Archangel of Savage Light

by Reki Kawahara

  “…Kusakabe. Hang on just a little longer.” Haruyuki started talking to Rin in the real world. “Curren’s back, and Pard’s level eight now. We’re all going right now to take out Metatron and destroy the ISS kit main body. And then let’s go check out the rest of the festival together. There’s still a bunch of stuff I want to show you. And your brother— Ash, I want to properly introduce him to everyone. So…So…”

  He fumbled earnestly to string these words together, but the fretful feeling in his heart didn’t go away. It was as though all the things he had pushed back so he could concentrate on the mission to rescue Aqua Current were now forcing their way up and out of him.

  What if they failed to destroy the kit main body?

  The only means left, then, to stop the mental interference for Rin would be for her to stop being a Burst Linker—for Ash Roller to be erased. Ash had been Haruyuki’s first fight, his first loss, his first win in the Accelerated World, and he was just as important to Haruyuki now as any of his Legion companions. And he felt the same about Rin, who had worked hard to pull Haruyuki back when he was on the verge of pushing for total point loss so he could take the Armor of Catastrophe out with him. Both were priceless, invaluable friends to him.

  They couldn’t fail. Failure was not an option. If success or failure in the Metatron mission rested on Haruyuki’s Optical Conduction ability, then even if it meant sacrificing himself, he would repel the laser attack that was powerful enough to rend the earth asunder.

  He clenched his hands into tight fists as he stared at the corner of the second school building, and the sound of an avatar appearing came from behind him. He turned to find Lime Bell—Chiyuri—flying down inside a circle of light. She had no sooner set eyes on him than she was exploding into one of the lectures she was so adept at.

  “I get that you’re in a hurry, Haru, but your command was too fast! What if you’d gotten pushed back?! You’d end up making all of us wait however many minutes instead!”

  Haruyuki mentally sent a few last words of encouragement toward Rin in the real world before arguing with some force, “Wh-whatever! The BB command and my special-attack names are the only things I never stammer over!”

  “I wonder about that…”

  When she stared at him with those doubtful eyes, he felt like maybe he had once or so, and he tried to force the conversation onto a different track.

  “A-anyway, dawn came with the Change. And when I see the morning light, I get reflexively sleepy, you know?” He made like he was yawning.

  But Chiyuri only narrowed her eyes further and glared. “So in the world you’re in, the sun rises in the west?” she retorted.

  “Huh?” He hurriedly shook his head from side to side. The red sun was indeed hanging just above the horizon not in the direction of Shinjuku, but rather Mitaka. The orange of the sky that Haruyuki had been convinced was the sunrise was actually sunset. But to meekly admit his mistake here would be a loss of face as the senior Burst Linker. “W-we don’t know whether that’s the real sun or not! It could just be a huge ball of flames burning in Hachioji.”

  Chiyuri’s eyes became even cooler at this cringeworthy counterargument, digging into Haruyuki from above. “If something like that was over there burning, the Burst Linkers who dived in the Hachioji area would be killed instantly. And this is a Twilight stage. Twilight means when the sun is setting, so if that’s not the evening sun, then what is it?”

  “…Y-you have a point…” Effortlessly backed into a corner, Haruyuki twisted the index fingers of both hands together to indicate his obvious submission.

  “Heh-heh!” He heard the laughter-filled voice of Kuroyukihime, who had appeared behind them at some point. “I also believe that is the sun, but I can’t say with utmost certainty that Haruyuki’s assertion is mere tall tales either.”

  “Huh? What do you mean, Kuroyukihime?”

  Just as Haruyuki turned around, the rest of his comrades appeared, one after another. After a glance to check that all nine members were present, the Black King adroitly crossed her sword arms.

  “In the Unlimited Neutral Field, verrrrrry occasionally, the Legend-class Enemy Sun God Inti appears. The only way to describe it, I suppose, is that it’s a massive ball of flames that rolls around on the ground. It absorbs fire-type attacks, evaporates water-type attacks, and on top of that, if you get near it, you die instantly from high-temperature damage. I doubt there has ever been a Legion that’s defeated Inti.”

  “I-I’d like to never run into it.”

  “I wanna see it!”

  When Haruyuki and Chiyuri expressed totally opposing opinions, Akira stepped forward, accompanied by the sound of flowing water. “A long time ago, just once, I fought Inti,” she said nonchalantly.

  “R-really, Curren? I’ve only ever seen it from afar.”

  “Graph and I found it when we were out hunting Enemies. I tried to run away, but that idi—reckless one said he had a good strategy…”

  The “idi—reckless one” Akira was referring to was the last of Nega Nebulus’s Four Elements, Graphite Edge. He led the squad attacking the north gate in the Castle attack mission and fought the God Genbu before ending up in the same Unlimited EK state as Utai and Akira. That was basically all Haruyuki knew about him, but apparently, he was the sort of avatar who was always raring for a fight.

  Complicated looks rose upon the face masks of Fuko and Utai, who had joined the circle of conversation at some point, while Niko grinned and Pard looked exasperated.

  Akira glanced at them all and then continued the ballad of the ancient adventure. “Graph’s plan was to pull Inti to somewhere with a large amount of water, knock it in there, and extinguish the flames. We were in Aoyama, so we drew it all the way to the Akasaka imperial garden two kilometers away, death breathing down our necks the whole time. And somehow, we managed to get it to fall into the pond.”

  “…S-so then, did Inti’s flames go out…?” Takumu asked with excited interest from behind Haruyuki.

  Akira shrugged slightly. “The flames weakened for just a moment, but the pond—which is two hundred meters around—was boiling in a flash, and Graph got incinerated attacking it with a sword, so I left it and ran. When he regenerated, that idi—that boy who easily gets carried away, said he was going to keep it chasing him around the city until the stage changed to a Storm. And then he was going to drop it into Tokyo Bay for good measure.”

  “Ha-ha-ha-ha!” Here, Niko erupted in laughter as though she could no longer hold it in. “Just like Negabu’s Anomaly! I’ve heard all kinds of rumors, and it sounds like he was seriously quite the mighty hero.”

  “For him, you have to add idiot before hero, Red King.” Fuko smoothly uttered the adjective that Akira had hesitated to, leaned back in her wheelchair, and looked up at the madder-red sky. After a brief pause, sounding somehow concerned, she said, “Speaking of the Change…I didn’t expect we would be so lucky as to get a Hell stage, but I can’t really say a Twilight stage is such a good omen.”

  “Huh…?” Why is that, Master? Haruyuki was about to ask, but a moment sooner, Takumu naturally slipped into professor mode.

  “Right. The Archangel Metatron’s power is weaker in a dark-type stage. So then a holy-type stage—albeit a low-level one like Twilight—would add a positive correction to Metatron’s status, right?”

  “Just a little, but yes. Still, it’s a fact that in a battle of extremes, that ‘little’ might influence the state of the game…Lotus, I leave the decision to you.”

  “Mm…” The leader of this mission, Kuroyukihime, looked up at the dusky sky, as Fuko had. “When we went back to the other side for just a moment, the time was 12:20:15. In other words, we have nine minutes and forty-five seconds left until the forced disconnect safety set for twelve thirty is activated…We have 585,000 seconds on this side, which equals 162.5 hours, which equals six days and eighteen hours and thirty minutes.”

  Being able to churn out conversions between Accelerated World
and real-world time like that is another mark of a high ranker, huh? Haruyuki thought in one corner of his mind as he concentrated on Kuroyukihime’s voice.

  “During that time, there will be at least one change, and if we’re lucky, two. The battle against Metatron will likely—no, definitely—be a short one, so it would in theory be possible to wait for the next Change somewhere safe. Of course, there is a nonzero chance that the next stage will be a higher-level holy type, but in my experience, holy and dark types essentially never appear twice in a row. If we’re going to play it safe, we’ll go on standby for three days—”

  “K-Kuroyukihime!” Haruyuki shouted, unconsciously stepping forward. “It’s okay. No matter what the stage is, I’ll make sure to definitely repel Metatron’s laser! So no standby or anything, right away—” He frantically flapped his lips, a picture of Rin on a bed in the nurse’s room in the back of his mind the whole time.

  Even supposing they did spend three days on the inside, only four minutes and a bit would pass on the outside. But right now, Haruyuki couldn’t see that time as “only.” They had to free Rin from her suffering even one minute, one second faster. This was the promise Haruyuki had made when he took on the challenge of the two major missions back-to-back.

  “…Right now, we have to go to Midtown Tower!” Haruyuki pushed each word brokenly from his trembling chest and clenched his right hand into a tight fist.

  A hand covered in a cool film of water gently wrapped around that fist. The endlessly flowing water gently eased Haruyuki’s fitful impatience. “I completely understand how you feel, Crow.”

  The owner of the voice was Aqua Current, recently freed from a sealed state. Moving to stand in front of him, she stared hard at Haruyuki with eyes pale like the light of the moon reflected on the surface of water.

  “A very long time ago, back when I still hadn’t joined the Legion, I wasn’t able to help someone very important to me. This was someone very strong with incredibly big dreams, but…people were jealous and feared her, and their malice swallowed her up. Which is why I really do understand your wanting to hurry and save Ash Roller without wasting a single second. But that’s all the more reason why we can’t rush this. It’s not that anyone doubts your abilities. But you can’t win against Metatron by yourself. For all of us to give it everything we’ve got, we need to collect as much information as there is to collect, discuss it all again and again and again, and prepare as thoroughly as we can. That’s what’s needed right now.” For Akira, this was a very long and very emotional speech.

  Haruyuki slowly relaxed his shoulders and hung his head deeply. “…But…Three days—I mean, wait for three days…During that time, Kusakabe’s…”

  “I’m not saying three days. But will you give us a day—no, one night?”

  Off to the left of Haruyuki’s hanging head, he heard a powerful voice, as if shaking off its hesitation. He lifted his eyes and looked into the face of the swordmaster, Kuroyukihime. Beneath her inky goggles, her violet-blue eyes shone resolutely.

  “We won’t rely on the Change. Our attacks won’t hit Metatron in anything other than a Hell stage anyway. There’s nothing to be done about slight status corrections. But we do need to scout the area around Midtown Tower and reexamine the details of our strategy. And…I’m sure no one is aware of it right now, but the exhaustion from the battle with Seiryu before is still with us. We’ll rest a night, recover our mental energy, and take on Metatron in top condition. So that we can definitely save your friend—Ash Roller.”

  “…Okay!” Haruyuki took a deep breath and nodded forcefully. Prompt action and a reckless charge were totally different things. Up to that point, he had any number of times thoughtlessly barged into all kinds of situations and made everyone worry, but if he really wanted to make it to level seven—to become a high ranker—then it was about time he learned the importance of knowledge and thought. But also, so he didn’t disappoint Takumu in their promised duel.

  …Kusakabe, just twelve more hours. Hang on for just forty-three seconds in the real world. And then we’ll end all of this.

  He sent this third thought to Rin and then switched mental gears to the business of strategy. First, a night of rest. That said, there were a limited number of places where they could rest safely in the Unlimited Neutral Field, given the Enemies swarming around, and all the more so in a Twilight stage with all the buildings now half-destroyed like Greek ruins.

  “Um, so then, first of all, where…?” Haruyuki turned to look at Kuroyukihime, Akira, and the veteran squad, but everyone was wrestling with the same question. He didn’t get an answer right away.

  “Um, is it a big no to resting in the school?” Chiyuri asked. “Although, I guess the walls and floors are all busted up, but…”

  “Well, it’s not that we can’t rest here,” Niko replied. “But we’d hafta post a sentry so we don’t get attacked by Enemies or other Burst Linkers. That’s kind of a hassle, y’know? You don’t even have anyone to talk to or anything.”

  “Hee-hee-hee, it’s okay, Niko, sweetie! I’ll keep watch with you so you don’t get lonely!” Chiyuri teased.

  “Wh-who said anything about lonely?! And quit it with the ‘sweetie’ crap!”

  Watching this with a smile, Utai looked back as though she had suddenly remembered something. “Speaking of places to rest, Fu, can we not rest there?” she asked.

  “Mm-hmm, I thought of that, too, but it’s a little far,” Fuko replied. “From the east gate of the Castle, it’s just a little to the south, though. That would’ve been nice.”

  …There? Far? South of the east gate? Haruyuki input all this data into the computer in his mind, and the answer popped out with a ding!

  “Oh, right!” he shouted. “Master Raker has a house, doesn’t she?! No Enemies or Burst Linkers can get in there, so we could sleep in peace—” Here, he remembered exactly what he had been through at that house, and his mouth snapped shut.

  Haruyuki had visited Sky Raker’s player home, a house built on top of the old Tokyo Tower, two and a half months earlier. He had begged her to teach him the Incarnate System, and smiling gently, Raker had stretched out her right hand and mercilessly pushed him off—to the ground far, far below from a height of three hundred thirty-three meters.

  No way, that wouldn’t happen again—no, no, no way. I mean, I’ve already mastered Incarnate techniques, and I have my wings back, too. Even as he told himself this, Haruyuki was seized by an ominous premonition, even while the discussion proceeded among the girls.

  “Mm, I see. Yes, Fufuan. It is a little far from here, but fortunately, we have been allocated a taxi.”

  “Now, look here, I’m gonna start charging you! And where exactly is this Foo-foo-an anyway—Shiba Park?! Deep in Oscillatory, with Aurora just off to the right?! That’s haunted territory! Why would you—?”

  “Hee-hee, it’s the highest player home in all twenty-three wards of Tokyo, Red King. Currently, the only ones who can make it up there on their own are me and Corvus, and…Ash on a good day.”

  Although a pained look flickered across her face when she spoke Ash Roller’s name, Fuko quickly regained her smile and continued.

  “If we go the way we went before and then straight south from Kasumigaseki in the Chiyoda area, we can basically make it without really passing through Oscillatory Universe territory. But we used a lot of Incarnate techniques in the battle with Seiryu, so Beast-class Enemies might be gathering in that area right about now. It’s a little bit longer, but it would probably be better if we went up Yamate Street to Shinagawa and then go north.”

  “But then we’re cuttin’ right through GW territory? Those guys love Enemy hunting. We might run into a huge party. It is Sunday afternoon and all.”

  “Mm. Well, we’ll manage somehow.”

  “You can’t seriously be planning to chop them all down and pass through, yeah? I’m totally not into giving ol’ Iron Fists a reason to whine and complain at the next meeting of the Seven Kings. Th
at guy’s such a pain in the butt.”

  “Goodness, Fists can be quite adorable, though, you know. When I caught his rocket punch in midair and we all tickled it and pinched it and did all sorts of things, his reaction really made me burst out laughing.”

  “…You seriously get around and do your thing, Strong Arm,” Niko said, her red face mask paling slightly, and Pard bobbed her head up and down in her usual position behind the king.

  Kuroyukihime cleared her throat and brought the derailed conversation back on track. “A-anyway, I think the Shinagawa course from Shibuya is relatively less dangerous,” she said, sounding more like she was posing a question to all present. “The real headquarters for Oscillatory is hypothesized to be a girls’ school that goes all the way from elementary through university in Shirokane, Minato Ward, but there won’t be any problems if we move at a distance of more than two kilometers from there. Anyone have any opinions?”

  Chiyuri’s right hand twitched, but she stayed silent beside him. Haruyuki could basically guess what his childhood friend was thinking at that moment. She’d probably been about to ask Kuroyukihime why she had such detailed real info on the White Legion, which had its territory in distant Minato Ward.

  Given that the majority of Burst Linkers were elementary, junior high, or high school students, it was often the case that key Legion bases were the schools attended by the master or the senior executive. Nega Nebulus itself was like that, and the small Legion Petit Paquet they had encountered in the Setagaya area was the same.

  Thus, there was a certain level of risk at play if the name of the school/Legion base got around, although perhaps not on the level of an individual Burst Linker being cracked in the real. Kuroyukihime used her privileges as student council vice president to set up various defensive measures against any leaks, and Oscillatory Universe had to have been doing the same. Identifying the headquarters from outside was difficult in the extreme.