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City Series - Volume Tune Bust City Hong Kong B - Chapter Epilogue

Published at 2nd of January 2016 12:43:45 PM


Chapter Epilogue

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Afternoon Section - Final Act: Akira (4:57) 
Part 1 
Fifteen seconds after the battle began, Akira noticed her disadvantage.

The three Earth Burns were making constant hit and away attacks and she was creating spears from the wind Lives, but…

“It’s not affecting that Earth Serpent at all!”

She swung Wild Königin while yelling.

A great wind bird was instantly born. She had used an Octave greater than three million and the giant bird of prey had a wingspan of forty meters.

The bird gave a high-pitched screech and flew at the Earth Serpent.

The three Earth Burns moved out ahead of the bird as they too flew toward the dragon over ten times their size.

The dragons of blue, green, and brown tore at the Earth Serpent with their claws and fangs.

The bird of prey performed a tackle.

The beak, wings, and talons made of wind were enough for the Earth Serpent to move back a little.

But that was all.

The Earth Burns and her Tuning were showing little noticeable effect. She continued attacking, but the Earth Serpent was devouring Hong Kong all the while.

“I need to destroy that giant body,” she muttered.

At the same time, the Earth Serpent raised its head in the Wan Chai district and looked up into the heavens.

Its yellow eyes focused on the cloud-covered sky.

A beat later, it roared.

The roar was a physical blow.

“!”

Akira’s wings shook and some smaller feathers scattered into the air.

The three Earth Burns were overpowered and retreated defensively into the sky.

That cry had been more than just a roar.

The great sea surrounding Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula exploded from the very bottom.

“…!?”

The nighttime sea had the same color as deep darkness and its Lives had the same Word Color.

The air was pushed back by the Lives bursting from the sea and became a salty wind.

The roar created a powerful gust of wind, but even then it did not end.

In every direction, the Lives of the sea drew upward-pointing arcs and gathered around the Earth Serpent. The great dragon’s great roar was summoning the appropriate Lives.

The Lives making up the sea created giant angular wings for the Earth Serpent.

It intended to fly.

“Wait… That’s no joke!”

Wild Königin replied to Akira’s shout.

…Akira! Look down!

It was Gunmal’s Live.

She did as he said and saw a small space at Central’s wharf that had escaped the destruction.

She also saw a few of her friends there.

…!?

She gasped and Gunmal said more.

…We’re ready for the fire element! It’s only gonna last an instant, okay!?

“Eh!?”

…Don’t act so surprised! Hurry on down! It’s after you!

When she heard that last comment, Akira cleared her ears.

Lives filled with great pressure were attempting to leave the earth.

The Earth Serpent was going to fly and Akira understood everything.

She held Wild Königin under her arm and let the Lives around her ring.

…I’m going to create an Earth Serpent, too!

The three Earth Burns roared in response to her will.

It was a pleasant noise and she kicked off the air while listening to the trio.

She made a rapid descent to where Gunmal had called her.

She flapped her wings, split the air, and moved in a straight line.

The wharf grew below her and the individual people came into view.

Gunmal was there and he raised a hand as if in greeting when he saw her.

That was the signal.

The four tanks gathered in the center of the wharf exploded, producing pillars of fire.

“You want me to use-…!?”

She never finished her shouted question.

Without slowing her descent, she held Wild Königin down and flew right into the explosive flames.

Wild Königin’s blade split the rising flames.

…This will work!

She immediately started singing and the desired change was instantly achieved.

With a single swing, Wild Königin broke down the Lives of fire, heat, light, and smoke. The surrounding space was dyed in crimson.

“She did it!”

She heard the General’s voice as she flew back up into the sky and a second explosion followed after her.

Flames burst from the four tanks from left to right and four pillars of fire rose into the night sky.

Those four flaming pillars ascended in a straight line before spiraling around each other and combining.

The resultant crimson pillar swelled out much farther than the tanks from which it was born.

A red dragon was created in the sky and Akira flew right in front of it.

She lightly tapped the fire Earth Burn’s nose with Wild Königin as if greeting it.

The dragon narrowed its eyes a little and nodded.

The previous three Earth Burns joined them.

With the Earth Burns of all four elements following her, Akira briefly looked down.

Her companions were looking up at her and the dragons from the wharf.

Akira looked back down at them.

“Oh, it’s Rin.”

She spotted someone she had not seen for a while.

The woman wore a black combat outfit and a similarly-dressed young man – Fei – stood next to her.

Akira breathed a sigh of relief before her eyes stopped on another point of the wharf.

Gunmal stood there with Wild König in his hand.

“…”

She smiled a little and redirected her gaze upwards.

The typhoon had covered the sky with storm clouds.

The sky was dark, but a light illuminated it from below.

“…?”

It was the Earth Serpent.

Its horns, face, body, and wings all glowed with a somewhat yellowish coloration.

That was the power of Yang provided by Double Lee’s blood.

“Is it the power of Yang and my brother’s Live that are driving the dragon higher?”

She nodded.

“Then I only have one option.”

The very next moment, she flew straight up.

“Let’s go, everyone.”

She flew toward heaven.

Toward a higher place.

Part 2 
Akira flew without looking down.

“I need to be able to reach heaven.”

She used the strength of her wings to lift her body higher and higher.

The air grew heavier and heavier, but she accelerated to overcome that weight.

To continue flying, she needed to read the wind.

She flew higher.

Toward a higher place.

“I need draw in the moonlight for the power of Yin.”

She flew.

…The wind is weak.

She desperately read the Lives.

She picked up the wind even as it thinned from the great altitude and she rode that current to accelerate.

She sharpened her mind.

She closed her eyes and ears and she focused her senses on her wings and the hands holding Wild Königin.

When she did, she found she could see and hear the surrounding Lives.

Even with no wind, the wind Lives were there.

And if those were there, so were the air Lives.

Many different kinds of Lives floated in the air, even if only in small quantities: water, cloud, heat, chill, and the excitement rising from those in Hong Kong.

It all reached Akira and saw her off.

She combined acceleration and flight and felt many different Lives passing through her body.

It was the same as when she had seen Gunmal’s Live.

She sped up, flew between the floating Lives, and passed through them.

It was a pleasant feeling.

…Amazing.

Her mind smiled a little.

Her Live was joyfully shouting that she needed to climb even higher.

…I can’t fight it.

Her heart desired to move higher, higher, and faster.

That desire cut off her senses and created everything.

She could sense the four dragons holding their breath and following her.

The wind, the air, and even gravity spoke to her with their Messages rather than any physical form.

Her own Live responded and she flew ever higher as if pushed on by them.

She accelerated.

She needed to reach a great height, so she flew.

The Message sung by her Live desired what was there: the power of Yin that filled the moonlight.

Every time she flapped her wings, she could feel herself approaching her destination.

The word “joy” filled her mind.

…Why?

A question occurred to her.

…Why did I try to get rid of this?

She had no time to answer the question.

She simply ascended.

Spatially, her destination was far. Temporally, it was close.

“Here it is,” she said.

She shifted her focus from the sensations in her body and back to reality.

Her beating pulse proved her own existence.

“…”

Without speaking a word, she looked around.

The four Earth Burns surrounded her.

Below, Hong Kong Island’s broken shape and the Kowloon Peninsula looked even smaller than on a map. The sea spread out around them and she could see small lights at the ends of that ocean.

Those were the cities of other countries.

Akira breathed a sigh of relief while looking at the lights of cities she had never visited.

Her elated senses heard the voices of Lives ringing in the heavens and the earth.

They belonged to the night, the sky, the clouds, the wind, the city, the earth, and the people.

“Yes.”

She gave a satisfied nod.

“It’s so full of life.”

She then looked up to the dark clouds.

They formed a dome-like curtain that turned somewhat downward.

She could not see the heavens, but she still asked a question without looking away.

“Gunmal?”

She spoke quietly, but Wild Königin still answered.

…What is it?

She smiled at his somehow kind tone.

“I want to see the moon.”

…I see.

A few seconds after that, he continued with a bitter laugh.

…I told you what to do if you need something, didn’t I?

“Yes, but are you sure? I’m going to call your Wild Name.”

…Go for it. I wouldn’t be able to reach you otherwise.

“That’s true.”

She nodded, raised Wild Königin like a sword, and closed her eyes.

She exhaled and then inhaled deeply.

She gathered all of her senses on Wild Königin and felt Wild König reaching her.

When she realized Gunmal was doing the same thing, her smile deepened.

A moment later, they moved in unison, called each other’s Wild Names, and spoke.

Part 3 
“La.”

Akira’s Live began with that sound.

“Ah.”

Gunmal’s Live began with that sound.

The two Lives resonated with each other and raced through Hong Kong’s heavens and earth.

“…!”

The powerful steel-colored Live fired from the surface collided with Akira’s Wild Königin in the heavens and was amplified into even greater power.

Light exploded into the dark clouds.

The wave of light tore into the eye of the typhoon and blew away the peak of the dark clouds spiraling around Hong Kong.

Like a ripple, a hole opened and spread through the clouds.

The receding clouds flowed even faster than water.

The sound of the wind contained a metallic sharpness.

It was a bursting sound.

It only took three seconds for the light to destroy the clouds.

A different light appeared afterwards.

This was not a steel-colored light rising from below, the unnecessarily bright light of Yang, or an artificial light.

This pale, refreshing light took the form of the full moon positioned above Hong Kong.

Part 4 
The moonlight washed over Akira’s entire body.

Each feather of her angular wings spread out to increase the surface area exposed to the moonlight.

Her wings cried out in flight.

She looked down at Hong Kong far below.

She saw a glowing beast there: the Earth Serpent.

It had stopped moving as it lay on the Kowloon Peninsula and let its wings smolder a little.

She could sense its gaze on her.

It was clearly looking up at her.

…Could it be waiting?

“That would be nice, brother.”

She nodded and spoke with her eyes stopped on the white beast.

“Gunmal, um, once this battle is over…”

She took a breath.

“How about we go to the beach?”

He did not respond, but she continued anyway.

“We can invite everyone, talk by the water…and go swimming. I did buy a swimsuit for this year.”

…It had better be a two-piece.

She smiled bitterly at his sudden comment.

“I had a feeling you’d say that. …But don’t worry. I think we have similar tastes.”

…Ha ha ha. Then I guess I should prepare a car. I’ll need to get my license.

“Hm? You’ll take me?”

…Yeah. If I didn’t, you’d fly there.

“True.”

She nodded and looked up to the moon.

“Wait for me. I’ll be right back.”

…Don’t push yourself too hard.

“Eh?”

…You’re on even footing now. So don’t rush this and go have some fun until you’re worn out. Okay?

She was the one not to answer his question this time.

She slowly closed her eyes and opened her mouth instead.

The voice that left her lips was her Live.

“La.”

She hummed the Live that began with that sound.

But that gentle hum gradually filled with strength and stretched out to a longer sound.

City v03b 347.jpg
“…!”

She released a loud voice and then sang the Flight Song.

“彼街通天地

“墜朝地仰雲

“昇夜空謳月

“惟望再笑君”

She sang the song with the perfectly round moon overhead and the moonlight washing over her body.

She embraced Wild Königin with her entire body.

“…!”

Her song rang out for a long time.

Her body began to fall as if pulled down by the voice descending toward Hong Kong.

The fall began slow, but it gradually picked up speed.

As if synchronized to the gravitational acceleration, Wild Königin amplified her Live more and more.

Her body broke down into Lives. It turned to dust or a glowing mist using the same process her brother had used.

Wild Königin fell while surrounded by her song, her Lives, and the moonlight.

The single spear simply dropped while shining in the moonlight.

The four Earth Burns gathered and spiraled around it.

The four-colored streams wrapped around the moonlight in the center.

The transformation only took an instant.

A bluish-whit dragon with a single great horn appeared in the heavens.

It was an Earth Serpent with the power of Yin.

It roared to express the joy of its birth.

That loud voice was as metallic as a peacock cry as it burst out.

It was the voice of the dragon Akira had become.

The Yang Earth Serpent consuming Hong Kong’s earth reacted to the cry.

It looked up toward heaven and gave a sharp roar of its own.

The dragon roars reverberated without end.

The city rumbled without end.

The two dragons flew.

The Yin Earth Serpent flew from heaven to earth.

The Yang Earth Serpent flew from earth to heaven.

They charged toward each other with nimbleness unthinkable for their size.

They were fast and they would collide in an instant.

But a certain movement appeared just before those sparks audibly scattered.

Part 5 
The two dragons shifted their positions just before colliding.

“…!”

Just as it looked like they would wrap around each other as if to tie a knot, they rapidly parted.

The Yang Earth Serpent curved to the right and ascended while the Yin Earth Serpent curved to the left and descended.

Together, they formed a double helix shape.

A bluish-white spiral and a yellowish-white spiral raced through Hong Kong’s night sky.

The intersection of the two dragons below the moon created a puff of light.

It was a collection of Lives.

The Yang dragon split off the Lives it had created by breaking down Hong Kong and the Yin dragon absorbed them.

It almost looked like the one was handing its excess nutrients to its starving sister.

The two great dragons raised simultaneous cries.

That signaled the end of the ceremony.

The Yang Earth Serpent moved first and it pushed the air out of the way to fly toward heaven.

The Yin Earth Serpent looked up at it for just a moment before facing down once more.

The one-horned dragon descended in a straight line.

Its gaze was centered on Hong Kong Cave.

After the sound of something slicing through the wind, the Yin Earth Serpent twisted its bluish-white body and dove inside Hong Kong Cave.

Song of Farewell 
Gunmal ran up the Hong Kong Island mountain path that led to Hong Kong Cave.

When he glanced upwards, he could not see the door to heaven or the Yang Earth Serpent.

A few minutes had passed since the dragon Akira had become had dove into Hong Kong Cave with a great roar.

Hong Kong had already left England’s control.

“…”

He ran.

He swung Wild König to break the rocks blocking his way and he hurried to the mountain peak.

He was out of breath, but he did arrive there.

He reached the edge of the great hole once known as Hong Kong Cave.

“…Akira.”

He stood on the very edge and looked down.

There, he saw what Akira had wanted.

He saw Hong Kong Cave after it had been Tuned by the dragon she had become.

Nothing was out of place and there was not a stain to be seen. The barriers built out of fear of others were gone, but the empty city had been perfectly recreated along the sides of the great pit.

It was a pretty city.

It was so delicate that it almost looked like a paper model.

Gunmal smiled and stared down at it.

His gaze dropped down to the very bottom of the pit where he saw a light.

It was the moon.

“The moon?”

He tilted his head but then realized what it was.

It was the spring.

The water at the very bottom was reflecting the moon.

It was a perfectly round and wonderful moon.

“I can’t believe this.”

He sat down, took a breath, placed a hand on his chin, and glanced up at the heavens.

The real full moon floated there.

He sighed and spoke to no one in particular as its light washed over him.

“You really do lose out when you try to act tough, don’t you?”

His words were carried away by the wind blowing up from the sea.

Only his silhouette cast a dark mark on the ground thanks to the moonlight.

All Sections - Ending: Encore - The Flight Song (2:17) 
A festival was underway in Hong Kong Cave.

It was celebrating the fifth year since Hong Kong Cave had been Tuned by Akira’s Earth Serpent.

The city was bright.

There were now people in Hong Kong Cave.

Some were Glossolalians and some were Nein Engels.

No accurate census had been taken, but it was known that more than a million lived there now.

There was a height difference of three kilometers from the bottom to the surface and most of the wide levels were residential areas. There was more than enough space for people to live.

The city was full of life.

The festival played a role, but the city was also filled with the shouts and songs from shops and performers.

Currently, three people were slowly descending through the pleasant noise of the giant layered city.

One was an old man, one was a young man, and the last was a child who ran out ahead of them.

The boy in a nice child’s suit had four wings.

He unsteadily ran down the stairs and turned back toward the two adults walking more slowly behind him.

“Hey, Uncle Gunmal! Can I go on ahead!?”

“Yes, but…hey, G2! Don’t get lost.”

The young man replied to the boy with the Urban Name of G2.

Gunmal wore a coat of contrasting black and white and he carried Wild König on his back.

There was no harshness in his expression and the passage of five years could clearly be seen on his face.

Similarly, the General still wore his usual work uniform, but he was surrounded by a somehow calm aura.

The old man rubbed the scar on his cheek and glanced up at the young man.

“Heh heh heh. You go by uncle now, do you?”

“I don’t want to hear that from someone who could be his great-grandfather.”

“…Where’s his mother?”

“In London.”

“Rin is too, isn’t she? That’s probably for the best. Kouga handled things pretty well.”

“…”

“Rumor has it the god there is personally performin’ Double Lee’s resurrection ceremony to question him. If so, maybe he’ll eventually come here for Akira’s-…”

Gunmal cut off the General.

“Let’s not talk about that.”

“It’s been five years. Hong Kong Cave is back to normal…so why hasn’t she come back?”

“We can only wait.”

“Then why are you here? Weren’t you goin’ to wait it out?”

“My nephew said he wanted to come here.”

“Liar. Quit tryin’ to act tough.”

“But it makes me look cool.”

The General sighed.

“I understand …You’re here to give up, ain’t you?”

“…”

“After five years, Hong Kong’s been revived inside this hole and we’re all more or less back to normal. But Akira alone is missin’.”

“But we made a promise.”

“For what?”

“We were gonna go to the beach once she came back.”

“Then why are you givin’ up?”

Gunmal smiled bitterly.

“I’m not giving up.”

“Really? Then why’d you choose to take over the Maldrick family?”

“Because that lets me make the rules.”

“?”

“Next year, I’m building a workshop here. Just like my brother did.”

“…”

The General fell silent as they arrived at the lowest level.

The stone-paved plaza had shops set up here and there and the sunlight poured down from directly above.

A large spring sat at the center and Gunmal’s nephew, G2, was scooping up and playing with the water.

The General narrowed his eyes when he saw the boy.

“That boy really does look a little like J-Gun.”

“Really? When he was born, I thought he looked just like a monkey.”

“Don’t say that when the boy can hear you.”

“Don’t worry. According to my mom, my brother and I were the same.”

“So you’re a family of damn monkeys?”

“Please, enough compliments.”

While exchanging verbal jabs, Gunmal and the General walked forward.

Gunmal stopped next to the spring-side stone monument engraved with the Flight Song.

He sat down and G2 stood next to him.

“Hey, hey, hey, hey! Uncle! This is where that Nein Engel you love is sleeping, isn’t it!?”

“She’s not the Nein Engel I love. She’s she Nein Engel who loved me.”

“Quit lyin’ to the kid.”

The boy did not hear the General’s warning and he asked Gunmal a question from pure curiosity.

“Hey! Uncle! Can I Tune and Bust too?”

“I don’t think your mom would like that idea.”

“What does that matter, Gunmal?” The General smiled bitterly. “Hey, boy. Do you want to be a Tuner or a Buster?”

“A Buster!”

The two adults exchanged a puzzled glance at the energetic answer.

Once they turned back his way, the boy said more.

“I want to be able to help people like you and dad did! So can I become a Buster too?”

“Precocious little brat,” muttered Gunmal as he stood up and rubbed the boy’s head with his false right hand. “A dirty brat like you’ll definitely end up like me.”

He was smiling as he said it.

The boy narrowed his eyes and those eyes fell on the stone monument next to his uncle.

“Hey, I’ve been wondering.”

“Hm?”

“What does this rock say?”

“Eh? …Oh, right. You can’t read Chinese.”

“Yeah, so what’s it say?”

“It’s a song,” replied Gunmal. “A long, long time ago, those who came before us wrote it to make sure Hong Kong would end up the way it is.”

“Those who came before us?”

“Yeah.”

“Were they famous?”

“Of course.”

“How much?”

“Just a little more than me.”

“That’s not very much.”

The General laughed bitterly at the child’s blunt comment.

Hearing the laugh, Gunmal touched the stone monument.

At the same time, an entertainer in the plaza started playing a song on a sanxian.

“The Flight Song, huh?”

Gunmal suddenly opened his mouth as he listened to the accompaniment.

彼街通天地 (That city connects heaven and earth)

墜朝地仰雲 (I fall in the morning and look up to the clouds from the earth)

昇夜空謳月 (I rise at night and sing with the moon in the sky)

惟望再笑君 (All I desire is to smile with you again)

His voice carried on the sanxian’s music and his Live sounded loudly on top of it all.

The reverberation expanded upwards from the bottom of the pit.

Gunmal’s Flight Song carried a hint of his Live as it slowly but surely filled the air of Hong Kong Cave.

It rang out.

The song came to an end.

Silence followed.

G2 then tugged on the bottom of his coat.

“?”

The boy answered Gunmal’s confusion by pointing upwards.

“Encore.”

Gunmal cleared his ears and heard applause coming from somewhere in Hong Kong Cave.

His song had been mistaken for an entertainer’s and people were applauding in hopes of an encore.

It gradually grew louder.

As more applause piled on, it gained a certain beat.

It settled at a certain tempo and the synchronized clapping built to a great thickness.

It sounded like one giant set of hands clapping.

Unable to bear with that beat any longer, accompaniment for the Flight Song began playing from a higher level. The previous sanxian similarly played on the lowest level.

“…!?”

Drawn out by that ensemble, a male voice sang the Flight Song somewhere in the city.

It only grew from there.

Singing voices and accompaniment rang from every corner of Hong Kong Cave.

Countless voices burst from every level.

“Oh,” muttered the General.

Everyone’s voices had joined as one for the chorus.

The music played loud.

The ensemble and beat of clapping hands enveloped Gunmal, the General, and G2.

“…”

They heard the voices.

Man, woman, boy, and girl all sang or played the Flight Song.

Hong Kong Cave was singing.

Their singing voices were drawn out by Gunmal’s Live in his voice.

And Gunmal stared straight up.

“…?”

But he suddenly pulled Wild König from his back.

“What is it?”

The young man held the large Device out in front of his and the old man’s eyes.

The base of the Device’s hilt contained the Uroboros Rondo Wild Emblem.

Gunmal had created that Device and it was now trembling ever so slightly.

“It’s resonating.”

Wild König would only resonate with Wild Königin which had been created at the same time.

He looked to the spring.

They were faint, but he saw ripples on the water’s surface.

The small ripples were spreading along the large spring, but they did not vanish. More and more were created as if to make their presence known.

Similarly, the tremor inside Wild König gradually grew larger and faster.

Gunmal gulped.

“It really is. Wild König is resonating.”

A smile appeared on his lips.

“Can you believe this!? Wild Königin is singing! Who is it!? Who’s singing!? It’s coming up from the bottom of the spring!”

He knew perfectly well who it was and G2 shouted up at him.

“Sing, uncle!”

That small wish was granted.

Gunmal held Wild König close and he opened his mouth.

He began with a prelude that could have been an “ah” or a “la” and he began to sing.

As countless singing voices rang through Hong Kong Cave, he sang the Flight Song as if his voice was the most correct and as if he wanted someone to hear it.

The hands clapping to the beat cheered him on.

“…!”

Gunmal sang.

Hong Kong sang with him.

The ripples in the spring grew larger.

And a song rang out in response to that movement.

“La!”

Gunmal’s voice rang out powerfully and loudly while sounding just like Akira’s Live.

The song danced and reverberated through the city that connected heaven to earth.

To wake a certain girl.

And to be able to laugh in the end.

Loudly.

Loudly!

Hey, can you hear it!?

This is my answer!





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