Needless to say, Akuto and Hiroshi did not immediately agree to Yoshie’s plan.
“We might still be able to stop the meteor.”
“I agree with aniki.”
Yoshie had opposed that view.
“At the very least, it can’t be controlled with the Jewel Branch of Hourai,” she said calmly.
For a while, Keena had been swinging the Branch like a magic wand, chanting strange spells, and focusing her mind as much as she could, but she could only use as much magic as mana allowed and nothing special happened.
“I understand that, but still.”
“I get what you’re trying to say and I know you don’t like giving up, but we have no physical means of dealing with the meteor.”
“Is the Formless Power really that great?”
“Yes. It’s the power of an entire race’s will. Unless there is only one human left alive, there is nothing we can do.”
“Then if we can combine all of mankind’s wills…!”
Hiroshi’s eyes glittered as if it was a wonderful idea, but Yoshie immediately rejected it.
“We couldn’t get through to the Republic and we can’t harness the power of the wills of those in non-mana civilizations. The Formless Power is like a dreadful curse.”
“Then we really can’t do anything?”
“It doesn’t seem so,” said Yoshie with a sigh. “But I think everyone but Akuto-kun can do whatever they want.”
“Eh? What do you mean?”
“His role is to travel to the world of the afterlife, so we can’t have him die before that. Of course, the empress will be put in cold sleep, so we can’t have her hurt before or after that either. Hiroshi-kun, your role is carrying the capsule into orbit as Brave, but everyone else can die before or after that without issue.”
“That sounds like complete nonsense.”
Akuto seemed confused.
“All I’m saying is that those who remain need to be prepared to die. Anyway, the plan will begin tomorrow and the meteor will hit tomorrow evening. Until then, most everyone can do whatever they want. Even suicide would be fine.”
Yoshie shrugged and did her best to sound like she was joking.
“I still can’t accept it,” complained Lily.
Snacks were piled up on the student council room’s table and the three officers were sitting at the table and devouring the snacks.
“Yeah, convenience store snacks are pretty pathetic for a last meal, arinsu.”
Michie’s comment put a bitter look on Lily’s face.
“That’s not what I meant. I was talking about having no way to resist this.”
“But all the stores were closed, so we couldn’t find anything appropriate for a last supper, gya,” complained Kanna.
“Shut up. We aren’t on death row, so of course our last food isn’t gonna be anything good. And what would you want if you could choose?”
Michie and Kanna thought about that before answering.
“Rice and miso soup.”
“A rare steak with potatoes.”
Lily gave a scornful laugh.
“That’s not much different from snacks. You never ate many snacks or soda because you’d gain weight, so this is your only chance to eat as much as you want. Go nuts.”
“Come to think of it, you’re right, gya.”
“Melon bread has a lot of calories, doesn’t it, arinsu?”
With that, the two of them began chowing down on the snacks.
“Guga.”
As a L’Isle-Adam, Arnoul did not touch the food.
“Oh, right. You don’t eat. …Ah! Headmaster!”
Lily spoke up in surprise as the headmaster popped in behind Arnoul.
“I had nothing to do, so I came by to eat some snacks.”
He reached for some potato chips.
“You really don’t have anything to do?” asked Lily in amazement.
“Due to my age, the temples didn’t send me any job requests, so I just have a lot of free time,” he complained.
The temples had asked the other teachers to run around and attempt to calm the panicking residents as much as possible.
“But don’t you have a family to spend this time with?”
“My age is in the triple digits, so I don’t have anything like that.” He gave a dry laugh. “I apologize there isn’t a younger guy you young ladies could spend your final hours with.”
“Don’t be…”
Lily smiled bitterly, but Kanna began making a fuss.
“That’s right, gya! This lack of guys is unforgivable, gya!”
“Guga.”
Arnoul rebuked her, but Michie joined in.
“You’re right, arinsu! A youth without a single lover is simply unforgivable, arinsu!”
“Gya, gya.”
“Settle down. There aren’t that many guys who are a match for us,” said Lily while tossing some chocolate into her mouth.
“President, you’re the lucky one, gya. You’ve at least had guys approach you, gya.”
“That’s right, arinsu. No one never even came to us, arinsu.”
The two of them began making a fuss again.
“Quiet down. The world could be destroyed at any time, so go confess to a guy you like,” said Lily coolly. “That’s your lesson for the day.”
“Mh. When I found a good guy, I should’ve gone in for the attack, gya.”
“That just makes you a wolf girl, arinsu.”
“I don’t want to hear that from a vampire girl, gya.” Kanna then asked a sudden question. “More importantly, president, is there anything you’ve left undone, gya?”
“Yes, there is. Remember what I asked in front of the tower about whether you were prepared to die?”
“What about it, gya?”
“What did you mean by that, arinsu?”
“I think I was hoping to die in battle. If this is the end, I think I wanted to go out in blaze of glory. But in reality, I have to sit around eating snacks as the end arrives.”
She gave a self-deprecating smile.
“That’s another form of youth,” said the headmaster quietly. “I doubt it will cool your blood, but not everyone can be a hero. When giving up is the only option, you should do so.”
“I wanted to do everything in an exciting way.”
“Just like all things, the end of the world happens quietly and with gradual decline. It was apparently the same with the civilizations that were destroyed in the past. However, this may not be the end. That boy may still do something.”
“Sai Akuto,” muttered Lily.
Meanwhile, someone was going through his final goodbyes with his girlfriend.
Hiroshi and Yuuko were walking along a beach.
“Sorry this wasn’t very exciting,” apologized Yuuko.
Hiroshi frantically shook his head.
“Don’t be! This wasn’t your fault! None of the stores were opened in town and our conversations all took a depressing turn.”
“Yeah…but this feels weird. The world is supposed to be destroyed soon. And even if not, everyone will die.”
She stared out to sea as she spoke.
“I-it’ll be fine. Even if we die, we won’t really die. That is, there’s an afterlife, s-so it’ll be fine even if we die.”
Despite his words, it did not feel real to him.
“I heard all that from Yoshie-san, but can we really believe that? I mean, I didn’t really understand it all, but she said we might be nothing more than characters in a story someone thought up.”
She clung to him and could not hide her unease.
He felt the weight of her body and found he simply could not believe what Yoshie had said.
“It really is strange. What does it mean that this world might be fictional?”
“I know. If we die…we’ll die, won’t we? I don’t want that.”
“Yeah…”
He could only nod.
“And Hiroshi-kun, you’ll be taking Keena-chan…the empress into space, won’t you? And then I won’t be able to see you.”
“We have no choice,” he said amid his confusion. “It’s an important job and it’s possible everyone can be revived if it goes well.”
But despite his words, he simply could not believe it.
“That isn’t going to happen!” shouted Yuuko. “I’ve been thinking about it myself and I’m definitely me!”
She pressed her face into his chest and cried.
“I-it’ll be okay. Once Brave… Once I finish the mission, I can do whatever I want, so I’ll stop the meteor on my own. I can fly through space, so…”
Yuuko looked up at that.
“Really?”
“Really. I’ll protect you. I’ll protect mankind.”
“You’re amazing. You’re a real hero.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll protect you. I’ll protect you.”
As he repeated himself, he was not sure if he was lying, telling the truth, trying to end the current conversation, or deceiving Yuuko.
Nevertheless, he felt lying was the one thing he could not do.
And then the concept of death seemed to assault him. He had almost died countless times, but the feeling this time was completely different.
“I’ll…protect you…”
He repeated himself again and kissed Yuuko.
“We now have permission to go through with the plan. The official story is that Soga Keena is escaping to space.”
Yoshie gave that report upon entering the conference room in the Merlai village.
Only Akuto was inside that conference room, the Robe of the Fire Rat sat in front of him, and he was reading the user’s manual.
“The official story?” he asked while looking up from the manual.
“The Robe of the Fire Rat and its effects haven’t been accepted by the public. In fact, I’m not even sure if it’ll actually work.”
“It will,” immediately cut in Akuto.
“Eh?”
“It will work. Etou-san protected it with her life, so it has to.”
Without Fujiko, the odds were good The One would have destroyed it.
“True. If The One felt the need to destroy it, it must have some effect.”
“You can put it that way too.”
Akuto nodded and turned back toward the object shaped like a small parabolic antenna.
“Whether it works or not, we won’t know what happens until we try it.” Yoshie tilted her head. “How troublesome.”
“The world of the afterlife, hm?” muttered Akuto. “If it exists, I wonder what it’s like.”
“Who knows. I only half believe it myself. If this world is false and it’s something like the Law of Identity’s dream, then there must be an afterlife.” She gave a weak smile. “But then I start wondering what will happen if it doesn’t exist.”
“If even you’re worried about that, I guess I can’t blame myself for being worried.”
“You’re overestimating me. Although I’m glad you think so highly of me.” She nodded and then stared into the distance. “They say you don’t even have the right to go to hell if you haven’t done good or evil, so I wonder where I’ll end up. At the very least, I haven’t done anything particularly good. I wonder what kind of afterlife the Law of Identity has prepared.”
“Who knows. But to me, you didn’t seem like someone who never did anything.” Akuto smiled. “And even if this world was created by the Law of Identity, we all have our own wills. If our wills were strong enough, do you think we managed to influence this world?”
“A strong will, huh? Even if we’re nothing but fictional characters?”
“Yes. I’m sure we set something large in motion. If I don’t believe that, there’s no reason to be here right now.”
“Setting something in motion with a strong will, hm?”
Yoshie nodded as if convinced of something and she then moved toward Akuto with a mischievous smile.
“In that case, I feel like putting my will to the test.”
“Your will?”
“Can a character’s will cause the story’s creator to act?”
With that, she stuck out her lips and closed her eyes.
“Wait, wait.”
Akuto was confused.
“If the Law of Identity is mixed in with Keena-chan’s will, she won’t want us to kiss here, will she? This is a test to see if my will can overcome that.”
She stuck her lips even further out.
“Eh? Wait…”
“Quit complaining. C’mon!”
As she urged him further, Akuto gave in and brought his lips in to kiss her.
However, he did so on her cheek.
“Mh!” she groaned. “Damn, so my will only goes that far.”
With that comment, she smiled.
The next day, Akuto and the others prepared for their final journey after transferring to the Merlai village using the mana and energy provided by Lily’s yacht.
They entered the laboratory below the tower and found the Merlai elder checking on the Swallow Cowrie.
“Looks like only one person will fit,” said Nonimora, sounding disappointed.
The only ones there were the Merlai elder, Nonimora, Akuto, Hiroshi, and Yoshie.
“We can only give up,” said Yoshie. “This is destiny.”
It was a top secret mission and it was being kept a secret from the imperial people that Keena would be joining them.
“It feels like we’re deceiving them and I don’t like it,” said Hiroshi as he watched a mana screen.
The news continually switched between the frightened people and the remnants of the imperial military joining together to destroy the meteor. The government was insisting they could destroy it by attacking once it arrived inside the atmosphere.
“All that’s left is heading up to the station with the capsule and resting there.”
“Yes. From there, you can watch as the world is destroyed…or not if you’d prefer. But once you put the empress into cold sleep, you need to enter the world of the afterlife using the Robe of the Fire Rat.”
“And no one knows what will happen then.”
“Exactly,” agreed Yoshie.
“I’m not afraid of dying!” exclaimed Nonimora as she jumped up and down. “The Merlai say a hero can transcend death!”
“That’s good to hear. I just hope that’s proof of something,” said Yoshie. “Now, it’s just about time.”
As she checked her watch, the entrance opened.
Keena entered wearing a white dress.
This was not meant to be her grave clothes, but it seemed she had still been given the highest quality dress to be found in the palace. Other than the short sleeves, it looked a lot like a wedding dress.
The old knight who was her chamberlain and Korone stood behind her, but the old knight wordlessly stepped back after seeing her off.
“How pretty,” said Hiroshi.
“Yes,” agreed Akuto.
Keena had always hated frilly clothes like that, so the fact that she was actually wearing it showed her resolve. Some light makeup was even visible on her face.
“Everyone…”
She started speaking but trailed off.
However, no one minded that she did not continue and they urged her toward the capsule.
She silently climbed aboard and she finally spoke just before the door closed.
“Everyone! This isn’t the end! This isn’t goodbye!”
She forced out the voice as if to say she could tell.
“We know.”
Yoshie and Nonimora smiled but shut the capsule with no regrets.
Hiroshi donned the Brave suit, picked up Korone who held the Robe of the Fire Rat, and nodded toward Akuto.
Akuto picked up the capsule and floated up to ascend the tower.
Nonimora and Yoshie waved toward them and they nodded back rather than waving.
While lifting the capsule, Akuto and Brave ascended the tower and flew into the blue sky. Once they finally broke free of the atmosphere, Akuto preserved mana around them and Brave’s gravitational control propelled them.
After opening the airlock of an abandoned space station, they set down the Swallow Cowrie.
The station was meant for experiments and it only had enough space for a few people to work, but it was enough for the four of them to speak. The earth was visible from one window and the meteor traveling through empty space was visible from the other.
After ensuring there was oxygen inside, they opened the capsule.
“I feel bad that only we’ll survive,” said Keena.
“Even so, this is the best option available. Please be prepared.”
Korone reached into her bag and pulled out a futon.
The bag contained a virtual alternate dimension. It was dependent on the energy on the surface, so it was working now and would not once the surface was destroyed. That would likely be the final tool Korone would produce.
“Why a futon?” asked Akuto.
“Once the empress awakens, I must be there for her. This futon uses special fibers. If I place it over me and shut down my functions, I should remain fresh for a millennium.”
“I see… Wait, remain fresh?”
Korone’s response partially filled Akuto with exasperation.
“You could say it extends my expiration date.”
As they spoke, the meteor began to fill the entire area of the window.
“Oh, not long now,” muttered Hiroshi.
Korone elbowed him in the side.
“?”
He gave her a questioning look and she lay down in the futon.
“I will be going to sleep. See you next life.”
Hiroshi then caught on.
“Oh… See ya, aniki. There’s something I have to go do.”
“What’s that?”
“Even if it’s hopeless, I need to try and stop the meteor. If I’m going to die regardless, the more exciting way is better, right?”
With that, he left the airlock without looking back.
After a quiet “psh” of air, silence fell.
Akuto felt that parting should have been more reluctant, but he concluded that showed just how much Hiroshi believed in the afterlife.
“Now, then.”
He started to make his own preparations, but Keena called out to him.
“Hey, A-chan.”
“What is it?”
He turned around and saw Keena with her head lowered.
“There’s nothing to worry about.”
As soon as he said that, she suddenly looked up.
Her face was red and contained no sign of depression or sorrow.
“Wh-what is it?”
“H-hey…”
She began fidgeting and started to say something else, but no words came out.
“A-are you okay?”
At that point, she finally began to speak.
“I don’t want to think that this is the end, but I’ll be sleeping for a long time, won’t I?”
“Probably,” he agreed. “But you might be woken up right away.”
“Will I remember the time that passed while asleep?”
“No. To you, it will probably feel like sleeping a single night even if it lasts years and years.”
“Then I’ll be fine. You’ll come wake me, won’t you?”
She looked him in the eye as she asked that and he replied kindly to put her at ease.
“Of course.”
“Okay. Then I can sleep without worrying. But can you promise me?”
She tilted her head and confusion filled his eyes.
“Promise? I just did. Don’t worry. I will return even if I don’t know where I’m going in the meantime.”
“Not that. Promise me now…”
She began fidgeting again.
“Promise you what?”
“Marry me…right now.”
“Marry…you?”
The sudden request shocked him.
“Y-yes. This isn’t the end, but it might be the end. So do it as a promise…okay?”
She spoke quickly and forced a smile.
“Um…well…”
He was far too flustered to think straight.
“Can you not do it?”
Her expression clouded over.
“No, I didn’t say that…”
“Then c’mon! I’m wearing a white dress right now… and you already kissed Nonimora-chan even if…um…the situation was different.”
After saying that, she began shaking her hands around.
“A-are you serious?” he asked.
She answered after quickly grabbing his hands.
“Y-yes. I’m serious.”
She quickly grew meek and lowered her head.
“In that case…okay.”
“Really!?”
Her face lit up as she faced Akuto.
“Yes…really. But…um…what are we supposed to do?”
He was confused and Keena stared blankly back at him.
“C-come to think of it, I don’t know.”
“Well, most everyone we know is too young to get married, so we’ve never attended a wedding.”
“Y-you put a ring on, don’t you?”
“B-but we don’t have a ring,” said Akuto in confusion.
“Then what about this?”
Keena leaped into his chest.
“Eh?”
Her weight made him stagger and her lips trembled painfully as she looked up at him.
“A-chan…”
After saying his name, she fell silent and slowly closed her eyes.
Even he understood what this meant.
He pulled her toward him, brought his face in close, and gently kissed her.
The Swallow Cowrie’s door closed and Keena waved on the other side of the window.
Akuto waved back and hit the switch that sent gas into the capsule.
The window fogged up and her face was gradually obscured.
Breathing in the gas quickly put her to sleep, but she continued waving until he could no longer see her.
Finally, an indicator appeared to show the cold sleep was complete.
After seeing that through, he stepped away from the capsule.
“Now, then.”
He muttered to himself and prepared the Robe of the Fire Rat that sat in one corner of the room. It seemed to work by standing in front of the antenna-like device and hitting the switch.
“Akuto-san,” said a sudden voice.
“Eh?”
He turned around and found Korone sitting up.
“I am glad you could have your fun.”
“C-c’mon. Don’t put it like that. And you weren’t asleep? That’s just mean.”
Akuto looked embarrassed.
“My apologies. I merely thought I could act as a witness to mankind’s destruction.”
“Yes… I suppose it would be interesting to have someone who can tell the tale.”
He had spoken half out of shock, but he realized that did in fact sound interesting.
“Then I’ll leave the rest to you.”
“Good.”
She nodded, but then spoke up as if she had realized something.
“Um… Aren’t you going to kiss me as well?”
“Are you serious?”
“I am joking.”
“I thought as much.”
He smiled, stepped in front of the Robe of the Fire Rat, and hit the switch.
And then he vanished.
Korone looked out the window.
No one was there anymore. If she stopped her own mechanical noises, she would likely be surrounded by complete silence. If she powered down, she would last for a millennium until someone came to wake her. If a mana civilization existed at the time, she could be fully regenerated, but her data could be removed as long as they had electricity.
She accessed the gods one last time, but they had no real feelings about the issue.
<This simply means we did not carry out our mission. Everything will disappear.>
That was what the gods had to say.
No matter what she asked, they had only one thing to say in response.
<Everything will disappear.>
Korone felt it was not a bad thing to say.
However, she and Keena would remain. For a thousand years at least.
“What will remain once everything disappears?” she muttered.
At the very least, her data could be retrieved even after a millennium had passed.
Or would the universe itself disappear with Keena’s death?
No answer came to her.
“For the gods, everything will disappear.”
She looked out the window as she spoke.
For the gods, everything would indeed disappear.
She was nothing but a single terminal of a network and she had not gained a sense of self like the gods.
The meteor had approached enough for the flow of energy on its surface to be clearly visible. From her position, it appeared to be half as large as the earth. It was not actually that large, but she felt it would certainly destroy the earth.
The meteor appeared to be a mass of energy rather than a rock. It looked like an incandescent fluid whirling around in a spherical shape.
She then received a transmission from Hiroshi.
<Korone-chan, can you hear me?>
“Yes,” she replied.
<I’m going to try to stop the meteor now.>
“Your odds of success are zero,” she calmly told him.
<I know that, but do you have to put it so plainly?>
“If you understand, why did you continue with this?”
<Because I have to. I promised I would.>
“A promise? But the result will be the same either way.”
<I know, but I want someone listening in the very end.>
“Understood. Let us speak.”
<I’m going to charge in with a plasma ball. Can you see me?>
“I can.”
She zoomed in her vision and saw a small light in the meteor’s path. That was Hiroshi.
<Here I go! Here I go… I’m not even sure what I’m supposed to say right now. U-um… Should I let out a shout? I-I can’t think of anything.>
“Hiroshi-san.”
<What?>
“At the very least, you were a hero in the end.”
<Thank- Ah! Wah!>
The transmission filled with static.
The light produced by Hiroshi was silently swallowed up by the light of the meteor.
“Farewell,” said Korone quietly.
The meteor further approached the earth.
A portion of the fluid on the surface extended toward the earth like a tornado and formed a giant whirlpool on the ocean surface.
Seen from the surface, that was almost certainly the exact scene of destruction Yamato Bouichirou had once seen. In that whirl, he may have seen the forms of alien thought entities.
But the whirl quickly lost all meaning. The meteor itself approached the surface and the earth’s crust was blasted outwards like splashing water.
To Korone, the scene was absolutely silent, but it was not difficult to imagine tens of thousands of people’s screams mixed in with that ripped up crust.
The half sphere explosion caused the planet’s atmosphere to swell outwards and to pulsate as if alive.
A shockwave travelled along the earth’s surface and left at the collision point on the opposite side. After a short delay, a wave of crust and seawater followed.
After that wave passed, that portion of the surface could no longer be seen. Only the boiling ocean surface was visible through the smoke.
“Thus cometh the end.”
Korone searched her data because she felt like reading a poem, but that data was on the network and had therefore been lost. The gods on the surface had already died.
“So that is how the world ends.”
She rephrased her words.
“With a peacefully silent explosion.”
After seeing that the earth had completely turned to a sphere of boiling magma and water, she climbed into the futon.
“Goodnight, everyone.”
She spoke to no one in particular and the station’s electricity cut out.
Needless to say, Akuto and Hiroshi did not immediately agree to Yoshie’s plan.
“We might still be able to stop the meteor.”
“I agree with aniki.”
Yoshie had opposed that view.
“At the very least, it can’t be controlled with the Jewel Branch of Hourai,” she said calmly.
For a while, Keena had been swinging the Branch like a magic wand, chanting strange spells, and focusing her mind as much as she could, but she could only use as much magic as mana allowed and nothing special happened.
“I understand that, but still.”
“I get what you’re trying to say and I know you don’t like giving up, but we have no physical means of dealing with the meteor.”
“Is the Formless Power really that great?”
“Yes. It’s the power of an entire race’s will. Unless there is only one human left alive, there is nothing we can do.”
“Then if we can combine all of mankind’s wills…!”
Hiroshi’s eyes glittered as if it was a wonderful idea, but Yoshie immediately rejected it.
“We couldn’t get through to the Republic and we can’t harness the power of the wills of those in non-mana civilizations. The Formless Power is like a dreadful curse.”
“Then we really can’t do anything?”
“It doesn’t seem so,” said Yoshie with a sigh. “But I think everyone but Akuto-kun can do whatever they want.”
“Eh? What do you mean?”
“His role is to travel to the world of the afterlife, so we can’t have him die before that. Of course, the empress will be put in cold sleep, so we can’t have her hurt before or after that either. Hiroshi-kun, your role is carrying the capsule into orbit as Brave, but everyone else can die before or after that without issue.”
“That sounds like complete nonsense.”
Akuto seemed confused.
“All I’m saying is that those who remain need to be prepared to die. Anyway, the plan will begin tomorrow and the meteor will hit tomorrow evening. Until then, most everyone can do whatever they want. Even suicide would be fine.”
Yoshie shrugged and did her best to sound like she was joking.
“I still can’t accept it,” complained Lily.
Snacks were piled up on the student council room’s table and the three officers were sitting at the table and devouring the snacks.
“Yeah, convenience store snacks are pretty pathetic for a last meal, arinsu.”
Michie’s comment put a bitter look on Lily’s face.
“That’s not what I meant. I was talking about having no way to resist this.”
“But all the stores were closed, so we couldn’t find anything appropriate for a last supper, gya,” complained Kanna.
“Shut up. We aren’t on death row, so of course our last food isn’t gonna be anything good. And what would you want if you could choose?”
Michie and Kanna thought about that before answering.
“Rice and miso soup.”
“A rare steak with potatoes.”
Lily gave a scornful laugh.
“That’s not much different from snacks. You never ate many snacks or soda because you’d gain weight, so this is your only chance to eat as much as you want. Go nuts.”
“Come to think of it, you’re right, gya.”
“Melon bread has a lot of calories, doesn’t it, arinsu?”
With that, the two of them began chowing down on the snacks.
“Guga.”
As a L’Isle-Adam, Arnoul did not touch the food.
“Oh, right. You don’t eat. …Ah! Headmaster!”
Lily spoke up in surprise as the headmaster popped in behind Arnoul.
“I had nothing to do, so I came by to eat some snacks.”
He reached for some potato chips.
“You really don’t have anything to do?” asked Lily in amazement.
“Due to my age, the temples didn’t send me any job requests, so I just have a lot of free time,” he complained.
The temples had asked the other teachers to run around and attempt to calm the panicking residents as much as possible.
“But don’t you have a family to spend this time with?”
“My age is in the triple digits, so I don’t have anything like that.” He gave a dry laugh. “I apologize there isn’t a younger guy you young ladies could spend your final hours with.”
“Don’t be…”
Lily smiled bitterly, but Kanna began making a fuss.
“That’s right, gya! This lack of guys is unforgivable, gya!”
“Guga.”
Arnoul rebuked her, but Michie joined in.
“You’re right, arinsu! A youth without a single lover is simply unforgivable, arinsu!”
“Gya, gya.”
“Settle down. There aren’t that many guys who are a match for us,” said Lily while tossing some chocolate into her mouth.
“President, you’re the lucky one, gya. You’ve at least had guys approach you, gya.”
“That’s right, arinsu. No one never even came to us, arinsu.”
The two of them began making a fuss again.
“Quiet down. The world could be destroyed at any time, so go confess to a guy you like,” said Lily coolly. “That’s your lesson for the day.”
“Mh. When I found a good guy, I should’ve gone in for the attack, gya.”
“That just makes you a wolf girl, arinsu.”
“I don’t want to hear that from a vampire girl, gya.” Kanna then asked a sudden question. “More importantly, president, is there anything you’ve left undone, gya?”
“Yes, there is. Remember what I asked in front of the tower about whether you were prepared to die?”
“What about it, gya?”
“What did you mean by that, arinsu?”
“I think I was hoping to die in battle. If this is the end, I think I wanted to go out in blaze of glory. But in reality, I have to sit around eating snacks as the end arrives.”
She gave a self-deprecating smile.
“That’s another form of youth,” said the headmaster quietly. “I doubt it will cool your blood, but not everyone can be a hero. When giving up is the only option, you should do so.”
“I wanted to do everything in an exciting way.”
“Just like all things, the end of the world happens quietly and with gradual decline. It was apparently the same with the civilizations that were destroyed in the past. However, this may not be the end. That boy may still do something.”
“Sai Akuto,” muttered Lily.
Meanwhile, someone was going through his final goodbyes with his girlfriend.
Hiroshi and Yuuko were walking along a beach.
“Sorry this wasn’t very exciting,” apologized Yuuko.
Hiroshi frantically shook his head.
“Don’t be! This wasn’t your fault! None of the stores were opened in town and our conversations all took a depressing turn.”
“Yeah…but this feels weird. The world is supposed to be destroyed soon. And even if not, everyone will die.”
She stared out to sea as she spoke.
“I-it’ll be fine. Even if we die, we won’t really die. That is, there’s an afterlife, s-so it’ll be fine even if we die.”
Despite his words, it did not feel real to him.
“I heard all that from Yoshie-san, but can we really believe that? I mean, I didn’t really understand it all, but she said we might be nothing more than characters in a story someone thought up.”
She clung to him and could not hide her unease.
He felt the weight of her body and found he simply could not believe what Yoshie had said.
“It really is strange. What does it mean that this world might be fictional?”
“I know. If we die…we’ll die, won’t we? I don’t want that.”
“Yeah…”
He could only nod.
“And Hiroshi-kun, you’ll be taking Keena-chan…the empress into space, won’t you? And then I won’t be able to see you.”
“We have no choice,” he said amid his confusion. “It’s an important job and it’s possible everyone can be revived if it goes well.”
But despite his words, he simply could not believe it.
“That isn’t going to happen!” shouted Yuuko. “I’ve been thinking about it myself and I’m definitely me!”
She pressed her face into his chest and cried.
“I-it’ll be okay. Once Brave… Once I finish the mission, I can do whatever I want, so I’ll stop the meteor on my own. I can fly through space, so…”
Yuuko looked up at that.
“Really?”
“Really. I’ll protect you. I’ll protect mankind.”
“You’re amazing. You’re a real hero.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll protect you. I’ll protect you.”
As he repeated himself, he was not sure if he was lying, telling the truth, trying to end the current conversation, or deceiving Yuuko.
Nevertheless, he felt lying was the one thing he could not do.
And then the concept of death seemed to assault him. He had almost died countless times, but the feeling this time was completely different.
“I’ll…protect you…”
He repeated himself again and kissed Yuuko.
“We now have permission to go through with the plan. The official story is that Soga Keena is escaping to space.”
Yoshie gave that report upon entering the conference room in the Merlai village.
Only Akuto was inside that conference room, the Robe of the Fire Rat sat in front of him, and he was reading the user’s manual.
“The official story?” he asked while looking up from the manual.
“The Robe of the Fire Rat and its effects haven’t been accepted by the public. In fact, I’m not even sure if it’ll actually work.”
“It will,” immediately cut in Akuto.
“Eh?”
“It will work. Etou-san protected it with her life, so it has to.”
Without Fujiko, the odds were good The One would have destroyed it.
“True. If The One felt the need to destroy it, it must have some effect.”
“You can put it that way too.”
Akuto nodded and turned back toward the object shaped like a small parabolic antenna.
“Whether it works or not, we won’t know what happens until we try it.” Yoshie tilted her head. “How troublesome.”
“The world of the afterlife, hm?” muttered Akuto. “If it exists, I wonder what it’s like.”
“Who knows. I only half believe it myself. If this world is false and it’s something like the Law of Identity’s dream, then there must be an afterlife.” She gave a weak smile. “But then I start wondering what will happen if it doesn’t exist.”
“If even you’re worried about that, I guess I can’t blame myself for being worried.”
“You’re overestimating me. Although I’m glad you think so highly of me.” She nodded and then stared into the distance. “They say you don’t even have the right to go to hell if you haven’t done good or evil, so I wonder where I’ll end up. At the very least, I haven’t done anything particularly good. I wonder what kind of afterlife the Law of Identity has prepared.”
“Who knows. But to me, you didn’t seem like someone who never did anything.” Akuto smiled. “And even if this world was created by the Law of Identity, we all have our own wills. If our wills were strong enough, do you think we managed to influence this world?”
“A strong will, huh? Even if we’re nothing but fictional characters?”
“Yes. I’m sure we set something large in motion. If I don’t believe that, there’s no reason to be here right now.”
“Setting something in motion with a strong will, hm?”
Yoshie nodded as if convinced of something and she then moved toward Akuto with a mischievous smile.
“In that case, I feel like putting my will to the test.”
“Your will?”
“Can a character’s will cause the story’s creator to act?”
With that, she stuck out her lips and closed her eyes.
“Wait, wait.”
Akuto was confused.
“If the Law of Identity is mixed in with Keena-chan’s will, she won’t want us to kiss here, will she? This is a test to see if my will can overcome that.”
She stuck her lips even further out.
“Eh? Wait…”
“Quit complaining. C’mon!”
As she urged him further, Akuto gave in and brought his lips in to kiss her.
However, he did so on her cheek.
“Mh!” she groaned. “Damn, so my will only goes that far.”
With that comment, she smiled.
The next day, Akuto and the others prepared for their final journey after transferring to the Merlai village using the mana and energy provided by Lily’s yacht.
They entered the laboratory below the tower and found the Merlai elder checking on the Swallow Cowrie.
“Looks like only one person will fit,” said Nonimora, sounding disappointed.
The only ones there were the Merlai elder, Nonimora, Akuto, Hiroshi, and Yoshie.
“We can only give up,” said Yoshie. “This is destiny.”
It was a top secret mission and it was being kept a secret from the imperial people that Keena would be joining them.
“It feels like we’re deceiving them and I don’t like it,” said Hiroshi as he watched a mana screen.
The news continually switched between the frightened people and the remnants of the imperial military joining together to destroy the meteor. The government was insisting they could destroy it by attacking once it arrived inside the atmosphere.
“All that’s left is heading up to the station with the capsule and resting there.”
“Yes. From there, you can watch as the world is destroyed…or not if you’d prefer. But once you put the empress into cold sleep, you need to enter the world of the afterlife using the Robe of the Fire Rat.”
“And no one knows what will happen then.”
“Exactly,” agreed Yoshie.
“I’m not afraid of dying!” exclaimed Nonimora as she jumped up and down. “The Merlai say a hero can transcend death!”
“That’s good to hear. I just hope that’s proof of something,” said Yoshie. “Now, it’s just about time.”
As she checked her watch, the entrance opened.
Keena entered wearing a white dress.
This was not meant to be her grave clothes, but it seemed she had still been given the highest quality dress to be found in the palace. Other than the short sleeves, it looked a lot like a wedding dress.
The old knight who was her chamberlain and Korone stood behind her, but the old knight wordlessly stepped back after seeing her off.
“How pretty,” said Hiroshi.
“Yes,” agreed Akuto.
Keena had always hated frilly clothes like that, so the fact that she was actually wearing it showed her resolve. Some light makeup was even visible on her face.
“Everyone…”
She started speaking but trailed off.
However, no one minded that she did not continue and they urged her toward the capsule.
She silently climbed aboard and she finally spoke just before the door closed.
“Everyone! This isn’t the end! This isn’t goodbye!”
She forced out the voice as if to say she could tell.
“We know.”
Yoshie and Nonimora smiled but shut the capsule with no regrets.
Hiroshi donned the Brave suit, picked up Korone who held the Robe of the Fire Rat, and nodded toward Akuto.
Akuto picked up the capsule and floated up to ascend the tower.
Nonimora and Yoshie waved toward them and they nodded back rather than waving.
While lifting the capsule, Akuto and Brave ascended the tower and flew into the blue sky. Once they finally broke free of the atmosphere, Akuto preserved mana around them and Brave’s gravitational control propelled them.
After opening the airlock of an abandoned space station, they set down the Swallow Cowrie.
The station was meant for experiments and it only had enough space for a few people to work, but it was enough for the four of them to speak. The earth was visible from one window and the meteor traveling through empty space was visible from the other.
After ensuring there was oxygen inside, they opened the capsule.
“I feel bad that only we’ll survive,” said Keena.
“Even so, this is the best option available. Please be prepared.”
Korone reached into her bag and pulled out a futon.
The bag contained a virtual alternate dimension. It was dependent on the energy on the surface, so it was working now and would not once the surface was destroyed. That would likely be the final tool Korone would produce.
“Why a futon?” asked Akuto.
“Once the empress awakens, I must be there for her. This futon uses special fibers. If I place it over me and shut down my functions, I should remain fresh for a millennium.”
“I see… Wait, remain fresh?”
Korone’s response partially filled Akuto with exasperation.
“You could say it extends my expiration date.”
As they spoke, the meteor began to fill the entire area of the window.
“Oh, not long now,” muttered Hiroshi.
Korone elbowed him in the side.
“?”
He gave her a questioning look and she lay down in the futon.
“I will be going to sleep. See you next life.”
Hiroshi then caught on.
“Oh… See ya, aniki. There’s something I have to go do.”
“What’s that?”
“Even if it’s hopeless, I need to try and stop the meteor. If I’m going to die regardless, the more exciting way is better, right?”
With that, he left the airlock without looking back.
After a quiet “psh” of air, silence fell.
Akuto felt that parting should have been more reluctant, but he concluded that showed just how much Hiroshi believed in the afterlife.
“Now, then.”
He started to make his own preparations, but Keena called out to him.
“Hey, A-chan.”
“What is it?”
He turned around and saw Keena with her head lowered.
“There’s nothing to worry about.”
As soon as he said that, she suddenly looked up.
Her face was red and contained no sign of depression or sorrow.
“Wh-what is it?”
“H-hey…”
She began fidgeting and started to say something else, but no words came out.
“A-are you okay?”
At that point, she finally began to speak.
“I don’t want to think that this is the end, but I’ll be sleeping for a long time, won’t I?”
“Probably,” he agreed. “But you might be woken up right away.”
“Will I remember the time that passed while asleep?”
“No. To you, it will probably feel like sleeping a single night even if it lasts years and years.”
“Then I’ll be fine. You’ll come wake me, won’t you?”
She looked him in the eye as she asked that and he replied kindly to put her at ease.
“Of course.”
“Okay. Then I can sleep without worrying. But can you promise me?”
She tilted her head and confusion filled his eyes.
“Promise? I just did. Don’t worry. I will return even if I don’t know where I’m going in the meantime.”
“Not that. Promise me now…”
She began fidgeting again.
“Promise you what?”
“Marry me…right now.”
“Marry…you?”
The sudden request shocked him.
“Y-yes. This isn’t the end, but it might be the end. So do it as a promise…okay?”
She spoke quickly and forced a smile.
“Um…well…”
He was far too flustered to think straight.
“Can you not do it?”
Her expression clouded over.
“No, I didn’t say that…”
“Then c’mon! I’m wearing a white dress right now… and you already kissed Nonimora-chan even if…um…the situation was different.”
After saying that, she began shaking her hands around.
“A-are you serious?” he asked.
She answered after quickly grabbing his hands.
“Y-yes. I’m serious.”
She quickly grew meek and lowered her head.
“In that case…okay.”
“Really!?”
Her face lit up as she faced Akuto.
“Yes…really. But…um…what are we supposed to do?”
He was confused and Keena stared blankly back at him.
“C-come to think of it, I don’t know.”
“Well, most everyone we know is too young to get married, so we’ve never attended a wedding.”
“Y-you put a ring on, don’t you?”
“B-but we don’t have a ring,” said Akuto in confusion.
“Then what about this?”
Keena leaped into his chest.
“Eh?”
Her weight made him stagger and her lips trembled painfully as she looked up at him.
“A-chan…”
After saying his name, she fell silent and slowly closed her eyes.
Even he understood what this meant.
He pulled her toward him, brought his face in close, and gently kissed her.
The Swallow Cowrie’s door closed and Keena waved on the other side of the window.
Akuto waved back and hit the switch that sent gas into the capsule.
The window fogged up and her face was gradually obscured.
Breathing in the gas quickly put her to sleep, but she continued waving until he could no longer see her.
Finally, an indicator appeared to show the cold sleep was complete.
After seeing that through, he stepped away from the capsule.
“Now, then.”
He muttered to himself and prepared the Robe of the Fire Rat that sat in one corner of the room. It seemed to work by standing in front of the antenna-like device and hitting the switch.
“Akuto-san,” said a sudden voice.
“Eh?”
He turned around and found Korone sitting up.
“I am glad you could have your fun.”
“C-c’mon. Don’t put it like that. And you weren’t asleep? That’s just mean.”
Akuto looked embarrassed.
“My apologies. I merely thought I could act as a witness to mankind’s destruction.”
“Yes… I suppose it would be interesting to have someone who can tell the tale.”
He had spoken half out of shock, but he realized that did in fact sound interesting.
“Then I’ll leave the rest to you.”
“Good.”
She nodded, but then spoke up as if she had realized something.
“Um… Aren’t you going to kiss me as well?”
“Are you serious?”
“I am joking.”
“I thought as much.”
He smiled, stepped in front of the Robe of the Fire Rat, and hit the switch.
And then he vanished.
Korone looked out the window.
No one was there anymore. If she stopped her own mechanical noises, she would likely be surrounded by complete silence. If she powered down, she would last for a millennium until someone came to wake her. If a mana civilization existed at the time, she could be fully regenerated, but her data could be removed as long as they had electricity.
She accessed the gods one last time, but they had no real feelings about the issue.
<This simply means we did not carry out our mission. Everything will disappear.>
That was what the gods had to say.
No matter what she asked, they had only one thing to say in response.
<Everything will disappear.>
Korone felt it was not a bad thing to say.
However, she and Keena would remain. For a thousand years at least.
“What will remain once everything disappears?” she muttered.
At the very least, her data could be retrieved even after a millennium had passed.
Or would the universe itself disappear with Keena’s death?
No answer came to her.
“For the gods, everything will disappear.”
She looked out the window as she spoke.
For the gods, everything would indeed disappear.
She was nothing but a single terminal of a network and she had not gained a sense of self like the gods.
The meteor had approached enough for the flow of energy on its surface to be clearly visible. From her position, it appeared to be half as large as the earth. It was not actually that large, but she felt it would certainly destroy the earth.
The meteor appeared to be a mass of energy rather than a rock. It looked like an incandescent fluid whirling around in a spherical shape.
She then received a transmission from Hiroshi.
<Korone-chan, can you hear me?>
“Yes,” she replied.
<I’m going to try to stop the meteor now.>
“Your odds of success are zero,” she calmly told him.
<I know that, but do you have to put it so plainly?>
“If you understand, why did you continue with this?”
<Because I have to. I promised I would.>
“A promise? But the result will be the same either way.”
<I know, but I want someone listening in the very end.>
“Understood. Let us speak.”
<I’m going to charge in with a plasma ball. Can you see me?>
“I can.”
She zoomed in her vision and saw a small light in the meteor’s path. That was Hiroshi.
<Here I go! Here I go… I’m not even sure what I’m supposed to say right now. U-um… Should I let out a shout? I-I can’t think of anything.>
“Hiroshi-san.”
<What?>
“At the very least, you were a hero in the end.”
<Thank- Ah! Wah!>
The transmission filled with static.
The light produced by Hiroshi was silently swallowed up by the light of the meteor.
“Farewell,” said Korone quietly.
The meteor further approached the earth.
A portion of the fluid on the surface extended toward the earth like a tornado and formed a giant whirlpool on the ocean surface.
Seen from the surface, that was almost certainly the exact scene of destruction Yamato Bouichirou had once seen. In that whirl, he may have seen the forms of alien thought entities.
But the whirl quickly lost all meaning. The meteor itself approached the surface and the earth’s crust was blasted outwards like splashing water.
To Korone, the scene was absolutely silent, but it was not difficult to imagine tens of thousands of people’s screams mixed in with that ripped up crust.
The half sphere explosion caused the planet’s atmosphere to swell outwards and to pulsate as if alive.
A shockwave travelled along the earth’s surface and left at the collision point on the opposite side. After a short delay, a wave of crust and seawater followed.
After that wave passed, that portion of the surface could no longer be seen. Only the boiling ocean surface was visible through the smoke.
“Thus cometh the end.”
Korone searched her data because she felt like reading a poem, but that data was on the network and had therefore been lost. The gods on the surface had already died.
“So that is how the world ends.”
She rephrased her words.
“With a peacefully silent explosion.”
After seeing that the earth had completely turned to a sphere of boiling magma and water, she climbed into the futon.
“Goodnight, everyone.”
She spoke to no one in particular and the station’s electricity cut out.
