by Takehaya
As he thought things through out loud, Koutarou decided to use the bracelet he had gotten from Clan to contact Theia and the others.
“Guuuaaaaaaaa!”
“What?!”
However, the moment before Koutarou’s finger touched the bracelet, a bestial roar echoed down the mountain. When he looked up the slope to see what it was, he saw a white demon by the cave entrance. Next to it was Yurika, encased in a column of ice.
“Kil! Vadra kil! Com ot! I no yu ar stil liv!”
“Isn’t that a demon?! And Yurika’s right next to it?!”
Koutarou hurriedly focused on his eyes. When he did, he could see a white aura overlapping Yurika inside the pillar of ice. It was her spiritual energy, which wouldn’t have been there if she were dead. At the very least, despite how bad things looked, she was still alive.
“Did that monster do that to Yurika?! If I hurry, I can still save her!”
Koutarou was about to take off to go rescue Yurika...
“Uuugh...”
But Maki’s groan made Koutarou hesitate.
Wh-Who do I save first?!
Koutarou looked back and forth between Maki and Yurika. He was torn.
“Sorry, Yurika! I’ll come save you as fast as possible! Just hang in there a little longer!”
At last, Koutarou decided he needed to start with Maki. Her aura was growing weaker faster than Yurika’s, and she was still actively bleeding. She was going to die at this rate, and Koutarou couldn’t just let that happen.
The girl known as Aika Maki was born in the slums of Folsaria, but Maki couldn’t even remember the name of which city. She was sold off as a slave by her own parents at such a young age that she wasn’t even aware of her surroundings.
But it might have been fortunate for everyone involved that Maki didn’t remember that much. If she did, the city would have been leveled as she became a powerful magician. Maki cursed her childhood, and she despised anyone and anything associated with it.
Just like on Earth, slaves on Folsaria were treated as subhuman by slave traders. It was nothing but endless days of violence and cruelty. Trusting anyone in that situation simply put you in a position to get stabbed in the back. Growing up in that hell was what had given Maki such a distaste for betrayal.
But betrayal and the cold were connected in Maki’s mind, and the freezing temperature brought back unpleasant memories. Memories of a dark, dismal day. Memories of her exhausted body refusing to move. Memories of a cold so bitter that it numbed everything but her aching heart. Memories of betrayal. It was the day she’d attempted to escape slavery, only to be sold out by her best friend. After taking a severe beating, she was thrown into the dungeon in midwinter and left to die. The cold Maki was feeling right now was very similar to what she’d felt back in that dungeon.
So in the end, I’ll die in the cold anyway...
Maki smiled wryly. Of course, her near-frozen face didn’t move a muscle. The bitter smile was only in her mind. The reason why Maki hadn’t died in the dungeon that day was because the previous Dark Navy had sensed Maki’s mana and bought her.
But everything makes sense like this. Back then, all I wished for was the power to take revenge on them...
Thanks to the previous Dark Navy, her wish had been fulfilled. She was raised as a magician and given the power to get her vengeance on the slave traders and her former best friend. But now, after all this time, she was feeling the same deadly cold creep over her body that she’d felt that day in the dungeon. Maki was convinced that was her fate. Back then, she had only wished for power and revenge. She hadn’t wished to live. She’d grown tired of this world full of cheating, betrayal, and abuse.
Oh...?
However, Maki realized something was different from that day in the dungeon. Since she had almost no sensation in her body, she wasn’t quite sure what it was at first.
What is... this...?
But as time passed, her senses gradually returned and she realized that what she was feeling was warmth. She then sensed the presence of someone nearby.
A corpse looter? Or did a beast come to eat me...?
Maki knew whatever it was, it wasn’t good. So she ignored the presence and focused on the warmth. If she was going to die, she at least wanted to go warm.
It’s... the same thing...
As she concentrated on it, however, Maki realized that the warmth and the presence she was feeling were the same thing. It wasn’t a looter or some beast. Something warm was by Maki’s side.
Are you lonely too...? Just like... me?
The presence was warm and comforting, but Maki could feel something cold at its core. And she knew what it was because she was the same. Maki tried to move her cold heart towards the coldness of the presence in front of her.
I just wish we could always stay like this...
By overlapping the two, she thought they both might warm up a little. But Maki knew she didn’t have much time left for that, and for that, she was truly sorry.
When Maki regained her consciousness, the first thing she heard was a man’s loud voice.
“Breathe, Aika-san! Don’t you die on me!”
Maki tried to smile.
It’s fine. I’ll be fine for a little longer, so don’t worry...
She had no idea if her face actually reflected the gesture or not. If she wasn’t breathing, she might not be able to properly smile either. Worried about that, Maki consciously took a breath.
“Ack, hack...”
The task was surprisingly difficult and sent her into a coughing fit.
“Aika-san! Damn it! Is the staff’s magic not enough?!”
“Ack, hack...”
For each time she coughed, Maki could feel herself getting weaker. Knowing that would make the owner of the voice sad, she still tried her best to breathe.
Somehow... it’s different from before...
In the past, the last time she was on the verge of death, she’d drawn breath out of spite. But now, Maki was breathing for a different reason.
“Hahh... Hahh... Hahh...”
“That’s right! Breathe, Aika-san!”
Something deep inside Maki’s mind was pushing her forward. Something her fading consciousness had reached out and held on to in its stupor.
I can’t do anything to betray or disappoint this person... If I did, we’d both be all alone...
Thanks to Maki’s rekindled will to live, oxygen began circulating throughout her body. Each breath dispelled the haziness clouding her mind, eventually bringing her back to herself.
“Wh-Where am I...?”
Maki felt as if she’d snapped out of a dream. Now completely awake, she was puzzled by the change in her surroundings. Maki’s last memories were of being swept away in the avalanche, but now she found herself in a dim, dusty lodge. She was lying on her back, staring up at the small, unshaded lightbulb hanging down from the ceiling.
“Aika-san?! You’re awake?!”
As she blinked repeatedly, someone leaned over her. It was enough to shield her sensitive eyes from the dazzling light overhead.
“Satomi... Koutarou?”
Maki recognized the man in front of her.
“That’s right, it’s me! Keep it together!”
Satomi Koutarou. He was a master of the sword and multiple kinds of magic, including necromancy. He was an opponent who had outsmarted Maki repeatedly in the past. Her mind tried to warn her of the danger, and the spells she had precast in order to face Koutarou activated one after another. To her, Koutarou was an enemy, pure and simple.
“How are you feeling?! Are you okay?!”
“No... It looks bad.”
Maki smiled at Koutarou as he desperately tried to check on her. It wasn’t an act, either; it was just a natural smile that had come from the bottom of her heart.
Why am I smiling at this man...?
If Maki had been able to move her arms, she probably would have been touching her face because she couldn’t understand
her own actions. Despite that, her emotions were getting the better of her mind and body. She had a strong feeling telling her that it was fine.
“I can tell. There’s no saving me from a wound like this.”
Maki shook her head as she spoke. She understood the condition she was in. Despite her young age, she was a veteran warrior. She had survived many battles, but her experience told her that the wound she’d suffered this time was fatal and that she had only regained consciousness through sheer chance.
Ah, maybe that’s why...
It crossed Maki’s mind that she felt no hostility for Koutarou right now because she was on death’s doorstep.
“Aika-san, don’t say things like that!”
To Maki’s eyes, Koutarou was surrounded by a stable green light.
Ah, he really is worried...
The light she saw was the effect of one of her spells. It was proof that what he was thinking and saying was genuine.
Is this... all part of some artful trick of his?
Maki had prepared this spell in particular for her fight with Koutarou so she could see through his lies, yet the spell hadn’t reacted even once so far.
Or maybe I’ve gotten weaker... That’s probably it. I’m dying a disgrace in the end...
Whether or not Koutarou was lying and whether or not he’d managed to trick her in some way, Maki was getting herself worked up for no reason. She couldn’t help but find it funny.
“Aika-san...”
Maki smiled even though she knew she was about to die. After the harsh life she’d lived, she was ready to give up. But not Koutarou. Not here. Not now. He wasn’t going to give up on Maki.
This staff isn’t enough!
Koutarou tightly clenched his hands around the magical staff. He’d been trying to use it to save Maki, but the results weren’t looking good. The staff’s magic was indeed healing her, but Maki’s life force was fading faster than he could heal it. Koutarou could tell because he had the ability to see spiritual energy.
It’ll take too long to get her aboard Blue Knight! How can I save Aika-san?!
Theia’s spaceship was equipped with medical technology far more advanced than anything found on Earth, but not even advanced science could do anything for someone that not even magic could save.
“It’s fine, Satomi-kun. I believe this is my fate.”
Maki accepted her own death. Looking back at her life, this wasn’t a bad way to go. Just having someone care about her seemed like a good ending to it all.
My only regret is not knowing if he’s really worried about me or not...
And so Maki smiled, resigned to her fate.
“Fate?! As if I could accept this kind of fate!”
Koutarou, however, adamantly rejected that idea. He knew a girl who’d fought and overcome similar hardships, so he couldn’t accept Maki giving in. And he didn’t want Maki to accept it either. He continued to shout, raising his voice even more to try and convince her.
“I... I won’t accept this kind of fate! I will never―”
In the middle of his sentence, Koutarou suddenly remembered something.
“Wait, fate? That’s right! I still have that!”
It was a last resort, but he still had a small chance of saving Maki’s life.
“Clan! Clan!”
Koutarou hurriedly operated his bracelet and called out Clan’s name.
“What’s wrong? And at this hour, no less?”
Despite the hour, however, Clan responded immediately. Apparently she wasn’t asleep yet. Hearing her voice, Koutarou’s expression lit up.
“It’s an emergency! I need the sword!”
“Just wait a moment. In three minutes, I’ll finish this stage of my experiment. Then I’ll―”
“I can’t wait three minutes! I told you it’s an emergency!”
“Wait, wait! Just waiiit! Don’t be so unreasonable!”
Sensing what Koutarou was about to do from the tone of his voice, Clan began panicking. However, Koutarou ignored her objections and gave his order to the bracelet.
“Cradle! Give me my sword!”
“As you wish, my lord.”
“Kyaaaaaaah! I’m telling you to waiiit!”
Despite Clan’s protests, her small spaceship, the Cradle, initiated action. Koutarou’s sword was currently being experimented on in the Cradle’s laboratory, but upon receiving Koutarou’s order, the Cradle forcibly terminated the experiment and began to transfer the sword to him.
“Curse you, Veltlion! I won’t forget this!”
“Come, Signaltin!”
Completely ignoring Clan’s objections, Koutarou thrust his right arm forward. As he did, a black disk appeared a few centimeters in front of his palm. It was a space-time hole that connected the Cradle and Koutarou’s bracelet.
“Sa... Satomi-kun, what are you...?”
Maki stared on as this spectacle unfolded in front of her, completely dumbfounded. Since Maki herself had access to some spells that warped space, she functionally understood what the space-time hole was. She knew it connected two different places. However, she couldn’t sense any mana coming from it. Maki didn’t think it was possible to create a space-time hole without using magic, and her surprise at seeing such a thing for herself made her temporarily forget the pain she was in.
“Call sign confirmed. Coordinate axes fixed. Commencing transfer of Signaltin.”
Suddenly a sword appeared from out of the hole. As it did, Koutarou felt like he could hear an explosion and a woman screaming coming from the hole too, but he didn’t hesitate to grab his sword.
“Your Excellency, this ship, the Cradle, will pray for your fortune and glory in place of the nation of Forthorthe.”
“...Thank you.”
The moment Koutarou grabbed the handle, the sword began shining bright white. It flooded the room with mana.
White mana! Is this room 106’s power?! It’s like before... but the energy he’s controlling this time is far greater!
Despite dealing with magic on a daily basis, Maki was so surprised by the massive amount of mana that she couldn’t even let out a gasp of surprise.
“Let’s do this, Signaltin!”
Koutarou pulled the sword still in its sheath out of the space-time hole. He then closed his eyes and began concentrating as he held the sword before him in both hands. His right hand gripped the handle of the sword, and his left hand held the sheath.
Your Majesty Alaia, I’m sorry for using it for such a personal reason, but I will be borrowing the power of this sword...
Koutarou then opened his eyes and began moving his hands apart. Accompanied by a ringing noise, the glowing white blade slowly emerged from its sheath. Correspondingly, the pure white mana filling the room grew stronger and stronger. Once Koutarou fully drew the blade, he took a deep breath.
“Signaltin, if you really have the power to shape the future, then please cut a path for this girl’s future!”
The next moment, the sword unleashed a blinding glow almost like an explosion. The flash of light lit up the small lodge. Eventually that light turned into a glowing band of pure white connecting Koutarou and Maki.
A portion of the mana being emitted from Signaltin was converted into light and filled the lodge with its glow. The light was so bright that Koutarou and Maki could only see white and nothing else. However, the light didn’t harm them. Instead, it gently wrapped them in a warmth almost like a hug.
What...?
In that white world, Koutarou saw something. It was hard to tell if he was seeing it with his eyes or his mind, but there was a clear image in the white light.
A small girl?
It was a badly beaten young girl covered in wounds. She was lying motionless on a dungeon floor.
Just what am I seeing...?
Maki also started to see something in the white light. It was a young boy crying and embracing a half-knit sweater.
That girl was familiar to Koutarou, and that boy was familiar
to Maki. At the same time, they both thought...
“Just wait! I’ll save you right now!”
“It’s okay. I’ll always be with you...”
They used different words, but the feelings they put into them were the same.
When Koutarou returned to his senses, the light had died down. The only thing illuminating the dusty lodge now was the lone unshaded lightbulb overhead. The blade of the sword had a dim glow, but it certainly wasn’t enough to light up the room.
How is Aika-san?!
Koutarou immediately recalled the situation and looked to Maki. His eyes were met with her pale skin. Just a moment ago there had been a large, profusely bleeding wound in her side, but now all Koutarou saw there was her pale skin.
“It worked... Th-Thank god...”
Koutarou let out a big sigh of relief and held up Signaltin’s sheath. Koutarou had no way of knowing if using the sword was enough to save Maki, so he was beyond relieved at this outcome.
Meanwhile, Maki was gradually regaining consciousness. Still dazed, she was blankly staring up at the ceiling.
I feel like something very important just...
Maki felt like something important had happened, but it was just a fleeting, unsubstantiated feeling. After a few seconds, it disappeared just like a dream. She returned to her senses upon hearing the sound of Koutarou returning his sword to its sheath.
“Ah... I...?”
In that moment, Maki remembered everything from her encounter with the demon to Koutarou desperately trying to save her afterwards. That helped her make sense of why she was now lying down in the lodge, and the next thing she did was check her wound.
“It’s gone?!”
Maki was overwhelmed with surprise when she touched her own side. The wound that should have been there had completely vanished. There was no sign of blood now. And since her wound had disappeared, so too had her pain. She no longer felt the cold that numbed her entire body either. It was almost like her injuries had been nothing but a dream. The only evidence she had otherwise was her torn clothing.
“I survived...?
Maki lifted her head and peeked at her exposed side. She could see her pale skin through the gaping hole in her outfit. Her wound really had disappeared.
