“A good question,” Kuroyukihime said, and turned her gaze on Takumu once more. “So then perhaps I’ll ask the pride of our Legion, the brains, to give us another lecture. Takumu, you must have already guessed how it works?”
To Utai, whom he was meeting for the first time, the look on Takumu’s face was rather complicated, but still, his professorial character steadily taking root, he replied obediently, “Yes, Master,” and turned back to Haruyuki. “Okay, Haru. This time it’s about how to withdraw from the Unlimited Neutral Field. Do you know how many ways there are?”
“Hey, even I know that much, okay?” Pursing his lips, Haruyuki raised his eyes to glare at his childhood friend, who was again pushing his glasses up. “I mean, it’s common knowledge, right? The answer is ‘one.’ You can only leave the Unlimited Neutral Field through a leave point portal. This general principle means that unlimited EK can happen, doesn’t it?”
“Eennnnh! Wrong!!” It was, of course, Chiyuri shouting. His other childhood friend, sitting across from Takumu, had a playful grin floating to her lips that was reminiscent of a cat. She shoved three fingers into Haruyuki’s face. “The answer’s threeee.”
“Ngh—N-no way. Th-three?! Like with an item or something?! Or a special attack?”
Chiyuri made the ennh sound of the wrong buzzer once more at the flustered Haruyuki before folding down fingers to enumerate her response. “The second way is to cut your Neurolinker’s global connection. The third’s to take your Neurolinker off your neeeeck.”
“Wha…” He was temporarily speechless at this unexpected declaration. Finally, his thinking rebooted, and he groaned desperately, “Th-that’s cheating! I mean, okay, it’s not cheating, but…That’s in the real world, though!”
“Goodness, Taku didn’t say anything about a method you could do in the Accelerated World, did he?”
“I—I guess not, but I mean, taking off your Neurolinker while you’re accelerated…No one can do that themselves!”
“Oh, my, he didn’t say anything about a method you could do by yourself, did he?”
If he got into one of those endless back-and-forths he’d had with Chiyuri since they were kids…
Abruptly, gentle laughter came up from his left. Turning his eyes that way, he saw that it wasn’t just Kuroyukihime and Fuko giggling delightedly; even Utai was spilling with soundless amusement.
They laughed for a dozen seconds or so before Kuroyukihime opened her mouth. “Ha-ha-ha! You really are a wonderful trio, you three. Chiyuri is right. Leaving the Unlimited Neutral Field through an internal route voluntarily is indeed one way, but there is also passively being made to leave from the real world.” Koff. Clearing her throat, she recomposed her expression. “Two and a half years ago, the general members of the first Nega Nebulus took on the Castle attack, knowing it was reckless. However, it was most certainly not a group suicide. Thus, we set up a safety. We decided that rather than the normal wireless connection, we would go through a wired connection, with either a home server or a leftover PC as a stepping-stone.”
“Stepping-stone,” Haruyuki murmured, and Utai supplemented with the chat.
UI> WHEN A MAIL WITH A SPECIFIC SUBJECT LINE ARRIVES AT THAT INTERMEDIATE MACHINE, THE MACHINE IS SET TO AUTOMATICALLY DISCONNECT FROM THE GLOBAL NET. THEORETICALLY, WHEN A SQUAD IS DESTROYED, THE FIRST PERSON TO RETURN TO THE REAL WORLD THROUGH A LEAVE POINT SENDS THAT MAIL TO ALL LEGION MEMBERS. IN THAT INSTANT, EVERYONE AUTOMATICALLY BURSTS OUT, DISCONNECTED. In other words, should one fall into a state of unlimited EK, at the very least, they would escape without losing all their points.
“Huh…M-makes sense.” A sigh of admiration slipped out of his mouth. The thought that you could get out of the Unlimited Neutral Field with such methods had never even crossed his mind.
But looking back on it now, that time two months earlier when he had visited that cake shop in Sakuradai in Nerima Ward with Takumu so that Takumu could get Incarnate training from the Red King Niko, they had indeed made their global connection directly rather than wirelessly. He had no doubt that the same safety was installed on the router device in that room as well.
There’s still so many things I don’t know, huh? Haruyuki wondered absently as Takumu next to him raised his hand lightly.
“Excuse me, Master. I don’t know the details of a disconnect departure from the Unlimited Neutral Field, either. What happens to your duel avatar in that case?”
“Mmm. Well, the situation becomes slightly complicated. When you depart the Unlimited Neutral Field using an irregular method such as disconnecting from the net or removing your Neurolinker, your duel avatar does indeed disappear from the field. After that, you can fight a normal duel without any issues, but if you dive once more into the Unlimited Neutral Field, you will appear not at your location in the real world, but in the coordinates where you disappeared.”
“Uhhh?” Haruyuki said, unable to digest this.
“Corvus.” Fuko popped a single finger up. “You do remember the house on the top of the old Tokyo Tower in the Unlimited Neutral Field where I lived for quite a long time, don’t you?”
“O-of course. How could I forget? You pushed me down from there.”
“I haven’t forgotten. At any rate, since my real-world house is on the southern edge of Suginami, it’s a bit far to the old Tokyo Tower in Minato Ward. But when I went to the house on the tower, I didn’t actually go to all the trouble of heading over there from Suginami. I fixed my avatar’s positional data on the top of the tower by automatically disconnecting from the global net with a timer so that I would appear in that place the next time I dived.”
“O-ohh. So that’s it!” Nodding deeply, his thoughts moved forward.
Utai Shinomiya—Ardor Maiden—had made it deep into the territory of Suzaku, one of the super-powerful Enemies of the Four Gods, two and a half years earlier. Normally, immediately following her regeneration an hour later, she would have been killed again, a cycle that would repeat infinitely until finally she lost all of her burst points. However, thanks to the safety of an automatic disconnection with the arrival of a mail, she had been disconnected before her points were used up and had returned to the real world. Which was why she had been able to team up with Haruyuki in a normal duel the previous day.
But this return was limited. The moment she called out the “unlimited burst” command to dive into the Unlimited Neutral Field, the ultimate battleground for a Burst Linker, Utai would appear not in the position of her physical body in the real world, but directly in front of the god Suzaku guarding the south Castle gate. Naturally, she would instantly be hit with a fierce attack and immediately die. She would descend once again into that terrifying state of unlimited EK.
“So that’s why you’re ‘sealed,’ then. For you to be released from that place, someone would have to go right up to Suzaku and rescue your avatar immediately after you dive,” Haruyuki murmured hoarsely, finally understanding.
Nodding sharply, Utai sent her ten fingers smoothly racing. UI> IT’S NOT JUST ME. AQUA CURRENT, ANOTHER OF THE FOUR ELEMENTS, IS SEALED IN FRONT OF SEIRYU AT THE EAST GATE, AND GRAPHITE EDGE IS SIMILARLY SEALED AT THE FOOT OF GENBU AT THE NORTH GATE. TO ENSURE THE ESCAPE OF THE OTHER MEMBERS, WE THREE—NO, SACCHI AND FU TAKING ON BYAKKO AT THE WEST GATE AS WELL—WE ALL CONTINUED TO MAKE OURSELVES THE TARGET FOR THE FOUR GODS AS LONG AS WE COULD. FORTUNATELY, NO ONE ELSE ENDED UP IN A STATE OF UNLIMITED EK; THEY WERE ALL ABLE TO ESCAPE THE TERRITORY, BUT THEY DIED OVER AND OVER AND OVER IN THE PROCESS, LOSING A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF POINTS. IT WAS COMPLETELY IMPOSSIBLE FOR THEM TO MAINTAIN THE LEGION TERRITORY. WE HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO ABANDON ALL OUR TERRITORY AND DISBAND THE LEGION ITSELF. AND THIS IS HOW THE FORMER NEGA NEBULUS DISAPPEARED. IT WAS NO ONE’S FAULT. NO ONE WAS TO BLAME. Utai’s fingers seemed to Haruyuki to creak loudly here.
Lifting his eyes with a gasp, he saw that the nine-year-old girl, who had until that point maintained essentially the same expression, had twisted up her face and was biting her lip ha
rd. Her fingers moved once more and typed fiercely, as though to rip holes in the air. UI> NO. IF I WAS FORCED TO SAY, IT WAS THAT PERSON. THE ONE WHO DECEIVED SACCHI, PRESSED HER, AND THEN BETRAYED H
“Utai.”
“Uiui!”
The two voices stopped the string of characters. Utai clenched her hands above her holokeyboard and hung her head low, while Fuko next to her gently hugged her.
Kuroyukihime watched from her slightly removed seat with an expression that suggested she was enduring something. “Utai,” she said finally, quietly. “I’m the one to blame. All the responsibility for the destruction of the Legion is on me. The fact that I created the initial opportunity with my impulsiveness. And the fact that once it was all over, my spirit was broken and I locked myself away in the local net for two years. But I met him—Haruyuki—and gained the strength to stand up once again. I will no longer vainly fear the past or turn my eyes from it. At some point, she and I will settle things. And to that end as well, Utai, I want to break your ‘seal.’ I want you to come home. To the new Nega Nebulus.”
It wasn’t as though he were able to understand all of the words exchanged. Who was “that person” Utai was talking about? What had happened with Kuroyukihime back then? But this didn’t feel like the time to be asking about it, so Haruyuki leaned forward and started speaking in utmost earnestness to Utai.
“Shinomiya, I second that request. I’m sure you already know, but right now, my avatar is parasitized by an Enhanced Armament called Chrome Disaster, and if I don’t ‘purify’ it this week, the kings are going to put a bounty on my head, and I won’t be able to duel in any real way anymore. I—I have to get way stronger. I can’t be standing still for even a second if I want to keep fighting alongside Kuroyukihime and everyone else in the Legion. Please…please help me.”
The Haruyuki from just a little while ago would never have given voice to such words; his twisted pride would have gotten in the way. But during his many difficult battles, he had learned, albeit only slightly, what it meant to fight together with your comrades. There were times when you had to stand your ground and insist on your own way. But acting tough, like you could do everything by yourself, was foolish hubris. After all, everyone, without even knowing it, was always being helped by someone.
As if unable to take in Haruyuki’s heartfelt words, Utai cast her gaze downward. For a brief period, silence. Then fingers were raised slightly to tap at the air hesitantly.
UI> THE REASON I SO FIRMLY REFUSED ALL COMMUNICATION WITH SACCHI AND FU AND THE OTHER LEGION MEMBERS FOR MORE THAN TWO YEARS WAS EXACTLY THIS PROPOSAL. I WAS AFRAID OF THE WORDS “BREAK THE SEAL.” GIVEN THAT ALL THE LIMITERS HAVE BEEN RELEASED FOR THE FOUR GODS, THEY HOLD ATTACK POWER THAT DEFIES IMAGINATION. THE RISK OF FALLING INTO THE SAME UNLIMITED EK STATE IS SIMPLY TOO GREAT FOR ANYONE WHO WOULD GO TO RECOVER MY AVATAR. IN FACT, WE WERE FORTUNATE THAT IT ENDED WITH ONLY THREE OF US SEALED AT THE FOUR GATES. NO MORE OF MY COMPANIONS CAN BE SACRIFICED. I —AND I’M SURE GRAPH AND AQUA DO AS WELL—BELIEVE THIS AND SO I’VE REFUSED CONTACT. REALLY, I
Here, her fingers froze. The lips that Utai shouldn’t have been able to move were trembling slightly. Haruyuki sensed rather than heard the words that flowed out into the still air.
I missed you.
Two drops slid down her white cheeks. Fuko squeezed her small body tightly, the corners of her own eyes wet. This time, Utai put up not a hint of resistance, instead burying her face in Fuko’s chest, shoulders shaking violently. He heard a faint but definite sobbing. Haruyuki, Takumu, and Chiyuri, who had no direct knowledge of what had happened back then, had to blink several times themselves.
Releasing the embrace after a mere thirty seconds or so, Fuko wiped Utai’s cheeks with a handkerchief she pulled from a pocket, and the girl continued to face downward, as though embarrassed, as she started to type again.
UI> I’M SORRY. I’LL CONTINUE. I HAD NO INTENTION OF CONTACTING THE NEW NEGA NEBULUS MYSELF. AS LONG AS I COULD WATCH OVER SACCHI’S FIGHT IN A CORNER OF THE ACCELERATED WORLD, THAT WAS ENOUGH FOR ME.
BUT THEN THE ANIMAL CARE CLUB AT MY SCHOOL WAS ELIMINATED, AND I COULDN’T FIND ANYONE TO TAKE IN THE ANIMALS WE HAD CARED FOR THAT WOULD BE WITHOUT A HOME. AFTER WRESTLING WITH IT, I SENT A REQUEST MAIL TO UMESATO JUNIOR HIGH, THE SCHOOL SACCHI WENT ON TO. ON THE ONE HAND, I NEVER THOUGHT SACCHI WOULD NOTICE MY NAME, WHILE SOMEWHERE IN MY HEART I WANTED HER TO.
“I noticed. Your name stands out, Uiui,” Kuroyukihime said, smiling.
Although her eyes were still red, Utai pursed her lips sharply. UI> I DIDN’T CHOOSE MY NAME. WHEN THE REPLY TO MY MAIL CAME NOT FROM THE SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION BUT IN THE NAME OF THE VICE PRESIDENT OF THE STUDENT COUNCIL, I TRULY DIDN’T KNOW WHAT TO DO. BUT I TOLD MYSELF IT WAS FOR THE SAKE OF THE ANIMALS AND CONTACTED SACCHI WITH A DIVE CALL. AND THEN HER FIRST WORDS WERE
“Conditions of an exchange. I would convince the administration and have the animal hutch readied. In payment, I would have you come back.” Everyone gaped at these words, reproduced by Kuroyukihime herself. Surprise quickly changed into knowing, wry grins.
Utai also connected a smile with text. UI> SACCHI, YOUR IMPATIENT, INSISTENT SIDE HAS NOT CHANGED AT ALL. I APPARENTLY WASTED MY TIME THINKING UP WHAT I WOULD SAY TO YOU, GIVEN THAT YOU SIMPLY ATTACKED ME HEAD-ON. SO I REPLIED THAT I WOULD AT LEAST HEAR WHAT SHE HAD TO SAY. AFTER THAT, I GRADUALLY GOT PULLED IN BY THE PACE OF THINGS, AND BEFORE I KNEW IT, HERE I WAS. IT IS EXACTLY THE SAME AS WHEN I WAS FORCED TO MEET IN THE REAL IN THE OLD DAYS.
Reading the words, Haruyuki remembered fondly the time Kuroyukihime had “invited” him to the upperclassmen’s lounge. She had just shown up all of a sudden in the virtual squash corner. Her first words were “Don’t you want to go further, boy…to accelerate?” And I wanted to know what she meant, so I went to the lounge, and we’re all of a sudden directing, and she’s already sending me Brain Burst. I didn’t even get a chance to breathe.
But if she hadn’t invited me like that, I totally wouldn’t have gone. She really is impatient and insistent, but more than that, she’s totally serious about everything. I mean, with this Armor of Catastrophe plan, too, she’s been hard at work without my even knowing it.
Haruyuki abruptly felt a question and he turned to Kuroyukihime, who was sitting directly across from him, and raised a hand timidly. “Uh, um, Kuroyukihime…”
“Mmm? What is it?”
“Umm, after the race ended last week, when we were here talking about what to do about the Armor of Catastrophe parasite, you said you had an idea about someone with the power of purification, so we should leave it to you. Did you mean Shinomiya?”
“Yes, I did.” She nodded crisply, and he pushed with another question.
“But did you have a way to get in touch with her? Shinomiya said before that she totally refused all contact for over two years.”
UI> IT IS EXACTLY AS YOU SAY, ARITA. I DISCARDED THE ADDRESS I USED BEFORE. THERE SHOULD HAVE BEEN NO WAY FOR A MESSAGE TO COME TO ME FROM SACCHI. IF I HADN’T MAILED UMESATO JUNIOR HIGH ABOUT THE ANIMAL HUTCH, WHAT HAD YOU BEEN PLANNING TO DO? Utai cocked her head curiously as she typed.
A gentle grin slid across Kuroyukihime’s face. “Isn’t it obvious? Even if you deleted your mail account, I at least know the school you go to and what grade you’re in, Utai. All I had to do was go directly to the grounds of the elementary division of Matsunogi and find you from the edge of the fourth-grade classroom. Right?”
The instant she heard this, the color drained from Utai’s cheeks, and she responded with awkward fingers. UI> WHEN I WAS TRYING TO DECIDE WHETHER OR NOT TO ASK UMESATO ABOUT THE ANIMAL HUTCH, I HEARD A VOICE TELLING ME TO DO IT. IT HAD TO HAVE BEEN THE VOICE OF HEAVEN.
And then Haruyuki and his childhood friends, together with Fuko, laughed out loud. Utai’s head was still pulled back fearfully, and Fuko patted her on the back.
“Right, Uiui? The time came for you to return to the place that needed you. It was like that for me, too. When a troubled and injure
d little bird appeared in my small garden at the top of the old Tokyo Tower, I felt it, too. That a wind would blow once more in a stagnant world.”
“Exactly, Utai. It’s true that I’m impatient, but I no longer live as recklessly as I did in the past. I’m saying this precisely because I believe that now a strategy to free your avatar from the seal of the God is possible. Come back.” Kuroyukihime stared directly at Utai with her jet-black eyes.
Utai met that gaze with eyes singed by the color of flames. UI> I, TOO, WOULD LIKE TO RELEASE MY AVATAR FROM ITS SEALED STATE NOT JUST FOR MY OWN SAKE, BUT ALSO TO PURIFY ARITA’S AVATAR. IF IT IS THE DISASTER PARASITIZING HIM, THEN THIRTY MINUTES MOST CERTAINLY WILL NOT BE ENOUGH TO PURIFY IT, SO IT WOULD HAVE TO HAPPEN IN THE UNLIMITED NEUTRAL FIELD RATHER THAN THE NORMAL DUEL FIELD. YESTERDAY, I DUELED IN A TAG MATCH WITH ARITA AND SAW VERY CLEARLY HIS LATENT POWER. WE DEFINITELY CANNOT ALLOW THE KINGS’ PLANS TO MOVE FORWARD.
Haruyuki read this and unthinkingly raised his voice. “What? B-but I didn’t do anything good yesterday. I just got hammered down, basically.”
Utai turned back to Haruyuki, ponytail swinging, and smiled with a look that made him feel a mysterious love in her innocence. UI> ARITA. DID YOU LEARN THAT “WAY OF THE FLEXIBLE” FROM SACCHI?
“What?” Kuroyukihime furrowed her brow.
He glanced over at her and pulled his shoulders in, answering frantically, “Oh! No, uh, she didn’t, uh, teach me. It was more like she showed me once, and then I just…I figured I’d try practicing it, too.”
UI> JUST AS I THOUGHT. EVEN THOUGH THE TRICK WAS THE SAME AS SACCHI’S TECHNIQUE, THE FORM WAS DIFFERENT. IN YOUR DUELING, I FELT THE INTENT TO AIM FOR THE FAR-OFF DISTANCE AND CONTINUE. THAT FIGHT CONTAINED THE FEELING THAT EVEN IF YOU LOST YESTERDAY AND LOSE TODAY, YOU WOULD TRY AND FIGHT AGAIN TOMORROW, WITHOUT LOSING HEART. THERE ARE NOT SO MANY BURST LINKERS LIKE THIS, WHO HAVE REACHED LEVEL FIVE AND STILL HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN THE IMPORTANCE OF MOVING FORWARD STEP BY STEP.
Shrine Maiden of the Sacred Fire Page 19
