Sentimental Voice

by Shūsuke Amagi

  He didn't feel the hunger from it that a filth monster would have standing before a human. Was it temporarily full because it had already eaten from this city......but that wasn't the kind of feeling Layfon had.

  The golden goat didn't seem to want to fight. Still, Layfon was concerned about its eyes. Those green eyes continued to watch him. No murderous intent, but rather curiosity.

  Layfon's image reflected in clear green pupils that were as calm as the surface of a lake.

  He didn't like that feeling.

  Those pupils weren't those of a normal beast. It was like a human in the body of a beast......That made him uncomfortable. He tightly held his sword.

  "......You look different."

  A sudden low voice entered Layfon's ears. The voice shook the darkness they were in. Layfon looked around for the source of it. But there was nothing worth his attention around him.

  "Are you looking for the people in this territory? Then let me tell you."

  "......Are you speaking to me?" Layfon looked at the goat, but its mouth remained closed.

  The voice spoke again. "My body is rotten. It's useless. Driven by mad hatred, my body's turned into flame. I seek a new master. You who I hope for, obey my wish. Possess my soul and see my value. I'll turn the Dust of Ignasis into a sword, and burn your enemies into ashes."

  "Were you the one who spoke? Who are you?"

  Unknown terror filled Layfon. Was this a trap? Could there be a psychokinesist controlling it? But he didn't sense any psychokinesist. If there was one around, he couldn't have escaped Felli's attention.

  So this beast was the only thing here......?

  (I should know what this is if I capture it.)

  He stepped forward.

  (......Eh?)

  He did step forward, but how come the distance between him and the goat had not shortened? Did the goat move? He confirmed again and the distance between them remained unchanged.

  "Why......" He looked down at his feet.

  (......How?)

  His feet hadn't moved. His entire body was frozen stiff.

  The goat watched him, its green pupils reflecting Layfon's image.

  (I can't move......I can't move? Me?)

  His Kei flow felt regular, running normally through his body and his sword. He didn't have the exhaustion he had had while fighting the filth monster a few days ago. He was in a good condition to fight again. But why couldn't he move?

  (Could I......Could I......!?)

  Fear dominated him. He felt his own reflection in the goat's eyes shaking. Impossible. He couldn't have seen that. This was nighttime. Even if its pupils reflected his image, even if his vision was strengthened through Kei, he couldn't have seen it.

  But he felt he really did see it.

  Somehow, the pressure from the goat had overwhelmed him.

  (It......It's swallowed me?)

  Could it be the goat's existence that had swallowed him? If not, then why couldn't he move?

  "......I must convey this in details," the goat said.

  Layfon didn't see its mouth move, as if the voice came from heaven. This voice felt overwhelming.

  "Who......are you?" he managed. It was difficult to speak. He increased his Kei, hoping that could break him out of whatever that was interfering with his body. Kei spilled out onto the ground, and the small stones around him exploded.

  "Stop. You're fighting yourself."

  His consciousness clouded, but he didn't give up. He was beginning to forget why he had to defeat the goat, but Kei still filled his body, spilling out from him. He was resisting by instinct. His Kei flowed out for that simple goal.

  (Move......Move move move......)

  He repeated that word in his brain.

  What should he do if he couldn't move? No. Anything's fine. As long he can move......It didn't matter what happened next.

  But......

  (Dangerous. This guy is extremely dangerous.)

  That was his feeling.

  It was all right if this danger was only before him, but if Nina and the others encountered it, who knew what would happen? For Layfon to become like this, Nina and the others had no way of countering this goat.

  (I must not let it get past me.)

  He must fight back. If he avoided the fight, what he would recall afterwards would be his failure, a failure that he didn't even attempt to overcome. He must not collapse inside himself.

  "Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!" he roared.

  His internal Kei changed......External type burst Kei burst out of his body. With the sound of the ground tearing behind him, Layfon's feet finally moved.

  (Here!)

  He swung as the point of the sword traced a line on the ground. The Kei burst forth to cut through the night sky. Explosions.

  "Beautiful......"

  The voice melted into the air.

  It didn't hit back. The goat had vanished. Layfon couldn't sense it anymore.

  "Layfon......Fon Fon!"

  Felli's flake arrived beside him.

  "Felli......Where is that thing?"

  A relieved sigh came through the flake. Just how long had he been like this, fixed on the spot? His concentration was so intense that he didn't hear Felli's voice.

  "I don't know. The response's disappeared."

  Confusion filled Felli's voice.

  "It's run away? No......"

  It had left.

  He had no idea know why it left. It wasn't hostile, meaning it didn't plan to fight from the beginning.

  "......How long have I been like this for?"

  "About a minute. The captain and the others are about to arrive."

  "One minute? Is that all?"

  It felt like much longer. He felt debilitated for having released too much Kei. His body felt heavy, and his fingers shook.

  "Just what was it......?"

  He could still feel the terror. His body shook despite his trying to suppress it.

  "Damn."

  The sword point quavered.

  Footsteps drifted to him. No matter what, he must stop his shaking before Nina and the others arrived.

  They continued their investigation the next day. Felli and the psychokinesist of the 5th platoon had investigated the city and found no traces of the goat from yesterday night. But, they did find something else.

  "Who would have thought, it's like this......Ah," Nina sighed.

  Layfon and Nina faced a huge agricultural field. In a distant, the green vegetables seemed to be waiting for harvest, but as Layfon and the others drew close, they smelled the rot in the air.

  Before them were tea colored small hills covered in moisture.

  "Seems to be this one," Layfon said.

  The hills were about the size of a house. The smallest one was the same size as Layfon's room. They dotted the field in no specific pattern. The hills were piled up in a rough manner. Digging out a pit then refilling it. That was the feeling Layfon got.

  Still, a certain level of difficulty and endurance must have been exhibited in how the remaining pieces of the city were buried like this.

  "......This is painful," Nina said. Even Sharnid had nothing flippant to voice, watching silently these small hills as Layfon did.

  Just how long did it take to make so many graves? To search out for all the corpses, transport them, dig up the earth and at last bury them. A long time it must have been to finish that entire process in a city filled with the carnal smell of the dead.

  "......Hey, what're you doing!" Nina shouted.

  Looking around, Layfon saw the 5th platoon members digging at one of the small hills with spades that they had found somewhere.

  "We're digging it out for our investigation," Gorneo said stiffly.

  "What? Is there a need?"

  "......This might not be a graveyard. And if it is, then who made these graves?"

  "Well......"

  "It couldn't be the beast from yesterday night? That's ridiculous. Can a beast do such a thing?"

  Shante l
aughed.

  "Besides, we're still not sure whether that goat thing is real or not. You were the ones who confirmed it, not us," Shante said from her sitting position above Gorneo's shoulders.

  "You......"

  Layfon wanted to stop Nina from rushing over to beat up the 5th platoon, but Sharnid had already pulled her back.

  "Gorneo-san ah, is there a need to bring back a skull for a reward? We'll investigate somewhere else."

  Gorneo glared at him.

  "......Do whatever you like."

  "Good......Either way, Zuellni'll arrive here at sunset. I pray dinner isn't a dish with meat."

  Members of the 5th platoon frowned.

  "Well then, let's go," Sharnid said, leading Layfon and the rest away.

  Nina was harping on what just happened back then beside Sharnid.

  It was good to have Sharnid senpai around. Layfon would never have been able to defuse that situation so casually. Neither could Nina or Felli. If Sharnid hadn't been there, who knew what the quarrel might have turned out to be like?

  "Fon Fon......"

  "......Senpai. That's different from our promise," Layfon said. At Felli's voice, he had turned automatically to observe Nina and Sharnid's reaction. He didn't want people to know of this nickname of his.

  "They can't hear it," Felli said calmly. "More importantly, please crouch down a bit."

  "Ha?"

  "Just do it," she insisted. Layfon crouched down.

  "Lower."

  He was practically bending down on the floor, just like the pose he held in the sports hall.

  "What is it?"

  "......Your shoulders are a bit narrow."

  "No, I think I'm pretty average."

  "......That can't be helped."

  He didn't have the time to think of anything else.

  "Eh?"

  Felli put her hands on his shoulders and added her weight to his shoulders and back. He felt something hard......knees? Something white appeared in his vision.

  "What......What're you doing?"

  "This can't be helped. I'm riding on your shoulders."

  "......I don't think there's anything that can't be helped about this."

  "Never mind. Let's go."

  He stood up, thinking whether he had done something wrong to make her do this to him.

  "Uh......Is this what it's like?" Felli sighed as if dissatisfied, but Layfon was increasing his pace to catch up with the other two.

  "Fon Fon, please don't shake."

  "That's not possible. You aren't a kid. It's hard for me to keep my balance."

  "Hmm?"

  "That hurts......Please don't pull at my hair."

  "Then walk with a stable gait."

  "The captain and Sharnid-senpai are a bit far from us now."

  "I can tell where they are."

  "Are you a kid? Really......No matter. Just hold on tight."

  "I know."

  Swallow.

  "Hm? What is it?"

  "Ah, nope, nothing......"

  "......Your face is red."

  "Is, is that so?" he stammered.

  (Da, Damn!......Careless......)

  He could feel her thighs around his neck. Her skirt was right behind his head. It was made with a special material, but it was quite thin. The feeling of coldness seeping through his neck from Felli's pantyhose increased his heartbeat. Anyway, he must stay calm and not touch anyplace embarrassing. He gripped her legs tightly.

  "Ah......Looks like they've decided to go to the ground."

  He realized Nina and Sharnid had disappeared into the buildings below.

  "Then we're heading that way?"

  "Over there......Ah."

  Felli pointing out the direction had destroyed his balance.

  "Wo, Woah......"

  "Fon Fon, don't fall."

  "Even if you say so, I can't help it. Besides, it's already difficult to walk balanced. Why don't you get down and walk on your own?"

  "No, you're wrong. There's a very good reason behind this......"

  "It must be something shallow and twisted. Just leave it."

  "......"

  He tried to maintain his balance and kept on moving without thinking of anything else.

  She spoke after a pause. "......I'm sorry about yesterday."

  "Eh?"

  "For letting you face an opponent that strong by yourself."

  "I don't see it that way."

  "No, I'm sorry. I'm ashamed of not keeping to our promise. My determination is so weak."

  "......But that can't be helped."

  "......Huh?"

  "Didn't you say so, that we're this type of creature? I think so too. We're humans, but we aren't human. I've said this to the captain, that Military Artists aren't human. We just possess human forms that can use Kei. It's natural for us to use Kei, as natural as breathing. It's painful if we don't use it......That might be the reason for what happened to me in the opening ceremony. I've thought through this recently."

  From the time of his last match in Grendan to when he arrived at Zuellni, he had never once used his Kei. He thought he had found a new way of living. The living of a normal human, unassociated with Military Arts.

  "Was Fon Fon tolerating it too?"

  "I thought back then that I had totally tossed it away. I thought I could spend all my time working for my living and studying to pass exams."

  "But, it didn't work out."

  Yes, there were times when it gnawed at him. Times when the area around his waist where the Kei vein flowed experienced spurts of pain like small explosions, but those times didn't show on his face. In everyone's eyes in Grendan, Layfon was dangerous. If he used Kei, even Leerin and the kids in the orphanage would get hurt, so all he could do was tolerate the pain in a casual manner.

  All he could do.

  "......If I really seek a life outside Military Arts, I must first overcome this problem."

  The pain of a Kei vein followed one's entire life. It couldn't be removed through surgery. A Military Artist survived with his heart, brain and Kei vein. Lacking either one of these organs would lead to one's death.

  Military Artists were stronger than humanity, but were also weaker than normal humans.

  "......What that person said is right, but Felli's right too."

  From the perspective of a student of Zuellni, Felli's words were unquestionable. Layfon was dragged into this situation because Zuellni's Military Artists were too weak. This was an insult to them. But to the Grendan-born Gorneo, Layfon following his old way of living was intolerable. Gorneo probably didn't know what he should do about it.

  Felli was probably thinking the same.

  Riding on Layfon's shoulders, she fell silent and waited for him to continue.

  He spoke worriedly, "Her Majesty once said to me......"

  "I must constantly remind myself that we, as Military Artists and psychokinesists aren't normal. As humans, we must not allow ourselves to forget this."

  "Eh? What does that mean?"

  "......What I did was wrong."

  "I suppose. That definitely isn't an excellent example of a Military Artist."

  "Then do you know why I don't have the Heaven's Blade successor title anymore?"

  "Eh? That would be......" Felli seemed to be thinking of something. "......Because Heaven's Blade successors are special in Grendan, so they are models for the Military Artists in Grendan as a whole?"

  "That is incorrect."

  "Eh?"

  "Heaven's Blade successors aren't models. All they seek is to show their strength in battles with filth monsters. There aren't many in the twelve who have a noble heart. Of course, it's not like they'd commit a crime publicly."

  "Then why......"

  "But since they're Heaven's Blade successors, representing the best Military Artists, they naturally become the examples for Grendan's other Military Artists. The Layfon Alseif who broke this rule has no right to hold the Heaven's Blade successor title. They confiscated
the Heaven's Blade and banished me. Duration is one year."

  Layfon repeated what Almonise had told him.

  "......They're already being soft on me for only exiling me."

  "But that isn't the true reason, is it?" Felli asked.

  "No. The problem lies with my actions during the match."

  So he relayed to her what he told Nina last night. About what he planned to do in the match with Gahard Baren, about what he did do and people's reaction to it.

  Felli remained silent. Only her breathing was conveyed to him.

  "......Frankly, if Her Majesty didn't take back the Heaven's Blade and exile me, a riot might have broken out in Grendan. If I hid myself afterwards and Her Majesty placed Heaven's Blade successors around the orphanage as an excuse of surveillance, there might've really been a riot."

  "......"

  "This is what I mean to constantly remind yourself. Military Artists possess human forms, but they aren't human. It isn't as simple as having an extra organ. They exist to protect the city from outside threats, but like heavy weapons, they can be double-edged and end up injuring the city itself. Military Artists must be bound by good morals. Even though occasionally there are bad Military Artists, they're only an existence on the extreme end of the spectrum. They'll usually be eliminated by other Military Artists."

  "Heaven's Blade successors must be righteous. This principle doesn't exist in the form of the city's law. You must constantly remind yourself that such an extreme Military Artist is actually a Heaven's Blade successor. For someone as strong as a Heaven's Blade successor to do that, then other Military Artists would laugh at and ignore the mutual principle. What would happen if more than one Heaven's Blade successors did what you did......If I ignore this deed, then this city is finished. Not because of filth monsters, but because of people going on a rampage."

  Queen Alsheyra said this to him the next night.

  "Today's situation is a direct result of your naive cunning. Do you understand? Your young age won't get you forgiveness, but it is what led to today's situation. Military Artists are weak. Without Military Artists, people have no way of escaping the threat of filth monsters, and without people, Military Artists cannot maintain a society. The truth that we can't survive if we don't live together is the same for both humans and Military Artists. We must sustain this relationship."