Chapter 14: The Resolve of the Incompetent

The building’s door creaked open.

Inside were countless children.

From small kids to ones nearly old enough for high school—students of every age filled the room.

"Listen up. Before long, a civil war is going to break out around here. To keep you—who are still immature in both body and mind—out of harm’s way, I’ll be leading you outside Arius to escape with me."

The students began murmuring anxiously.

"To be blunt, we don’t have much time or freedom. If you have complaints or questions, speak up now and keep it brief."

"Um… excuse me. You… you look like a kid yourself…"

…True enough. Even with a gas mask hiding the face and a hood drawn low, there was no concealing the height.

"My body just never grew properly, that’s all. When it comes to fighting, I’m stronger than your average high schooler. Anyone else?"

"Y-yes! M-my sister—she’s in high school! Where is she now…!?"

…!

The girl who had said she had a little sister over the radio.

The one who, even while trembling and crying, had stayed on the battlefield.

This must be her sister. Her gun had a tattered strap tied to it—the same as the other girl’s.

"Your sister is fighting right now. With her life on the line. She’s buying us time."

"T-then let me go too!"

"If you went to the battlefield now… the best you could do is force her to shield you. If you want to throw away your sister’s resolve, then by all means—go."

"...! Ah…!"

"…Sorry. That came out harsh. But your sister… she was thinking about you. Worrying about you."

"...No. Thank you… thank you so much…"

…Damn it. It makes me sick.

Why do children have to carry this kind of resolve, this kind of patience?

I want to let them meet again.

I want them to speak the words they still have left unsaid.

But for that—I’m far too powerless. Too incompetent.

"A-ano!"

Another student raised a trembling voice.

"W-what should we do once we’ve left Arius!?"

…What should they do, huh. They probably never even considered not coming back here.

"Don’t ever come back. Trust me—Arius isn’t the only academy in this world."

"Huh…?"

"Let’s see… If you like a refined atmosphere, Trinity’s the famous one. If you want strife, or to live as outsiders, then Gehenna. If you’re into building things or tinkering with machines, Millennium. Abydos… I wouldn’t recommend it, but if you’re good at paying off debts, that’s the place for you. There are plenty of other academies too. Choose the one that matches the future you want."

"Uh, um…"

"Of course, being told that all of a sudden isn’t easy. You’ve only ever trained. If you’re lost, then go to Plum Blossom Garden in Shanghaijing… or find someone named Saeki Hiro in Millennium’s district. You’ll learn all kinds of things. And you’ll find what you want to do."

So these kids wouldn’t be left stranded.

So they could live tomorrow with hope.

So they could fulfill the dream Cyan and Anna once had.

Right now, all I could do was show them the way forward.

"Anyone else? No? Good. Follow me. We’ll use a hidden passage to get as close to the district’s edge as possible. Once you’re out, run as far as you can. Don’t worry. Someone will help you."

That’s why. I had to say it now.

Because I couldn’t go with them.

"Looks like everyone’s in position. Are you ready?"

Multiple connections opened on Mototsuki Anna’s comms.

"The plan is just as I explained earlier. I’ll make myself seen and head for the top floor of the building. Since I’m the target, they’ll chase me with everything they’ve got. Along the way, we’ll hit them floor by floor. Inside a building, their numbers don’t matter, and neither does the difference in strength."

"Uh, um! May I ask something…?"

A student raised her hand nervously.

"What is it?"

"Isn’t there a risk the enemy might just bring the building down from outside…?"

"…No problem. Their goal is to kill me for sure. …Well, whether they actually think bombs that can destroy Halos are just anti-personnel weapons, I don’t know. But in any case, that’s not something you need to worry about."

"U-understood!"

"Anyone else? …No? Then leave the judgments on-site up to yourselves. I’ll take command of the overall battle."

With that, Anna stepped outside.

A battlefield of roaring gunfire and explosions awaited her.

Anna had always been weak physically—one stray bullet could easily take her down.

Carefully, cautiously, she revealed herself to the enemy.

"There! It’s Mototsuki Anna!!! Get the special equipment ready!!"

"Whew, scary scary. Guess I’ll be retreating now."

Before they could fire, she slipped back into the building and dashed up the stairs.

"She’s running!! After her!!"

"Gahhh!"

"Don’t let her through!! Kill her here!!"

The sounds of battle echoed behind her as she ascended, floor after floor, until she reached the top.

Her likely grave.

There, waiting, were comm devices, a detonator… and a certain manga.

The manga she had first picked up.

The one she had read over and over with Cyan until the pages nearly wore through.

"…Sheesh. If it was gonna end up like this, I should’ve read more manga and played more games while I had the chance."

She slipped the detonator into her pocket, took command of the battle, and with her free hand casually read.

A tired princess rescued by a prince—a dull, cliché, utterly typical story.

"…Yeah. Figures there’s no guy like that in real life. See, Cyan-chan? I was right all along, wasn’t I?"

Impossible. Miracles don’t happen in the real world.

No one was ever going to show up and save her.

"…Really. Just cheap miracles and plot contrivances…"

───I wanted to help someone like that. I wanted to be saved, too.

Shaking away the thought, she kept reading, issuing orders as the enemy drew closer.

One floor, then another, they climbed.

Over the comms came the screams and cries of her allies—some of the "Halo-destroying bombs" must have been used.

And finally… the door to the rooftop burst open.

"Yo. Of course it’d be you coming here, Saria."

"…You’ve played me well. We’ve lost considerable strength. And this is just a stalling tactic, isn’t it?"

Even as she connected the comms to that mysterious girl who wasn’t here, Anna faced Saria head-on.

"Anna!? What’s wrong, what happened!?"

"…"

She gave no answer.

She had staked everything—entrusted everything. Her wish, her promise with Cyan. Surely, they would escape. Together with the children from the training school.

"Well then, that’s absolutely correct. Do I get a gold star?"

"Don’t mock me. But it’s pointless. I’ve already sent what little forces I could spare to intercept them—with this bomb in hand."

"What…!? That bomb!? Is it meant to destroy the Halo!?"

Suou’s voice did not reach Saria.
Anna hadn’t opened the line to leave a will, nor to seek sympathy.
It was only to deliver information. Nothing else.

"And once you’re defeated… we’ll be heading that way as well. That will be the end of it."

"That so…? By the way, what kind of effect does that bomb have?"

"A bomb that reaps the consciousness of students. Take a hit, and you’ll be down for three days. Like this."

…So she really had been deceived by Beatrice.

Thinking that, Anna tried to dodge the bomb—but Saria’s gunfire cut her off. She couldn’t escape.

"…!!!"

Agony, like her body and soul being torn apart.
Her limbs no longer obeyed her.

"Anna…!? Anna, hey!!! Damn it all…!!!"

"Ha… just as I thought."

Biting down on her tongue to resist the encroaching darkness, Anna forced herself to speak to Saria.

"You’ve been tricked… That bomb… it’s one that kills… people…"

"…!? That can’t be true…!"

"Hah…! Whatever you believe… doesn’t matter to me…"

Her Halo, already collapsing from being weaker than Cyan’s.
Her body edged closer and closer to death.

"Still… just like Suou said… there’s a delay… before death… it seems…"

──I won’t let this one make it back to Suou.

If Suou was right, then in this state even a single bullet would be enough to kill her.
Even so, Anna forced her trembling hand into her pocket… and pulled out a button.

The detonator. For the bombs she had planted on the building’s main supports.

"Y-you don’t mean—"

"Idiot."

Without hesitation, she pressed the button. Explosives detonated in unison.
The building collapsed in on itself, engulfed in fire and thunder. Enemy and ally alike, swallowed whole.

"…Suou… I’m leaving the rest… to you…"

And as the flames consumed her too—Mototsuki Anna drew her final breath in peace.

"Anna…! Anna, hey!!! …Damn it…!!"

Ah… again.

Again, because I was too weak.

"A-are you… are you okay!?"

Turning, I saw the children—faces full of worry.
Here and now, I couldn’t afford to lose control.
I couldn’t burden them with needless fear.

"No… I’m fine. Don’t worry. We’ll be out of Arius’s autonomous zone soon."

Swallowing grief, frustration, guilt, and rage all at once,
I forced a smile—one they couldn’t see.

The time Anna bought us by taking Saria with her in the explosion…
I would never let it go to waste.

Forward. Always forward.

At last, we reached the shutter that marked the way out of the zone.
I pulled the lever and raised it.

"Listen up, no rushing. Go slowly. Don’t push the one in front of you."

One by one, the children began to flee.
But then—

"Where are they!? Where are they hiding!?"
"Don’t let them escape!"

Most likely, those were the shouts of the extremists.
The very pursuers Saria had mentioned through Anna’s transmission.

The children froze, their movements slowing ever so slightly.

"Don’t stop!!!"

"…!!"

"Listen. I’ll take them on. While I hold them off, you all run."

…If it’s me now, I should be able to fight.
Back then, when I tried to fire in anger, I had grasped it—the feeling of channeling power… channeling mystery.
With that, even if the enemy carried one of those so-called ‘Halo-destroying bombs’… I could win. I had to believe that.

"Y-you…!?"

One of the children looked at me, eyes full of fear.

"Aren’t you… coming with us!?"

"…"

My gaze drifted to the world beyond the shutter.
It was night, yet light spilled through—so bright I had to squint.

"…No. I’ll stay. I can’t go with you yet. There are things I still have to do."

"…!"

The children of the Arius district—these few weren’t all of them.
There were still street children like the Arius Squad, still more abandoned kids sure to appear. Even among those who escaped, some might still be caught.

…Anna must have known that.
She understood, and even so, she saved as many lives as she could… entrusting me with fulfilling the promise I’d made to Cyan.
She had hoped I would escape alongside these kids, had trusted me with them—because she was kind.

…And yet.
I couldn’t abandon the children who would remain here. I couldn’t run away.
I had to stay—to help even a little, for those who would suffer from here on.

"Now go! Run! There’s no guarantee I’ll be able to stop them!!"

"…!"

As soon as I saw the children dash off, I turned and sprinted the opposite way.
Deeper into Arius’s district.
Into the dark, dark abyss.