Blue Mazurka

by Shūsuke Amagi

  "I see........"

  "But it takes time to obtain it. We'll be troubled if something is to happen to Zuellni."

  "I see."

  Was that the only reason? What were the Wolf Faces planning? Savaris was really curious. In that case, he better collaborate with them so he could return to Grendan earlier.

  "Let's do this then."

  "Good. Please look after me."

  The man nodded and vanished. Speaking of which........ who did that man look like? All he saw was that grey coat.

  "Uh, this is trouble," he said, losing interest in the Wolf Face man.

  What he was interested in now was the upcoming battle.

  "A filth monster with a name........ I really anticipate this."

  How much could he do without a Heaven's Blade? That question made him really anxious.

  Feeling the Kei running up her arm, Naruki released her Kei without hesitation.

  "Ha!"

  External Kei variation – Purple Lightning.

  Thunder strikes shot from the chain of rope. The Military Artists caught by that rope fell down one by one.

  "Fu............" Naruki retrieved the rope and sighed.

  In the past three months, she had successfully learnt the key of Karen Kei under Gorneo's instruction. The move she executed was of Karen Kei. The Military Artists she caught did not faint. They just couldn't move as their nervous system was in chaos, leaving Zuellni's Military Artists ample time to deal the final blow. Naruki took back her gaze from the scene.

  They didn't have a judge to judge whether a person was out of action in the platoon match even though a safety setting was installed in every Dite. Besides, a safety setting couldn't guarantee safety. A blade could still inflict heavy damage, and that was the same with Nina and Naruki's weapons. Sometimes, Military Artists would sustain severe injuries. They might even die. In truth, a guy the same age as Naruki had sustained a head injury during the match with Myath. She had visited him in the hospital. He didn't look reliable, but he was a good man. Fortunately, it wasn't a life threatening injury. But in the month that he was discharged, he always complained of headache. At present, his head would hurt occasionally. Even modern medicine failed to completely cure brain and Kei-related injuries. That man might have died. This was what a Military Arts fight was like. No matter how many safety precautions were made, one fought with death.

  Naruki couldn't agree with it. She couldn't do it, and that was why she left Joeldem. One had to fight filth monsters in order to survive. But what was a war for? Why should they fight over selenium mines? Why did the cities, the Electronic Fairies have to make humans fight? She didn't understand.

  And that, she couldn't agree with.

  Once she told her parents of her thought, they decided to allow her to study in Academy City. They thought she would die if she continued to think like that in Joeldem. Only death awaited her if she didn't fight. Her parents' decision was right.

  Hence Naruki aimed to join the police force. Police's opponents were people who threatened the peace of the city. Till now, she had never doubted her decision in becoming a policewoman. However, right now she was part of a platoon, and she was fighting in the Military Arts Competition. She fought and she learnt Karen Kei from Gorneo. What was with the change of heart? Actually, she knew. The event with the 10th platoon had changed her. Dinn had chosen the wrong path for the sake of the city. Did he fail because his choice was wrong? Or was it that even with a wrong decision, one could reach one's goal with a firm belief? Was there any mistake in the justice that she believed in? A closer study yielded the conclusion that one made mistakes because one was too loyal to one's belief. Did the action succeed in the end or fail? Naruki didn't understand, so she now fought in a fight she didn't want to participate in. What she couldn't accept might not necessarily be wrong. But what about the people who had a hand in changing her thinking?

  Naruki's gaze turned to Nina. Holding the iron whips, Nina changed the team's movement according to the enemy's reactions. If the counterattack was strong, she would take the attack. If the counterattack was weak, she would increase her territory. No one needed a psychokinesist's report to realize Nina was the captain, looking at the way she shouted and gave orders. As natural, she concentrated on attacking. Naruki and the other Military Artists became Nina's wall to reduce her burden. However, Nina would choose to attack even while defending. As long as she saw an opening, she would rush forward. Even though the strategy was aimed to keep Nina's team not too far away from Dalshena's, Naruki still thought it tactless. If Layfon didn't head alone into the enemy's rank to cause a commotion, Dalshena's attack wouldn't have worked. Putting it the other way, the connection of the teams had turned harder to maintain because the fight was too smooth. The team led by the 16th platoon would have collapsed if not for their favorite Whirl Kei strategy.

  "Captain, please stop for a bit!" Naruki shouted.

  "Ah? Uh, yes......." Nina replied reluctantly.

  Naruki calmed herself. She must stop her before anyone broke through the defense of Kei in the Captain's Dite.

  "Captain!" she called again.

  Nina finally halted her steps.

  "You're going in too fast. What exactly are you thinking?" It was Felli's voice coming through the flake. "Please also tell Dalshena senpai not to keep moving ahead. You guys are too far away from the third team."

  "But........." she looked ahead. "Layfon, he........"

  "If I don't first stop you, I can't concentrate on persuading that happy idiot." Reproach filled Felli's voice.

  A psychokinesist could process gathered information all at the same time. Still, it was difficult for her to speak to different people at the same time.

  "Sor, sorry........" Nina said and gave an order to Dalshena through the flake. "This is Vance's order. Join with the second wave and turn to defensive formation. Defend the areas we've gained."

  "Roger."

  "Really........." Felli didn't say anymore. She must be talking to Layfon.

  Though they had stopped moving, many Falnir Military Artists still surrounded them. Naruki and the other members had turned to a defensive formation while Nina was giving the order. The team changed into a dense formation with Nina at the center of the circle. Not long after that, Dalshena's team retreated to meet up with Nina's team.

  Since she was in the middle of the formation, Nina couldn't fight. She sighed.

  "Damn!"

  She wasn't relaxed at all. She was impatient with Layfon. He wasn't back yet.

  "What is it?" Naruki asked. The heavy push forward back then seemed to have been pulled by Layfon.

  "Did I think too highly of myself?" Dalshena sighed also. Sweat rolled down her face.

  Naruki felt more at ease. No matter how beautiful her senpai was, she could sweat too. This scene didn't mean much, but it helped Naruki breathe.

  Dalshena's gaze turned from Nina to her. "What's up with her?"

  "Ah, no, it's Layfon. He seems different from usual. That's worrying."

  True. Layfon's action was strange. He didn't give off that dark and shadowy feeling. Compared to before, he was happier and more carefree. So carefree that it was hard for her to accept it.

  "........ He must have solved that problem with Leerin?"

  "I think so too, but somehow, I feel he's really overdoing it........"

  Yes. It felt hard to approach him before the intercity match. She also hadn't talked to him during the fight. And today, she got a feeling that he was relaxed up till the signal for the match to begin. Though he looked like he had plenty of room to spare, others couldn't help but think he was being careless.

  Was that why Nina was worried? Naruki's instinct told her that wasn't it. Nina was worried......... She was probably using that as an excuse to lie to herself.

  (Meishen would have felt down while saying, "That's great".)

  Though Nina was happy that Leerin and Layfon had made up, she probably felt down for failing to help him. N
aruki was probably feeling the same too. So useless. But perhaps she was dreaming to live such a useless life. She thought she would deceive herself like this.

  (Has Leerin noticed?)

  That Leerin herself felt something for Layfon. Nina should have known the reason behind Leerin's visit, yet she still chose to live with her. It must be hard for her to see Leerin and Layfon so close together.

  Why was Naruki so useless?

  The battle continued and Layfon still hadn't returned.

  "So slow. Has she not convinced him yet?" Nina stumped her foot.

  At this time...... A roar sounded in the air.

  "What?"

  As the battlefield was filled with noise, no one noticed something was nearing them. The psychokinesists were concentrating on gathering information of the battle, so they didn't have spare time to look beyond the cities. The roar became a rumble, and the entire earth shook.

  "Cityquake!?"

  Naruki quickly threw away that speculation. A city's multi-legs being trapped inside a crack was the cause of a city's quake. Falnir and Zuellni had already stopped moving, so this wasn't it. Then what was it?

  New rumbling sounded from in front of and behind the two cities. No one had yet to give the signal to stop the battle. However, all Military Artists had ceased fighting.

  A shrill siren sounded above the battlefield to announce the attack of filth monsters. The sad wailing of Electronic Fairies. At the same time, countless number of larvae had appeared outside the cities.

  Chapter 5

  Chaos

  Vance was more frustrated and bitter than anyone when he saw the filth monsters appearing in this situation. This was the second Military Arts Competition and the chaos in the enemy city far exceeded his predictions. This was something for Zuellni to rejoice over. The first and second waves had already taken complete control of the battlefield. What they needed was to wait for Vance's defense team to defend against the enemies and obtain victory. However, Vance wasn't too focused on victory. After all, he was the Leader of the Military Arts course. As the chief commander of Zuellni's Military Artists, he had to grasp hold of the situation no matter what.

  Filth monsters. The larvae had appeared on the outskirts of the city.

  "Alchemy technicians, prepare to release the safety locks on the Dites. The team here and the cannon team are responsible for holding up the filth monsters. The rest of the teams, get your Dites' safety locks released and join the battle," he gave the orders through the flake and went to stand in front of the troops with a long staff in his hand.

  "Listen up. Stop them. But don't be too reckless," he roared and jumped into the crowd of larvae.

  The report on the invasion of the larvae had reached Karian.

  "Who would have thought......... So unlucky," he said in a small voice as if he didn't want anyone to hear him. The rest of the Student Council members located in the underground conference room didn't have to hear what he just said.

  "Switch on the city's defense system. If necessary, we have to use the cannon."

  "But that's......" the head of the Business course objected. He couldn't ignore the consequence of using the cannon that would result in the city losing a large amount of its resources. It didn't matter that they used some of the resources now, but they needed to preserve the resources that could be used in the reproduction phase. For example, the metal and fuel used for every shot were all precious to the city. They were things that couldn't be recovered. Although the city could mine more resources in its route, it might sink into a period of a severe lack of resources.

  "I understand you. But this is an emergency. It'd be too late if Military Artists became sacrifices."

  "Isn't he here?"

  No one needed to ask who "he" was but Karian shook his head.

  "There's something else we need to be aware of," he then gave a detailed explanation.

  What did it mean for the filth monsters to suddenly appear? Why did Zuellni and Falnir hold a Military Arts Competition in the vicinity of filth monsters? Was it simply because both sides hadn't noticed it? And was this the same as last time with a female filth monster giving birth underground? However, the report said there were only around 30 larvae. The number was far lower than before. According to a report from another psychokinesist, a huge something laid beneath Zuellni's multi-legs. The larvae seemed to have come from that "something" which was broken. Looking at the damages on the multi-legs, it appeared that "something" had been tossed from a far distance to crash with Zuellni's multi-legs. If that was the case, could a normal female filth monster undertake a feat like this?

  "I don't think so."

  Felli's flake was currently heading for that direction. Everything meant this attack wasn't as simple as it seemed.

  "....... Meaning there might be an aged phase filth monster around?"

  All members of the Student Council had accepted the knowledge of filth monsters they had heard from Layfon. An aged phase filth monster had given up its reproduction functions. Instead, it turned to evolving.

  "I'm not sure. Anyway, the Military Artists are fighting the 30 or so larvae. So just in case, we'll have to use that insurance," Karian said and urged everyone to action.

  One group rushed out of the conference room and the other group stayed behind to discuss further strategies.

  "......... Really, I've already acted the villain once to ensure our victory in a Military Arts Competition, and then we have this. So annoying."

  The last time was the Salinvan Guidance Mercenary Gang. This time was filth monsters. What next? He didn't want to think further, but he still fell into contemplation.

  Unfortunately, his prediction had come true.

  Zuellni and Falnir's Military Artists all witnessed the coming of the larvae.

  "What's that..........?"

  Thanks to the connection between the teams and the speedy work of the Dite technicians, the safety lock releasing procedure had gone ahead smoothly. Zuellni was now in a counterattack mode. Although Layfon had taken care of most of the larvae, Zuellni's Military Artists had eliminated around 10 larvae when he returned from Falnir. It was fortunate that only a few Military Artists had sustained light injuries. This was the result of Vance's speedy reaction and everyone's daily training. And luckily, the larvae had gathered in one place. But this wasn't the time to rejoice over luck.

  Everyone's gaze was now on the thing floating in the air. A black hole that slowly moved as it expanded. Psychokinesists voiced their warnings. A sound grew louder as the hole expanded. When he understood the meaning of that sound, Vance shouted, "Everyone, retreat!!"

  Something as massive as a mountain had appeared. All Military Artists began retreating from the city's outskirts.

  An intense and ear-piercing rumbling filled the space, shaking the entire city and making Military Artists' knees go weak. Pillars of earth rose up from outside the city to meet the sky. Soil particles fell through Zuellni's air shield.

  A moaning of metal sounded behind the retreating Military Artists as the rain of soil hit them. The original form of that noise was finally confirmed. A large pillar on the outskirt of the city... one of the city's multi-legs broke before their eyes and fell onto the earth.

  "Damn!" Vance burst out.

  The rain of soil, not yet filtered by the air purification system, fell to make new wounds. It wasn't enough to cause death, but it was enough to lower the students' morale.

  The rain of soil stopped after the pillar of soil disappeared.

  Many more larvae appeared from where the multi-leg had fallen. Vance could deeply feel the impending crisis. Someone had thrown over the larvae. Because whatever huge thing that carried the larvae came from somewhere so far away, even psychokinesists failed to detect it. Vance failed to imagine the power behind this. This attack would never end if they couldn't defeat the real enemy.

  "Damn.........."

  The number of new larvae was about the same as the first wave of larvae. Zuellni's a
ttack power was enough for it. However, they couldn't predict the location of the third wave. If the third wave came from the side of the city, then Zuellni's attack power would have to spread out, and that would lower the speed of attacking. And if every time a toss of "something" managed to damage Zuellni...........

  "Damn!"

  With staff in hand, he gave the order to attack. They must eliminate the larvae before them. But what next?

  "ARR!" Vance shouted. As the chief commander, he couldn't show his weakness here.

  Layfon pinched his nose. He remembered this feeling of pollutants burning his nose. Numerous larvae lay beneath him. He could defeat them in one swift moment if he used the steel threads, but Harley currently kept the Sapphire Dite. Thinking that he couldn't use it, he showed a bitter smile. Harley and Kirik were making adjustments on the Sapphire Dite, and that would take time. If Layfon returned now and asked someone to fetch the Sapphire Dite for him, he'd probably be granting that person relief.

  He looked at the outskirt of the city. A scenery of the wilderness that he was already used to seeing. Since Zuellni was so hot, it must have moved into the tropics. The third wave came straight after the second wave attack. It didn't cause direct damage to Zuellni, but as Vance had worried, another side of the outskirt was lacking in attack power.

  While still counterattacking the second wave, Vance ordered the first unit, led by the 17th platoon, to take care of the third wave larvae.

  "Seems we can rest a little bit."

  "....... Seems so," Layfon nodded at the voice. He turned around and saw tiredness on Nina's face. Exhaustion was unavoidable since they had been participating in the Military Arts Competition, facing the sudden emergency and now fighting filth monsters.

  His nose still hurt.

  This level of pollutants wouldn't bring him any life-threatening danger. Judging by how the outside scenery blurred and twisted, the density of the air filter had increased. No more pollutants would leak into the city. Vance's orders for other teams sounded from the flake. The first unit was ordered to wait at its location and defend its area. But the Military Artists' gazes were attracted to the figure outside the air shield. Falnir. When Zuellni was fighting against the second wave of filth monsters, Falnir had suddenly moved......... Fled. This meant Zuellni had become a target. Falnir had chosen to abandon Zuellni and escape.