Shrine Maiden of the Sacred Fire

by Reki Kawahara

  “Huh? No, that’s…I’m…It’s…” Completely unaccustomed to being complimented, Haruyuki was unable to endure it and dropped his head. He then heard Chiyuri’s voice and the grin it held.

  “Plodding ahead is Haru’s signature move! Ever since we were kids, even if he was worse at something than Taku and me, before we knew it, he’d have gotten good at it. Although that’s limited to games!”

  Inwardly grateful for the life raft his childhood friend had launched for him, Haruyuki immediately retorted, “I-it’s not just games! I mean, in the who-can-clean-off-a-corn-cob-the-best contest, I was number one in the e—”

  “Haru, there’s not much difference there in terms of practical use, you know.” Takumu’s crisp jab got them all laughing brightly.

  Once the laughter died down, Utai sat up straight and looked at each of them in turn before bowing her head deeply. UI> RIGHT NOW, I’M FULL OF DOUBT AND FEAR AND HESITATION. BUT IF I DON’T TAKE A STEP HERE AND NOW, I’LL LIKELY NEVER BE ABLE TO MOVE FORWARD FROM THE PLACE I’M CURRENTLY IN, NOT IN THE ACCELERATED WORLD AND NOT IN THE REAL WORLD. WITH THE WORLD BEYOND AND THE CURRENT WORLD—FRONT AND BACK—BECOMING ONE, AND MY DUEL AVATAR BECOMING FROZEN, MY REAL-WORLD SELF HASN’T BEEN ABLE TO GET ANYWHERE, EITHER.

  “That’s exactly it, isn’t it?” Fuko, sitting next to Utai, nodded softly. “During the time I lived in hiding on the old Tokyo Tower, before I even knew it, I got the feeling that the me in the real world was also living hunched over, holding her breath. So much so that these last two months since Corvus appeared have felt much longer than those two years.”

  This time it was Kuroyukihime nodding her head deeply in assent. Her obsidian irises glittered as though they contained an infinity of swirling stardust. “It’s only natural to feel that, Fuko. Because even when we haven’t launched Brain Burst, when we’re heading toward a single goal with friends, we’re always accelerating. The excitement that makes our hearts pound strongly also fiercely drives our consciousness.”

  And then finally, Utai set her ten fingers dancing lightly once more. UI> I WANT TO FEEL MY HEART POUND AGAIN LIKE IT USED TO. I WANT TO PURSUE WITH ALL OF YOU THE CONTINUATION OF THAT DREAM THAT WAS INTERRUPTED. SACCHI, FU, CHIYURI, MAYUZUMI, AND ARITA. After a moment’s hesitation, her slender, smooth fingers tapped out determinedly:

  UI> I’M ASKING YOU NOW. PLEASE RELEASE ME—MY OTHER SELF, ARDOR MAIDEN, FROM THE SEAL OF SUZAKU.

  10

  The plan to purify the Armor of Catastrophe that Kuroyukihime had put together was apparently made up of three phases. The first was to contact Utai Shinomiya in the real world and somehow drag her into talks. The second was to persuade Utai to help them and rescue her avatar from the unlimited EK state in the Unlimited Neutral Field. And the third was to eliminate the element of Chrome Disaster parasitizing Silver Crow with Utai’s purification ability.

  At 7:20 PM on Tuesday, June 18, in the living room of Haruyuki’s apartment, when asked by Fuko when the second phase was to begin, Kuroyukihime replied immediately, without the slightest shred of doubt, This very instant, of course.

  Once the six Burst Linkers had moved to the sofa set and sat down again in relaxed positions, they attached five XSB cables to their Neurolinkers to form a daisy chain. In general, it wasn’t necessary to go so far as to connect directly when diving into the Unlimited Neutral Field, but this time, they had to set up the aforementioned disconnection safety. Thus, they all turned off their wireless connections to the global net, their host, Haruyuki, deciding instead that they would go in via a direct connection to the Arita home server. This way, if some unforeseen accident did occur and someone ended up in an unlimited EK state, the first person to return through the portal could yank out the cable connecting to the home server, and at that moment, they could all burst out.

  Of course, this would be the worst outcome—not rescuing not only Utai but her would-be rescuers imprisoned alongside her—but they had already passed through the stage of fearing this. At the moment, after making every possible preparation, they could only march forward, convinced of their inevitable success. Or rather, this was what Kuroyukihime said at the end of the real-world meeting.

  UI> ALL RIGHT, THEN, EVERYONE. I’M GRATEFUL FOR YOUR HELP.

  Kuroyukihime, Fuko, Haruyuki, Takumu, and Chiyuri nodded firmly together. The plan was for the five of them to dive first and then have Utai dive once all the preparations inside were complete. Sitting on the sofa, they closed their eyes and took a deep breath. Kuroyukihime started the countdown from ten. When she hit zero, they all shouted the command to fly to the true Accelerated World, permitted only to Burst Linkers at levels four and up.

  “Unlimited Burst!!”

  His first view in a while of the Unlimited Neutral Field was of a world frozen a snowy white, all the way to the horizon in the distance—an Ice stage. The sky was blanketed with leaden clouds, tiny snowflakes glittering as they danced on the cold breeze.

  “Good. A fortunate omen to start,” Kuroyukihime—the Black King, Black Lotus, said, the tips of her sword legs loudly piercing the thick ice covering the ground. “A Drizzle or a Storm would have been ideal, because of the hindered long-distance visibility. But given that we’re aiming for a single moment, this might actually be quite good.”

  “You’re right. And this much sleet’s not going to block our view.” Standing next to her, Fuko—Sky Raker—nodded, her sky-blue hair swinging.

  Unable to immediately understand what they were talking about, Haruyuki cocked Silver Crow’s round, helmeted head and asked timidly, “Um, why is Snow or Drizzle lucky?”

  “Because it weakens the power of the God Suzaku, which is affiliated with fire, right?” The prompt response came from the large, close-range avatar standing to Haruyuki’s right, Cyan Pile—Takumu.

  Followed by Lime Bell—Chiyuri—wearing her pointed yellow-green hat and with a large bell equipped in her left hand. “So then we’d better hurry, huh? We don’t know when the Change will come.”

  Takumu was one thing, but the feeling that he was lagging in understanding even behind Chiyuri, who had only become a Burst Linker two months earlier, was practically tangible in his hands. Haruyuki hurried to open his mouth. “S-so then I should fly us there. Four people’s tough, but I could just barely—”

  But before he had even gotten to the end of his sentence, Kuroyukihime was shaking her mask lightly. “No. I don’t want to be disturbed by any other Burst Linkers who might be around. The possibility of being close to someone who dived at the same time is low, but flying makes us conspicuous. We’ll run to the Chiyoda Area.”

  “Oh. Y-yeah, you’re right.” He hung his head.

  Kuroyukihime took a few steps toward him before adding in a softer tone, “And you’re the key player in this strategy. You can’t tire out your wings before we get started, not even a tiny bit.”

  “R-right! Understo…”

  Huh? Me? The key player?

  Freezing halfway through his reply, Haruyuki felt Fuko pat him gently on the back.

  “We’re counting on you, Corvus. I know you can do it.”

  “That’s right, Haru. No matter who you’re up against, you can’t be beat when you’re in the sky.”

  “You’ll just make it happen, Haru!”

  Takumu and Chiyuri added their own encouragement, and everyone except Haruyuki nodded deeply all at once. They walked toward the opening in the exterior wall of the ice tower that had once been his skyscraper condo.

  Key player? What am I supposed to do? It can’t be; no way…Maybe I’m charging into the territory of the invincible super Enemy alone or something?

  A cold sweat pouring from every part of his metal body, Haruyuki felt as though something like this had happened before, and he fumbled around in his memory. Six months earlier, a time he would never forget, when they had similarly sallied forth into the Unlimited Neutral Field from his house on the mission to subjugate the Armor of Catastrophe, he had been stunned at abruptly being order
ed into an air-raid role.

  It’s true I’ve gotten stronger in my own way since then, but even still, why is it always, always me getting the scary jobs…He let his thoughts run in negative circles for a few seconds and then came back to himself with a gasp. He hurried to catch up with his companions, who were already jumping one after another from the balcony of ice protruding from the exterior wall of the tower. As he joined the end of that train and headed toward the surface, he tried somehow to psyche himself up.

  I mean, sure, it’s a God, but in the end, it’s just a bird, right? I just saw a real owl—I mean, horned owl—I mean, snow-faced owl before, didn’t I? I was totally fine being in the same hutch as a real bird of prey, so I don’t need to be afraid of a virtual Suzaku or sparrow or whatever. And it’s not like I’m gonna fight it and try to win or anything. All I have to do is fly full speed, get Shinomiya’s avatar, and then get out of there. That’s totally a breeze, right?

  “Yeah! I’m gonna do it!” Haruyuki cried in a whisper beneath his helmet as he landed on the ground and started running with the others south through the large, icy valley.

  The direct distance between Suginami and Chiyoda Wards was nearly ten kilometers. If they were in their real bodies, it would have been completely impossible to run all the way there at full speed without resting. But their duel avatars had no conception of fatigue, as long as they didn’t go beyond a certain limit. The five fell into a wedge formation with Black Lotus at the tip, hovering at high speed, and ran intently on a route through Shinjuku starting at Kannana Street and then along Tokyo Tokorozawa Route 4.

  Along the way, the shadows of large Enemies appeared countless times, but they used side roads to avoid them all. Unlike in a Primeval Forest or a Factory, there were almost no obstacles in an Ice stage, so they could use central Tokyo’s dense network of roads essentially as is. However, because this also meant that there were few objects that could be destroyed, no breakable lump of ice they set their eyes upon was left unsmashed in the effort to charge up their special-attack gauges.

  About forty minutes later, they had just climbed the hill continuing from Yotsuya to Kojimachi on Shinjuku Boulevard when a new scene abruptly spread out before Haruyuki’s eyes.

  Splendid. Magnificent. Gorgeous. No matter how many adjectives he piled on, it wasn’t enough.

  Several spires, like the enormous lances used by Beasts, shot up into the sky. Enshrined within, as if protected by these, was the fiercely beautiful Imperial Palace. Thick walls rose up tall all around, and these were further encircled by a deep, broad palisade. All the walls and pillars were made of ice colored a deep indigo; inside, countless red torches flickered. There was no sign of anything moving, but it most certainly wasn’t an abandoned building or some kind of ruins. From the depths of the palace came the definite and intense sense of the presence of something, someone.

  The Imperial Palace in the Unlimited Neutral Field—

  “The Castle,” Haruyuki said in a trembling voice, slowing his pace.

  Before him, Kuroyukihime slowed similarly and came to a stop, carving out sharp ruts in the ice. “Yes,” she replied. “The alien world in the center of the Accelerated World. The impenetrable sanctuary the former Nega Nebulus challenged with its entire force, only to be smashed to pieces in a mere two minutes.”

  Haruyuki’s whole body shuddered at her words as he strained his eyes once more.

  The castle walls, around thirty meters high, carved out what was essentially a perfect circle. The layout should have been the same as the Imperial Palace in the real world, so he assumed it was about 1,500 meters in diameter. Shinjuku Boulevard, on which they stood, stretched out ahead, becoming an ice bridge over the infinite palisade encircling the Castle. On the other side of the bridge, thirty or so meters wide and five hundred meters long, stood an imposingly massive south-facing gate, the door closed to repel all comers.

  “Master, that’s the west gate, corresponding to the Hanzomon Gate in the real world, isn’t it?”

  Kuroyukihime nodded again in reply to Takumu’s question. Chiyuri jumped up onto her tiptoes and, glancing back and forth at the gate area, said doubtfully, “But Kuroyukihime…The Four Gods…That’s what they’re called, right? There’s no huge Enemy anywhere?”

  “Bell, here, look over there.” Fuko walked up to stand beside Chiyuri and extended her left hand straight ahead. In the plaza beyond her fingertips where the ice bridge and the large gate connected was a slightly raised, perfectly square platform-like object. Pillars decorated each of the four corners, and the platform emanated the somehow severe air of an altar. “The instant anyone steps onto the bridge, the God pops up there. Their territory is the entire bridge, five hundred meters long and thirty meters wide. Incidentally, the palisade areas other than the bridge generate an unsuitable, abnormal gravity, making it impossible to jump over, even with my Gale Thruster. Immediately after flying out over the ravine, you’re dragged into the darkness at the bottom and die instantly. In this case, you regenerate on the outside edge.”

  Forced to imagine falling into an infinite darkness, Haruyuki and his childhood friends were pushed into silence.

  “Two and a half years ago,” Kuroyukihime began speaking softly, “Raker and I commanded one squad and challenged the God Byakko, who was guarding this west gate. We had previously taken down Legends countless times with essentially the same number of people, so we were ready to fight, inwardly boastful that the super class of Enemy was nothing. But as you know, the result was an atrocity. To be honest, just standing here now and looking at the gate…my knees go weak.”

  “K-Kuroyukihime…” Her name slipped out of Haruyuki, and the inky black, mirrored goggles shook shortly from side to side.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you. Of course I have no intention of pulling back now. But, well, I want you to etch at least this into your hearts: A God is not something a person can fight. Whatever reason you might have, you absolutely must not attempt to face it. When I give the instruction, or when you personally feel that the situation has taken an unexpected turn, at that moment, use every bit of strength you have and retreat beyond the bridge.”

  “Th-that’s—of course, we’ll try to, but…”

  As Haruyuki attempted to indicate his compliance, Kuroyukihime met his eyes through his helmet dead-on and said in a much more severe tone, “‘Try’ is not enough. This is an order. Listen. When I say run, you run. Even if I, or Raker, or even both of us are about to be killed by Suzaku.”

  “That’s…!” Instantly, Haruyuki inhaled sharply and raised his voice. “I’m the one who’s supposed to charge the bridge! You and Raker said that before, didn’t you?!”

  Kuroyukihime and Fuko exchanged glances, then grinned with a deep warmth that could be sensed even through the mechanical masks of their avatars. They began talking at Haruyuki from both sides, switching off with each other.

  “Ha-ha! Silly Crow. I would never send you on a solo special attack.”

  “That’s right, Corvus. Bell and Pile would get mad at us if we did.”

  “We’ll keep Suzaku focused on us. We won’t let it turn its eyes on you for even a second.”

  “Please, the only thing you should be thinking about is rescuing Ardor Maiden.”

  At this unexpected barrage, all Haruyuki could do was stare in turn at the faces of the two older Burst Linkers. The truth was, he wanted to shout, I’ll go by myself! just like he had worked himself up to do when they left his condo. But at that point, he was utterly convinced that he could never go up against a God alone, an Enemy that made even Kuroyukihime tremble. When it came to battle ability, Haruyuki didn’t even measure up to the ankles of these two older Linkers. He could insist on going, but it would be nothing more than empty posturing.

  The one thing he could do was fly with all his might. That was the current Haruyuki’s actual ability and limit.

  Unable to say anything, he hung his head, and Chiyuri, standing to his left, patted his
shoulder lightly. “Sister, I’m sorry!” she said brightly at the same time. “I thought we were all just going to cheer Crow on when he charged into Suzaku’s nest alone! I wouldn’t get mad, no way.”

  The minute she spoke, Haruyuki’s knees buckled. “H-hey!” he said reflexively. “You could at least heal me!”

  “Naah, that’d just make the Enemy’s Hate grow.”

  Takumu, Kuroyukihime, and Fuko all burst out laughing.

  Right, there’s one other thing I can do, and that’s believe. In my friends’ abilities, our bonds, and the miracles they make happen. Murmuring to himself in his heart, Haruyuki clenched both hands tightly.

  Kuroyukihime brandished the sword of her left hand in the sky. “Now we’ll run for a bit more. The south gate where Suzaku and Ardor Maiden await us is to the right, down Uchibori Street.”

  After they had run a few minutes more, gazing at the majesty of the Castle on his left and the government district of Kasumigaseki transformed into frozen skyscrapers on his right, the second large bridge that was their destination came into view. It was exactly the same size as the one in the west: five hundred meters long, thirty wide. The perfectly square altar on the other side and the enormous castle gate beyond that were also exactly the same. In the real world, this was called Sakuradamon, the Castle’s southern gate. The sacred space protected by one of the Four Gods, the fire bird Suzaku.

  They proceeded forward, encountering no obstructions, and when they finally reached the foot of the icy bridge, all five pulled up in an easy stop.

  Sakurada Street in the south intersected Uchibori Street stretching out east-west, creating a large junction. On the land immediately to the southwest, a large building with sharp angles soared upward. He was pretty sure that this was the National Police Agency, nicknamed Sakuradamon after the adjacent palace gate. But naturally, there wasn’t a single police officer in this version of the building.