The Roses of Tartarus

by Gakuto Mikumo

  “Understood,” Astarte replied with a neutral expression as she took out a specialized communication device.

  Watching this unfold, Natsuki remained relaxed on the couch as she elegantly snapped her fingers. The space above the table rippled, and a triple-layer cake stand filled with extravagant treats appeared out of thin air.

  “As a special treat, I shall grant you some of my tea pastries, Yukina Himeragi. After all, even I am out of my element where geomancy is concerned. Your opinion has been quite informative.”

  “No, I didn’t do anything to…”

  Yukina shook her head; Natsuki’s nigh-unthinkable hospitality seemed to frighten her.

  Then Natsuki turned her beautiful, gemstone-like eyes toward Kojou and said, “Just to make this clear, do not involve yourself where you do not belong, Kojou Akatsuki.”

  “I wouldn’t if you begged me,” he said, sulking.

  Even if he was a feng shui practitioner, Takehito Senga’s flesh and blood was surely that of a normal person. Kojou’s power was useless against such an opponent. After all, the Beast Vassals of the Fourth Primogenitor, the World’s Mightiest Vampire, were too powerful—not the sort of thing to be used against human opponents.

  “Never mind that, won’t you do something about these chains already…?”

  Lifting his two arms, still bound by golden chains, Kojou glared at Natsuki in dismay.

  Natsuki tossed an annoyed glance at Kojou before spitting out, “Goodness, you make so much trouble for others.”

  “This is your doing, dammit!”

  The instant Kojou’s voice went coarse in outrage, Astarte, operating her communication device, called out to Natsuki quietly:

  “Master.”

  “What is it, Astarte?”

  The look in Natsuki’s eyes sharpened. Astarte reported in a mechanical, businesslike tone, “Emergency message from Island Guard HQ. Code orange has been declared for all Attack Mages assigned to the Gigafloat Management Corporation.”

  “Orange, you say…?!”

  Natsuki let out a brief murmur as she grabbed the communication device Astarte held out. Her highly unusual reaction prompted Kojou and Yukina to look at each other’s faces.

  “What? Something bad, Natsuki?”

  “Earlier, two senior executives of the Gigafloat Management Corporation were killed by a sniper.”

  “…Sniper?”

  Dumbfounded, Kojou echoed the words. They barely felt real.

  Assassinations had occurred on Itogami Island. Someone had shot executives of the Gigafloat Management Corporation. It was surely connected to the continuing blockade of Itogami Island via a feng shui barrier.

  First, halt the distribution of goods. Then, eliminate the corporate managers that would be developing countermeasures—

  One by one, the go stones for Itogami Island’s destruction were being carefully laid in position.

  “So the objective is to throw the Corporation’s command structure into chaos… It’s certain, then. This is a terrorist attack, and the Demon Sanctuary is the target. Someone is attempting to destroy Itogami Island.”

  Natsuki’s voice, lacking its usual youthful lisp, echoed heavily throughout Kojou’s chest.

  “Tartarus Lapse…!”

  Kojou’s unintentional murmur trickled out between clenched teeth.

  7

  An atmosphere of unrest enveloped the offices of the Gigafloat Management Corporation.

  The incident reports involving ships and aircraft had increased without pause. There was the halt in the distribution of goods and the resulting economic losses. And then, the deaths of two senior executives—it was a crisis never before seen. Even when an evil god had emerged, or when Itogami Island was predicted to lose all magical power, the Corporation had never been in this much of an uproar.

  With one branch of the Corporation after another falling into paralysis, countermeasures for the situation fell to Kazuma Yaze, chief manager of the city’s administration office working directly for the city council.

  “That’s right, hurry up and determine the sniping points and the sniper. Dispatch protection teams to all senior executives. Reorganize our security considering the possibility our schedules have leaked.”

  Kazuma issued one directive after another to his subordinates as he perused the reports piled before him.

  The chief manager and his subordinates had been working nonstop since the night before without a single wink of sleep. Even so, the situation had only grown worse. They could simply gaze with astonishment at the sight of damage to the city increasing, with the cause of the string of incidents still unknown.

  “Chief. News from the Aviation Division. As of thirteen hundred hours, there have been six new aircraft-related incidents. Similarly, there have been numerous shipping incidents. An accurate tally is currently being tabulated.”

  “I see. Though, having come this far, there isn’t really room for doubt, is there?”

  When he listened to his blue-haired secretary’s report to the end, Kazuma slumped back in his chair and closed his eyes.

  As he did, the secretary placed a fresh cup of coffee before him and prompted, “Large-scale sorcerous terrorism, then?”

  “What is the Attack Mage Branch’s view?”

  Kazuma inquired without replying to her question. The homunculus secretary showed no sign of her mood being dampened as she replied immediately.

  “At present, a recon team of four Federal Attack Mages has been dispatched to investigate incidents at sea.”

  “Still at that stage when the first incidents occurred over twenty-four hours ago? Taking their sweet time, aren’t they?”

  “Yes.”

  The secretary’s expression did not change as she nodded.

  Kazuma sank into silence with displeasure on his face. The two senior executives who had been assassinated were individuals managing the artificial isle’s internal security and demon registry, respectively. With those two absent, the command structure of the largest source of combat power under the Gigafloat Management Corporation’s aegis—the Island Guard—was in chaos. That was probably why the pair had been targeted to begin with.

  If so, assassinating VIPs and cutting them off from supplies was only one stage in the snipers’ plan.

  Their actions had to have some sort of objective—something fouler, viler. Even though he knew this, there was nothing Kazuma could do about it. They’d been completely robbed of their authority to lead. The snipers had accurately targeted the vitals of the Gigafloat Management Corporation—and the Demon Sanctuary itself.

  “Quite a racket here, Chief.”

  A man wearing a kimono emerged from the director’s office, a look of scorn coming over him as he gazed at Kazuma and his panicked subordinates.

  This was the wielder of the greatest authority in the famed Yaze family, with numerous large-scale industrial concerns under its belt, and honorary chairman of the Gigafloat Management Corporation—Akishige Yaze, Kazuma’s biological father.

  “Chairman Yaze…,” Kazuma murmured in a tone filled with reverence.

  Akishige glanced at Kazuma with a stern look in his eye. “If the man running an organization appears faint of heart, morale in the lower ranks will suffer. Strive to maintain perfect composure at all times.”

  “I have no excuse.”

  Kazuma courteously lowered his head. The men assembled around and walking alongside Akishige trained scornful glances toward Kazuma. Kazuma’s mother was not Akishige’s formal wife. Even if he was the son of the current head, Kazuma was scorned by members of the family as an illegitimate son.

  Perhaps the fact that Kazuma had climbed the ranks on merit alone, enough that he was said to be Akishige’s successor, had fanned the flames of enmity even further, but Kazuma pretended not to notice.

  “Chairman, where are you going?”

  “After meeting with City Councillor Hashimura, I am scheduled to attend the Sorcerous Society’s commemorative ceremon
y.”

  “Commemorative ceremony…?!”

  Kazuma’s eyes widened in shock. With so many people coming and going, a ceremonial hall was a sniper’s paradise.

  “But the Island Guard is on Alert Level Two…”

  “Are you saying I should seclude myself within a bamboo cage out of fear of mere assassins?”

  Akishige chewed out Kazuma. As the leader of a vast organization and the chairman of a major conglomerate, it was inexcusable for him to show weakness to criminals. Even if it placed Akishige’s life in peril, he intended to see things through.

  “…I will increase security. Please take care of yourself and avoid open areas.”

  “Understood.”

  With a solemn nod, Akishige turned his back on Kazuma, who let out a heavy, strained sigh as he watched the group depart.

  A moment later, the blue-haired secretary addressed Kazuma. “Chief, we’ve received concerning news about Attack Mage Minamiya.”

  “Attack Mage Minamiya? The Witch of the Void… What is it?”

  “This is the data she sent—”

  Peering into the communication device the secretary handed him, Kazuma let out a tiny murmur, for displayed therein was data on the sorcerous terrorism suspects that the entire Attack Mage Branch had been unable to unearth.

  The Demon Sanctuary destruction group—Tartarus Lapse.

  “Why didn’t the Attack Mage Branch realize this?”

  “Information on Tartarus Lapse has been designated top secret. All data has been archived. Regular investigators are not authorized to view it,” the secretary replied calmly.

  Kazuma clicked his tongue.

  “Begin procedures to disclose the information immediately. After that, contact the Lion King Agency. There have to be operatives of theirs inside Itogami City. Request cooperation. And don’t take no for an answer.”

  “Acknowledged.”

  The blue-haired secretary returned to her seat. In his mind, Kazuma desperately tried to calculate the personnel he could assign to apprehend the criminals.

  Now that they’d determined it was organized sorcerous terrorism, they’d immediately request assistance from the Japanese government in any other case. However, even if they demanded extra investigators, all aircraft heading to Itogami Island had already been rendered unable to fly.

  This situation, too, was doubtlessly part of the culprits’ goals. In the end, they had to oppose Tartarus Lapse with only the limited fighting strength left on the island.

  Kazuma nervously bit his lip. “Shit… Do I call Motoki… Heimdall back? But the problem with that is—”

  BOOM—

  Suddenly, there was a dull vibration throughout all of Itogami Island. Even the giant structure that was Keystone Gate experienced tiny tremors. It was an impact reminiscent of a meteorite crash.

  The pile of files scattered all over the floor as the lights within the office cut out several times over.

  “What was that vibration? What happened?!”

  Kazuma turned back toward his blue-haired secretary and shouted. Even in this situation, the homunculus woman was calm.

  “Fire has broken out in the third underground parking lot. It is possible an explosive was employed.”

  “An explosive…?”

  For an instant, Kazuma felt like his mind was receding far away.

  Most of the members of the Island Guard’s security teams were watching for snipers. Did that mean someone had gotten behind them and set an explosive underground?

  “Chief!”

  The face of a staffer taking a call over an internal line twitched as he called out to Kazuma.

  “Honorary Chairman Akishige Yaze’s car was in the third underground parking lot—”

  The staffer’s report, virtually a scream, left Kazuma at a loss for words.

  The blue-haired secretary operated a terminal as she stated in a calm, flat voice, “Chairman Yaze’s vitals…have been lost.”

  8

  Nagisa Akatsuki realized that something had shifted inside her.

  Likely, the trigger for that was the vision she’d seen at Kannawa Lake.

  It was as if she’d woken from a long dream. Everything she could see felt dear to her.

  The clear, blue sea. The midwinter sky.

  She felt such nostalgia for the supposedly familiar sights of Itogami Island that it was hard to breathe.

  And the tightness in her chest when she exchanged words with Kojou was suffocating.

  Just seeing him send a smile Yukina’s or Asagi’s way was enough to make tears pour out of her eyes.

  “Uuu… What’ll I do? I won’t even be able to look at Kojou’s face at this rate…!”

  Nagisa clutched her head in anguish as she stood by herself in a seaside park.

  Just meeting Kojou’s eyes made her chest throb. Every casual gesture of his made her rejoice—I’m acting like a maiden in love, she thought. Even though she thought it was ridiculous, she couldn’t properly control her emotions. At the current rate, it was only a matter of time before her friends from class caught on.

  It was because Nagisa had found those misty feelings too much to handle that she had finally raced out of school.

  “It’s not like I can talk to anyone about this… I mean, really, what’s with this feeling? And I thought I’d calm down a bit once I got back to Itogami Island…”

  Nagisa put her weight against a handrail as she let out an exhausted sigh.

  Nagisa was at the coastal park at the northern extremity of Island South. With the sea between them, the wedge-shaped Keystone Gate was visible on the opposite coast. She had no special reason to go there. After leaving school and walking around for a while, she’d simply arrived, almost as if drawn to the place.

  Even as she gazed absentmindedly at the scenery, thoughts of Kojou remained in a corner of her mind.

  Somehow or other, Nagisa understood the cause.

  Inside Nagisa rested a soul that was not her own. And the memories of the still-sleeping girl were having an effect on Nagisa’s emotions.

  She did not know who the girl truly was. Nagisa was certain she was not an evil being, though.

  Right now, the only thing the young girl desired was to watch over Kojou. That was no doubt why Nagisa had accepted her.

  That said, she’d never thought an issue like this would arise because of it, even in her wildest dreams.

  “What do I do…?”

  Once more, Nagisa put her bewilderment into words.

  She didn’t know who she ought to talk to at a time like that.

  Nagisa’s mother, Mimori Akatsuki, was a chief of research, but while she was a doctor, she was not a spiritualist. Her grandmother, Hisano, was an accomplished spiritualist, but unfortunately, she was deep in the mountains in Kansai, far, far away from Itogami Island. Of course, she couldn’t open up to any of her friends in class, let alone Kojou himself—that was simply out of the question.

  “Kanon might listen to me, but I don’t know how she’ll react, so I’m a little afraid…”

  Nagisa frailly murmured to herself. Kanon was so benevolent, even if Nagisa told her she was in a bind from liking Kojou, she might not actually see why there was a problem with that. Indeed, she might well encourage the two to get along even “better.”

  In the end, with no answer forthcoming, Nagisa absentmindedly gazed at the sea, when—

  “Here.”

  Suddenly, something cold pressed against the back of her neck.

  “Hyaa?!”

  The powerful and completely unexpected stimulus made Nagisa cry out.

  When Nagisa turned around, her eyes were met with a cup of ice cream. An unfamiliar girl wearing a motorcycle helmet was standing there, holding it.

  “Want a bite? Lulu’s ice cream. It’s delicious.”

  Standing there was a foreign girl, her skin as white as snow. She was far more petite than Nagisa’s initial assessment. The girl was wearing platform shoes, but that only left her bar
ely tall enough to not have to look up at Nagisa.

  “Huh?! Um…why?”

  It was not out of wariness that Nagisa prompted back, but simple surprise.

  The girl coercively pressed the ice cream into Nagisa’s hand as she said, “You seemed to be worrying about something. I just happened to notice. When you’re down in the dumps, sweet stuff really is best!”

  The girl was surprisingly adamant about this.

  Wrapped up in the girl’s unique atmosphere, Nagisa unwittingly nodded along. Certainly, the girl had a point. The power of sweet things was tremendous, indeed.

  “Um, thank you very much. I’ll pay you back for it.”

  “It’s fine, it’s fine—you can thank me by putting up with me. I mean, I’d rather eat something tasty with someone else than eat it all alone.”

  The girl spoke as she retrieved her own cup of ice cream from a pocket. It was Itogami Island’s famous Lulu’s brand. Using the little spoon included, she took a bite of the ice cream.

  “Delicious,” she murmured, raising a childlike voice of admiration. “December.”

  “Huh?”

  “My name. I like it, so I’d be happy if you called me that.”

  Sliding her goggles up her helmet, the girl named December narrowed her eyes—eyes that seemed to glimmer blue.

  “Ah yes.” Nagisa nodded. “Got it.”

  “Good, good.” December smiled with visible satisfaction. “And you? What should I call you?”

  “Nagisa. Nagisa Akatsuki. The kanji are written like this.”

  “Mm, mm. Nagisa Akatsuki… Huh.”

  December’s big eyes seemed to peer into the back of Nagisa’s own. Nagisa had the mysterious sense that the girl was looking through her, right to the depths of her mind. Yet somehow, it was a nostalgic feeling. It didn’t seem like she and the girl were meeting for the first time.

  “I see, so that’s what it is…,” December murmured with a gentle smile.

  Nagisa blinked her eyes, perplexed. However, December’s shoulders sank, seeming somewhat in a bind as she said, “I knew she was here, but who would think we would meet together like this… Well, I suppose such is destiny. It’s hard for both of you, isn’t it?”