; she looked like she could be from any country, from any era—she was simply mysterious.

  “Oh, cut that out. Even you’re gonna call me by that embarrassing nickname? Ugh…”

  Asagi inquired with the sort of tone you used when asking an old friend. The girl’s lips trembled. Apparently, she had intended to smile.

  “Then please cease to address me as High Priestess. That would make us even.”

  “I don’t exactly mind if you just call me by my actual name…”

  Asagi twisted her lips. The black-haired girl stared expressionlessly at her with large eyes.

  “You already understand all this, do you not, Asagi Aiba?”

  “Since I’ve been shown the contents of the Coffin, well, yeah.”

  Asagi smiled listlessly as her shoulders sank. The information inside the Coffin really meant the memory of Cain, the Sinful God. Accordingly, Asagi was not afraid of the black-haired girl. Asagi already knew—the reason she could intrude into the Cyber Prison where no one other than herself could presumably exist. So, too, did she know the girl’s true identity.

  “Are you fine knowing the truth of this world?” the black-haired girl inquired, seemingly scolding Asagi for being able to smile. Asagi stuck her tongue out a bit and said:

  “Hey, I’ve been living in this world since the day I was born. Telling me to worry about it now is kinda pointless. I was raised in a Demon Sanctuary, after all.”

  “Even knowing one exists, who would use that Demon Sanctuary in an attempt to destroy the world?”

  “Got a point there,” said Asagi, making a show of sinking into thought for a moment. “That does kind of get under my skin.”

  “Then would you care to make a deal with me?”

  Moving only her lips, the black-haired girl gave a thin smile.

  “A deal?”

  “I have the ability to liberate you from this place…from this world of eternal solitude.”

  “You mean put yourself here in my place,” said Asagi, exhaling in visible displeasure. “So? What do you want out of it, High Priestess?”

  “This curse…”

  The girl’s reply was quick. Her long black hair swayed as it floated up within the abyss.

  “This eternal, accursed stigma for wielding the Sinful God’s power—”

  “Um, okay then…” Asagi shook her head in exasperation.

  In a sense, it was the reply she had expected. That was what disappointed her.

  “Unfortunately, no deal, High Priestess,” she declared.

  “Why? Do you not wish to return to the outside world?”

  “That’s certainly an attractive offer, but what meaning does revenge have if you don’t enact it yourself?” Asagi waved her index finger in a theatrical tut-tut gesture. “Besides, do you know the saying—a cursed person falls into two pits? If you obsess over something like a stupid curse, it’ll only bring you misfortune.”

  “Misfortune…you say?” the black-haired girl murmured before releasing a long, quiet sigh.

  The girl was wearing a crude robe resembling bandages wrapped over her entire body. She pulled at them, unraveling them, and they fell to her feet. Her nude body stood exposed within the darkness.

  “Does a greater misfortune than this appearance exist?”

  “High Priestess… You…!”

  She had a beautiful physique, perfectly symmetrical. However, her body was riddled with deep cavities that looked like puncture wounds; her body seemed as if it had been torn asunder and then forcibly reassembled.

  “I pity you, abominable priestess of the Sinful God. I shall paint the colors of my eternal resentment and lament upon you. Know the curse of my blood!”

  Darkness trickled from the black-haired girl and dyed the inside of the Cyber Barrier pitch-black. The effect looked much like a computer network being infected by a virus.

  Asagi’s body, hovering in the Cyber Barrier, was encroached upon and swallowed by the darkness—then vanished.

  All that was left was a laughing voice—the crazed laughter of a girl lusting for revenge.

  7

  After checking to make sure the silver spear was still inside, Yukina clicked the fastener of her guitar case shut.

  She was in a small lab room outfitted as a hospital room, and she was alone. Falsely claiming that she was not feeling well, she had chased Kensei Kanase and the others out of the room.

  As Yukina wore a hospital gown, silver-colored butterflies were resting upon her hair. These were shikigami butterflies Yukina had created with a ritual spell. With them, she had overheard the entire conversation.

  Including Meiga Itogami’s past and her own angelification…

  “Yukina.”

  Surveying the area, seemingly to evade prying eyes, Kanon entered the room. She was clutching Yukina’s neatly folded school uniform to her chest.

  “I…washed your uniform. Also, these—they’re mine, but you can use them if you don’t mind.”

  Kanon handed her a fresh pair of underwear and shoes. It was somewhat embarrassing, but in that moment, Yukina could not be more grateful for her consideration. Having been repeatedly exposed to sea breezes, rain, and constant combat with Yukari and Meiga, Yukina’s own underwear was in tatters.

  “Sorry for all the trouble…”

  Yukina thanked Kanon as she changed into the new garments.

  It was Yukina who had forcefully asked a reluctant Kanon to smuggle in Snowdrift Wolf and a change of clothes. She knew that her request was a selfish one, but Yukina had been certain from the start that Kanon would aid in her escape. If Kanon’s and Yukina’s positions were reversed, Kanon would surely make the same decision—and Yukina knew that.

  She would save Kojou, even if it was at the cost of her own existence. That was Yukina’s decision.

  “I’m the one who’s— Sorry. You’re the one who saved me when I was turning into a Faux-Angel, Yukina, yet…”

  Kanon clasped her hands together before her chest, about to break into tears.

  Now that it was Yukina who was turning into a Faux-Angel, Kanon was powerless to save her—such was her lament.

  “Kano, you have nothing to apologize for. Besides, it was Akatsuki-senpai who saved you back then. No, not just then, he’s always—”

  Yukina shook her head with a pained, gentle smile.

  In the span of half a year since Yukina had begun observing him, Kojou had always been saving someone. Sometimes it was the people of Itogami Island, sometimes his little sister and classmates of hers, sometimes Kanon, and sometimes even Yukina herself—

  Possessing the power of the World’s Mightiest Vampire, he was always using it for someone else.

  That was why Yukina had to save him now.

  Why? She didn’t need to even think about the reason. Yukina was his observer.

  “Let me ask but one thing of you,” Kanon said when Yukina had finished changing clothes and hoisted her guitar case over her back.

  “Hmm?”

  Yukina turned to her in surprise; she thought it was very unlike Kanon to voice a request at a time like this.

  Kanon took Yukina’s hand and whispered, “Come back to us, Yukina.”

  Without a word, Yukina looked back at the tears gathering in Kanon’s eyes. She could not lie to Kanon. She could make no promises. Therefore, Yukina tried her hardest to think of something to say, settling upon but one word.

  “Thanks.”

  Immediately afterward, Yukina Himeragi headed out of the laboratory.

  However isolated from the outside world Kensei Kanase’s lab might be, it was not guarded well enough to stop a Sword Shaman of the Lion King Agency—let alone Yukina, who wielded a Schneewaltzer that could rend any barrier.

  With a sulky expression, Yukari Endou, chin resting on her palm, watched through a monitor as Yukina disabled the security and made her escape with ease.

  With a somber expression, Kensei called out to he
r as he sipped on his coffee. “Are you fine with letting her go like this?”

  “This is what she’s decided. She can do as she pleases,” Yukari scoffed. Her light-green eyes remained half-shut.

  However, behind her sulky voice, a soft smile came over her lips.

  “We elves live so long that we might as well have no lifespan at all, but the hearts of many of us are already dead, with bodies left to their own devices like ancient corpses. Between our way of living and that girl’s chosen path, who’s to say who is happier— What is so funny?”

  Noticing the pained smile coming over Kensei, Yukari lifted her head in obvious displeasure.

  Kensei’s expression returned to its original sullenness. “It’s nothing important,” he said. “I remembered what the Fourth Primogenitor said to me previously. Namely—do not decide on your own what happiness is for your daughter nor force it upon her.”

  “That boy really speaks however he pleases. He does not know how hard things are for those who live as long as we do. Tch,” Yukari grumbled bitterly.

  The black cat familiar atop her lap made a purr that seemed like a laugh. “Damn you, Fourth Primogenitor,” she murmured, distinctly irritated. “If anything happens to my adorable disciple, I shall see to it that he suffers a fate far worse than death.”

  “Agreed. In preparation for if that man might make my daughter cry, I completed a vile anti-primogenitor curse. Are you interested?”

  Kensei spoke in a completely sober tone. She could not judge whether he meant it.

  Yukari burst out with visible delight, “Oh, by all means, show me. When it comes to the suffering of immortal nuisances, I believe I can offer a few words of useful advice.”

  “I see. I imagine that shall be quite informative.” The former court sorcerous engineer of the kingdom of Aldegia gave a weighty nod.

  “Ha-ha,” Yukari laughed. Afterward, she slowly opened her right hand. In her palm was a tiny silver ring.

  “If possible, I had hoped to avoid using this…”

  The whisper Yukari wove like a prayer silently melted away in the darkness below the artificial isle.